07012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/6/2025 11:34 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST DENSE FOG BKU (DOABA) LEADERS JOIN SHAMBHU PROTEST DEVOTEES THRONG GURDWARAS TO CELEBRATE GURPURB THE BRUTALIST, EMILIA PEREZ WIN TOP FILM HONOURS Farmers, steadfast in their protest, receive a boost as senior leaders of BKU (Doaba) join stir. P2 Stalls at gurdwaras offering hot, elaichiflavoured milk and crispy jalebis added to the festive spirit. P2 MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 8°C The Golden Globe Awards celebrated the best in film and television, with several standout performances. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7.31 AM » TUESDAY | 7 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Will fix issues of leprosy ashram: MLA Ajay Gupta AMRITSAR, JANUARY 6 On his visit to the leprosy ashram, MLA from Central Assembly Constituency Dr Ajay Gupta assured its patients of resolving the sewerage problem of the area here on Monday. The ashram, at present accommodating 140 patients, faced the problem of sewage and water accumulation. He said as the leprosy ashram falls in a low-lying area, so it gets waterlogged for several days after a spell of rain. The MLA was apprised of the problems being faced the ashram like the absence of a proper sewage disposal system. Besides, he was urged to get the water tank repaired, install new toilet sets, add soil to raise the level of the ashram area, install lights, repair the vehicle and solve many other problems. The MLA said a meeting would be held with officials of the district administration tomorrow for the improvement of the ashram. He said funds will be provided to solve these problems. — TNS Four vehicle lifters nabbed, 10 stolen bikes recovered Tribune News Service Two vehicle lifters in custody of the police along with stolen motorcycles in Amritsar on Monday. Amritsar, January 6 The city police have nabbed four vehicle lifters in two separate instances and confiscated 10 stolen bikes from their possession. They were identified as Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukha (34), and Satnam Singh Satta (41), both residents of Naushehra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran, Raghubir Singh of Vallah village and Jugraj Singh of Jodh Singh Wala village in Tarn Taran (now residing in Vallah). Assistant Commissioner of Police Parvesh Chopra said the Sultanwind police arrested Sukhwinder and Satnam Singh and their interrogation led to the recovery of seven motorcycles. He said they were arrested with a stolen bike during the checking of vehicles in the city. They could not give a satisfactory reply to the police queries regarding the motorcycle they were riding. Later, it was found to be a stolen one. The duo was arrested and during their interrogation, the police seized six more motorcycles. Both the accused faced several FIRs under the NDPS Act and the Excise Act. Similarly, the Cantonment police caught Raghubir and Jugraj with a stolen bike on Saturday. Later, their questioning led to seizure of three more bikes. — TNS PRTC contractual staff go on 3-day strike Tribune News Service AMRITSAR, JANUARY 6 Commuters faced great inconvenience as members of the PRCTC Contract Workers’ Union went on three-day strike in favour of their demands here on Monday. Hundreds of buses originating from the Amritsar depot remained off the roads as the workers held a sit-in. Hapreet Kaur, a passenger, who had come along with her three-year-old daughter to board a bus at the ISBT, said she reached here after hiring an auto-rickshaw for ~50 only to learn that the governmentrun buses are off the roads. She said after taking time off her domestic chores and a smalltime job, she managed to reach here. She said the state-run bus service is the preferred mode of transport for women as it offered free of cost travel to women. Now, she would have to revisit here some other day. BSF, police seize 2.52 kg of heroin, ~1.5L drug money Members of the PRCTC Contract Workers’ Union during a protest in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Over 250 buses of PUNBUS and Punjab Roadways of Amritsar depots were off the roads. Jodh Singh, senior vicepresident of the Punjab Roadways PUNBUS Contractual Workers’ Union, said they were compelled to go on strike and held the government responsible for inconveniences caused to people. They said neither the government nor the management acted upon their notice submitted over one-and-a-half months ago. He recalled that the July 1 meeting with CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, in which he had instructed the Transport Secretary to draft a special policy which would be passed by the Cabinet is yet to be implement- ed. On the January 2 meeting with the Transport Minister, he described it mere an eyewash. There are three kinds of employees — regular, contractual and outsourced employees. Of them, least paid are outsourced employees who are getting a measly ~12,000. The protesting workers sought the regularisation of the services of over 7,500 workers employed by the PRTC, pay parity and reinstatement of those employees who have been shown the door under certain conditions. On the first day of the threeday strike, none of the PUNBUS and PRTC buses plied from Shahid Madan Lal Dhingra Inter-state Bus Terminal (ISBT) on Monday. Harpreet Singh, a passenger at the ISBT, said longroute passengers waiting for their buses were greatly inconvenienced. Amritsar, January 6 The Bhindi Saida police have confiscated 2 kg of heroin along with ~1.5 lakh of drug money from Banga residents. They were identified as Balbir Singh, alias Bira, and Ajay Verma, both residents of Mazari area in Banga. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and further investigations were on to establish their backward and forward links and source of the contraband seized from their possession. According to information, a police team led by SubInspector Lakhwinder Singh was checking vehicles near Kadial village falling under the Bhindi Saida police station here. During checking, they observed a car (PB-10EZ-4015) coming from the Bhindi Saida side. On seeing the police party, the accused stopped their car before the checkpoint and tried to flee. BSF jawans and Punjab Police personnel show the seized contraband in Amritsar. However, they were intercepted and arrested by the police team. During the checking of the car in front of Rajasansi DSP Dharminder Kalyan, the police recovered a kit bag from beneath the driver seat. When opened, the police found two packets of heroin along with the drug money from it. Meanwhile, the Border Security Force in a joint operation with Punjab Police has arrested a drug peddler and seized 525 gm of heroin along with two mobile phones from his possession. He was later identified as Bittu of Malakpur village falling under the Ramdass police station area. The con- traband was wrapped in yellow adhesive tape and copper hook was attached to it hinting that it was dropped by a drone in Ramdass border belt area. “Acting on a tip-off provided by the BSF intelligence wing regarding smuggling activities in Malakpur village, a