Amritsar, October 9
Launching a crusade against illegal plying of auto-rickshaws in the city, the local police has devised a multipronged strategy to deal with the problem.

Despite facing space crunch, the police has seized around 260 autos during the past three days. These autos were without mandatory documentation and had outlived their span of 15 years, thereby violating the Motor Vehicles Act and risking the lives of passengers.

District transport authorities said there were 9,342 officially registered diesel-driven autos. In reply to an RTI inquiry, the transport authorities admitted to having given permits to around 526 more LPG autos.

According to the transport norms, auto-rickshaws can operate within the municipal limits of the district only, where these are registered.

But the District Transport Officer is well aware of the fact that over 25,000 other autos have been plying on the city roads in an illegal manner. There must be around 15,000 autos plying within the commissionerate limit and nearly 10,000 autos are ferrying passengers on the Attari-Wagah, Ajnala and the nearby rural belt routes. To maximise their margins, they pack their vehicles, carrying as much as 14 persons.

The Transport Department can impose a fine of Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 for violating the permit norm. Autos registered with the neighbouring districts also ply illegally to make things bad to worse. A grave situation arises if any such auto is involved in a mishap. In that case, the insurance company cannot be held legally bound to compensate.

Otherwise, ferrying eight to 10 persons in an auto-rickshaw is a violation of the norms as overloading is a punishable crime. It has been noticed that many avoidable accidents take place because of overloading. The law limits the number of passengers in an auto-rickshaw from three to four, yet up to six could be “acceptable”.

District Transport Officer Lovejeet Kaur had admitted that barring 526 autos, all were running illegally. Generally overloaded, these auto-rickshaws seldom comply with traffic norms and they are often driven by underage drivers. To maximise their profits, a section of them use kerosene as fuel, which adds to environmental pollution in the city.

ADCP, Traffic, Dhruman Nimbale, said the anti-auto move had been taken keeping in view the safety of the passengers and to curtail the petty crime graph.

“It was observed that the outstation auto drivers, if involved in any crime like robbing tourists, could never be traced because of lack of information about their antecedents. They generally ply near the railway station or the bus stand. Secondly, with little check on them, these overloaded autos are generally driven by inexperienced drivers who do not have a driving licence. We have impounded 261 autos in this drive that was launched a couple of days ago and it will be a continuing process. At present, we are targeting those autos, which are being run within the municipal limits. In the second phase, we will impound those autos that operate on the outskirts,” he said. 

Amritsar, October 9
After failing to get any favourable response from the government, the agitating students of Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital today started a chain hunger strike outside Government Medical College here.

They had been protesting since September 27 and despite assurance by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi.

Students of Chintpurni Medical College sit during the chain hunger strike in Amritsar on Thursday. Tribune photo

Harsh Tikku and Divyajot Kaur today sat on the hunger strike. The students had threatened to intensify their agitation as no one from the government’s side was paying any heed to their demand of shifting them to other recognised college following de-recognition of Chintpurni Medical College by the Medical Council of India.

The students claimed that the Vice-Chancellor of the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences had written to the government for shifting the students to recognised colleges. They claimed that Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi, who also holds the portfolio of Medical Education and Research, was not acceding to their demand under the influence of Swarn Salaria, BJP leader and chairman of the management of Chintpurni Medical College. They raised slogans against both the BJP leaders and demanded immediate shifting of the medical students to other college.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla, who had extended the support to the students yesterday, has shot a letter to the CM and pointed out that the government should not waste even a single day and shift them. She said how a medical institute with requisite staff and infrastructure could ever produce a good doctor. She said, “As per the students a professor of anatomy is teaching ENT while a teacher of forensic is teaching some other subject. In the name of hospital, this medical college had nothing to show to the Medical Council of India which ultimately rejected its recognition.”

The PCMS Specialist Doctors’ Association today meet the students extended their support. They demanded that the government should form a committee to probe why the Chintpurni Medical College failed to obtain recognition and these students be shifted to other recognised medical college so that their future could be saved. The association said they would meet the CM and health minister in this regard.

