Amritsar, January 27
A couple of days after the body of a youth was found buried inside a residence in Sandhu Colony on the Majitha road, the city police in the presence of Naib Tehsildar Gurbinder Singh and forensic experts exhumed the body and sent it for the post-mortem examination.

Initial reports suggested that the deceased was in his twenties.

“We are yet to receive the autopsy report,” said Joga Singh, SHO, Sadar police station, said the police had initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC for the time being.

Importantly, the building from where the body was recovered was lying closed for the past six months.

Pawan Kumar Joshi, a resident of Mahan Singh Gate and a deed writer, had bought the property about a year ago.

It has been found that a construction contractor who was earlier entrusted with the renovation work had stopped worked abruptly. The police is investigating his role too in the case.

Earlier, a man also reached the spot searching for his son who had gone missing in October last year. But later it was found the body was not of his son’s.

Amritsar, January 27
The economic census, underway in Punjab, has overburdened teachers of government schools affecting studies of students before their crucial final examinations.

Though teachers have been asked to perform the census duty after school hours (after 3.20 pm), the students claim that teachers, who have a deadline to meet regarding the census, are unable to provide quality time to their studies.

A Class XI student of a government school says teachers are not giving enough attention to revise the syllabus before their final exams which are anticipated to begin from March 1. She adds these days the teachers are preoccupied with some paper work (regarding the census), instead of teaching.

On the condition of anonymity, a teacher says the government has appointed a majority of teachers as numerators and supervisors to conduct the census. He says they are being paid Rs 12,000 and above per person for the job. The teachers, who were assigned the job in January, have been directed to finish the census by February 16, he adds.

He says in many cases they have to travel to remote parts of the city and even villages to perform the census.

Teachers maintain that this additional duty during the crucial exam time is harmful to students’ future.

The local chapter of the Government Teachers Union (GTU) in a communiqué to Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, also the chairman of the District Education Committee, has urged the government to offer this job of carrying out the economic census to the unemployed educated youths.

Mangal Singh, president, GTU, Amritsar, says on the one hand, the government has initiated various programmes, including baseline tests to raise education standards in schools, on the other it is burdening teachers with non-education work. “Carrying out census duty after school hours exhausts teachers completely. They could not even prepare for next day’s study,” he adds.

Exam time Ahead of final exams, students feel the heat. Students say teachers are preoccupied with some paperwork regarding the census Teachers get totally exhausted after school hours and census duty

Amritsar, January 27
At a time when an NGO, Himmat, claimed to have tracked as many as 40 eve-teasing cases during one month, the police is yet to initiate any step in this direction.

Even as the NGO which has launched a private helpline number (9888754522), the police authorities are yet to launch any dedicated helpline number to curb instances of eve-teasing and molestation. In the past week, the city police registered four cases of molestation but didn’t report any case of eve-teasing.

It is believed that the absence of a dedicated helpline and lack of awareness among girls desist them from filing complaints on eve-teasing with the police.

The police officials said girls could report these incidents to the women cell besides dialing 100.

The girls said there should be a dedicated helpline so that the identity of the victims remained undisclosed. Most of the women and girls prefer not to register their complaints as it usually invites restrictions upon them by their family members.

Manish Nagi, a city resident, “Usually, girls don’t inform their family members about these incidents. The police and women cell should be more active and they should intensify patrolling at various vulnerable points in the city,” she said.

Amrik Singh Pawar, ADCP (City), said the PCR teams have been stationed outside schools and colleges, especially educational institutes for girls, to curb such instances.

“A dedicated mobile number would soon be launched in this regard,” said Pawar.

Mohit, an advocate and president of ‘Himmat’, said they had been receiving more and more complaints on eve-teasing which the solved with the help of the police.

The organisation motivated girls to report these incidents by holding seminars and awareness programmes at schools and colleges.

No lessons learnt
Even as the NGO which has launched a private helpline number (9888754522), the police authorities are yet to launch any dedicated helpline number to curb instances of eve-teasing and molestation

Amritsar, January 27
The police arrested four persons for the illegal sale of alcohol.

Lovepreet Singh of Mallian village, Charanjit Singh of Patti Behiniwal, Shubhkarman of Kashmiri Nagar, Jandiala, and Shagandeep Singh of Devidaspura village were arrested. Two more accused, identified as Sandeep Singh of Rampura and Sarabjit Singh of Manawala Khurd, escaped.

The police conducted a raid near Sakatari Bagh School after getting a tip-off.

It is learnt that the accused had made a gang and used to bring tankers of alcohol directly from distilleries to sell it to their customers.

