25092023-JTR-01.qxd 9/25/2023 12:41 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune COMMITTEE NEED OF HOUR TO MITIGATE SUFFERINGS HEIDI KLUM HAS LET GO OF HER OBSESSION WITH LOOKS AMIT SADH CONCLUDES A MONTH-LONG BIKE JOURNEY Centre must provide financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas, say residents. P2 Supermodel Heidi Klum has become more laid-back about her appearance in recent years. P3 Bollywood actor Amit Sadh kicked off the month-long motorcycle trip from Mumbai and ended it in Leh. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET MONDAY 6:16 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:12 AM MONDAY | 25 SEPTEMBER 2023 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF ELDERLY MAN GOES MISSING Phagwara: An elderly man has been missing for the past 12 days. SHO Yadwinder Singh said Darshan Kumar (70), a resident of Turna village, has been missing since September 12. A missing report has been registered. OC YOUTH FALLS INTO WELL, DIES Phagwara: A Nakodar youth died after falling into a well. Investigating officer (IO) Rannjit Singh said the deceased had been identified as Robin (27), a resident of Bajigar Basti, Mohalla Rehaman Pur, Nakodar. Arjan, father of the deceased, told the police that his son fell into a well and died. The IO said the police, acting under Section 174 of the CrPC, handed over the body to the family after post-mortem. OC THREE BOOKED ON ASSAULT CHARGE Phagwara: The Shahkot police have booked three persons on the charge of assaulting a villager. Investigating officer (IO) Nirmal Singh said the suspects had been identified as Sandeep Mona, a resident of Parjian Khurd village, Gagan Deep Singh, a resident of Bhadma village, and Jasal Singh, a resident of Mehat Pur town. Sukhdev Singh, a resident of Parjian Kalan village, told the police that the suspects attacked him on September 19. He suffered injuries in the incident. A case under Sections 323, 325 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the suspects. OC Villagers bid tearful adieu to 2 kids Work on bundh suspended; MLA, Cong leader among hundreds attend last rites HARROWING TRAGEDY DEATH BY DROWNING don’t ❝Webundh.feelalike going to the It’s personal Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 24 Villagers bid a tearful adieu to two children, Gurbir Singh Gora (11) and Samarpreet Singh (8), who drowned while playing near the Baupur bundh yesterday. Wails and cries rented the air at the village cremation ground as their inconsolable mothers clung on the bodies of their sons, now lifeless. Work on the ‘aarzi bundh’ (temporary bundh) at Baupur was suspended in the wake of the tragic loss of lives of the two children. While the children belonged to two families of the flood-hit Rampur Gore village in Sultanpur Lodhi, the twin villages of Baupur and Rampur Gore, through which the under-construction bundh passes, collectively mourned the loss of the two children. Several villagers also came on boats to attend their last rites. Both funeral pyres were lit side by side on the same loss. The kar sewa is a personal initiative done without any government help. We are one big family. I have spotted and fished out several bodies during the floods this year. This is the most harrowing tragedy. The two kids were inseparable. We often saw them playing together. The village is deep in mourning. Family members and villagers mourn the loss of two children in Baupur on Sunday. ground. With much of Baupur village still inundated, the cremation ground is among the few dry places in the area. A congregation of over 500 persons gathered for the cremation of the children who drowned in a matter of just 20 minutes on Saturday as they strayed away from their parents who were performing kar sewa on the bundh. Satnam Singh and Ram Singh, fathers of the two children, and their entire families had been working on the bundh for over a month. Their children accompanied them most of the time like in the case of many other parents. The parents launched a search for the two boys yesterday after they went missing. Their bodies were found Raising their voice THREE BOOKED FOR PETROL PUMP LOOT Phagwara: The Shahkot police have booked three unidentified persons on the charge of snatching cash and a mobile phone from a petrol pump salesman. Krishan Eshwar, a native of Bihar and working as a salesman at a petrol pump in Nagal Ambian village, complained to the police that three unidentified miscreants riding a car and armed with sharp weapons and a pistol stopped at the pump around 6.30 pm on September 19 and attacked him. They snatched ~30,000 and a mobile phone from him before fleeing from the spot. Investigating officer Balkar Singh said a case under Section 379 (B-2) of the IPC had been registered. OC in a deep pit created by the recent rain water. No work was carried out at the bundh today. Paramjit Singh Baupur, who has been traversing the floodhit region on a motorboat, said: “We don’t feel like going to the bundh. It’s a personal loss. The kar sewa is a personal initiative done without any government help. We are one big family. ❞ Paramjit Singh Baupur, A RESIDENT I have spotted and fished out several bodies during the floods this year. This is the most harrowing tragedy. The two kids were inseparable. We often saw them playing together. The village is deep in mourning.” Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Rana Inder Partap and Congress leader Navtej Singh Cheema also attended the last rites of the two children. The suspects in police custody in Jalandhar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 24 The Bilga police have arrested three persons for theft at a house in Meowal village here. Complainants Kulwant Kaur and her son Karandeep, residents of Meowal, told the police that they went to the Beas in the morning of September 21 to perform the last rites of Kulwant’s mother-in-law and returned home at 2 pm. On reaching home, they saw the lock of the main gate broken. When they went inside their home, they saw the belongings scattered and house ransacked. On checking, they found a pair of silver anklets, a silver ring and ~10,000 missing from the house. In her complaint, Kulwant suspected that the theft might have been conducted by Taranpreet, alias Bhundi, Teerath and Surinder, alias Shindu, residents of Meowal. On the basis of the complaint, a case under Sections 454 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the trio at the Bilga police station on September 23. After investigation, the police arrested the suspects. Further investigations were on into the case, the police said. Tragedy averted as roof of verandah collapses at Sidhupur govt school Incident took place after working hours; building developed cracks post floods Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service GANG OF THIEVES BUSTED, 3 HELD Phagwara: The Bilga police busted a gang of thieves and arrested its three members. Investigating officer (IO) Anwar Masih said the miscreants had been identified as Taranpreet, alias Bhundi, Tirath and Surinder, alias Bindu, all residents of Meon Wal village. Kulwant Kaur, a resident of the same village, complained to the police that the miscreants barged into her house and stole ~10,000, gold and silver ornaments. The IO said a case under Sections 380 and 454 of the IPC has been registered. OC 3 held for house theft Members of the Mulazim and Pensioner Sanjha Front hold a protest in front of the residence of Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh in Jalandhar on Sunday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Man held for stealing transformer 160 intoxicant tablets also recovered from his possession Phagwara, September 24 The Shahkot police have arrested a Dharm Kot resident on the charge of stealing a farmer’s transformer and selling intoxicant tablets. Investigating officer (IO) Nirmal Singh said the suspect had been identified as Harpreet Singh, a resident of Ward No. 7 of Dharm Kot, Moga. Dilbag Singh, a resident of Akbar Pur Kalan village, com- plained to the police that the suspect and his accomplice were stealing a transformer on the evening of September 23. He, along with his fellow villagers, chased them. They caught one of suspects with his motorcycle and handed him over to the police. The investigating officer said a case under Sections 379 (theft) and 511 of the IPC and Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act had been registered. As many as 160 intoxicant tablets were recovered from the motorcycle, bearing registration number PB-10-EK-7577, in which he was travelling. The IO said his accomplice, identified as Davinder Singh, a resident of Dharm Kot, Moga road, was nominated in the case. He, however, managed to flee. — OC Jalandhar, September 24 A tragedy was averted after the roof of a verandah collapsed at Government Primary School, Sidhupur, here yesterday. Fortunately, no staff or students were present as the school had got over when the incident took place. As per information, the school building developed some cracks after the floods hit the Lohian block. As a result, the roof collapsed. Amandeep Kaur, in-charge of the school, said when they came to know about the incident, they immediately contacted the authorities concerned. The Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) also visited the school. “He has asked us to take the classes in the nearby panchayat ghar. We have also checked the safety of the