Ajnala murder: Victim's family says police protecting accused sarpanch
Amritsar, December 15
The family of 20-year-old Gurpreet Singh, who was brutally tortured and beaten to death by a group of 11 persons including an Akali sarpanch on the intervening night of December 9 and 10, has alleged that the police was trying to protect the sarpanch and his accomplices in the crime.

Feud with in-laws leads to attack on IRB jawan
Amritsar, December 15
A jawan of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was attacked and seriously injured in broad daylight reportedly by his in-laws’ family near Gaunsabad village here today.

Amritsar, December 15
As many as 5,860 suspected cases of cancer have been detected during the ongoing door-to-door cancer survey campaign in the district.

The cancer survey is almost 60 per cent complete. The health department has interviewed 14, 46,243 people so far during the survey.

In its findings, the department has identified around 1,300 patients who are on cancer medication.

Further the department has detected around 5,860 suspected cancer patients who would be undergoing medical tests for the confirmation of the disease.

The survey has also revealed that out of the total homes visited till date, around 1,974 people have died of the disease in the past five years. The survey teams have visited 2,94,203 homes.

The survey teams have set a target to interview around 25 lakh people in urban areas besides 824 villages in the district.

Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon, District Health Officer and district nodal officer for the survey, said the survey would be completed on time.

Meanwhile, District Family Welfare Officer Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar conducted a training workshop for representatives of nursing colleges who are helping in the survey in the urban areas.

Dr Buttar said the college representatives were educated about the data calculation and uploading. The District Family Welfare Officer said the details of the cancer patients would be uploaded online and sent to the state nodal office.

He said around 1,600 students of various nursing colleges are helping in the survey in the urban areas. Dr Buttar also thanked the general public for helping the visiting teams in collecting the data.

"It will go a long way in assessing the prevalence of disease and thus formulating a policy to control it," said District Family Welfare Officer Dr Buttar.

The survey will be completed on time. the details of the cancer patients would be uploaded online and sent to the state nodal office.
— Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar, District Family Welfare Officer 

Amritsar, December 15
The family of 20-year-old Gurpreet Singh, who was brutally tortured and beaten to death by a group of 11 persons including an Akali sarpanch on the intervening night of December 9 and 10, has alleged that the police was trying to protect the sarpanch and his accomplices in the crime.

The victim's kin along with former Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla met RP Mittal, IG (borer range), urging him to intervene and order an impartial probe. Mittal assured them that investigations would be carried out in a transparent manner and whosoever is involved in the crime would be dealt strictly.

The family alleged that the Akali sarpanch was involved in the crime, but the police authorities investigating into the case had pointed out that the Akali Sarpanch was not at the spot when the incident took place.

Deceased's mother Sukhraj Kaur alleged that the Ajnala police had failed to arrest the remaining accused, including Akali sarpanch Amarjit Singh, who was booked on abduction and murder charges.

"Almost a week since the brutal killing of my son, the accused were still out of reach of the police, which is actually trying to protect them," she alleged. The Amritsar rural police had said that they had not found any role of Amarjit Singh in their investigations so far.

Preet Paul Singh Virk, SSP, Amritsar rural, in a press conference had claimed that the police had found the involvement of four persons in the murder of Gurpreet. Out of these, two accused, identified as Swarn Singh and his cousin Amritpal Singh, have been arrested while the remaining were absconding.

Illicit relations between Gurpreet Singh and Swarn Singh's sister-in-law were stated to be the reason behind the murder.

Virk had pointed out that the sarpanch's name was dragged in the case as he belongs of the opposite group. But the SSP had added that the matter was still under investigation and if sarpanch's involvement came out at any point, he would be arrested.

Amritsar, December 15
A jawan of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was attacked and seriously injured in broad daylight reportedly by his in-laws’ family near Gaunsabad village here today.

The IRB jawan was identified as Bachitar Singh. He was returning to his native Lopoke village when the incident took place.

He had come to Amritsar to appear in a court case. He has been facing a dowry case slapped by his wife Paramjit Kaur.

He sustained serious injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons and was rushed to a local private hospital by truck drivers.

Admitted in the ICU, his condition is stated to the serious, but out of danger.

The Kamboh police (under the Amritsar rural police district) has started investigations.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Bachitar Singh, who has been posted at Jammu and Kashmir, had a dispute with his in-laws.

Harminder Singh, victim’s relative, said he received a call from the Bachitar that he was attacked and injured by his in-laws.

“In the court, he reportedly had a verbal duel with his in-laws. Infuriated over this, his in-laws allegedly chased him down on a car and hit his motorcycle near Dhaul village following which he fell down. Then his in-laws allegedly attacked him with sharp-edged weapons,” said Jagjit Singh, SHO of Kamboh police station.

Bachitar has sustained injuries on his head, arms and legs.

Preet Paul Singh Virk, SSP, Amritsar rural police district, said as the victim was unconscious, the police team could not take his statement.

He said a case of an attempt to murder is being registered against unidentified persons in this connection. Further investigations are under progress. 

Amritsar, December 15
In a rare seizure of proscribed drugs, the health department confiscated the unbilled and illegally stored medicines from a residence in the Katra Sher Singh area.

The department seized 7,200 capsules, 58 tablets of nitrazepam and 450 tablets of alpra zolam.

Drug inspector Sukhdeep Singh said the owner of the house was identified as Shamsher Singh of Arorea Wali Gali.

Of the three categories, nitrazepam are the most dangerous if taken without prescription from a medical practitioner. These are used to suppress the central nervous system.

