09102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/8/2024 11:13 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune BJP LEADERS OVERJOYED OVER HARYANA VICTORY Express their happiness over the BJP’s third consecutive win in the Haryana Assembly elections. P2 » MELODIOUS NOTES OF SINGER MONALI THAKUR FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 20°C OTT ALLOWS ACTORS TO LEND DEPTH TO THEIR CHARACTERS One needs to evolve with changing trends in industry, but essence of music remains eternal, says Monali. P4 SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.04 PM Sonakshi Sinha has done two OTT shows so far, a rustic Dahaad and a period drama Heeramandi. P4 » SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:30 AM » WEDNESDAY | 9 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Woman, two brothers arrested for slow poisoning husband, mother-in-law to death Charanjit Singh Teja HAD ILLICIT RELATIONS Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 8 The city police arrested a woman for killing her husband and mother-in-law by slow poisoning them. The woman used to mix poisonous substance in eatables that she served to her husband and mother-in-law. The victims were identified as Prince Chohan and his mother Lakhwinder Kaur, both residents of Bibi Kaulan Marg, Gopal Nagar, Amritsar. The victims died during treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh, in June. The police arrested two brothers of the woman and booked her paramour. The arrested suspects were identified as Navdeep Kaur, alias Nindi, wife of Prince Chohan, Mansimran Singh, alias Simmu, Booth level officers seek reduction in election duty Amritsar, October 8 Members of the Booth Level Officer (BLO) Union, Amritsar, have requested the district election authorities to reduce their panchayat poll duty as they were overburdened with work. Union leaders in a communication to District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner stated they had already been carrying out door-to-door survey as per the schedule released by the Chief Election Officer, Punjab, besides registration of voters for the SGPC polls. Union leaders said they were overburdened with work. They said their demands for hike in wages for amendment in the voter list from present Rs 7,000 to Rs 24,000, earned leave in lieu of work done on holidays and wages for registration of voters for the SGPC elections were pending. — TNS The woman, identified as Navdeep Kaur wanted to do some other work apart from housework. She came in contact with Pandit Varun Kumar, a resident of SG Enclave, Majitha Road, Amritsar, and started learning astrology from him. While learning astrology from Varun, Navdeep developed illicit relations with him. During interrogation, she confessed that her husband and mother-in-law started suspecting her of having illicit relations with Varun. and Jatinder Singh, alias Mannu, residents of New Pratap Nagar, GT Road, Amritsar. The woman’s paramour was identified as Pandit Varun Kumar, who was an astrologer by profession. Alam Vijay Singh, DCP , Law and Order, said during interrogation, Navdeep Kaur disclosed that she got married with Prince Chohan on May 13, 2019. As Navdeep wanted to do some other work apart from housework, she came in contact with Pandit Varun Kumar, a resident of SG Enclave, Majitha Road, Amritsar. She started learning astrology from Varun. Varun and his wife Anju started visiting the victims’ house. Navdeep’s husband Prince and her mother-in-law Lakhwinder Kaur did not like Varun and his wife coming to their residence. While learning astrology from Varun, Navdeep developed illicit relations with him. She confessed that her husband and mother-in-law started suspecting her of having illicit relations with Varun. Once her husband Prince heard Navdeep’s indecent conversation with Varun on a video call. Prince compro- mised with her as he didn’t want to disturb family life due to their five-year-old son. Gradually, the conflict escalated between the couple after the incident. Navdeep discussed the matter with her brothers Mansimran and Jatinder. They advised her to slow poison her husband Prince and mother-in-law Lakhwinder Kaur and kill them. Navdeep also told Varun that if they killed Prince and Lakhwinder Kaur by slow poisoning them her conflict with her husband would end and no one would stop them from meeting. Varun brought some poisonous substance and gave it to Navdeep. He instructed Navdeep to mix little doses of poison in food before serving it to her husband and mother-in-law. Navdeep started mixing poison in food for her husband and mother-in-law. Her husband’s and mother-in-law’s health started deteriorating. On June 1, 2024, Navdeep mixed extra dose of poison in food before serving it to Prince. She also poisoned lemonade before giving it to her motherin-law. After consuming food Prince died. Lakhwinder Kaur fell ill after drinking lemonade. A case was registered at the Sadar police station against the suspects in this connection. Raids were on to arrest Pandit Varun Mehta, said DCP Alam Vijay Singh. Drug peddlers’ properties frozen Amritsar, October 8 The police on Tuesday attached properties of two drug peddlers worth Rs 99.29 lakh under Section 68F of the NDPS Act. Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Commissioner of police (CP), said a special campaign had been launched to seize immovable properties purchased by drug dealers through the money earned via illegal trade. Under the drive to curb drug smuggling, Jasbir Singh, SHO, Islamabad police station, made efforts to seize property of drug smuggler Ranjit Singh, alias Kaka, a resident of Rorawali village in the Gharinda area on the IndoPak border. Ranjit had purchased movable and immovable property worth Rs 61.29 lakh through drug money. A case of drug trafficking under Sections 21C, 25, 27A, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against Ranjit at the Islamabad police station for smuggling heroin. He was Cops paste attachment notice on the property of a drug peddler. arrested with 2 kg of heroin, Rs 2.07 lakh drug money, two pistols and 45 cartridges. Similarly, the Gate Hakima police seized property of drug smuggler Harmandeep Singh, a resident of Dundaiwala village in the Chohla Sahib area, Tarn Taran district. He had purchased immovable proper- Two held for snatching valuables from visitor Woman pickpocket nabbed inTarnTaran Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 8 The city police arrested two snatchers and recovered valuables, including cash from them, which they had recently snatched from a visitor, here today. The arrested suspects were identified as Sandeep Singh (32), alias Sunny, a resident of New Kot Atma Ram, and Unkar Singh (35), alias Gabbar, a resident of Tej Nagar on Sultanwind Road, Amritsar. The police recovered a bag containing Rs 65,000, an Apple iPad and a mobile phone, which they had snatched from the visitor on Sunday. Complainant Hansa Shah, a resident of Pune (Maharashtra) stated to officials of the Majitha road police station that on October 6 at 2:45 pm he was going towards his hotel in Basant Avenue when two motorcy- Our Correspondent The two suspects in custody of the police in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR cle-riders pushed him from behind and snatched his bag containing Rs 65,000, an Apple iPad, a mobile phone and bank cards from him. A case was registered at the Majitha road police station on the basis of his complaint. Considering sensitivity of the case, a team led by Majitha road police station SHO Sumanpreet Kaur and ASI Gurjinder Singh, in-charge Faizpura police post, investigated the case and nabbed two suspects within 24 hours of the incident and recovered valuables from them. Arrested suspects Sandeep Singh and Unkar Singh start- ed snatching valuables from residents for easy money. Sandeep used to work at a goldsmith shop and Unkar used to collect scrap from streets. A case under Sections 304(2) and 3(5) the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against suspects in this connection. Tarn Taran, October 8 A woman pick-pocket was nabbed by devotees on the premises of Darbar Sahib in Tarn Taran on Sunday and handed over to the police. ASI Narinder Singh said today that the suspect was identified as Nindo, a resident of Diogarh village in Patiala district . The ASI said a group of six women pickpockets arrived at the Darbar Sahib complex on Sunday evening and mingled with devotees. The police said Nindo, with the help of a cutter, cut a woman’s gold bangle. The victim was identified as Inderjit Kaur, a resident of Mohalla Guru Ka Khooh. The gold bangle weighed approximately two tolas. Nindo handed over the cutter to her accomplices and managed to escape from the spot. However, Inderjit Kaur, caught hold of the pickpocket woman. Meanwhile, sewadars of the gurdwara came to the rescue of the victim. Sakattar Singh, victim’s husband, who accompanied his wife, lodged a complaint with the city police. A case was registered in this connection. The police said pickpockets from the Patiala area had come at the annual mela of Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha Sahib, Thatha. After the conclusion of the mela, they came to Darbar Sahib in Tarn Taran. One of the members of the pickpocket gang was nabbed by devotees and hand over to the police, officials of the Tarn Taran police station said. ty worth Rs 38 lakh by spending money earned through the illegal drug trade, said Manjit Kaur, SHO, Gate Hakima police station. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against Harmandeep. He was arrested with 3 kg of heroin, Rs 5.25 lakh drug money and two cars. — TNS File damage-related plaints with gas firm via phone, says DC Amritsar, October 8 In view of problems faced by residents due to laying of gas pipeline, the district administration has instructed the municipal corporation (MC) and the private company executing the work to address public grievances on priority. In a meeting with officials of civic body and the private company, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sakshi Sawhney said during laying of pipelines water supply pipes, telephone lines and streets were getting damaged. She said such problems should be addressed at the earliest. She said the onus of any damage to public or private property lied on the company. The DC appealed to residents to lodge complaints regarding any damage at telephone number 6353531800 issued by the company. — TNS 1,709candidatesinfray Leaders leaving no stone unturned for posts of sarpanch, to make party aspirants win polls AUJLA CANVASSING 7,842 for panch in dist PANCHAYAT FOR CANDIDATES Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Labourers clean paddy at the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Paddy arrival in markets slow as harvesting yet to pick up pace Amritsar, October 8 With the arrival of 3,608 metric tonnes (MT) of paddy on Monday, 13,212 MT of the crop has reached mandis of the district. Though commission agents have ended their protest after assurances from the state government, due to slow harvesting of the paddy, the arrival of produce in