30012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/29/2025 11:26 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SGPC ANNOUNCES KABADDI TEAM MISSING SKEWERS GAVE BIRTH TO PATHAR KE KEBAB SHAHID KAPOOR TALKS ABOUT HIS UPCOMING FILM DEVA The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has announced its kabaddi team. P2 A missing set of skewers on a hunting trip gave birth to Hyderabad’s scrumptious pathar ke kebab. P4 Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor on Tuesday teased a connection between Devaand the 1975 classic Deewaar. P4 » » » MAX 22°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 4°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.02 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:24 AM THURSDAY | 30 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Canada- based NRI booked for raping girl on marriage pretext Three-day police remand for narco-terror module operatives Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 The Mehta police have booked a Canada-based NRI for allegedly raping a girl on the pretext of marrying her. The victim and the accused used to live in Canada’s Winnipeg before they returned to India. The victim in her complaint to the police stated that she along with Khushbir Singh, who originally hailed from Suropadda village falling under the Mehta police station, lived together in Winnipeg. She said they were in a relationship. She said they returned to India. She alleged that the accused called her to Mehta on January 21 and made physical relations with her on the pretext of marriage. However, he returned to Canada two days later and refused to marry her, she said. Following her complaint, the police have registered a case under Sections 64 and 351 (2) of the BNS against Khushbir Singh. “Further probe is underway,” said the police authorities. Five arrested for snatchings Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 The Chheharta police have arrested five snatchers in two different instances. They were identified as Baljinder Singh, alias Golu (25), a resident of Kapatgarh, Surjit Singh (30), a resident of Kale Ghanupur, and Karanbir Singh (19), Harpreet Singh, alias Happy (19), and Manpreet Singh, alias Mani, all residents of Milap Avenue in Chheharta. Vinod Kumar, SHO, Chheharta police station, said the arrested accused were wanted by the police in different cases of snatchings and vehicle lifting. They were produced in a court which sent them to three-day police remand for further investigations. Several cases are likely to be cracked during their interrogation. One of their accomplice identified Karanbir Singh, alias Dabb, who had fired gunshots during snatchings was yet to be arrested. Raids were on to nab him, said the police. Tribune News Service A hand grenade, two pistols and ammunition recovered from the two accused by the Amritsar police. Amritsar, January 29 The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) has got three-day police remand of two members of the Pakistan’s ISIbacked cross-border narcoterror module who were arrested yesterday. They were produced before a local court on Wednesday which sent them to police custody till February 1. The module was behind the recent attack on the Gumtala police chowki on January 9. Initially, the police had claimed it to be a burst of radiator of car belonging to a cop posted at n the chowki. The car was parked outside the police post. In a video message, Assis- Tarn Taran, January 29 Activists of different public organisations while lodging their protest against the alleged police atrocities have declared to continue their dharna in front of the office of the DSP Goindwal Sahib, till , they get justice. Activists have made arrangements to stay at the dharna site for an indefinite period. Sulakhan Singh Tur, Sukhjinder Singh Raju, Resham Singh Failoke, Captain Singh Kahlwan, Mukhtiar Singh Mallha and other leaders of public organisations while addressing activists alleged that as the police was working on the directions of political bosses, the public tant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shivdarshan Singh had denied any attack on the police establishment, while adding that ASI’s Tejinder Singh’s car’s radiator had exploded. The theory failed to find any buyer at that time too. Those arrested included Bagga Singh, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Sirsa, Haryana, and Puskaran Singh, alias Sagar, a resident of Amarkot, Amritsar. Police teams had recovered a hand grenade and two sophisticated pistols along with ammunition from their possession. As per the police, both were ground operatives of the USAbased gangsters turned terrorist Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passian, and USA-based notorious drug smuggler Sarwan Bhola. Passian had claimed the responsibility of the attack within hours of the incident. He was also behind earlier attacks on police establishments in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. Bagga Singh is a relative of Sarwan Bhola, who is brother of notorious smuggler Ranjit Singh, alias Cheeta, — currently lodged in Bathinda jail in 532 kg heroin recovery case. Pertinently, accused Sarwan Singh is also wanted in 532 kg heroin recovery case and carries Rs 2 lakh reward announced by the National Investigation Agency. — TNS Amritsar, January 29 The city police have arrested two brothers for duping local residents by impersonating as fake CBI officer and police constable. The police recovered Rs 2 lakh in cash, fake IDs and police constable’s uniform and turban from their possession. Those arrested were identified as Ajaypal Singh (27) and his younger brother Amritpal Singh (24), both resident of Ale Chak village in Gurdaspur district. