Amritsar, June 21
Putting humanity to shame, it was greed for easy money which killed an eleven-year-old Sushant Arora who was kidnapped and killed on June 12. The mastermind of the murder is none other than a face well known to the family, their immediate neighbour Prince.

Prince involved five of his relatives in this heinous crime. While Prince is yet to be brought to justice, the police arrested five other accused, including a woman.

What unfolded is a story of nerve-chilling horror. The child was strangled to death on the same day that he was kidnapped and the body was dumped in the UBDC canal.

The Khalra police in Tarn Taran found the decomposed body yesterday. In another example of sheer callousness, the police cremated the body taking it as unclaimed thus depriving the family of even performing the last rites of their loved one.

The accused except the woman are all in the age group of 25 to 30 years.

Prince, aged around 25 years, not only kept visiting the family to console them throughout the ordeal but also gave the accused all details about the steps taken by the police.

The child was killed on the same day and a ransom of Rs 1 crore was asked five days later.

When the father showed helplessness in arranging the same, the accused listed the property owned by him, his brothers and other relatives, a fact well known to Prince. Prince even accompanied victim's relatives to get an FIR registered.

The accused admitted that they took the boy to the residence of Sarabjit Kaur at Dhapai from where they made the call for ransom to the family.

The police had traced the location of the first call from the same area. The boy was killed at the same spot.

The district police led by SP (D) HS Brar reached Tarn Taran following circumstantial evidence.

The police claimed they had traced the location of mobile phone being used to for extortion with the help of telecom companies and technical experts.

The police zeroed in on Prince and his associates through the SIM cards the accused used to call up the parents of the victim for ransom. The accused admitted that ransom was their only motive.

The victim's father Sunil Arora told The Tribune that after five days of the kidnapping, the accused demanded Rs 1 crore as ransom to release Sushant. The amount was later slashed to Rs 50 lakh when he pleaded repeatedly. Since Prince, the main accused, knew all about the family, the accused detailed them about all the properties of Sunil's brothers and relatives.

A pall of gloom descended on the narrow lanes of Gate Hakima area as the family of Sushant Arora and residents received the shocking news of his murder. The parents were inconsolable. Sushant's four-year-old sister could make little of why her house was crowded.

The crime admitted to by the accused brought more mind-numbing pain to the parents. "I could not have imagined even in my wildest dreams that Prince who was our immediate neighbour would commit such a heinous crime. My son was very friendly with him," said Sushant's father Sunil Arora. "I shiver at the thought of the suffering my child had to go through in the end," said an inconsolable mother Komal.

Sunil Arora was numbed into silence, finding it difficult to answer media queries. His relatives narrated the gruesome details of the kidnapping and murder while finding it very difficult to console the hapless parents.

Amritsar, June 21
The residents of Gate Hakima area have become fearful for the safety of their children following the shocking kidnapping and murder of Sushant Arora. Living close to the infamous Angarh are, they feel that they could be targeted by criminals living in the area.

Residents gathered outside the house of the victim in Amritsar on Thursday. Photo: Vishal kumar

One of the accused belongs to this area and was instrumental hatching the conspiracy. According to the police sources, he provided stolen mobile phones used in the crime.

"It has become common that criminals from Angarh indulge frequent brawls with the residents of Gate Hakima. They often barge into shops and beat up people," said Banarsi Das, an elderly resident of the area. He said his family was planning to shift from the area.

Women residents of the area are even more worried about the safety of their families especially their children.

"The children used to play in the streets and in the nearby park. Now I would not allow my children to play outside or go anywhere alone, said a resident. Another woman said it is difficult to even trust neighbours, whom we keep even before our relatives, but after this shocking murder we cannot even trust them, she said.

Amarjit Singh Bhatia, area councillor said though Angarh held the police responsible for failing to control anti-social elements or stop drug trade from here. I would urge the authorities to depute regular police patrolling and nab the accused involved in various crimes in the area.

Amritsar, June 21
The district administration today swooped down upon those indulging in illegal sand mining by conducting surprise checks at various villages falling in the periphery of the Ajnala sub-division. Led by Deputy Commissioner, Rajat Aggarwal, and the Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural), Pritpal Singh, the team found that illegal sand mining was being carried out on private property where quarrying was not allowed.

Six teams comprising Sub-Divisional Magistrates and DSPs conducted simultaneous raids late in the evening in the villages adjoining the Ravi rive; Khanewal, Raipur Kalan, Sarangdev (Ajnala), Channa, Kot Razada (Ramdas).

In Sarangdev village, the team enquired the constable on duty about the alleged illegal mining activity but the constable denied the same. Not satisfied with his reply, the team conducted a search and found that nearly 25-feet deep mining of san was being done on private land. It was also found that the land was not given on contract for sand mining and the constable on duty was allegedly hand-in-glove with the miners.

DC Rajat Aggarwal said though those indulging in illegal mining are absconding but the police has registered a case against Sher Singh, the owner of the land under Section 379 of the IPC and Section 21/4 Mines Act 1952 as well as under the Damage to Public Property Act. He said the constable allegedly involved in covering up the act was suspended on the spot.

