12092023-ATR-01.qxd 9/12/2023 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SGPC INITIATES CLEANLINESS DRIVE FROM GALLIARA CHRIS EVANS, ALBA BAPTISTA TIE THE KNOT IN MASSACHUSETTS DREW BARRYMORE ANNOUNCES SEASON 4 OF HER TALK SHOW In the first phase, the SGPC has deputed a team of six ‘safai karamcharis’ to clean Galliara . P2 Hollywood star Chris Evans, 42, married Alba Baptista during a private ceremony in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. P3 The Drew Barrymore Show will reportedly return sooner than planned due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. P4 » » » MAX 36°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.41 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:12 AM TUESDAY | 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Man gives false complaint to police, booked Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 11 False complaint given to the police regarding a robbery has proved dear for one Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Ratta Gudda, as he himself has been booked by the Harike police. Sub-Inspector Kewal Singh, SHO, Harike police station, said Lakhwinder had given wrong information that two unidentified armed persons had robbed Rs 8,000 and household items from him on September 4. The SHO said that the complaint given by Lakhwinder was marked to Sub-Inspector Balbir Singh for investigating the facts of the application. Balbir visited the spot and found that no such incident had happened, the SHO said. The SHO said Lakhwinder was booked under Sections 420, 203, 211 and 182 of the IPC on Sunday. Lakhwinder is absconding and the police is conducting raids at his possible hideouts to nab him. 2 miscreants nabbed after brief encounter at Jandiala Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 After a brief encounter at the police check-point in Jandiala, the Amritsar (Rural police) nabbed two miscreants, who were wanted in a case of murder and firing, today. One of the suspects was injured in the encounter. The suspects have been identified as Hira Singh and Harpreeet Singh, residents of Thathian village. The police recovered a country-made .32 bore pistol, seven cartridges and a motorcycle from the suspects. According to information, a team of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) had laid a naka at Jandiala. Two persons came there on a Splendour motorcycle. The CIA team signalled them to stop for checking. But they opened fire at the police and tried to flee from the spot. Responding to firing, the CIA team An injured suspect Hira Singh at a hospital in Jandiala. TRIBUNE PHOTO also fired rounds at the suspects. Two rounds hit bike rider Hira Singh in the left leg on the knee and the shin. Both suspects were wanted in two major crime incidents. As per the preliminary investigation, the suspects were members of the Happy Jatt gang. They had committed a murder on instructions of Happy Jatt. Hira Singh is also facing a case under the NDPS Act for smuggling drugs. With the arrest of the duo, the Amritsar (Rural) police have cracked the blind murder of Ram Sharan Baba and solved the firing incident case at Bhangwan village in which Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Jatt, a resident of Jandiala, and two other suspects had also been nominated. A fresh case for firing on the police team was registered against the suspects under Sections 307, 353 and 186 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at the Jandiala police station today. Further investigation was in progress. The police said Ram Sharan Baba was murdered on the intervening night of August 18 and 19 at Jandiala while the firing incident took place at Bhangwan village on July 16. Both the suspects were absconding after committing the crime. GNDU retains ~10K fine No let-up in vehicle thefts in city slapped on law student Nexus between thieves, mechanics cited as reason Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 In a follow-up to the incident reported a few days ago, wherein a Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) law student was slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 for indiscipline, today, several student organisations including Students for Society (SFS) and girl law student Taniya, held a sit-in in front of the Dean Students Welfare (DSW) office demanding that the fine be rolled back. Taniya, who is pursing BALLB (Semester VI) at the university, alleged that she was being singled out as she was among participants of the protest held by several student organisations a few days ago, when a girl student was slapped by a security guard of the university. Preet Mohinder Singh, Dean Student Welfare, maintained that the disciplinary committee imposed fine on the girl student after deliberations. He said that the incident of theft reported by Taniya, who a resident of a girls hostel, was found to be untrue after inquiry by warden and staff. The DSW office had constituted an 11-member committee to hear Taniya and another student, who Taniya suspected had committed theft in her room. After deliberations and approval from the VC, a letter was sent to Taniya stating that a fine of Rs 10,000 had been imposed on her. The letter also warned other students. Taniya maintained that her bag containing her identification card and documents was stolen from her room and the authorities took no action. Another letter was today issued from the office of the Dean Academic Affairs to Vijay Kumar, a PHD scholar from the Political Science Department, who was part of both protests, banning him from entering the university campus. The letter citing recommendations by the disciplinary committee stated that Kumar’s PhD