Amritsar, November 26
Two days after a traffic policeman was thrashed by a group of persons, another traffic policeman was abused and manhandled by a couple in the Chatiwind area on Monday.

Manjit Singh and his wife Sarabjit Kaur reportedly got offended when the traffic policeman, Kulbir Singh, asked them to park their car properly in the parking lot. They not only allegedly abused the policeman, but also tore his uniform in the melee.

This time the altercation with the policeman has landed Manjit Singh in jail.

On the complaint submitted by ASI Rajinder Singh, the Sultanwind police booked the husband-wife duo.

ASI Harjit Singh, investigating officer, said a case has been registered under Section 353, 186, 332 and 34 of the IPC against the couple.

Narrating the incident, ASI Rajinder Singh said head constable Kulbir Singh was at duty near Chattiwind chowk near Gurdwara Shaheedan Sahib when the couple came in their car.

As head constable Kulbir Singh asked them to park their car in the designated parking, they got offended and started a verbal duel.

“They were about to park their car on the road. I asked them to park their car in the designated parking place so that the traffic doesn’t get obstructed on the road. But this offended them,” he said.

The verbal duel took ugly turn when the couple, allegedly, tried to run him over with the car. He immediately brought the instance to the notice of his senior official ASI Rajinder Singh.

“They not only abused me, but also assaulted me physically. My uniform was also torn. My only mistake was that I told them to park their vehicle properly,” said the head constable.

Meanwhile, Manjit Singh was arrested and sent to jail. He would be produced before the court on December 10.

This was not the lone instance. A number of incidents have occurred in the past wherein the commuters have entered into an altercation with the policemen on duty.

On November 24, a traffic policeman Sardara Singh was thrashed badly by a group of five unidentified persons when he was on duty near Regent cinema.

The accused attacked and injured him with a knife. A case in this regard has been registered with the Kotwali police station and a person has been taken into custody on suspicion, but the main culprits are still at large. 

Traffic policeman Sardara Singh shows his injured wrist to a policeman in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar Manjit Singh and his wife Sarabjit Kaur reportedly got offended when the traffic policeman, Kulbir Singh, asked them to park their car properly in the parking lot The couple allegedly abused the policeman, tore his uniform and even tried to run him over with their car. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC against the couple. Manjit Singh has been arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody Previous incident Traffic policeman Sardara Singh was thrashed by five persons when he was on duty near Regent cinema. He was hit by some furniture and later with sharp-edged weapons. He sustained cut injuries on his wrist. Though a person was taken into custody on suspicion, main culprits have neither been identified nor arrested. Policeman Speak My only mistake was that I told them to park their vehicle properly — Kulbir Singh, head Constable

Amritsar, November 26
The CIA staff arrested two persons, identified as Gurwinder Singh of New Jaspal Nagar, Sultanwind road and Sarbjeet Singh of Tej Nagar Chowk, Sultanwind, for allegedly being involved in vehicle lifting and snatching incidents.

A case under Sections 379, 382 and 411 of the IPC has been registered against them. The police has impounded three motorcycles from their possession and seized six gold chains.

A local court remanded the duo to police custody as they appeared to be involved in snatching incidents. On a tip-off, the CIA staff had laid a naka on the 100-foot road (located on the main Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road) and nabbed Sarbjeet and Gurwinder.

The informers had told the CIA that the two were actively engaged in lifting motorcycles and robbing commuters. "They would steal the vehicles and used them to commit snatchings, especially gold ornaments from pedestrians. Then they would sell the stolen motorcycles in other states.

During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that they were active in the walled city area, Mahan Singh Gate, Ghanta Ghar chowk, But Malkan, Partap Nagar, Chattiwind Chowk, Tarn Taran Road and C-Block of posh Ranjit Avenue. They lifted motorcycles mainly from the bus stand, railway station and near Shaheedan Sahib gurdwara. We could recover three motorcycles and six gold chains from them. They have been taken under police remand and we hope to crack a number of snatching and vehicle lifting cases", he said. 

