21012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/20/2025 11:31 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune POLICE UNEARTH ~1 CRORE CYBER FRAUD, THREE HELD SHAH RUKH KHAN PRAISES SINGER CHRIS MARTIN After Chris Martin said 'SRK forever' during his performance in Mumbai, the superstar has now come up with a reply . P4 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 8°C BIGG BOSS 18 WINNER KARAN VEER IS ECSTATIC Hanumangarh police have uncovered a major cyber fraud amounting to approximately ~1 crore. P3 FORECAST Yeh trophy meri hai, aur main is trophy ka Karan Veer Mehra… the Bigg Boss 18 winner said loud. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 5.54 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7.28 AM » TUESDAY | 21 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Four stray dogs electrocuted as car crashes into elecy pole Alert BSF, Punjab Police nab two peddlers from IB near Amritsar Amritsar, January 20 A car, being driven rashly by a person, crashed into an electricity police near Lahori Gate area falling under the Division D police station in the wee hours of Monday. Though five occupants of the car managed to flee from the spot, four stray dogs, who were resting near the spot, died due to electrocution as the current passed the car and the pole. The police said two of the suspects were arrested while three other occupants of the car would be held soon. He said they were drunk at the time of the incident. As per reports, the car having a Delhi registration number was at high speed and the driver first rammed it into the wall of the temple causing damage to a door. Later, the driver collided with the electricity pole which fell on the car. ASI Harjit Singh said the manager of a hotel, identified as Arsh Kakkar, was among the car occupants. They were allegedly heavily drunk. They fled the scene after the incident and people informed the police about it and the death of four stray dogs. — TNS Amritsar, January 20 Alert Border Security Force troops in collaboration with Punjab Police personnel caught two alleged drug peddlers from Atalgarh border village falling under the Gharinda police station here on Monday. The duo had come to retrieve a drug consignment dropped by the drone. The ambush party recovered a packet containing around 530 grams of narcotics during the search operation of the spot. They were later identified as Sandeep Singh of Pandiyar village and Baaz Singh of Kaunke border village. They were later handed over to the Gharinda police and a case under the NDPS Act was registered against them. Their credentials are being looked into, said Amandeep Singh, SHO, Gharinda police station here. A BSF spokesman said the intelligence wing got a tip-off about smuggling activity near Atalgarh border area. Immediately, the information was shared with the Punjab Police and a joint ambush party was dispatched to the designated spot. “At about 1.15 pm the ambush party noticed two Delay in constitution of MC House hits dev works in city Tribune News Service Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 20 It’s been two years since the Municipal Corporation’s (MC) general house was dissolved (January 21, 2023). Though the election results were announced a month ago, there’s been no formation of the new MC House yet. The delay is significantly impacting development works and day-to-day functioning. Owing to the non-formation of the MC House, residents are bearing the brunt as it is hindering the city’s development. With no elected representatives and decision-making, people are suffering. The newly elected councillors were excited to become a part of the House and raise the issue, which they had promised to the voters. The delay in forming the MC House is also affecting the city’s infrastructure development, sanitation and public services. There are some funds which are only issued to the civic body General House. Residents and stakeholders are eagerly waiting for the formation of the new MC House, Two alleged drug peddlers nabbed by joint teams of the BSF and Punjab Police in Amritsar. suspected persons searching for narcotics dropped by a drone on the border area. On seeing the BSF and police teams, the two smugglers tried to flee, but were chased and nabbed by the ambush party,” said the BSF spokesman, adding that during the search of the area, one packet of narcotics was recovered from the farming field which was thrown by the smugglers while chasing. The packet was wrapped in yellow colour adhesive tape and a steel ring was found attached with the packet hinting it was dropped by drone. The police said further investigations were in progress to ascertain their linkages with cross-border smugglers. Meanwhile, alert BSF jawans recovered another Chinese drone DJI Mavic Classic 3 from Rajpur Kalan border village in Amritsar. PEOPLE BEAR THE BRUNT ■ Owing to the non-formation of the MC House, residents are bearing the brunt as it is hindering the city’s development. With no elected representatives and decision-making, people are suffering. The newly elected councillors were excited to become a part of the House and raise the issue, which they had promised to the voters. The delay in forming the