20082024-JTR-01.qxd 8/19/2024 10:42 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune MP FOR SPEEDY DISBURSAL OF PASSPORT IN DOABA MUSICAL FOUNTAIN MOSQUITO BREEDING HOTSPOT MIRZA: WE HAVE OVERSHOT EARTH’S RESOURCES… Seechewal met Regional Passport Officer, raised concerns about difficulties faced by residents in Doaba. P2 Built for ~1 cr in 2016 and the initiative of the SAD-BJP govt, it has been lying defunct for many years. P3 Dia Mirza said we highlighted to the world that we had overshot resources the Earth provides for all of us. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.05 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:56 AM » TUESDAY | 20 AUGUST 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF VILLAGER NABBED OVER RAPE Phagwara: The police have arrested a villager on the charge of rape. Inspector Seema said the accused had been identified as Sukhvir Singh, alias Sukha, a resident of Bangi Wal village. The victim complained to the police that the accused took her into his house on the pretext of drinking water but forcibly established physical relations with her. OC MAN HELD FOR BRANDISHING GUN Phagwara: The police have arrested a villager on the charge of brandishing a firearm in the public. The accused Balwindar Singh, alias Binda,hailed from Mehmu Wal Mahla village. He along with a police party was manning a naka when an SUV coming from Meda village stopped near the naka and the accused got down from the vehicle by brandishing his double-barrel gun and was arrested. OC VILLAGER BOOKED FOR SAND MINING Phagwara: The police have booked a villager for illegal sand mining. The accused has been identified as Kashmir Singh of Mianni village. Ajay Kumar, Junior Engineer, Mining, Shahkot, complained to the police that the accused excavated his 2 kanals and sold sand illegally. A case has been registered against the accused. OC FOUR HELD FOR SNATCHING PHONES Phagwara: The police have arrested four miscreants for snatching mobile handsets. The accused have been identified as Sachin of ward no 10, Paramjot Singh of Mangu Wal village, Vishal of Fattu Wal village in Sultanpur Lodhi and Deepak Singh of Rawal village in Sultanpur Lodhi. Dilbag Singh of Mohalla Mustabad Ward no 6 complained to the police that the accused snatched his smartphone from his son Jashan Preet Singh on August 17. OC TWO ARRESTED FOR THEFT Phagwara: The police have arrested two persons and recovered one stolen motorcycle and two mobile phones from them in two cases today. They were identified as Deepak of Hargobind Nagar, Phagwara, and Shiva of Rama Mandi. A bike was recovered from Deepak while two mobiles were recovered from Shiva. OC YOUTH DIES IN ACCIDENT Phagwara: A motorcycle-borne youth was killed in an accident in his native village RurrkaKalan near Goraya on Sunday. The deceased Gaurav, who was working at a shop in Chintpurni, came to his village for Rakhi, but his bike dashed against a pole. He was critically injured and brought to Civil Hospital, Phagwara, but was referred to DMCH, Ludhiana where he died. OC 2 HELD FOR SALE OF ILLICIT LIQUOR Phagwara: The police have arrested a villager on the charge of selling illicit liquor. As many as 24 bottles of liquor were recovered from the possession of Dharmendra Singh, alias Dhida, of Kullar village. OC Panchayat ghar doubles up as school Key suspect in theft cases held Akanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 19 Almost a year has passed and students of Government Primary School, Sidhupur village, are still not attending classes in their own school. Rather, they are studying in a nearby panchayat ghar. It was in September last year when the roof of school verandah had collapsed and students were then shifted to a nearby panchayat ghar. Nothing has been done to repair the school building. As per information, the school building had developed some cracks after floods hit the Lohian block last year. Later, the roof of verandah collapsed. Amandeep Kaur, school incharge, said she was still teaching in the panchayat ghar. She said, “We hope that grants will be released soon for the repair of the school building and students will be shifted to the institution premises. It is getting tough here.” Kulwinder Singh, president of the Democratic Teacher Union, said, “No grant was received by the school which is highly condemnable. There are times when panchayat meetings take place and the students studies get affected. This is a serious matter which should be addressed at the earliest,” he said. He added, “Why this important issue is being ignored.” 