26092023-JTR-01.qxd 9/26/2023 12:31 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune KASHMIR MALHI ASSUMES CHARGE AS TRUST CHAIRMAN PARINEETI, RAGHAV UNITE FOR THEIR ‘HAPPILY EVER AFTER’ FALAQ SAYS NO CHARACTER IS BIG OR SMALL FOR HER Advocate Kashmir Singh Malhi took charge as the chairman of the Improvement Trust, Phagwara. P2 Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha, popularly known as Raagneeti, got married in Udaipur on Sunday. P3 Falaq Naaz, who recently proved herself in Bigg Boss OTT 2, says it’s very different to work in a reality show. P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 34°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6:15 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:13 AM TUESDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2023 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF ‘NO WORK DAY’ IN COURTS TODAY Jalandhar: The executive committee of the District Bar Association has announced a ‘no-work day’ in Jalandhar on Tuesday (September 26) to support the state-level call given by lawyers over the alleged inhuman treatment meted out by Punjab police officials to an advocate of Muktsar. Aditya Jain, president of the DBA, Jalandhar, said the victim, Varinder Singh, was a member of the Muktsar Sahib Bar Association. “Since the police have not taken any action against the culprits till date, we stand with our legal fraternity and observe ‘no work day’ in Jalandhar courts on Tuesday,” he said. Jain has also urged DBA members, judicial officials and revenue officials to cooperate in the matter. TNS TWO SCHOOL GIRLS ABDUCTED Phagwara: The Shahkot police have booked unidentified persons on the charge of kidnapping two girls. Manjit Kaur, a resident of Kakarr Kalan village, complained to the police that her daughters Nagita and Munisha - went to the school on August 23, but did not return home. Investigating officer Kashmir Singh said a case under Section 365 (kidnapping) of the IPC had been registered against the unidentified persons. Further investigations were on into the case. OC THREE BOOKED ON ASSAULT CHARGE Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have booked three persons on the charge of assaulting a villager. Investigating officer (IO) Nirmal Singh said the suspects had been identified as Seetal Singh, a resident of Narang Pur village, and his two unidentified accomplices. Prabhjot Singh, a resident of Narang Pur village, complained to the police that he was going to his fields on September 21 when two unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants with masked faces waylaid him and started abusing him. Seetal also reached the spot and the three attacked and injured him on September 19. He said the suspects also threatened him with dire consequences. A case under Sections 323, 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (committing a crime with common intention) of the IPC has been registered against the suspects. OC Govt offices no exception to municipal woes City resident nabbed Overflowing sewer hits agriculture, soil & water conservation departments Avneet Kaur NO ACTION DESPITE SEVERAL PLAINTS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 A blocked sewer outside the Chief Agriculture and Soil and Water Conservation office on Ladowali Road has escalated into a major crisis, causing distress not only to government officials but also to farmers and other visitors who frequent the area daily. Despite persistent complaints and appeals to local MLA Raman Arora and Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh, the issue remains unaddressed. Dr Jaswant Rai, Chief Agriculture Officer, expressed his frustration, highlighting the fact that the entire lane and the entrance to his office are now submerged in filthy sewer water. “Unfortunate situation has led to accidents among farmers visiting the office and has made their lives miserable due to the foul smell emanating from it,” he said, adding that the problem was not new. It had plagued the area for nearly three years. Dr Rai said in the past, he with illegal weapons Dr Jaswant Rai, Chief Agriculture Officer, disclosed that his department had submitted a number of complaints to the MC Commissioner and he had personally discussed the matter with Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh, but to no avail. HEALTH HAZARD Sewer water accumulated outside the Chief Agriculture and Soil and Water Conservation Office on the Ladowali Road in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH had to dip into his own pockets to resolve the problem. Due to the recurrence of the issue with the choked sewer lines and municipal negligence, the problem resurfaced. He disclosed that his department had submitted a number of complaints to the MC Commissioner and he had personally discussed the matter with Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh, but to no avail. Lupinder Kumar, Water and Soil Conservation Officer, said the issue wasn’t limited to visitors to the office.It affects school students and anyone crossing the lane. He said despite several complaints from his office too, it seems that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears. “Government offices in the area, including Soil and Water Conservation Department, Agriculture Development Office (ADO), District Training Office (DTO), District Agriculture Implements Office, Chief Agriculture Office, and several others, serve approximately 500 people daily. Unfortunately, the Municipal Corporation has taken no initiative to address this critical problem,” he said. Lupinder Kumar, Water and Soil Conservation Officer, emphasised that apart from causing the inconvenience of commuting and foul smell, accumulated dirty water has become a breeding ground for insects, posing a serious health hazard to those living nearby. Kumar emphasised that apart from causing the inconvenience of commuting and foul smell, accumulated dirty water has become a breeding ground for insects, posing a serious health hazard to those living nearby. