31082023-ATR-01.qxd 8/31/2023 12:53 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY A SPECIAL RAKHI FOR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, BSF JAWANS VIKRANT TO PORTRAY RUSKIN BOND’S JOURNEY IN FILM HISTORY TV18 TO SHOW GREATEST MYSTERIES: STOLEN NAZI TREASURE The children with special needs put on a special exhibition featuring a display of handmade rakhis, gift bags. P2 Actor Vikrant Massey to collaborate with director Niranjan Iyengar for a film based on author Ruskin Bond’s life. P3 The hour-long investigative episode will ride through annals of the history on September 2 at 9 pm. P4 » » » MAX 36°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.56 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:05 AM THURSDAY | 31 AUGUST 2023 | AMRITSAR Inspector held for embezzlement of ~1.24 cr wheat Tarn Taran, August 30 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrested Pungrain inspector (Grade-1) Bikramjit Singh on Wednesday on the charge of embezzlement in wheat stock and causing losses over Rs 1.24 crore to the state exchequer during his posting as Pungrain godowns incharge at Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran district. The suspect was presently posted in Gurdaspur and had been placed under suspension. A VB spokesperson said the technical team had conducted a surprise inspection at Pungrain godowns in Khadoor Sahib and found 989 quintals of wheat worth Rs 1.24 crore missing from the stock stored in godowns from 2019 to 2021. The spokesman said a case had been registered against the inspector at the VB police station, Amritsar Range. He said investigation was in progress to find moveable and immoveable properties of the suspect. — OC Woman, paramour end lives by jumping into gurdwara sarovar Tarn Taran, August 30 Woman and her paramour committed suicide by jumping into the sarovar of historical Gurdwara Damdama Sahib near Khadoor Sahib on Tuesday. Their bodies were recovered and cremated by members of the respective families on Wednesday in Khadoor Sahib. The Goindwal Sahib police said the deceased had been identified as Jagjit Singh (25), a resident of Khadoor Sahib, and Gurpreet Kaur (35), wife of Nirmal Singh, also from Khadoor Sahib. Jagjit was unmarried and Gurpreet was the mother of two kids. Balbir Singh, a relative of Jagjit, said he had developed illicit relations with Gurpreet, who was his neighbour in the village. Both wanted to marry each other. Due to some odd circumstances neither Jagjit’s family was ready to accept this relationship nor Gurpreet’s kin wanted her to marry again without getting divorce and leave her kids behind. Before ending their lives by suicide, Jagjit informed his aunt (mother’s sister) on cellphone that they were going to take the extreme step. Inspector Sukhbir Singh, SHO, Goindwal Sahib, said a report under Section 174 of the CrPC had been registered in this regard. — OC Bori’s pictures with leaders 7 arrested with 2.2 kg of heroin surface on social media Kamal Bori (right in black shirt) with Congress MP Gurjit Aujla, and (right) Bori with AAP MLA Dr Jasbir Singh in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTOS PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 30 After his videos and pictures with senior police officials, today pictures of alleged gangster Kamal Kumar, alias Bori, surfaced on social media with local Member of Parliament and prominent Congress leader Gurjit Singh Aujla and AAP’s Amritsar (West) MLA Dr Jasbir Singh. In a picture with Aujla, former Congress MLAs Sunil Datti and Jugal Kishore Sharma are also seen. Interestingly, following his pictures and videos with cops, Aujla had on August 26 shot off a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann seeking strict action against drug peddlers, gambling rackets and dens which were breeding ground for the organised crime. He had accused the government of not taking decisive action at the ground level despite lot of hue and cry. Aujla had alleged that big fish were still roaming free and criminal and unholy nexus was thriving with impunity in the district. “As an elected representa- ❝ Some pictures might have been taken during public meetings, but that does not mean we have links with Bori. I am ready for any probe, but investigations should also be carried out against those policemen with whom his pictures surfaced. ❞ Gurjit Aujla, CONGRESS MP tive of the public and a concerned citizen of Punjab I want to draw your attention to an alarming issue that is currently plaguing our society — the rapid rise of new gambling trends (dara satta) — that are becoming a breeding ground for drug peddlers, organised crime and the alleged involvement of certain Punjab Police officials and high-ranking individuals in these activities,” Aujla pointed out in the letter to the CM. Aujla, who is currently in the USA, said he was ready for any probe for his links with Bori or any other antisocial elements. ❝ Bori might have come with some issues of his area. As elected representative of my constituency, a number of people come to meet me for solution of their grievances. I don’t have any links with him or any other anti-social elements. ❞ Dr Jasbir Singh, AAP MLA “Some pictures might have been taken during public meetings, but that does not mean we have links with each other. I am ready for any probe, but investigations should also be carried out