10072024-ATR-01.qxd 7/9/2024 10:51 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 38°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 29°C ROBBERY BID ENDS IN CHAOS AS VICTIM’S CAR OVERTURNS ACTOR AND SINGER AYUSHMANN’S NEW SINGLE CELEBS SPREAD COLOUR AT ANANT & RADHIKA’S HALDI A robbery attempt turns into chaos when women who were targeted fled leading to a dramatic car crash. P2 Actor and singer Ayushmann Khurrana has released his new single titled Reh Ja. P4 After their sangeet ceremony, Anant Ambani and Radhika celebrated their haldi ceremony on Monday. P4 » » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.38 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.33 AM WEDNESDAY | 10 JULY 2024 | AMRITSAR BJP leader Malik alleges threat to life; wants caller’s arrest Amritsar, July 9 BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik today claimed to have received a threat to his life through phone calls. Addressing a press conference here, Malik claimed that he received a threat on July 3 and has informed senior police officials about it. He also accused the police of being lax in tracing the culprits. Shwait Malik revealed that on July 3 at around 11.30 pm, he got a call from a person, who identified himself as Gaurav. Gaurav stated that he has an audio recording of a gangster named Ranjit. In that particular recording, the gangster is heard saying that he will shoot Shwait Malik and kill him. Gaurav sent the recording to Malik. “I called up the Deputy Commissioner of Police Alam Vijay Singh at 1 am in the night and informed him. After this, the audio was also sent to the officer,” he added. The BJP leader said that the DCP immediately marked his complaint to Amolak Singh, SHO Civil Lines. Amolak Singh also called him and assured that the accused will be nabbed soon. Malik stated that police officers told him that Gaurav was a notorious person and his phone details are being looked up so that gangster Ranjit can be traced. Malik expressed his resentment over the attitude of the police as even five days after the incident it had not been able to nab anyone in the case. “I am concerned about the common man. If gangsters are openly threatening leaders who are doing social service, then what will happen to the common people? The police is delaying the case.” When contacted, the SHO said the police were about to crack the case and the accused will be nabbed soon. However, the police have not been able to nab either Ranjit or Gaurav, whose number he had given to the police. He said that if the perpetrators of this act are not caught, then he will talk to the DGP in this regard. — TNS Police bust gang involved in fake arms licence racket Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 9 The district police have busted a five-member gang of swindlers involved in giving fake arms licence by charging Rs 1.5 lakh. The gang also helped to get these licences renewed without dope test reports in lieu of Rs 20,000. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashwani Kapur informed newsmen here on Tuesday that three members of the gang have been arrested while two of their associates are yet to be arrested. The arrested gang members have been identified as Pawandeep Singh alias Mantri, a resident of Mallia; Shamsher Singh, a resident of Jhander and Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Jodhpur. The absconding gang members are Raghav Kapur of Jaspal Nagar (Sultanwind, Amritsar) and Suraj Bhandari of Kiri Shahi (Verowal). The police recovered three mobiles, 24 fake arms licences Three of the five gang members in the custody of the police in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI and fake stickers. The SSP said that a team of the local CIA staff led by Inspector Prabhjit Singh arrested three members of the gang from the Old Court Complex in Tarn Taran on Saturday last. The SSP said that the gang was charging an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh for issuing fake licences and used to issue it within 15 days without any formalities. A sum of ~20,000 was charged for getting the licence renewed without the dope test. The arrested gang members were produced in court and sent to three days of police remand. Many persons with the help of these fake licences have purchased arms from the market and it is to be investi- gated, said an official on the condition of anonymity. The local Sadar police have registered a case under Section 318 (4), 336 (3), 336 (2), 340 (2) and 61 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Saturday. The information was shared by the police with media persons here on Tuesday. 