04042024-ATR-01.qxd 4/4/2024 12:37 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY EXPIRED DRUGS THROWN ALONG ABOHAR ROAD RCF KAPURTHALA SET TO ROLL OUT VANDE METRO COACH PRIYANKA JOINS DOCU BORN HUNGRY AS A PRODUCER Expired medicines were found by the roadside near a private college on the Abohar road. P3 Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, has started manufacturing Vande Metro coaches. P3 Priyanka Jonas’ production company Purple Pebble Pictures has announced her new film as a producer. P4 » » » MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.52 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6.13 AM THURSDAY | 4 APRIL 2024 | AMRITSAR Man booked for rape Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 3 The city police have booked one Baljit Singh, a resident of Thandhe village in Amritsar district, in a rape case on Tuesday. Suspect made physical relations with her on pretext of marriage ASI Karamjit Kaur recorded the statement of the victim girl. The victim, in her statement, alleged that the accused took her to Amritsar from Tarn Taran in his car on the pretext of celebrating his birthday more than three months back. He took her to some hotel where they stayed for the night. The accused, assuring to marry the girl, established physical relations with her repeatedly. The victim said that he later refused and stopped responding to her on mobile. A case under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused, said the city police. Dist admn identifies 589 polling stations as critical, 624 vulnerable LOK SABHA POLLS PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 The district administration has identified 589 polling stations as critical while 624 polling stations have come under vulnerable category. There are a total of 2,126 polling stations in 11 assembly constituencies where people would exercise their franchise on June 1. As per the information, Baba Bakala and Attari constituencies have the maximum while Ajnala has the minimum number of critical and vulnerable polling stations. As per the data received from district administration, Baba Bakala constituency has the maximum number of critical polling stations (94) followed by Attari (91) and Jandiala (80) while Ajnala has the lowest number of critical polling stations (18). Similarly, Amritsar South assembly constituency has 71 critical polling stations, Amritsar East 67, Amritsar North 52 and Amritsar West 45. Majitha and Amritsar Central have 25 and 24 critical polling stations respectively, followed by Rajasansi with 22. These critical polling stations were identified by the district administration on the basis of their location in the vulnerable pockets and areas or where any sort of violence had taken place leading to lodging of an FIR during assembly or Lok Sabha polls in the past. Similarly, stations where re-poll was conducted owing to vitiated poll process and electoral offences such as booth capturing during the past five years were also brought under this category. The polling stations where polling was less than 10 per cent in the past also came in this category. The administration also kept in mind the intelligence inputs regarding abnormal law and order situation in any particular area while declaring a polling station as critical. Baba Bakala (110) and Attari (112) constituencies also have the maximum number while Ajnala (16) has the lowest number of vulnerable polling stations. Deputy Commissionercum-District Election Officer Ghansham Thori informed that observers from the Election Commission of India were also consulted before finalising the list of critical polling stations so that appropriate measures could be taken during polling. He said the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) would remain present at these polling stations while returning officers would ensure proper videography and other monitoring systems would also be in place there. Vulnerable polling stations were those which were located in localities dominated by minority communities or weaker sections of society. Police nab four for dacoity in grocery store owner’s house Were produced in a court, taken on five-day police remand Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 With the arrest of four persons, the Amritsar Rural Police on Wednesday claimed to have cracked the dacoity case in which a grocery store owner and his wife were held hostage in their house by miscreants who looted ~15 lakh cash, besides gold jewellery worth lakhs. Those arrested were identified as Ashok Kumar of New Jawahar Nagar, Batala road, Pawan Sharma of Ajnala, Gurpreet Singh, aka Gopi, of Rajasansi and Naresh Kumar of Amar Avenue in Court Road area in the city. The police also recovered ~11.70 lakh and a toy pistol used in the crime from their possession. Superintendent of Police (Investigations) Harinder Singh Gill revealed that the The accused in custody of the Amritsar Rural Police on Wednesday. accused were produced in a court, which remanded them in five-day police custody. He said as per preliminary investigations, an Ajnala resident tipped the accused about huge cash and jewellery in the house of victim Surinder Pal Sehgal, who runs a grocery store in the border township of Ajanala. He said efforts were