against those police officials with whom his pictures surfaced in the recent past. The Punjab Police have failed to take appropriate action against them,” he said. AAP MLA Dr Jasbir Singh denied any link with Bori. “He might have come with some issues of his area. As elected representative of my constituency, a number of people come to meet me for solution of their grievances. I don’t have any link with him or any other anti- social elements,” he said. Bori, facing over 15 criminal cases of different nature, was arrested by the police on Saturday in a wrongful confinement and Arms Act case lodged by a pharma trader and was currently on police remand. He was arrested a day after his videos with cops surfaced on social media. They were invited by Kumar Darshan, chairman, Paavan Valmiki Tirath Action Committee, to his birthday party in a hotel on August 7. However, the pictures went viral on social media recently leading to a controversy. After facing a backlash, the police shifted five inspectors and two DSPs to Malerkotla and Mansa, respectively. Nevertheless, pictures of HS Dhaliwal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, taken at the same function, and that of Parminder Singh Bhandal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), also came to light. The two officials refuted charges of any link with Bori. Tarn Taran, August 30 Seven suspects were arrested and 2.232 kg of heroin was seized from their possession from different places in the district on Tuesday evening. The police also seized one country-made pistol with one cartridge and two bikes. The value of the recovered consignment is Rs 11.16 crore in the international market. Preetinder Singh, DSP , Bhikhiwind, said on Wednesday, two suspects were arrested with 1.762 kg of heroin by the Khalra police. Inspector Balwinder Singh, SHO, was leading the patrol party which arrested the suspects. The DSP said the suspects had been identified as Gurlal Singh Guri of Kalas Khalra and Lovpreet Singh Lov of Buraj -169 (Chabal). The DSP said the suspects had links with smugglers The two suspects in custody of the Khalra police. TRIBUNE PHOTO across the border and further investigation was in progress. In the second incident, the Goindwal Sahib police arrested two motorcycle-borne suspects and recovered 370 gm of heroin, a country-made pistol and a bike from them. The suspects had been identified as Ravinder Singh Raja of Hotian and Buta Singh Banian. In the third incident, Sarabjit Singh Kali and Arashdeep Singh Kali of Minanwind were arrested with 50 gm of heroin by the Verowal police. In the fourth incident, the Sarhali police arrested Shamsher Singh of Thathian Mahantan village with 50 gm of heroin. The suspects were booked under various sections of the NDPS Act. — OC Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan begin on Sept 2 Tribune News Service Firemen douse flames in the Dhab Basti Ram area of Amritsar. Fire breaks out at 3 storey building in walled city Amritsar, August 30 It took over three-and-ahalf-hours for the vigilant staff of the fire brigade to douse flames in a threestorey building housing a shop and confectionery godown in Khoti Bazaar, situated near Dhab Basti Ram, inside the walled city here on Wednesday. Over four tenders were pressed in service to control the raging flames which threatened the adjoining buildings. Firemen said they had to struggle as the road outside the building was hardly eight-foot-wide. Fire station at the Gilwali gate received a phone call informing its staff about the fire that broke out at 10:38 am. The firemen managed to douse the flames by 2:15 pm. A fire tender from adjoining fire station at the Beri gate was also called at the spot. No loss of life or injury was reported in the incident. — TNS Amritsar, August 30 Registration for ‘Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan’ commenced on Wednesday. Under the flagship sports championship, a block-level competition in various disciplines will commence from September 2. These games will be held in nine different blocks of the district. The event will conclude on September 10. Sukhchain Singh, District Sports Officer, said competitions in disciplines like athletics, football, kabaddi (national style), kabaddi (circle style), kho-kho, tug-of-war, volleyball smashing, volleyball and others will be held. March taken out in support of MLA No check on misuse of footpaths in city Amritsar, August 30 Local residents and supporters of Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh took out a march in his support after Valmiki organisations criticised him for his comments against a local gangster Kamal Bori, who is presently in police custody. Notably, a video of Kamal Bori attending a party with five inspectors and two DSPs had gone viral on social media platforms recently after which the MLA had taken up the matter with senior officials and the cops were transferred out. However, this did not go Residents hold a march in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR down well with the Valmiki organisations which started to build pressure against the former top cop. Expressing solidarity with the MLA, his supporters demanded that the police-politician-gangster nexus should be broken. “We support Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh for raising his voice against the police-gangster nexus. People from all