The team also confiscated six trucks full of sand, two tractors and two trollies besides other equipment from the spot.

Amritsar, June 21
“I believe that Gandhari made a big mistake by deciding to live blindfolded all her life as otherwise she could have given better upbringing to her sons and averted the war that destroyed the entire family,” says Aishveryaa Nidhi, noted actor and theatre person who is in city to stage her play, Gandhari.

Theatre personalities Aishveryaa Nidhi and Arvind Gaur in Amritsar on Thursday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal

The tragic but strong character from the epic Mahabharta is the basis of the play directed by Arvind Gaur. “5,000 years may have passed but the state of women in our society remains the same,” says Nidhi. The play relates to Gandhari’s life and experiences to the contemporary socio-political scenario. The Sydney-based actor, writer, director and filmmaker, who has come here with her play for the first time, says the play tries to highlight that Gandhari was a strong-headed woman who protested silently throughout her life for the injustices meted out to her. “She might have been considered as the epitome of a devoted wife but not in this play.”

The play deals with a lot of issues like violence, anti-war sentiments, fight for freedom and the sacrifices expected from women in the name of religion and family. “In our society, all the morals apply to women only, whether they are willing or unwilling to do so. Gandhari, in the play, stands for all these issues and her fight against the power-system while remaining indifferent. Being forced to marry a blind man, her choice to remain blindfolded was not a sacrifice but a protest to violation of her right as a woman,” says Arvind Gaur, the director of the play.

“Gandhari in many ways reflects the position of women in contemporary society as well.

Her boon to bear 100 sons turned out to be a bane, but women are still being used as a machine to bear sons,” adds Gaur who also heads a Delhi-based theatre group Asmita. Gaur, who has previously directed solo acts with Lushin Dubey and Rashi Bunny, believes directing them is the toughest challenge. “One has to depend on a single person to be a complete script and convey the message. It is very demanding as there is no room for error, no one to make up for one bad take.”

“It is physically and mentally taxing for an actor but I love doing it for my audience,” says Aishveryaa. Playing 16 different characters in the one hour play, Aishveryaa has been the face of Indian culture in Australia. Nominated for the Best Actress Award in ‘Short & Sweet’, the biggest festival of 10-minute plays in the world, for her powerful performance in ‘Mandragora’ and recipient of Bronze artist award, the actor has been promoting Indian culture in Australia.

Amritsar, June 21
Though the fire has been extinguished at the Khanna Paper Mill stockyard, the MC has kept four fire tenders stationed at the mill as a precautionary measure. A massive fire at the mill stockyard destroyed raw material worth crores of rupees.

At present, the ditch machines have been pressed into service to lift the burnt material.

Tarlochan Singh, Sub Fire Officer, Town Hall, said, "We have deputed at least 20 firemen in the stockyard of the mill as a precautionary measure. Everything is under control. The material is highly flammable and we cannot afford to take any chance. At present, the ditch machines are removing the bundles of the paper and cardboard. Our men with four fire tenders are there to watch this exercise minutely."— TNS

Amritsar, June 21
For sceptical or plain lazy weight watchers, the motivation for losing weight doesn’t come in hard gym workouts. But they seek solace in popular diet programmes, mainly ‘discovered’ on the Google.

One search opens a whole world of eat-healthy-loose-weight mantras. A ‘1500 calories diet plan’ that requires you to eat 1,500 calories every day to look slimmer; ‘Summer Shots’, a 3-week diet plan; a very militarised version of ‘Get Lean’ diet or the celebrated ‘Suzanne Summers’ diet plan. Each promises a lighter and fitter version of you.

While summers are considered as the best time to lose weight, these popular diet plans have become a trend of sorts since Atkins diet. The West has exported us some keepers in baby food diet, Volumetrics and Jenny Craig diet plans, but which is the right one for you? Call them fad diets or meal replacements, the diet plans seem to be working hard on the waistline.

“Most diet plans work according to body types and the level of commitment towards following them and keeping them simple is the best way to go about it,” says Cherry Chopra, consultant dietician at Diet Mantra. “It’s not about taking a crash course in dieting, but adapting to a healthy eating lifestyle.”

Cherry believes that diet plans are effective, but one doesn’t have to follow it blindly. “Not all diet plans are effective and not all of them are unhealthy. But one has to understand their body first. There are some drastic diet plans like the General Motors diet plan or the Blood Group diet which people follow blindly, ultimately without any results.”

Some of the popular diet plans from Diet Mantra, a clinic for diet consultant by fitness guru Namita Jain, have been The Countdown Plan, Disease Management plan and Detox Plan. “Our popular diet plans not just focus on weight loss, but also fitness amongst those suffering from some medical problems and general body cleansing,” she says.

“No two people are the same, so their dietary requirements are also different. A good diet plan should suit your body, lifestyle, physical activity, eating habits et al,” says Gurdeep Mehdiratta, consultant dietician, Fortis. Though, she doesn’t outright reject their effectiveness. “These diet plans act as guidelines towards adopting healthier lifestyle, but should not be followed strictly. Bring gradual changes in your diet for long-lasting results,” she advises.