28092024-ATR-01.qxd 9/27/2024 11:17 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C 31-YEAR-OLD’S BODY FOUND ON ROAD IN ABOHAR. PANCHAYAT POLL PROCESS KICKS OFF IN MALERKOTLA ACTOR SOHUM CELEBRATES FILM TUMBBAD’S SUCCESS The body of a 31-year-old youth was found on a road behind Jammu Basti in Abohar. P3 The electioneering process for the election of panches and sarpanches of villages in Malerkotla kicked off. P3 Actor Sohum celebrated the success of horror film Tumbbad by unveiling The Tumbbad Anthem track. P4 » » » SUNSET SATURDAY 6.19 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.23 AM SATURDAY | 28 SEPTEMBER 2024 | AMRITSAR One held with 4.3-kg opium Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 27 A team of the local CIA staff led by Sub-Inspector Sukhdev Singh arrested a person with 4.300 kg of opium here on Thursday. Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Ajayraj Singh said on Friday that the accused has been identified as Resham Singh, a resident of Sugga village here. The SP said the police party led by Sub-Inspector Sukhdev Singh was on patrol got suspicious of the accused and asked him to stop. During checking, the police found the opium from his possession. A case under Section 18-C, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, has been registered against him. Five injured in acid attack over trade rivalry, accused absconding Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 27 The Sultanwind police have booked a man for throwing acid on five persons leaving them injured over a trivial issue. The incident occurred in Gulab Nagar Link Road area on Wednesday night. The injured Ram Lakhan, his two sons Sunil Kumar and Amit Kumar, their friend Ravinder Singh and employee Gobinda were admitted to Sri Guru Ram Das Hospital at Vallah. The accused, identified as Ranjit Kumar, has been absconding since the incident. The police have registered a case under Sections 124 (2) (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) and 351 (2) (Criminal Intimidation) of the BNS against him. Sunil Kumar, a resident of the Mehta road, told the police that he along with his brother Amit Kumar runs a factory of zinc and chrome plating (from a rented shed) registered in the name of his father Ram Lakhan. He said Ranjit Kumar also runs a similar factory in another portion of the shed. He said he had a worker, Gobinda, who lives in the factory. On Wednesday night (at around 9.30pm), he got a call from Gobinda who told him that Ranjit had beaten him up after consuming liquor. He said he along with his brother Amit, father Ram Lakhan and friend Raviner Singh went to the factory where they found Govinda crying outside the shed. He told them that Ranjit, who was drunk, thrashed him. He said when they knocked the door of the shed, Ranjit came out with a bucket of acid and threw it on them causing burn injuries to them. They were rushed to SGRD Hospital at Vallah where they were under treatment. Sunil said Ranjit used to trouble his workers as he was his competitor in the business. Due to this he used to trouble his workers and threaten them. The police said efforts were on to nab the absconding accused. AAP wants to gain control over panchayat funds, says Majithia Man held with illegal pistols, cartridges Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, September 27 Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today claimed to have exposed serious flaws in the conduct of panchayat elections in the state even as he asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government intends to appoint administrators in a majority of villages and get control over the panchayat funds. Addressing a press conference here today along with other senior party leaders, Majithia said that the panchayat elections, being conducted after a delay of over a year, was also against all democratic norms and would prove to be a farce. “It is shocking that the code of conduct was enforced 48 hours ago in the state but lists of villages reserved for different categories were not available in Block Development Tarn Taran, September 27 The city police arrested an accused from the local grain market last night and recovered three illegal country-made pistols and three live cartridges. Another accomplice of the and Panchayat Offices (BDPOs) so far,” he said. He said earlier, reservations were made on rotational basis but this time the list of villages was handed over to AAP MLAs and Halqa incharges so as to allow them to implement quotas according to their whims and fancies. “In village Balowali in block Tarsika of Amritsar district, the panchayat had been reserved for the SC commu- Tarn Taran man receives ~10L extortion threat Farmers to observe ‘rail roko’ over Centre’s policies on Oct 3 in state Our Correspondent Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 27 An unidentified man demanded ~10 lakh as extortion money from an employee of the powergrid station, Lauhuka. The employee, Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Bahminwala village, in his complaint to the Patti city police, said that he was on duty on September 23 when unknown persons attempted to contact him on his mobile five times through a WhatsApp call but he was busy with his duties. He contacted him by calling him back. He said that the unidentified person demanded extortion money worth Rs10 