Amritsar, October 9
The birth anniversary of fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das ji, who is also the founder of Amritsar, was celebrated with great enthusiasm and religious fervour here today.

Thousands of devotees paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and also took a holy dip in the ‘sarovar’ on the occasion.

The SGPC put up ‘jalau’ (show of splendour), exhibiting rare artefacts at the sanctum sanctorum of the holy shrine, Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai Sahib. A Kirtan Darbar was also organised at Gurdwara Manji Sahib. SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar felicitated school and college students who excelled in various competitions like quiz and painting, which were held to mark the occasion.

The holy shrine witnessed spectacular fireworks in the evening. Meanwhile, the Gurpurb was also celebrated at the Khalsa College Gurdwara by the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC). Students of Khalsa College Engineering and Technology (KCET) performed a ‘kirtan’ following the Bhog of Akhand Path while teachers shed light on the life, philosophy and directives of Guru Ram Das. Students recited the Gurbani and shabad in praise of Guru Ram Das who founded Amritsar, then also known as Chak Ramdaspur.

KCGC additional honourary secretary Swinder Singh Kathunangal and joint secretary (religious affairs) Sukhdev Singh Abdal were also present on this occasion.

Sikh History Library in-charge Inderjit Singh Gagoani gave an account of the times and teachings of the Guru. KCGC secretaries, including SS Mannan, members SS Chhina, GS Bhatti, principal Jagdish Singh, Khalsa College principal Dr Mehal Singh, Khalsa College of Education principal Dr JS Dhillon, Khalsa College for Women principal Dr Sukhbir Kaur Mahal, KCET principal Dr Amarpal Singh and others were present on the occasion.

Amritsar, October 9
Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, lifted the A division overall championship trophy while RK Arya College, SBS Nagar, Nawanshahr, grabbed the B division overall championship trophy in the D-Zone Youth Festival concluded on the GNDU campus here today.

The festival was being held at Dasmesh Auditorium of the university. The D-zone comprised of colleges of Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts.

In the A-division, Hindu Kanya College, Kapurthala, remained runners-up and Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Sultanpur Lodhi, finished at the third position.

In the B division, MLU DAV College, Phagwara, got the second position and SD College for Women, Sultanpur Lodhi, bagged the third position.

Dr Ketan Patil, SP, City-II, Amritsar, was the chief guest on the valedictory function.

Councillor Damandeep Singh was the guest of honour on the occasion.

While addressing the student artists, Dr Ketan Patil said the cultural activities were an important part of a students’ life and all students should participate in cultural festivals for the development of their overall personality development. — TNS

Amritsar, October 9
Even after elapsing of 10 days, the city police are yet to make any breakthrough in the sensational murder of a gangster named Sanjiv Nayyar, alias Babba.

Babba was shot dead in the intervening night of September 28-29 when he was returning home after attending a marriage function of a relative. The police have termed the killing as gang war and suspected the involvement of Gurdaspur based gangster in the case.

However, the suspect, who enjoys shelter of local political big wigs, was still out of reach. Political shelter is being termed as the reason behind delay in his arrest.

However, the police officials refuted this and said that the investigations were under progress and there is no development in the case so far.

“There is no development in the case as the matter was still under investigation. Whosoever had perpetrated the crime would be behind bar,” said Balkar Singh, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (North).

Babba was serving life imprisonment for killing another gangster Raju Chikna belonging to Jagtar Boxer gang. He had come out of the jail on parole when he was gunned down by unidentified armed assailants.

Amritsar, October 9
While alleging police inaction, two rape victims, including a minor, appeared before the National Scheduled Caste Commission, seeking its intervention. Rajkumar Verka, Vice-Chairman of the commission, had summoned the SSP, Amritsar rural, and the SSP, Tarn Taran, in this connection.

A resident of Hothia Karnolia village in Ajnala today alleged that she was gang-raped by unidentified persons in a private hospital at the behest of her mother-in-law while in another incident, a Dalit girl belonging to the Patti area in Tarn Taran, was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by several youths of the area.

