02042024-JTR-01.qxd 4/2/2024 12:35 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune WOMEN’S HOCKEY MEET TO BE HELD FROM APRIL 5 SHRUTI STARTS SHOOTING FOR CHENNAI STORY PARINEETI RESPONDS TO PREGNANCY RUMOURS The first edition of Surjit 5S Women’s Hockey Gold Cup to be held at Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium.P2 Shruti Haasan's next project is an international film, Chennai Story. It will be helmed by Philip John.P4 Parineeti Chopra debunks rumours of her pregnancy by sharing a video of herself wearing ‘fitted clothes’. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 14.5°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6:42 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:09 AM TUESDAY | 2 APRIL 2024 | JALANDHAR Civic issues in city take a back seat amid poll din INBRIEF GUNSHOTS FIRED AT SINGER’S HOUSE MAN KILLED IN ROAD MISHAP Leaders primarily busy promoting their parties, ignore voters’ concerns INDIA VOTES 2024 Avneet Kaur Tribune News Service Security personnel hold a flag march in Jalandhar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Police duty-bound to ensure free, fair elections, says top cop Vigil up, flag marches held in various parts of the city Tribune News Service Phagwara: A man died after being hit by a speeding car near the Khalwara bypass on Sunday night. The deceased, identified as Sat Pal, owner of Sapra Hardware, was coming outside after attending a religious congregation. He was taken to a private hospital. Owing to his critical condition, he was referred to Ludhiana where he was declared dead on arrival. The police have registered a case. OC Jalandhar, April 1 In a bid to ensure free, fair and peaceful Lok Sabha poll, the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate, led by Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma held flag marches in various parts of the city today. Divulging details, CP Sharma said the police were dutybound to ensure free and fair elections. For this, vigil had been increased and flag marches were being organised in the entire city. He said a significant number of police force and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel had been deployed in the city. CP Sharma said the city was divided into four zones - Model Town, West, Central and North sub-divisions. Led by designated officers, including ADCP Zone-II Aditya, ADCP Operations and Security Chand Singh, ADCP Zone-I Gurpartap Singh Sahota and ACP Satinder Kumar, the flag marches began from Masand Chowk, Ravidass Chowk, Jyoti Chowk and Pathankot Chowk, respectively. Sharma said SHOs, in charge of police posts (I/C PPs), station forces concerned, Emergency Response System (ERS) and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) took part in the marches, which aimed at assessing security checks for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and reassuring the public of fairness of the electoral process. He said approximately 900 police personnel took part in the flag marches. Complaint lodged against Congress leader Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 1 District BJP president Sushil Sharma today lodged a complaint with the District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, against a Congress leader for allegedly holding an event wherein various important documents and cards of residents were to be made. Sushil alleged that Congress leader Jagdish Samrai circulated a message on social media groups stating that Ayushman cards, zero balance bank accounts, LIC policies, Abha cards, voter cards and Aadhaar cards will be made at Mohalla Rattan Nagar. He asked residents to bring Starry affair along relevant documents at the event. In his complaint to the DC, Sharma alleged that this was a violation of the Election Commission’s guidelines as it would allegedly influence voters. Jalandhar, April 1 The focus of political parties and leaders in the preelection period should ideally be on developmental issues such as inadequate infrastructure, waste management and staff shortages in government schools and hospitals. However, political leaders this time are primarily engaged in promoting their parties and touting their past accomplishments to garner votes, ignoring crucial civic concerns. Moreover, as leaders continue to switch allegiances to different parties, the predominant buzz these days is only which political party has the edge. Whether it’s the ruling AAP in Punjab, BJP SAD or , Congress, their leaders have been targeting Opposition parties, engaging in blame game or boasting about past achievements. However, none of them are addressing the core issues or presenting their plans to tackle them. It’s strange that political leaders traversing through city roads have no qualms in witnessing unattended garbage dumps in every nook and corner, broken roads and non-functional street lights. What’s even more disheartening is that PHOTOS: SARABJIT SINGH Jalandhar: Gunshots were fired at the residence of singer Sahil Shah in Boota Mandi here late on Sunday night. The incident came to light on Monday evening after Shah returned from Chandigarh. Shah said he received threatening phone calls recently. “I went to Chandigarh for the recording of my song. When I returned home, family members told me about the firing. We saw bullet marks on the main gate and found empty shells on the premises,” he said. Shah informed the police about the incident. The police said they are scrutinising the footage of CCTV cameras to identify the suspects. TNS Garbage dumped on the roadside raises stink; and (below) roads in a dilapidated condition in Jalandhar. instead of questioning these leaders and parties about important issues and their past actions, voters seem more interested in discussing which political party has the upper hand or is winning this time, rather than what their intentions and plans for the city’s improvement are. Issues such as poor roads, traffic congestion due to encroachments, waste management, upgrading sports facilities, non-functional community health centres, pollution, cleaning Kala Sanghian drain, corruptionfree government offices, employment and affordable education have plagued city residents for decades. Almost every political party that has ruled or is currently in power has made grand promises to address these issues and usher in change, but the ground reality tells a different story. “More than the political parties or leaders, it’s the voters who are accountable for our present situation,” claimed Manmeet Kaur, a college student. She said a waste management project