lakh. Kuldeep Singh took a firm stand and warned him to come face to face. The unidentified person warned that in case he refused to oblige, he would be shot dead along with his family members. The unidentified person switched off the mobile after this. The Patti city police have registered a case under Section 308 (5) and 351 (2) of the BNS on Thursday. Kuldeep Singh said that the unidentified person appeared to be from the Malwa belt which was evident from his pronunciation. Tarn Taran, September 27 The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) would block trains on October 3 for two hours in Punjab to protest the policies of the Union and State governments. Stating this at the women’s ‘Lalkar Rally’ organised by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) in Sheron village on Friday, the leaders described the policies of the government as ‘anti-farmer’ and also called upon women to come forward and play a crucial role in the farmers’ agitation in a planned manner to get their due. Women from across the district participated in the rally in large numbers. Also, 16 women leaders were elected for the district branch of the KMSC. Satnam Singh Pannu, Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra and Sarwan Singh Pandher were among the state leaders who addressed the gathering. The leaders said that the policies of the Union and the State Government were serving the corporate sector at the cost of farmers’ interests. The KMSC leaders said that the Union Government was Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia (centre) addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR nity even though there was no house of any member of the SC community in the village. The BDPO offices have been converted into forts by deploying heavy police force so as to prevent Opposition parties from approaching the BDPOs. Shockingly, BDPOs are not providing proper voter lists even as filing of nominations has already begun. Voters who voted in the Lok continued on page 2 Another accomplice of accused managed to escape arrested accused managed to escape from the spot in the cover of darkness. ASI Surjit Singh said that the police raided the spot on getting the information and arrested an accused who was later identified as Varun Sabharwal, a resident of Suraj Enclave, Rajiv Gandhi Vihar, Jalandhar. The accused who absconded has been identified as Karan of Tarn Taran. The police have registered a case under Section 25 (6), 54, 59 of the Arms Act. Man who shot himself dead outside Golden Temple identified Deceased Hari Prasad hailed from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 27 Five days after a man shot himself dead outside the Golden Temple plaza after snatching the pistol from a cop, the police have identified the victim as Hari Prasad of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. His family members on Friday reached the city and took the body into their possession. “The deceased was identified as Hari Prasad of Coimbatore and the police had informed their family members about the incident,” said Harsandeep Singh, SHO, Kotwali police station here. The police had recently circulated the pictures of the deceased on various social media platforms to establish his identity. Hari Prasad had shot himself dead near the Golden Temple The spot where the deceased shot himself dead near the Golden Temple plaza in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO entrance plaza after snatching the pistol from an ASI, identified as Ashwani Kumar, who was deputed for a judge’s security on September 22. Following the incident, his body had been kept in the mor- tuary for identification. The victim apparently had suicidal tendencies as there was a bandage on his right wrist. Later, the police found cut marks on his veins. He was later booked for snatching on the statement of Aided school teachers not paid salaries for over six months Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 27 The Aided Schools Union, Punjab, has called out the ‘pathetic’ attitude of the government as the salaries of C&V (Crafts and Vocations) teachers have not been paid for the last seven months. Pradeep Sareen, vice-president of Aided Schools Management Association, Punjab, said it was shocking that the grants of all aided school employees were released except for C&V teachers, causing them financial distress. Sareen said that the Education Department is also not complying with the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Finance Department notification that states that Sixth Pay Commission recommendations be implemented for aided school employees. “The PTIs and drawing teachers of aided schools, who improve the mental and physical health of children, have themselves suffered financial losses as they have been deprived of salaries for seven months. Even after the High Court order and the Finance Department notification, the Education Department is showing reluctance in implementing the recommendations of the sixth pay panel for the aided school employees,” he said. The DPI office, in a meeting with members of aided schools management, had mentioned that due to the objections of the Finance Department, the Education Department is unable to issue grants to these teachers. PTI and drawing teachers of government schools get a basic salary of Rs 4,400, they also get the benefits of Sixth