The accused
The accused have been identified as Gurwinder Singh of New Jaspal Nagar, Sultanwind road and Sarbjeet Singh of Tej Nagar Chowk, Sultanwind. They would steal the vehicles and used them to commit snatchings, especially gold ornaments from pedestrians. Then they would sell the stolen motorcycles in other states

Recoveries
The police has recovered three motorcycles and seized six gold chains from the duo

man held with drugs
The E-division police arrested two persons with narcotics and a dagger. Harjit Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran, was arrested under sections of the NDPS Act for possessing 20 intoxicant injections and 1000 tablets. Investigating officer Panna Lal said Harjit was arrested under relevant sections of the NDPS Act. In another instance, the police arrested Rajinder Kumar of Sudershan Nagar and seized a dagger from him. ASI Janak Raj of the B-division police station said a case under relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered.

Amritsar, November 26
The body of Vaishali, who lost her life after being hit by a moving Chandigarh-bound train near Bhai Shivala Phatak yesterday, was handed over to her parents after the post-mortem examination today.

Her companion, Jasmeen, is still under treatment at Karam Singh Memorial Hospital and her condition is stable. Both the teenaged girls hail from Panipat and were the students of Class X.

The police has registered a case under Section 174 of the Cr Pc in this regard.

According to statement recorded by the police, they were together on their visit to the Golden Temple. The accident occurred when they tried to cross the track.

Ruling out the possibility of a suicide attempt, the Additional SHO GRP (Government Railway Police) Ram Kishan said that it was an accident.

“They attempted to cross the lines few yards behind the phatak, which was closed at that moment. According to their statement recorded with us, they had seen the train approaching towards them, but could not gauge that it was at a very high speed. Jasmeen had almost crossed the track whereas Vaishali was few steps behind. Both were hit by the speedy train,” he said. 

Amritsar, November 26
After a prolonged wait, the process to set up the District Administrative Complex (DAC) and Police Commissionerate Complex (PCC) has begun in the District Courts Complex, which houses offices of senior administrative and police officials.

Both complexes would be set up at a cost Rs 78 crore.

The process to demolish the current premises has been started. The authorities have started shifting their offices to alternate locations.

Jasbir Singh Sodhi, Executive Engineer, PWD, who is looking after the construction of the new complexes, said officials would take at least a fortnight to evict these offices. He said the dilapidated office of the police department in the courts complex would be demolished in the first phase.

The tender has already been awarded to a Jalandhar-based private firm which specialises in infrastructure development.

The District Courts Complex was built by the British Empire after it annexed Punjab in 1849. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, which is heritage structure, would be preserved.

ADC office, accounts and some clerical offices would be shifted to Tehsil complex situated near the District Courts Complex while various branches of the DC office, election office and others would be shifted to abandoned building of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital near Ram Bagh.

Once completed, the DAC would have various offices under one roof. Sodhi said the DAC would house offices of ADCs, District Revenue Officer, Zila Parishad, Dairy Technology, Agriculture Office, Small Savings, Transport Office, Social Welfare Office, Panchayati Raj, District Welfare Office, District Development and Panchayati Officer, Town Planning, Deputy Director (Employment), Public Relations, Deputy Director (Local Bodies), Excise and Taxation, Statistical Department, Assistant Labour Commissioner, besides an information centre.

To accommodate a large number of offices and footfall of public, the DAC would be spread on 3.85 lakh square feet area. Multi-level basements and four floors would be constructed for the purpose, said Sodhi.

The Police Commissionerate Complex would have an area of 1.5 lakh square feet with a basement and four more storeys. The new building would house offices of the Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners of Police and other staff.

With the demolition of dilapidated building to begin, offices of the district police headquarters being run from the courts complex would be shifted to alternate places.

Majority of the civil and police administration offices are running from the dilapidated buildings. New complexes would ensure efficient administration of the holy city. Moga and Faridkot have modern multi-storey administrative complexes.

