19052023-JTR-01.qxd 5/19/2023 12:15 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune SEWA KENDRAS START ISSUING DIGITAL RECEIPTS URVASHI IS CALLED AISHWARYA AT CANNES RED CARPET CELEBS SHARE TIPS TO STAY HEALTHY AND IN SHAPE Paperless fee payment receipts system launched across all Sewa Kendras in Jalandhar. P2 Urvashi Rautela was mistaken for Aishwarya Rai at the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival. P3 Physical fitness is crucial. A healthy body reduces the risk of chronic diseases, says Muskan Verma. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 39°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 38°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7:19 PM » SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:29 AM FRIDAY | 19 MAY 2023 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF 2 DRUG PEDDLERS IN POLICE NET Phagwara: The police nabbed a drug smuggler on Wednesday night and recovered 10 grams of heroin from his possession. Superintendent of Police Mukhtiar Rai said the suspect had been identified as Baljinder Singh of Sohita village. The suspect was nabbed at a checkpoint near the Santokhpura locality in Phagwara. In another case, the police arrested a drug peddler on Wednesday night and recovered 250 intoxicating tablets from his possession. The suspect has been identified as Aman of Subhash Nagar. He was arrested near Basra Palace, Phagwara. The police have registered cases. OC Dist sees increase in stubble burning cases 431 incidents reported so far this year; camps of little use PROCLAIMED OFFENDER HELD Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) who was absconding for the past few months. Investigating officer Balvir Chand said the accused had been identified as Surjit Singh, a resident of a village under the Dharam Kot police station. The suspect was wanted in a case of illegal sand mining. OC MAN NABBED FOR SNATCHING PHONE Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a Mehatpur resident on the charge of snatching a mobile phone. Investigating officer (IO) Balvir Chand said the suspect had been identified as Rajan. Satish Kumar of Shahkot Mohalla complained to the police that the suspect and his accomplice had snatched his phone on the night of April 25 as he was about to close his shop. A case has been registered. OC A farmer burns wheat stubble in a field on the outskirts of Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 18 There seems to be no let-up in stubble burning cases. This year, the number of stubble burning cases in the district has already touched 431 and it is expected to increase in the coming days. Only 33 cases were reported from the district in 2021. The Agriculture Department has been organising camps to make farmers aware of the ill-effects of stubble burning, but it failed to check the rising number of cases. Officials of the department said a maximum number of stubble burning cases were reported from Jalandhar in the past two days. LONG WAY TO GO There are good examples where farmers have started using the stubble in other ways, rather than just burning it. They plough it back into the soil and also use it as fodder for the cattle. However, the official data shows that there is still a long way to go. The increasing number of stubble burning cases is alarming. Experts said farmers burn stubble as they find it easy and no cost is involved in it. It has become a habit now. The experts had earlier stated that stubble burning kills friendly worms in the soil and also makes the soil infertile. “If we want to protect our environment, it is important to stop burning stubble,” they said. Farmers from Bajra village in Kartarpur said they used to burn stubble earlier. Now, they had stopped the practice as they don’t want to contribute to polluting the environment anymore. There are good examples where farmers have started using the stubble in other ways, rather than just burning it. They plough it back into the soil and also use it as fodder for the cattle. However, the official data shows that there is still a long way to go. A farmer from Shahkot who has been burning stubble said it was the easier way to get rid of the stubble. 13-year-old girl accuses two youths of rape Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 18 A 13-year-old girl has accused two youths of raping her in Basti Danishmanda. According to the victim, the incident took place on Thursday morning when she was on her way to school. The girl alleged that the two youths dragged her from the road near the school to a secluded area and raped her. Though police officials from Division Number 5 have acknowledged a complaint in this regard, they are yet to ascertain the girl’s account. The cops claim to have CCTV footage doesn’t back girl’s claim, say cops scrutinised footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area, but found nothing to substantiate the girl’s claim. Moreover, the duo accused of rape was reportedly at work at the time of the incident. “This inconsistency raises doubts over the victim’s accusation. We are currently investigating all angles. We will also look into the possibility of a past dispute between the victim’s family and the duo,” a police official said. He emphasised the need to verify the girl’s allegations thoroughly before taking any further step in this regard. An investigation is under way. Woman duped of ~15L, 2 booked Our Correspondent Phagwara, May 18 The Lohian Khas police have booked two travel agents for allegedly duping a woman, a resident of Kapurthala village, of ~15 lakh on the pretext of sending her son abroad. The investigating officer (IO) said the suspects had been identified as Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Fateh Pur Bhangwan village, and Gurjant Singh, a resident of Kotha village. The investigating officer said Manjit Kaur, wife of Mukhtiar Singh, complained to the Jalandhar (rural) SSP that she paid ~15 lakh to the suspects for facilitating his son’s migration abroad. However, they neither sent him abroad nor returned the money. The investigating officer said a case under Sections 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professions Regulation Act had been registered against the suspects. Travel agent held for duping woman Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have arrested a travel agent for duping a woman of ~1.74 lakh on the pretext of sending her son abroad. Jalandhar DSP Headquarters (rural) Harjit Singh said the suspect had been identified as Sahib Singh, a resident of Thabalke Road, Jandiala village. Baljindar Kaur of Sagarpur village had complained to the Jalandhar (rural) SSP that she had paid Rs 1.74 lakh to the suspect for facilitating her son’s migration abroad. However, the