Pay Commission from July 1, 2021, while the aided school teachers are being deprived of salaries. The Education Department is adamant on bringing these teachers of aided schools (C&V cadre) to Rs 3,200 grade pay, that too only for four months, from March 2024 to June 2024. The union has made a strong appeal to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to look into the matter immediately and hold a meeting between the union and departmental officers to resolve the issue and release the grants. Out of 9,700 posts, only about 1,500 employees are working in these schools at present. “As most posts are vacant, the condition of these schools is deteriorating. It is also important to mention here that the responsibility for maintenance and management of these schools lies with the managing committees, for which no assistance is given by the government,” said Sareen. ASI Ashwani Kumar. Taking suo moto cognizance of the incident, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a status report from DGP Gaurav Yadav in this regard. GNDU to have centre for urban planning under AMRUT Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 27 The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, has selected Guru Ramdas School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, as “AMRUT-funded Centre of Urban Planning for Capacity Building”. Only six institutes from across India have been selected and Guru Ramdas School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, is one of them. The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is a programme launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to improve the quality of life for citizens. The programme aims to provide basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage continued on page 2 Heritagewalkremindscivic body of ensuring garbage-free roads on World Tourism Day Tribune News Service Women participate in the district-level farmers’ rally at Sheron village in Tarn Taran on Friday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI not concerned over the demands of farmers who were fighting on Shambhu and Khanauri borders for more than seven months now. The KMSC leaders flayed the state government’s decision to make red entry in the revenue records of farmers found guilty of burning the paddy straw. The leaders said that the state government itself was not sincere about finding a solution to the problem of burning paddy straw as it had not made any proper arrangements for it nor had the state government given the compensation of Rs 7,000 per acre to the farmers for crop residue management. The leaders alleged that the state government had not ensured better prices for the basmati variety of rice and were being exploited. The KMSC also elected its office-bearers on the occasion. Ranjit Kaur Kallha was elected senior vice- president, Devinder Kaur Piddi, Gurmeet Kaur Surwind and Ranjit Kaur Jandoke were elected as vice- presidents and 12 others were made members of the district branch of KMSC. c m y b Amritsar, September 27 A heritage walk organised by INTACH to observe World Tourism Day on Friday exposed the hollow claims of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation civic authorities to ensure garbage-free roads in city. Heaps of garbage on roadsides need to be lifted before 6 am to run a regular walk. INTACH member and guide Gurinder Singh Johal led students during the heritage walk and explained the city’s history and heritage to them. The walk went through narrow winding streets and bazaars, established during the period of Sikh Gurus. Commencing from Town Hall, the students visited Gurdwara Saragarhi, Qila Ahluwalia, Chowk Jalebi Wala, Akhara Sangalwala, Chitta Akhara, Darshani Deori, Thakurdawara Dariana Mall, Chowk Chourasti Attari and streets. On the occasion of World Tourism Day, a heritage walk being taken out in Amritsar on Friday. The gurdwara at Chaurasti Attari is associated with Guru Hargobind Sahib. The students were told that in Punjabi, Attari means plinth or a higher place from the ground and it is believed that the Guru used to sit over there. They learnt about the bravery of the Sikh regiment against the Afghans during British rule through Sara- garhi Gurdwara, which was built by the SGPC. Sangalwala Akhara, situated on the fringes of the Golden Temple, is a centre of Udasin cult. The Akhara is considered a storehouse of Hindi religious literature written in the Gurmukhi script. The students were from various schools, including Baba Aya Singh Riarki College at Tugalwala, Springdale Senior Secondary School and SKD Senior Secondary School, participated in the walk. The heritage walk was inaugurated by ADC Gursimran Jit Kaur. In her address to the students, she put some light on the importance of World Tourism Day. She was honoured by Gagandeep Singh Virk, in charge, INTACH, Amritsar chapter. Tourist Officers Sukhman Singh and Mandeep Kaur were also part of the event. Gagandeep Singh Virk, convener of INTACH Amritsar chapter, felicitated Gursimranjit Kaur, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, with a memorial and Phulkari, showcasing the city’s cultural heritage. INTACH extended special thanks to the ADC and heritage guide Gurinder Singh Johal for their invaluable contributions. The walk concluded at the Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Ram Bagh.