04032024-ATR-01.qxd 3/4/2024 12:37 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune SEVEN CELLPHONES SEIZED FROM GOINDWAL SAHIB CENTRAL JAIL Officials of the Goindwal Sahib jail have seized cellphones and other prohibited articles from barracks here. P2 AHEAD OF LS POLLS, FORMER CONG CHIEF OF FATEHGARH SAHIB RESIGNS Former district Cong committee president Subhash Sood on Sunday resigned from primary membership of the party. P3 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MANISHA RANI EMERGES REIGNING CHAMPION OF JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA Social media personality Manisha Rani was declared winner of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11 on Saturday night. P4 » MAX 19°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.23 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:44 AM MONDAY | 4 MARCH 2024 | AMRITSAR Another trader nominated in ~45L hawala racket Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 The Amritsar (Rural) police have nominated another trader in the hawala racket busted recently in which Rs 45 lakh drug money was seized. He was identified as Pankaj Kumar, a resident of the Lahori Gate area. However, he managed to dodge the police party during raid and was absconding. The police claimed that he would be arrested soon. Pankaj is alleged to be a close aide of a political leader. His name cropped up during interrogation of Raman Kumar, a grocery trader, who was arrested by the police with Rs 45 lakh drug money. Raman was sent to judicial custody after expiry of the police remand, an official said. Satinder Singh, SSP Amrit, sar (Rural) said the police was holding a detailed probe in the case. He said the racket was well oiled and some influential traders were involved in it. The police had already written to the Income Tax Department and financial investigating unit for holding a probe into money trail of two hawala rackets busted in the recent past. During probe, the police found a contact number in the pseudo name of Neeraj Bhai of Pakistan. The two traders arrested by the police in the hawala racket used to talk to Pakistan and other foreignbased individuals through virtual numbers. City gets two more Schools of Eminence Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 Two Schools of Eminence were inaugurated in the holy city on Sunday. One School of Eminence is at Jandiala Guru and the other on Mall Road in the heart of the city. Under the directives of the Punjab Government, the Department of School Education, achieved a milestone today by dedicating the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, as the School of Eminence. The school was inaugurated online by Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi, and Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister, Punjab. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, MLA, Amritsar North, was chief guest on the occasion. Ghanshyam Thori, Deputy Commissioner, Mahesh Kapil, Assistant Director-cum-Nodal Officer, Amritsar district, and Balraj Singh Dhillon, Deputy District Education Officer (SE), were also present during the inauguration ceremony. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the Mall road school was a famous institution in the district. Elevating it to School of Eminence was commendable on part of the state government. Principal Mandeep Kaur said the objective of the Schools of Eminence was to provide quality education. She said, “The school will prepare students to become responsible citizens. Students from ninth to 12th grade would be provided MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh at the inauguration of School of Eminence on Mall Road in Amritsar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO excellent opportunities. The school is equipped with stateof-the-art facilities, 12 modern labs based on technologybased teaching methods and a library with 10,000 books. All academic streams are available here. Coaching will be provided to students for competitive exams that include JEE, NEET, NDA, CLAT and CUET.” She said, “The school has sports facilities. The process of providing more facilities is in progress. Students will be taken on exposure visits to enhance their leadership skills.” Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO was present during the elevation of the Girls Senior Secondary School, Jandiala Guru, to the School of Eminence. He said it was a promising opportunity for girls of Jandiala Guru to make a career in education. He said these schools would have security guards, CCTV surveillance, campus manager to manage activities and LED lights. He said free uniforms would be provided to students. He said these schools would have new and comfortable dual desks, smart classrooms with K-Yan and projectors. He said soft boards had been installed inside and outside classrooms for displaying interesting and relevant subject-related information for students. He said IT infrastructure, Wi-Fi facility, subject related wall graphics in all labs and RO water coolers had also been provided in schools. Meanwhile another School of Eminence was inaugurated online at Khadoor Sahib by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his Delhi counterpart Avrind Kejriwal on Sunday. Sachin Pathak, SDM, Khadoor Sahib, Lavis Chawal, Assistant Director, Education Department, Sushil Kumar, District Education Officer, officials, students and their parents were present at a function organised on the school premises on the occasion. Inmate injured in attack by fellow prisoners Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 