07092024-ATR-01.qxd 9/6/2024 11:16 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY 60 HEADS OF TOP SCHOOLS ATTEND THE TRIBUNE PRINCIPALS’ MEET ANIL KAPOOR FEATURES IN 2024’S TIME100 AI LIST CHANDIGARH SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI TO AWARD ARTISTES This year’s topic of discussion at the event was “Technology integration in schools: Challenges and opportunities”. P2 Actor Anil Kapoor has been honoured for his significant contributions in fighting against limitations of artificial intelligence (AI).P4 MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C It’s for the first time in 44-year history of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi that such awards have been announced. P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 6.46 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:10 AM » SATURDAY | 7 SEPTEMBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Miscreants rob man of bike, mobile phone Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 6 A resident of Valtoha village was robbed by two armed miscreants near Dibbipur village on the night of September 4 of his motorcycle and cellphone. The victim identified as Balwinder Singh is a mechanic and repairs refrigerators and ACs. He was on way back to his village on a bike. In his complaint to the Valtoha police, he stated that bike-borne armed persons stopped him near Dibbipur village at gunpoint. He said the suspects robbed him of his motorcycle and mobile phone and fled towards Amarkot village. On the basis of the complainant’s statement, the Valtoha police registered a case under Section 304 (2) of the BNS and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. The area has become a hotbed for antisocial elements with frequent incidents of robbery and snatching being reported almost every day. Online fraudsters dupe man of ~1 cr Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 6 A resident of Khiala Kalan village identified as Rana Malkeet Singh was duped by online fraudsters of Rs 1 crore after luring him on the pretext of settling him abroad. Singh lodged a complaint with the cybercrime wing of the Amritsar (Rural) police which registered a case against unknown swindlers on the charge of fraud and under the Information Technology Act. The case was registered after over-one-andhalf-month of lodging a complaint by Singh. The police said further probe was on in this connection. The complainant stated that his wife left him over some dispute and started staying with her parents due to which he was mentally disturbed. He said during this LURED ON PRETEXT OF SETTLING ABROAD Complainant Rana Malkeet Singh said the suspects lured him on the pretext of settling abroad. Singh said callers got lots of money transferred in different bank accounts. Singh said he also sold his share of land, plot and vehicles for paying fraudsters. He said when suspects did not fulfil their promise, he started demanding his money back. He said suspects were now threatening him by posing as a Punjab minister, sometimes as judge or a senior official. period, he started receiving calls from some foreign numbers. Callers enticed Singh and started chatting with him on regular basis. The complainant said he told callers everything about himself. Singh said one of the callers introduced himself as a “high court judge” and lured him for settling abroad. Singh said callers got lots of money transferred in different bank accounts. Singh said he also sold his share of land, plot and vehicles for paying fraudsters. Singh said when suspects did not fulfil their promise, he started demanding his money back. Singh said suspects were now threatening him by posing as a Punjab minister, sometimes as judge or a senior official. He said suspects threatened to put him and his mother behind bars. Following a preliminary probe, the cybercrime wing registered an FIR under Sections 420 and 506 of the BNS and Section 66 (D) of the Informational Technology Act against unknown swindlers and initiated further investigation into the case, the police said. One held with 3 pistols, ammo Youth nabbed for raping minor girl Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 6 A team of the CIA staff under the supervision of Inspector Prabhjit Singh have arrested one person and recovered three foreign-made pistols along with ammunition from his possession. In a press conference here on Friday, Gaurav Toora, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Tarn Taran, said the suspect identified as Nirvail Singh Ravela, a resident of Thathian village, was arrested from Bundala village in Amritsar district. He said two Glock Austria-made pistols and one .32 bore UK-made pistol were recovered from Nirvail. The SSP said three magazines and two cartridges were also recovered from his possession. The SSP said Harpreet Singh Happy, a resident of Chhapa Ram Singh Wala village in Amritsar and Lovpreet Singh, a resident of Basarke in Tarn Taran, and their two accomplices had already been arrested SSP Gaurav Toora addresses mediapersons regarding the arrest of the suspect with illegal weapons in Tarn Taran. GURBAXPURI village, ❝Nirvail Singh Ravela, a resident of ThathianAustriawas arrested from Bundala village. Two Glock made pistols and one .32 bore UK-made pistol have been recovered from Nirvail. Besides, three magazines and two cartridges have also been seized from him. ❞ Gaurav Toora, SSP, TARN