08032024-JTR-01.qxd 3/8/2024 12:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune BADMINTON SENSATION DECLARED DIST SPORTS ICON COUPLE, AIDE ARRESTED IN FIRING INCIDENT GAL GADOT WELCOMES FOURTH BABY WITH HUSBAND JARON DC honours Tanvi Sharma by declaring her as district sports icon under the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme. P2 A couple and one of their accomplices have been arrested in the Sunday firing incident in Abohar. P3 The Wonder Woman actor has welcomed her fourth baby with husband Jaron Varsano. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 23°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 22.9°C | MIN 8.1°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.26 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:39 AM » FRIDAY | 8 MARCH 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF MINOR RAPED, SUSPECT BOOKED Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have booked a person on the charge of raping a minor girl. Investigating officer (IO) and in-charge of the Nakodar women’s cell Inspector Sandeep Kaur said the suspect had been identified as Balu Rajput, a resident of Pati Jai Chand Sahirh village. The mother of the victim told the police that the suspect kidnapped her daughter on the pretext of marrying her on March 1 and took her to Himachal Pradesh where he forcibly raped her. A case under Sections 376 363 and 366 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act has been registered against the suspect. Raids are being conducted to nab him. OC MAN ARRESTED FOR FRAUD Phagwara: The Nakodar city police have arrested a person on the charges of fraud and criminal conspiracy. Investigating officer (IO) Rajinder Pal Singh said the suspect had been identified as Shiv Kumar, a resident of New Aadarsh Nagar, Shankar Road, Nakodar. The IO said a case under Sections 420, 465, 468, 471, 458 and 120-B of the IPC had been registered. OC 12 LIQUOR BOTTLES RECOVERED Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have arrested a person on the charge of smuggling liquor. The suspect has been identified as Nirmal, alias Nimma, a resident of Jahangir village. Investigating officer Amarik Singh said 12 bottles of liquor were recovered from his possession. A case under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act has been registered. OC 29-YR-OLD YOUTH DIES BY SUICIDE Phagwara: A 29-year-old youth reportedly died by suicide by hanging himself on Wednesday. Investigating officer (IO) Rannjit Singh said the deceased had been identified as Gurwinder Kumar, a resident of Dane Wal village falling under the Shahkot police station. Maninder Kumar, brother of the deceased, told the police that Gurwinder hanged himself in the Nakodar area. Acting under Section 174 of the CrPC, the police handed over the body to the family after post-mortem examination. OC TWO BOOKED ON ASSAULT CHARGE Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have booked two persons for assaulting a villager. Investigating officer (IO) and Uggi police post in-charge Balbir Singh said the suspects had been identified as Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Narang Pur village, and Jagjit Singh, a resident of Nur Pur Jattan village in Kapurthala. Sital Singh, a resident of Narang Pur village, told the police that the suspects assaulted him and barged into his house. A case has been registered. OC BIKERS SNATCH WOMAN’S CHAIN Phagwara: Two unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched a gold chain from a woman near Elite Cinema here on Thursday. The victim, Shalini, who was going on her scooter, told the police that the suspects snatched her gold chain and managed to flee. The police have registered a case. OC Two drug peddlers nabbed after encounter in Shahkot Lights of faith Heroin, arms, drug money recovered; efforts on to nab accomplices Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 7 The Jalandhar police arrested two drug peddlers in an encounter after a chase in Shahkot here this evening. One of the suspects suffered injuries in the incident. Those arrested have been identified as Vicky Pahelwan, a resident of Malsian, and Arshdeep Singh, a resident of Fakruwal village in Shahkot. The encounter took place when the Shahkot police went to conduct a raid following a tip-off about the suspects. The police got information this afternoon that six drug peddlers were active in the region and some of them carrying arms and intoxicants were present in the area. The police said the suspects had been selling heroin to people in the area and were also often seen carrying arms. A police team of the Shahkot police conducted a raid at Dhorra Mohalla in Shahkot. On seeing the police, the duo tried to flee. While chasing, Vicky fired a shot at the SHO of the Shahkot police station. The SHO fired back at him, following which he suffered a bullet injury in his leg. The police managed to arrest both suspects. While ~21,000 drug money, a pistol and four live rounds were recovered from Vicky, 260 grams of heroin was recovered from Arshdeep. The police registered a case against the suspects and their four accomplices. They have been identified as Pardeep, a resident of Niwian Colonian, Malsian, Shahkot, and Gurpreet, a resident of Kotli village in Shahkot. Two of them are yet to be identified. A case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act, Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act