30032024-ATR-01.qxd 3/30/2024 12:42 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY STAR AIR SET FOR INAUGURAL FLIGHT FROM ADAMPUR DRUG PEDDLERS LAND IN POLICE DRAGNET CHARITY IN THE HEART: ALIA HOSTS HOPE GALA IN LONDON The first flight will be launched sans fanfare as no politician will attend the event as poll code is in force. P2 The police have arrested two people along with 170 grams of heroin during checking near Seed Farm. P3 Alia Bhatt hosts her first charity event, Hope Gala, for Salaam Bombay Foundation in London. P4 » » » MAX 28°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 32.4°C | MIN 18°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.40 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:13 AM SATURDAY | 30 MARCH 2024 | AMRITSAR STF busts interstate intoxicant smuggling racket, 5 arrested Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 29 With the arrest of five persons, the Special Task Force, the anti-drug wing of the Punjab Police, claimed to have busted an interstate racket of banned drugs. The team also seized over 13.28 lakh intoxicants during a month-long operation across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. It has arrested five persons in this connection while more arrests are likely to be made during the further course of investigation. The arrested accused were identified as Sukhwinder Singh Dhami of Kot Mohammad Khan village in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran, Jaspreet Singh (alias Jass) of Sultanwind Road , Jagroop Singh (aka Jagga) of Dhanoe Khurd village in 13L SEDATIVE PILLS, ~2.3L DRUG MONEY SEIZED ■ The Special Task Force has seized over 13.28 lakh intoxicants during a monthlong operation across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh & Uttrakhand ■ The police have also confiscated ~2.37 lakh alleged drug money, two cars and three mobile phones from the possession of the accused ■ The arrested accused include Sukhwinder Singh Dhami of Kot Mohammad Khan village in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran, Jaspreet Singh (alias Jass) of Sultanwind Road , and Jagroop Singh (aka Jagga) of Dhanoe Khurd village in Gharinda ■ Besides, Alex Dhaliwal of Saharanpur (UP) and Intezar Salmani of Dehradun have also been nabbed in this connection ■ More suspects are likely to be arrested during the further course of investigation Gharinda, Alex Dhaliwal of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Intezar Salmani of Dehradun in Uttrakhand. Vishaljit Singh, Assistant Inspector General of STF, Border Range here, said on February 20, the STF arrested Sukhwinder Dhami and Jaspreet Singh from Beas River Bridge and confiscat- ed 4 lakh tablets of sedative pills, including Tramadol, from their possession. On the same day, the police also seized 24,000 intoxicants from Dhami’s residence in Tarn Taran. During interrogation, the duo told the police about their backward linkages and Alex Dhaliwal’s name cropped up. He was later arrested from the AmbalaSaharanpur road after the team laid a trap in the area. Information shared by him further led to the seizure of over nine lakh intoxicant tablets and capsules. His questioning led the police to Dehradun resident Intezar Salmani, who was living in New Deol Nagar in Jalandhar. “The police have also confiscated Rs 2.37 lakh alleged drug money, besides two cars and three mobile phones from their possession. The mobile phones were sent for forensic examination,” said Vishaljit. STF DSP Vavinder Mahajan said the police teams were carrying out raids to arrest other accomplices who were part of the racket. He said more arrests were likely to be made during further investigation. Youth beaten to death, 5 held Tribune News Service Three loot retd JE of ~4 lakh Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 29 A quarrel over sharing of the cost of liquor led to the killing of a 21-year-old youth, identified as Ankit Bawa of Fatehgarh Shukarchak village here. The deceased youth was missing for the past two days. On Thursday, his body was found near Uthian village canal. The body was wrapped in a blanket and had injury marks. Following a complaint by the deceased’s father Sushil Kumar, the police have booked Ankit’s friend Jatinder Singh of Fatehgarh Shukarchak village. Following investigation, the police have arrested five persons, including Jatinder Singh, for the murder. Besides Jatinder, the police have arrested Sahil Singh, Lovjit Singh, Dilbagh Singh and Charanjit Singh, all residents of the same village. Amarjit Masih, Station House officer (SHO) of the Kamboh police station and The five accused in the custody of police. TRIBUNE PHOTO investigation officer in the case, said Ankit’s father told the police that his son left with Jatinder, who had called Ankit. But his son Jatinder did not return till late night. The family members were searching for him when they saw people gathered at a ‘kutcha’ pavement along the Uthian village canal. They were shocked to see Ankit’s body. Sushil Kumar alleged that the accused had killed his son as he objected to his friendship with Jatinder, who was allegedly a drunk- ard and addict. Masih said following the statement of Sushil Kumar, the police arrested Jatinder from the Jethuwal bazaar. During interrogation, he reportedly confessed the crime and spilled the beans about the killing. It is alleged that the victim and accused were having drinks near Shukarchak canal, when a quarrel erupted over sharing the amount for procuring liquor. All accused allegedly thrashed the victim brutally, leading to his