status should be changed from full-time to part-time. Amritsar, September 11 The nexus between twowheeler lifters, mechanics and those selling old parts of vehicles is driving the diabolical business of vehicle thefts in the city. A day does not pass without couple of vehicles being stolen in different areas of the holy city. There is nothing like a particular vulnerable place. Thefts of vehicles are reported from every nook and corner of the city whether religious, public, markets, roadsides, banks, post offices and other areas. Jai Inder Singh, Transport Nagar, locally known as the Jahajgarh area, is a hub of spare parts of used vehicles in the city. Buying old spare parts of vehicles ensures customers a satisfaction that they would possess original ones. People selling old parts said these were sourced from discarded vehicles. There has been no let-up in vehicle lifting despite several precautions taken by the police and motorists. However, no attempt has ever been made to WARD WATCH WARD NO 48 AMRITSAR Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service A broken street at Ward No. 48 in the Katra Ahluwalia area of Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR At present, it is one of the major localities of the walled city that has poor infrastructure. Earlier, the area residents faced the issue of potable water contamination and choking of sewer. Recently, the municipal corporation (MC) replaced the old sewer lines with new ones. The sewer choking issue may be Shifted to an alternate site at the rear end of the market Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 Along with a posse of police personnel, officials of the market committee removed retail vegetable vendors from the main internal road of Vallah Mandi here on Monday. The three-day drive was conducted on Friday, Saturday and Monday. At least 75 vendors were removed and given an alternate site at the rear end of the mandi. Vendors are complaining of extremely tough days ahead for them at the alternate site. They said that the site does not have any shed. So, they would have to make their own arrangements to protect themselves from the direct sunlight. Also, there was no potable water facility at the site, they said. At present, demarcation is being done at the new site for allotting space to vendors. Commission agents dealing in fruit and operating from the Makeshift shops of vegetable vendors removed by the market committee at Vallah in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO shed number six, the only place allotted to fruit section in the entire mandi, are irked at the market committee for congesting their place of work. They said around 20 commission agents dealing in fruit, who were removed from the road outside shed number six, had occupied the same shed. They said 35 licence holder fruit commission agents were working at the shed. They said as the number of agents had gone up to 55, the place had now got congested. Commission agents of the wholesale Sabzi Mandi alleged that the market committee was issuing licences without taking into consideration limited space and insufficient facilities at Vallah. Officials said as per the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, licences could be issued to a person interested in doing business in the notified area where he had own or a rented shop. Motorcyclist dies after being hit by speeding Innova Tribune News service Tribune News Service Jai Inder Singh, Transport Nagar, known as the Jahajgarh area, is a hub of spare parts of used vehicles in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO break the chain of junk dealers and vehicle lifters. Parminder Singh Bhandal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), accepted that there was an ongoing nexus between twowheeler lifters, mechanics and those selling old parts of vehicles. He said the connection was no longer limited to an area but spread across the district. A few months ago, the Chheharta police found 40 engines with chassis number intact pointing towards equal number of stolen vehicles that were disintegrated to sell parts in Dug-up Ward No. 48 streets cry for attention Amritsar, September 11 Ward No. 48 comprises Bagh Ramanad, Sheran Wala Gate, Gheo Mandi and some portions of Katra Ahluwalia. Densely populated Bagh Ramanand in southeast of the Golden Temple was the first planned locality of the city. Once, it was a Bagh of custom collector Ramanand, who used to work with Misar Ralia Ram (died in 1864), in-charge of customs, during Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule. Veggie vendors removed from Vallah Mandi main internal road addressed now, rainwater gets accumulated in streets. The streets dug up for laying sewer lines last year are yet to be recarpeted. “The MC has installed sewer lines but dug-up streets have not been recarpeted. During rain, water gets accumulated in streets. Children and elderly can’t walk on the bumpy surface. Two-wheeler riders often skid on mud in streets. The MC should recarpet streets,” said Hardeep Singh, a resident. “The choking of sewer lines and contaminated potable water supply are one of the major issues. The government has installed sewer lines under the Heritage Street and made separate trenches for the power lines. Ironically, sewer water enters trenches meant for cables. The poor craftsmanship of the Heritage Street has created several sewer-related issues in the nearby localities,” said Jagdeesh Singh, a local activist. Due to close proximity with the Golden Temple, a large number of illegal hotels are being constructed in the residential areas of Ward No. 48. The residents alleged that the hotel industry in residential localities had