20092024-JTR-01.qxd 9/19/2024 10:46 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune ABOHAR MAN DIES AS CAR COLLIDES WITH SUV PUMP OPERATORS PROTEST NEAR CM’S RESIDENCE ON NATIONAL CINEMA DAY, TICKETS TO COST ONLY ~99 A resident of Abohar died when the car he was travelling in collided with an SUV near Malout. P3 Gram Panchayat Water Supply Pump Operators Association staged a dharna near CM Mann’s house . P3 On National Cinema Day, tickets in theatres will be available for ~99. Let’s see what’s playing in Chandigarh. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.26 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:15 AM » FRIDAY | 20 SEPTEMBER 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF THREE BOOKED FOR MURDER Phagwara: The police have booked three villagers on the charge of murdering a person. The accused have been identified as Dilbag Singh alias Baga, Gurjit Singh and Tejpal Singh of Badshahpur village. They murdered Harpreet Singh,a daily wage worker. Baldieeh Kaur, daughter of Harpreet, complained to the police that his father went to attend a meeting of villager elders on September 17 late evening. She said her father came back home around 10.30 pm and he was injured and told the family that threepersons attacked him with sticks at the meeting point. Baldeesh said he died the next day. A case under Sections 103 (murder) and 3(5) (committing the crime with common intention) of the BNS has been registered against the accused and raids are being conducted to nab them. OC 4 MAN BOOKED FOR ASSAULT Phagwara : Following a complaint lodged by Paramjit Singh, a resident of village Duggan near Phagwara, the police have registered a case against four persons on the charge of attacking and injuring the complainant. The accused were identified as Upkarjit Singh, Satwinder Singh, Rinku Walia and Kulbir Singh, residents of village Ranipur. Personal enmity was said to be the cause of attack. No arrest has been made so far. OC Cops under lens for ‘extra-judicial punishment’ to snatchers, thieves Jalandhar, September 19 Residents of Santokhpura took to the streets last night, protesting the severe water shortage that has plagued their locality for nearly a month. The protest, aimed at awakening the MC from their deep slumber, saw residents blocking the Kishanpura-Lamma Pind Road, bringing traffic to a standstill for several hours. Residents said they had been forced to fetch water from other areas for their daily needs. Despite submitting numerous complaints to the Municipal Corporation and the MLA’s office, their pleas had gone unanswered. They Tribune News Service Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 19 A set pattern is being noted in the arrest of accused in almost all snatching and theft cases being registered by the city police for the past nearly two weeks. When these accused are presented before the media or in the courts, they all have their legs fractured. Videos of these accused with plasters on their legs and walking with limp in the police custody are being made and uploaded on social media. These videos are also being played on the social media accounts of the Jalandhar Commissionerate Police with logos and even picture of Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma being shown at the end. While a section of society is appreciating the move, saying that the accused deserved to be taught a lesson, there are others who claim that this was a violation of human rights and the accused could have been subject to extra-judicial punishment. The police, when questioned in press interactions, have always maintained that the accused had got the injuries accidentally while trying to escape during the arrest or had jumped off from an upper People stage dharna over water shortage Tribune News Service Cops expose Canada link in shooting at lawyer’s house said when they visited MLA’s office, they were assured that the issue would be resolved by evening, but when it didn’t happen, they were left with no choice but to protest. “The water shortage has disrupted daily life in the area. We have been struggling to carry out our basic task such as cooking and washing, but officials are showing no interest in resolving our problem”, said Seema Mishra, a resident. They also voiced concerns over the impact of the crisis on their daily routine as fetching water from elsewhere or arrange private water tanker had become a burden. The accused involved in snatching and theft cases, with their legs and hand fractured, in police custody in Jalandhar. floor of the building. However, certain activists and lawyers from the city have already started condemning it. “Our police still seem to be working with a colonial mindset. They are using all sorts of coercive measures which they legally cannot. In a way, they are adopting the policing trends as seen in Uttar Pradesh, believing that the police cannot be made accountable”, said human right activist and lawyer Parminder Vig. The activists are also rais- Sanitation staff strike continues Our Correspondent PHAGWARA, SEPTEMBER 19 Sanitation workers in Phagwara, who have been waiting for job regularisation for years, continued their indefinite protest outside the MC office for the third consecutive day today. The contractual workers are demanding permanent positions. Valmiki-Mazhabi Sikh community leader Ashu Mattu, addressing the protesters, accused the MC of negligence, stating that the workers were forced to stage the protest due to the corporation’s apathy. He said the Phagwara MC had been disregarding the government’s directives issued on June 23, 2021, which called for the swift implementation of Cabinet decisions. 