11052023-ATR-01.qxd 5/11/2023 12:30 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune HOUSES WITH HISTORY FADING DUE TO URBAN GROWTH JANHVI, GULSHAN DEVAIAH & ROSHAN TO HEADLINE ULAJH Upcoming film Ulajh, which is a thriller, is set in the intriguing world of Indian Foreign Services (IFS). P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 40°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 38°C | MIN 15°C TRAILER OF NEVER HAVE I EVER SEASON 4 UNVEILED The homes that noted historical figures of the city left behind have been quietly lost in time. P2 FORECAST It is a coming-of-age comedy about complicated life of a first-generation Indian-American teenage girl. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 7.17 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:36 AM » THURSDAY | 11 MAY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF 2 FALL PREY TO SNATCHERS Amritsar: Snatchers targeted two tourists here on Tuesday. Gautam Rana, a resident of Ambala City, said he, along with his friend, had come to visit Amritsar. He was going towards the Lohgarh gate area from Gobindgarh Fort. When they reached near a cow shelter, three motorcycle-borne youths tried to snatch his friend’s mobile phone. When he resisted their move, the suspects hit him with a sharp weapon. They snatched the mobile phone and fled from the spot. The police have registered a case and have initiated investigations into the matter. In another case, snatchers targeted another tourist when he, along with his wife, was going to a hotel after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple. Saket Kumar said a miscreant snatched his bag containing ~15,000 in cash, a mobile phone and some important documents. The police have registered a case. TNS THREE ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Amritsar: The Rajasansi police have arrested two persons, Sajan and Davinder Singh of Bagga Kalan village, for allegedly possessing drugs. The police confiscated 100 grams of heroin from Sajan and 50 grams of heroin from Davinder Singh. The police intercepted the car in which the duo was travelling. When the police signalled them to stop, they tried to flee. A case has been registered against the suspects. Further investigations were on into the matter. Meanwhile, the Mehta police arrested a person, Jaswant Singh of Nangali Kalan village, and recovered 10 grams of heroin from his possession. TNS Cops take out flag marches, Gurdaspur murder: Victim’s family accuses police of laxity search railway station, mall Says cops yet to nab Congress MLA’s father, 5 others Sniffer dogs pressed into service, passengers’ luggage checked OPERATION VIGIL Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 10 Police teams, along with paramilitary force and a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, led by senior police officials, today carried out a search operation and a flag march in various parts of the city under operation vigil. It was launched by the Punjab Police yesterday to against anti-social elements and drug peddlers. Special DGP Anita Punj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vatsala Gupta and AIG (NRI) Jagjit Singh Walia, along with the Punjab Police and the Railway Protection Force, carried out a search operation at the Amritsar railway station today. The police also used sniffer dogs to check length and breadth of the railway station complex. The police checked the luggage of passengers and questioned suspicious elements. The two-day operation vigil was launched by Punjab DGP Gaurav Paramilitary forces and Punjab Police personnel carry out a flag march in the walled city area in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR AIM TO BUILD CONFIDENCE AMONG PUBLIC Special DGP Anita Punj said the motive behind the operation vigil was to take action against anti-social elements and build confidence among the general public. She said the police would carry out intensive checks to nail drug traffickers and anti-social elements. Yadav yesterday. Dr Mehtab Singh, ADCP (City-I), led the flag march in the walled city area. The ACP (Central) and the ACP (South) also accompanied him. They, along with paramilitary force, held a flag march from the Hall Gate to Heritage Street. It was further conducted till the Lohgarh gate area. He said the march was aimed at incul- Tight vigil PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, May 10 The kin of Shubham, whose murder is being termed as an honour killing by locals, say the police were showing laxity in arresting Gurmeet Pahra and other five suspects. The body of Shubham, who was having an affair with a girl of a different caste, was recovered from the fields of Pahra village near here on May 7. The victim’s mother, Veena, had named Gurmeet Pahra, father of sitting Congress MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, in her complaint to the police as one of the accused. On the basis of her complaint, the police had registered an FIR under Section 302 of the IPC at the Tibber police station. Addressing a press conference here today, kin