death. Amritsar, March 29 Three unidentified robbers looted a retired junior engineer of Rs 4 lakh while he was returning home on Thursday. The victim was identified as Surjit Kumar, a resident of the Pawan Nagar area. The police have registered a case and launched further probe in this regard. Surjit told the police that he used to sit at his son Deepak Rampal’s stationery shop. “On Thursday, I took two-day payment, amounting to Rs 4 lakh, from the shop and placed it in the scooter’s dicky,” he said. He said he had reached near his house when three bike-borne persons stopped him and hit his scooter. He lost balance and collided with a wall. They broke open the dicky and fled with the bag that contained cash, he added. The police said that investigation was underway to identify the suspects. Come out & exercise franchise, SOE, PSTSE exams: LS polls: Deadline to deposit adminstration exhorts voters Section144 imposed firearms extended till April 5 around 24 centres DC Sandeep Kumar presides over a meeting regarding EC’s instructions. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 29 The administration is leaving no stone unturned to achieve a heavy turnout of voters in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls with the slogan, ‘Es Bar 70 Ke Par Pa r ’ (polling percentage to cross 70%). Even the elderly and those above the age of 100 years besides the specially challenged (Divyangs) will be given special facilities. This was stated by Sandeep Kumar, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, Tarn Taran, in a meeting of officials organised at the District Administrative Complex (DAC) on Friday. The DEO said in Khadoor Sahib, the administration has launched SVEEP programme to approach every voter, appealing to him to come to the polling station to cast his vote definitely. The DEO said that there are a large number of voters above the age of 100 in the constituency and their family members would be given Form 12 (D). These voters would cast their vote from their homes and the Election Commission would arrange transport facilities for them to enable them reach the polling station. At each polling station, wheel-chairs have been arranged for the divyangs, the DC said. Municipal Corporation’s water & sewerage wing collects ~11 crore Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 29 The water supply and sewerage wing of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, has been able to collect a total of Rs 11 crore till Friday. In a major recovery of outstanding water and sewerage bills, the civic body’s water supply and sewerage wing received a payment of Rs 47.72 lakh from Government Mental Hospital on the directions of the Municipal Corporation Commissioner Harpreet Singh. However, it is learnt that the civic body still has to recover an amount of Rs 10 lakh. The Municipal Corporation Commissioner stated that as per the wing’s report, water and sewerage bills, amounting to lakhs of rupees, are outstanding against various government departments such as Guru Nanak Hospital, ESI Hospital, Public Works Department, and Income Tax Department. ~47 lakh received from Mental Hospital MC officials will collect dues on March 30-31 despite weekend. Rajinder Sharma, Secretary of the water supply and sewerage wing, said they were doing their best to recover the outstanding bills. He said that despite the weekend, the Municipal Corporation will allow consumers and entities to pay their pending water supply and sewerage bills at the CFC Centre on the next two days. He said that the officers and employees of the Municipal Corporation would continue to collect the outstanding payments from people by visiting the field on Saturday and Sunday. The Secretary of the water supply and sewerage wing said that in the same way, property tax and licence fees would also be collected on March 30 and 31, despite the weekend. Amritsar, March 29 Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori has exercised his powers under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and ordered prohibition of any external movement around 24 examination centres for the conduct of entrance tests for admissions to Schools of Eminence (SoE). The examination for admission to SoEs for Class IX and XI will be conducted on March 30, from 10 am to 1 pm at 24 centres while on March 31, the examination for Punjab State Talent Search Examination (PSTSE) will be conducted across six centres. The directions came after the District Education Owners of 4 illegal immigration centres booked Amritsar, March 29 A number of illegal immigration centres have mushroomed in the holy city. The accused are allegedly defrauding innocent youth and people on the pretext of sending them abroad. Dr Vijay Alam Singh, DCP (Law and Order) ordered the registration of an FIR against four such immigration centres being run in the posh Ranjit Avenue locality here. “These centres were hoodwinking the people by saying that they were approved by the government though they did not have requisite license,” said Dr Vijay Alam Singh. Among those booked included owners/managers of Success Mantra, Sodhi Immigration, E-education and Wayzone and unknown persons. They were booked under Section 420 (fraud), 188 (disobedience of an order made by a public servant) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. The DCP said many centres were under radar and more such centres would be booked in the near future. — TNS c m y b Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 29 The district administration has extended the deadline for depositing