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Controversy surrounds cops’ mass transfer
With high yield of opium in Afghanistan, agencies predict rise in smuggling bids
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extension of voting rights in Virsa Vihar
from schools & colleges
Insurance company told to pay compensation
Rs 61 crore disbursed to local bodies
5 booked for trespass, robbery at akhara
Three arrested with habit-forming drugs
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Controversy surrounds cops’ mass transfer
Amritsar, August 25 Immediately after taking charge as the Commissioner of Police of Amritsar city, Aulakh was confronted with media queries over the alleged mass transfers. A number of police personnel, including SHOs, chowki in-charges, constables and head constables, were shifted almost a day before the outgoing Commissioner of Police, Ram Singh, took over charge
in Jalandhar. The list, however, was released last evening which has raised many eyebrows. It is learnt that a couple of police officials entered in a verbal duel which created an embarrassing situation for the department as soon as the transfer list came out. “I will examine the issue in the days to come. Let me examine these transfers and only after that I would be able to comment on it. Corruption-free policing and curbing the drug abuse will be on my agenda,” said Aulakh. "Nailing the gangsters, snatchers and other anti-social elements will also be my priorities, besides finding out a solution to the traffic chaos in the city which is visited by large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and foreign nationals," the Commissioner of Police added. A number VIPs, VVIPs also visit the city on regular intervals. The outgoing Commissioner of Police, Ram Singh, said, “An unnecessary controversy is being created over the issue of transfers. Only 60-70 transfers were made. The transfers were held up as the city had been put on high alert first due to rumors of Kala Kachha gang and later because of August 15 celebrations. I had received a number of requests from policemen for transfers and it got accumulated over a period of time owing to the said reasons. I had only cleared the pending requests and it is a routine thing,” said Ram Singh. “All the transfers and their reasons are on record and I have nothing to hide. The SHO B-division was transferred on disciplinary grounds as he had colluded with a bootlegger in the area and given a wrong certificate about him to the high-ups. He was later found guilty and, therefore, transferred from the police station after the recommendations of senior police officials,” the outgoing Commissioner of Police said. Verka police station in-charge Jagdish had gone through a bypass surgery and he had requested for the transfer, he said. Similarly, a number of police chowkis were running headless including Hall Gate and Cantonment, he added. Meanwhile, newly appointed Commissioner of Police paid obeisance at the Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple and paid homage at Jalliawala Bagh. Addressing the media, he said it would be really a challenge to work in the commissionerate system. Having joined police services in 1990 as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Aulakh has served as a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in five districts and DIG, Administrative, in Chandigarh before his posting here. The issue
Will look into matter, then comment: New CP I will examine the issue in the days to come. Let me examine these transfers and only after that I would be able to comment on it. Corruption-free policing and curbing the drug abuse will be on my agenda. Nailing the gangsters, snatchers and other anti-social elements will also be my priorities, besides finding out a solution to the traffic chaos in the city which is visited by large numbers of tourists, pilgrims and foreign nationals — Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar unnecessary Controversy created: ram singh An unnecessary controversy is being created over the issue of transfers. Only 60-70 transfers were made. The transfers were held up as the city had been put on high alert first due to rumors of Kala Kachha gang and later because of August 15 celebrations. I had received a number of requests from policemen for transfers and it got accumulated over a period of time owing to the said reasons. I had only cleared the pending requests and it is a routine thing — Ram Singh, outgoing Commissioner of Police
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With high yield of opium in Afghanistan, agencies predict rise in smuggling bids
Amritsar, August 25 If the officials are to be believed, Afghanistan contributes about 90 per cent of the opium's production in the world and the situation has aggravated due to the withdrawal of foreign security forces. Majority of its share is smuggled to the European and Central Asian countries, including Russia and Iran. The infamous Golden Crescent that includes Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan is Asia's principal area of illicit opium production. The mountainous regions of these three countries define
the crescent. In 1991, Afghanistan earned the dubious distinction of being the world's primary opium producer with a yield of 1,782 tonnes which was much more than South-East Asia's Golden Triangle. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime's (UNDOC) risk assessment survey had pointed out that with the withdrawal of foreign security forces by 2014 from Afghanistan, the production of opium was likely to increase. As per the survey, 12 Afghan regions of over 30 were expected to show a rise in opium cultivation. As per the data available the Border Security Force (BSF) has seized over 160 kg this year while it had recovered around 288 kg of heroin last year. Similarly, the SSOC, a counter intelligence wing of the Punjab police, had recovered 43 kg and 65 kg of heroin in 2013 and 2012 respectively. Recently, the SSOC had seized 14 kg of heroin from three persons including Assistant Security Officer of the airport. Involvement of a security official posted at the airport clearly pointed out the smuggling of contraband to the European and Central Asian countries through air route. Besides, the contraband is also smuggled from Nepal land route. A senior police official in SSOC said that necessary instructions had been passed to the wing to keep a close eye on the history-sheeters and notorious smugglers in order to thwart their bids to smuggle the contraband to this side of the border. The officials said as per the intelligence reports around 3,000 tonnes of heroin was smuggled to India through Punjab.