3 MORE HELD IN SNATCHING CASE ■ At least two of the three accused arrested by the police today in a case of snatching of Rs 300 from a Nepali domestic help in Adarsh Nagar had fractures on their legs. One of the accused was brought in on wheel chair. ■ SSP Gurpreet Singh said, “The accused had tried to speed up their bikes to escape. Since they drove rashly, they got injuries on their legs.” ■ A senior cop, however, said these were the extreme measures that the police were resorting to for bringing crime under control. This will serve as a deterrent, he said. ing concerns as to why all accused, arrested in snatching cases, are getting fractures on their legs and why is this not happening with the accused in the Jalandhar Rural Police area. Likewise lawyer KK Arora maintains, “The police had to cut a sorry figure after the video of a girl being dragged on road over a distance by Cyclist dies in mishap, people block road Our Correspondent Garhshankar, September 19 A cyclist was run over by a high-speed tipper and died on the spot on the GarhshankarNangal road on Wednesday. Angry people blocked the road and protested, raising slogans against the police and the government. They demanded that a case should be registered against the driver and owner of the tipper and they be arrested soon. Though the tipper was caught by the police, no case has been registered. Bahadur Singh (22), resident of Garhi Matto, was going on his bicycle. As soon as he reached near the petrol pump, a high-speed overloaded tipper coming from behind hit him, leaving the man died on the spot. The tipper driver fled the spot. People led by Darshan Singh Mattoo, Bar Association Garhshankar president Advocate Pankaj Kripal and Congress leader Pranav Kripal blocked the road by placing the body on the road and started raising slogans against the government. After the blockade, Garhshankar SHO Baljinder Singh and Mahilpur SHO Raman Kumar arrived at the spot and assured the protesters that the driver and the owner would be arrested and a case would be registered. After this, the protesters lifted the dharna. snatchers went viral. To cover it up, the cops now seem to be only appeasing their political bosses by making such videos. But ideally, the police should have started some reformatory measures by getting into the root of the problem. Other than de-addiction, such people need to be imparted some training to divert their minds just the way former SSP Dinkar Gupta had launched project Koshish in notorious Ganna village of Phillaur where addicts were engaged in pickle making.” Jalandhar, September 19 The Jalandhar Police Commissionerate has cracked a case of a recent shooting at the house of a local lawyer, revealing a property dispute with international connections as the motive behind the attack. According to Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma, the firing took place at the residence of advocate Gurmohan Singh on September 8. An FIR was registered on September 12 at Basti Bawa Khel Police Station under various charges, including the Arms Act. Following the investigation, the police have arrested five persons involved in the shooting and recovered weapons, cartridges, a motorcycle and cash from them. The investigation revealed that Gurpal Singh, alias Gopa, residing in Brampton, Canada, was the mastermind behind the attack. A close associate of Gurpal Singh, Shubham, alias Shubha, orchestrated the firing, with the cartridges being supplied by Jitender, alias Bholu, to two men, Dhruv and Pawan, on Shubham’s orders in Jalandhar. The motive behind the shooting was a longstanding property dispute. The motive behind the firing was a long-standing property dispute Commissioner Sharma revealed that the dispute revolved around three acres of land that Amarpreet Singh Aulakh, once married to Niswant Dusanjh, sought to reclaim. The land had originally been part of an agreement between Aulakh and his late father-in-law Raghvir Singh Dusanjh. However, following Raghvir’s death, the property was transferred to Balraj Kaur Dusanjh, which Aulakh contested in court. In connection with the ongoing legal proceedings, advocate Gurmohan Singh reportedly received threatening calls from international numbers. To intimidate him further, shots were fired at his home earlier this month. The police suspect that Balraj Pal Dusanjh and his family, residing in Canada, coordinated the attack in collaboration with Gurpal Singh. Commissioner Sharma stated that further investigation was expected to uncover additional details regarding the role of Balraj Pal Dusanjh and his family in orchestrating the attack. Protest to stop demolition of houses at Santokhpura Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 19 Residents of Mohalla Santokhpura in Phillaur gathered at Guru Ravidas Gurdwara on Thursday and held