08082024-ATR-01.qxd 8/7/2024 10:40 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY FAMILY PROTESTS POLICE INACTION IN LAND DISPUTE CASE NAWAZUDDIN ALL SET TO PLAY THE NOTORIOUS JUDGE IN NEXT FILM CELEBRITIES PRAISE WRESTLER VINESH PHOGAT’S RESILIENCE A family staged a dharna in the Chabal police station complex against alleged indifferent attitude of cops in a land dispute case.P2 Nawazuddin Siddiqui is all set to play the notorious Assamese judge Upendra Nath Rajkhowa in his next film. P4 MAX 34°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 29°C Vinesh Phogat might have been disqualified from the Olympics, but celebrities praise her resilience, determination & spirit. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 7.20 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:51 AM » THURSDAY | 8 AUGUST 2024 | AMRITSAR Drug peddlers sent to two-day police remand Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 7 Two drug peddlers arrested by the Amritsar (Rural) police were yesterday produced in a court which sent them to twoday police remand. They were identified as Jatinder Singh of Naushehra Dhalla village and Lovepreet Singh of Chahal village. The police had recovered 1kg heroin from their possession. Charanjit Singh Sohal, SSP, Amritsar (Rural), said the duo was arrested from the Rajatal area when they were travelling on a bike to deliver the contraband. He said they tried to slip away after seeing the police party, but were arrested by cops. During search, the police seized the contraband from them. Investigations revealed that they had contacts with a Pakistan-based smuggler with pseudo name “Chacha”. This was second consignment they had picked up from the international border. Earlier, they had smuggled 500gm of heroin, sources in the Police Department said. Further investigation was in progress. Civil unrest in Bangladesh may turn West Bengal’s fabric buyers to Amritsar 75% demand for warp-knit fabric is met by units based in Bangladesh Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 7 After the civil unrest in Bangladesh, the holy citybased Rs 2,000 crore annual turnover warp knitting industry, a kind of textile, is looking for a possible spike in orders from Eastern India, especially West Bengal. The city has between 400 and 600 manufacturing warp knitting units. In the Eastern India, Kolkata is the biggest market for the Amritsar-based manufacturers supplying warpknit fabric which is used in fashion industry for manufacturing ethnic wear, including lehngas, lady suits and sarees and for making mosquito mesh nets. At present, Amritsar is supplying only 25 per cent of the entire market share of West Bengal and the rest of the 75 per cent demand for warp-knit fabric is met by Bangladesh manufacturers. Krishan Kumar Sharma, a leading industrialist, claimed that the deployment of Indian troops along the India-Bangladesh border A worker at a warp-knit fabric unit in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO USED IN A WIDE RANGE OF ITEMS Wrap-knit fabric, a branch of the textile industry, is widely used in the manufacture of a wide range of items, including shoes, schoolbags, automobiles, curtains, bed sheets, briefcases, sportswear, helmets, travelling accessories, men and women wear, besides many other things. The warp-knit fabric is widely used in party dresses earning it the name of fashion fabric. Two kinds of warp-knit fabric - raschel, made with latch needles and tricot, made by using bearded needles, - is available in the market. would not only strengthen the security, but also help curb tax evasion on imported goods, including textiles. He said the warp-knit fabric reaches eastern parts of the country from Bangladesh without paying any tax. He hoped that strict security measures would bring down the difference in prices of textiles being manufactured in Bangladesh and Amritsar to a level playing field. Bangladesh manufacturers are supplying warp-knit fab- ric at 10 to 15 per cent less rates offered by the local manufacturers who provide fabric at minimum Rs 6 to a maximum of Rs 30 per metre. While sounding cautious, Ajay Mehra, another manufacturer of the warp-knit fab- ric, said troubles like civil unrest cause inconvenience to common people. He said the industry in Bangladesh had the backing of big business houses in China and the UAE. They would look for alternate secure passages to deliver the fabric in India, he said. He said, “Chinese manufacturers are supplying full drawn yarn (FDY), used for manufacturing warp-knit fabric, to Bangladesh textile industry. The finished fabric is supplied to India. This move brought down local manufacturers’ market share in Eastern Indian. Being a labour-intensive industry, these units provide employment to thousands.” Earlier, many Amritsarbased skilled knitting artisans shifted to Surat to work in warp-knitting industry as several Gujarati entrepreneurs had established their units there. These entrepreneurs capitalised on the advantage of getting raw material from Maharashtra which was in their vicinity. This helped in reducing their investment costs. Gurdwara Nanak Shahi at Dhaka in Bangladesh. Historic gurdwaras safe in