18032023-ATR-01.qxd 3/17/2023 11:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY COME APRIL 1, DIESEL AUTOS TO BE SEIZED IN THE CITY SWARA, FAHAD AHMAD HOST WEDDING RECEPTION IN DELHI KANJOOS MAKHICHOOS LAST PERFORMANCE OF LATE RAJU To curb pollution in the city, diesel auto-rickshaws found plying will be impounded from April 1 . P2 At the reception, Swara wore a zardosi marodi ghagra. Fahad complimented her in a reshamand sherwani. P3 MAX 25°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 17°C Kanjoos Makhichoos, the comedydrama directed by Vipul Mehta, will premiere on ZEE5 on March 24. P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 5.32 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:28 AM » SATURDAY | 18 MARCH 2023 | AMRITSAR Rain, strong wind damage wheat crop in Majha region INBRIEF YOUTH DIES, TWO HURT IN MISHAP Amritsar: A youth identified as Sajan Singh (26) lost his life and his two friends were injured after a pick-up truck hit their tractortrailer here yesterday. The police booked the driver of the truck, identified as Sarvan Singh of Vairowal village. The father of the deceased, Kashmir Singh, said his son Sajan, along with his friends, was going to the Vallah vegetable market around 3.15am when the incident happened. A case has been registered by the police in this regard. TNS TWO HELD WITH 120-GM HEROIN Activists of the KMSC demand compensation from state govt Tribune News Service MP Vikramjit Sahney and Sandeep Kaura, Adviser to National Skill Development Corporation, hand over certificates to candidates during a job mobilisation camp in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR NSDC all set to start online int’l job fair; registration on Tribune News Service Amritsar: The Cantonment police arrested Jasbir Singh, alias Jass, a resident of the Gwalmandi area, for allegedly possessing 120-gm heroin. A probe is underway to ascertain the source of the drug. Meanwhile, the Maqboolpura police nabbed Karandeep Singh of Jawahar Nagar on Mehta Road with 100-gm heroin. After a probe, the police booked Raja Budda and Sitar of the Maqboolpura area in the case. Raids are being conducted to arrest the Amritsar, March 17 The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is all set to initiate a first-of-itskind online international job fair stretching for over three months. Stating this, Sandeep Kaura, Adviser to the NSDC, said registration for the pan-India job fair could be done till April 19. He along with Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Sahney inaugurated a three-day international job mobilisation camp at Multi Skill Development Centre here on Friday. Kaura said then a wing of the Cambridge University would conduct a language test to adjudge the language proficiency of the candidates. Thereafter, the shortlisted candidates would have choice to apply for the countries and companies of their choice. It will be a two-way process as overseas companies will also shortlist candidates of their choice. In the next stage, 13-day preliminary choice tests and interviews will be conducted. At last, trade tests would be conducted in which employers could ask the shortlisted candidates to go to a particular place to show their skills. Finally in June, officials of those companies in person would hand over job letters to the selected candidates. Kaura said the NSDC would provide pre-departure training to those candidates who would be selected to orient them with the culture and environment of that country. Sahney said the candidates with the requisite skills and experience in various trades like automotive, carpenters, construction, drivers, electricians, F&B, health, continued on page 2 Amritsar, march 17 Heavy rain accompanied by high-velocity winds damaged wheat crop in many villages of the districts of Amritsar and Tarn Taran on Thursday night. The wheat crop, which is nearing maturity, is already affected due to the unusual rise in the temperatures during the last month. The flattening of crop may affect the yield. The grain quality would also suffer with the flattening of the crop. Agricultural experts claim that rain cannot cause much damage to the wheat crop, but the wind can cause incurable damage to the crop at this stage. Today, most of the loss was suffered by those farmers who had irrigated the crops during the last one or two days. However, last week when the temperature was high, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) had issued a guideline in which experts had suggested the farmers to irrigate their wheat crop. Sandeep Singh, Agriculture A farmer examines the damage caused to his wheat crop after rain near Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Development Officer (ADO), said, “The wheat crop was in earring stage and most of the farmers had irrigated the fields. The high-velocity winds and rain resulted in the flattening of the wheat crop. The damage has been reported from almost all parts of the district on a very large scale.” The early-sown wheat varieties faced more damage than the low height crops. The rain also flattened the hopes of the farmers. Owing to unusual high temperature at this time of year, it was being observed that the yield of wheat crop would suffer, but the rain and wind caused much