grain markets is low. Mandi officials said out of total 50 procurement centres in the district, the produce had arrived at only 10 mandis. Officials said the remaining procurement centres would become functional only with the arrival of paddy. Government procurement agencies procured 3,935 MT of paddy on Monday. With this, the total procurement by government agencies has reached 9,062 MT. Of the total crop that had reached mandis so far, private buyers had purchased only 3,214 MT. Officials said 93 per cent of the produce, which arrived in mandis, was procured. Meanwhile, harvesting of basmati varieties is going on full throttle. In all, 2.78 lakh MT of basmati has arrived in man- dis since the start of the harvesting season. As basmati varieties are not covered for purchase under the MSP by government agencies, it is solely bought by private buyers. District agriculture officials said parmal varieties of paddy would take at least one more week to ripen after which the arrival of produce would pick up pace in mandis. They said farmers had been advised to harvest their crop only when it is completely ripened or else they would face problems in selling it to government agencies on the MSP — TNS . Amritsar, October 8 After rejections and withdrawal of nominations, 1,709 candidates are in fray for the posts of sarpanch and 7,842 for panch. The panchayat polls are scheduled on October 15. There are 858 gram panchayats in 10 blocks, including Ajnala, Ramdas, Chogawan, Harsha Chinna, Attari, Verka, Rayya, Tarsikka and Jandiala Guru, of the district. As many 12,953 candidates filed nominations out of which 6,820 withdrew their papers. Two-hundred and forty seven nominations for sarpanch and 1,387 for panch were rejected. After rejection of nominations, several sarpanches and panches were elected unopposed. In all, 226 sarpanches and 2,108 panches were elected unopposed. There are some villages where sarpanches and panches were elected unanimously. There are 632 gram panchayats in the district where elections would be held on October 15. After the allotment of election symbols, the poll campaign picked up pace up in villages. c m y b ELECTIONS ❝ Poll meetings are being held in every ward. Residents of the village are well aware about candidates and their manifestoes so there is nothing much to speak about. We meet people and ask them to elect someone, who can fight for the development of village. ❞ Sukhwinder Singh, JETHUWAL VILLAGE RESIDENT Harpreet Singh of Kathunangal village said, “We will approach voters and convince them to vote in favour of our candidates. Door-todoor campaigning has started. We have only five days left for canvasing.” “Poll meetings are being held in every ward. Residents of village are well aware about candidates and their manifestoes so there is nothing much to speak about. We meet people and ask them to elect someone, who can fight for the development of village,” said Sukhwinder Singh, Jethuwal village. Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 8 With a keen contest for the upcoming panchayat elections, prominent urban leaders from political parties with roots in villages are throwing weight behind their respective nominees to make them win polls. Born in Gumtala village, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla has been enthusiastically taking part in canvassing for Congress candidates contesting the polls. During media briefings, Aujla has been alleging that the AAP government has been indulging in malpractices in the runup to the elections. He demanded that the Election Commission of Indian should initiate probe against officials involved in panchayat elections to find out whose instructions they were following while working. He claimed that in villages, Born in Gumtala village, MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has been enthusiastically taking part in canvassing for Congress candidates contesting the panchayat polls. During media briefings, Aujla has been alleging that the AAP government has been indulging in malpractices in the run-up to the elections. BDOs, BDPOs and election officers were working as per the will of ruling AAP legislators. He said these elections would have an impact on the Punjab politics. He did not hold back from picking holes in the administration of the AAP government blaming its leaders for miserably failing in maintaining the law and order situation. Demands for ransom, firing and robbery incidents were being reported each day across the state, he claimed. Ahead of the panchayat elections, which is scheduled to be held on October 15, Aujla galvanised his party leaders former MLA Sunil Dutti, former Improvement Trust chairman Dinesh Bassi, former councillor Vikas Soni, former panches and sarpanches of many villages, who collectively staged a sit-in at the BDPO office, to highlight irregularities in the run-up to the elections. Former minister and senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia has also been supporting his party candidates contesting panchayat elections. He is not losing any opportunity to target the AAP-run state government. He alleged that AAP was muzzling democracy by using money and muscle power. Coming in support of his party candidates, Majithia openly accused the AAP for taking the help of outlaws. Harjit Singh Sandhu, BJP district president, accused election officials of cancelling nomination papers following diktats of the ruling AAP. Though the BJP has limited following in the rural areas, leaders of the Saffron party are trying to gain some footprints in villages through panchayat elections.