An inmate identified as Navpreet Singh was attacked and seriously injured on Saturday evening by several other prisoners allegedly at the behest of a drug peddler currently lodged in the Bathinda jail. Suspects attacked the victim with sharpened spoons and iron rods. The victim was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) where he was under treatment. The police said a complaint would be lodged in this regard. Further investigation was in progress. According to information, the entire incident was streamed live by suspects on mobile phone to drug traffickers identified as Laddi, alias Daddu, and Inmate Navpreet Singh at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar. Morinda, both lodged in the Bathinda jail. Besides Laddi and Morinda, the victim also named several other jail inmates, including Kala, Chanchal, Kanna, Akshay, Ajay Thakur and Jatin, among others, who attacked him. Victim’s brother Lovedeep Singh alleged that the suspects were pressurising Navpreet to sell narcotics on the jail premises, but he had refused to do so. Navpreet was lodged in the jail in case of a quarrel, he said. Lovedeep said yesterday he got a call from the police that Navpreet was admitted to the Drug peddler held with 500-gm heroin informer told the police. Acting on the information, a naka was laid and the suspect was intercepted. On seeing the police party the suspect tried to take a U-turn, but his bike slipped. He was overpowered by police personnel manning the naka. During search, the police recovered the contraband from the possession of the suspect. He would be produced in a court tomorrow to seek police remand. Further probe was on to establish his backward and forward links, the DSP said. — TNS Amritsar, March 3 The Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested a drug peddler with 500 gm of heroin here today. He was going from Attari to Amritsar on his bike when he was arrested at a naka on the Attari-Amritsar road following a tip-off. Sukhjinder Thapar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Attari, said the suspect, was identified as Sunny Singh. He was a resident of Attari, the DSP said. He said the informer told the police that the suspect was involved in drug trafficking in the border belt. He was coming from Attari to Amritsar for supplying drugs, the The suspect in custody of the rural police in Amritsar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO GNDH in a serious condition. “When we arrived at the hospital, he was serious,” he said. He said Navpreet named several prisoners who attacked him. He urged the police to register an FIR and take stern action against those responsible for the assault on his brother. As per information, Laddi was arrested by the city police for drug peddling. Laddi was lodged in Amritsar Central Jail where he allegedly started supplying drugs. Later, he was transferred to the Bathinda jail. It was alleged that Laddi was in touch with his accomplices here on mobile phone. Gurinder Singh, SHO, Islamabad police station, said the victim was admitted to the GNDH. He said a case was being registered in this regard. Three trucks with illegal sand seized Amritsar, March 3 The Ajnala police have impounded three trucks laden with illegally excavated sand from Sahowal village. The drivers fled from the spot leaving their trucks behind on seeing a police naka near Dera Radha Soami in Ajnala. They were identified as Kuldeep Singh of Dabbar village, Balvir Singh of Talwandi Rai Dadu and Shamsher Singh of Sahowal village. The police impounded trucks bearing registration No. PB-02-EF-4719, Pb02-DV-3562 and PB-13-BK-9698 which contained five hundreds cubic feet of sand each. A case was registered and raids were on to nab truck drivers. — TNS Copslaunchstickersfore-rickshawstostreamlinetraffic Strong wind, hailstorm flattenwheatcrop One arrested with country-made pistol snarls and jams. A need was felt to streamline the movement such vehicles,” he said. He said there were two types of stickers – yellow and red. Yellow sticker would be issued to an e-rickshaw which was driven by its owner. Red sticker would be pasted on an e-rickshaw given on rent. “All stickers would have a number allotted by the police and mobile phone number of drivers. If a passenger forgets his belonging in an e-rickshaw, he can call its driver. In case of any crime or misbehaviour by driver, a passenger could inform the police. The number on the sticker would help the police identify him,” he said. He said people could also report traffic problems or give suggestions to streamline movement of vehicles on the mobile phone number 7710104349. Tarn Taran, March 3 A PCR team of the district police arrested one of the four armed persons on Saturday, who were threatening Gurbinder Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran. The victim works at a filing station located in the heart of the city. ASI Gurbhej Singh said the arrested suspect was identified as Arashdeep Singh, a resident of Alawalpur village. The PCR team seized a country-made pistol with one cartridge from the suspect. Three of his associates, who fled from the spot on seeing the PCR team, were identified as Sagar Singh, Pungi and Sonu of Muradpur locality. The suspects threatened Gurbinder as they had entered into a quarrel with his son Simarbir Singh yesterday. The suspects wanted to terrorise the father-son duo. The ASI said a case was registered against the four suspects. — OC Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 In an endeavour to streamline the movement of e-rickshaws on roads, the city police have launched a drive