22112024-JTR-01.qxd 21-11-2024 23:08 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune 61-YR-OLD WINS TWO GOLD MEDALS IN ATHLETICS C’SHIP MINISTER DRIVES TRACTOR, URGES FARMERS NOT TO BURN STUBBLE Union Minister Tokhan Sahu on Thursday drove a tractor at Khosa Pando village of Moga and made bundles of straw. P3 DENSE FOG MAX 26°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 9°C 55TH EDITION OF IFFI CELEBRATES CREATIVE MINDS OF TOMORROW Manmohan Singh recently won two gold medals in State Master Athletics Championship in Chandigarh. P2 FORECAST After a glittering opening ceremony on Wednesday, the 55th IFFI began with a session — ‘Women Safety and Cinema’. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.26 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:02 AM » FRIDAY | 22 NOVEMBER 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF ONE BOOKED FOR RAPE OF MINOR Phagwara: The police have booked one person on the charge of raping a minor girl. Investigating officer (IO) Inspector Chanchal said the suspect was identified as Sagar of Chacha Colony, Lohian Khas. The victim’s mother stated to the police that her daughter complained of stomach ache on November 20 evening and she gave her medicine. The complainant said when she questioned her daughter strictly, she told her that she had friendly relations with the suspect for the last one-and-ahalf-year. She said the suspect seduced her minor daughter in April and had a physical relationship with her after which she became pregnant. The IO said a case under Section 65(1) (rape on a woman under sixteen years) of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act was registered against the suspect. OC 7 BOOKED FOR BURNING STUBBLE Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have booked a villager for burning paddy stubble in fields. Investigating Officer (IO) Kabul Singh said the suspect was identified as Avtar Singh of Gill village. The IO said a case under Section 223 of the BNS was registered against the suspect. In the second incident The Mehatpur police booked Phumann Singh of Haripur village and Pritam Singh of Umrewal village for burning paddy stubble in fields. In the third incident Nurmahal SHO Dilbag Singh said Sucha Singh of Rajo Wal village, Kulwant Singh of Uppal Jagir, Surjit Singh of Uppal Khalsa village and Sukhjinder Singh of Natt village were booked for burning crop residue in their fields. OC SEWA KENDRA BURGLED Phagwara: Unidentified miscreants reportedly burgled a Sewa Kendra at Dihana village in Phagwara sub-division on Wednesday night. Sewa Kendra in-charge Lovepreet Kaur told the police that the kendra was found ransacked. She said almost all electronic gadgets were stolen. The police have registered a case and initiated probe into the matter. OC Acute shortage of cops in Nurmahal Our Correspondent Phagwara, November 21 The Nurmahal police are reeling under an acute staff shortage. There are only 29 police personnel against a sanctioned strength of 106 cops in the town. Of the nine sanctioned posts of assistant sub-inspector, four are lying vacant, out of 14 sanctioned posts of head constable 13 are vacant while of 80 posts of constable, 70 are lying vacant. Sources in the Police Department said Home Guard volunteers were doing the job of constables. The sources said patrolling was reduced considerably and investigations were suffering. They said due to shortage of constables, munshi was facing problems in dealing with local complaints. Inquiries revealed that 34 police personnel were deployed at Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan in Nurmahal. Jalandhar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said, “We are comfortably manning police stations in our area.” Candidates of all 3 major parties confident of victory in by-election CHABBEWAL BYPOLL Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, November 21 With the voting for bypoll at Chabbewal concluding on Thursday, the candidates and leaders of all three major political parties in fray — AAP Congress and the BJP , — claimed their victory by a big margin in the by-election. Although there was a very low turnout in the bypoll, yet the claims of a big win for each candidate are taller than the other. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Dr Ishank Kumar was very confident of his victory with a huge margin in the by-election. He said, “The people of the area are my family members. They have given me immense love and support. The legacy of the unmatched development in the area by us has left a permanent imprint on minds of the people. They poured their heart out by voting for the AAP .” His father and Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar said, “People have voted for the AAP whole- AAP candidate Dr Ishank Kumar chats with his friends on cellphone while having coffee on Thursday. heartedly. The love that people have given to us today will ensure our victory in this election with a major margin. I am thankful to the people of the area for trust they have in us.” The Congress candidate Advocate Ranjit Kumar said the voting percentage remained low for two reasons. First, the people were busy sowing wheat and crops like potato and peas, which were the major cash crops of the area, he said. Secondly, as people were annoyed with the present AAP government, they didn’t come to vote, he said. He said, “The people of the area have voted to get rid of the AAP I am confident of my vic. tory as people have given me much love and affection. Wherever we went for canvassing in the constituency before the by-election, people openly came out in our support.” Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former minister Sunder Sham Arora claimed his party’s victory with a huge margin. “People are fed up with the wrongdoings of the AAP government and the local MP They have . voted to bring a change and express their anger. Our candidate has the support of the people from all walks of life. Even staunch supporters of other parties, including the ruling AAP have voted for , us. Definitely, we are going to get a huge lead in the bypoll result.” The BJP candidate Sohan Singh Thandal also claimed his victory in the by-election. He said people of Punjab were fed up with the AAP government. Farmers were annoyed because of the issues they faced while selling their paddy in mandis. The CM visited Chabbewal constituency twice. Even AAP supremo Kejriwal campaigned here, he said. This showed that the AAP was afraid of losing this by-election and definitely they would lose, said Thandal. 3 held in Adampur robbery case The three robbery case suspects in custody of the Jalandhar (Rural) police. Jalandhar, November 21 The Jalandhar (Rural) police have arrested three individuals accused of robbing a motorcyclist in Adampur. The police recovered the stolen motorcycle, an iron chisel used in the crime and five smartphones from their possession. Those arrested have been identified as Kashmiri Lal, alias Gary, a resident of Jagrawa, Manjot Singh, alias Jota, a resident of Mansoorpur, and Rajveer Singh, alias Giani, a resident of Noli. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said the arrests were part of a special campaign against street crimes and anti-social elements. He reaffirmed the district police’s commitment to public safety, while adding that strict action would continue against offenders. The victim, identified as Om Prakash, a resident of Adampur, informed the police about the incident on November 20. In his complaint he stated that on November 16, he was returning home on his motorcycle (Honda CD 110 bearing registration number PB 08 EP 1086) when three men waylaid him near a canal bridge. The suspects threatened him with an iron chisel, attacked him and fled with his motorcycle. Following the complaint, a case was registered under FIR No. 156 yesterday at the Three women among Civic body officials visit Gandhi Camp, listen to fourarrestedoncharge sewage, water-related grievances of residents of immoral trafficking Our Correspondent Phagwara, November 21 In a drive against immoral trafficking launched by the district police headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vatsala Gupta, a team led by SHO (Sadar) Balwinder Singh Bhullar raided a house near Chack Hakim in Phagwara and arrested four persons, including three women and a youth, identified as Sukhwinder Kumar, a resident of Geijo village on Wednesday evening. While giving details, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rupinder Kaur Bhatti said here today that the police raided the house after receiv- ing a tip-off. The SP said according to information received by the police, a woman, a resident of Bharoli village in Nawanshahr district, was running the flesh trade from a rented house. A case under Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 was registered against the arrested suspects, the SP added. SSP Vatsala Gupta said the police would accelerate its campaign to curb immoral trafficking in the district. The SSP further said besides, the drive against gangsters and drug smugglers would also continue to provide a fearless and peaceful environment to the people. Jalandhar, November 21 After receiving sewer and water-related complaints, officials of the municipal corporation (MC) today visited several areas of Gandhi Camp. Residents of the camp have been complaining of choked sewer and water shortage. The areas of Dol Wali Gali and Market Wali Gali were inspected by the Joint Commissioner and other officials of the civic body. Work to resolve civic issues is already going on at Gandhi Camp. Water tankers are being provided at the camp. Officials also talked to residents regarding issues faced by them. It seems that several civic issues that are perennial in nature are troubling city residents with sewage overflow being one of them. Gandhi Camp, Bhargo Camp, Dakoha, MC officials inspect ongoing sewer cleaning work at Gandhi Camp in Jalandhar. Sant Nagar, Qazi Mandi, Shiv Nagar, Ram Nagar, Gazi Gulla and Transport Nagar are among the areas in Jalandhar that grapple with the issue of overflowing sewers now and then. Left with no other option, affected residents have protested against the MC several times for its failure to come up with a solution for their problems. Former MLA and senior Con- TRIBUNE PHOTO gress leader Rajinder Beri said overflowing sewer was a huge problem in Dakoha. He said, “The MC should use