TARAN on August 28 with four Glock pistols and other objectionable articles. The Sarhali police had registered a case against the four suspects in this connection, the SSP said. Nirvail Singh Ravela was already facing a criminal case, the SSP added. Amritsar, September 6 The Majitha police arrested a youth on Thursday for allegedly raping a minor girl. He was identified as Ajay of Pandher Kalan village. The incident occurred on August 29 while a complaint was lodged in this connection with the police yesterday. The victim, a student of ninth standard, stated to the police that on August 29, around 6 pm, she was going to meet her friend when the suspect intercepted and dragged her to a nearby vacant house. The victim alleged that though she resisted his unwelcome advances, the suspect raped her. The victim said fearing insult in society she did not tell anything to anyone. The victim said as the incident left her disturbed and devastated so she decided to tell her family about her ordeal. The victim narrated the entire incident to her parents and they lodged a complaint against Ajay. The police registered an FIR under Section 64 of the BNS and under Section 4 of the POCSO Act against Ajay. He was arrested and further probe initiated, the police said. —TNS Two held with illegal weapons Portugal-based gangster Mann among two booked for extortion Amritsar, September 6 The Majitha police have arrested a man identified as Yadbir Singh, alias Yad, for allegedly possessing an Italian-made Berretta pistol. As he could not produce any document regarding the weapon, a case under the Arms Act was registered against him. The Amritsar (Rural) police in a statement here today stated that a police patrol team led by ASI Jagdeep Singh was present near Hamza village when they noticed suspicious movement of a man. When the police team signalled him to stop, he tried to flee from the spot. The police managed to nab him. During search, a Gardone VT, an Italian-made Beretta pistol, was recovered from his possession. The Third case reported in recent past Tribune News Service One of the suspects held with an illegal weapon in Amritsar on Friday. police also recovered one live .32 bore bullet from him. In another incident, the airport police under the Amritsar police commissionerate recovered .32 bore pistol along with five live cartridges from Gurjant Singh, aka Hardeep Singh, alias Janta, a resident of Meerakot Kalan village here yesterday. The police said he was arrested near Sukhjot Dhaba. As Gurjant failed to produce any documents regarding the weapon, a case under the Arms Act was registered against him. Amritsar, September 6 On Thursday, the Amritsar (Rural) police registered a case of extortion at the Mehta police station against a Portugal-based gangster identified as Manpreet Singh, alias Mann Ghanshampuria, and his accomplice Jobanjit Singh, alias Billa, a resident of Arjanmanga village here. The complainant alleged that he received a threat message from Manpreet and Jobanjit several times demanding Rs 50 extortion from him. They threatened to kill him in case he failed to pay the amount. A probe had been initiated in this connection, the police said. This is not the isolated case of extortion. Earlier too, similar complaints had been lodged against the duo. They also orchestrated firing to intimidate their victims. On August 23, a garment and cosmetic trader at Chowk Mehta got an extortion threat from the duo. Their unknown accomplices fired outside his shop. The victim alleged that suspects had demanded Rs 40 lakh extortion money and threatened him of dire consequences if he failed to pay the amount. The victim, along with his staff, were at his shop when three unidentified persons with covered faces came on a bike and fired several gunshots at them. The victim and his employees had a narrow escape in the incident. Earlier on August 16, the police had arrested three accomplices of Manpreet and Jobanjit who had fired at a book store owner and demanded Rs 50 lakh extortion from him. The police had seized two pistols and a revolver, besides four mobile phones, a vehicle and Rs18,000 cash from the arrested suspects. They were identified as Navraj Singh of Nath ki Khui village and Gurpreet Singh and Gagandeep Singh of Mehsampur village in Mehta. Mann Ghanshampuria gang is wanted in many incidents of crime committed in the Amritsar (Rural) area. The gang had shot dead a youth on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections at Lakhowal village. Traffic snarls greet tourists entering holy city from GT road Gate on the GT road. Narinder Singh, a pilgrim from Karnal, said he along with his family arrived in the holy city by car last night. He was supposed to check-in at a hotel by 10 pm. Owing to a long traffic jam, he arrived at the hotel around 12 am. Facing traffic snarls while entering the city causes lots of harassment among tourists who arrive here after commuting hundreds of kilometres. Rajiv Kumar, an employee Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 6 Partial demolition of flyover and deep potholes on the road heading from Manawala to Golden Gate cause traffic jams lasting for hours, especially from evening till late night hours every day. Golden Gate is a landmark from where commuters gain entry into the city. Majority of tourists visiting the holy city come by the Manawala road. Visitors are harassed as they get stuck in traffic jams