06022025-JTR-01.qxd 2/5/2025 11:31 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune INT’L WRESTLING CONTEST AT GAKHAL VILLAGE ON FEB 18-19 STONE CRUSHER OWNERS PROTEST CLOSURE OF UNITS YO YO HONEY SINGH TO JOIN FORCES WITH SHAEL OSWAL Sports promoters, NRIs and Gakhal family will jointly hold a wrestling competition at Gakhal village. P2 Stone crusher owners of Hajipur and Talwara blocks held a protest near the T-point of Hajipur. P2 Music lovers are in for a treat as Shael Oswal will be joining hands with rap king Yo Yo Honey Singh. P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 17°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.06 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:15 AM THURSDAY | 6 FEBRUARY 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF 2 ARRESTED FOR STEALING ITEMS Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested two Moga thieves on the charge of stealing electrical items from a shop. Investigating officer Sukhwant Singh said that the accused had been identified as Chamkaur Singh, a resident of Kartar Colony, Dharamkot, Moga, and his brother Titu Singh. Charanjit Singh of Mahun Wal village had complained to the police that the accused stole electrical items from his shop on December 3 night. The IO said a case under Sections 331(4) (lurking house-trespass) and 305 (theft in dwelling house) of the BNS had been registered against the accused. OC VILLAGER BOOKED FOR FRAUD Phagwara: On a complaint lodged by Harjot Singh, a resident of Tanndajal village near Ludhiana, the police have registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC against Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Miherru village in Phagwara district on the charges of duping the complainant of Rs 10 Lakh. The victim told the police that the accused took the money as advance for buying a property but did not get the sale deed registered so far. The police are investigating the matter. OC LIQUOR SMUGGLER ARRESTED Phagwara: The police have arrested a scooterist and seized 24 bottles of illicit liquor from him on Tuesday night. The accused was nabbed at a checkpoint behind the crematorium here when he was coming on a scooter, which has also been impounded. A case under the Punjab Excise Act has been registered against the accused. OC TWO VEHICLE THIEVES HELD Phagwara: The police here have arrested two vehicle thieves and recovered two scooters and four motorcycles. Phagwara SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti while confirming this said that those arrested had been identified as Neeshu and Nitish, both residents of Shivpuri, Ludhiana. Both were produced before local judicial magistrate, who sent them to police remand for two days. OC Has failed to refund ~53 crore to allottees in 200 cases of 3 housing societies Mayor poll: Bugga questions SAD support to AAP Avneet Kaur Our Correspondent Improvement Trust gets stern warning over non-compliance of panel orders Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 5 The Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) received a stern warning from the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission today after its Executive Officer (EO) failed to appear for a hearing on non-compliance with the execution orders in nearly 200 cases, involving Rs 53 crore owed to allottees of three failed residential schemes. The commission, which was reviewing JIT’s failure to refund the money to the allottees of Indra Puram Master Gurbanta Singh Enclave (2006), Bibi Bhani Complex (2010) and Surya Enclave Extension (2011, relaunched in 2016), was left unimpressed when neither the EO, nor JIT’s lawyer appeared. Instead, a clerk informed the commission that the EO was absent due to a personal emergency involving a death in the family. Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, advocate Harleen, who is representing a section of the affected allottees, said the commission, considering the circumstances, granted the JIT a one-week reprieve on humanitarian grounds. However, the commission president issued a stern Incomplete Jalandhar Improvement Trust flats at Master Gurbanta Singh Enclave in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH warning, stating that if the JIT failed to present a proper resolution, whether in the form of refunds or a structured plan on execution compliance, non-bailable arrest warrants will be issued not only against JIT officials, including its Chairman and EO, but also against the higher authorities in Chandigarh, including the Principal Secretary overseeing the department. Meanwhile, in these 200 cases, which involves com- plainants who had invested lakhs of rupees in these residential schemes under the JIT, the execution orders have already been passed, but the JIT is yet to comply fully with the refund orders. The allottees say that while Indra Puram and Bibi Bhani Complex remain partially developed, it still lacked basic amenities such as electricity and water connections, leaving allottees unable to occupy their properties. The situation is worse