more damage to the crops. Tejindepal Singh, a farmer from Raspulpur village, said the plants were heavy from the top and wind uprooted the plants in some isolated parts of fields. The yield of the crop would suffer greatly. There would be luster loss of mature crops. The Mand area alongside of the Beas and the border area were worst-affected.” Dalbir Singh, a farmer of Chohla Sahib area, said the flattening of the crop was reported from various villages like Dhunn Dhai Wala, Kambo, Jaohal Dhai Wala, Gharka, Chamba, Karmunwala and Mundapind. Sukhjinder Singh, farmer and former sarpanch of Rattoke village, said the wheat crop in Rattoke, Darajke, Gazal, Machhike, Dasuwal, Bhura, Maddar, Mathra and Khemkaran villages too was badly damaged. Activists of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, organised a meeting at Thathia Mahantan village and demanded compensation from the government for the crop loss. “The government should announce the compensation and conduct a survey of the damaged crop. We urge Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to intervene in the matter so that farmers could heave a sigh of relief,” said Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. Irregular door-to-door garbage Khalsa College hostel MBBS students write to High collection upsets city residents girl dies by suicide Court Chief Justice to file FIR Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 17 Door-to-door garbage collection has disrupted at many areas in the city as the civic body has deployed workers of the solid waste management company and vehicles at the venue of G20 Summit. People living in out areas of the city are the worst hit, despite no movement of G20 Summit candidates in the area. The vehicles are not collecting the garbage from localities situated on Vallah Bypass for the last four days. Residents of inner city areas also complaining the same. The solid waste management company, Averda, is already facing shortage of vehicles as a large number of collection vehicles are lying defunct. The Garbage gets accumulated in a locality in Amritsar on Friday. company officials had assured to add some more vehicles and repair the old ones but due to scarcity of funds they didn’t fulfil the promises. continued on page 2 Amritsar, March 17 Tanika Sharma (22), a firstyear student of Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) in Khalsa College, ended her life by hanging in her hostel room here on Thursday night. The shocking incident occurred at a time when international delegates were in the city to attend the G20 Summit being held on the Khalsa College premises. As per a preliminary probe, the victim was upset for the past few days as she could not do well in her exams. It has been learnt that she had also made a video on her mobile before taking the extreme step. The college management informed the family members of the incident in the night. The police took the body into possession and handed over the same to her family after an autopsy. The Cantonment police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174, CrPC, in this connection. As per information, a resident of Nurpur in Himachal Pradesh, Tanika Sharma enrolled in BPT in August 2022. Dharminder Kalyan, SHO, Cantonment police station, said the incident came to light when some fellow student found her hanging. They informed the warder and the security personnel who informed the police. “In the video, she said she could not do anything in her life and therefore she quit,” he said. Her mobile was taken into custody by the police. — TNS Say charges being levelled are hurtful and baseless PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 17 MBBS students of Sri Guru Ramdas Institute of Health Sciences today shot off a letter to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court urging them to register an FIR against those who were allegedly defaming the institute and the students following the unfortunate demise of fellow student Dr Pamposh, who was doing an internship at the medical college after completing her MBBS. As many as 239 students of the institute had signed the application seeking the intervention of the High Court. They pointed out that several persons and organisations SUICIDE CASE were indulging in a false propaganda by levelling allegations of sexual assault and murder against them even as there were no such findings in the post-mortem report to support these charges. “We are extremely disheartened and shocked to hear about such baseless allegations levelled at us. Such persons are creating a state of fear among the students by threatening on social media. This is not only unjust to the students but an insult to the departed soul also,” they pointed out. The videos on social media have led to a state of extreme uncertainty and the issue was Got justice at long last but quantum of VC urges former students to punishment not adequate, says family support pupils in employment Kidnapping case Fight for justice leads to conviction of cops by CBI court PK Jaiswar FOUGHT BATTLE FOR 31 YEARS Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 17 “We suffered the trauma caused by the loss of my father for years and faced mental harassment from the accused for three decades. However, the sentence