Perturbed over the alleged illicit relations of her husband and his sister-in-law (bhabhi), a married woman of Hothia Karnolia village attempted suicide by consuming some poisonous substance on October 5. She was admitted to a private hospital where she survived. However, the victim alleged that though she was fine after treatment, the hospital staff gave around six injections to her, following which she fell unconscious. She alleged that in the night, when she regained consciousness, she found eight unidentified persons surrounding her. She alleged that a day before the incident, her mother-in-law had met the doctor of the hospital.

Verka immediately directed the police authorities to form a medical board and get the medical examination of the victim conducted. He asked the SSP (Rural), Jasdeep Singh, to investigate the matter and get the accused booked in the case.

Meanwhile, a minor Dalit girl, belonging to Patti, alleged that several youths of the same area abducted her from her home and later gang-raped her after taking her at a secluded place in the fields. Though the police has registered a case in this regard, no arrest has been made so far, she alleged.

Verka directed the SP, Baljit Singh, who appeared on behalf of the SSP, Tarn Taran, Manmohan Kumar Sharma, to arrest the accused within three days and submit a report with the commission. 

Amritsar, October 9
Tickling the funny bone with his certified situational comedy, actor and MP from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, visited the city with the star cast of his upcoming film, ‘Police in Pollywood’. The movie is the directorial venture of Sunita Dhir, who is a well-known Punjabi actor. Dheer accompanied by the lead pair of the film, Anuj Sachdeva and Mani Kapoor, visited the Golden Temple and later interacted with fans.

The film is a light, situational comedy, said Dheer. Excited and nervous at donning the director’s cap for the first time on the big screen, Dheer said, “The film revolves around the story of two police officers played by Mann and Raj Brar, who are given the responsibility of making a Punjabi film. The policemen do not know the ABC of film-making, obviously, which makes for the most entertaining parts of the film.”

Releasing this Friday, it also stars singer Sardool Sikandar. As for Mann, whose political career has put his acting career on the backseat, he said that he enjoyed his time in front of the camera after a long time. “I play a police officer, who is completely unprofessional when it comes to film-making. The comedy happens when you are assigned to achieve something you don’t have a clue about.”

Content with his real-life role of an MP, Mann said he would limit his work as an actor, and not give it up fully. “I’ll probably limit my work to one or two films a year as my commitment in the Parliament take most of my time.”

The film is made on a small budget and shot mostly in Chandigarh. Dheer, who has earlier directed TV serials and documentaries, is positive that the film will generate a good response. “I have been in the industry for three decades and I have a knack of what works and what doesn’t. A lot of comedy films, which stray from the central plot or characters, do not work. I have made sure that my film has true characters and a story the audience can relate with. 

Amritsar, October 9
Tarn Taran-based athlete Mandeep Kaur today returned to a rousing reception after winning the gold medal at Incheon Asian Games in 400x4 m relay race.

Her parents along with residents of her native village, Cheema Khurd, had converged at the railway station to greet her. As soon as she alighted from the train, she was garlanded while her friends and well-wishers danced on the dhol beats. Talking to mediapersons, Mandeep Kaur said it was a great feeling to have made a spectacular comeback after fighting the dope taint in her career sometime back. She said she had now set her eyes on winning a gold medal in the forthcoming Olympics. “I have worked hard to clinch the gold in Asian Games and intend to continue with the same determination in the run-up to the Olympics,” she added. On reaching the village, she was accorded a warm welcome by the village residents. Sarpanch Malkiat Singh and her coach, Baljinder Singh, expressed their happiness over her achievement.

Mandeep started her career when she was in Class VII at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Kairon. She got coaching under the guidance of Baljinder Singh. She will soon be felicitated at her school in Kairon. Incidentally, this is not her first victory at the international arena. She had won the gold medal in Commonwealth Games 2010 as also in Asian Games in 2006 and 2010 in the 400x4 m relay race. 