clean choked sewers with super suction machines.” — TNS Adampur police station under Sections 309(4) and 61(2) of the BNS. An investigation team, led by Adampur DSP Kulwant Singh and Adampur SHO Ravinderpal Singh identified and arrested the suspects in this connection. During questioning, the suspects confessed to their involvement in the crime. The police recovered the stolen motorcycle, the weapon used in the crime, and five smartphones from their possession. Officials are analysing call details from the phones to investigate possible links of the suspects to other crimes. The suspects would be produced in a court for securing remand, the SSP said. — TNS DC thanks voters for peaceful voting Hoshiarpur, November 21 Deputy Commissioner-cumDistrict Election Officer Komal Mittal on Wednesday expressed gratitude to voters of Chabbewal constituency for helping the administration in accomplishing the entire voting process in a smooth and peaceful manner. Accompanied by SSP Surendra Lamba, Komal Mittal while visiting different polling stations in the constituency also lauded the polling staff and security personnel for ensuring free, fair and transparent voting. She said the EVMs had been deposited by the polling staff at designated location from these would be sent to the counting centre at local Rayat Bahra Group of Institute. The counting of votes would be held on November 23 (Saturday) for which necessary arrangements were being made, she said. — OC Overloaded trucks make highway accident-prone Residents come out in support of anti-drug drive Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 21 Two days since three members of a family from Amritsar lost their lives after their Ertiga car collided with a truck at Lamma Pind Chowk, there is no check on the movement of such overloaded heavy vehicles in the day time. It is estimated that over 200 trucks mostly coming from Pathankot side pass through this roundabout every day. Drivers of many of these trucks take long halts on the Jalandhar-Pathankot road. They park their trucks along the roadsides. Since indicator lights are not switched on and reflectors are not installed on many trucks, these heavy vehicles are sometimes not visible to commuters. It’s only when commuters reach vicinity of trucks, they realise that heavy vehicles are parked along roadsides. This makes the road highly accident-prone. The traffic police personnel remain deployed at the roundabout, but they seldom stop trucks for any checking. Trucks without reflectors parked on the road heading from Jalandhar to Pathankot. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH As the weather is getting nippier and mornings and evenings have become foggy, traffic issues on the road have aggravated. Other than trucks, even tankers of the Indian Oil Corporation outside the company depot along Suchi Pind are a big traffic hazard. Several oil tankers remain parked in a queue outside the depot throughout the day in a wait to be filled. Two weeks ago, a car collided with an Indian Oil tanker while going up the fly- c m y b over. The front portion of the tanker too got damaged in the accident. A larger number of loaded trucks also include those heavy vehicles that ferry grains from mandis across the district to godowns. Officials of the Traffic Police Department said, “We have been deploying patrolling teams on a regular basis at Lamma Pind Chowk and in the Pathankot road area. Soon, we shall start challaning and impounding overloaded trucks.” Nakodar, November 21 The Jalandhar (Rural) police organised a community outreach meeting under its Sampark initiative today at Mehatpur drawing an overwhelming response from local residents in their collective fight against drugs. The meeting, jointly chaired by Shahkot DSP Onkar Singh Brar, DSP (Detective) Swarnjeet Singh along with Mehatpur SHO Jaipal, brought together representatives from various sections of society, including educational institutions, social organisations and resident welfare associations. “Drug menace can only be curbed with active public support. We need eyes and ears in every locality to tackle this issue effectively. We should collectively work on this social problem to curb street crime, snatching and other associated crimes. Drug menace is the root cause of approximately 50 per cent crime,” the Shahkot DSP said, while addressing the gathering. He also highlighted recent successes in anti-drug operations. Shahkot DSP said several peddlers were arrested in the last month, leading to significant recovery of contraband. The DSP (Detective) emphasised on the need for a drugfree society for a bright future of youths. He said to meet these goals community participation was required to help drug-addicted persons to get rid of any type of addiction and provide them moral support. He said always be cautious of cyber thugs who daily use new tricks to dupe people. He said cybercrime victims must complain on the cyber helpline number 1930 instantly. During the meeting, residents raised concerns about drug peddling hotspots in certain areas. The police assured swift action and shared helpline numbers for reporting suspicious activities, while promising complete confidentiality to informants — OC