Jalandhar, August 17
The Urban Wing of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) today nabbed two youths and recovered heroin worth Rs 2.5 crore from their possession. The drug peddlers were on their way to supply the contraband in the city.

The peddlers have been identified as Gurdit Singh, alias Happy (20), and Sonu (22), both residents of Angarh village in Amritsar. Sonu is part of some DJ group and Happy owns a junk dealer shop.

Kewal Krishan, in charge, CIA staff, said on a tip-off that two Amritsar-based youths were roaming in the city to deliver the consignment of the contraband to their clients, he along with ASI Amarjit Singh erected a naka near Workshop Chowk.

After intercepting the motorcycle-borne youths, the police signalled them to stop for inspection. Instead of stopping, the youths tried to flee, the CIA in charge said, adding that after a few minutes of chase, the duo was arrested by the police. The peddlers were riding a Hero Honda bike (PB02 AY 2398), which belonged to a maternal uncle of one of them.

During the search of the youths, the police recovered 150 gram of heroin from Happy and 100 gram of heroin from Sonu, the police said. Sonu had a criminal past and he was also arrested by the Amritsar police when he along wtih his other accomplices was planning to commit a dacoity, the police said.

During investigation, Happy and Sonu revealed to the police that they had been in this notorious profession for the past nine months and in the recent few months they had supplied a huge quantity of heroin in Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Kartarpur, Inspector Kewal Krishan said, adding that Happy and Sonu had nexus with local drug peddlers and the police would further grill them to nab the local drug peddlers.

A case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against Happy and Sonu at Division No 2 police station.

Residents, who gheraoed the Division No 5 police station in protest against the delay in the arrest of accused ASI, booked in an abetment to suicide case, talk with police officers in Jalandhar on Friday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

Jalandhar, August 17
Alleging delay in nabbing the remaining accused (an ASI) booked in an abetment to suicide case, kin of the deceased woman along with scores of other residents’ today gheraoed the Division No 5 police station and demanding an immediate arrest of the accused.

The deceased’s relatives were also accompanied by president of the Vyopar Sena Ravinder Dhir and its other representatives. Angry residents, while raising slogans against the police, alleged that despite the registration of a case, the police had been intentionally not arresting the remaining accused. They alleged that the police was delaying the arrest just because the accused was an Assistant Sub-Inspector(ASI).

It may be recalled that on July 10, Mamta of Kot Basti Shiekh was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence. The police had also recovered a suicide note near the body in which she had held her daughter-in-law Monica, and Monica’s parents (Ramesh Kumar and Ramesh Kumari) responsible for her death. A case under Section 306 of the IPC was registered against the trio. The police had already arrested Monica and her mother Ramesh Kumari, but Ramesh Kumar was evading arrest.

Sahil, deceased’s son, alleged that the police seemed to be deliberately shielding the accused ASI by not arrest him.

Ravinder Dheer, president of the Vyopar Sena, said they had given a one-week ultimatum to the police for nabbing the accused and if the police failed to do so, they would intensify their agitation against the police.

Jalandhar, August 17
A married woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence at Mohalla Shivrajgarh here on Thursday evening. She was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her residence.

The deceased has been identified as Shikha Dhawan. Her husband Kapil Dhawan has been living in abroad. The police initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.

Though kin of the deceased did not suspect any foul play in her death, they, however, alleged that Shikha seemed to be having some tension, which might have driven her to commit suicide.

Shikha’s uncle Anil Kumar said her husband was living in South Africa and had not visited home for the past three years and even not sending her money.

He alleged that even her in-laws were not supporting the deceased and her two children financially.

Last evening, when she was alone at home, she committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan.

Investigating Officer Kishan Chand said as they had not received any written complaint from the deceased’s relatives, for now, the police had initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC and investigation would proceed further after the arrival of the postmortem report only.

Jalandhar, August 17
A 42-year-old Bihari labourer died after falling from the second floor of an under-construction building here today.

The incident occurred when the labourer, Naginashah, who was fixing the shuttering material got accidentally electrocuted. As per the reports, there were loose wires hanging down the roof and accidentally he came into contact with tham at the site. He fell off with a jerk and got badly injured.

The building, which he was working on, is a shopping complex. The SHO, Bhargo Camp police station, Somnath, said he was waiting for Naginashah’s mother and wife to arrive from Bihar before proceeding with any report.

Asked if he felt that there was any negligence on the part of the contractor, he said, “Had the power been kept off while doing any shuttering work, his precious life could have been saved.”

Jalandhar, August 17
When any one of the thousands of drug addicts in the city hopes to rid himself/herself of the drug demon, the Civil Hospital is the only available place from where one can hope to get effective treatment.