and friends of Shubham’s family said the cops were being lax in arresting the accused. “Though around 48 hours have passed since the mur- The body of Shubham, who was having an affair with a girl of a different caste, was recovered from the agricultural fields of Pahra village near Gurdaspur on May 7. The victim’s mother, Veena, had named Gurmeet Pahra, father of sitting Congress MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, in her complaint to the police as one of the accused. der took place, the police are still clueless. The MLA is steadfastly claiming that his father has no role in the murder. He should know that the youth’s body was recovered from the agricultural fields owned by one of his relatives,” said Happy Pahra, one of the organisers of the press conference. He said: “Gurmeet was involved in wrongdoings on several earlier occasions, but he managed to get out of his predicament because his son was a ruling party MLA from 2017 till 2022.” He said Pahras had been claiming that Shubham’s family had nothing to do with Pahra village and they were actual residents of Dera Baba Nanak. “If this is the case, then on what basis did the MLA give government grants to the family during his previous term when they were residing in Pahra village?” he questioned. Senior Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa and PPCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, have backed Pahra. They have agreed to hold a protest in Gurdaspur in the next few days to “extend the party’s support to Gurmeet Pahra.” Former councillor Sudhir Mahajan said: “The role of Gurmeet should be probed extensively”. Jagjit Singh Saroya, SP (Operations), said the police were looking into all angles of the murder. “There are certain technical issues to be resolved like the doctor’s report which is still awaited. Once we get the report, we will proceed accordingly,” he said. Encroachments eat up space on slip roads Tribune News Service Cops check the belongings of passengers at the railway station in Amritsar on Wednesday. Intensive checking troubles hoteliers HERITAGE STREET Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 10 Proprietors of hotels situated on both sides of the Heritage Street are complaining of intensive checking measures introduced in the wake of twin blasts. The hoteliers said they were not able to receive huge consignments brought in auto-rickshaws. Hotelier Satnam Singh Kanda said his family members and staff had to show identity proofs, especially Aadhaar cards, at police barricades. Rickshaws carrying commodities for hotels required special permission to cross a barricade. He said police officials at a barricade asked him to get nod from the ADCP “Is it practically . possible for an ordinary citizen to talk to the higher offi- cial daily?” he questioned. Surinder Singh, another hotelier, said tourists had to face problems in reaching hotels after parking vehicles. There were 400 hotels inside the walled city. They, at least, need rickshaws to reach hotels as the visiting families comprise old, infirm and children, besides bags and baggage. Similarly, shops selling merchandise on the Heritage Street are unable to replenish their items. Amritsar, May 10 Unavailability of slip roads, a major component of the surface infrastructure for commuters in most city areas because of factors like illegal encroachment by nearby shopkeepers or misuse for parking of vehicles is making travel troublesome. The slip have not been constructed in many areas of the city which puts the commuters in peril. The missing and encroached slip roads are proving costly for the commuters as they have to keep waiting for the road ahead to clear. The basic objective of these slip roads is to make the roads safe and troublefree. The idea behind the slip roads is to allow the commuters to move out to their left or right even when the traffic signals are red. It usually helps in decreasing the queues which allows vehicles to cross the intersection in less time. Even as the slip roads are available alongside the Vendors encroach upon a road in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR entire stretch of the GT road from Guru Harkrishan Public School to India Gate, a large portion of it is being used by the encroachers and for illegal parking. The residents stated that if these slip roads are made available for the slow moving traffic, this would decrease the rush on main roads. While the slip roads on Sale of ACs, fans, coolers yet to pick up pace in district Neeraj Bagga 70% DIP IN SALE OF ELECTRONIC GOODS Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 10 With long intensive summer heat proving to be elusive so far and night temperature remaining low, the sale of electronic gadgets such as air-conditioners, desert coolers and ceiling and pedestal fans is yet to gain pace in the district. Anil Kapoor, president of the Amritsar Distributors Association (ADA), said about 70 per cent decline in the sale of electronic goods was recorded this season in comparison to the corresponding period last year. So, an inventory of