Bangladesh Prayers offered, kirtan recited every day Tarn Taran, August 7 The historic gurdwaras in Bangladesh, the country which is facing political crisis, are safe. Sewadars at the gurdwaras are keeping a close watch on the developments in the strife-torn country. This was stated by Baba Sukha Singh, head of the Kar Sewa sect, Sarhali (Tarn Taran), who is managing the sewa of the five historic gurdwaras — Gurdwara Nanak Shahi, Dhaka, (near the Dhaka University), Gurdwara Sikh Temple Estate, Chittagong, Gurdwara Sangat Tola, Dhaka, Gurdwara Pahartali, Chittagong, and Gurdwara Guru Nanak Mandir, Mymensingh — in Bangladesh. The sect led by Baba Sukha Singh was given the task of performing kar sewa of gurdwaras by the Bangladesh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (BGPC) in 2004. At present, Amar Chand is the president of the BGPC. Baba Sukha Singh said sewadars serving at the gurdwaras had shut the gates of the shrines and were continuing recital of Gurbani and kirtan every day. He said though the situation was tense in Bangladesh, sewa at the gurdwaras was going on without any break. Earlier, the Kar Sewa sect, Sarhali, gave funds through Baba Sukha Singh to Sheikh Hasina, the then Prime Minister, when there were floods in Bangladesh. — OC 4 nabbed, preventive action against 4 others during CASO in three zones A cooperative inspector in custody of the Vigilance Bureau. An Assistant Food Supplies Officer in the Vigilance Bureau custody. VB arrests two officials on corruption charges Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 7 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a cooperative inspector and a food and Assistant Food Supplies Officer, who was on the run, in two separate incidents here today. A spokesman of the VB said Gurinder Singh, inspector, Cooperative Department, posted as secretary at Bhura Kohna Multipurpose Cooperative Society, was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000. The suspect was arrested following a complaint lodged by Varinder Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran. The complainant had approached the VB and alleged that the suspect had demanded Rs 1.5 lakh for restoring the said cooperative society which was dissolved due to allegations of misappropriation of government funds. He further said that the suspect had demanded Rs 15,000 on the pretext of meeting Joint Registrar, Cooperative Society, in Jalandhar in this regard. The official said after a preliminary inquiry into the complaint, a VB team laid a trap and caught the inspector red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 in the presence of two official witnesses. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against the suspect at the VB police station, Amritsar range, he said. The suspect would be produced in a competent court tomorrow for seeking remand, he said. Further investigation was under progress, he added. In the second incident, the VB has apprehended Kawaljit Singh, posted as Assistant Food Supplies Officer (AFSO), Tarn Taran. He was on the run since March 2024 after being named as a suspect in a FIR registered at the VB police station, Amritsar range. A VB spokesperson said the suspect was named in the misappropriation case after collecting evidence during the investigation and on the basis of disclosure by a co-accused in his statement. The AFSO in connivance with others had fraudulently sold government stock of wheat worth Rs 1.25 crore, he said. The AFSO was produced in a competent court today and sent to one-day police remand. Further investigation was under progress, the VB spokesperson said. 11 cellphones seized from inmates in jail Amritsar, August 7 The police led by senior police officials today carried out the Cordon and Search Operations (CASO) in different parts of the three zones of the city here today. Four persons were arrested while preventive action was taken against another four during the search operations. Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Police Commissioner (CP), said CASO was held at Gate Hakima, Anngarh, Gujjapura, Ghannupura Kale, Kapatgarh, Mustafabad, 88-feet road, Maqboolpura, Mohkampura and in the Verka area. “These localities are infamous for drug abuse. Therefore, these were selected for the search operation,” the CP said. He said special emphasis was given on arresting drug peddlers, history sheeters and those who came out of jail on bail. The police searched residences of all suspicious elements and vehicles were also checked, he said. The police questioned 136 suspi- Amritsar, August 7 The authorities at the Amritsar Central Jail have recovered 11 mobile phones from the possession of inmates during a search operation here. Of the recovered cellphones, three were touchscreen phones while the rest were keypad phones, said the jail authorities. According to information, the jail authorities along with the paramilitary forces carried out a search operation at the high-security prison complex yesterday during which cellphones were seized from inmates. On the basis of complaint lodged with the Islamabad police station, a case was registered under Sections 42 and 52-A of the Prisons Act against 11 