17062024-ATR-01.qxd 6/17/2024 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR HEATWAVE AFFECTS NORMAL LIFE IN TARN TARAN DISTRICT VARUN DHAWAN SHARES PHOTO OF DAUGHTER ON FATHER’S DAY EMILIA CLARKE ON STARRING IN GOT & THE LOVE SHE RECEIVES FOR IT Normal life was thrown out of gear in the district as the mercury touched 44°C mark accompanied by a severe heatwave. P2 Actor Varun Dhawan is seen holding his daughter’s tiny hand & in another picture holding paw of his pet dog, Joey. P4 Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke recalled starring in the iconic series in which she portrayed Daenerys Targaryen. P4 » » » MAX 45°C | MIN 30°C YESTERDAY MAX 45°C | MIN 31°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.37 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:25 AM MONDAY | 17 JUNE 2024 | AMRITSAR Five held with 420 gm heroin Amritsar, June 16 The police have arrested five persons in separate incidents and recovered a total of 420 grams of heroin from their possession. Those arrested were identified as Sandeep Singh of Makhi village in Tarn Taran, Jashandeep Singh of Anngarh, Ravi, aka Ninja, of Navi Abadi, Gursewak Singh, alias Sewak, of Kale Ghanupur and Sukhraj Singh of Verka. According to the police, 150 grams of heroin was recovered from Sandeep and 50 grams from Jashandeep. Similarly, Ravi, Gursewak and Sukhraj were held with 100 grams, 100 grams and 20 grams of heroin, respectively. The police also confiscated an electronic weighing scale and recovered Rs 2,630 drug money from Gursewak Singh. Separate cases under the NDPS Act were registered against the five suspects. They were brought on police remand for further interrogation. — TNS Pistol parts, ammo recovered near border village Amritsar, June 16 The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered parts of pistol and ammunition stashed in a packet from the border area of Amritsar district today. Around 10:15 am, the BSF search party recovered the packet containing pistol parts sans upper slide and magazine and five rounds of 7.62 mm calibre from a field near Rattankhurd village. — TNS booked for murder Floating population in Deeda Sansian Mandowry harassment bid, village queers the pitch for police Tribune News Service Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Deeda Sansian, June 16 A village — Deeda Sansian — which has gained infamy for being a haven for brewing illicit liquor and supplying drugs for the last five decades, is turning out to be the proverbial Achilles Heel for the Gurdaspur cops. It falls in the jurisdiction of the Dinanagar police station and is located near National Highway (NH) 54. Deeda Sansian came into the spotlight on Friday when three dead bodies, all of middle aged men, were found on a single day. All of them bore syringe marks. The police, however, claim that the “bodies were reported on a single day although all the deaths did not occur the same day”. Villagers, however, say all three persons died on the same day and that too after injecting an overdose of heroin. Several generations of inhabitants of the village have been in the business of producing illegal hooch. “However, in the last few years two things have happened. One was that the cops upped the ante while secondly profits from illegal activities started dropping drastically. Hence, villagers changed their product and with it their modus-operandi too. The new product is heroin,” said an old-timer who claims to have seen destruction of lives and livelihoods of SSP Harish Dayama (centre) during a raid at Deeda Sansian village on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO hundreds of young people. He said, “And the new modus-operandi involved is bringing the drug from villages located near the international border where drones often fly in from Pakistan and drop contraband in neatly packed yellow nylon packets. Yellow, because the colour offers enough illumination at night for the recipient to identify packets even from a distance.” He further said, “The village is so famous for selling heroin that youngsters from far away districts, and even from Himachal Pradesh, come here to have their daily dose of dope. The police raids have an effect for a day or two after which villagers are back to business. Excess consumption of opium or poppy husk is never fatal. Excess heroin surely causes death.” Although Sukhwinder Pal Singh, DSP Dinanagar, , claimed that only postmortem report could reveal whether the three deaths were drug induced or not, village elders say they had no doubt that all the three had died due to excess injection of heroin in their bodies. “There are syringe marks on the bodies of all the three. Over the years, we have trained our eyes. We can never be hoodwinked. We can give you a written assurance that the deceased had injected heroin,” said a village septuagenarian who claims to have been witness to many such tragedies in the past. Repeated raids, instead of having the desired effect, have made villagers immune to such exercises. Officials engaged in fighting the drug menace claim that it had become almost an insurmountable task for them to curb it because of the floating population of the village. Floating population is a term used to describe a group of people who reside at a particular place for a certain time period before moving to other places. Whenever the Gurdaspur police tighten the screws in Deeda Sansian village, smugglers move to Channi Belli village which is in Himachal Pradesh. Like Deeda Sansian, Channi Belli, too, has acquired a reputation of a drug haven. Being in Himachal, the Gurdaspur police have no jurisdiction whatsoever over this village. There have been numerous instances of smugglers taking refuge in Channi Belli once the Gurdaspur cops decide to turn on the heat on them. Channi Belli village falls in Indora police station of Himachal and, geographically speaking, is not far away from the Dinanagar police station. People