Amritsar, April 23
A couple reportedly in live-in relationship for about one-and-a-half years committed suicide at their rented accommodation in the New Tehsilpura area, near Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) here last night.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the youth first strangled her beloved to death before committing suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling.

The deceased have been identified as Sameer Rana and Geeta Devi, both in their mid-20s.

Police officials investigate the spot where the couple committed suicide in Amritsar on Tuesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

According to information, Sameer, basically hailing from Hardwar in Uttrakhand, was a small-time vendor here and used to sell Chinese food, whereas Geeta, belonged to Jugial village in Pathankot. She worked as a telephone operator with a private company near the ISBT on the GT Road here.

The couple reportedly committed suicide following objection from the girl’s parents to their relationship, who wanted to marry her off somewhere else.

The police reached the spot in the morning and found a two-page suicide note written in Hindi having signatures of Sameer Rana and Geeta Devi.

Sameer was found to be hanging with a rope from the ceiling, while Geeta was found lying dead on the floor with a broken rope tied to her neck.

The ADCP (Crime), HS Brar, said the circumstantial evidences indicated that the youth strangled the girl before hanging himself from the ceiling. “Their parents have been informed and the bodies have been taken into possession for postmortem. We have initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC,” he said.

Suicide note

The suicide note stated that the couple resorted to take the extreme step as the girl’s parents didn’t agree to their relationship and wanted to get her married somewhere else. This was not acceptable to them.

They admitted that they had been living like husband and wife since December 6, 2011.

Amritsar, April 23
The Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) has asked the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital to form an expert committee to monitor and overlook the work of upcoming diagnostic centre on its premises.

The committee would have members from the PHSC, private firm engaged for the service apart from radiology experts and representatives of the hospital. The diagnostic centre would be commissioned under the public-private-partnership (PPP).

The PHSC has already sanctioned a sum of Rs 55.5 lakh for the construction of the building for the centre. The centre would have facilities as CT scan, MRI scan and digital X-ray.

"The cost of the tests at the proposed centre will be very low in comparison to their cost at private diagnostic centres," said Senior Medical Officer of the Civil Hospital Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon.

Dhillon said the committee would be responsible for the overall management of the centre. He said the committee would meet once in every quarter to discuss the working of the centre.

He said a list of the names of committee members would soon be conveyed to the PHSC. Work on the centre was expected to start within a month's time after completing all the formalities.

At present the costly diagnostic tests as MRI and CT scan are conducted at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Shri Guru Ram Das Hospital, run by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, at Vallah.

Patients said it would be a boon for them as the new centre would help in reducing the rush of patients at the other two centres. While these centres were providing tests at subsidised rates, the other private hospitals charged anything from Rs 1,500 to 4,000 for the same tests.

Dr Dhillon said the PHSC had already finalised the private firm, which would be setting up the centre.

Amritsar, April 23
The local Amandeep Hospital conducted a first aid training and workshop for the traffic police.

Critical care experts from the hospital imparted 15-day scientific training (from April 6 to April 20) to 600 police personnel - around 350 associated with the PCR, 70 deputed in different capacities with the traffic wing and over 100 newly recruited policewomen - on first aid.

The participants were trained in first aid, care and management of accident victims, cases of burns and assault, both theoretically as well as practically through models. The participants were given a lecture followed by practical demo. This move gains significance because one hour post-accident/trauma is the golden hour and patient's survival depends on the care and treatment he gets during this time.

Dr Kaustubh Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said it was a continuous process of imparting training to the traffic police personnel, who were normally the first ones to reach the spot of accident.

“It is very important to get them trained in handling the accident victims for transporting them to the nearby hospital. In some cases, it has been observed that the victims suffer damage at the time of transporting them to hospital, which proves to be fatal for them later. So, the idea is to avoid the damages generally caused to the victims for lack of scientific knowledge. They have also been trained to handle poison cases,” he said.

“We have also trained about 125 policewomen, who would later be part of the women helpline cell, soon to be introduced in Amritsar, too, just on the pattern of one launched at Mohali yesterday. This squad, in collaboration with the regular PCR teams, would be equipped with requisite weapons and equipment to deal with the situation,” he added.

Dr Amandeep Kaur of Amandeep Hospital said preventing the condition from getting worse was most important.

Amritsar, April 23
As a day reserved for man’s most reliable companion, books, the World Books Day was celebrated with due respect for the world of literature and knowledge.

The Government College of Girls became the venue for book lovers, with all-day events being held on its premises. The book fair organised by the Book Trust of India attracted huge footfall with its wide variety of books.

