25032025-ATR-01.qxd 3/24/2025 11:03 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune DUMPING WASTE ALONG BYPASS ROAD POSES THREAT TO HEALTH The unchecked dumping of garbage along the bypass road in Amritsar has become a major concern for commuters. P2 » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY ACTOR ZAHAN KAPOOR WAS IN CHANDIGARH FOR FILM FESTIVAL DENZEL WASHINGTON SHARES THOUGHTS ON HIS ACTING CAREER His resemblance with his grandfather Shashi Kapoor is uncanny, but privilege comes with weight of expectations. P4 When asked about being a ‘Hollywood actor’, he responded, “What’s the definition of Hollywood actor?” P4 » MAX 32°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.45 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:26 AM » TUESDAY | 25 MARCH 2025 | AMRITSAR Man shoots himself to death Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 24 A man identified as Tejinder Singh (45), a resident of Ajnala, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in his car on the Airport road last midnight. Gurbinderpal Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said the incident occurred near a prominent hotel on the Airport road. The incident came to light when the people heard a gunshot sound from the car. They rushed to the car and found a man with blood splatter all over the vehicle. They immediately informed the airport police which took the body into possession. A .32 bore licensed pistol used for committing suicide was recovered from the car. The man shot himself in the head which led to his death on the spot. He was later identified as Tejinder Singh, a resident of Ajnala. The police informed his family members who reached the spot. His family members said the victim was under depression. The police started inquest proceedings in the case and handed over the body of the deceased to his family members after an autopsy. Aujla highlights TB hospital’s plight in Parliament session A deplorable condition of the ward; and (right) peepal trees grow on the premises of the dilapidated TB hospital building in Amritsar. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 24 Lok Sabha member Gurjeet Singh Aujla brought attention to the deplorable state of the TB hospital in the city during a Lok Sabha session today. He asked whether the government had plans to upgrade the hospital, which was established in 1937, before India gained independence. The hospital, designed to accommodate 100 patients, is the largest TB hospital in Northern India, primarily serving underprivileged individuals. Aujla emphasised on the hospital’s dismal condition and inadequate faculty, while highlighting the need for immediate government inter- vention. In response, Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, assured that she would provide detailed information in writing after conducting thorough research and pledged to take necessary steps to strengthen the hospital. The tuberculosis facility currently provides care to approximately 5,000 active patients. However, indoor wards, which cater to patients requiring special care, are in a suboptimal state. Although the OPD block is slightly better maintained, it still shows evident signs of neglect, including missing or broken sanitary fittings, shattered windows and doors, and corridors cluttered with junk. By raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Aujla has brought to light the deplorable conditions, which are not only an eyesore, but also pose health risks to already vulnerable patients. While the most severely dilapidated building blocks have been permanently closed due to safety concerns, the remaining structures used for housing indoor patients are far from ideal. Court extends police remand of four drug traffickers by 2 days Amritsar, March 24 A local court has extended the police remand of four drug peddlers, including a woman kingpin, by two days. They were arrested by the city police with 5.2 kg of heroin. They were produced in the court after expiry of their two-day police remand. The police said investigation was still in progress to arrest the accused who introduced Mandeep Kaur to Pakistanbased smugglers. The police are also probing into how many drug consignments the accused had smuggled so far. Mandeep Kaur (27), a resident of Ibban Kalan village, located on the Jhabal road in Amritsar, and her three operatives identified as Alam Arora (23) and Manmeet, alias Golu (21), both residents of Janta Colony in Chheharta, Amritsar, and another 18years-old boy (name withheld) of Tarn Taran were arrested by the police two days ago. The duty magistrate had sent them to two-day police custody which expired on Monday. Mandeep’s ancestral house is located in border Khalra village of Tarn Taran district located just two kilometres from the fencing of the Indo-Pak border. According to the police, she used to occasionally impersonate as a cop to carry out nefarious activities. In another case, four other drug peddlers, including a father-son duo, who were arrested by the counter intelligence wing with 4 kg of heroin, would be produced in a court on Tuesday. Among those arrested include Sukhwinder Singh, his son Navjot Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran road, and Aniket, a resident of Chheharta, Amritsar, and Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, a resident of Sheron village in Tarn Taran. The police also impounded an auto-rickshaw (bearing registration number PB-06-AW8034) and a bike (bearing registration number PB02-DV0351), which were used for transportation of narcotics, from the possession of the accused. — TNS 48-year-old woman 47-year-old man beaten to death at Two held with illegal pistol, 5 bullets shotdeadbyson-in-law Burj Deva Singh Marhana village Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 24 The Chatiwind police have arrested two persons for allegedly possessing an illegal .32 bore pistol and five live cartridges. They were identified as Arpandeep Singh, a resident of Daburji, Tarn Taran, and Naryan Singh, alias Bijli, a resident of Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 24 A woman identified as Jagir Kaur (48), a resident of Bakipur village, was shot dead on Saturday by her sonin-law (daughter’s husband). The deceased had refused to give money to the accused. She also expressed resentment over regular torturing and beating of her daughter by the accused. The accused was identified as Nishan Singh, a resident of Chandigarh. Kawaljit Kaur, wife of the accused, along with her nine-year-old son Akashdeep Singh, had come to her mother’s home at Bakipur village on Saturday. Nishan Singh, who worked as a security guard with a private company, came to Bakipur village on Sunday evening on motorcycle and started beating Kawaljit Kaur. When Kawaljit Kaur objected, Nishan