for those who bought plots in Surya Enclave Extension as it never materialised and had instead turned into a dumping ground. As per information, since 2021, over 400 judgments have been passed against the JIT across various consumer commissions. While partial compliance has been met in some cases, the outstanding amount in 200 unresolved cases has surged to Rs 53 crore from Rs 14 crore last year due to accru- Despite rivals, AAP Mayor meetsBJPleader Som Parkash in Phagwara, seeks ‘blessings’ Ashok Kaura Phagwara, February 5 Even though AAP and BJP have been opposing in other states, including the Delhi Assembly election, this does not seem to be the case in Phagwara. This became evident when newly elected Phagwara Mayor Ram Pal Uppal, along with AAP leader Pawan Sharma Pappi and some supporters, visited the residence of former Union Home Minister Som Parkash in the presence of former Mayor Arun Khosla on Wednesday afternoon to seek his ‘blessings’. After winning the mayoral election in Phagwara, now AAP leaders, including newly elected Mayor Ram Paul Uppal, can be seen going to AAP Mayor Ram Pal Uppal with former BJP Union minister Som Parkash in Phagwara on Wednesday. religious places. On the other hand, the MC staff awaits Uppal’s joining office, but are confused over the exact date. Uppal said he was waiting for the LS member and AAP in charge, Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, who was busy in Delhi elections. AAP halka in charge Joginder Singh Maan said that a new mayoral team would take charge after a religious congregation soon. On the other hand, after dramatic mayoral elections in Phagwara held on Saturday evening, now the Congress was preparing to knock the doors of court once again. The party leaders claim they have the majority. Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal said here today said that the Congress would approach all authorities concerned in this regard. Congress mayoral candidate Sanjeev Bugga said that he had wrote to the authorities concerned to procure the videography of the election procedure. An RTI has also been filed by Bugga in this regard. ing interest and continued non-compliance. Over the years, the commission has already issued more than 150 arrest warrants against JIT officials for similar violations. However, enforcement has been weak, with officials often citing their unavailability. Even in October last year, JIT Chairman Jagtar Singh Sanghera appeared before the commission after facing non-bailable arrest warrants over similar compliance failures. Channi a liar, says Rinku Jalandhar, February 5 Senior Punjab BJP leader and former MP Sushil Rinku has said that MP Charanjit Singh Channi tells lies in the Parliament. He claimed that Channi had lied that permission had not been given to run a train from Jalandhar to Varanasi, whereas the truth was that the approval had been given for the same. This special train will go from Jalandhar to Varanasi on February 9 and return on February 13. Rinku said Channi was a part-time MP who only knew , the politics of patchwork. He added that during election in Jalandhar, Channi had said either he or’ chitta’ would remain in Jalandhar. “People are dying due to ‘chitta’ and he is nowhere to be seen,” he said and added that drugs were being sold openly in Jalandhar West constituency. — TNS Phagwara, February 5 Senior Congress leader Sanjeev Bugga has strongly criticised the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over its support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate in the Phagwara Municipal Corporation mayoral election. Bugga, who was the mayoral candidate from the Congress, asked whether a political deal was struck between SAD and AAP over the former’s support. He was speaking at a meeting with his supporters here today. Referring to recent statements made by SAD councillor Kamaljeet Kaur and former councillor Kulvinder Singh Kinda, Bugga for not supporting the Congress candidate for mayor, he said it had become evident that Akali Dal backed the AAP candidate whom they had vehemently opposed during the municipal elections. He accused the Akali leadership of betraying their voters and challenged them to justify their decision to their sup- porters. Slamming the Akali Dal for alleged political opportunism, Bugga remarked that their shifting alliances reveal their lack of ideological commitment. He added that those associated with such politics should feel ashamed. Responding to accusations against the Congress regarding alleged fake police encounters, Bugga countered that SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal held the Chief Minister’s office three times between 1997 and 2017. If the Congress was guilty, then why did the Akali government fail to act against them during its tenure? Bugga further accused Akali Dal of indulging in divisive politics, misleading the people of Punjab and instigating unrest while blaming others. Taking a dig at SAD leaders, he suggested that they should have listened to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s