commit a crime in Deeda Sansian and spend the next few days in Channi Belli trying to evade the cops. And, without any doubt, they are successful in keeping the policemen at an arm’s length. This is because they know the tricks of the trade better than the cops. Interestingly, whenever cops conduct a raid, word spreads fast and villagers are quick to lock their houses. “We migrate to Channi Belli village where we have relatives to take care of us,” said a villager. “The raids had stopped during the elections due to which small-time smugglers bringing in heroin from near the international border to the village had an easy time. Now, these smugglers have retreated into their hideouts because Gurdaspur SSP Harish Dayama has stepped on the gas-pedal,” he said. So much so, Dayama himself conducted raids at the village today. He insists that this time the police would make sure that the village was cleansed of heroin. “This time it is a fight to the finish. It’s a battle where no quarters are asked for and none given. Heroin will be wiped off the Gurdaspur map,” the SSP said. Married woman dies Residents irked over unscheduled power cuts hovering after consuming poison ❝The maximum temperature isthere is noaround in 44°C. To make the matter worse, power Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Husband, father-in-law arrested Amritsar, June 16 A married woman ended her life by consuming some poisonous substance at Haer village located on the Ajnala road here yesterday. She was identified as Rajinder Kaur, alias Harjinder Kaur. The police booked her husband Jasbir Singh, his father Bahal Singh and mother Amarjit Kaur on charge of abetment to suicide. Jasbir and Bahal were arrested by the police. Sawinder Singh of Jhande village told the police that his daughter was married to Jasbir in 2008. He said since marriage, Jasbir and his family was harassing his daughter for dowry. He alleged that for three years, his daughter lived with them (parents) after which Jasbir reached a compromise and took her back home. He alleged that yesterday Gurpartap Singh, a relative of Jasbir, called them and said that Rajinder was not well and she was admitted to a private hospital in Gumtala. He said half-anhour later he called them again and told that his daughter had expired. — TNS 12 booked for assaulting Chutala village residents Woman says she was molested Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, June 16 A free for all prevailed in Chutala village on the night of June 14 when a group of 12 persons attacked a house after switching off the village lights. The assailants smashed articles in the house and allegedly molested and disrobed a 40-year-old woman. The Sadar police on the complaint of victim Rajbir Kaur, booked Heera Singh, his son Jobanpreet Singh, Vishal Singh Shali, Simranjit Singh, Harmit Singh, Harmit Singh Pita, Baljit Singh and Simmi, residents of Chutala, Mehakdeep Singh Mehak and Jashanpreet Singh, residents of Taragarh Talawan village, and Sukhwinder Singh Kash and Salwinder Singh Sanju of Dinewal village, in this connection. The police said Vishal , Harmit, Mehakdeep , Salwinder and Jashanpreet were arrested. ASI Ashwani Kumar, investigating officer, said the suspects switched off lights of the village and then attacked the family. The suspects tore garments of Rajbir Kaur who intervened to stop them from damaging articles in the house. The police said the group was booked under Sections 452, 354-B, 323, 427, 148 and 149 of the IPC on Saturday. The police said there was a minor clash between children of the village a few day ago which turned ugly. Amritsar, June 16 Residents of many localities have expressed resentment against Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) over unscheduled power cuts. They alleged that the PSPCL had been imposing unscheduled power cuts in almost all parts of the city for the last few days. Residents of Sandhu Colony, Chheharta, Ghanupur Kale, Maqboolpura, Indira Colony, and Veer Enclave, Bypass Road are affected by frequent power cuts. The situation is even worst in the rural areas. Pawan Sharma, a resident our locality. Our inverter battery does not charge due to regular power cuts. Instead of giving free electricity, the government should ensure an uninterrupted power supply infrastructure which is in a pitiable condition at present. Suraj Kumar, CITY RESIDENT ❞ of Sandhu Colony, said, “We are facing regular power cuts. The power supply was snapped for five hours in our area on Saturday. No one responded from the PSPCL on repeated phone calls in this connection.” Vaneet Thakur, a resident of Pawan Nagar, said, “The power supply in Aman Avenue and Majitha Road is the worst hit. We are facing six hours cut during the day time and three hours during the night. The power goes off after every one hour. Besides, voltage fluctuation has made the matter worse. Calling 1912 is useless as no accountability of any staff from the lower to upper level has been fixed. No authentic contact number is available for reporting frequent power cuts. During the election campaign, everyone was making big promises, but the truth is that we are still fighting for our basics needs.” “The maximum temperature is hovering around 44°C. To make the matter worse, there is no power in our locality. Our inverter battery does not charge due to regular power cuts. Instead of giving free electricity, the government should ensure an uninterrupted power supply infrastructure which is in a pitiable condition at present,” said Suraj Kumar, another resident of the area. Amritsar, June 16 A married woman was allegedly subjected to physical torture over dowry in Jandiala Guru here. The police have booked victim’s husband for an attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt and harassment for dowry. The suspect, Kuldeep Masih of Chanowal village, is yet to be arrested. Rajandeep Kaur (28) in her complaint to the police alleged