27022023-ATR-01.qxd 2/26/2023 11:16 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune KISAN MILNI: DIRECT TALKS WILL HELP FRAME PRAGMATIC POLICIES WAS NEVER IN RELATIONSHIP WITH RAJ KAPOOR: ZEENAT Zeenat Aman recently shared how Dev Anand had assumed that she had a relationship with Raj Kapoor. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 11°C INDIAN IDOL-SEASON 13 PAYS TRIBUTE TO BAPPI DA More such interactions between stakeholders will bring the farming sector out of crisis, say residents. P2 FORECAST On completion of 50 episodes on Sunday, Indian Idol celebrated it as ‘Bappi Da’ special episode. P4 » » SUNSET MONDAY 6.26 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:59 AM » MONDAY | 27 FEBRUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR Dubai-returned son of ASI killed, 4 booked Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 26 Mystery shrouds the death of a Dubai-returned youth identified as Paramvir Singh (25), son of an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), whose body was found in an agricultural field in Chhapiyawali village on Thursday. He had returned from Dubai over two weeks ago. He had been living in Dubai INBRIEF THREE PHONES SEIZED IN JAIL Amritsar: Amritsar central jail authorities confiscated three mobile phones from the jail complex on Saturday. A phone was recovered from a jail inmate, identified as Gurpreet Singh of Mehta Road, while two phones were found to be unclaimed. A case has been registered. TNS TWO ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Amritsar: The police have arrested two persons for allegedly possessing heroin. They were identified as Karan of Tung Bala and Preet Kamal of Vijay Nagar area. The police confiscated 15 gm and 20 gm of heroin from them, respectively. Two separate cases under the NDPS Act were registered in this regard. TNS for the past four years and used to work as a truck driver. On the statement of ASI Harjinder Singh, the police have booked four persons on the charge of murder and destruction of evidence. Those who have been booked include Jaggi, Kuldeep Singh and Raj Kaur, all residents of Budda Theh village, and several unidentified persons. The complainant told the police that his son Paramvir Body found dumped in agricultural field went out of the house for some work on Thursday morning but did not return home. The SHO Yaadwinder Singh said on Thursday, the accused hired a car and dumped the youth’s body in the fields. There was no injury mark on his body and the exact cause of death would be ascertained in the postmortem examination report. The body was handed over to the family after autopsy and further probe was on. Efforts were on to nab the suspects in the case. Woman found dead, kin suspect murder Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 26 A 65-year-old woman, identified as Amarjit Kaur of Sainsra Kalan village, was found dead under mysterious circumstances two days ago. Following a complaint by the brother of the deceased, the police have registered a murder case against unidentified persons and launched further probe. Complainant Mahinder Singh of Bal Sikander village told the police that Amarjit Kaur, a widow, had two sons CASE UNDER SEC 302 OF IPC REGISTERED ■ The brother of the deceased said when they saw the body, they observed injury marks on her arms and chest, while her back had turned blue. He said they got suspicious of her death and informed the police about this ■ SI Satnam Singh, investigating officer, said the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem, which would ascertain the cause of her death. He said further probe was on, while a case under Section 302 of the IPC was registered against unidentified persons in this connection (Gurpreet Singh and Surjit Singh) and three daughters from the marriage. She had four acres of land, which she had given to her two sons on contract basis. He said she used to live with her younger son Surjit. He said on Friday, Surjit called him up and said Amarjit had died of electrocution. He said he along with his family immediately went to her house and found her lying on the bed. He said when they saw the body, they observed injury marks on her arms and chest, while her back had turned blue. He said they got suspicious of her death and informed the police about this. SI Satnam Singh, investigating officer, said the body was handed over to the family after post-mortem, which would ascertain the cause of her death. He said further probe was on, while a case under Section 302 of the IPC was registered against unidentified persons in this connection. No. of PM-KISAN beneficiaries reduced, farmers flay Centre Tribune News Service PAU KISAN MELA ON MARCH 2 Amritsar: Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at Nag Kalan village near here has announced to organise a Kisan Mela in association with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, on March 2. KVK Deputy Director Dr Bikramjit Singh said different departments of the state government such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, horticulture, agricultural engineering and others would set up their stalls to provide awareness to farmers regarding different schemes. He said all departments of PAU would also set up their stalls. TNS family members tried to locate him, but failed. The next day, they came to know about the recovery of the body of a youth, who was later identified as his son Paramvir. He said Jaggi, Kuldeep and Raj Kaur called his son to their house and injected him with some poisonous substance, which led to his death. Following this, they dumped his body in a field in Chhapiyawali village. ‘Maian da Mela’ Passengers wait for their trains at the Amritsar railway station. Railways to run Holi special trains from city Amritsar, February 26 The Railways will run special trains on account of Holi from Amritsar. The GorakhpurAmritsar special train will leave for Gorakhpur at 2.40 pm on March 3 and another train on March 10. The train will leave for Amritsar at 2.30 pm from Gorakhpur on March 17 and reach the next day at 9.30 am. The Amritsar-Gorakhpur special train will depart from Amritsar at 12.45 pm on March 4 and March 11 and March 18. These trains will reach Gorakhpur at 8.50 am, the next day. The special trains will halt at Khalilabad, Basti, Gonda, Burhwal, Sitapur, Sitapur city, Bareilly, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Yamunanagar, Jagadhri, Ambala Cantonment, Ludhiana, Jalandhar city and Beas stations. — TNS Amritsar, February 26 Farmers’ body Jamhoori Kisan Sabha criticised the Centre for reducing the number of beneficiaries under the Prime Minister’s Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN). Kisan sabha state president Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala said initially, nearly 17 crore farmers were benefited under the yojana and now, only around three crore farmers