06092024-JTR-01.qxd 9/5/2024 10:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune SPORTS TAKE A BACKSEAT IN JALANDHAR ASI DIES IN HIT-&-RUN MISHAP, CREMATED WITH STATE HONOURS FOR SAPNA CHOUDHARY, IT HAS BEEN A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE As Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan entered its third day, yet participation of players has not improved. P2 A complaint was registered against an unidentified truck driver at the Ahmedgarh Sadar police station. P3 With a biopic titled Madam Sapna on her life in the making, Sapna Choudhary says it is the perfect title for a film on her. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.44 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:07 AM FRIDAY | 6 SEPTEMBER 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF LIGHTNING KILLS UP GARDENER Phagwara: A lightning struck at the garden of Bulandi Puri Gurdwara, killing a 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh migrant Arvind. Sant Ram, a native of UP and presently living at Buland Pur village, informed the police that he was working as the chief gardener at Gurdwara Buland Puri Sahib with eight assistant gardeners when the lighting struck, killing migrant Arvind. A report under Section 194 of the BNSS has been registered in this connection and the body of the deceased was handed over to the family after post-mortem examination. OC TWO ARRESTED UNDER NDPS ACT Phagwara: The police have arrested two youths and recovered 20 grams of heroin from their possession last night. Superintendent of Police Rupinder Kaur Bhatti said the arrested accuseds were identified as Rajesh Chawla, a resident of Friends Colony and Naresh Kumar, a resident of village Dhak-Pandori. SP Bhatti said the accused were nabbed at a check-point near Gaunspur locality in Phagwara when they were coming on an Activa. The police have impounded the Activa also. A case under the NDPS Act has also been impounded. OC MAN HELD FOR ABDUCTING MINOR Phagwara: The police have arrested a resident on the charges of kidnapping a minor girl and forcing her for marriage. The accused had been identified as Rahul Kumar of Jhugian Khude Road Mehatpur. The father of the victim had complained to the police that the accused kidnapped his minor daughter on the pretext of marriage. A case was registered against the accused. OC LUDHIANA MAN HELD FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have arrested a Ludhiana village resident on the charge of assaulting a person. The accused has been identified as Bikramjit Singh of Bihari Pur village. Gurcharan Singh of Gounsu Wal village station had complained to the police that the accused and his accomplices had attacked and seriously injured him. A case was registered against the accused and others. OC 45-YEAR-OLD MAN MISSING Phagwara: A 45-year-old man, a resident of Sunner Kalan village, has been missing for the last five days. Investigating officer Jaswinder Singh said the victim identified as Buta Singh left the house on August 31 without telling anybody and did not return home. A missing report has been registered in this connection. OC 245 AXLES STOLEN FROM FACTORY Phagwara: An axle manufacturing factory, Shahi Global Infra Project Ltd, was reportedly burgled in local Basant Vihar locality last night. The burglars entered the factory after breaking the locks and took away 245 pieces of axles worth Rs 6 lakh. On a complaint lodged by factory owner Bhupinder Singh, the police have registered a case and initiated further investigations. OC JCT unions seek action against mgmt over fraud Our Correspondent Phagwara, September 5 A delegation of the JCT Mill Mazdoor Samaj and Jagatjit Cotton Mill Trade Union Congress met Superintendent of Police Rupinder Kaur Bhatti and submitted a memorandum, demanding legal action against the mill owners and management of JCT Mills on the charge of fraud. The union representatives alleged that during the Covid19 pandemic, workers, who left their jobs, retired or resigned due to the closure of departments, had not received their gratuity, overtime payment, bonus and provident fund from the mill management, resulting in severe financial hardships for them. The workers further claimed that for the past year, the mill management had failed to deposit the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) contributions, leaving them unable to access medical treatment for themselves or their families. Additionally, workers had been unable to withdraw their savings from the mill’s cooperative society. The unions also accused the mill of fraudulently withholding contributions to the provident fund (PF). Instead of depositing 24 per cent (12 per cent from the workers’ One arrested with arms in robbery case Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 5 The Commissionerate Police has arrested a person with illegal arms and ammunition in a five-day old robbery case at Patel Nagar, here. Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma said accused Sandeep Kumar of New Amar Nagar had been arrested with one pistol of .32 bore along with two rounds and a motorcycle used in the incident. Meet SP, submit memorandum THEIR CHARGES Union representatives allege that during Covid, workers, who left their jobs, retired or resigned due to the closure of departments, had not received their gratuity, overtime payment, bonus and provident fund from the mill management, resulting in severe financial hardships salaries and 12 per cent from the owners), the mill allegedly kept the entire amount. The union also claimed that workers were being mentally harassed and threatened by the management. They warned that the mill owners and management would be held responsible if any untoward incident occurred involving the workers. The copies of the memorandum had been sent to the Governor and Chief Minister, Labour Secretary, Labour Commissioner, Assistant Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, DC and the SSP of Kapurthala. Prominent union leaders present on the occasion included Dharminder, Mohit, Honey, Ramkrishna, Mukesh, Rajesh, Ajay Yadav, Surjeet, Vinod Pandey and Rajeev Chaubey. Huge potholes in front of the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) College in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Potholed Garha Road a nightmare for commuters Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 5 Commuters, who frequently use Garha Road, here, have never got a smooth ride. Various posh colonies, including Chhoti Baradari-I, Chhoti Baradari-2, Hardyal Nagar, Jaswant Nagar and Golden Avenue, fall on either side of the road. Thousands of residents of these colonies have always faced the daily trouble to pass through the potholed road at least for the past 15 years. The road here is constructed after every two or three years but it never stays intact for even a few months. It gets wornout after every monsoon season, making it risky for the people. The recent heavy spells of rain have made the condition of the road worse with huge potholes after every few metres. A bigger problem is that the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences falls on this road and it becomes quite challenging for the staff and students to reach here safely. Patients vis- iting this hospital are the biggest sufferers as they have to pass through the potholed passage to take the treatment. The market areas, including Reliance Mall, scores of IELTS institutes, coaching centres, etc fall right on the road. Students of many schools, including Cambridge International School, St Joseph’s Convent School, MGN Public School and Mayor World School, have to pass through it to reach their campuses daily. The road also connects bus stand to other localities like Urban Estate-1, Urban Estate2, Cheema Nagar, etc. Despite the huge connectivity that the road offers, the authorities have failed to ensure that it remains in a good condition. Rajnish Dogra, SE (B&R), Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, said, “Before the rains, we had got one side of the road repair which is in good condition. We could not work on the second side of the road and hence it remains in a bad condition. We will get that repaired once the monsoon season ends”. Maqsudan Mandi shopkeeper was looted of ~40,000 The CP said victim Surjit Thakur had a shop at Sabzi Mandi, Maqsudan. He was carrying Rs 40,000 from his shop and an account book in a bag on his Activa scooter when he was waylaid in the afternoon. Sharma said the victim was passing through Patel Nagar when three persons came in vehicles. One person showed him a pistol and took away his belongings. An FIR had been registered u/s 309(4), 3(5) of BNS. The Commissioner of Police said on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at Master Gurbanta Singh flats where accused Sandeep Singh was present. He said seeing police teams, Sandeep jumped from the top and got injured. Man loses hand in fight with snatchers, not his will Call to roll back tax Regains consciousness in hospital after five days, determined to begin a new life with left hand Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 5 Attacked by snatchers on August 28 night at Maqsudan, the 24-year-old youth working with a cable network company, who is taking treatment at a hospital here, has finally regained consciousness. Victim Sunny’s right hand had to be amputated by doctors as the attackers had slit his wrist with a sharp-edged weapon just to snatch his mobile phone that he was holding tight. Dr BS Johal said when he was brought to the hospital his pulse was not even recordable and he was in very critical condition. “Sunny’s hand was hanging Injured Sunny with his family in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH loose just by the skin. He was unconscious. He started responding yesterday. Even though his right hand has gone, he will be fit to go to work in the next few weeks”, he said. Sunny’s family too has heaved a sigh of relief. His wife Aarti said, “My husband has got a second life. We are not worried about the loss of his hand. He will be there with me, our two toddler sons and our grandparents.” “I was at a party with my friends, when I got a call from the company that the main network line at Maqsudan had got disrupted. I left the party and was on way riding bike when three youths on a white Activa were following me. They started signalling me to stop. Just as I halted, a youth took up a sharp-edged weapon and slit my right wrist. My phone was in my right hand. They picked it up, took out a few hundred rupees from my pocket and fled”, he said. “At that time, I could not even note down the scooter’s registration number. But I can recognise the youths. I could see my hand hanging loose but I still took the courage to lift my bike and drag it to some distance with my left hand. A cyclist saw me in that state and offered to help. Minutes later, I had fallen on the road. I had become unconscious, to get revived on September 