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, MC Commissioner Rishi Pal could not be contacted. The suspect in police custody in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 The Division Number 8 police today arrested a person and recovered two country made pistols, two live cartridges and a sharp weapon from his possession. The suspect has been identified as Rohan Kumar, a resident of Amar Nagar in Jalandhar. Addressing mediapersons, ADCP-2 Aditya said a police party was on a regular checking near Parshuram Nagar. They received a tip-off that Rohan, who was planning to commit some crime, was carrying illegal weapons. “After getting information, the police party rushed to the spot and arrested the suspect. The police also seized the Activa scooter he was riding,” he said. He said a case under Section 379-B of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against him. “Further investigations were on in the case. The police produced him in a court today and sought his remand for further interrogation,” he said. Sidhupur Government Primary School building declared unsafe Inebriated man Gang of vehicle lifters busted, 1 held ‘kills’ father in Stolen luxury cars recovered from his possession Nawanshahr Edu Dept team visits premises after roof of verandah collapsed Jalandhar, September 25 A man allegedly killed his father in an inebriated state at Saloh, Nawanshahr. The deceased has been identified as Surinder Kumar (62). The suspect has been identified as Balraj Singh, who is a divorcee and has a four-year-old daughter. A complaint in this regard was filed by Monica, daughter of the deceased. Monica said she had gone to her father’s home. “I met my father and niece. Everything was fine till then. I came back home. Next day, I got a phone call from our neighbour that my father had died. I immediately reached home and found his body. My niece told me that her father beat up her grandfather with sticks last night. A few years ago, he broke my father’s arm, but things were later sorted out. I want strict action against my brother,” she said in her statement. According to information, the suspect was demanding money from his father. When he allegedly refused to give him money, the suspect started beating him up. A case has been registered against the suspect under Section 302 of the IPC. — TNS Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 A day after the roof of the verandah collapsed at Government Primary School, Sidhupur, the building has been declared unsafe. The incident took place on Saturday. Fortunately, no staff or students were present as the school had got over when the incident took place. A team of the Education Department visited the school today and checked the building. An engineer from the department who looks after civil works of the school was also present. A proposal has been sent to the higher authorities to declare the school unsafe. According to information, the school building developed some cracks after the floods hit the Lohian block. As a result, the roof collapsed. There are three rooms in the school. Still, students were made to sit outside because of the poor condition of the classrooms. There are around 25 students in this single-teacher school. Members of the Education Department team during a visit to Government Primary School, Sidhupur, on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO NO COMPROMISE WITH STUDENTS’ SAFETY ❝ Students were made to sit in the panchayat ghar on Monday. We will now hold the classes in the panchayat ghar. We cannot compromise with the students’ safety. ❞ Amandeep Kaur, IN-CHARGE GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL, SIDHUPUR School in-charge Amandeep Kaur said students were made to sit in the panchayat ghar today. “We will now hold the classes in the panchayat ghar. We cannot compromise with the students’ safety,” she said. After floods, cracks have developed in rooms and washrooms of several other schools. In some schools, there are no boundary walls. The condition of Government Primary School, Mundi Shehrian, and Government Primary School, Mundi Cholian, is also poor. The schools remained under water for more than two months. When The Tribune team visited these schools, the building was found to be in a poor state. Stolen cars recovered from the suspect; and (below) the police address a press conference in Jalandhar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 A police party of Division Number 6, led by ADCP-2 Aditya, busted a gang of vehicle lifters and arrested one of its members. The police also recovered six stolen cars - Mercedes, BMW, Swift Dzire, Swift, Accent and Zen - from his possession. The suspect has been identified as Sunnypreet Singh (26), alias Sunny, a resident of Baba Bakala