and Sections 307, 353 and 186 of the IPC FIR has been registered against the suspects at the Shahkot police station. Devinder Rana, SHO of the Shahkot police station, said, “The suspects fled towards Dhorra Mohalla. During chase, Vicky fired at me. In return, I also fired at him and the bullet hit him in the leg. He was arrested and taken to the Shahkot Civil Hospital, from where he was referred to the Jalandhar Civil Hospital. Arshdeep has also been arrested. Attempts are being made to nab other accomplices.” Jalandhar SSP Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said, “The police have been on trail of this gang for the past some time. Two suspects have been arrested and search in on for their accomplices.” Devi Talab Mandir all decked up on the eve of Shivratri in Jalandhar on Thursday. SARABJIT SINGH Cyclist dies in mishap, bus driver held Phagwara, March 7 A cyclist died after being hit by a private bus near a government college on the Mehta Pur Road. The deceased has been identified as, Hans Raj, a resident of Mohalla Udham Singh Nagar. The bus driver fled the spot leaving his vehicle behind. After the mishap, area residents staged a dharna and blocked traffic demanding action against the bus driver. Nakodar DSP Kulwinder On the occasion of International Women's Day, Jalandhar Tribune brings out their inspiring stories Helping road accident victims with pride Avneet Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 7 Anisha Rani (28) and Manpreet Kaur (27) have shattered stereotypes and realised their dreams of serving in the Punjab Police. They are posted with the Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF) in Jalandhar Range. Anisha Rani, a former national-level player in fencing and a graduate from HMV College Jalandhar, harboured a longstanding ambition to join the police force. Despite numerous challenges, she pursued her goal and ultimately succeeded in joining the State Armed Police in 2021. Following a gruelling 14-month training period at the PAP and then additional three-month train- Firm determination helped duo join Sadak Surakhya Force SSF personnel Manpreet Kaur and Anisha Rani. SARABJIT SINGH ing for the newly established SSF in Kapurthala, she fulfilled her aspiration of wearing the uniform. Notably, Anisha is the sole woman SSF personnel within the Jalandhar Range possessing driving skills. Along with handling rescue operations, she actively participates in driving and is posted with her team on the TandaHoshiarpur route. Sharing her journey, Anisha said period from 2016 to 2021 was challenging for her. She appeared for State Armed Police exam in 2016, but could not qualify. “However, my family’s support kept my dreams alive and encouraged me to start afresh,” she said. She said it had been a month since she officially began her duties as SSF personnel. “I strongly believe that the presence of women SSF personnel not only ensures the safety of women driving on highways, but also provides a sense of security to women accident victims,” she said. Similarly, Manpreet Kaur’s journey to the Punjab Police was marked by determination. A postgraduate in political science and currently posted on the Lambra-Nakodar route, she says she drew Continued on page 2 Solo biker rides her passion Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 7 At 45 when she is free from her responsibility to raise her son and most domestic chores are being run on auto mode, Ambika Sonia has chosen to live her life the way she wanted. Exploring various places pan India, she has taken several solo rides on her bike and is even into vlogging narrating and sharing her experiences with her social media followers. It all started when her husband, a banker, gifted her an Enfield Bullet in 2021. “He Toured all states, UTs in India in past 3 years knew that it was my passion to own a bike. Those were Covid days and I was already into long cycling trips with clubs in Jalandhar. So, I started biking too. Within a year, I was able to take up a trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari travelling 7,725 km on my Bullet in 18 days. I had then undertaken the trip to spread the message on the importance of vaccination on Covid times,” she said. Since then, Ambika has toured across all states and UTs of India on her bike. “It is such a huge fun going on a solo trip. Everything from planning halts, booking in hotels, finding site-seeing places, discovering lesser known, remote villages, understanding various cultures, making videos and even editing them has to be done all by myself. Since I am not dependent on anyone, I don’t have to alter my plan according to the other person’s likes, dislikes or compulsions. There Continued on page 2 Ambika Sonia, a solo bike rider from Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 7 “Kirat karke guzara kar sakiye, enna hi chauhnde haan,” says Kanwaljit Kaur, a single mother with three kids. Where Mandeep Kaur’s 1.5 kile of land used to be at Baupur Jadid village in Sultanpur Lodhi until 2023, today a river flows there. While most people lost crops in the 2023 floods, for Mandeep, the floods took away her land, her husband, cattle and all means to sustain a livelihood. Fellow farmer Kanwaljit Kaur from the same village had her 2 kile of Land swallowed by river, spouses lost, Baupur Jadid eves wage struggle for