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Alam Vijay Singh said Amandeep Singh, a resident of Chowk Pragdas locality, stated to the police that the accused took Rs 10 lakh from him for getting his son recruited in the Police Department. Similarly, they also duped Jatinder Kumar, a resident of the Jaintipur area, of Rs 6 lakh. Amandeep told the police that his son Chanpreet Singh (20) had studied till Class XII. The two accused in custody of the police in Amritsar on Wednesday. He said Ajaypal used to live in a rented accommodation near his house. He claimed himself to be special CBI officer. He showed a picture of his brother in police uniform to Amandeep and lured him for getting Chanpreet recruited in the Punjab Police. He alleged that Ajaypal took Rs 10 lakh from him. Besides, Jatinder Kumar transferred Rs 6 lakh in the account of the accused for the recruitment of his nephew Nikhil in the Police Department. The DCP said following their complaints, the police registered an FIR against the duo on January 23 and arrested them. After taking their police remand, a raid was conducted at their house where the police recovered Rs 2 lakh in cash, fake IDs of the CBI and fake documents of recruitment in the Police Department. A police uniform of Amritpal Singh having a badge, nameplate, black leather belt with PP buckle and a turban was also seized from the house of the accused, the DCP said. He said both brothers were unemployed and used to defraud gullible people on one pretext or the other. Ahead of Budget, traders’ body urges Union Police analyse cellphone of accused, Govt to give special package for border state summonhisacquaintancesforprobe Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 Ahead of the Union Budget session, traders’ body have urged the Central Government to give a special package for the border state. The Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) forwarded a memorandum, containing several demands, to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging her to give a special package to Punjab in the upcoming Budget. Piara Lal Seth, president, PPBM, said these demands, if implemented, would accelerate the economic development of the state and improve living standard of the people. He said, “On the line of tax rebate and financial package to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Punjab should also be given Central financial assistance and a special package so that the state’s development gets accelerated.” He said, “The income tax Activistscontinuedharna in front of DSP’s office Our Correspondent 2 held for impersonating as CBI officer, police constable was deprived of justice. They said pending complaints of public were not being entertained due to political compulsions. Kulwinder Kaur, leader of the Aurat Mukti Morcha, alleged that women had become victim of the police atrocities. Leaders said the police had failed to maintain law and order in the area as it was devoting most of its time to serve personal interests of politicians. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abhimanyu Rana said organisations under the garb of public interest were raising personal issues rather than fighting for the common cause. The SSP said issues raised by leaders were not acceptable. VANDALISM OF STATUE PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Workers at a screws, nuts and bolts manufacturing unit in Amritsar. FILE limit should be increased to Rs 10 lakh keeping in view the fact that the cost of living has increased. The expenses incurred on education, petrol and diesel build up financial pressure on the public. One nation one electricity rate should be implemented to bring uniformity in power rates across the country so that industries and traders can get rid of state-based discrimination. The GST should be simplified to make it trader-friendly. Traders with turnover up to Rs 5 crore should be given Rs 10 lakh insurance coverage.” He said, “Young entrepreneurs should be given income tax waiver for 10 years on starting new industries so that they can strengthen their business. The cash transaction limit should be increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 as the prices of commodities have increased.” He said, “The GST rates on the life and health insurance should be reduced to give relief to commoners.” He also sought reduction in interest rate on home loans. Amritsar, January 29 The vandalism of life size statute of Dr BR Ambedkar at Heritage Street on January 26 that raised a political uproar and triggered protests in the state, is being probed threadbare to find any conspiracy angle to it. The police have forensically examined mobile phone