The police also recovered Rs 65000 from them.

A case under Section 392 of the IPC has been registered in this connection. 

Amritsar, January 27
Members of the SPCA rescued four eagles, which got stuck in Chinese string, from various parts of the city in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, a crow which got entangled in the string at Medical Enclave could not be saved, said Vineet Randhawa, a SPCA member. An eagle was rescued from a top of a tree at the same locality, she said.

SPCA Inspector Ashok Joshi said two more eagles entangled in the string were rescued from Company garden and Airport road. He said the Animal Husbandry Department had been informed so that the birds could be provided medical aid. Two of the birds sustained serious injuries.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal had written to Chief Secretary, Punjab (Home and Law departments) to enact a suitable rule to act against those buying, selling and storing the string.

Amritsar, January 27
A true blue Punjabi who is a recognised face in Telegu and Tamil film industry, Bhanu Mehra is now ready to come home.

The leading actress in upcoming Punjabi film ‘Pher Mamla Gadbad Gadbad’, starring opposite actor-singer Roshan Prince, Bhanu loves being a Punjabi.

The Amritsar bred girl who took the road down South to enter Bollywood feels Punjabi cinema is like “home”.

“It’s a totally different experience, where language is not an issue. Also, home is much closer,” says Bhanu.

In city, to visit her parents and enjoying a break from work, Bhanu talks about her big break in Tollywood with film Varudu, signing a Bollywood film subsequently and debuting with Pollywood.

“My first film was Telegu, opposite Allu Arjun and with a big banner. So, things came after some hard work. The language was a disadvantage, but it was overwhelming as I had big names of South film industry surrounding me,” she says.

Being a part of the larger than life Tollywood, her Bollywood entry was quite subtle. “My first Hindi film is ‘Boys Toh Boys Hain’ with newcomer Anshuman Jha and Rajpal Yadav and it will release by the end of 2013. Apart from that, I am reading a couple of scripts, but I am in no hurry to sign films,” she says.

As for her Punjabi film, she says it’s nothing like Tollywood masala or Bollywood jhatkas. “It’s a very normal film, full of humour and romance where I play a very normal character. I believe it’s good time to enter Punjabi film industry as it has hit a purple patch.

Her struggle and experience with three different film industries has taught her well. “As a fresher, one has to be quite smart to survive in any film industry. People are ready to take advantage and cheat, if you are not quick on your facts. There are no friends in the industry, so keeping it professional works for me,” she says. Another thing that has kept her going strong is her support system. “I have always kept my family close. My parents are quite involved with my work and whenever I get time I visit Amritsar. I always have a good time in Amritsar, as it is quite peaceful and relaxing as against the 24X7 work schedules in Mumbai.”

Bhanu, who has other passions like photography and animals, has set some more goals for herself. “I love spending time with animals and I’d love to do something for them.” 

Amritsar, January 27
The state government felicitated DAV International School, Amritsar, principal Anjana Gupta and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, principal Mandeep Kaur on the occasion of Republic Day.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a state-level function at Guru Nanak Stadium yesterday handed over plaques and citations to the heads of both the institutes. They were felicitated for their contribution in the field of education.

During her principalship, Gupta has raised the strength of students to 5,000 while students have won laurels at international, national and state-level competitions in education and sports. Students of the medical stream emerged topper in CBSE XII exams by securing 97.4 per cent marks in the recently concluded session. The school had received the prestigious International School Award (ISA) for the sessions 2006-09 and 2010-2013. The school is also the winner of coveted National School Sanitation Award - 2012 instituted by Human Resource Development Ministry, Government of India.

Amritsar, January 27
The district consumer disputes redressal forum has asked a private airline company to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 along with litigation expenses of Rs 2,000 to a local resident, who had to wait for hours, without any intimation that flights had been rescheduled.

Resident Gurbachan Kaur had complained to the forum that she was forced to wait for 10 hours at Doha Airport as her flight was rescheduled. She alleged that no arrangements were made by the authorities concerned.

She alleged that her family members, who were waiting at the airport, were also harassed as they too did not had any information about the rescheduling of flight.

The Qatar Airways, on the other hand, reasoned that tickets were booked six months prior to the scheduled date and it had rescheduled flight atleast four months before the day. The airlines reasoned that the changes made were accessible to the booking agency.

It stated that rescheduling was done well in advance with the reasons mentioned and the complainant or her relatives could have enquired about the flight status which was available with all the agents’. It was the duty of the travel agents to inform the complainant about the rescheduling of her flight, it said.