damaged the social character of the area. c m y b the market, the DCP said. “Vehicle lifters employ different means to disintegrate vehicles like taking them to remote areas of the district to escape attention of the police,” he said. The DCP said that once the entire city was covered by the CCTV cameras under the Smart City project, the rate of vehicle recovery would increase. Already footage taken from the CCTV cameras installed in the city was helping the police trace stolen vehicles, he said. Vaccination drive launched in Tarn Taran district Tarn Taran, September 11 The six-day vaccination drive under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI 5) started in Tarn Taran district from Monday. The drive was inaugurated by Civil Surgeon Dr Gurpreet Singh Rai. Dr Virenderpal Kaur, District Immunisation Officer (DIO), said the mission aimed at vaccination of children below five years who had not been inoculated during previous drives. Dr Rai said that village-level staff of the Health Department had been trained for administering vaccination, which was being done through an online app. The health authorities have requested people to avail benefit of the mission and get their children, who had missed their inoculation schedule, vaccinated. — OC Amritsar, September 11 A youth died in an accident on the Amritsar-Lahore road when his motorcycle was hit by a speeding Innova on Sunday night. The victim’s family members staged a protest against the police accusing it of laxity in nabbing the vehicle driver. The deceased has been identified as Harpreet Singh of Ghumanpura village. The unidentified car driver fled leaving the vehicle behind. An eyewitness stated that speeding Innova was coming from the Khasa side. The motorcyclist was also coming from the same side and the car hit him from the rear. The biker jumped several feet into the air and fell on the road. The eyewitnesse claimed that there were four people in the car. The victim was picked up by some motorcyclists and taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brough dead. The police reached the spot and started investigation. Meanwhile, the angry family of the deceased also reached the spot and entered into a heated argument with the police. The kin of the deceased also damaged the Innova vehicle. The victim’s family members alleged that the police did not arrest the suspects on the spot as they were influential persons. The police said no eyewitness had come forward to record statement. So, it was difficult to say how the accident happened. The car occupants fled from the spot. After the postmortem, the victim’s body was handed over to the family. The police impounded the vehicle and started investigation. Neeru Bajwa (4th to left) and other actors in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Star cast of ‘Buhe Bariyan’ shares experiences with members of FICCI Flo Tribune News service Amritsar, September 11 With her success run as the leading actress of the Punjabi cinema, Neeru Bajwa has churned out womenoriented films. Her recent release ‘Kali Jotta’ proved that such stories can work commercially. Back with another powerpacked film (from the initial pre-release hype), Neeru was in Amritsar to attend a session with the FICCI FLO chapter. She talked about her upcoming Punjabi film ‘Buhe Bariyan’ on the occasion. With an ensemble star cast that boosts of some of the finest women actors of the Punjabi cinema, including Nirmal Rishi, Gurpreet Bhangu, Jatinder Kaur, Simran Chahal and Rubina Bajwa, the film talks about a few silenced subjects and the need to find their own ground in society as equals. “I have always believed that women possess immense potential and talent, which gives them strength to stand their ground. I always urge them to pursue their dreams fearlessly,” said Neeru. Sharing her personal journey and recounting the challenges she faced as a woman in the entertainment industry, Neeru emphasised on the significance of resilience, determination and self-belief in overcoming obstacles and achieving success. After all these years, her mantra remained self-love. “In the film industry, female actors are often put in a box that comes with a shelf life. But I have been lucky that my audience has stuck with me and wants to be a part of my on-screen journey further,” she said. Neeru, who would be seen playing the role of a cop in the film, said that the need for women to support and uplift each other was now more than ever. She said that the film was unique in its premise as it had actresses playing the role of strong female characters. For the first time, probably, a Punjabi film would attempt to talk about women rights not just in urban and metros, but for their rural counterparts too, said Neeru. “And it’s just not a preachy film. It keeps giving messages while keeping everything light hearted, entertaining and real,” said Neeru. Senior actor Jatinder Kaur, who plays pivotal character in the film, also shared her experience and journey of 60 years in the performing arts industry. The star cast also performed on popular Punjabi songs along with FICCI FLO members. Now, give drug info on tip-off number Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 The Amritsar (Rural) police have constituted anti-drug committees in villages to curb the supply of drugs. Senior police officials have issued helpline — drug tip-off number — and appealed to residents to provide the drugrelated information on it. Giving information about the drug tip number issued by the Amritsar (Rural) police, Gurpratap Singh Sahota, Superintendent of Police (SP), said that in the first phase of the campaign, they were holding public meetings in villages Continued on page 2