of accused Akash Singh’s and summoned his acquaintances for investigation. They were shortlisted after analysing his cellphone seized during his arrest near the spot on January 26. Akash climbed up a ladder and hammered the life size statue of Dr BR Ambedkar on the day when the entire nation was celebrating 76th Republic Day on Sunday. Prior to this, he had set the stone carved constitution book near the statue on fire. The incident invited widespread condemnation and uproar of the opposition leaders who raised question over current law and order situation in Punjab, while also triggering agitation by various Dalit organisations. Protests were witnessed in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. “The mobile phone of the accused was sent for forensic examination. His profiles on various social media are being scanned to ascertain his motive behind the highly deplorable instance,” said a police official wishing not to be named. Akash belongs to a poor family involved in labour works. His mother works as domestic help at Dharamkot in Moga, while his father works as a farmer labourer. The family lives in a rented accommodation in Moga. As per investigation carried out so far, Akash had returned from Dubai on October 11, 2024, after three years. He had gone to Abu Dhabi on June 27, 2022, where he did labour work in different areas. After returning to India, he did not meet his family members, but frequently visited Amritsar on different occasions. He also stayed at Sri Guru Ram Das Sarai near the Golden Temple during his visits to the city, said sources in the Police Department. On January 26, he found a ladder unattended near Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue, which was brought from the Fire Department by Nitish Bhaseen, for cleaning and garlanding the statue. However, the ladder remained unattended till evening which gave an opportunity to Akash Singh for executing the desecration act. It is learnt that the civic authorities were also investigating gross negligence of officials of the Fire Department. Appropriate action would be taken against negligent staff members after completion of the inquiry. City’s sole stadium fails to cater to most sports disciplines Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 Guru Nanak Stadium, the solitary facility for athletes, has tracks for running and circles for throwing events, but serves little purpose for 24 athletic disciplines, including jumps and others. Players, who are keen to train for jumps, including short, long and triple, find themselves relegated to the background as the ground between the circular shaped running tracks are occupied by players of other disciplines. The ground does not have specific infrastructure required for high jump and pole vault, the two important events in Olympics. For throwing events, including shotput, discus throw, hammer and javelin, the sta- Athletes practice on the running track at Guru Nanak Stadium in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR dium has circles marked for some of them yet its players are not in a position to do their practice regularly due to external interference. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, these players said, “The ground remains occupied by players of other c m y b games like rugby, kabaddi, football and even for hosting national ceremonies like the Republic Day. It breaks the momentum of our training for days which causes immense loss to us in terms of performance. We have to pay heavily in terms of loss of training sessions which casts its shadow on our performance in the state-level and national competitions where the fight is neck to neck to qualify for the next event.” In stark comparison, the training session of cricket goes on without any external interference at the Gandhi Ground, which is situated next to the stadium. Catering exclusively to cricket, which is considered a national craze, the pitch is painstakingly created, curated and maintained. The staff at the ground keeps a watch so that its immaculately nurtured grass is not trampled upon by an outsider. Open spaces around the ground serve to hold net practice sessions for cricketers of all age-groups. Greenhorns and those playing for the state and national teams can be seen practising at the nets. Established in 1932 with a donation from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and the then Punjab Government, the Gandhi Ground is spread on 22 acres. Later, Guru Nanak Stadium was carved out of it. District Sports Officer Sukhchain Singh Kahlon said, “The department tries its best to provide space and infrastructure to all games. Players of kabaddi and weightlifting, practice daily under specialised coaches at Guru Nanak Stadium. Players of rugby, football and athletics also drop in for training at separate morning and evening sessions, while players of football, athletics, handball, softball and volleyball practice at Khalsa College.” He said players of cycling and hockey practice on the grounds of Guru Nanak Dev Stadium. The multipurpose stadium proposed at the Ranjit Avenue could serve the purpose of young players. However, decades after its foundation stone was laid, it exists only on paper only.