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Finally, GNDH gets possession of building from Red Cross to construct a serai
Amritsar, August 25 The ownership issue of the building was in question earlier as the hospital had approached the district administration for taking charge of the building. Previously, the Red Cross was running a de-addiction centre and a community health centre from the premises of the building in question. The proposed serai would have night stay facility for the attendants of the patients admitted at the hospital. It would be a big help for the poor people who cannot afford to stay at hotels or do not have relatives or friends in the city to help them. GNDH Medical Superintendent Dr KS Sidhu said the facility would help a large number of people who come here accompanying patients. At present, with no such facility in place, the attendants can be seen sleeping in corridors or out in parks. "It would be very good if such a place is created in the hospital. People here come from far-off districts and sometimes even out of the state," said a visitor. A nominal fee would be charged for the facility which would be very less in comparison to private night stay homes, said the official. Even as it is comparatively less troublesome for people to stay outdoors in summers, it becomes very difficult during winters. "The facility was long awaited and we hope that it would come up soon," said Jeevan Singh, the attendant of a patient, adding that if the sarai was set up before the onset of winters it would be a boon for the general public.
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Month-long tour of border areas for troops proves a success
Amritsar, August 25 The exercise, aimed at providing entertainment to the troops stationed at the border areas, was quite a success. A part of the tour, city's popular artist and actor Baljeet Johal shared the experiences she gathered along the borders of the country. "We visited the Wagah, Hussainiwala, Madhopur, Samba and Rajatal posts and training centres of BSF among others. Over 150 troupes of artists from Andhra Pradesh, MP, Punjab Rajasthan, Punjab and other states gave folk performances for the families of the Army and BSF jawans posted on these border regions." The cultural initiative that promised to promote cultural exchange between different regions of the country and also bring together the rich cultural flavours on one platter is an annual event. "Every year, our aim is to travel with our cultural heritage to different places in the country, connecting people and entertaining them with education," said Baljeet. Her journey took her to the border areas in the Kashmir valley as well. "We performed at the Badami Bagh and Sunderbani areas. Kashmiris loved the performances by gatka troupe travelling with us. They were fascinated by the mixed martial arts performances as it was new to them," she said. Another hit was the performances by the Assamese folk dance troupe. "The families of the jawans posted in these areas miss their culture and so probably this event was another way for them to connect and relive their cultural roots. My interaction with the jawans and officers brought out the fact that such cultural activities bring a relief to them from the stress they face everyday while protecting the borders." Amid the rehearsals, nature's challenges and travelling, Baljeet says the tour was memorable as every live show ended with a huge round of applause and appreciation.
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extension of voting rights in Virsa Vihar
Amritsar, August 25 President of the society Kewal Dhaliwal, who is also heading the Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy, Chandigarh, said the elections would be held on that day (August 28) only after unanimity was achieved on the voting pattern. In case, the members decided to amend the constitution then the elections would be done after amending the same. Meanwhile, a section of the Virsa Vihar Society, formed to preserve Punjabi culture and literature, announced to boycott
its ensuing elections and the meeting. Shiromani Kavi Parminderjit, a founder member, alleged that he did not receive any communication to take part in the meeting to be held on August 28. Flanked by some general council members, he demanded the voting right for all 232 members and said at present it was restricted only to the founder members. He said it had also become a tradition that Kewal Dhaliwal had been heading the society without interruption since its inception in 2007. He also levelled serious allegations of misappropriation. Incumbent president Dhaliwal refuted the
allegations and said the entire working of the society was transparent and crystal clear. He said at present there were 225 members in the general council as some had expired. About the procedure of election, he said a 11-member executive was constituted after five members were elected by the executive, three by the general council and equal numbers are appointed by the Deputy Commissioner. The vice-president is elected from general council members and then the president was elected. He said during his
35-year-long association with the Punjabi theatre, he managed to hold various positions. He announced that he was reluctant to contest the elections this time and the society could choose any member among them to head it. Dhaliwal, a 1988 National School Drama pass-out, said he was given the Shiromani Natakkar award by the state government in 1998 for his contribution to the Punjabi theatre and not for a single book. He said Parminderjit had been an executive member for four years and secretary for two years of the society.