panchayat ghar. Everything is fine there. We don’t want to compromise with students’ safety,” the teacher said. She said the kitchen and rooms of the school were also in a poor Debris lies at Government Primary School, Sidhupur, in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO KITCHEN, ROOMS IN POOR CONDITION “The Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) has asked us to take classes in the nearby panchayat ghar. We have also checked the safety of the panchayat ghar. Everything is fine there. We don’t want to compromise with students’ safety,” Amandeep Kaur, in-charge of the school, said. She said the kitchen and rooms of the school were also in a poor condition. condition. There is only 1 teacher and 25 students in the school. Recently, a teacher died while two others suffered injuries after the roof of Government Senior Secondary School, Baddowal, collapsed. The incident took place when three teachers were sitting in the staff room of the school. Scared after today’s incident, teachers said there were several schools in the Lohian block that had developed cracks after the floods. Malhi may take charge as Trust chairman today CPI (ML) New Democracy condemns Ashok Kaura Phagwara, September 24 The newly appointed chairman of the Improvement Trust, Phagwara, Kashmir Singh Malhi, is expected to take charge in the presence of Punjab Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh on Monday morning. Ajoy Sharma, Secretary, Local Bodies Department, Punjab, issued a notification to appoint eminent lawyer Kashmir Singh Malhi as the new Chairman of Improvement Trust, Phagwara, on September 18. The notification was issued in supersession of the notification of March 29. Even that notification was issued about three months after the announcement by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who appointed chairpersons of 17 Improvement Trusts of Punjab on January 12 this year. The notification for the appointment of 11 chairpersons was issued on April 3, and after one month, the appointment of five other chairpersons was notified. But surprisingly, no notification could be issued by the state government for Phagwara till now. Notably, as per the announcement and orders of Chief Min- ister Bhagwant Maan on January 12, advocate Kashmir Singh Malhi was announced as Chairman of Phagwara Improvement Trust but he kept awaiting the notification. It may be mentioned here that despite claims of unity in AAP , all is not well in Phagwara. Former minister Joginder Singh Maan is heading one faction of the AAP here while the other group is headed by Santosh Kumar Gogi, who was the AAP candidate in the last assembly elections and was defeated. Maan was the AAP candidate in 2022 assembly elections and was defeated by the Congress candi- c m y b date Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal. Despite stern instructions of the AAP high command to ensure unity, factionalism is preventing such efforts. AAP leaders Daljit Raju and Harji Maan are making efforts to induct more and more people in AAP under the leadership of Joginder Singh Maan. On the other hand, District Planning Board Chairperson Lalita Saklani, advocate KS Malhi and principal Nirmal Singh (retd) are supporting Gogi. The assumption of charge by advocate Malhi may help put an end to all speculations about factionalism in the party. visa suspension, demands withdrawal INDIA, CANADA ROW Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 24 The central committee of the CPI (ML) New Democracy today stated that the suspension of visa service will cause hardships and problems to Canadian citizens of Indian origin. They said the Central government has suspended visas to Canadians, including Canadians of Indian origin, and threat to Indian diplomatic staff has been men- tioned as the reason for this. The CPI(ML) New Democracy condemned the blanket suspension and demanded its immediate withdrawal. Members of the CPI (ML) New Democracy said the order avowedly relates to lack of action by Canada government against Khalistanis. But it is conveniently and deliberately forgotten that only a very small minority of Punjabi diaspora in Canada supports the activities of Khalistanis. So, acting against all Indian Canadians is wrong, they held. The party’s state unit chief Ajmer Singh said a similar attitude was witnessed during the Congress regime, which had contributed to the sufferings of Punjab in 1980s and 1990s. The CPI (ML) New Democracy appealed that for shortterm political gains, the ruling parties and governments should not resort to such steps. They said that the country, especially Punjab, is witnessing a growing democratic movement. Hence, any measure to spoil this atmosphere should be opposed.