to the guilty cops is a case of too late, too little,” said Sandeep Singh, son of Kuldeep Singh, a clerk at the Central Cooperative Bank in Amritsar who was kidnapped and kept in illegal detention by three Punjab Police men before his mysterious disappearance in June 1992. The family though expressed its satisfaction that finally it had been proved that Kuldeep Singh was kidnapped by the police and the accused stood convicted. But they added that they would approach a higher court against the ‘insufficient’ ❝ For 31 years, we had been fighting a lone and long legal fight to see this day. I was 8 years old when my father Kuldeep Singh was kidnapped and killed. My mother Kashmir Kaur was just 32 years old and she had four children to look after. It was a difficult time. — Sandeep Singh, SON OF VICTIM ❞ sentence awarded after consulting with their lawyers. Sandeep Singh said that for 31 years, they had been fighting a lone and long legal fight to see this day. “I was of 8 years when my father Kuldeep Singh was kidnapped and killed. My mother Kashmir Kaur was just 32 years old and she had four children to look after,” he said, while adding that it was a difficult time. “Police continued to raid our house for years. I got a job in a bank on compassionate grounds,” said Sandeep who is now a branch manager. The CBI court at Mohali on Thursday convicted two Punjab Police officials on the charge of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, illegal confinement and destruction of evidence regarding the mysterious disappearance of Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Kotli Saru Khan near Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran, from Amritsar. The Tarn Taran police picked him up on June 2, 1992, and kept him in illegal detention. Kuldeep Singh was summoned by Verowal police regarding his alleged links with a militant, namely, Gurmukh Singh Nagoke. He was last seen in the CIA staff, Tarn Taran, till July 1992. The CBI carried out probe and filed a charge-sheet against then CIA staff inspector Gurdev Singh, constable Jhirmal Singh and SHO Verowal police station Suba Singh. Gurdev Singh died during the trial and therefore proceedings against him were abated. Jhirmal Singh was jailed for five years while Suba Singh was imprisoned for three years. c m y b GNDU ALUMNI MEET Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 17 Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) hosted its annual alumni meet today by welcoming its illustrious former students from across the country. Cabinet Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjer, who is also an alumnus of the GNDU, inaugurated the meet and addressed the gathering by hailing the university’s journey as one of the premier institutions of higher education in India. A large number of alumni of the university from wide range of spheres like judiciary, IAS, PCS, defence services and corporate sector joined the meet. Nijjar, while reminiscing on his days as a student in university, shared, “I am also product of this univer- Cabinet Minister Dr Inderbir Nijjer opens GNDU’s annual alumni meet in Amritsar on Friday. The GNDU VC is flanked by him. sity and still recall the memories how we lived in hostel, went to library and sitting for long gossips sessions while enjoying samosa and tea in the canteen. These days are carefree for students, while also being quite critical.” Another alumnus and AAP leader MLA Dr Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh shared fond memories of the campus. “I still feel that I am studying in the university,” he said. He appreciated the Vice-Chancellor’s efforts to uplift this university at international level and he also brought this in the notice of Vidhan Sabha. Prof Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, said, “Our alumni are holding key positions in the academics, continued on page 2 being raised to create disharmony among the students of all colleges in Punjab, said the students. They urged the High Court Chief Justice to take action against internet bullying, harassment and spread of false information under the IT Act. Dr Pamposh had committed suicide at the college hostel on the intervening night of March 8-9. Following the statement of her mother, the police had booked 10 persons including two professors, doctors and students. A student was also arrested by the police in this connection. In the aftermath of the tragedy, it was also being said that the intern was allegedly being subjected to caste-based slurs. 1 inmate injured in Goindwal jail clash Tarn Taran, March 17 An inmate of Goindwal Sahib jail was seriously injured after being attacked by a group of other inmates here on Thursday. A video of the clash that took place in the Goindwal Sahib complex has created a new controversy for the administration. In the video, the injured inmate, identified as Gurcharan Singh, complained that four other inmates attacked him on Thursday and cut his ear in two parts. The jail authorities had denied to send him to an appropriate hospital outside the complex as the injuries were required to be stitched and this was not possible in the jail hospital. DSP Arun Kumar said a case against four jail inmates had been registered under relevant sections of the IPC. — OC