were getting the benefit as the government decreased the number of beneficiaries. While accusing the Centre of playing into the hands of corporates, Ajnala said benefits to the industry were being increased but allocation for the agriculture sector had been decreased by Rs SIGNIFICANT DIP ❝ As compared to 17 crore farmers earlier, only three crore farmers are getting the benefit now. — Dr Satnam Singh A large number of kite flyers gather in Vallah village for celebrating “Kothe Da Mela” on Sunday. The fair is also known as “Maian da Mela” (fair of elderly women). TRIBUNE PHOTO Clear stand on Ram Bagh clubs, High Court tells state, ASI, MC Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 26 The Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) has asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Municipal Corporation (MC) and the state government to clear their stand on three elite clubs from the historic Ram Bagh. The clubs of Amritsar, including Service Club, Amritsar Club and Lumsden Club, had filed joint affi- davits in the past. In a recent hearing on February 23, the court of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Judge Arun Palli directed the ASI to file an affidavit, taking clear stand with regard to preservation and protection of three clubs, in reference to a letter filed by the Amritsar Club on November 25, 2022. All parties have to submit their affidavits till next date of hearing, which is March 28. ❞ Ajnala, JAMHOORI KISAN SABHA STATE PREZ 25,000 crore in the Union Budget. He said the Budget for MGNREGA had also been decreased by Rs 29,000 crore. “This is a big blow to the landless labourer class as MGNREGA ensured guaranteed work days and income. With decrease in Budget for MGNREGA, the number of work days and projects would also decrease as a result of which earnings of labourers would decrease,” he said. A view of the Company Bagh entry gate in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO Gang of bank robbers caught red-handed Beopar Mandal slams RBI for Were trying to break into a bank by gradual increase in repo rate digging a hole in the rear wall Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, February 26 The Tarn Taran sadar police on Saturday caught a five-member gang of robbers red-handed, when they were trying to loot a bank situated on the Tarn Taran-Khadoor Sahib road. Two country-made pistols, six cartridges, two sharpedged weapons and an elec- tric cutter have been recovered from their possession. Sri Goindwal Sahib DSP Arun Kumar said the members of the gang had been identified as Gurmukh Singh, Manpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Bohar Singh, and Mandeep Singh, all residents of Kairon village. The DSP said SHO Gurcharan Singh received a tip-off that a gang was planning to loot Kotak Mahindra Bank situated on Bath Road. Acting on the tip-off, a police party cordoned off the bank and nabbed all the five robbers when they were trying to break into the bank complex by digging a hole in the rear wall. The suspects were produced in a court on Sunday and sent into two-day police remand. The DSP said during their interrogation many cases of robbery were expected to be cracked. The Tarn Taran police with the five-member gang of robbers on Sunday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI c m y b On December 8, 2022, the HC had ordered the MC and state government to file affidavits to the amicus curiae. Punjab Assistant Advocate General and counsel appearing on behalf of Municipal Corporation requested for further time to file their response affidavit and the court has granted it. The affidavit on behalf of the Punjab Government will be filed through its Chief Secretary. Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 26 Members of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) slammed the Reverse Bank of India (RBI) for gradually increasing the repo rate and claimed that it was adding to the economic pressure on micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). A majority of the units in the city fall under the MSME sector. Last year, the RBI hiked the repo rate by 0.4 per cent in May, 0.5 per cent in June, 0.5 per cent in August, 0.5 per cent in September, 0.35 per cent in December and 0.25 per cent on February 8 this year. An average increase of 2.50 per cent in the repo rate in the last 10 months, which made the interest rate for MSMEs expensive, is directly affecting the expenditure of MSMEs. PPBM president Piara Lal Seth said the Centre had reduced or hiked the interest rate in small fractions to escape people’s attention. To equalise the price of diesel Says step adding to economic pressure on MSME sector with petrol, it had hiked the rate of the former in little proportions. Similarly, the rate of interest on small savings was reduced some years ago. He said the government claimed that repo rate had been increased to prevent rising inflation, but its opposite effect was being seen on the economy. The situation is resulting in stagnation of economy, rise in unemployment and inflation. On the other hand, consumption is declining, adversely affecting the factory output. Taking immediate cognizance, the government should give special relief to MSMEs in interest rates so that the pace of industrial activities in the country can accelerate. It is noteworthy that the scheme of two per cent interest subvention proposed to MSMEs should be implemented again, which would prove to be a milestone for the progress of the country. Deepak Khanna, who is operating an MSME unit, said the decision was casting a bad effect on MSMEs. An increase in the repo rate will require banks to pay more interest, which will make it difficult for enterprises to get loans from banks at a reasonable rate of interest. This would require them to pay more for their businesses to pay more interest. Already due to global recessionary trends, the MSME sector is not receiving enough orders from overseas. Man opens fire at kin’s house, one injured Amritsar, February 26 Upset over not being invited to a wedding, a man, along with his accomplices, created a ruckus and fired at the residence of his relatives in the Model Town area of Khandwala here last night. One person identified as Satpal Singh, a relative of the groom, was injured in the incident and was taken to a hospital. The police have booked Gursewak Singh and his unidentified accomplices. Raids are being carried out to nab them. The mother of the groom said they could not invite several relatives, including Gursewak, for some reasons. She said a function was underway at 10 pm, when Gursewak came there and started creating a scene and when she objected, he allegedly started using foul language and called his accomplices. They opened fire at the house and Satpal was injured. The miscreants later fled the scene. Chheharta SHO Gurwinder Singh said a case had been registered. — TNS