fired from a weapon. One bullet hit Jagir Kaur. She was admitted to a private hos- Jagir Kaur. FILE PHOTO pital in serious condition where she died soon after. Kawaljit Kaur told the police that her husband had demanded Rs 5 lakh from her mother of which he had already taken Rs 3 lakh. Kawaljit Kaur said her mother denied to give the balance amount to Nishan because of the inhuman treatment meted out with her. A police party from the Sadar police station visited the victim’s house and registered a case under Sections 103 (1) and 351 (3) of the BNS and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act against the accused who managed to escape from the spot. Pandori Gola village in Tarn Taran. The police also impounded their bike bearing registration number PB-02-DH-1310. Sources said a Chatiwind police party was patrolling near Naiyra petrol pump at Guruwali village when they spotted two persons. On seeing the police party, they tried to flee from the spot, but were apprehended. The police recovered three rounds from Arpandeep, while a pistol and two bullets were seized from Narayan Singh who was riding pillion on the bike. A case under Arms Act was registered against them and further probe initiated to find the source of weapon. The accused were brought on police remand for further investigation. The victim's family members with his photo at Burj Deva Singh Marhana village. Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 24 A man was beaten to death by relatives of girl at Burj Deva Singh Marhana village on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The victim’s close relative loved the girl and they had got married recently. The deceased was identified as Rajpal Singh (47), who was sleeping in his house when the incident happened. Three persons identified as Happy, a resident of nearby Jauneke village, and Rahul Singh and Akashdeep Singh, both residents of Burj Deva Singh Marhana village, armed with iron rods and baseball bats, barged into victim’s house after scaling walls last midnight. They caught hold of the victim who was sleeping. They attacked victim with iron rods and baseball bats leaving him critically injured. The accused fled from the spot when nearby residents gathered on the spot. Rajpal Singh was taken to local Civil Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The Chohla Sahib police said victim’s nephew Gurdit Singh, a resident of Nihalke (Makhu), had married Akashdeep Singh’s sister, who committed the crime in a fit of rage. Sub-Inspector Raj Kumar, SHO, Chohla Sahib police station, visited the spot and registered a case under Sections 103(1), 3 (5) and 333 of the BNS against the accused on Monday. The two accused in custody of the Amritsar (Rural) police on Monday. Three snatching cases cracked, 2 held Questions raised over MC’s sanitation arrangements as video of foreign tourist clearing waste outside holy Sikh shrine goes viral Amritsar, March 24 The police claims to have cracked three snatching cases with the arrest of two persons and recovered stolen goods from their possession. The accused had robbed a junior engineer and a granthi in the recent past. Those arrested were identified as Vikramjit Singh (30) and Lovepreet Singh (26), both residents of Tarn Taran. According to the police, Vikramjit confessed to have committed three crimes of similar nature in the city in the past. Manmeet Singh, a resident of the Partap Nagar area, was returning home on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday when he was looted by two armed persons. He was on foot when the incident took place. The victim told the police that he was near Partap Bazaar when Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service The two snatchers in custody of the police in Amritsar on Monday. two unknown scooter-borne persons intercepted him and threatened to shoot him. They snatched his expensive iPhone 13 Pro and wallet before fleeing from the spot. Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Police Commissioner (CP), said earlier the accused had snatched a motorcycle and mobile phone from a Pathi Singh (granthi) and an iPhone from another victim. After committing crime, the accused used to go back to Tarn Taran, he said. The CP said the accused were produced in a court and brought on police remand for further interrogation. The CP said more crime cases could likely be solved during questioning of the accused. Bhullar said the city police had solved a number of snatching cases by arresting accused. He said snatching incidents had declined in Amritsar. — TNS Amritsar, March 24 A video of a foreign tourist clearing waste outside the Golden Temple has gone viral, raising questions over the Municipal Corporation’s tall claims of making special sanitation arrangements around the complex of the holy shrine. The tourist, who had covered his head with a saffron cloth and wore gloves, was seen picking up juice packets, plastic bags, paper plates, cups and packaging material outside shops in the Golden Temple plaza. The Golden Temple plaza and Heritage Street outside Darbar Sahib were developed by then SAD-BJP government in 2016. A mechanical sweeping firm and a dedicated staff were hired for maintain c m y b A foreign tourist with garbage outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. cleanliness in the area. Sweeping machines were used three times a day for keeping the plaza and street clean. However, the Congress government later ended the contract with the mechanical sweeping firm in 2019 and the dedicated sanitation staff also became redundant. Over the past few years, the Golden Temple plaza and Heritage Street have been neglected by the Municipal Corporation (MC). Garbage can be seen piled up on the Heritage Street. Numerous illegal vends operate from here in the night. The situation worsens when people eat from these vends and discard waste on the street and plaza. The foreign tourist was seen collecting the same litter from the plaza. “The government spent Rs 350 crore on the Heritage Street project, which is now in a neglected state. The foreign tourist is doing this as “sewa”, but his actions also expose the attitude of locals who litter and the MC’s failure to make proper sanitation arrangements,” said Davinder Singh, a devotee. “A number of vends have taken over a major portion of Heritage Street, causing unnecessary inconvenience to tourists and pilgrims. The sanitation conditions of the street are also not up to the mark. The MC should remove these vends and make proper sanitation arrangements here,” said Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Kabir Park. When contacted, Mayor Jatinder Singh Moti Bhatia said, “We are going to deploy dedicated sanitation staff outside Darbar Sahib and Durgiana Temple. Visitors will not face any inconvenience in future.”