26122024-ATR-01.qxd 12/25/2024 11:38 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST SHALLOW FOG CITY ROLLS OUT ‘RED CARPET’ FOR MISS GRAND INTERNATIONAL LACK OF SPORTS GROUNDS A HURDLE FOR TALENT AMIA SAYS HER BOOK IS A PEEP INTO A SURREAL WORLD Rachel Gupta, who made history as the first Indian to be crowned Miss Grand International, returned home. P2 Except for hockey, no player from any other sport was chosen for the Olympics this time from this border district. P2 Amia Kunwar was in Chandigarh to promote her book Imroznama, which is tribute to Imroz on his death anniv. P4 » » » MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 5°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.34 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.28 AM THURSDAY | 26 DECEMBER 2024 | AMRITSAR 32-yr-old shot dead over old enmity Boundary walls of police stations to be raised to foil attacks in city Amritsar, December 25 Gurmit Singh (32), a resident of Boprai Kalan village in Lopoke subdivision here, was shot dead by several armed assailants over an old enmity here on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The police have arrested one of the suspects while others are at large. Kulwant Singh of the same village has been arrested while Satbir Singh, Tanmanpreet Singh and Simranjit Singh are at large, said SHO Karampal Singh. Amandeep Singh, brother of the victim, told the police that Gurmit left the house at night. A few minutes later, Amandeep heard the noise of quarrelling. He said as he came out of the house, he saw the accused, who were armed with a .12 bore rifle and sticks, were thrashing his brother Gurmit Singh. He said he tried to save his brother, but the accused attacked and injured him also. Suddenly, Satbir Singh fired at Gurmit Singh leaving him seriously injured. Gurmit was rushed to hospital where he succumbed and he was also admitted to hospital for treatment. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 25 The city police have found a novel way of stopping attacks on police establishments by putting up tall green net around the boundary walls of the police stations. Besides, sentry posts will also be constructed where it was not existing earlier. The police have stepped up night domination operation in the city with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar visiting various police stations, police posts and checkpoints in the night. Recently, there has been a spurt in incidents of hand grenades and IED attacks on police establishments, including abandoned or closed down police posts and police stations. Nevertheless, senior police officials remained in a denial mode. The recent statements by Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav and an encounter of alleged three operatives of Khalistan Zindabad Force in Pilibhit area in Uttar Pradesh hint that these attacks were executed by ISIbacked terrorist organiza- Huge quantity of Chinese string spools seized, 2 held PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Nets put up along the boundary walls of a police station in Amritsar. tions in Pakistan. The police have raised the boundary walls to 10 feet so that operatives of terrorist organizations could not throw explosives at police establishments. A number of measures have been taken by the police for security around police stations. Heavily armed cops along with armoured vehicles would be deputed at the entrance of these police establishments. Besides, senior police officials have directed higher authorities to close down the entrance gates of the police stations by 10pm. As many as eight such instances were reported in the border state, including four in Amritsar alone, in the last one month. Recently, the police arrested operatives of Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International leader Harwinder Singh Rinda, US-based gangstersturned terrorists Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Pachhia, Gopi Nawashehria, Gurdev Jaisal and Jeevan Fauji. The police recovered China-made hand grenades and sophisticated weapons from their possession. They were behind planting IED outside the Ajnala police station and hurling hand grenades at the Gurbaxnagar police chowki in the city and at the Majitha police station in rural belt. Amritsar, December 25 The Cantonment police have seized a huge quantity of banned synthetic kite string, which was being smuggled from Jalandhar, here on Wednesday. The police have arrested two persons, a kite seller and the driver of the canter in which the Chinese string was being smuggled. They were identified as Davinder Singh, alias Bunty (43), of Boria Wala Bazaar in Katra Safaid area in the walled city and Hem Raj (45) of Malka Chowk, Jalandhar, respectively. The police confiscated 1,020 spools of synthetic string and the canter (PB-08-EB-1479). Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Alam Vijay Singh said they were arrested by the police from near the Army recruitment office located on Ram Tirath Road. They were waiting for the seller to deliver the consignment of the kite string. He said Davinder Singh Bunty was a habitual offender as The seized spools of synthetic kite string and the two accused in custody of the police in Amritsar on Wednesday. a case was already registered against him in January five years ago. At that time, he was arrested with around 100 spools, he added. The Chinese kite string has been playing havoc with the lives of people for nearly the past decade while the Punjab Government and respective district administrations have failed to nail the problem. The killer ‘dor’ has claimed several lives and left many injured in the past. Also, it kills a large number of birds that get Message of universal peace reverberates Gurdaspur resident’s body in DoA, CNI’s Christmas celebrations brought back from Gulf Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 25 Exactly 25 days after 39-yearold Mandeep Singh of Gurdaspur died of cardiac arrest in the Gulf, his body was brought back home with the efforts of Sarbat Da Bhala Trust, founded by Dr SPS Oberoi. Belonging to Kot Manjalas village, the body of the deceased arrived at Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport here from Dubai on Wednesday. The body was received by the president of Sarbat Da Bhala Trust, Punjab, Sukhjinder Singh Her, district president Sishpal Singh Ladi and general secretary Manpreet Singh Sandhu and handed over to the family members. Sharing information in this regard, Dr Oberoi said Mandeep Singh, like other young people, went to Dubai to earn a living a few years ago with dreams of a better tomorrow. In November, he visited his family. He died of sudden heart attack on December 1. Drug peddler held, 192 gm of heroin seized Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar , December 25 Painting the town red with high spirit and celebrating Christmas, people from all walks of life braved biting cold to mark the day at several churches here on Wednesday. While several attended the midnight Christmas mass, several prominent churches across the city held mass prayers in the morning. The churches in the city have been lit up beautifully for the past couple of days, adding a spark and excitement to the festival. The Diocese of Amritsar (DoA), Church of North India (CNI), celebrated Christmas by sharing the message of peace, love, and harmony. Dr P K Samantaroy, Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar, Church of North India, reiterated the Diocese’s commitment to promote peace and understanding in the region through interfaith, cultural, and social initiatives. He emphasized that Christmas is a time for spread- entangled in kite strings. Earlier, railway employee Haramritpal Singh, aka Rajan (43), a resident of Verka, lost his life after a dangling Chinese kite string slit his throat on the Verka-Batala road BRTS flyover here on October 15 this year. Though every year, the district administration imposes a ban on the sale and purchase of Chinese kite strings and launch awareness campaigns, the problem persists. In fact, it has been going from bad to worse with each passing year. “Today’s seizure is reminder of the fact that though secretly, it is still easily available in the market,” said Dr Rohan Mehra, an animal welfare activist. Sarabjit Singh, a human rights activist and prominent lawyer, said people should also act responsibly as the synthetic kite string is environmentally hazardous in nature as it does not break down easily. He said the parents should not allow their children to use the deadly string. On Christmas, devotees light candles at St. Paul’s Church in Amritsar on Wednesday. VISHAL KUMAR ing peace and goodwill among men, and that the Christian community should heed the call of Jesus Christ to establish peace by reaching out to their neighbours in need. The celebrations included midnight worship services at all churches of the DoA, CNI, on December 24, Christmas Eve. Members of all the churches of the diocese in the Majha region also held candlelight sarol Singing to spread the message of ‘Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men’. Prayers for peace and harmony were offered in English, Hindi, and Punjabi, symbolizing unity of belief, culture, and thought. The message of Christmas is peace, brotherhood, and unity. The amalgamation of door-todoor Carol Singing and the Candlelight Carol March aims to spread the message of unity among people of all faiths. Officials of the Sarbat Da Bhalla Trust hand over the body of Mandeep Singh to the family at the airport in Amritsar on Wednesday. Dr Oberoi said the victim’s family contacted him over the phone after the unfortunate incident and requested to send his body to India. After this, the help of the Indian embassy was sought and under the supervision of his personal assistant, Baldeep Singh Chahal, all the necessary documents were arranged and the body brought back to his native place today. Mandeep Singh’s brotherin-law Sandeep Singh and other relatives, Jagdish Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Harjit Singh, Gurpreet Sing and Bikramjit Singh, reached the airport to collect the body. The deceased is survived by his elderly mother, sister and other family members. His kin thanked Dr SPS Oberoi for helping him at this difficult time and said that he would always remember his philanthropy. So far, the Trust has brought back bodies of 381 people from different countries to India. Amritsar, December 25 Chheharta police have arrested a drug peddler and confiscated 192 grams of heroin apart from ~10,150 of drug money and a computer scale from his possession. The accused was identified as Aniket Verma, a resident of Naraingarh, Chheharta here. Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) Shiv Darshan Singh said that Chheharta police, led by Station House Officer Vinod Sharma, arrested the accused from Ghanupur Kale area. He said that he was travelling on a bike from the India Gate side when he was signalled to stop. During a search, the police seized the contraband. He used to supply the drug in retail to his clients. The police have also impounded the bike and a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered against him. MP Aujla pays visit to ICAR shelves funding for setting up of Girl raped in hotel Dallewal at Khanauri PGIHRE due to non-availability of land room, one arrested Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 25 Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on Wednesday reached the Khanauri border to meet farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for over the last 27 days. Dallewal has been demanding MSP guarantee law. MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla reached there and enquired about his condition and said the Centre should pay attention to the demands of the farmers as soon as possible. Aujla said farmers are talking about their rights as well as the rights of Punjab, but the Central Government is not paying attention to his demands. He said Dallewal’s health is continuously deteriorating, but no Central minister has tried to know about his condition. “The Congress also sought time to talk on this issue, but did not get it. Now again, he will seek time to raise his voice in front of the Centre,” he said. Jagjit Singh Dallewal said the MSP is important for the bright future of Punjab. The government wants diversity in Punjab, but diversity cannot come without the MSP He . said without diversity, Punjab’s water cannot be saved. He told Gurjeet Singh Aujla that all the leaders should come together and demand MSP from the Centre as it is very important not only for them but also for Punjab. Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 25 Indian council of agriculture research (ICAR) has temporary shelved the setting up of Post-graduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education (PGIHRE) due to nonavailability of land in Amritsar by not allocating any fund for it. Earlier, union govt had allotted special economic zone, had met similar fate over one and a half decade ago. Similarly, the PGIHR is heading to the same path is causing serious disappointment to the farming community of the state. The Deputy Director General (Horticulture Science) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi has informed through an email that since no significant progress has been made in the matter related to availability of land for establishing the PGIHRE. The official communiqué informed that the ICAR did not keep any financial provision for the said purpose during the financial cycles 2021-22 to 2025-26. As per the reliable sources of the ICAR, the EFC Memo prepared for the 20162021 financial Cycle, the appointment of 206 horticulture scientists was sanctioned besides the budget for raising buildings of the campus. The centrally funded prestigious Institute was sanc- c m y b tioned by the then Union finance minister Arun Jaitley in 2015. Manmohan Singh Brar of the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) said the international horticulture scientists developed seedless Mango, seedless Litchi (chinensis) and Seedless Jamun (Cerasus cornuta) varities along with juice-filled orange varieties. Similar developments were expected here. The Akali-BJP Punjab government transferred 100 acres of land at village Attari (Amritsar) designated for the research work. But for the establishment of administrative, academic and residential blocks of the PGIHRE Amritsar, another chunk of land measuring 30 acres was required. All the Six Sub-divisional Magistrates of the Amritsar district and the District Development and Panchayat Officer Amritsar gave in written that no suitable land is available in the district. Members of the Amritsar Vikas Manch requested state government to purchase the selected land and inform the authorities of the ICAR, so that the Central Agriculture Research Department may keep the financial provision for the financial Cycle 2025-26 to 2030-31 for the establishment of PGIHRE Amritsar. Amritsar, December 25 A girl was allegedly physically assaulted and gang-raped by two youths after taking her to a hotel room here on Monday. The police have arrested one of the accused, identified as Devkaran Singh alias Dhunna of Partap Nagar, here. His co-accused Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi was also named in the case by the police. The victim, who originally hailed from Jalandhar and now lived in a rented accommodation in Palm Groove Colony here, said that the accused Devkaran was known to her. She said that on Monday evening, Devkaran invited her for an evening outing, which turned out to be a nightmare for her. She said his friend Gurpreet Singh of Delhi picked her up from outside her accommodation and Devkaran joined them later. They parked the car at a spot and from there they took a scooter and reached a hotel near Atta Mandi in the walled city. She alleged that the accused tried to make physical relation with her forcibly in the room. As she opposed, the accused assaulted her and later raped her one by one. In the morning, they dropped her outside her house. The airport police have registered a case in this connection. Police said Devkaran was arrested and raids were on to nab Gurpreet Singh. — TNS