prisoners in this connection. Those booked were identified as Arundeep Singh, Abhishek Singh, Robin Singh, Jabru Singh, Deepak Partap, Harmandeep Singh, Vijay Singh, Dharminder Singh, Baljinder Singh, Raja and Satyajit Singh. — TNS Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon along with other officials during a search operation in Amritsar on Wednesday. cious elements during the operation, he added. The police seized 42 gram of heroin and 40 bottles of liquor besides bhang during CASO, he said. “During the operation, officials interacted with residents of these areas and urged them to share information about criminal elements and drug peddlers with the police. Residents have been told that their names would be kept secret if they gave any informa- tion,” the CP said, while adding that he visited Maqboolpura and the Mohkampura area too. The police teams were led by Additional Deputy Commissioners Vishaljit Singh, Abhimanyu Rana and Harpal Singh during the search operations in the three zones. Besides Deputy Commissioners of Police Harpreet Singh Mander and Alam Vijay Singh also took part in the search operation. — TNS Aujla raises issue of Attari-Wagah border trade in Zero Hour 550gm heroin seized from smuggler Attari-Wagah ❝Thetrade was not border Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 7 Local MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla raised the issue of opening Attari-Wagah border trade in Parliament today. Raising the issue in the Zero Hour today, he said that cross-border trade was not stopped even after the wars of 1965 and 1971, but it was stopped after the Balakot attack. Aujla said, “The AttariWagah border trade is the backbone of employment in Amritsar. When the trade was open, around 500 trucks used to ferry goods from Pakistan to India. But after the Balakot attack, it was closed. At least 10,000 people lost employment after the closure of the trade.” The cross-border trade had stopped even after the wars of 1965 and 1971. But after the Balakot attack, it was closed with the neighbouring country. At least 10,000 people lost employment after the closure of the trade. Trade is backbone of employment in Amritsar. MP Gurjeet Aujla speaks during the Zero Hour in Parliament. been going on with Pakistan for years. After Pulwama attack, 200 per cent custom duty was imposed on goods imported from Pakistan, he said. The trade was com- pletely stopped after the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, he said. Sharing the history of the cross-border trade route from Attari, Aujla said, “This ❞ Gurjeet Singh Aujla, AMRITSAR MP is an ancient trade route because socially and historically, the Indian culture is the same as Pakistan. On one hand, there are talks of setting up industry in the bor- c m y b der belt, while on the other business is on the verge of closure and employment opportunities are dwindling with each passing day.” Aujla said the Centre should reconsider opening trade from the AttariWagah border. He said, “The Integrated Check Post built across 120 acres was inaugurated in 2012. At present, it is lying vacant. Amritsar and Lahore have an ancient relationship. Trade has been done from here with Afghanistan and the UAE. Since Amritsar is a border area, there is no industry here. Hence, the closure of cross-border trade has affected employment and lives of the people.” Drug recovered after suspect’s disclosure during interrogation Amritsar, August 7 The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) has seized 550gm heroin during interrogation of Rajwant Singh, alias Raju, a resident of Atalgarh border village. He was part of the cross-border smuggling module busted by the police two days ago. The police had seized two Glock pistols smuggled from Pakistan from his possession. SSOC officials wishing not to be named also confirmed naming of an accomplice of Rajwant in the case. He was yet to be arrested. Rajwant, who is an operative of Pakistan-based drug and weapon smuggler Rana Dayal, was currently on three day police remand for further investigations. A police official said he had hidden the contraband near a canal in the village. Following his disclosure, a police team went to the spot and recovered the consignment apparently smuggled through drone, he added. The police recovered two sophisticated 9mm Glock pistols along with two magazines from the possession of Rajwant, besides impounding a motorcycle (bearing registration number PB-02-AL7481) on which he was going to deliver the consignment. DGP Gaurav Yadav said the SSOC received specific inputs that Rajwant Singh Raju had recently procured a consignment of smuggled weapons and narcotics and was on his way to deliver it near Khurmanian Morh on Attari-Amritsar Road. Acting swiftly, a police team cordoned off the designated area in a planned manner, and apprehended Rajwant and recovered the consignment during a search, the DGP said. Yadav said during preliminary investigations, it was discovered that Rajwant had been receiving consignments of drugs and illegal weapons sent by Pak-based smuggler Rana Dayal for quite some time. The smuggled weapons were meant for sale to local buyers, he said. — TNS