The forum, on the other hand, observed that complainant was a senior citizen and as the contact number of the passenger was available on the ticket, it was necessary that she was informed about the rescheduling of the flight.

Advocate Naveen Puri, counsel for the complainant said that forum had considering the age of her client and the fact that she was made to wait in December last year when temperature is very low, the airlines was at fault in not arranging for her comfortable stay and informing her about the change in timing.

Deficiency in service Resident Gurbachan Kaur had complained to the forum that she was forced to wait for 10 hours at Doha Airport as her flight was rescheduled. Qatar Airways was told to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 along with litigation expenses of Rs 2,000

Amritsar, January 27
A day after the Indians celebrated their 64th Republic Day, members of the All-India Coordination Committee of the Democratic Rights Organisation (DRO), which held a two-day meeting at Amritsar expressed concern over the rise in cases of state repression against homegrown movements.

Talking to mediapersons after attending the two-day meet, DRO co-ordinator Asish Gupta said, "Indian Government has suppressed movements with the help of the Army and repressive policies." He said people associated with movements like naxalism in central and eastern parts of the country and Jammu and Kashmir had some issues and demands which should be looked in a democratic way.

He said, "People have right to express their displeasure. In case, they are not being allowed to air their views democratically, then they could wage the Armed struggle."

Dr Parminder Singh, a DRO member, urged the union government to implement its recommendations relating to law against violence on women. He said they were against the acquisition of farm land for corporate houses in Punjab.

He said the coordination committee of the DRO had passed several resolutions, including commutation of death sentence of Afzal Guru, end of military offence against the tribals, end to corporate plunder of natural resources, repeal of laws like the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), punishment for perpetrators of mass grave in Jammu and Kashmir.

The other resolutions were solving issues like abolition of death penalty, release of political prisoners unconditionally, to send fact-finding mission to Jammu and Kashmir.

Amritsar, January 27
Taking up a noble cause, seven NGOs and community help groups are spreading awareness against social issues at the Handicrafts and Handloom exhibition organised by the Ministry of Textiles at Ranjit Avenue grounds.

The exhibition has been going on for the past 10 days.

Among 150-odd handicrafts and handloom stalls invited from across the country under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, 50 stalls with public service messages and motivation also find a space at the event.

These seven NGOs work towards a separate cause.

Capturing as much audience as they can towards social issues like AIDS awareness, water conservation, tuberculosis awareness and healthy living, these organisations have got a mixed response.

"It's a good thing that organisations working voluntarily towards social causes are given some space at such high footfall events. While the business is as usual, there are many who would lend their ears and support to social issues as well," shared Dipak Babbar from Mission Aghaaz, a NGO working for environment. "We have a stall on environment awareness with emphasis to save the five elements of life. And the response has been great," he said.

From distributing pamphlets to giving out facts, these stalls have caught decent attention at a lifestyle event.

"Being a part of a lifestyle event makes us fill in the gaps we otherwise miss out during field work," shared Rajiv Chaudhary, district coordinator of Project Akshay by Voluntary Health Association of India. The Delhi-based NGO works to spread tuberculosis awareness and runs health camps in 10 districts of Punjab.

"We have a lot of audience at such exhibitions and trade fairs, so it becomes easy to educate and make aware. We are implementing our programme on TB by providing guidance about the disease and treatment facilities provided by the government since tuberculosis has been given the status of notifiable disease now," he said.

Then there is the Bharat Vikas Parishad, whish is trying to make the world a bit greener with their efforts. "We have been distributing plants to all the visitors at the exhibition since its opening. We are also educating people about water conservation and pollution control at various levels," said Rameshwar Dutt Sharma, president, Bharat Vikas Parishad. He felt that the not many people stop and care to think about such issues. "It's not that people are not interested, but lack of education and awareness tools makes them indifferent. If more social issues are given spotlight at various lifestyle events, catching attention would not be a problem," he said.

Other organisations sharing a platform at the exhibition are Punjab State AIDS Control Society, Mata Charan Kaur Educational Society, Lok Kalyan Smiti and Swami Vivekanand Mission, which is doing their bit for AIDS awareness.

Amrisar, January 27
Two persons snatched a purse from a woman when she was going to a marriage palace.

Jagdish Singh, a resident of Kot Atma Ram, said his daughter Rajwinder Kaur was going to a marriage palace when two unidentified accused snatched her purse containing Rs 32,000 cash, gold ornaments and a mobile phone.

The police has registered a case under Sections 382 and 34 of the IPC in this regard.