29122024-ATR-01.qxd 12/28/2024 11:28 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST COLD WAVE VIRAJ, KOUSTABH SET THE TONE FOR MUSICAL NIGHT MALLICK BROTHERS UPHOLD INTRICATE DHRUPAD LEGACY A LOOK AT ACTRESSES WHO DONNED UNIFORM ON SCREEN Day 2 of the Shri Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan started from pandal at Shri Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar. P2 At Harivallabh Sammelan, Pt Prashant & Pt Nishant Mallick, unfolded DarbhangaSenia traditions of Mithilanchal. P4 MAX 17°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 14°C As 2024 draws to a close, one standout trend in Bollywood was rise of actresses portraying characters in uniform. P4 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 5.35 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7:29 AM » SUNDAY | 29 DECEMBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Woman among four held for drug peddling Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 28 The Chheharta police arrested four persons, including a woman, for drug peddling and arms smuggling here on Saturday. The police recovered 2kg of heroin, two foreignmade pistols and ammunition from their possession. Though senior police officials were tight-lipped over the recovery, an official privy to the investigation confirmed the incident. Police Commissioner (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar is likely to hold a press conference tomorrow in this connection. Among those arrested include an Asha worker who allegedly had links with drug peddlers. The suspects were arrested following intelligencebased operation. The suspects have links with Pakistanbased drug traffickers. 3 booked for selling heroin Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, December 28 The Sadar police on the basis of complaint lodged with the help of a video clipping on the anti-drug portal launched by the state government have booked three residents of Shahbazpur for selling “chitta” (Heroin). DSP Sarabjit Singh said here on Saturday that one of the suspects was identified as Kashori, a resident of the Shahbazpur village, and the others were yet to be identified. The complaint in this regard was filed on the anti-drug portal under “Safe Punjab” campaign. The DSP said a case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against the three suspects, who were yet to be arrested. Two booked for cheating Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, December 28 The cybercrime police on the basis of complaint of a woman have registered a case against another woman and her paramour on the charge of cheating the complainant by making viral her videos and photos hacked from her cellphone. Inspector Upkar Singh, SHO, cybercrime police station, said the suspects were identified as Lovedeep Kaur, a divorcee, and her paramour Manbeer Singh, both residents of Jauneke village near Harike. In her complaint, the victim told the police that Lovedeep Kaur hacked her mobile phone and downloaded her videos and photos of her private life. Lovedeep demanded ~10 lakh from the victim for not making her videos and photos viral. The SHO said during investigation it was found that Lovedeep and Manbeer knew password of the victim’s email ID. The police recovered videos and photos of the victim from Lovedeep’s email. The SHO said the suspects were booked under Sections 384, 385, 120-B, 354-B, 506, 507 and 509 of the BNS on Friday. “The suspects are on the run and the police are conducting raids on their possible hideouts to nab them,” he said. HDFC Bank robbery case Deadline to pay property tax sans penalty ends on Dec 31 cracked, two youth held So far, MC has managed to collect ~30.55 crore dues Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 28 With the arrest of two youth, the Amritsar (Rural) police today cracked a dacoity case in which armed persons had looted ~3.96 lakh from the HDFC Bank branch at Nawa Pind village on December 20. The police also recovered a licensed .32 bore revolver used in the crime along with five bullets from the possession of suspects, besides ~1 lakh in cash, a car and two mobile phones. Charanjit Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural), said the suspects were identified as Lovepreet Singh of Sarhali Khurd village and his cousin Gurnoor Singh of Kalla village in Tarn Taran district. In his complaint, Vikas Kalia, branch manager, HDFC Bank, told the police that around 11.37 am on December 20, two persons one of them Sikh and other with shorn hair, entered the bank. They had covered their faces. The suspects pointed a revolver at the cashier while threatening to SSP Charanjit Singh (in centre) briefing mediapersons about the bank dacoity case in Amritsar. shoot him. On being threatened by the suspects, the cashier handed ~3.96 lakh to them. The suspects took money and fled from the bank. The police registered a case under Section 309 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act in this connection. During preliminary inter- rogation of the suspects, it was found that they robbed the