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city’s Century old schools
Amritsar, August 25 In order to produce students to match pace with globalization, a smart room and third computer lab has been introduced this year in the school. While a proposal for setting up a mathematics lab was also forwarded to the management. Notably, school alumni contributed funds for the third computer lab, which took the total number of computer units to 80. All three science streams have separate labs. Over 4,000 students were gaining education in the school spread over 4,750 sq yds with about 75 rooms. It has 165 teachers in its faculty. The school has its teams for cricket, tennis, basketball, badminton, volleyball, wrestling, chess, kick boxing and Wu Shu. An imposing school building with infrastructure like open and well-ventilated classrooms, big galleries, well-equipped science and computer laboratories, smart classroom, comfortable desks and furniture, a well-stocked computerised library, the state-of-the-art conference hall, generator sets and submersible pumps for uninterrupted power and water supply are catering to the needs of its students. The school also fulfills its social responsibility by providing quality education to students belonging to the weaker sections of society. Poor and deserving students are provided with uniform, shoes, books, sweaters, besides financial assistance by the school management. A student, Rahul Sharma, who topped in the 10+2 non-medical was given Rs 40,000 by the school management to pursue his engineering degree from NIT, Jalandhar. School Principal Ajay Beri said the prestigious and premier school had been providing quality education to students and also instilling moral values into them. The school was started in 1913 in a rented building in the Model Town area opposite the Rigo Bridge. Afterwards, it was shifted to the Ghee Mandi area for several years and then to its present building inside the Hathi Gate where Baba Parduman Singh, Baba Gurmukh Singh and Baba Harbhajan Singh oversaw the construction work of the present structure of the school. Anant Ram was the founder Principal of the school and after him, Bhagat Ram headed the institute with exemplary devotion and dedication for which he is remembered with reverence till date for his selfless contribution. Its former Principal JP Shoor was elevated to director, schools, in the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi. The institute takes pride in being the only aided-school in the state for having been honoured with two state awards and two national awards. Alumni of the school include RL Bhatia, former Governor of Tamil Nadu and Bihar, AR Kohli, former Governor of Mizoram, Prof Darbari Lal, former Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Varinder Kumar, IPS officer, Prof KK Aggarwal, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University, Sarbjot Singh Behal. Architect, GNDU, Amritsar, Rajeev Wadera, IAS officer, Rishi Kumar, IAS, Rajesh Sharma, PCS, Dr Rajneesh Arora, Vice- Chancellor, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar and Dr Suraj Shoor and other medical professionals in the city, besides others. Former students of the school Richa Aneja and Amit Kumar participated in the Indian Idol reality show of Sony Channel and won acclaim for their performance. The Qawali group of the school presented their mesmerizing performance on Sony Channel in the a programme, ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuchh
Bhi Karega’ and won appreciation and a prize money of Rs 32,000. The same group won Rs 40,000 in another programme, ‘Hindustan Ke Hunarbaj’, of Life OK Channel. The under-16 cricket team of the school won a trophy and prize money of Rs 50,000 in the final match of the Coca Cola Cricket Match-2013 in the state-level finals held at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, this year. To instill the feeling of nationalism and social service among the students, the school has four wings of NCC Infantry, Air, Naval and Artillery and a NSS unit, which prepare them for serving society and the country at large.
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from schools & colleges
Amritsar, August 25 NSS Volunteers of the college assisted other students during the campaign. NSS programme officer Jaspreet Bedi told the students about the importance of nature. Later, HDFC Bank officials distributed sweets among the schoolstudents. Students bring laurels
A collage depicting ‘Turn guns into guitars’ won the second prize for Delhi Public School students at the prestigious ‘International Youth Festival of History and Civics-3rd Reflections 2013’ that concluded at Lucknow recently. Two students of the school Bhavya Gupta and Reet Agnihotri conceived the idea about depicting melting guns that form into guitars and implemented the same through a collage of how music transcends the borders on the topic. Another DPS school student, Madhur Arora, spoke incisively in a group discussion during the event on the theme ‘lliterates should not be given a right to vote’. Media fest
The Department of Mass Communication and Video Production (MCVP) of DAV College, Amritsar, organised one day Intra-Department Media Festival. The MCVP department has been a pioneer in providing media education. Students of the department participated in a host of events like news reading, radio jockey, film-making, limericks, ad-mad. The main motive of the festival was to explore the hidden talent among students and appreciate their hard work. Resham Singh, a student of the BJMC-III semester secured the first position in news reading, Megha Bole got the first position in radio jockey. Mandeep Singh, a student of BJMC-III semester, got the first position in limericks, whereas in the documentary film-making, Nitin Mahajan, Jaswinder Kaur, Lakhan Kumar, Pooja Devgan got the first position. Prof H S Walia, Registrar of the college and Head, Department of Economics, was the chief guest. He honoured the winners of the festival. He congratulated the winners. Students excel
DAV College’s Amandeep Kaur MSc (Computer Science) of 4th semester, made the college proud by bagging the first position in the district and the fourth position in Guru Nanak Dev University, whereas Hitu Sharma and Anubha secured merit positions in the university examinations. Sanpreet Singh and Usha Rani also secured merits positions in the university examinations of BBA II semester and MA Hindi IV semester, respectively.