Sodhi said the demolition work has begun which would be speeded up after officials start evicting offices. For a time being, the Police Commissioner office would be moved to a building of the Canal department on the cantonment road.

While offices of other police officials would be shifted to Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and other buildings of the Health Department lying abandoned near Ram Bagh.

A need for setting up of administrative and police complexes were felt so as to deliver efficient and quick service to the people.

On the antiquity and architecture of the complex, Guru Nanak Dev University Assistant Professor, Rawal Singh Aulakh said the complex was constructed in the later half of the 19th century. It is remembered for carrying out the first land survey record in 1868-69. He said it comes under the category of Colonial architecture.

The roof is known as jack arch roof. That was a traditional roof supporting system of that time.

Wrong symbol
In the science textbook of Class X, chemical symbol of calcium has been given as K instead of Ca

Amritsar, November 26
Tourist buses are a nuisance here. Classified as a residential area, there are many localities on either sides of the Shivala road, but tourist buses are being parked on the main road causing congestion and traffic snarls.

Raman Bajaj, a resident of Krishna Square, said buses remain parked on both sides of the road for a long period of the day. These parked buses make the road look narrow. The flow of two and four wheelers is diverted to the road when traffic jams occur on adjoining Hukam Singh and Mall roads, he said.

Rajnish Mahajan of Sunder Nagar area near Shivala road said over the passage of time, population and traffic has increased manifold in the area. He said the buses remain parked throughout the day.

He said a highly visited famous Shivala temple and a school were also located on the road. He said the menace started after a couple of marriage palaces in the area were converted into hotels. He said posh residential localities were located on both sides of the road.

There is similar problem at extremely busy one-way Queen’s road. Buses drop and pick up passengers and shoppers leading to congestion. Over a period of time, a number of hotels have come up where buses and minibuses come to pick and drop tourists.

Harbhajan Singh, a nearby resident from the area, said parking of high number of vehicles coupled with pick and drop facility by minibuses causes traffic jams on the road.

Inspector D Jatinder, traffic in charge of the area, said tourist buses are allowed only to pick and drop tourists. He said as tourists arrive from far-off places of the country to see the holy city and hotels are also situated on these roads, these buses could not be stopped altogether. He, however, added these buses are not allowed to stay longer. He said traffic flow on the Queen’s road is being handled by deputing more traffic policemen and toe-away vehicles. 

What the local residents said

Buses remain parked on both sides of the road for a long period of the day. These parked buses make the road look narrow

A highly visited famous Shivala temple and a school were also located on the road. The menace started after a couple of marriage palaces in the area were converted into hotels

Parking of high number of vehicles coupled with pick and drop facility by minibuses causes traffic jams on the road

official speak
These buses are allowed only to pick and drop tourists. As they arrive from far-off places of the country to see the holy city and stay at hotels located on these roads, these buses cannot be stopped altogether. But these are not allowed to stay for a longer period

— D jatinder, traffic in charge of the Shivala area

Amritsar, November 26
With the BJP canceling nomination papers of four contestants on the basis of various grounds, only three leaders have been left in fray for the head of the local BJP unit (urban).

As many as seven local BJP leaders filed their papers for which election was held on November 23. However, state BJP secretary Ravi Mohindru, amidst up-roaring scenes and slogans, called off the elections.

It is learnt that nomination papers of BJP District vice President Sanjeev Khosla was revoked as he was also made incharge of the committee constituted to elect the new head of the district unit.

Another keen contestant, Naresh Sharma’s papers were quashed as he was reportedly not found an active member for the past six years, which is mandatory. Nomination papers of Somdev Sharma and Surinder Sharma contained only one recommendation instead of two.

According to a source in the party, ward-21 councilor Suresh Mahajan,

BJP’s district vice-president Adarsh Bhatia and ward-11 councilor

Sukhminder Singh Randhawa survived the scrutiny.