religions, communities and caste want a peaceful environment,” said Ankur Gupta, a local activist. — TNS Amritsar, August 30 From parking vehicles to setting up illegal stalls to display goods, footpaths in the city are available for everyone except for pedestrians, the very first reason they have been designed and constructed. Such illegal activities can also be witnessed on a stretch of the Mall road adjacent to Company Bagh, which has no shop or commercial establishment, as people visiting a private hospital and a shopping mall on the opposite side of the stretch use the footpath to park their vehicles. An illegal parking of vehicles on Mall Road in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR At spots, where no vehicle is parked, one can see rehris (hand-drawn carts) belonging to an influential local leader. In commercial markets which have shops, there is an acute problem of parking of vehicles on footpaths. In market places, shopkeepers consider it their right to use the space in front of their shops for displaying their goods and renting these out to street vendors. A local resident Sukhwant Singh said while the government was spending huge amount on improving city’s infrastructure, officials were not concerned if it was available for the people in reality. He said all footpaths had been beautifully paved with tiles but none was available for pedestrians. A drive around the city would reveal that the entire stretch of the Mall road leading from Custom Chowk to Novelty Chowk was being used for parking vehicles. continued on page 2 Unpaved streets, insanitary conditions residents’ bane GNDU releases schedule for exam WARD WATCH WARD NO 72 AMRITSAR Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 30 It is hard for the residents of Prem Nagar, South City and Dhapai in Ward No. 72 of the municipal corporation (MC) to believe that they are living in a city which has been accorded the twin status of a Smart City and a Heritage City for they are still strug- Pigs roam at Prem Nagar in Amritsar. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR gling to get basic amenities such as paved streets and clean drinking water. A visit to the area revealed that most streets in Prem Nagar and Dhapai are unpaved and at a lower level than houses. The residents have laid the foundation of their houses at a higher level to prevent rainwater from entering the premises. They have to climb two or three stairs to enter their homes. Satnam Singh, a resident complained, “If one goes to localities in the Civil Lines area and visits Prem Nagar and Dhapai, he/she would find that both these areas are different worlds. Streets and roads in the posh areas are recarpeted after regular intervals. We still don’t have paved streets here.” He said residents faced trouble whenever it rained. Many plots in these areas are vacant as the MC has failed to provide basic facilities here. “All these plots were purchased by the people who wanted to construct their c m y b homes here. But seeing the condition of the area, who would want to live here,” said another resident Sunil Kumar. He said the area was inhabited by lower middleclass families. The residents also complained of a large population of pigs roaming in their localities. They said these were not stray animals but owned by the people who leave them here as the area had kutcha streets, vacant plots and abundant garbage heaps. Jagdish Singh, the Congress councillor of Ward No. 72, which now stands dissolved as elections are due, refused to talk to The Tribune correspondent stating that he was busy entertaining his guests. form submission, fee payment Amritsar, August 30 Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has released the online submission form and fee payment schedule for December 2023 exams of the undergraduate semester I, III, V, VII and IX and postgraduate Semester I and II for regular and private students through its portal http://collegeadmissions.gnd u.ac.in/loginNew.aspx Prof Palwinder Singh, incharge, examinations, said forms for special chance/additional subject, reappear and improvement exams should be submitted manually at the university cash counter by students. He said that the last dates for private students for printing fee slip/online fee payment, subject selection for regular students by colleges on challan generation and for annual form submission was September 25 with a late fee. He said that with a late fee of Rs 250, the last date was October 3 and with a late fee of Rs 2,000, the last date was October 16. He said that Rs 1,000 per day (maximum late fee up to Rs 30,000) would be charged 10 days before the commencement of the session examination. He said that the last date to deposit the examination fee in bank (for private candidates) and submission of fee of regular students by cash/draft at the university cash counter or in bank by colleges was October 3 without late fee. He said that with a late fee of Rs 250, the last date was October 9; with a late fee of Rs 500, the last date was October 12; with a late fee of Rs 1,000, the last date was October 16 and with a late fee of Rs 2,000, the last date was October 19. He said that a grace period of three days had already been added in the above dates, so no extra time would be given and the schedule for Law (TYC) Semester I, Law FYIC Semester I and B.Ed Semester I would be released later. —TNS