that the suspect thrashed and tried to strangulate her. He hit the victim on her face with scissors and even gave electric shock on her arms. The police said a case under Sections 307, 323 and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Kuldeep and efforts were on to arrest him. Rajandeep Kaur told the police that she got married to Kuldeep Masih of Chanowal village in Gurdaspur around one-and-a- half-year ago. She was a housewife. The victim said after marriage, her in-laws started harassing her for dowry. She alleged that when they did not relent she along with her husband started living in Jotisar Colony in Jandiala Guru in a rented accommodation. She alleged that two days ago around 9 pm, her husband came home and started thrashing her without any provocation. She alleged that the suspect tried to strangulate her and later injured her nose with scissors. The victim said she fell on the floor and the suspect attempted to kill her by giving electric shock on her right arm. The victim said she fell unconscious and her husband fled after bolting doors from outside while considering her dead. Balkar Singh, investigating officer (IO), said raids were on to arrest Kuldeep and further probe had been initiated into the matter. Youth kidnapped, killed by three over old enmity Body burnt near canal after murder Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 16 A resident of Sheikhurpura Mohalla in the Jandiala Guru area, identified as Harpreet Singh (21), was allegedly kidnapped and killed by three youth over an old enmity. The victim had been missing since June 9 evening. The police have arrested one suspect in this connection while two of his accomplices are absconding. An FIR was registered following the statement of victim’s mother Manjit Kaur. Giving details, Durlabh Darshan Singh, investigating officer (IO), said Manjit Kaur told the police that Harpreet started taking drugs after falling into bad company. She said he went out of the house on June 9 evening, but did not return till late night. She said the family members looked for him at relatives’ house and religious places, but did not find any clue about his whereabouts. Yesterday, the victim’s family came to know that Deepu of Gehri Mandi village along with his two unknown accomplices had kidnapped Harpreet outside a tavern near the Jandiala Guru grain market. The victim’s mother suspected that either the suspects had kept her son in illegal detention or harmed him. The IO said that after Manjit Kaur’s complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 364 (kidnapping with intention to harm or kill), 365 (abduction with intention to keep in wrongful confinement), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code in this connection. The IO said the police had arrested Deepu, who confessed that he along with Prince of Gehri Mandi and Kaku of Ekalgadda village, had killed Harpreet and burnt his body near Mallian village canal after wrapping it in a tarpaulin. The IO said the police had recovered the mortal remains (skeleton) from the spot and sent it for an autopsy. Pvt firm operating only food plaza at rly station pulls out of contract Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 16 A Delhi-based private company with 50 years of experience in tourism, hospitality and operating private trains pulled out of the annual contract with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for running a food plaza at the Amritsar railway station. It brought down the curtain on the only upscale eating joint spread across 2,250 square feet area (250 square yards) at the railway station. An multi-cuisine food joint failed to attract customers as it faced cut-throat competition from vendors serving food at low rates at the railway station. Moreover, the railway station is yet to realise the pre- Passengers wait for trains outside closed food plaza at the railway station in Amritsar. SUNIL KUMAR Covid era footfall of passengers while frequent rail blockades by agitating farmer unions for the past few years severely curtailed the business for days alto- c m y b gether in a year. Before the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, over 130 trains used to arrive and depart from the Amritsar railway station. Besides, the railway station recorded a footfall of over 30,000 passengers every day. High rent cost of food plaza, frequent protests curtailing working days and the losses incurred during the Covid-19 period were some of the reasons compelling the company to pull out of the business. The company is running ready to eat outlets at several railway stations across the country. It is learnt that a day’s rent of the food plaza at the Amritsar railway station was around Rs 14,700, including 18 per cent GST. The total annual licence fee of the food plaza is around Rs 4.41 lakh. In addition, the company had to foot wages of employees, allied costs and high power tariff. All input costs put together made the business of serving delectable food items a highly pricey affair. Railway officials said as Amritsar was a border city, most trains either originate or terminate their journey here. They said passengers pre- ferred home cooked food. After a written request by the company to exit the food plaza at the Amritsar railway station, Regional Manager, IRCTC, Regional Office, Chandigarh, recommended forfeiture of the firm’s security deposit of Rs 15 lakh and the licence fee. As per the IRCTC communication dated April 16, the company was also advised to deposit the penalty amount of Rs 27,71,279 as on February 14. The company was advised to clear all the dues of the Amritsar railway station food plaza at the earliest. Earlier, a Mumbai-based catering company had withdrawn from the Amritsar food plaza in 2015 after renting it at Rs 3 lakh per month in July 2014. At that time, the firm had found the eatery commercially non-viable.
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).