electronic gadgets piled up and retailers withheld the payment for the stocks. The retailers were citing the unsold stocks as proof BODY WAS RECOVERED FROM FIELDS ON MAY 7 Manmeet Singh Gill WOMAN’S CAR SET AFIRE, 9 BOOKED Tarn Taran: A car was set afire here on the night of May 2. Ravinder Kaur, owner of the car and a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Tarn Taran, had lodged a complaint with the police against Rajbir Singh, a resident of the same locality, Komal of Tarn Taran and seven unidentified persons. In her complaint to the Tarn Taran police, Ravinder alleged that Rajbir was having an old enmity with her for the past sometime. He poured some inflammable liquid on the car and set it on fire. She said the accused also damaged windowpanes of the vehicle. The police registered a case under Sections 435, 427, 506 and 149 of the IPC on Tuesday. OC cating sense of safety and security among the people. He appealed to public not to believe in rumours and confirm any information before posting it on the social media. Varinder Singh Khosa, ACP (North), along with cops, carried out a search operation at Trilllium Mall. He checked CCTV cameras and discussed security measures with the shopping mall authorities. Ravi Dhaliwal ❝About 70 per cent decline in sale of electronic goods was recorded this season in comparison to the corresponding period last year. So, an inventory of electronic gadgets piled up and retailers withheld the payment for the stocks. ❞ Anil Kapoor, PRESIDENT, AMRITSAR DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION POWER DEMAND LOW, CLAIM OFFICIALS A customer at an electronics shop in Amritsar. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR of a slow start to summer this year, he added. Kapoor said usually a major proportion of the sale of air-conditioners, desert coolers, fans and other items in the district took place between February and April. This time, the trend was reversed and nearly 70 per cent of the stocks remained unsold. Rough estimates of the ADA suggested that between 15,000 and 20,000 PSPCL officials also accepted that the demand for power was below the corresponding period last year. They said a large number of households would continue to avail of the rebate of up to 600 units of domestic power in the bimonthly billing. units of air-conditioner, 30,000 and 40,000 units of desert cooler and over 1 lakh unit fans are sold every year in the local market. Balwant Singh, a retailer, said the demand for summer c m y b goods has remained subdued this season, making their plans go adrift. Even the demand for power did not go up in comparison to the hot days witnessed in April and May. For this rea- son, a large number of people have not switched on their ACs. Obviously, the reason lies in the fact that moderate temperature and cool breeze forced a considerably large number of households to avoid using ACs at night. PSPCL officials also accepted that the demand for power was below the corresponding period last year. They said a large number of households would continue to avail of the rebate of up to 600 units of domestic power in the bimonthly billing. Traders dealing in summer household items are now hoping that the weather god would extract them out of the trouble of unsold inventory. A rise in temperature would equally zoom up the demand for electronic articles. many major stretches are missing, the administration installed plastic traffic cones to demarcate the passage for drivers so that they can take a left turn without waiting for the traffic signal to turn green. In the absence of any enforcement, the vehicles which have to go straight can be seen blocking the passage. As per the surface transport rules, all four directions of a road must ideally have four concrete structures of about two-feet high to distinguish the slip roads from the main road. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said slip roads have been demarcated using plastic cones at most of the traffic intersections. He said these are still missing at places and necessary provisions would be be made for this soon. Youth booked for raping, abducting 19-year-old girl Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 10 The Lopoke police have booked a youth on the charges of rape and abduction. The suspect, identified as Hardeep Singh, a resident of Jheeta Kalan village, is yet to be arrested. The 19-year-old victim told the police that Hardeep used to come to meet his sister living in her neighbourhood. They entered into an affair during this period. She alleged that he started pressuring her for marriage. In February last year, he took her to his Jheeta Kalan village where he forcibly used to develop physical relations with her, following which she got pregnant. The girl alleged that the suspect now started beating her on one pretext or the other. Her father brought her back after she told him about his behaviour. On her complaint, the police have registered a case against Hardeep Singh under Sections 363, 366-A and 376 of the IPC. The police said raids were on to nab the suspect.