10102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/9/2024 10:55 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C FARMERS UP IN ARMS OVER NON-PROCUREMENT OF PADDY TEAM INSPECTS FLOUR MILLS, GROCERY SHOPS, RESTAURANT ALL-WOMEN RAMLILA STAGE SPREADS MESSAGE OF UNITY If purchase doesn't start, farmers say will burn the effigies of the Punjab Government, Centre. P2 Two food vendors found not following proper hygiene, following which they were issued challans. P2 Celebrates soldiers and sports icons, and narrates stories from Guru Gobind Singh’s life to those of Krishna. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.03 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6.31 AM THURSDAY | 10 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR 6 members of Chinni gang held Tribune News Service Arrest four; seize 5-kg heroin, pistols, ~4 lakh drug money, illicit liquor & lahan Tribune News Service VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, October 9 The city police commissionerate on Wednesday claimed to have averted an imminent gang war by arresting six members of an inter-state organized crime syndicate. The police confiscated three pistols and a double barrel gun from their possession. They were planning to target their rival gang, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. Those arrested were identified as Gurjashan Singh, alias Chinni of Kotli Sakka village in Rajasansi, Paras Singh, alias Raja of Bank Wali Gali, Naraingarh Chheharta, Akashbir Singh, alias Yaddi, Manpreet Singh, alias Manu, of Sultanwind village, Akashdeep Singh of Sudhar Rajputan village in Khalchian, and Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukha of Gandiwind Dhattal village in Tarn Taran. The police seized three pis- Four accused in custody of the Amritsar police on Wednesday. tols of .32 bore calibre, one double barrel gun of .12 bore and 15 live cartridges from their possession. Giving details, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Bhullar said the accused were part of the “Chinni Group” syndicate, involved in murder, drug smuggling, theft, snatching and arms trafficking. They had animosity with rival gangster Amarbir Singh, alias Gopi Mahal Gang. He said a Farmers disbursed ~7.97 cr for paddy procurement: DC Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 9 The arrival and procurement of paddy in the mandis of the district has picked up pace with 16,653 metric tonnes of paddy arriving in the grain markets last evening. Government procurement agencies and commission agents too have actively started participating in the lifting process. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said that procurement agencies have been asked to ensure disbursal of payment to the farmers in lieu of their paddy within 48 hours of the grain being lifted. She said that the agencies have so far disbursed Rs 7.97 crore to the farmers. Apart from paddy varieties, a total of 2.74 lakh MT of basmati has also arrived in the markets. District officials stated that private traders purchasing basmati have been instructed to ensure timely lifting of their stocks as more space would be required in the grain mar- kets as paddy harvesting picks up pace. The Deputy Commissioner stated that farmers should bring produce which has moisture within the permissible limit so that it could be procured the same day. She added that the government has fixed 17 per cent as the upper limit for moisture beyond which procurement agencies would not procure paddy. The Deputy Commissioner stated that basmati is being purchased by private agencies, whereas Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup, Food Corporation of India and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation are purchasing non-basmati varieties of paddy. She assured that farmers will not face any inconvenience in the mandis. To prevent the piling up of paddy in the mandis, it is essential that farmers bring dry crop, the DC said and directed the mandi officials to inspect paddy at the entry gate itself and not allow crop with more than 17 per cent moisture content into the mandis. team of CIA Staff, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations) Harpreet Singh Mandher monitored their movements and arrested the accused, preventing an imminent gang war. A fresh FIR under Sections 111 (3) BNS, 25 (7), 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Chheharta police station while further investigation is on. Police club snatching victim’s plaint with old FIR Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 9 It took around six days to lodge the complaint of a snatching victim who was robbed of his bike by unknown armed miscreants on October 3 at Nawa Pind village, falling under Jandiala police station here. Initially, the police asked him to register a case of theft, but when the complainant insisted, the police instead of registering a fresh FIR, added his case to a similar case registered in August this year. Pawan Kumar, a resident of Sundar Nagar, Banke Bihari Gali on Batala road, said that he works as a bank agent for employment verification. He said on October 3, he was going from Nangal Dayal Singh village to Jathewal village via Nawa Pind. As he crossed Nawa Pind village bus stop and was going towards Chhina village, three bike-borne persons with faces covered came. They hit his bike because of which he fell down. The accused then continuned on page 2 Batala police freeze properties of two big-time heroin smugglers Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, October 9 The Batala police have ‘frozen’ the residential properties of two big-time drug runners involved in the smuggling of heroin. This is being