firearms till April 5. Earlier, persons with licensed firearms were asked to deposit their weapons with the authorities by March 19. “The arms license holders can now deposit their arms by April 5,” said Deputy Commissionercum-District Electoral Officer (DEO) Ghansham Thori in a statement here on Friday. Earlier, the time given for depositing weapons was very short and therefore a need was felt to extend the deadline, said the DC. Till now, only 17,528 licence holders out of 43,728 persons with licensed arms had deposited their weapons with the police or with their respec- Office had written to the DC and Police Commissioner for making requisite security arrangements on the two days for the conduct of examinations. District Education Officer Rajesh Kumar said, “According to the orders, while the exams are conducted or are being conducted, the general public is prohibited from any movement or gathering around the centres.” “This order will be in force from morning to evening on March 30, 2024. Since both these examinations are important, we had written to the DC and Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, for security arrangements for the designated centres in Baba Bakala, Ajnala, Amritsar, Jandiala Guru and other places,” said the District Education Officer. tive gun houses. As per information, the Amritsar city police and the rural police issued over 15,702 and over 28,026 arms licenses, respectively. Of these, only 5,744 arms were deposited with the city police since the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, slated to be held on June 1 in Punjab. Meanwhile, 11,784 persons have deposited their arms with the rural police till now. Thori said the district administration was committed towards conduct- ing free, fair and peaceful elections and for this it was mandatory for the arms holders to deposit their weapons. The police officials have been asking people to deposit their arms with the police at the earliest. They warned licence holders that the district administration would take punitive measures against offenders who fail to deposit their firearms. As per the orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner, the persons with high threat perception as recommended by the police authorities, persons having licenses in their official capacity like personnel of the armed forces and the police, armed security guards of banks and other institutions dealing in cash or precious items were exempted from the prohibitory orders. Sale of bottled water in Golden Temple complex raises queries 4 nabbed for killing vendor Charanjit Singh Teja Amritsar, March 29 The Majitha police have arrested four robbers in connection with the killing of an ice-cream vendor at Bhoma village here on Wednesday evening. The victim, identified as Baluram, hailed from Rajasthan and used to live in a rented accommodation at Bhoma with his wife Shanta. Those arrested included Gurwinder Singh, Harwinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, all residents of Bhoma, and Sahib Singh of Buddatheh village. The police have recovered the mobile phone looted from the victim and the motorcycle used in the crime. Shanta told the police that her husband had gone to sell ice cream near Baba Rode Shah Dargah on Wednesday. Around 8.15 pm Gagandeep Singh, who lived nearby, told her that Baluram was attacked by some robbers and was critically injured. She immediately rushed to the spot but found him dead. Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 29 After a recent resolution adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the outlets inside the Golden Temple complex have started selling packaged water bottles. The move has raised questions over the decision of the Sikh apex body. SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur questioned whether the quality of normal drinking water was up to the mark or not, in addition to generating plastic waste out of the discarded water bottles? Kiranjot Kaur, member, SGPC said, “Amritsar was established around the Holy Sarovar and everyone knows the importance of water at Darbar Sahib. Devotees from around the world take holy water from Amritsar. We all drink the water from ‘Chabbeels’ and it is safe. The commercialisation of water inside the Darbar Sahib complex is not required. Bottled FILE PHOTO Tribune News Service PK Jaiswar water is not safe and also increases the plastic waste. We have no objections to any visitor wanting to drink bottled water and it is available in the market. We are offering the groundwater at various points in the Golden Temple and it is unnecessary to give approval to the vendors to sell packaged water bottles.” The kiosks inside the Golden Temple complex sell cold drinks at subsidised rates. In the past few years, they started selling noodles and other fast food items. A section of the Sikh community opposes the sale of such items inside the Golden Temple. The issue had been discussed in the sub-committee and there was a proposal to remove the kiosks selling cold drinks. However, the decision to sell packaged water bottles also raised questions on the quality of water being served by the SGPC in ‘Chabbeels’. “We have four tube-wells which fetch groundwater from more than 500 feet deep. We had conducted tests and the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) was accurate. Testing is not regular but we haven’t received any complaint about water contamination. Water quality is good,” said Sukhjinder Singh, SDO, SGPC. Tribune News Service
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