a march to the SDM office, opposing a move to demolish their houses and acquire land by the Railways. The protesters reached the Tehsil complex, Phillaur, and in the absence of the SDM, a letter was sent to Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu through the Tehsildar. The residents demanded that the land should not be acquired. There are almost 600 houses in Santokhpura Mohalla of which 170 owners face eviction. The march was held under the leadership of the Dehati Mazdoor Sabha president Jarnail Phillaur, Hans Raj Santokhpura, Karnail Singh Santokhpura, Dr Sandeep Kumar, among others. Residents said they had been living here for the last 40 years and their Aadhaar cards and voter cards had also been made and they had electricity connections. Yet, efforts were being made by the railway department to demolish their houses. Speaking to The Tribune, Jarnail Phillaur said, “For the past 4-5 days, department officials have been approaching residents to leave their houses. A boundary wall by the department is now proposed to be constructed towards the mohalla. The question is why didn’t they object when the houses were being constructed 40 years ago.” Addressing a gathering, Jarnail Phillaur said the government should first make arrangements for the settlement of the people. A long battle would be fought to save people’s homes and other organisations would also join. Green activists to get FIR registered over tree felling Helpline launched to curb farm fire cases Patwari held for taking ~5,000 bribe that any government employee found engaging in such practices would face immediate suspension and departmental action. He added that responsibility would be fixed in each case of farm fire, with strict action being taken against officials failing in their duty to curb this menace. The DC further said 6,342 crop residue management machines had been procured and village-level mapping was being done to ensure their optimal utilization. Additionally, over 200 bailers had been arranged to assist farmers. Aggarwal urged Sub-Divisional Level Committees to take proactive steps in spreading awareness about the harmful effects of stubble burning. — TNS Our Correspondent Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 19 After days of protests at the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, to save trees on the premises of Civil Surgeon’s office, environmental activists today held an “antim ardas” for 20 axed trees. A Critical Care Centre (CCU) will come up on the site. The decks have already been cleared for the CCU amid repeated protests from the CS office employees for the past six months – unwilling to shift to the new makeshift offices. After the axing of the trees, the activists said today that they would file an FIR in the case. Environment activists, doctors, traders from nearby markets and citizens sat at the site where the trees were felled and offered “antim ardas” (final prayers). Former employees of the Civil Hospital also joined in. Doctor and activist Navnet Bhullar said, “I’ve worked with architectural firms in Maharashtra which have made sustainable buildings in the middle of a forest preserving all trees on the site. Why couldn’t such sustainable firms be hired for the CCU. Trees are necessary for a healthy environment for patients as well.” Airing the demands of activists, Bhullar said, “We will file a criminal complaint against the axing of these trees tomorrow. We demand that the tree Act be implemented in Punjab and an urban tree count be made in every city. Ludhiana is doing it. All trees be properly numbered and no tree be axed without the permission of civ- Environmental activists protest against the chopping of trees in Jalandhar. PHOTO :MALKIAT SINGH il society members.” Bhullar also said, “We got to know that the price of the axed trees was fixed for about Rs 1.5 lakh. This is a meagre amount.” Former Civil Surgeon Dr Maninder Minhas said, c m y b “Such huge trees can’t be felled without the NGT’s permission. It’s not understandable how these were felled.” Jalandhar, September 19 In a bid to curb stubble burning in the district, Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal today launched a district-level helpline, enabling farmers and the public to report farm fires and seek assistance with crop residue management. During a review meeting with the departments concerned, the DC announced that people could report stubble burning incidents at 01812225005 and farmers can seek technical help on crop residue management at the same number. This helpline would be operational from 10 am to 6 pm, seven days a week. Aggarwal emphasised a zero-tolerance policy against stubble burning and warned Hoshiarpur, September 19 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption, has arrested a patwari Joginder Pal, posted at Jahanpur, Mukerian in Hoshiarpur, for taking a bribe of Rs 5,000. Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said the accused was arrested on a complaint lodged by Sarup Singh, a resident of village Jahanpur, on the Chief Minister’s anti-corruption action line. He further said the complainant had alleged that the patwari had taken bribe of Rs 5,000 on three occasions for entering mutation of ancestral land.