2 nabbed for illegal train ticket booking Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 9 Railway staff along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) held two unscrupulous elements for illegally assisting in booking tickets at the Amritsar railway station on Monday evening. Commercial Inspector, Amritsar, Ajay Kamal Sidhu and Balwinder Singh along with RPF Sub-Inspector Pradeep Kumar raided the premises of the Railway Reservation Office, which is situated at the railway station. The incident took place at the time of Tatkal booking. As per the instructions of the Senior Divisional Security Commissioner and the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Ferozepur division, the raid was conducted in connection with a complaint made during Tatkal booking in the reservation office. During the raid, two suspicious-looking persons were found to be moving in the waiting hall. These two persons were found to have no authority letter to remain in Involve local residents to nab drug peddlers, says DIG Siblings shot at over property dispute Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, July 9 The efforts made by DIG (Border Range) Rakesh Kaushal to involve civil society activists in the fight against drugs, particularly heroin, elicited a positive response as he presided over a packed house of concerned parents and other stakeholders at a meeting held in the Police Lines today. Almost all officers of Gurdaspur police district, including SSP Harish Dayama, were present. The battle against drugs in this border district is in full swing with the cops identifying and subsequently raiding houses and other hideouts of smugglers. Last month, three young men were found dead after being injected by an overdose of heroin in Deeda Sansian village, notorious for sale of Gurdaspur DC Vishesh Sarangal (right) addresses a police-public meeting in Gurdaspur on Tuesday. He is flanked by DIG (Border Range) Rakesh Kaushal (middle) and SSP Harish Dayama. TRIBUNE PHOTO drugs. The development triggered a series of raids in which substantial quantities of heroin were recovered from Deeda Sansian and its adjoining villages falling in Dinanagar police district. DIG Kaushal said some residents told him that com- mittees comprising local residents and police officers should be formed to check the sale of heroin in narrow alleys. “When we raid a house located in a narrow street, the smugglers invariably escape making use of local conditions. Now we plan to involve residents of those areas to make sure smugglers do not escape taking advantage of the narrow streets,” said an anti-drug enforcement officer. This is the third meeting that the DIG has presided over in the last one week. The problem of drug consumption is all the more pronounced in this border district because of Pakistani drones which drop contraband in villages located near the international border. The contraband is later brought and distributed in Gurdaspur city and its satellite towns. The DIG exhorted principals and teachers of schools to hold seminars which will educate students about the ill-effects of drugs. In his address, Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Vishesh Sarangal urged parents to double up their efforts to ensure that their children do not fall prey to drugs. He also urged school heads to make sure that drugs were not sold in the vicinity of their institutions. Romesh Mahajan, Project Director, Red Cross De-addiction Centre, urged the state continuned on page 2 Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 9 A property dispute in a family led to shooting and injuring of a brother and sister duo at Dhigana village here on last Saturday night. The injured have been identified as Shehbaz Singh Baga of Dhigana and his married sister Sharanjit Kaur of Sarhali Kalan. ASI Kanwaljit Singh, posted at the Patti Sadar police station, said Shehbaz Singh Baga had a dispute with his uncle Hazara Singh of Ghariala village over the division of land. According to the injured, they were given three marlas of land instead of five marlas from the inherited property. He had been demanding the remaining two marlas from his uncle, but he was not ready to give him his share. ASI Kanwaljit Singh said Hazara Singh, his wife Harjinder Kaur, Ninder Kaur, Simarjit Singh, Baljit Singh, all residents of Ghariala, Gian Singh and Nishan Singh (relatives of Hazara Singh), residents of Dhaliwal, along with three other unidentified persons armed with weapons came to his residence and fired at him. While he was shot at and left injured, his sister was attacked with a brick. Sehbaz and his sister have been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Ghariala, where their condition is said to be stable. The ASI said the accused have been booked under Sections 109, 333, 324 (4), 191 (3), 190, of the BNS and continued on page 2 Two accused in the custody of railway officials at the Amritsar station. TRIBUNE PHOTO the railway premises. Also, both persons were creating a hindrance in Tatkal ticket booking, the officials said. They said both persons have been arrested by the RPF for further action under the Railway Act. To ensure that railway passengers do not face any kind of inconvenience during the Tatkal ticket booking, surprise inspections are conducted by the RPF and the Commercial Department at regular intervals. Sikh delegation meets Amritpal’s parents at his native place Tribune News Service AMritsar, July 9 A delegation of ‘Panthic Sikhs’ met the parents of newly elected jailed MP from Khadoor Sahib and pro-Khalistan Amritpal Singh at his native village in Jallupur Khera here. Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh said it was just a courtesy visit after Amritpal took oath as an MP recently. He said during the conversation, various issues pertaining to the Panth and the upcoming SGPC polls were discussed. “The need of the hour was to safeguard the Panth and society. Amritpal’s aim too was to channelise the youth’s energy in a positive direction and free them from social continued on page 2 Akhara, jagratafast losing their popular appeal Abhishek, Sneh Rana toast of the town Economic and social factors coupled with changing tastes take sheen off Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 9 A host of reasons like demonetisation, introduction of GST, spiralling inflation and the impact of social media have made ‘Chinja’ and ‘Akhara’ (fairs in rural areas), social events and gatherings, including jagrata, less visible in the post Covid-19 period. Performers including singers, musicians and others who earned their bread and butter from these events now look for employment opportunities in other arenas. Folk singer Glory Bawa’s plea that income from live concerts and shows have dwindled lays bare the harsh reality that live art and concert performers are facing a serious threat to their livelihood in the cyber age. ‘Chinja’ and ‘Akhara’ (Melas) in villages have nurtured Punjabi folk singing for centuries. Over the past few years, they have turned their back to quality singing and Satinder Sartaaj performs during a jagran in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO switched to songs with double meaning. Glory Bawa, daughter of Padma Bhushan awardee Gurmeet Bawa, Malika-e-Hek (method of singing in extended breath), said organisers of these events no longer invite them to perform as the present generation does not like to listen to traditional songs. In case, they invite them, then the remuneration is so less that it does not make any sense to perform there. For instance, she recently got a call to perform in a village fair for a paltry Rs 2,100. She said people were ready to pay those who sing songs with double meaning but not to those who preserve ‘Maa Boli’ (mother tongue) and Punjabi folk. She said several people once associated with live performances were compelled to ply ‘Rehris’ to earn their livelihood. Vicky Dutta, who continuously organised Jagrata from 2011 to 2020 in the city, said the overnight religious congregation no longer attracts common people who devote a major part of their daily life in earning livelihood and scrolling on their mobile handsets. “After Covid-19, the priorities have changed. People have become more individualistic,” he said recalling that motivation, especially among the youth to watch Jagrata all night, had subsided by 2010 as they were not interested in listening to traditional ‘Bheta’ (songs sung in praise of goddess). He tried to revitalise the age-old tradition of jagrata by roping in prominent Punjabi singers like Gurdas Maan, Lakhwinder Wadali, Satinder Sartaaj, Kanwar Grewal, continued on page 2 c m y b after hurricane hundred, 10-wicket haul Hailing from city, both cement a place in world cricket with stellar performances Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 9 Cricket fans in the holy city are overjoyed after two of its residents, both promising youngsters, Abhishek Sharma and Sneh Rana, made waves in international cricket. Making his international appearance in a dramatic fashion in a T20 cricket match in Zimbabwe, Abhishek hit a 47-ball century after being out for a duck in the first match. His century took India to 234 for two before the visitors bundled out the hosts for a paltry 134 in 18.4 overs to register a whopping 100-run win in the match played on Sunday. After hitting a 47-ball ton, the young batsman Abhishek Sharma said he kept his belief in his hitting ability despite getting out for a duck in his international debut match on July 6. Considered a hard-hitting Cricketer Abhishek Sharma’s mother Manju Sharma, his father Raj Kumar Sharma (in centre) and a relative were elated at his hitting a ton against Zimbabwe in Amritsar recently. TRIBUNE PHOTO lower-order batsman who also chips in as a left-arm spinner, he guided India to victory in the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2016 and has a World Cup to his name as an Under-19 cricketer. As a young cricket star, he was part of the Indian squad for the ICC World Cup. He came to limelight with a century while making his U19 debut for Punjab in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. He had already shared his dream with the media — to make it to the senior squad — for which he has been making giant strides. He was trained by his childhood idol Yuvraj Singh whom he saw batting on screen while growing up and adored his style. Earlier in 2022, he was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at a record price of Rs 6.50 crore. Amritsar Games Association president and Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori congratulated Abhishek Sharma on the achievement. He said it was a matter of pride that a local youngster and a player of the Amritsar Games Association (AGA), had got a place in world cricket. He expressed the hope that Abhishek would bring fame to the district and Punjab with his performance. For local cricket lovers, one more reason to cheer is Sneh Rana, an all-rounder in the Indian women’s cricket team. She created a record by taking 10 wickets in the Test match against South African women’s team in Chennai recently. A spin bowler, she deftly captured eight wickets in the first innings and scalped two more in the second. The feat earned her the continued on page 2
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