Mahajan and Bhatia are considered to be members of MP Navjot Singh

Sidhu’s camp and Sukhminder Singh Randhawa is a favourite of Industry Minister Anil Joshi.

Though all of them deny that they subscribed to any group but sources in the party revealed that hectic lobbying had been picked up behind the stage. They said it was for the first time that the unanimity has eluded the post, which has recently acquired a star status with the party in power. They said friction among the two major party leaders in the district is now a well understood matter with the state party leaders.

With senior BJP leaders not coming forward to announce the district head, the candidates were forced to intensify lobby to secure the seat.

Earlier, the election was cancelled on November 23 following uproarious scenes and sloganeering at BJP’s district office, which was the venue for the poll process. The sloganeering brought out the power tussle between Sidhu and Joshi groups. Though known for its disciplined cadre the district unit of the BJP seemed to have been divided into two camps. Agitated candidates and their supporters alleged that 12 party members, who were given voting rights were newcomers.

Amritsar, November 26
In the era of information technology; dissemination of knowledge without the use of new technological methods is unthinkable today.

This was said by Dr G Visvanathan, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, while he was delivering an extension lecture at Khalsa College of Education here today. Addressing students and teachers, he said: “Technology has changed the way in which the education is distributed all over the world and it is a matter of great pride that India is amongst those nations where information technology is used in highly advanced way to disseminate knowledge in schools, colleges and universities.

Earlier, he was welcomed by host college’s principal Dr Surinder Kaur Dhillon in the presence of the chief guest of the event, Dr Harbhajjan Singh Soch, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University and Khalsa College Governing Council Member. — TNS

Amritsar, November 26
The examination of Music Instrumental of BA / BSc semester-I of the Guru Nanak Dev University scheduled to be held on December 8 will now be held on December 16.

Dr RK Mahajan, Professor Incharge (Examinations) said, “The examination of Travel and Tourism (Elective) of BA / BSc Semester-I will now be held on December 17 instead of December 2. However, the time and centres of the examinations shall remain same.” 

Amritsar, November 26
Dr Vikram Chadha, head of the department, Punjab School of Economics, Guru Nanak Dev University, made a presentation of his research paper titled ‘Relevance of technology parks in the industrialisation of an emerging economy: Some evidence from the Indian states of Punjab’, at the 3rd IIMS International Conference on the theme ‘Contemporary Issues in Managing Development’.

This conference was jointly organised by International Institute of Management Sciences (IIMS), Kolkata; AIS St Helens, Auckland, New Zealand; and University of Tekhnologi, Mara, Malaysia, from November 18-21 at Bali (Indonesia).

Dr Chadha also chaired a panel devoted to the research presentation on the sub-theme ‘Resources for Development’. 

Amritsar, November 26
The Business School Affaire, an NGO in business education, has awarded Dewang Mehta B-School Leadership Award to Global Institutes in recognition of leadership, development, and industry interface.

Global Institutes Vice-Chairman Dr Akashdeep Singh Chandi, who received the award on behalf of the Institute, said that the honour was handed over during the 20th Dewang Mehta Business School Award Ceremony held on November 24 in Mumbai. He said the award was chosen by an independent jury and a panel of professionals who believe in nurturing talent and recognising best in the field.

Corporate Giants like Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Canon, Hexaware Technologies, Onward Technologies Ltd, IL&FS Financial Services Ltd, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, and Sony Entertainment were the official sponsors of the event.

He congratulated the faculty and staff of the institute for their sincere and dedicated efforts towards imparting quality education.

He said it was recently that two students of Global Institutes bagged gold medals in their respective streams. 

Amritsar, November 26
The UGC Academic Staff College (ASC) of the Guru Nanak Dev University will organise a refresher course in computer science from November 27 to December 17.

According to Professor TS Banipal, Director of ASC, the refresher course in material sciences will also be organised from November 28 to December 18. Similarly, a refresher course in visual and performing arts will be organised from December 5 to December 24.