suspect neither sent him abroad and nor returned the money. The DSP said a case had been registered under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professions Regulation Act, 2014, against the suspect. — OC Train services off track Passenger stranded at the railway station as several trains either got cancelled or delayed due to the protest at Jalandhar city railway station on Thursday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Mann shows support for newly-elected MP Rinku Hints he will have major say in development schemes, Municipal Corporation elections Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 18 Giving out a message loud and clear to the officials and leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Jalandhar that the newly-elected MP Sushil Rinku was their boss, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had in his Jalandhar event yesterday ensured that he sat next to him. As Mann announced doles of nearly Rs 100 crore for improving civic amenities in Jalandhar, the only AAP leader present with him was Rinku. Mann even specified that though the larger guidelines for the use of funds for civic amenities would be spelt out shortly, all funds would be used as per the proposals reaching the new MP This clearly . meant that Rinku, who has been a councillor and MLA and knows the city profile well, had been authorised to use the funds as per his discretion and wisdom. This also clearly indicated that the forthcoming Jalandhar Municipal Corporation elections would be fought under his supervision and that he would have a final say in most local level decision-making. By making Rinku big, the West MLA Sheetal Angural. Angural is learnt to have completely skipped yesterday’s AAP event of ‘Sarkar tuhade dwaar’ as he was not even present at Cabbana Resort. Four MPs from Jalandhar Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann with newly elected AAP MP Sushil Kumar Rinku in Jalandhar. PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH CM has also indirectly decimated the stature of local MLAs, especially Jalandhar Mann had repeatedly said yesterday, “We have made Jalandhar exceptionally powerful. We have four MPs from one area. Other than Rinku, we already have environmentalist Balbir S Seechewal, LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal and cricketer Harbhajan Singh as MPs from here. No such precedent prevailed in Jalandhar in previous years.” Punjab team has outdone Delhi, says CM Perhaps trying to assert more power since the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll win, Mann had yesterday also mentioned at his Cabbana Resort speech, “Among all the teams of AAP across the country, Punjab team is the best. Earlier it was Delhi, since it was in the national capital that AAP started to grow. But now, I have been telling AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal that we can organise a contest of all teams and I am sure that the Punjab team will outdo the rest in terms of roadshows, publicity and carrying out the message of the government to the masses.” Farmers, under the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, hold a rail roko protest at the Jalandhar Cantonment railway station on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH 2 vehicle thieves held DC office employees call off pen-down strike Tribune News Service The suspect in custody of the Phillaur police. Phagwara, May 18 The Phillaur police arrested a vehicle thief and recovered three stolen motorcycles from his possession last night. The suspect has been identified as Gobinda, a resident of Samraddi village under the Phillaur police station. DSP Jagdish Raj said the suspect had confessed to his involvement in three different cases of vehicles theft at Ludhiana, Phillaur and Garhshankar. A case under Section 379 and 411 of IPC has been registered. In another case, the Phagwara police arrested a motorcycle thief, Manu Kumar of Gobindpura, and recovered a stolen bike from his possession. The police have registered a case under Section 379 of IPC. — OC Jalandhar, May 18 Employees of the DC office, under the banner of the DC Daftar Karamchari Union, gathered at the District Administrative Complex and staged a protest here today. Earlier in the morning, they had announced to hold a sixday pen-down strike from May 18 to 23 over non-fulfilment of their long pending demands. However, the protesting employees later decided to call off the strike after getting assurance from the state government regarding a meeting scheduled for June 6. The functioning of the DC office was noticeably affected due to the protest in the morning hours. A notification was released by the Chief Get assurance from govt regarding meeting on June 6 Employees of the DC office hold a protest in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Minister’s office in the afternoon stating that a meeting had been arranged with the Punjab Raj Zila (DC) Daftar Karamchari Union on June 6 at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh. After getting the infor- c m y b mation, the protesters promptly ended their strike and resumed work. Tejinder Singh, state president of the union, said they had held a number of protests in the past few years seeking resolution to their long-pending demands, but in vain. Singh mentioned that the administration had initially scheduled a meeting with the Punjab CM on May 17, following the Cabinet meeting. However despite waiting for several hours, the CM left without meeting them. Frustrated over the turn of events, they took a decision to hold a six-day pen-down strike. Singh emphasised the union’s request for the revival of old pension scheme, release of arrears for dearness allowance, restoration of other grants and filling vacant posts of superintendent and tehsil based on the terms and conditions of 1995. Other demands include rural area and FTA allowances and toll exemption. Members of the union said AAP had promised to fulfil their genuine demands during the Assembly elections. However even after a year, no tangible progress had been made to address their concerns. Biker killed in road accident Our Correspondent Phagwara, May 18 A youth died on the spot while pillion rider suffered serious injuries after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a car near Narur village in the Phagwara subdivision today. The deceased has been identified as Karambir Singh of Bhungarani village. The injured person, identified as Jai Singh, is admitted to the Civil Hospital here. The police have registered a case under Sections 304A, 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC against the car driver. They police handed over the body to his family members after the postmortem examination.