03092023-JTR-01.qxd 9/3/2023 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune SHUTTLER SINDHU DRAWS CROWD AT SPORTS MARKET SINGER BRITNEY SPEARS FLAUNTS NEW TATTOO RAHUL WINS INAUGURAL SEASON OF HIP HOP INDIA Badminton lovers turned up in large numbers to have a glimpse of two-time Olympics medal winner PV Sindhu. P2 Amid her separation from husband Sam Asghari, singer Britney Spears got a new tattoo on her back. P3 Ranchi's Rahul Bhagat won the inaugural season of Amazon miniTV's dance reality show Hip Hop India. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 36°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6:43 PM » SUNRISE MONDAY 6:01 AM SUNDAY | 3 SEPTEMBER 2023 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF PO LANDS IN POLICE NET Travel agent dupes 12 Nurmahal, Phillaur residents of ~1.80 crore Victims said he also gave them fake visas; demand impartial probe Tribune News Service Phagwara: The Nakodar city police have arrested a proclaimed offender (PO), who was absconding for the past few months. Investigating officer Rajinder Pal Singh said the accused had been identified as Jatinder Thappar, alias Sanju, a resident of Mandiala village falling under the Mehat Pur police station. He was wanted in a case of robbery and firing in 2019. He was declared a PO in July 2023. OC FOUR BOOKED ON ASSAULT CHARGE Phagwara: The Mehat Pur police have booked four persons on the charge of assaulting a villager. Investigating officer (IO) Jaswinder Singh said the suspects had been identified as Mangat Singh, Balwinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh, and Milkhi Singh, all residents of Gounsu Wal village. Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of the same village, complained to the police that the suspects waylaid him and attacked him with a sharp weapon on July 7. He suffered serious injuries in the incident. They also threatened him of dire consequences. The IO said a case under Sections 323, 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (committing crime with the common intention of the IPC had been registered against the suspects. OC Jalandhar, September 2 As many as 12 persons hailing from Nurmahal and Phillaur held a press conference here today to expose a fraudulent travel agent. The alleged perpetrator, identified as Gurwinder Singh, a resident of Achan Chak village in Phillaur, was accused of swindling the residents of ~1.80 crore on the pretext of facilitating visas for their children to the United States. The victims said Gurwinder not only took their hard-earned money, but also provided them with counterfeit visas. Every person was approximately duped of around ~15 lakh to ~20 lakh. The suspect neither gave them visas nor returned their money. Sharing his ordeal, Harpal Singh (48), one of the victims from Phillaur, said he sold 10 acres of land to send three family members, including his son and sonin-law, to America. “After being introduced by Anita Rani, a fellow resident, I paid him a sum of Rs 45 lakh in 2021. They even con- Victims share their ordeal at a press conference in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH nected us with a Jagraon girl, who was then based in America. She also vouched for them,” he lamented. “Gurwinder had promised us of returning the money, but to no avail,” he said. Sadhu Singh, another victim from Phillaur, said he paid ~40 lakh to the suspect to arrange visas for two of his family members. The suspect failed to arrange visas for them. They have even filed a complaint with the Phillaur police, but no action had been taken yet. “We, all victims, are uneducated and fell into the trap of false narratives by Gurwinder and Anita. We sold our lands and ancestral properties to arrange funds. Now, we are left with nothing”, he said. The victims are now demanding an impartial inquiry into the matter. SSP (Rural) Mukhwinder Bhullar said he met with Sporting prowess Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service MAN ATTACKED, SIX BOOKED Phagwara: On a complaint lodged by Vijay Kumar, a resident of Prempura Mohalla, the police have booked six persons on the charges of attacking and injuring him on Friday night. The police have registered a case against the suspects - Sameer, Rahul, Varun, Ritik, Sahib and Sahil, all residents of Subhash Nagar, - under Sections 323, 341, 148 and 149 of the IPC. The complainant was admitted to the Civil Hospital here. No arrest has been made so far. OC Players take part in a tug-of-war event during the ongoing "Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan" in Jalandhar on Saturday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Minister lays stone of shed at grain market Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 