to allot stickers with printed numbers for their identification to their owners. The police would be able to keep a record of the ownership and drivers of all e-rickshaws plying in the city with the help of stickers. Harpal Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Traffic, said, “The holy city has witnessed a manifold increase in battery-operated rickshaws on city roads in the recent past. There is hardly any record of such vehicles.” “Nobody knew who is driver or owner of an e-rickshaw. Sometimes drivers are involved in crime and the ADCP (Traffic) Harpal Singh during the launch of stickers for e-rickshaws in Amritsar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO DRIVER THRASHED An auto-rickshaw driver was brutally thrashed and injured by other threewheeler drivers in a quarrel over passengers near Sangam Cinema, near interstate bus terminus, here on Sunday. The video of the incident has gone viral on social media. Injured victim was identified as Sukhraj Singh of Bhai Laloji Nagar. He alleged that another auto-rickshaw driver identified as Joban along with his accomplices attacked him with sharp weapons and iron rods over ferrying passengers. The police said investigation was in progress and a case was being registered in this connection. police finds it difficult to identify them. Moreover, a large number of e-rickshaws on roads means frequent traffic Amritsar, March 3 Strong wind along with a hailstorm and rain last night brought respite from the rising temperature, but at the same time left wheat growers worried as their crop was flattened in many parts of the district. Though the district reported less rain than many other parts of the state, it was sufficient to damage the crop. Agriculture experts said most damage to crop was reported from fields which were irrigated recently. “Strong wind flattens the crop as the soil around roots gets wet and softens after irrigation,” said Dr Jatinder Singh Gill, Chief Agriculture Officer. He said the least impact of the inclement weather was witnessed on fields which were not irrigated recently. The agriculture official said at this stage, flattening of the A farmer checks damage to his wheat crop at a field near Pandhori village on the Majitha road in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR crop would cause no problem. “But if it rained again in a few days, the chances of blackening of wheat grains would increase,” Dr Gill said, while adding that farmers should drain out excess water from their fields. The rain started in various pockets of the district around 6 pm yesterday. First, the district witnessed hailstorm which was followed by intermittent rain till late night, said Mandeep Singh, a resident of Gandiwind village in Tarn Taran district. “The change in weather conditions has led to drop in temperature. Chill in the air can be felt once again,” he said. — TNS Ensure AAP win in Lok Sabhapolls, say Mann & Kejriwal IndiGo to start new flight between VYAPAR MILNI Amritsar, Hyderabad from March 31 Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday called upon the people to repeat history by ensuring the victory of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on all 13 Lok Sabha seats of the state. Addressing entrepreneurs during the ‘Sarkar-Vyapar Milni’, the Punjab CM said he was blessed to have got the opportunity to be here amongst the traders of the holy city. He said in the last 25 years, only two par- AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann interact with entrepreneurs in Amritsar. ties had ruled the state and exploited its resources for their vested interests. The Delhi Chief Minister alleged that in the last 75 years, leaders like Badals and Captain Amarinder Singh had ruined the state. He informed that 829 Aam Aadmi Clinics were now operational in the state, providing free treatment to the people. He said that 13 new Schools of Eminence had been set up in the state to c m y b provide quality education to students from the poor and underprivileged sections of society. Arvind Kejriwal said that these schools were equipped with ultra-modern facilities. He slammed the Union Government for stalling funds amounting to Rs 8,000 crore of the state. He said that these funds could have been used for development of the state. The Delhi and Punjab CMs listened to queries of traders and manufacturers present during the interaction and assured them of swift solutions to their problems. Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 3 IndiGo would start a new flight from Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad from March 31. IndiGo would be the second airline to connect Hyderabad with Amritsar. Currently, Air India Express operates daily Boeing 737 MAX flights on this route. The new air connectivity with Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad would enable one-stop flights onwards to Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Mysore, Visakhapatnam, Nashik, Tirupati, Shirdi, Bhubaneswar, Madurai and Colombo (Sri Lanka). The airline would operate dai- ly A320 flights. The 6E168 flight would depart from Amritsar at 5:30 am and reach Hyderabad at 8:05 am. The return flight, the 6E167 would depart from Hyderabad at 9:05 am and reach Amritsar at 11:45 am. Local residents and activists of Fly Amritsar Initiative have welcomed airline’s move. Yogesh Kamra, convener, the FlyAmritsar Initiative, said, “Direct non-stop between Amritsar and Hyderabad will be a boon for the tourism industry and devotees who are headed to Nanded, Tirupati and Shirdi.”
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