views on their party before extending support to AAP . DGP: New system of passport verification to bring transparency Our Correspondent Phagwara, February 5 In a major step towards ensuring transparent and time-bound services, Punjab Police has introduced a streamlined and modernised system for passport verification. The initiative, which was launched on Tuesday, will provide applicants with pre-verification SMS notifications and enable them to share feedback post verification. Sharing details of the initiative, Special Director General of Police (DGP), Community Affairs Division, Gurpreet Kaur Deo stated that the Punjab Police was committed to delivering seamless and efficient services to the public. She announced that from February 5, the applicants would receive SMS notifications from ‘PB Sanjh’, informing them about the name of the verifying officer, along with the date and time of their verification appointment. “This step is aimed at eliminating any uncertainty and ensure that applicants are fully aware of their verification process,” Deo added. In addition to the pre-verification notifications, people will also have the opportunity to share their feedback on the conduct of the verifying officers. Special DGP Deo explained that, “Applicants will receive a post-verification SMS from ‘PB Sanjh’, containing a hyperlink to a feedback form. Through this form, applicants can submit their suggestions, comments or concerns regarding the verification process,” she stated. The move is expected to enhance transparency and accountability in police verification procedures, ensuring a more citizenfriendly approach. 2 drug smugglers arrested with 50 gm heroin Two involved in multiple crimes arrested Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 5 In a crackdown on drug trafficking, Jalandhar Rural Police has arrested two drug smugglers and seized 50 gm of heroin. The accused, who sourced the contraband from the border areas of Tarn Taran, were apprehended by the CIA staff near Johlan Gate under the jurisdiction of Patara police station. The arrested accused have been identified as Resham Singh, son of Savinder Singh, and Harpreet Singh, son of Amrik Singh, both residents of Lahian village, Tarn Taran district. Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, SSP said that acting on , a tip-off, a team led by inspector Pushap Bali, in charge, CIA CIA staff members of Jalandhar (Rural) with the two drug peddlers and seized contraband. A TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH staff, Jalandhar Rural, and SI Labh Singh conducted patrolling and surveillance in the Patara area. During the operation, two suspects were seen moving suspiciously. Upon noticing the police team, they attempted to flee and discarded a waxed envelope, which was later found to contain heroin. A thorough search led to the recovery of 30 gm of heroin from Resham and 20 gm from Harpreet Singh. An FIR under Sections 21B, 61, and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered and both accused taken into custody. Further investigation has revealed that Harpreet was a habitual offender with criminal cases registered against him earlier also, including an attempt to murder case. He had earlier spent a month in jail before securing bail. Both accused used to sell the contraband at premium rates in Jalandhar and surrounding regions. The police team will present the accused in court to seek remand for further interrogation. Besides, details of the accused’s movable and immovable properties are being gathered and necessary legal proceedings will be initiated as per the NDPS Act. c m y b Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 5 The Jalandhar Commissionerate Police led by Commissioner Swapan Sharma have arrested two robbers involved in multiple crimes after a swift operation. The arrests were made after a complaint by city resident Pooja Mahant of Rajan Nagar, Basti Bawa Khel, who reported that three youths on a motorcycle snatched her purse outside her house. Based on her statement, an FIR under Sections 304(2) and 3(5) of the BNS was registered at Basti Bawa Khel police station. Following the complaint, the police identified the suspects as Jaspreet The police with the two snatchers involved in multiple crimes in Jalandhar. A TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH Singh, alias Jassi, and Suraj, both residents of Guru Arjan Nagar, Basti Mithu. Using intelligence and technical surveillance, the police successfully tracked and apprehended them. During the operation, officers recovered a motorcycle, a mobile phone, a pair of gold earrings, artificial bangles, silver rings and toe rings from the accused. Commissioner Sharma stated that further investigations were going on to determine their involvement in other criminal activities. He said the police had intensified efforts to trace the third suspect involved in the robbery and assured strict action against those involved in such crimes. He also urged the people to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities immediately.