2 Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a steel shed to be constructed at a cost of ~28 lakh at the Kohala grain market. The minister, while speaking about the project, said farmers and commission agents were facing lots of problems due to the unavailability of the shed during the procurement season. He said now the farmers would be able to save their produce from rain by keeping it under the shed. He said the Punjab Government was making sincere efforts to facilitate the peasantry. Balkar Singh said besides the new shed, roads in the grain market would also be repaired at a cost of ~13 lakh for smooth flow of traffic. The minister asked the officials to keep a vigil on the construction works to ensure quality material being used by contractors. Our Correspondent Garhshankar, September 2 The body of a youth was found under suspicious circumstances in the playground of Denowal Khurd village on the GarhshankarNawanshahar road. Giving information, Harprem Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Garhshankar police station, said they got information about the body of a youth lying near the sports ground. The police reached the spot and took the body into their custody. It was sent to the mortuary of the Garhshankar Civil Hospital for identification and post-mortem examination. He said the deceased was later identified as Lakhwinder Singh (23), a resident of Makkowal Tabba, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district. He said based on the statement of Amarjeet Kaur, mother of the deceased, proceedings were recorded under Section 174 of the CrPC. The body was handed over to his family members after the postmortem examination. In her statement, his mother said Lakhwinder’s mental condition was not good. Heated argument over ride in auto turns ugly Jalandhar, September 2 A heated argument over ~20 ride turned into a violent confrontation, resulting in serious injuries to two persons at Lamba Pind late last night. The conflict took place when two auto-rickshaw drivers started arguing over ferrying a passenger to his destination for ~20. Both drivers approached the passenger at the same time and were arguing over who would take him to his destination. The argument later turned violent. Eyewitnesses said the confrontation began with a verbal exchange of words. It soon escalated into a fullblown physical brawl. The situation took a ugly turn when one of the drivers, in a fit of rage, climbed onto a nearby rooftop and began 2 auto drivers argue with each other; stones hurled, 2 hurt hurling bricks at another driver. It led to injuries to two bystanders who were passing by at the time. The incident, which lasted for around one and a half hours, led to panic among nearby shopkeepers. In fear, some shopkeepers even shut their establishments. After getting information, cops from the Division No. 8 and Rama Mandi police stations reached the spot and managed to disperse both parties. The Rama Mandi police have recorded the statement of both drivers. Further investigations were on into the case. — TNS 19-year-old electrocuted Garhshankar, September 2 A 19-year-old youth died of electrocution in Mohanowal village here. According to information, Harshveer Singh (19), a resident of Mohanowal falling under the Garhshankar police station, went to give water to cattle tied in a shed this morning. After giving water, he switched on a fan lying there. He suffered electric shock from the fan. When he didn’t return, his grandfather Sohan Singh reached the shed looking for him. He saw Harshveer lying on the ground. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. — OC Video of Kapurthala girl selling ‘chitta’ goes viral, brother arrested with heroin SIX BOOKED FOR ATTACKING MAN Phagwara: The police have booked six youths, including Munish, Mitlesh and Golu, on the charges of attacking and injuring the complainant, Sachin Kumar, who was stopping them from eveteasing his niece. Sachin, a resident of Friends Colony, here, suffered injuries. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital. On his complaint, the police have registered a case against the suspects under Sections 323, 341, 354-A, 354-D, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC. No arrest has been made so far. OC the victims today. He had sought all necessary details, including copies of fake visas and transaction records, from them by Monday. “Based on the evidence, we will start a thorough investigation and register an FIR against the suspect,” he said. Bhullar also appealed to residents to exercise caution and verify the credentials of travel agents before making any payments. Mystery over youth’s death Youth dies of drug overdose Amritsar, September 2 A youth identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Gaggomahal village falling under the Ramdass police station died of drug overdose here today. Following a complaint filed by his wife Arshdeep Kaur, the police have booked four persons, including a woman, on charges of culpable homicide and under the provisions of the NDPS Act. They were identified as Lovepreet Singh, Baljit Kaur, Balraj Bawa and Paramjit Singh. The police arrested Lovepreet and Baljit Kaur while raids were on to nab remaining two alleged drug peddlers. — TNS c m y b Jalandhar, September 2 Days after a 28-year-old Kapurthala woman made a formal complaint to the Kapurthala police that she had been forced to sell drugs by a drug peddler and his two daughters, another video of a young Kapurthala girl weighing and selling chitta (heroin) at a counter has gone viral. Both cases present a sordid picture of the extent of involvement of women in the drug trade in the district. The brother of the girl in the video has been arrested by the Kapurthala police. In a new video, which surfaced yesterday, a young girl can be seen weighing a small pouch on an electric weighing scale and passing it to someone. The girl shockingly seems to be in her teens. After the video went viral, the Kapurthala police traced the girl to Badshahpur village in Kapurthala. The girl’s brother, Gurjant Singh, was arrested, while the girl and her mother are still at large. A case under Sections 21B, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against SUSPECT, HER MOTHER MISSING Bholath DSP Bharat Bhushan said: “A video surfaced on Friday in which a girl was seen weighing ‘chitta’ (heroin) on an electronic weighing scale and selling it to someone. After the video went viral, SSP Rajpal Sandhu asked us to trace the girl. The girl was identified to be from Badhashpur village and a case was found to be registered against her at the Bholath police station. The police carried out a raid at her home. During the raid, they recovered 10 grams of heroin from her brother, Gurjant Singh, and arrested him. The girl and her mother were not at home. The entire family was involved in the (drug) business.” Gurjant, the girl (in the video) and her mother. Bholath DSP Bharat Bhushan said: “A video surfaced yesterday in which a girl was seen weighing ‘chitta’ (heroin) on an electronic weighing scale and selling it to someone. After the video went viral, SSP Rajpal Sandhu asked us to trace the girl. The girl was identified to be from Badhashpur village and a case was found to be registered against her at the Bholath police station. The police carried out a raid at her home. During the raid, they recovered 10 grams of heroin from her brother, Gurjant Singh, and arrested him. The girl and her mother were not at home. The entire family was involved in the (drug) business.” SSP Rajpal Singh Sandhu said: “The girl’s brother in the video was arrest- ed yesterday. The girl and her mother are still on the run. They will be arrested soon.” Forced to sell heroin: Woman Meanwhile, the 28-yearold woman from Kapurthala wrote to the SSP on August 18 stating that she was being forced to sell chitta (heroin) for the past four years. She was being threatened by a drug peddler and his two daughters who have been in the drug business since long. In her letter to the SSP, the woman named the drug peddler and his two daughters who had allegedly employed her to sell pouches of heroin to their clients. The woman alleged that if she refused to sell chitta, the trio threatened to kill her and her child. They also got her addicted to drugs. The woman, who approached the Kapurtha- la City police station on Friday, was traced to Kartarpur today. While the Kapurthala city police said she had decided to withdraw her complaint, the woman denied the same. Speaking to The Tribune, the woman alleged: “Cops threatened me to reach a compromise at the City police station and also clicked photographs. They shared the pictures with the person against whom I lodged the complaint. Fearing for my safety, I went to Kartarpur. I haven’t withdrawn my case or reached any compromise.” Amandeep Nahar, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Kapurthala City police station, said: “The woman is being used as a pawn in someone’s dispute with the alleged drug peddler. We raided his home and found nothing. He does not sell drugs. I talked to her three hours ago and she has decided to withdraw the case. The woman said she struck a compromise with the alleged drug peddler.” Kapurthala SSP Rajpal Singh Sandhu said: “The woman is being dragged into a dispute and is being driven to make allegations. We are still looking into her complaint.”