bank to pay money to the land owner from whom they took it on contract for farming. Lovepreet had only four acres of land while Gurnoor owned 12 acres. Apart from paying for the contract, the suspects were lured by the fancy lifestyle. They had also bought a white mare and a tractor from the looted money. Lovepreet’s father was an ex-serviceman. The suspects used his weapon for robbing the bank. The SSP said recommendation would be sent to the district administration for the cancellation of the arms licence. Amritsar, December 28 With only three days left to pay property tax without penalty, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) has urged residents to settle their dues by December 31. Failure to do so will result in a 10 per cent fine, which will be collected from January 1 to March 31 on the current property tax dues. To facilitate timely payments, the MC offices will remain open on weekends. As of now, the MC has collected Rs 30.55 crore property tax. On Saturday, 138 property owners visited various zonal offices of the MC and paid Rs 8.11 lakh property tax. As per the report from the MC office, North Zone collected ~3,97,228, East Zone ~1,14,015, Centre Zone ~1,17,908, South Zone ~95,186 and West Zone ~85,883 today. MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh emphasised on the importance of paying property tax on time, while highlighting that the funds collected would be utilised for the development and maintenance of the civic amenities in the city. Employees collect property tax at the office of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation on Saturday. He said, “Residents are advised to take advantage of the extended office hours and pay their property tax before the deadline to avoid penalties.” The MC has set a target to collect ~50 crore property during this fiscal. Earlier till September 30, the government had offered 10 per cent rebate ton the current tax dues. After December 31, property owners would have to pay tax with 10 per cent penalty. Vishal Wadhawan, MC Assistant Commissioner, said, “We are making efforts to make the public aware to pay property tax without penalty. Today on the weekend, we collected good amount of tax. The citizen facilitation centre at Ranjit Avenue and windows at the zonal offices will remain open on Sunday. Residents should avail benefit of this opportunity.” Sushant Bhatia, MC secretary, said, “Tax defaulters have to pay their dues otherwise they will have to face the music. The MC will launch a sealing drive to press defaulters to clear their tax dues.” Eight cellphones seized Rain brings chill to region, relief for farmers in district from Goindwal Sahib jail Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, December 28 Objectionable articles and mobile phones are regularly recovered from barracks of the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail. On the basis of the complaint of Sushil Kumar, Assistant Superintendent, Central Jail, the police have registered two cases in this connection. The police said officials while searching barracks of different jail wards recovered eight mobile phones, five SIM cards and two chargers on Saturday. The police said Harpal Singh and Daler Singh, residents of Sarhali, who were The Central Jail at Goindwal Sahib. FILE PHOTO under trial, beside others lodged in the jail were booked under Section 52-A of the Prisons Act in this regard. Amritsar, December 28 A spell of showers that stretched to night brought a significant drop in temperature, while increasing chill in the air in and around the city. The inclement weather and cloudy skies persisted throughout the day, casting a gloomy spell over the city. As per the forecast, the cloudy weather would prevail for next hours too. Residents said showers had increased chill in the air, making the winter even more biting. Residents were seen sitting around bonfires to keep themselves warm. The cold in the air made early morning jobs tough. “Rain has made the weather colder. We expect the mer- People sit around bonfire to keep themselves warm on a cold day in Amritsar on Saturday. SUNIL KUMAR cury to drop further in the coming days,” said Sharuti Mehra, a city resident. However, the rain brought relief to farmers in the region. The showers would help control attack of aphids on vegetables and crops, which are a major concern for farmers. The rain is also beneficial for fodder crops and main wheat crop as it provides much-needed moisture. Farmers in the region said the rain would boost crop yield. “The rain is a blessing for wheat and vegetable growers. It will help our crops grow and reduce the impact of pests and diseases. Low temperature is much needed for the growth of wheat crop,” said Khankot village resident Gurpreet Singh. — TNS Police faced tough challenges from ISI-backed terror modules PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 28 The year 2024 remained one of the most happening year for the holy city during which the Punjab Police faced tough challenges from the ISI-backed foreign based