3. When I regained senses, I saw bandages on my right wrist and realised that there was no hand, just a stump”, Sunny said. A braveheart, Sunny said, “I was not worried about the lost hand and was confident of making the left hand strong enough to lead the rest of my life comfortably.” Aarti said, “My husband’s company officials have supported us. He was insured through the company and hence we did not face any financial problem.” hike on petrol, diesel Phagwara, September 5 The Laghu Udyog Bharti, Punjab, has expressed displeasure over the government’s decision to increase VAT on petrol and diesel and demanded the immediate rollback of the hike. Talking to journalists here today, LUB president Ashok Gupta and vice-president Ashok Sethi stated that the government had raised VAT by 61 paise per litre on petrol and 92 paise per litre on diesel. They said this would have a detrimental impact on small industries, which are already fighting for survival. Sethi said due to the frequent power cuts, the industry was forced to rely on Olympian pens memoir on village’s connect with Saragarhi battle Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 5 Days ahead of the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, hockey Olympian Col Balbir Singh (retd), 79, has penned a book that establishes the connect between hockey nursery Sansarpur and the highly decorated 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment that fought the historic battle. His memoir is titled ‘Olympian’s Tryst with Soldiering’ with a sub-title ‘ From Sansarpur to the Saragarhi Battalion (4 Sikh)’. Col Balbir Singh says that the idea that inspired him to write the book was the fact that he always felt that there was something special about his village. “It was here that the 21 bravehearts of the British Indian empire, who had fought the historic battle against the Afghan tribes, were raised and trained. Years later, it was this village that churned out 14 Olympians for the country,” he said. The opening lines of the first chapter of the book read: “4 Sikh was originally raised as 36 Sikh in 1887 at Jullundur Cantonment in very close proximity to Sansarpur, where a large area was available thence. All basic training was given to the bravehearts on the soil of Sansarpur. After 10 years, the Saragarhi battle was fought...There is no parallel to the bravery displayed by the soldiers of 36 Sikh on 12 September 1897, yet it may not be possible to find a place on earth that can boast of having more Olympians and gold medallists than the Kulars of Sansarpur village.” Col Balbir Singh has also listed out the names of 11 hockey players from Sansarpur who have represented 36 Sikh, years after the Saragarhi battle. These include Sep Ishar S Kular (1910-11), Sep Teja Singh Kular (1935-38), Sep Gurpal S Kular (died in WW-II), Sub Kapoor S Kular (1947-60), Sep Bikar S Kular (1947), Hav Ajit S Kular (Services team 1951), Sub Modan S Sohal (Services team 1966-67), Hony Lieut Jaswinder S Kular (Services team 1966-68), Naik Gurdip S Kular (1964-1970), Sep Swaran S Kular (1964-1968) and Balbir S Kular (Dec 1964Dec 1970). Col Balbir also mentions that he coincidentally had the opportunity to play a tournament near the foothills of Saragarhi in Afghanistan in 1962 for the Indian University as a 16-year-old boy. He recalls in his book: “I got the c m y b opportunity to see the Saragarhi Fort from a distance during my visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, for the Jashan Celebration Hockey Tournament in 1962. The team travelled by train through Pakistan, reached Peshawar by Frontier Mail and then by road to Kabul through Khyber Pass, Durand Line and the famous Jamrud Fort.” The author has inter-woven the stories with a lot of historical record and rare photographs from the bygone times, making the read inspirational and funny at the same time. Having himself been a fauji and a hockey player, he has highlighted a close bond that once existed between the services and sports, making the book an interesting read for all services personnel and sports enthusiasts. Olympian Balbir Singh pens a book on connection of Saragarhi battle with Sansarpur village in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH diesel-powered generators to operate. The hike in diesel prices would significantly increase the production costs, which small industrialists could no longer afford under the current conditions. Sethi further suggested that if the government needed to boost revenue, it could consider reducing the free electricity provision from 300 units per month to 250 or 200 units, rather than burdening small industries with additional costs. Interestingly, just two days ago, the government was praised for scrapping the NOC requirement for registering plots up to 500 square yards. — OC Couple booked for assault on daughter-in-law PHAGWARA, SEPTEMBER 5 The Bilga police have booked a couple on the charge of outraging the modesty of their daughter-in-law. DSP Phillaur, Sarwan , Singh Bal said the accused had been identified as Jaspal Singh, a resident of Umar Pur Kalan village and his wife Rachhpal Kaur. DSP said Rajneesh Kaur, wife of Harwindar Singh, a resident of the same village, complained to the police that her father-in-law and motherin-law assaulted and injured her on August 31, outraging her modesty and snatching her purse containing money and jewellery. The DSP said after investigation, a case under the BNS had been registered against the accused. — OC