23092023-ATR-01.qxd 9/23/2023 1:05 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune GURPURB: A SIKH JATHA LEAVES FOR PAKISTAN RAGHAV-PARINEETI WEDDING PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING The wedding of AAP MP Raghav Chadha and actress Parineeti Chopra to be held at Leela Palace. P3 MAINLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 27°C AASTHA TALKS ABOUT HER ROLE IN FILM NEERJA... A delegation of 150 Sikh devotees on Friday left for Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. P2 FORECAST Aastha Sharma says playing Neerja has been the most challenging experience for me. P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 6.26 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.19 AM » SATURDAY | 23 SEPTEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Four snatchers nabbed in separate cases Amritsar, September 22 The Chheharta police have arrested four snatchers in two incidents and recovered two snatched mobile phones and a toy pistol from their possession. Those arrested were identified as Arshdeep Singh and Gurpreet Singh, both residents of Bhakna Khurd village, and Jaspal Singh of Dhariwal Kaler village in Ajnala. Besides, the police nabbed Takdir Singh of Boparai Khurd village in Lopoke, who is now residing in Guru Ki Wadali area here. Nishan Singh, SHO, Chheharta police station, said Arshdeep, Gurpreet and Jaspal Singh were arrested following a tip-off. The police confiscated a toy pistol and a mobile phone, besides a bike from their possession. The trio were produced in a court and brought on three-day police remand for further interrogation. More recoveries are likely to be made from their possession. Similarly, the police seized a snatched mobile phone from Takdir Singh. — TNS Farmers stage dharna, demand compensation for crop loss Tribune Reporters Amritsar, September 22 Farmers under the banner of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha staged a demonstration outside the DC office demanding compensation for the flood-affected farmers here on Friday. Farmer leaders Jora Singh and Balkar Singh demanded that the Centre and the state government should release compensation of Rs 1.70 lakh and Rs 60,000 per acre, respectively, to affected farmers. Those who lost livestock due to the floods should be given compensation to the tune of ~1 lakh per animal. Other farmer leaders Nishan Singh and Jatinder Singh said if their demands were not accepted, the farmers would be forced to lay siege to the houses of Central and state ministers. The sit-in was lifted after the protesting farmers submitted a memorandum of demands to Additional Deputy Commissioner Vivek Kumar who assured DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS CASE Punjab ex-deputy CM OP Soni’s bail plea rejected Tribune News Service Farmers under the banner of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha during a protest outside the DC office in Amritsar on Friday. VISHAL KUMAR them to forwarding it to the government. Meanwhile, the farmer unions associated with the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and activists of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) staged separate dharnas in front of the District Administrative Complex (DAC) in Tarn Taran district on Friday. They were demanding the resolution of the issues of the flood-affected farmers and raised the issues of other farmers. Addressing on the occasion, Daljit Singh Dialpura, Nachhattar Singh and Balkar Singh Valtoha were among others who condemned the Centre and the state government for not releasing sufficient compensation to the affected farmers. The leaders said there were countless farmers who would not be able to cultivate the next crop as their fields still were filled with sand and silt and removing the deposits was from their fields was not easy. A delegation of the continued on page 2 Heaps of garbage bane of residents WARD WATCH WARD NO. 15 AMRITSAR Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service not be conducive to the interests of the justice to grant bail to the applicant as it is likely to hamper a proper investigations/trial into the present case. Accordingly, the present bail application is dismissed, it said. He is currently in judicial custody at Amritsar Central Jail. The Vigilance Bureau had booked Soni under Sections 13 (1) (b) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at VB police station, Amritsar Range, following investigation into the inquiry, which was ordered on October 10, 2022. During check period from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022, the income of the former Deputy CM and his family was Rs 4.52 crore while expenditure was Rs 12.48 crore, which was Rs 7.96 crore or 176.08 per cent more Amritsar, September 22 The fast-track court of Additional Sessions Judge Randhir Verma rejected the bail application of former deputy chief minister and senior Congress leader OP Soni in disproportionate assets case registered against him by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) in July this year. He was arrested by the VB on July 10 after