MC House is also affecting the city’s infrastructure development, sanitation and public services. There are some funds which are only issued to the civic body General House. Residents and stakeholders are eagerly waiting for the formation of the new MC House, hoping it will expedite the pace of much-needed development of the city. hoping it will expedite the pace of much-needed development of the city. The Congress party, despite securing a majority in the Amritsar Municipal Corporation elections held on December 21, is, so far, not in a posi- tion to claim the mayoral position. Internal disagreements and strategically wrong steps have nullified the party’s efforts, letting rivals to capitalize on the differences. The Congress emerged as the largest party, winning 40 out of the 85 seats, while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured 24. However, the postelection landscape has totally changed. AAP now claims to have 38 councillors after bringing several independents and a BJP councillor into its fold. Meanwhile, the Congress, with 41 councillors, is six votes short of achieving a decisive majority, hindered by internal discord over the mayoral candidate. AAP’s aggressive courtship of independents and other party councillors highlights its determination to claim the mayor’s post. Additionally, AAP’s seven MLAs, who are eligible to vote in the MC elections, strengthen its claim. If AAP succeeds to attract even more councillors, it could overtake the Congress in the mayoral race. “The government should organise the oath ceremony and hold voting to nominate the mayoral candidate in the general house. The delay in the formation of the House would cause further delay in the approval of development works,” said Kuljeet Singh, a political expert. No end to stray dog menace in city Barricades, haphazard parking add to commuters’ woes Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 20 Packs of hungry dogs sifting through heaps of garbage and in dustbins installed alongside roads is a common sight in the city. Besides being an unpleasant sight, hungry canines become a threat to commuters if, they feel, that they are being interrupted. Poor implementation of a comprehensive dog-sterilization program has led to a rapid increase in the stray dog population. “The administration needs to take immediate action to address this issue. If the growing population of dogs is controlled, accidents and dog-bite incidents can be prevented,” said Baljit Singh, a concerned resident. When residents complain of growing problem of stray dogs, causing inconvenience, health risks, and safety threats, they are not wrong as Amritsar, January 20 Commuters on the roads, leading from Sultanwind Gate and its adjoining inner streets, and the path from Bagh Ramanand to the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial and Darbar Sahib, are a disturbed lot due to the defunct hydraulic automatic barricades. Instead of repairing the barricades, the authorities concerned have installed temporary fences to block the roads, creating hurdles for commuters, including vehicle riders, pedestrians and local residents. Naresh Johar, an RTI activist, highlighted the daily difficulties being faced by thousands of pilgrims and tourists who use the Sultanwind Gate and Bagh Ramanand (Gheo Mandi Gate) routes to visit Darbar Sahib and Jallianwala Bagh. “The defunct barricades and the closure of roads have made commuting A dog roams around garbage in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR incidents of hungry dogs attacking humans, especially children, are usually reported in winter months. Despite efforts by animal lovers to feed dogs, the sheer number of canines makes it impossible to feed them all. Around a decade ago, the government had initiated a scheme to register pet dogs, with the registration fee intended to fund sterilization programs for stray dogs. However, as it was not implemented with sincerity, it failed to get started. Among other problems caused by stray dogs, their excreta on roads is also a major obstacle in maintaining clean and hygienic surroundings. Some owners even let their pet dogs roam freely on roads and litter them with stools. A section of society feels continued on page 2 PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Manmeet Singh Gill The haphazardly parked vehicles in narrow streets lead to a traffic jam in a walled city area in Amritsar. in and out of the market extremely difficult,” he said. The closure of the roads has also led to widespread haphazard parking along temporary fences installed by the administration, further compounding traffic congestion. Heavy traffic caused by autorickshaws, e-rickshaws, and private vehicles results in frequent jams in key areas such as Town Hall Chowk, Shaheed Sahib Chowk, Katra Farid, Katra Sher Singh, Shastri Market, Shakti Nagar Chowk, Lawrence Road and near the railway station and Renovation work on Guru Nanak Auditorium begins Firing at NRI’s house case: One arrested Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 20 The government has started the work of renovating Guru Nanak Auditorium at a cost of about ~6.50 crore without making any effort to popularise the City Centre, the