considered as a major step in countering the scourge of heroin smuggling in Batala police district. Prabhjot Singh, SHO of Qila Lal Singh police station, said the police had issued freezing orders of properties worth Rs 40 lakh against Lakhwinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh Jagga, both residents of Akarwal village of Batala police district. The property of Jagga’s wife Kulwinder Kaur has also been frozen as her husband had acquired them in her name. The two were on the radar of the Batala police for quite some time now. Police conduct search ops in dist ahead of festival season, rural polls BOTH WERE ON POLICE RADAR ■ The police had issued freezing orders of properties worth Rs 40 lakh against Lakhwinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh Jagga, both residents of Akarwal village of Batala police district. The property of Jagga's wife Kulwinder Kaur has also been frozen as her husband had acquired them in her name. The two were on the radar of the Batala police for quite some time now. The police took this action under Section 68F (2) of the NDPS Act. ■ SHO Prabhjot Singh had conducted financial investigations of both the smugglers into the illegal acquisition of wealth through drug money. The police took this action under Section 68F (2) of the NDPS Act. Around 525 grams of heroin had been recovered in the last two months following which they were arrested. Once a property is frozen, it cannot be sold or transferred to anybody. SHO Prabhjot Singh had conducted financial investigations of both the smugglers into the illegal acquisition of wealth through drug money. “The reasons recorded for issuing the freezing order reveals that the smugglers were actively involved in drug trafficking through which they had generated illicit money. Thus, it is apparent that the properties have been acquired from the income earned by them through drug trafficking,” said the SHO. Notices have been pasted by the police on the walls of residential properties informing people that they had been frozen. Amritsar, October 9 Ahead of the festival of lights, city police as well as their rurul counterparts carried out cordon and search operations (CASO) in different parts of the district on Wednesday. While the city police team was led by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADGP) Ram Singh, the rural police team was supervised by ADGP Manish Chawla. ADGP Ram Singh and Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar headed the search operation in flats at Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar in Maqboolpura, which is infamous for rampant drug abuse and bootlegging. The CASO operations started at around 11am, which culminated at 3pm. Speaking on the occasion, ADGP Ram Singh said the city was divided in separate zones and areas, notorious for Cops check the luggage of passengers at the bus stand in Amritsar on Wednesday. ADGP Ram Singh and Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar are also seen in the picture. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR drug abuse and criminal activities, were identified. He said around 1,000 cops, led by four Deputy Commissioners of Police and four Additional Deputy Commissioners of Police, were deputed to supervise the search operations. Besides Maqboolpura, the police conducted search oper- ations at the Amritsar railway station and the bus stand. The Police Commissioner said they have identified certain areas which have turned into hideouts of criminal elements and Maqboolpura flats are one of them. He said search operations were conducted at the bus stand and the railway station. Besides, senior police officials were conducting serach operations in other notorious areas. During the search operations, the police registered 11 cases and seized 5-kg heroin, ~4 lakh drug money, three pistols, a double barrel gun, 15 bullets, 89 bottles of illicit liquor. Besides, two proclaimed offenders were also arrested. The police took preventive action against two persons and arrested one in an old case. The police also impounded 54 vehicles and challaned 84 vehicles. Meanwhile, ADGP Manish Chawla led the search operation at Bhagtupura village falling under the Chatiwind police station here. The rural police also carried out search operations at continued on page 2 Three held in failed Panchayat elections all set to robbery bid case see multi-cornered contest Amritsar, October 9 The police have arrested three suspects in a failed robbery bid case in which three miscreants had jumped over the wall of the house of a goldsmith in Verka area to steal goods. However, the woman in the house showed courage and resisted their forced entry by bolting the doors from inside. The video of the incident had gone viral on social media following which the police swung into action and registered an FIR. Those arrested were identified as Rajwinder Singh, alias Raja (35), Malkit Singh (21) of Bhutanpura and Karan, alias Dhobi, of Ganda Singh Wala on the Majitha road here. The police have confiscated a datar, an iron rod and an iron bar from their possession. While Rajwinder faced four criminal cases, Malkit had two cases registered against him. Additional Deputy Com- missioner of Police Abhimanyu Rana said the accused was produced in a court and brought on police remand for further investigations. Jagjit Singh of Star Avenue Verka told the police that at around 3.30pm on September 30, his wife Mandeep Kaur was present in the house along with two children. The entrance gate was closed when three masked miscreants entered the house by jumping over the wall. Mandeep Kaur saw them jumping the wall. In the incident went viral on social media, Mandeep Kaur was seen