being made to identify and arrest him. Surinderpal Sehgal had claimed in the initial com- plaint that the armed accused decamped with ~16 lakh cash and ornaments worth ~25 lakh from the house. He said as per his daily routine, he goes to his shop early in the morning. On the morning of March 29, as he came out of his house at around 5am, the robbers caught him at gunpoint and took him inside the house. They tied the mouth and hands of Surinder Sehgal and his wife with tape and threatened to kill them in case they tried to raise an alarm. They knew that the couple was alone. The CCTV camera footage revealed that they were in the house for over half an hour. When they left the victim’s house, his wife called her son-in-law and later police teams reached the spot. The CCTV camera footage revealed that the accused had been carrying out a recce of the house and waiting for the victim to come out of the house in the morning. As soon as he came out, they detained him at gunpoint. Gill said accused Gurpreet faced two criminal cases (one of theft and the other under the Arms Act) and Pawan Sharma a murder case in 2004. Similarly, Ashok had two cases of fraud registered against him in Pathankot district. At AAP rally, Bhullar highlights Tarn Taran SMO held Abide by rules, transporters told while accepting bribe achievements of party, govt Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 3 Punjab cabinet minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, AAP candidate from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, has highlighted the welfare schemes being implemented by the state government and appealed to the people to vote in his favour for the sake of progress of Punjab and the country as well. Bhullar expressed these views while addressing a gathering at Ranjit Singh Farm in Tarn Taran town on Wednesday where AAP MLA from Tarn Taran Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal presided. People from the villages and from Tarn Taran town participated in large numbers in the public meeting. Bhullar spoke of 600 units of free power to the consumers, opening of 849 Aam Aadmi Clinics, School of Eminence and 43,000 jobs to Two booked for sodomy Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 3 The Chohla Sahib police have booked two in an incident of sodomy. The accused have been identified as Arashdeep Singh alias Splendor and Lovejit Sing Lov, both of Warhian Naven village. SHO Harmanpreet Singh informed that the accused lured a 12-year-old boy who was playing in the village to the residence of Arashdeep Singh where they committed the crime. The victim disclosed the incident to his mother who approached the Children’s Welfare Committee which advised them to approach the police. The Station House Officer (SHO) said that a case has been registered on Tuesday under Section 377 and 34 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) read along with Section 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The accused are absconding. Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and other leaders acknowledge wishes of the crowd at a public meeting in Tarn Taran. GURBAXPURI the youth and said that the government was working hard to provide an administration free from corruption. Bhullar assured the people that he would raise issues of the state and farmers in the the border area in Parliament with zeal. He appealed to the people to vote for him. Among others who addressed the gathering included Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, Gurdev Singh Sandhu, Gursewak Singh Aulakh, Dilbag Singh and officer-bearers of different institutions. Tarn Taran, April 3 In its ongoing campaign against corruption, the Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday arrested Dr Kanwaljit Singh, posted as the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, red-handed while accepting a bribe of ~50,000 from a Tarn Taran resident. An official spokesperson for the VB said here that the SMO has been arrested on the complaint lodged by Dharambir Singh, a Tarn Taran (city) resident. VB officials said the complainant approached the VB and informed that he runs a canteen on contract within the hospital premises, but the SMO had been harassing him on the pretext of cleanliness in canteen, quality of food, etc. The complainant further alleged that the SMO even threatened to terminate the contract in case he didn’t SMO Dr Kanwaljit Singh in the custody of a VB team in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI DCP Alam Vijay Singh holds meet with transporters in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO pay the bribe money. The spokesperson said after his complaint, a trap was laid by VB officials and the accused was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. The VB official added that a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the suspect at the VB police station, Amritsar Range. The SMO would be produced in a court tomorrow, he revealed. — OC Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 To keep a close watch on illegal activities, including supply and transportation of liquor, cash or narcotic substances in the runup to Lok Sabha polls, the city police held a meeting with transporters of the district. Chairing