existence Kanwaljit Kaur looks after her cattle. TRIBUNE PHOTO land taken over by sand deposited by the floods. She too lost her husband in 2022. Robbed of all means of sustenance and livelihood, the way these women battled c m y b insurmountable odds to keep their families afloat, has become an inspiration for village folk and fellow women. Already marginal farmers, the women took to farming all by themselves and sold milk to ensure a better life for their little kids. Following the 2023 floods, the river took over the 1.5 kile of Mandeep Kaur’s family land. Unable to sustain the shock, her husband Parvinder Singh died of a heart attack in July 2023. Mandeep alone was left to bring up their two kids, a son and a daughter. Mandeep Kaur said, “Where our fields were, today there is State govt should restart its own ration distribution scheme, says MLA Ashok Kaura Anita with her daughter Rekha in Jalandhar. Hearing, speech impairment no deterrent to this woman Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 7 A woman, who lost her husband and is hearing and speech impaired, is doing everything to secure her daughter’s future. Anita (45), who lost her husband years ago, has been working as a domestic help so that she could help her daughter fulfil her dreams. Her daughter Rekha, who studies in Class IX at Government Primary School, Jandiala (Girls), and is also speech and hearing impaired, has been excelling in sports. During the recently held school games, Rekha won a gold medal in the 100m race. Rakesh Kumar, an Inclusive Education Assistant Teacher (IEAT) who has been associated with Rekha and her family for the past 10 years, said the girl was very active. “She has two brothers and one of them is working as a security guard,” he said. Works as domestic help to fulfil her specially abled daughter’s dreams Sangeeta with her daughter Tamanna Extending helping hand to run family Sangeeta, another woman, works as a domestic help and a cook to support her family. Her husband in a daily wager and her daughter Tamanna is a student and a budding badminton player from GPS, Rurka Kalan. “We came here around 15 years ago from Saharanpur. Since then, I have been financially helping my family. I want my daughter to join the police force,” said Sangeeta. Tamanna recently represented the district in the state-level school games and played badminton. She stood first in the district-level games. Devastated by floods, Mandeep, Kanwaljit inspire with tale of grit Aparna Banerji Singh Virk reached the spot. He pacified the agitating residents and told them that the bus driver, Lakhbir Kumar, had been arrested.The police also impounded the bus. — OC an ocean. I think of the river as an ocean because it devoured my family (husband) and land. We had four cattle, two of them died during floods, two cows are left. My husband died of shock because of the loss of land. My father-in-law too died a month ago. My daughter has one kidney smaller than the other and is in constant pain and under medication. After the loss, I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to bring up our kids.” Mandeep (28) began selling the milk of her two cows and started farming on half an acre of land taken on contract Continued on page 2 Mandeep Kaur chops fodder in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Phillaur, March 7 Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary on Thursday raised the issue of closure of Punjab government’s ration distribution scheme in the Vidhan Sabha and asked the government to restart its own scheme in case the Central government shuts down its food security programme. He said Punjab had more than 40 lakh ration cards and 1 crore 56 lakh beneficiaries. The card holders received ration at highly subsidised rates under the previous Congress and Akali Dal governments, but the incumbent AAP Government closed the scheme after the Centre started giving 5 kg of cereals per head during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said. MLA Chaudhary said the Centre could shut down its ration distribution scheme any time, but no mention of the state government’s scheme was made in either the Finance Minister’s speech or the budget. He demanded that the AAP government should ensure that the poor people were not deprived of their rights and Punjab’s own public distribution scheme be started again. In a starred question, he raised the issue of non-sanctioning of grants for the Phillaur assembly constituency. The government said in its reply that other than grants sanctioned under the 15th Finance Commission’s devolution, not a single penny was given for any village or town of Phillaur. MLA Chaudhary said it was regrettable that the development of the villages of Punjab had taken a backseat during the AAP government and money was being spent only on ads. The Phillaur MLA also voiced the long-pending issue of the construction of overbridges and underpasses at railway level crossings in Phillaur and Goraya in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday. The government admitted in the Assembly that there was a need for overbridges/underpasses at those crossings, but the matter of their construction was still under consideration. He said it was unfortunate that the government admitted the problem, but was dragging its feet on solving it immediately.
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).