fighting with burglars and despite their attempts, her extraordinary act of bravery dashed their hopes. She was seen using all her strength to keep burglars away and protect herself and her children from them. — TNS GNDU Zonal Youth Festival for education colleges begins Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu meets party workers Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 9 The Zonal Youth Festival of Guru Nanak Dev University was inaugurated today in the Dashmesh Auditorium of the university. Students-artists from education colleges affiliated to GNDU are taking part in the event. As many as 300 student-artists will be participating in competitions in music, theatre, dance and fine arts during the festival. Prof Preet Mohinder Singh Bedi, Dean, Students’ Welfare, was the chief guest at the function. Dr Amandeep Singh, youth welfare incharge said that on the first day, competitions in costume parade, mimicry, skit, geet/ghazal and folk songs were organised in the Dashmesh Auditorium. c m y b Sarpanches elected unopposed in many dist villages Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 9 With an estimated onethird of the sarpanches out of the total 850 already elected ‘unopposed’ in the district, the contest in most villages is still triangular as 1,709 candidates remain in fray for 632 villages for which elections would be held on October 15. In the scrutiny following the submission of nomination papers by aspirants, the nomination papers of a total of 247 candidates for the post of sarpanch were rejected on technical grounds. The residents in rural areas stated that entry of new political entities such as AAP and BJP has made the contest multi-cornered while earlier, the contest was mostly between the two parties, Congress and SAD. Though elections for the villages are not contested on the symbols of political parties, every party tries to field and support a candidate as they have to strengthen their cadre in the villages. Said Sarwan Singh, a senior citizen, “Earlier, there used to be only two candidates for the post of sarpanch in most villages as there were two main political parties.” But this time, with AAP and BJP as new entrants in the political arena, the number of aspirants has also gone up, he said. With the last few days witnessing heated arguments and even violence involving GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 9 With former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu staying away from political platforms for some time, his wife and former legislator Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu has started holding meetings of Congress workers. After overcoming her cancer ailment, she is back on her feet, and held meetings with party workers today at her residence in Amritsar. Though she did not inform the media, yet she posted group pictures on social media. Though Dr Sidhu could not be contacted, a party worker preferring anonymity confirmed that she has been in Amritsar for the past five days and was meeting party workers and residents of Amritsar (East) constituency which she represented as a lawmaker in between 20122017 during the SAD-BJP regime. She was Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) for Former Amritsar (East) MLA Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu had conducted a meeting with party workers at her residence. FILE PHOTO the SAD-BJP regime before the Sidhu couple switched over to the Congress in 2017. She opted out of the Assembly elections in 2017, probably in line with the ‘one family, one ticket’ rule, giving her seat to her husband who eventually won and was elevated to the rank of a cabinet minister. The Sidhu couple was in oblivion as far as Amritsar is concerned, post 2022 Assembly polls, when Navjot Singh Sidhu unsuccessfully contest- ed the elections against AAP’s Jeevanjot Kaur. Since then, they had shifted their focus to their home town and former CM Captain Amarinder Singh’s constituency Patiala and carried on political activities from there. This was followed by Sidhu’s 10 month imprisonment after being convicted in an old road rage case. After coming out of jail, the three-time Lok Sabha MP and one-time Rajya Sabha aspirants from political parties, the common residents have been left perturbed. “It is shocking that so many people want to do sewa but are ready to harm each other bodily to do so,” said Joginder Singh, another resident suggesting that if the ruling party is so interested in getting its people elected, then the law should be amended and the government allowed to nominate party workers for these posts. “At least this would help in maintaining peace and brotherhood in rural areas. Now, people supporting rival factions would not speak to each other for years as their relations would get strained during the campaign,” said another resident, Gurdev Singh. MP diverted his attention , more towards his profession as a playful cricket commentator. Despite being in the list of star campaigners, he didn’t campaign for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Another cause of Sidhu’s preoccupation was his wife’s cancer. Sidhu had to be by her side. She was under treatment at Dr Waryam Singh Hospital in Yamunanagar, leading to his absence from political activities. Meanwhile, the Congress high command too changed its leadership in Amritsar East constituency. Former Congress MP from Khadoor Sahib, Jasbir Singh Dimpa was appointed as the halqa in-charge of East Assembly constituency, which was earlier represented by Sidhu. With Dr Sidhu’s re-engagement with party workers, it is being taken as a signal of the Sidhu couple’s comeback in active politics, be it from Amritsar or Patiala.