The drug inspector said the department had received secret information about the illegal activity. He said after getting directions from Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra, the department kept a watch on the house for several days before conducting the raid.

Sukhdeep Singh said the owner of the house could not produce either a purchase record of the medicines or a certificate of being a registered medical practitioner.

He said frequent raids on chemist shops have forced sellers of proscribed drugs to change their modus operandi.

He said the department is also probing that if the owner of the house had stored medicines in connivance with any chemist. He said the matter had been forwarded to the State Drug Controller.

Amritsar, December 15
Powerful performances and dramatic stage ambience is what captivated audience’s attention the most when ‘Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din’ was staged at the ongoing National Theatre festival.

A young man, searching for a math, encounters an elderly man and gets into a dialogue with him. Both the characters are mysteriously in sync with each other. The narration was quite simple, yet not without some complex questions - where is this math? Who lives there? What had happened when….?

The play was not about answering these questions. The story directed by Suresh Bharadwaj and adapted by Seema Mittal spoke of love, agony, pain, connections and all that exists unseen.

The meaning of one’s life changes with the weaving in and weaving out of other lives. Satish Alekar’s play ‘Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din’ is one of the finest narratives in today’s theatre. The play was written in 2011. The elderly man, one of the main characters in the story, starts speaking a monologue which Alekar had written a year after his wife passed away in 2007.

Interestingly, the monologue is an independent piece that is totally autobiographical and stands alone like a diary. The play too has a very individual feel about it but is also story-like. Yet, when combined the pieces, they complement each other objectively.

In Satish Alekar’s words, “They say theatre is a reflection of life, but at times it works as a therapy too.” The play, once again, presents this reflection with all shades and hues of life.

The director, Suresh Bhardwaj, did justice by bringing in required hues of emotions. His theatre group, AKS, is well known for staging plays like Prem Samvaad, Saari Raat, 8 Ghante, Golmaal, Hum Tum, which are considered landmarks in theatre productions. Suresh has also made Adhe Adhure in Spanish for the National University of Columbia. 

Amritsar, December 15
A two-day conference on 'Marketing in Emerging Economies: An agenda for the next decade' organised by the Punjab Technical University (PTU) and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina kicked off here today.

PTU Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajneesh Arora and University of North Carolina professors Valarie Zeithaml and Prof Jan-Benedict Steen inaugurated the symposium.

About 60 research papers of academicians from across 10 countries, including the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Turkey, apart from those from some of the best business schools of India have been selected for presentation in this conference. A rigorous blind-review process was conducted to select these papers.

The PTU Vice-Chancellor during his address said the conference was aimed at raising the bar of quality education and research at the university. He said the world economy was improving day by day and that such conferences were helpful for students as well as research faculty. He said no country could rise without generating ideas and sharing them. The VC said the university was going to hold more such international conferences in various fields.

Prof Valarie Zeithaml from the University of North Carolina and Prof Arvind Sahay from IIM, Ahmedabad, were the keynote speakers, who talked about various issues regarding marketing in emerging economies. Prof Zeithaml said India had more opportunities in the international market as compared to its neighboring countries such as China and Pakistan. She appreciated the communication skills of Indians, which, she said, were very helpful in promoting the Indian market at the world level.

Apart from academicians and researchers, people from the industrial sector also participated in the programme. 

Amritsar, December 15
The Gate Hakima police has booked four persons of a family in a burglary case. The incident took place about six months back.

Gold ornaments besides other valuables were reportedly stolen from the residence of one Raj Kumar, a resident of Bhagtanwala area.

In his statement to the police, he said his wife had gone for some work. But when she returned, she found the house locked from inside. With the help of a neighbour, she opened the door. Later, the family found gold jewellery, two passports and one registry stolen from the house.

Amritsar, December 15
The association of pharmacists in the health department has announced to launch protest against the department’s alleged move to deny them one-year extension in services after retirement as announced by the government.

Shamsher Singh Kohri, convener of the association, alleged that Ashok Nayyar, Director, Health, though an official letter has made it clear that pharmacists would not be given one-year extension after retirement as applicable to other employees in the state.

He said the association would hold protest rallies at district headquarters on January 3 and would take out a state-level protest rally on January 10. He said pharmacists would wear black badges on December 17, 18 and 19 to show their resentment.

He said the decision regarding the protest was taken in a meeting of the association. He reasoned that when the state government had decided to give extension to employees, the move by the Director Health is dictatorial and unjust.

He said the pharmacists have brought the matter to the notice of the Health Minister, Principal Secretary, Health, and other higher officials of the department. 

Amritsar, December 15
An exhibition called “A New Attitude’, a one-stop destination for wedding-related shopping, has been organised by the Wedding Mantra to cater to clientele looking for designer goods.

The two-day exhibition offers a variety of apparels, jewellery, accessories, organic grooming products, cosmetics and home décor items. A total of 60 stalls from exhibitors across India and Pakistan have been put up.

Some of the prominent and regular exhibitors are Geeta Studio, Gliterz from Delhi, Dmariam Collection from Pakistan, Karigari from Delhi, La Petipe from Mumbai and Geetanjali Jewellers.

If there is a lot on display for adults, there are a host of activities lined up for kids, too, at a Christmas-themed carnival here. Gaming activities, face painting, tattoos, nail art, magic show etc is sure to keep the young ones amused.

Binti Kumar, owner of the Wedding Mantra, said, “We have been organising the event for past seven years and it is a pleasure to bring in known designer labels from across the country to Amritsar.”