eight-month-long investigations. In its order passed on Thursday, the court pointed out that in the present case it cannot be said that the accusations against Soni were prime facie wholly false, frivolous or vexatious in nature, so as to justify grant of bail. It further read that no doubt, the investigation is complete as challan has been presented but there are serious allegations against the accused while material witnesses are yet to be examined. Additional Sessions Judge Randhir Verma (in the order) said the possibility of attempt to tamper with the evidence or try to win over the witnesses in order to weaken the case of prosecution by the accused cannot be ruled out and this would Gold worth ~45 lakh seized at airport Man dies by suicide; wife, in-laws booked Amritsar, September 22 Customs officials seized 770-gm of Gold from a passenger who came from Sharjah by Indigo flight 6E1428 at the local airport here on Friday. The market value of the yellow metal was valued at ~45.75 lakh. The spokesman for the Customs Department said the passenger was found to have concealed three capsules containing gold in the paste form in his rectum area. The gross weight of the capsules was 950 gm and net weight of gold after extraction was 770 gm. A case under Section 110 of the Customs Act was registered against the passenger. Tribune News Service Punjab ex-Dy CM OP Soni Amritsar, September 22 Perturbed over harassment by his wife and in-laws, a man committed suicide by hanging himself at Awan village falling under the Ramdass police station here. The incident occurred on three days ago while a case was registered on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Lovepreet Masih (26). Following a complaint by his mother Parveen Masih, the police have booked his wife Rajji, her elder brother Gajjan and his relative Raman of Jhangi village on the charge of abetment to suicide in this connection. Parveen told the police that Lovepreet was married to Rajji, a resident of Jhangi village in Gurdaspur district, around four years ago. She alleged that after the marriage, her daughter-in-law often quarrelled with her son and went to her parents’ house. However, following the intervention of relatives, they brought her back. She alleged that Rajji’s elder brother Gajjan used to interfere in the affairs of their family. She said three days ago, she went to Ramdass for some domestic work. She said around 6.30pm Lovepreet called her to say that Gajjan and Raman had come to their home and were quarrelling with him. They were shouting that he had destroyed the life of Rajji and you should die. She said she along with her nephew immediately rushed back to home and found her son hanging from the ceiling. She said they brought him down and rushed him to the Ramdas government hospital. However, the doctors declared him dead. The police have registered a case under Section 306 of the IPC against Rajji, Gajjan and Raman and efforts were on to nab them. Further investigations were underway, said the police. than his known sources of income. During this period, OP Soni had bought properties in the name of his wife Suman Soni and son Raghav Soni, he added. According to the VB, after the registration of an FIR, during the course of investigations, it was found that the expenditure incurred by the applicant/accused during check period April 2016 to March 2022 is more than previously assessed amount of Rs 12.48 crore and it was found to be 208 per cent in excess of his income from legitimate sources. During the probe, it was found that his family members have formed companies Olive International Pvt Ltd and Dream Weavers Pvt Ltd by investing huge amount and they are directors of the said companies. Vocational literacy camp held in jail Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 22 The District legal Services Authority, under the programme ‘Vocational literacy for jail inmates’, organized a training camp for the jail inmates in various occupations at the Amritsar Central Jail to make them self-reliant after the conclusion of their jail sentences. Chief Judicial Magistrate Rashpal Singh said the jail inmates were trained in agriculture and tailoring so that they could earn their livelihood after their release from jail and they did not return to crime. He said around 40 women inmates were trained in tailoring during the camp. He said Jaswinder Singh, Agriculture Information Officer, Farmer Training Centre at Khalsa College, and Ajay Kumar, assistant professor, Kisan Vigyan Kendra, trained the inmates in bakery and agriculture. Amritsar, September 22 Residents of Ward number 15 are grappling with a number of civic and electricity-related problems almost daily. Some problems become acute as the ward has not only houses, but also commercial and industrial units. The mess created by tangled webs of electricity wires and optical cables at almost every street of the ward is an eyesore for visitors and residents. Huge insulated conductors, which are meant to be laid underground, are routed overhead without bothering about the risks involved. These power glitches are visible in different areas of