place which also houses some other commercial buildings like markets, a mall, etc, among public. Situated in the City Centre and close to the Golden Temple, the entire area of the centre has never been the first choice of residents, said Surinder Singh, a trader. Mostly visitors pay a visit to the centre for a stay in budget hotels. The centre, which also houses the city’s first luxury hotel, was set up about five decades ago opposite the Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT). It lost its appeal among the local populace after the coming up of many other high-end shop- The building of the under-renovation Guru Nanak Auditorium in Amritsar on Monday. SUNIL KUMAR ping malls, commercial complexes on the Mall and Ranjit Avenue which offers state-ofthe-art facilities. On the other hand, the City Centre is still struggling for basic amenities, including a metalled road, street lights, a rainwater drainage system, etc. Over the years, the gov- ernment has failed to introduce even a proper rainwater drainage system in the absence of which commuters have to avoid commuting on the stretch for several days together. To be completed in about nine months, renovation work on the city’s biggest government auditorium has been started at a cost of ~6.50 crore, said Sandeep Singh, Superintendent Engineer, Municipal Corporation. He said the auditorium, constructed by the Amritsar Improvement Trust in the 1980s, had developed cracks with its RCC structure get- c m y b ting damaged and interior becoming outdated. Karan Kumar, SDO, MC, said during its renovation, the entire acoustics of the building, chairs, sound system, outdated wiring, stage, stage lighting would be replaced. New seating arrangements for approximately 1,000 people would be made available. He said structure engineer MM Syal from Chandigarh visited the premises and suggested injection grouting in beams and columns besides carrying out repairs to strengthen columns and beams of the structure. Besides re-plaster, a new sound system with AV control would be made available. After its completion, those who organize mega events and public meetings within the city will get a relief. The auditorium has the largest seating capacity in the city. But due to lack of its maintenance for a long time, it has been in a dilapidated condition. Amritsar, January 20 Over a month after the incident in which several persons fired outside an NRI’s house located in Jujhar Nagar area here, the police have arrested the prime suspect, identified as Anmol Singh Gill, of Ranjit Avenue area. He was arrested on the complaint of Rupinder Kaur, an elderly woman living in the house. The incident occurred on November 21 last year. She found the bullet marks outside the house. Following an initial probe, the police found that the incident was the outcome of an old enmity. According to the police, Rupinder Kaur’s two grandsons – Gursher Singh and Tanroj Singh — live in Canada. He said when Tanroj lived here, he allegedly had a relationship with a girlfriend of prime suspect Anmol Gill. This led to an enmity between them. He said when Tanroj went to Canada, Anmol with the help of his friends over there kidnapped and thrashed him. This led to the registration of an FIR against Anmol’s unidentified accomplices in Canada. Nine persons were booked by the Canada police, out of whom three were out on bail while the remaining were in jail. He said in order to pressurize Tanroj for a compromise, a fake complaint was lodged against him by a woman. Even then he did not agree to reach a compromise. Then accused Anmol Singh got firing conducted outside his residence in Jhujhar Avenue on November 21 leading to the registration of an FIR at the Cantonment police station here. — TNS the bus stand. The situation is particularly troublesome for pilgrims and tourists visiting Darbar Sahib that attracts thousands of visitors daily from across the world. The Heritage Street and main routes to Darbar Sahib are encroached by street vendors and vehicles parked haphazardly. Balwant Singh, a local resident, said, “It is disheartening to see the roads choc-a-block with vehicles and unwanted structures when so many pilgrims and tourists come here daily. The lack of proper management is tarnishing the city’s image.” Asha Sharma, another city resident, said, “The temporary fences are not a solution. Rather, they are creating more problems by forcing people to park vehicles on roads, which worsens traffic jams. The MC needs to address this issue urgently.” Man booked for duping two on pretext of jobs in hospital Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 20 The Division A police have booked a man in two separate FIRs for allegedly duping two women for getting them recruited as staff nurse in the Civil Hospital here. The accused was identified as Harjit Singh, a resident of Niwi Abadi, New Gurbaxnagar area here. Usha Handa, a resident of New Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, said the accused assured her that he would get her daughter Puja recruited as a staff nurse in the Amritsar Civil Hospital and took ~3.80 lakh from them. Similarly, Manjinder Singh of Pandori Sidhwan village in Tarn Taran alleged that the continued on page 2