The regional centres have earned ample notoriety and barring some NGOs, no effective medical campaigns have been run in the city to rid victims of the drug menace.

Even as talks about the setting up of a state-of-the-art drug de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital has provided hope to many, the present centre has not been able to attain any outstanding results so far. The present, 30 bedded centre has two wards and it is run by staff comprising only a psychiatrist, staff nurse and sweeper.

So for a centre with 12 sanctioned posts, currently only three work. The sanctioned posts at the centre, however, are four staff nurses, four ward attendants, two safai sewaks and two security constables.

When The Tribune visited the centre, a total of nine patients were found admitted to it. Enquiries from the staff revealed that the centre isn’t only short of staff nurses, but also the one staff nurse at the centre flits between the drug de-addiction centre and the neighbouring TB Ward.

The centre itself is also in a shambles. With its repairs pending for the past many years, the patients are housed in an exceedingly damp building. Both staff and patients complained that the building dripped during heavy rains. Some of the window glasses of the centre are also broken. The ward and toilets are also in a total disarray.

The mother of one of the patients housed at the ward said, “We have asked them to clean the ward many times, but they do not listen. Now I plan to ask them to hand me the broom, because they won’t clean it themselves.”

Medicines

Most of the patients at the centre have to buy medicines from outside, because they are not available at the Civil Hospital. While patients said the preliminary treatment medicines like painkillers, etc, were available at the Civil Hospital free of cost, but for additional medicines, like costly injections, etc, they were being told to buy from outside.

Funds

The centre has not been receiving the mandatory funds from the Red Cross for the past more than five years. The budget for both medicines and repairs is said to be suffering due to that.

Sunny side

While the patients complain that the ward is in bad state, the brighter side is that all patients unanimously say they are very happy with the treatment they are receiving. There were patients from villages and other districts (like Amritsar), who said they had been dissatisfied with other centres, but were seeing rapid improvement in their patients’ state because of the effective treatment here.

Grappling with a bustling OPD, Dr Sanjay, the psychiatrist at the centre, said he got 45 to 50 (psychiatric) patients per day, of which 25 to 30 percent were addicts. Dr Sanjay said the patients were made to indulge regularly in prayer sessions, yoga, group therapy and entertainment sessions.

Talking about the reason why repairs have not been carried out at the centre, Dr Sanjay said the issue was being looked into and the upcoming centre would also bring a permanent solution to the problem.”

Jalandhar, August 17
A minor scuffle between an auto-rickshaw driver and passengers led to traffic chaos on the busy Jalandhar-Amritsar GT Road near the local DAV College on Friday afternoon.

The incident, which lasted just 10 minutes, left the commuters in a tizzy. The auto-rickshaws blocked the road which led to around half-an-hour-long traffic jam on the busy stretch.

No sooner the scuffle started, drivers of the auto-rickshaw union gathered at the site to lodge a protest. The situation came under control only after the police party from Police Division Number 1 reached the spot.

SHO Balbir Singh said it was a minor scuffle which led to the chaos. “Later a compromise was struck between the passenger and the auto-rickshaw driver”, he added.

The students moving out of the educational institutions --- DAV College, Mehr Chand Polytechnic College, Mehr Chand ITI and DAV Ayurvedic College --- located on this stretch were the most affected.

Those commuting through the DAV College railway over bridge were struck in the jam.

Jalandhar, August 17
NCC cadets selected among the probables for the Thal Sena Camp (TSC) would undergo a special shooting training at the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) firing range in August end.

The cadets are participating in the combined Annual Training Camp-I (ATC) of the 21 Punjab Battalion, NCC, Kapurthala, which would conclude tomorrow.

The 10-day-long camp started on August 9 at 19 Dogra ground in Jalandhar Cantonment.

Lt-Col Raobinder Singh, Deputy Camp Commandant, said the five-day-long training at PAP would begin from August 25, aimed at equipping the cadets with better firing tips, handling of weapons for the TSC selection at Ropar.

“Today we selected a team of 30 cadets of juniors and seniors (boys and girls) for the upcoming camp,” he added.

The Ropar NCC Camp would begin on September 3 in which, cadets from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh would participate. “The cadets from NCC directorate of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh would compete in inter-group competitions out of which a final team of the cadets would be sent to Delhi for the TSC in the month of October”, said Col Raobinder.

“As the inter-group competition at NCC camp would witness a tough competition from the fellow cadets especially in the firing, we have decided to hold an additional training at the PAP,” he added.

As many as 450 NCC cadets from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara and Kapurthala participated in this camp during which, the probable cadets were selected on the basis of their performance in obstacle course, firing competition and written exam on different issues. “As many as 52 cadets appeared for the selection of the TSC camp, out of which 30 were selected,” he added.