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Insurance company told to pay compensation
Amritsar, August 25 Holding the insurer deficient in service, it has also been directed to pay Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses. Jaspal Singh, a resident of Bagga Kalan village, had filed a complaint with the forum against India Healthcare Services Private limited and the Bagga Co-operative Agricultural Society, alleging that he was the holder of cashless medical facilities under the Bhai Ghanhya Sehat Sewa Scheme. The complainant said the insurer failed to provide the facilities under the scheme during his hospitalisation and therefore, he had to make the payment of the medical expenses. He said for medical treatment, he went to a private hospital and spent an amount of Rs 1,14,000 during hospitalisation. The insurance company in its reply said they had already made the payment to the hospital and that the complainant was only entitled to Rs 50,000 as per the policy issued to him. However, the forum took into consideration the brochure and booklet of the policy. The forum said as per clause 1.1 of the policy, under the scheme it had been clearly mentioned that this policy shall cover treatment of all medical and surgical cases having minimum 24 hours hospitalisation up to an expenditure of Rs 1.5 lakh per year per family.
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Youth ‘bitten by snake’ at multiplex in city
Amritsar, August 25 He was later rushed to a private Lifeline hospital near the Alpha One mall. “While watching the movie, Amanpreet said something bitten him. When we looked under seats we spotted a snake,” said Jagdeep Singh, the victim’s friend who
went with him to watch the movie. He said Amanpreet went unconscious and was rushed to Lifeline hospital near the mall. Officials of Fun Cinemas accompanied the victim to the hospital. However, Satinderpal Deol, a manager of the cinema, denied that the youngster was bitten by
a snake. “We saw some blood on the youngster’s foot and rushed him to the hospital. We do not know the reason,” he said. Jagdeep Singh said: “Why would they went to the hospital with Amanpreet if he was not bitten by a snake. They are trying to hush up the matter.” He said it was the responsibility of the cinema authorities to ensure that the place was safe. He said eight of them had went to see the movie along with children.
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Rs 61 crore disbursed to local bodies
Jalandhar, August 25 After the abolition of
octroi, the state compensates all urban local bodies by paying the funds equivalent to octroi from the VAT collection. The minister, while giving details of the amount disbursed to local bodies, said the MC Jalandhar had been disbursed an amount of Rs 51.99
crore, MC Nakodar Rs 1.86 crore, Municipal Council Phillaur Rs 1.82
crore, Municipal Council Nurmahal Rs 77.37 lakh, Municipal Council Kartarpur Rs 62.43
lakh, Municipal Council Adampur Rs 55 lakh and Municipal Council Alawalpur Rs 13.14
lakh.
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Numberdar union to hold rally on Aug 30
Amritsar, August 25 President of the union Dilbagh Singh said the government should ensure that only children of numberdars were appointed to the post after their death. He said they had initiated a series of protest rallies on August 14. The union also held a rally in the city to press upon
the government to fulfil their demands.
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5 booked for trespass, robbery at akhara
Amritsar, August 25 He alleged that several of them broke religious portraits at the akhara and stole expensive items from its premises. Among those booked are Sandip Mahajan, Guddu, Rohit Kumar Dubey, Mahant Rajinder Das and a Patwari. The investigating officer said a case under Section 452, 382, 295, 148, 149 of the IPC and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered following an inquiry conducted by senior police officials. No arrest has been made so far, he added.
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Three arrested with habit-forming drugs
Amritsar, August 25 Reports said Surjit Singh was arrested with 1,000 capsules of proscribed drugs while Jai Onkar and Gagan were nabbed with 225 intoxicant capsules. Both the accused have been booked under Section 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act at the Gate Hakima and Sultanwind police station in this connection.
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