gangsters-turned-terrorists, including Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa Harike, Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Pashia, Manpreet Singh, aka Mann Ghanshampuria, Gurdev Jaisal, Gopi Nawanshehria and Jeevan Fauji, who were not only behind attacks on police establishments, but were also running extortion rackets leading to firing incidents and murders. The city also witnessed stepping up counter measures by the police against “ground workers” and operatives of foreign-based gangsters leading to encounters resulting in permanent elimination and injuries to notorious criminals not only in the city, but in the Amritsar rural belt too this year. There was a record seizure of drugs smuggled from Pakistan through well-oiled trans-border smuggling network using drones in Amritsar district. In one of the biggest seizures in Punjab in the recent past, the Counter Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police here busted a cross-border smuggling racket by confiscating 105 kg of heroin, smuggled from Pakistan, along with six pistols, with arrest of two persons in the Baba Bakala area here in the October end. Nevertheless, the incident that hogged the headlines during the year was the assassination bid at Punjab’s former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal who was undergoing ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) while working as “sewadars”. He was sitting on 4 ATTACKS ON POLICE ESTABLISHMENTS ■ Amritsar witnessed four attacks on police establishments. Though the police remained in a denial mode, Gaurav Yadav, Director General of Punjab Police, confirmed these attacks. ■ An IED attached with RDX was planted outside the Ajnala police station on November 23. However, it did not explode. ■ A hand grenade was hurled at the closed building of Gurbaxnagar police post on November 29. ■ A hand grenade was lobbed at the Majitha police station on December 4. A cop in civvies who stopped Khalistani extremist Narain Singh ■ Another bomb was hurled at Chaura and snatched his pistol. Chaura tried to shoot SAD president and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal the Islamabad police station undergoing “tankhah” at the entrance gate of the Golden Temple. on December 17. wheelchair at the entrance gate of the Golden Temple on December 4 when the incident happened. He narrowly escaped the attempt because of the prompt and timely action by police personnel deputed in the civvies around him. Khalistan sympathiser Narayan c m y b Singh Chaura, who had shot at Sukhbir, was arrested by the police on the spot. Another incident that put the police on their toes was attempt to murder of USAbased NRI Sukhchain Singh by two armed assailants at his house in the Dabourji area on August 24. The CCTV grab in which the victim’s son was seen pleading shooters not to kill his father went viral on social media within hours. The incident later turned out to be an outcome of personal enmity. Though the victim had suffered two bullet THE HIGHS AND LOWS As compare to 2023, the seizure of heroin has jumped manifolds in the district. Last year, the city police confiscated 34kg heroin, while this year 127kg of contraband was recovered. Besides, the district witnessed significant jump in the seizure of other drugs, including opium, ganja, charas and narcotic powder. The police initiated a cracked down on organised crime apart from busting a number of cross-border drug cartels leading to the arrest of over 700 drug peddlers this year. The police started operation Sampark to enhance police-public coordination in nailing criminals. The police also ensured that the three elections, including polls for the Lok Sabha, panchayat and Municipal Corporation, were held successfully and peacefully. But, the instances of snatchings, robberies and firings continue unabated in the district. injuries, yet he survived. In another incident, a commission agent Gurdeep Singh, alias Gokha, was shot dead by three armed assailants at Sathiala village on October 23. A gang rivalry between gangster Satta Nausheshra of Tarn Taran and Balwinder Singh Donny was the reason behind the broad daylight murder of Gokha. The victim was a friend of Donny. Earlier in April, a man killed three members of his family, including mother, younger sister-in-law and nephew, at Kandowali village in the Jhander area. The holy city was shaken by a number of gruesome murders. Despite tall claims by the police, unabated instances of snatchings, robberies and firings raised many questions over the deteriorating law and order situation. Repeated instances of gun violence did not do any good for restoring people’s faith in the law enforcement agencies. Petty crimes, including burglaries, vehicle thefts and snatchings, remained an order of the day leaving a fear of insecurity among residents. There has been a spurt in incidents of extortions. Traders apart of prominent doctors running private hospitals and commission agents remained the prime target of foreign-based gangsters who also through their operatives fired at residences of victims.