stretching for hours before entering the city from Golden A serpentine queue of vehicles near Golden Gate on the GT road in Amritsar. with a national firm, said it took him two-and-half-hour to cover a 3-km stretch while heading towards the city on the night of September 2. On another day, it took close to two hours to commute on the same stretch, he said. Rajiv said if anyone could tell him how long would it take to remove bottlenecks on the road used by a large number of locals and tourists to enter the holy city. What NHAI officials say Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on anonymity said frequent traffic snarls were wit- nessed only during the past two to three weeks of the rainy season. There was no sewer line in Daburji village, they said. People made their own arrangements to drain waste water in the NHAI drains which led to choking of the recharge outlet made for disposal of rainwater that gets accumulated on the AmritsarJalandhar GT road (the National Highway No. 3), officials added. They said, “There is a pond along the Sultanwind road. Due to spillage of water from the pond on the National Highway No. 3, it is getting eroded.” PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Congress workers protest outside the DC office in Amritsar. Cong protests over hike in VAT on petrol, diesel, scrapping power subsidy Amritsar, September 6 Following a call given by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, local party leaders organised a demonstration outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) here today. The protest was against hike in the value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel and scrapping of power subsidy. Harpartap Singh Ajnala, president, District Congress Committee (DCC), Amritsar rural, submitted a charter of demands to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC). Senior Congress Committee (Urban) leaders also participated in the demonstration and raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mannled Aam Aadmi Party government in the state. During the protest, Congress leaders expressed their strong opposition to the fuel and power tariff hike, citing it as a burden on the common man. Addressing the gathering, former MLA and DCC chief Harpartap Singh Ajnala said, “Yesterday, the Punjab Cabinet gave its nod to an increase the value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel, raising it by 61 paise per litre on petrol and 92 paise per litre on diesel. The increase in fuel prices is a clear example of the state government's indifference towards the struggles of the common man. Not only this, they scrapped Rs 3 per unit power subsidy above loads of 7 kW It is another addition to the . long list of anti-people policies of the Bhagwant Mann government. We demand an immediate rollback of these hikes.” “The government needs to understand that these hikes have a ripple effect on the entire economy, leading to increased costs of living and decrease in purchasing power. It’s not just about fuel and power tariffs, it is about the AAP leadership's vision for the state. We need a government in the state that prioritises the welfare of its residents, not just the interests of a select few,” the DCC president said. Congress leaders Bhagwantpal Singh Sachar, Babbi Pehlwan and workers were present on the occasion. — TNS No respite to commuters from accidents, kilometres-long traffic jam on Vallah bypass road Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 6 Whether its long traffic jams or accidents on the Vallah bypass, there would be no respite for commuters in the near future as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has a long list of excuses for not fixing problems of the service lane, where heavy traffic of the bypass road is diverted due to the ongoingconstruction of the flyover. On Wednesday, a couple on a scooter had a narrow escape when their vehicle skidded in a pool of water accumulated after rain on the service lane. When Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori asked about the condition of roads in Vallah and Daburji, officials of the NHAI responded that there was no sewer line Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam at the Vallah bypass road in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR c m y b in Vallah. They said waste water from villages gets accumulated on the road. Officials said village residents had made their own arrangements for draining waste water into the recharge basins. This led to choking of outlets made for draining rainwater from the road, officials added. Officials said, “Water from the village pond overflows on the service road even if it rains for a short period.” The construction work of the Vallah flyover remained stalled for several months. Officials said the construction work stopped as residents demanded that the flyover should be constructed on pillars. This delayed completion of the flyover construction for one and a half years, they said. Officials claimed that the main construction work would be completed by March 2025. Thori instructed officials to ensure the repair of service lanes which were washed away during the rainy season. “The NHAI has invited short term bids to construct service lanes. Temporary repair is being done on broken stretches,” said NHAI officials. They claimed that the construction of the Daburji flyover would be completed by this month end.