Amritsar, October 9
An activist of Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) alleged that he was thrashed and humiliated by his own brother’s family with whom he had some property dispute.

On his complaint submitted with the Division B police station, a case under Sections 295 and 506 of the IPC has been registered against his elder brother Hapal Singh, his wife Balwinder Kaur and son Jugraj Singh.

Randhawa, deputy chief of the PHRO, alleged that Jugraj Singh had virtually pulled his beard at the Division B police station in the presence of duty officers on October 7.

He told that his religious feeling were hurt while ASI Balwinder Singh who was present then had then refused to acknowledge it and did not initiate any action against Jugraj Singh.

Randhawa told that he had written a letter to the Commissioner of Police and the DGP, Punjab, demanding to register FIR against Jugraj Singh and subsequent action against the police officials during whose presence Jugraj Singh had committed this unpardonable act.

“I had obtained stay orders of the court. Despite that, Harpal and his family members had trespassed on October 6, abused and threatened me. I had lodged a complaint with the Division B police station in this connection. The next day, Harpal Singh and his family members were to come at the police station, but instead his son Jugraj Singh came. When we were sitting alongside ASI Balwinder Singh and a head constable, Jugraj Singh started using foul language against me. When I objected to it, he became violent and pulled my beard in the melee. Earlier, the police didn’t entertained my complaint but later they had to,” he claimed.

ASI Balwinder Singh confirmed that a case has been registered against Harpal and his family members but maintained that both the parties were engaged in verbal dual and later this altercation became ugly after they came to blows in the police station only.

Amritsar, October 9
The city police today claimed to have arrested two persons in connection with kidnapping of a driver of a truck laden with 437 sacks of paddy procured from Jandiala Grain Market around five days ago.

The driver was rescued by a police team while the accused had fled the scene seeing the policemen coming towards them on Amritsar-Batala Bypass Road.

The police had booked around 10 unidentified persons in the case out of which eight persons have been identified so far while two of them were arrested. Those arrested were identified as Jarnail Singh and Pavitar Singh, both residents of Talwandi Dasaundha Singh village in Amritsar rural area. Among others booked, including Gagan, Prince, Lalli and Sonu of Verka area besides Simu and Laddi of Ghuman area in Gurdaspur.

Sub inspector Puran Singh, in charge of the Verka police station, said as per the investigations so far it has come to light that Jarnail Singh, Pavitar Singh, Simu and Ladddi along with another unidentified person had kidnapped the driver identified as Sadhu Singh of Sangrur district while he was going to a Rice Mill in Dhuri when the five persons on two bikes intercepted his truck between Tagra and Khilchian area. They thrashed him up, tied up his limbs and gagged him before throwing him in the truck. The robbers then drove the truck through villages to reach the Amritsar-Batala Bypass.

He was rescued after a night patrolling party got suspicious of the accused persons who were unloading the sacks. The accused fled away seeing the police party leaving the truck behind. On Sadhu Singh’s statement, a case under Sections 395 and 365 of the Indian Penal Code was registered.

Puran Singh said that the Jarnail Singh and Pavitar Singh would be produced in the court while raids were being conducted the arrest the absconders.

A police official said investigations revealed that the masterminds of the incident reside in the Verka area who used outsiders for kidnapping and asked them to come to Amritsar-Batala Bypass Road. Further investigations were under progress to nail them.

Amritsar, October 9
The city police have arrested five persons in separate instances for allegedly possessing narcotic substances and illicit liquor.

The Division A police have arrested Saraj Singh of Sultanwind Road and Raja Singh of Rasulpur Kallar for allegedly possessing 50 gm heroin while the Sadar police have confiscated 50 gm heroin from Sonu Singh of Mustafabad and Lakhwinder Singh of Indira Colony. Separate cases have been registered under the NDPS Act while further investigations were under progress.

Similarly, Dharminder Singh of the Chheharta area was held by the Chheharta police for bootlegging and 40 bottles of illicit liquor were seized from him. A case was registered under the Excise Act against him.