Col Raobinder said since the primary aim of such camps was to motivate the youth towards the armed forces, they were also shown motivational and informative movies. “At the same time, lectures were also held to make the cadets aware about the burning issues of the society,” he maintained.

Jalandhar, August 17
It is the residents who are forced to bear the brunt of the non-cooperation of the Municipal Corporation (MC) contractors, who have almost refused to fill in any tenders for the installation of tubewells owing to non-payment of pending dues.

Even as the officials have been since long inviting bids from the contractors for the installation of 28 tubewells across the city, there has been no response from the city-based contractors. Only four bids were received for colonies, including Guru Amar Dass Nagar and Globe Colony, recently, and that too from a lone contractor of Amritsar, even as work for 32 sites was listed through e-tendering.

In nine of the 28 cases, the tubewells had gone dry and the residents and councillors concerned had been demanding their replacement. These included those at Atwal House Colony, Mata Rani Chowk in Model House, Basti Danishmandan, Guru Nanak Pura, New Ashok Nagar, Sitla Mandir, Old Kotwali, Islamganj Mohalla and Model Town, near Niku Park.

The remaining 19 sites for which there has been no response are new sites, including Defence Colony, near ROB, Gobindgarh Mohalla, Mota Singh Nagar, Khurla Kingra, Shivaji Nagar and Ajit Nagar. In all such cases, MC officials have plans to re-invite tenders.

Sources in the MC revealed that the contractors for tubewell installation had to pay advance payment towards those selling pipes and other stuff as such material was not available on credit unlike the case in other kinds of works. The cost of installation of a tubewell ranged between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 lakh and the contractors were claiming that they were already reeling under problems due to delayed payments from the MC.

The SE (O&M), PS Jaggi, said, “The reason of course is pending dues owing to which none of the contractor has responded. We had to convince an Amritsar-based contractor to pitch in and at least fill up tenders for four locations.”

Jalandhar, August 17
Even as the general social profile of the city is quite conservative type, the cases of live-in relationships, unknown here till recently, seem to have been on the rise.

Further, such relations have not just remained confined to the four walls, which could be a case in older times, the couples have rather started making open admission on the issue before various authorities. Quite a few cases of the sort have come into light before the administration, women cell as well as local NGOs, of course owing to complications after the live-in partners chose to split.

A middle-aged live-in couple putting up at Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar here for the past decade recently separated, following which the 45-year-old woman has submitted her application before SDM-II Isha Kalia seeking maintenance cost from her live-in partner.

Both the individuals came along after their spouses passed away. The woman had two children from her first marriage, while the man had three. The twosome even had a child from their new relation. The major contention of the woman now is that while her live-in partner working in a bank was paying her some amount to make her both ends meet, she is now left with no source of income other than the measly amount of Rs 250 a month as widow pension. Thus, she has been asking for a maintenance cost.

The SDM has even heard her live-in partner, but she is yet to issue any guidelines on the matter. “Though the Supreme Court has recently passed any orders on the matter, I would first want to check law points on the issue and then decide on the matter. Most likely I intend to send them to the women police cel,l” she replied.

The women police cell has interestingly also received a couple of such complaints. Inspector Parveen Kumari shared one such episode that occurred recently. “A young live-in couple appeared before us recently. Initially it was the girl who approached us on the matter claiming that she had conceived and she was pressing her live-in partner to marry her to which he was not agreeing. I organised a meeting of the couple and convinced them to marry for their good at which they agreed after quite a few sittings. They got married just a few months back,” the inspector narrated the episode without divulging any details.

Members of Ashi, a local NGO counselling separated couples, too claim that they have come across a few cases of live-in relationship in the recent times. “We got a complaint from a girl that she was not aware that her live-in partner was already married. She had separated and wanted maintenance cost from him. When we checked up, the man was happily wedded and had two children. We called the man who to our surprise claimed that he wanted to keep his wife as well as his live-in partner.

“The case is still on with us and they are coming up for counselling,” Parminder Beri, a socialite and NGO member said.

Jalandhar, August 17
Members of the coordination committee of the various Municipal Corporation Employees’ Unions today held a dharna in front of the entrance of the office, pulling down the shutter of the main gate for over an hour.

The employees of the MC who were inside at that time had to duck down and come out through the other gate which too remained partially closed. Most visitors who came to the complex for their respective works went off seeing the demonstration.

The union members demanded regularisation of nearly 280 gardeners. Pawan Agnihotri, chairman of the committee, said they were being repeatedly given assurances by the Local Bodies Minister, Mayor and other officials, but to no avail.