was proposed in the city back in 2014. However, nothing has been done even after a decade. “Surprisingly, no one questions so-called elected representatives about their contributions to the city so far,” she said. Echoing similar sentiments, other residents also expressed their disillusionment with the present political discourse and urged political leaders to fulfil past promises before making new ones. After Rinku & Bhatia, more AAP councillors likely to follow suit Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Veteran actors Rajendra Gupta and Himani Shivpuri enact a scene from a play, "Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai", to mark World Theatre Day on the LPU campus in Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH Jalandhar, April 1 Last year, a swarm of hopefuls had joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), after which it was said that the MC elections will also be won by the party. One year later, the entire political scenario appears to have changed and those who shifted to AAP are now looking for other parties to join. In the coming days, more political twists and turns are expected with leaders leaving and joining parties. Murmurs of more changes in terms of shifting among the parties are already going on. AAP leaders who joined the BJP in Delhi on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Days back, Sushil Rinku, who had won the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll and become an MP gave a jolt , after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with MLA, Jalandhar West, Shee- tal Angural. Yesterday, seven councillors including former Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, who had switched sides to AAP last year, joined the saffron party. The flip-flop by the councillors has definitely not stopped here. There is some possibility that around 10 more former councillors might leave the party and join BJP . A leader from AAP a former , councillor requesting anonymity, said that a meeting is scheduled with one of the senior leaders after which the decision would be taken. “We will take up our issues with the party high command and if they are not resolved, then there is no point in continuing and we are not going to stay here. We will shift then,” he added. “We had joined the party with some expectations, but they have not been met,” a former councillor stated. Sources said that the councillors who were left in the AAP were also getting calls from the Congress party, persuading them to join. International drug cartel case takes a new turn Act tough to stop flow of illegal liquor: DC ‘Kingpin’ Mani goes live on FB, denies involvement; raids on to nab Harman Avneet Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 1 In a dramatic twist to the international drug cartel case, Manish, alias Mani Thakur, hailing from Jalandhar and presently residing in the UK, took to social media to vehemently deny his involvement in the case. He was allegedly termed as the kingpin of the cartel, which was busted by the city police last month. During a live conversation on his Facebook account, Mani refuted all accusations levelled against him by the police. He asserted that he had spent most of his life in Jalandhar and had only shifted to the UK a year ago. In a 25-minute video, Mani alleged that he was being falsely implicated by the police to exonerate another individual, Harman, from the charges. He alleged that the police had coerced Harman into arranging 20 kg of opium, purportedly as evidence, in exchange for leniency. Mani further accused a PA of MLA of aiding Harman in striking a deal with the police to evade prosecution. Presenting himself as a victim of political vendetta or personal animosity, Mani claimed to uncover the truth behind his alleged framing. He asserted possessing substantial evidence, including video and call recordings, to substantiate his claims and vowed to present them in the court through his legal representation in Jalandhar. He also raised allegations of torture inflicted upon his female friend, Amarjit Kaur, in the police custody. He claimed that Kaur had endured brutal treatment, including physical assault, by a male police officer wielding a baton. He claimed to have video evidence of the alleged treatment and revealed the dire condition in which Kaur was left. She was unable to walk when she was undergoing medical examination at the Civil Hospital. Meanwhile, CIA in charge Surinder Kumar refuted all Continued on page 2 c m y b Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, April 1 To conduct the Lok Sabha elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner, a meeting was held with officials of the Excise Department and district bottling plants under the leadership of District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal and SSP Hoshiarpur Surendra Lamba. The District Electoral Officer and the SSP directed police officers and the Excise Department to work together as a team and act tough so that the flow of illegal liquor can be stopped during the elections. She said if illegal liquor was recovered anywhere and its links were connected to the district, strict action should be taken against the guilty persons. She said monitoring should be maintained at inter-district and inter-state borders. Strict action should be taken against those preparing illegal liquor. Komal Mittal asked officials to keep vigil on dilapidated buildings, marriage palaces, warehouses and other suspicious places where liquor can be stored. She also urged people that if they have any information regarding illegal liquor anywhere, they should inform the police or the Excise Department. The identity of the person giving information would be kept confidential. If liquor or any other intoxicant was being distributed to influence voters, it should also be reported immediately. Polling officer raises voter awareness Hoshiarpur: In a series of SVEEP activities to make voters aware of their right to franchise, Preet Kohli, Dis- trict Nodal Officer for SVEEP-cum-Assistant Director, Youth Services, raised the flame of voter awareness in a unique way. While he appealed to employees of the Punjab Roadways to exercise their right to vote at the bus stand in Hoshiarpur, he also boarded various buses and played the tambourine, administering them the oath to cast their vote. Preet said SVEEP nodal officers were visiting different places to spread awareness among people and he was confident that the efforts would yield positive results.
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