meticulously plan to carry out an ambush was mooted in collaboration with Punjab Police leading to the arrest of the suspect at around 8.30pm,” said a BSF spokesman. The packet, with gross weight of 525 gm, contained pure grade heroin. A detailed questioning was underway to find out his backward and forward linkages. Meanwhile, the BSF also recovered two drones from Amritsar border belt on Monday. One broken DJI Mavic 3 classic drone was found from the integrated check-post at Attari while another drone was found from sugarcane fields at Khanwal village. Divine glow An illuminated Golden Temple on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in Amritsar on Monday. SUNIL KUMAR Former SMO loses ~23 lakh in JE, lineman thrashed Demands unmet: Govt doctors digital arrest fraud; case filed by cop; probe begins to resume protest from Jan 20 Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 6 In a first-of-its-kind digital arrest fraud in the holy city, a 76-year-old retired Senior Medical Officer (SMO) lost ~23 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as a law enforcement officer from Mumbai recently. They kept him under ‘digital arrest’ for nearly two days via WhatsApp, while threatening to arrest him in a fake money laundering case. The incident occurred on December 5 last month while a case was registered yesterday (on January 5) after a preliminary probe was conducted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime). The probe confirmed that the victim, a resident of Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra complex on the main GT road, was duped of ~23 lakh by a cyber fraudster. The money was transferred to an educational and charitable trust in Karnataka. The money was further transferred to different bank accounts and further probe was on in the case. According to the police, the victim received a WhatsApp call. When he picked up the call, the caller asked him that he was involved in money laundering case registered at the Tilak Nagar (Andheri) police station in Mumbai. He told the caller that he was not involved in any money laundering. On this, the caller said that he was a Sub-Inspector with the Mumbai police and that he was innocent but he would have to join investigations which would be carried out by his senior. The call was later transferred to a fake police officer who told that the victim’s credentials were used for money laundering. The accused asked the victim to share his bank account details which he did. The caller threatened him that he had committed a big fraud and therefore his property would be freezed. Though the victim denied any involvement, he asked him that if he wanted to stop his arrest, he would have to pay all his bank amount through RTGS. The caller said if he was found innocent, the amount would be transferred back to his account. He shared the bank account details on WhatsApp. The terrified victim transferred Rs 23 lakh to the said account through RTGS. The victim said the next day, he again got a call from the fraudster who sought the bank details of all other accounts which he denied. The caller, posing as a cop, threatened him. Sensing something amiss, he lodged a complaint with the police on December 6. The police said a case under Section 318 of the BNS and Section 66 (D) of the Information Technology has been registered against unknown fraudsters and further probe was on in this regard. Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 6 A Junior Engineer (JE) and a lineman with PSPCL were thrashed with a baton by a cop when they had gone to change the power meter at his residence in Fairland colony on the Majitha road here. Junior Engineer Kuldeep Kumar suffered a nasal bone injury due to the thrashing while lineman Kulwant Singh was also beaten up by accused policeman Kanwaljit Singh, who is reportedly attached with the Ajnala Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). The accused also used derogatory and castebased remarks against the victim. On receiving a complaint, the police have registered a case and started further probe. Speaking to mediapersons, Kuldeep Kumar said as per the instructions c m y b Had gone to change power meter at the cop’s residence from the department, they had gone to change the damaged power meter of the house belonging to Kanwaljit Singh. He said after changing the meter, when they sought the signature of the owner of the house, they called Kanwaljit Singh. He said upon reaching the scene, the accused passed caste-based remarks and attacked Kulwant Singh with the police baton. He said when he tried to intervene, the accused attacked him also. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Amar Singh of the Faizpura police chowki said the police have received the complaint and a case is being registered against the accused policeman. Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 6 Patients seeking treatment at government hospitals in Punjab may face significant disruptions as the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association has announced plans to resume protests starting January 20. Medical services are expected to be interrupted during this period. The PCMSA had previously protested in September 2024, demanding assured career progression for doctors and better workplace security. Dr Madhur Poddar, general secretary of PCMSA-Amritsar, said, “The government had promised to implement assured career progression within 12 weeks, but 16 weeks have passed, and the commitment remains unfulfilled.” Dr Poddar stated that the decision to resume protests was taken after the state gov- EARLIER, PCMSA HAD PROTESTED IN SEP 2024 ■ The PCMSA had previously protested in September 2024, demanding assured career progression for doctors and better workplace security. Dr Madhur Poddar, general secretary of PCMSA-Amritsar, said, "The government had promised to implement assured career progression within 12 weeks, but 16 weeks have passed, and the commitment remains unfulfilled.” ernment failed to address long-standing issues in the public healthcare system, despite assurances from both the Chief Minister and the Health Minister. The association has been demanding the reinstatement of Dynamic Assured Career Progressions (DACP) for medical officers, a policy that has been stalled for years. They are also calling for a dequate security at 24/7 healthcare centres, recruitment of regular medical officers and paramedical staff to tackle shortages. The PCMSA has warned that the suspension of medical services will have a severe impact on Punjab’s public healthcare system, which is already burdened by a shortage of medical officers and specialists. Despite several meetings and promises, no notifications regarding DACP reinstatement or improved security measures have been issued. Dr Poddar stressed that the association is left with no choice but to take a firm stand. “We had hoped the government would honour its commitments, but the lack of action has forced us to resume protests,” he said. The protest is likely to affect outpatient services (OPD) and other critical medical services, exacerbating the challenges faced by patients relying on government hospitals.