15 mobile phones, 3 gas cylinders, bike recovered Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 19 The Jalandhar Commissionerate Police has arrested a key suspect linked to a series of thefts and robberies in the city. According to Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma, the police received a tip-off that a suspect, involved in various criminal activities, was moving around the city. Acting on this information, the police set up a check-point near Bhargo Camp to intercept him. The Commissioner said police officers noticed a young man approaching the checkpoint, whose behaviour aroused suspicion. On stopping and questioning him, the police succeeded in recovering 15 mobile phones of different brands, three gas cylinders and a motorcycle with the registration number PB05-AN-5437 from him. He confessed his involvement in multiple robberies and thefts reported in the city in the past few months. The arrested person has been identified as Sajan, a resident of village Mallanwala, Ferozepur, who was currently living near Dusherra Ground in Basti Sheikh, Jalandhar. An FIR has been registered against the accused. Sharma also revealed that Sajan was already facing an FIR in Ferozepur district. It was in September last year when the roof of the verandah of Government Primary School, Sidhupur village, had collapsed. FILE PUPILS SHIFTED LAST YEAR AFTER FLOODS ■ The walls of Government Primary School, Sidhupur village, had developed cracks due to floods last year ■ The roof of verandah of the building had also collapsed ■ Students were then shifted to a nearby panchayat ghar ■ Nothing has been done to repair the school building. When the incident had happened, the school authorities had immediately contacted the officials concerned. The Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO), along with officials of the Education Department, had visited the school, but everything remained the same. “The BPEO had asked us to take classes in a nearby panchayat ghar. We have also checked the safety of the panchayat ghar. Everything is fine there. We don’t want to NO GRANT RECEIVED SO FAR No grant was received by the school. There are times when panchayat meetings take place and the students’ studies get affected. This is a serious matter which should be addressed at the earliest. ❝ ❞ Kulwinder Singh, PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC TEACHER UNION compromise students’ safety,” a teacher had then said. The kitchen and rooms of the school are also in a poor condition. There is only one teacher and 25 students in the Sidhupur village school. Munish, Deputy District Education Officer (Dy DEO) confirmed that no grant was received yet. He added, "We have sent a reminder to the head office and will receive the grant soon. Also, the students are studying safely in panchayat ghar." The theft accused in the custody of the Jalandhar police . Jalandhar-bound private bus Man’s mysterious death turns out to be murder; wife & lover booked, flee overturns near Dasuya 20 passengers injured seriously, admitted to Civil Hospital Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, August 19 A private bus carrying passengers overturned near Pawen Jhingra village on JalandharPathankot highway. Around 40 passengers were in the bus that was on its way to Jalandhar from Pathankot. Twenty passengers suffered serious injuries in the mishap and were taken to hospital. As soon as information about the accident was received, the police from Dasuya and Tanda reached the spot and started rescue work. The passengers were admitted to the Civil Hospital. Ambulances of various social welfare organisations were also engaged in rescue work. The cause of the accident was being ascertained. According to information, The bus that overturned near Dasuya on Monday. the bus of a private company had left for Jalandhar with about 40 passengers on board. After travelling for about 4 km from Dasuya, the bus overturned near village Pawen Jhingra on the highway. The police was informed and the passengers had to be rescued by breaking open the glass of the bus. After administering first-aid at Dasuya Civil Hospital, they were discharged late in the evening. DIED IN NOV 2022 Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 19 In a startling revelation, the police have disclosed that a person, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Jalandhar Cantt, two years ago, was actually murdered by his wife. The plot was planned meticulously by his wife in connivance with her lover. After a two-year long investigation, the Jalandhar Cantt police had finally registered a murder case against Sonia, who is accused of slowly poisoning her husband, Happy, with the help of her lover Manjinder Singh. The poison, carefully administered over time, was designed to target Happy’s heart, making his death appear as a natural heart attack. Happy, a resident of Kukar village in Jalandhar Cantt, ■ Happy, resident of Kukar village Happy, the victim in Jalandhar Cantt, was found dead at his residence on November 10, 2022. ■ His father Baldev Singh had suspected a foul play, believing that his daughter-in-law was behind his son’s death due to her illicit affair with Manjinder. ■ The poison, carefully administered over time, was designed to target Happy’s heart, making his death appear as a natural heart attack. was found dead under suspicious circumstances at his residence on November 10, 2022. His father Baldev Singh