the ward. An electric transformer installed in the middle of an intersection of three roads is a nuisance for commuters. They fear a vehicle, if crashes into it, can be fatal for motorists. Several plots in the ward are left unconstructed. These have been turned into a garbage dump for residents. A prolonged delay in lifting the garbage is behind Youth abducted, thrashed; five booked WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL SGPC, admn officials discuss arrangements for Parkash Purb Mixed reactions from women’s bodies Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 22 The Sadar police have booked five persons, including a woman, for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing a youth here on Thursday. Those booked were identified as Mohit Walia, Ritik Walia, Raghav Sharma, Pranav Arora and Reeta Walia. A case under Sections 323, 324, 365, 379 and 506 of the IPC was registered against them. The police said efforts were on to nab them and further investigations were underway. The victim Vaibhav, a resident of the Batala road area, told the police that on Wednesday night he was standing near an eating joint on the Batala road when the continued on page 2 Amritsar, September 22 Ahead of Parkash Purb (birth anniversary) of fourth Sikh Guru and founder of Amritsar Guru Ram Das, the SGPC authorities today held a meeting with the district administration and police officials at the SGPC headquarters here today. SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Garewal said the purpose of holding the meeting was to streamline the traffic and other arrangements pertaining to the occasion that falls on October 30. Special events are on the cards including the grand nagar kirtan that will pass through the bazaars of Amritsar leading to the Golden Temple besides display of the Sikh martial art form ‘gatka’ to mark the event. Amritsar, September 22 The passage of Women’s Reservation Bill by Parliament evoked mixed reactions from city women. Kamaljeet Kaur Gill, president, Rehabilitation and Settlement Organisation, welcoming the passing of Women’s Reservation Bill, commented that it would be helpful in multidimensional development of women. “It is a commendable step taken in the development and progress of women. This Bill will give women equal rights as men and will also give them an opportunity to hone their talent. Women from backward and Dalit sections of the society will also get a chance to come forward.” Tina Aggarwal, steering Garbage dumped on a vacant plot in Banke Bihari Gali of Ward No. 15 in Amritsar on Friday. VISHAL KUMAR the odour always prevailing in the area. Besides, insanitary conditions prevailing in the area which has a number of residential and commercial pockets. There are some streets in the ward which are still lying unmetalled. A light rain is enough to turn some unpaved roads into slush. The residents demand immediate construction of the streets so that people can commute easily, especially during rainy days, as vehicles tend to skid. The localities which fall under the ward are Sandhu Colony, Lakshmi Vihar, Parkash Vihar, Vishal Vihar, parts of Nehru colony, three streets of Sukhs ki Haveli, Anandpur Kutiya, Chand Avenue andparts of the Batala road. continued on page 2 SGPC, district administration and police officials during a meeting in Amritsar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO The municipal corporation was also asked to carry out the cleanliness drive and remove the illegal encroachments on the narrow passages of the market from where the nagar kirtan has to pass through. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Mehtab Singh, SDM Mankanwal Singh Chahal and MC’s Joint Commissioner Hardeep Singh assured of all assistance to the SGPC. From the SGPC’s side, those who attended the meeting included SGPC secretary Partap Singh, member Manjit Singh, Golden Temple manager Bhagwant Singh Dhangera and additional manager Gurpreet Singh. c m y b The gold seized at the airport in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Kamaljeet Kaur Tina Aggarwal Deepika committee member, PHDCCI She Forum, said a general sentiment of consensus abounds on the landmark reservation bill in favour of women. “I beg to differ as no good ever came out of reservation to date. Women are performing exceptionally well on merit in all the fields they choose to embrace. The woman of today is well educated, talented, hardworking and very successful. A position acquired on the basis of reservation and favouritism will present her in unfavourable light, invoke disdain and contempt. Reservation and gender equality can never be paired together. When we talk of reservation, we are admitting to gender inequalities. The more deserving might lose out to the imperfect candidate for a spot. We certainly need to rethink on this.” Allegations of women leaders being remote controlled by male members of their families, especially their better half, surfaced in the past. Deepika, headmistress, government school, said the Bill was a historic milestone for India’s democracy and a significant step toward continued on page 2