in Amritsar Rural. Officials said a case of vehicle theft was registered at the Division Number 6 police station on September 12. During investigation, the police arrested Sunnypreet. The suspect was active in lifting vehicles from the city, neighbouring districts, states and Delhi. The officials said a case under Sections 379, 411 and 413 of the IPC has been reg- istered against him. The suspect was taken on fourday remand for further investigation. They would inquire about other members of the gang and more stolen vehicles. Sugar mill tussle: BKU (Doaba) Won’t cremate body till all suspects held, says sister holds out threat of indefinite stir Hardeep Deepa’s murder Kingpin among four persons arrested so far, 6 still at large Aparna Banerji Ashok Kaura Phagwara, September 25 Amid the tussle between cane growers, Phagwara Sugar Mill and the civil administration over the payment of arrears of ~43 crore to the farmers and their threat to intensify stir from September 27, a meeting of the ‘price fixation committee’ was convened by Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Captain Karnail Singh at the Municipal Corporation Hall in Phagwara today. The Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner asked leaders of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) to cancel their proposed indefinite dharna from September 27 before Golden Sandhar Sugar Mill, Phagwara, in view of the administrative meeting scheduled in Chandigarh on September 28. The appeal was rejected by leaders of the BKU (Doaba) who demanded ground-level action on attached properties by September 26. Kapurthala DC Captain Karnail Singh, ADC Amit Kumar, SDM Jai Inder Singh, Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Tehsildar Baljinder Singh, Phagwara Block Samiti chairman Gurdial Singh Bhularai, BJP leader Avtar Singh Mand and Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) general secretary Satnam Singh Sahni attended the meeting. BKU leader Satnam Singh Sahni said the administration did not give any output to the sugarcane farmers regarding auction of attached properties of mill owners. Now, the administration had given the date of September 28 for a meeting with the Punjab Government, but farmers were not in agreement with it. Sahni said if the administration gives any output by taking action on the attached properties of mill owners i.e. locking and vacating the properties and preventing the properties from ploughing, then they could consider postponing their programme of an indefinite dharna from September 27. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 Even six days after the brutal murder of Hardeep Singh, alias Deepa, family members of the 30-year-old bodybuilder refused to cremate the body, demanding the arrest of all suspects in the case. Four persons, including the kingpin, have been arrested. The family, however, said they would perform the last rites only after the arrest of all 10 persons named in the case. Deepa’s family also denied the drug charges levelled against him by the police yesterday. However, the police today claimed that Deepa c m y b was a drug user. He also went to Boota Pind on September 19 to consume drugs. Hardeep, alias Deepa, was brutally murdered by Harpreet, alias Happy, and his aides on September 19. The suspects, who dropped his body outside his house at Dhilwan village, knocked at his home and informed his parents that they had murdered their son. As many as 10 persons were named in the case. Of this, four suspects have been arrested. While kingpin Harpreet Singh, alias Happy, his aides Navjit Singh, alias Gora, Amruddin, alias Amru, and Manav Mehta, alias Manav, were arrested, six persons - Kulwinder Kaur (Harpreet Happy’s mother), Malkit Singh, alias Happy, Charanjit Kaur, alias Raj, Sharan, alias Kela, Rohit Kumar, alias Ronny, and Sukhwinder Singh, alias Shubham, - are still at large. Notably, in the formal version and release issued regarding the case yesterday, the Kapurthala police had stated that on the night of the murder, Hardeep Singh Deepa visited Jeona, a resident of Boota village on his motorcycle, and was going out of his house carrying drugs towards the Subhanpur side. He was chased near fields and then brutally murdered before being left outside his house by Harpeet, alias Happy, and his aides. Harpreet Kaur, sister of Hardeep Singh Deepa, said, “My brother was a bodybuilder and he didn’t take drugs. Charges framed against him dilute the seriousness of the case. We will not cremate the body until Harpreet Happy’s mother Kulwinder Kaur and other remaining suspects named in the case are arrested.” Ramaninder Singh, SP (Investigation), Kapurthala, said: “Hardeep Singh Deepa was a drug user. It surfaced during investigation that he went to Boota village to consume chitta. He also con- sumed it by the time he came out. He might have also carried some drugs along with him while he was leaving the place. One of the suspects, Malkit Singh, is also a drug user. So far, we don’t have reason to believe that key suspect Happy was a drug user.” He said the police were on the lookout for the remaining suspects. Notably, Harpreet Singh Happy had 11 previous cases registered against him, while two previous cases registered against Hardeep Singh Deepa. The SP said Deepa was not a kabaddi player. His photo clicked in a gym being circulated on the social media was also several years old.