had suspected a foul play, believing that his daughterin-law was involved in his son’s death due to her illicit affair with Manjinder. According to Baldev, Happy, before his death, had disclosed his wife’s affair, which escalated tension in the household. The case took a dramatic turn when Sonia vanished on November 25, 2022. Her disappearance prompted family members to search for her belongings where they discovered her mobile phone. What they found on the device was shocking: Messages and video recordings that revealed a plot to kill Happy, orchestrated by Body of man found Despite sops, DSR method fails to floating in canal get good response from farmers Jalandhar, August 19 Panic gripped the Basti Bawa Khel area late last night after the body of a middle-aged man was found floating in a canal near Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar. The body was first spotted by passersby, who promptly alerted the police control room. Police arrived at the scene, but efforts to retrieve the body were delayed as divers could not be arranged. ASI Karnail Singh, who was present at the site, took initiative. Suspecting the man might be alive, Singh dived into the canal and managed to bring the body to the shore. However, the man was already dead and his identity couldn’t be known yet. Police officials said the body had been sent to the Civil Hospital’s mortuary. “We have launched an investigation, with teams visiting nearby areas, including Basti Bawa Khel and surrounding villages, to gather information about the man’s identity. Images of the deceased have also been circulated to nearby police stations to assist in identification efforts”, they said. They further said from the preliminary investigation, it is suspected that it may be a case of suicide but they are awaiting further information. — TNS Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 19 Two years ago, the government had announced an incentive of Rs 1,500 per acre to encourage farmers to adopt the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) method. Despite that, the technique seems to have failed in the state. Last year, the target for land under the DSR method in the state was 5 lakh acre while the area under the technique was just 1.7 lakh acre. Despite the government’s efforts to promote the technique as a sustainable way to prevent groundwater deple- c m y b TARGET TOO FAR TO ACHIEVE ■ The target to cultivate paddy under DSR technique was 25,000 acre this year. But it was just 1,700 acre ■ Last year, the area under the technique was 1,093 acres tion and cut labour costs, most farmers remain hesitant to adopt this method, citing problems with unwanted plants, lower yields and the need for constant vigilance. This time, the area in Jalandhar under the DSR increased slightly to 1700 acre which was 1,093 acres last year. Strangely, the target to cultivate paddy under DSR technique was 25,000 acres this year. The actual cultivation was far from the target. Ranjit Singh, a farmer from Boolpur village in Kapurthala, said he had adopted the practice for three years until 2022. “But I experienced that with DSR, the yield was less compared to the traditional method,” he said. According to Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) experts, using DSR technology, 15-20 per cent of water could be saved. Also, the appropriate time to adopt the method is until June 15. The Director of Extension Education, PAU, Dr Makhan Singh Bhullar, said 80 per cent of the land was suitable for it. “Also, talking about the weeds, the farmers must identify the type of weed, whether it is a grass, board leaf, or cyperus rotundus, then use herbicides accordingly. The PAU has the herbicides,” he added. Sonia and Manjinder. The family then immediately filed a complaint, leading to a thorough investigation. Forensic experts were brought in and other evidences were collected. The reports, which were finalised last weekend, confirmed that Happy had been poisoned with a substance that gradually affected his heart, ultimately leading to his death. This method was intended to disguise the murder as a natural heart attack. On Sunday, nearly two years after Happy’s mysterious death, the police officially registered a case of murder against Sonia and Manjinder Singh. SHO Harbhajan Lal of the Jalandhar Cantt police station confirmed the developments, stating that the raids were being conducted and both accused would be arrested soon. Husband leaves woman, spouse ends her life Phagwara, August 19 A mother of three-year-old reportedly ended her life by consuming celphos at her parental house in village Khojkipur. Balwinder Ram, father of the deceased, told the police that his daughter Kirandeep Kaur was married with Patel Nagar of Phagwara on March 10 in 2021. He alleged that her husband James Ghaat went abroad and called his parents there, but whenever Kirandeep insisted him to call her abroad, he demanded Rs 50 lakh to arrange for her accommodation. Balwinder said his daughter died by suicide. — OC