the meeting, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), Alam Vijay Singh gave clear-cut instructions to the trans- porters that they should keep the necessary documents and follow all norms while transporting goods. He said they should also ensure that no illegal material is being transported through their vehicles, otherwise they would have to face stern action. “The transporters should have the bills and other documents of the goods being transported on their carriers. We have also asked them to ensure that no illegal goods should be hidden in the material being transported, otherwise they would be liable to stringent action against the driver as well as the owner of the vehicle,” said DCP Alam Vijay Singh. The city police had recently nabbed two persons carrying Rs 1 lakh in unaccounted cash. He said the Punjab Police was committed to conducting the parliamentary elections in a free and fair manner without any fear. Makeover like Indore possible Parents complain about spending more in city, BJP’s Sandhu tells people on books, uniforms for kids in pvt schools Manmeet Singh Gill Neha Saini Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 Even as the BJP candidate for Lok Sabha elections from here has had a head start as the party hinted about his candidature over a month ago, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the former ambassador of India to US, is making all efforts to reach out to the general public. In another bid to interact with his constituents at a public place where they could share their views in an open manner, Sandhu visited Company Bagh here on Wednesday morning and interacted with the city residents who came for jogging and a leisurely walk. There was no dearth of city residents who requested the former diplomat to pose for a picture, there were others who expressed their anguish about the condition of the Bagh, which counts as among city’s green spaces or lungs. Amritsar, April 3 A year after Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains instructed the district education officials to act strictly in case of a violation of fee regulation and sale of books and uniforms by private schools, not much seems to have changed. Parents whose wards are studying in private schools in the district have taken to social media platforms and also mailed complaints to the District Education Office against the exorbitant prices of books being charged by vendors referred to by these schools. Flooding the social media platform of ‘Voice of Amritsar’, a non-profit NGO in Amritsar, several parents expressed helplessness over there being no regulation on the prices of books. Rakhi Sharma, a parent, whose child studies in Class II in a noted private school, claimed BJP leader Taranjit Singh Sandhu interacts with visitors at Company Bagh in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Interacting with the public, Sandhu said that the city would be given a new look by the year 2027 when it would be ready for the 450th anniversary celebrations of its inception by the fourth Sikh master Guru Ram Dass ji. “If the condition of Indore could be reversed and made a better city within a short span of six years, why can’t we do it here in Amritsar,” he commented. On the occasion, the residents also complained about the poor condition of government hospitals. The residents informed the BJP candidate that despite the state government’s claims, the newly opened Mohalla Clinics are a demotion of the earlier PHCs and CHCs. Residents also complained continued on page 2 c m y b Parents have raised voice against the exorbitant book prices and the vendor-school nexus in Amritsar on Wednesday. SUNIL KUMAR that one set of books cost her Rs 8,500, while another parent, whose kid had graduated to kindergarten from nursery, spent Rs 7,000 on a single set of books. Similarly, the District Education Office has also received several complaints from parents in this regard in the last 24 hours against several private schools. “As per directions, we have set up a four-member task force, including principals, to look into these complaints. We are receiving complaints against private schools, who are not directly selling books and uniforms but recommending particular vendors for the same. We have also been receiving many phone calls from parents, complaining about the exorbitant prices of books charged by vendors referred to by private schools. We will look into these complaints and do the needful,” said DEO Rajesh Kumar. The four-member committee will look into resolving the complaints related to books, fees and uniforms from the parents of children studying in private schools affiliated to the PSEB, CBSE and ICSE boards. Meanwhile, on an average, parents are spending anything between Rs 4,000-Rs 8,000 to buy stuff for kids from Nursery to Class 3; Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 for books of Class III to Class V. The parents also allege a nexus between vendors, publishers and private schools, who refer books from a particular publication that leads to the unchecked, high prices. Ajitpal Singh, a small business owner, whose child studies at a local private school, said that the authorities are continued on page 2
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