The day started off with the launch of five books in Punjabi literature, namely ‘Pari Rokh- Punjab diyan Lok Kathavan’, ‘Baazigar Kabile Da Sabhyachar’ and short story books by Kashi Nath Singh, Ravinder Walia and Shekhar Joshi.

Apart from the book releases, a poetry session was also held, with prominent poets from the city participating. Parminderjit, Ajaib Hundal, Satnam Singh Gill and others recited poems for admirers. “It’s a day dedicated to books, which are a constant source of knowledge and lifestyle for us. Any civilization’s existence depends and is preserved in its literature and the written word,’ said Gill, who is also the Head of Department of Punjabi at the college.

A seminar on the problems faced by readers of Punjabi language was also held. “The most common problem in Punjabi literature is that it lacks readership outside Punjab. The youth fails to understand its importance, but it is our responsibility to encourage them to take up Punjabi literature and popularise it,’ said Gill.

While the experts were busy promoting the cause of reading among the youth, another space dedicated to books was doing its own bit. One Up, a library, bookstore and experience centre celebrated the day with its usual activities and programmes to encourage reading among kids. “The concept of a library has always been of a boring, silent space where books are stocked up to get picked up. But we wanted to redefine the word, giving it a more interactive and effective approach,” said Ridhi Sachdeva, who runs the centre along with Dalbir Kaur Madaan. The duo has come up with interactive programmes for kids which aim to make reading and books a lifestyle for kids, starting at an early age. “We have individualised programmes for all age groups, starting as young as one year old, with stories infused with learning system, book clubs where they discuss and read books, drama and music club and many more such activities to make reading fun,” Ridhi added.

The programmes aim to enrich the kids without making them a liability. “One does not need to scare them with books, instead make them friends with books, to keep them forever,’ she said. 

Amritsar, April 23
In an act of philanthropy, former mayor Sunil Dutti funded the installation of a water submersible pump at Government Elementary School, Maqboolpura.

Earlier, around 250 children enrolled at the school had to go to a gurdwara, 200 mt from the school, for drinking water during the break.

The school did not even have a hand pump to cater to the drinking water needs of the pupils. The school teachers and members of the Udaan Welfare Society thanked Dutti for his act of kindness.

Dutti said he learnt that the school did not have fans for the students. "It would be very difficult for them to study during the summers. Besides, it is inhumane that schools do not have fans," he said, promising that he would soon send two fans for the classrooms.

Maqboolpura area is known as the colony of widows as a large number of men from the area have died after falling prey to drugs. The district administration has initiated various schemes for rehabilitation of the area residents. 

Amritsar, April 23
In a case pertaining to the death of a woman, the police has registered a case against her husband and his parents, who have been absconding since yesterday. The woman was found in an unconscious state at their house in Ranjit Avenue here.

The development came after the victim’s mother Manjit Kaur, a resident of Milap Nagar, lodged a complaint against her son-in-law, identified as Salil Kumar and his parents, Mahesh Dutt, father, Luxmi, mother and Kamal, brother, who have been booked under Section 304-B/34 of the IPC with the Civil Lines police station. However, no arrests have been made so far.

Manjit stated in her complaint that Salil had made her daughter eat some poisonous substance in connivance with his parents. Earlier, the police had been initiating action under Section 174 of the CrPc for suicide attempt.

The victim, Parminder Kaur, was found lying on the floor of the kitchen in an unconscious state by her landlord who later intimated her in-laws.

Salil had reportedly slipped from the scene and was still at large, whereas his parents took the victim to the hospital where she was declared dead.

Parminder was married to Salil two-and-half-years ago while the couple was residing in a rented accommodation at Ranjit Avenue C-block for the last one year. 

Amritsar, April 23
The A Division police busted a gang of vehicle lifters by arresting two persons and recovered five motorcycles and two scooters from their possession.

The SHO, Neeraj Kumar, said those arrested had been identified as Suhail Singh, a resident of Hair village, and Kewal Singh, a resident of Khabe Dogra village, Tarn Taran.

"We had information that they used to steal two-wheelers and sell them in other states. They were arrested during a naka laid near Sangam Cinema on April 20," he said.

The police had registered a case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC against them.

Amritsar, April 23
The police arrested three persons, while one was released on bail later, for possessing illicit liquor in separate instances.

The two arrested have been identified as Goldy, a resident of Arjan Dev Nagar, and Sarbjit Singh, a resident of Anngarh. The Sultanwind police recovered 20 bottles of illicit liquor from Goldy, while the Gate Hakima police nabbed Sarbjit with 80 bottles of illicit liquor. Cases under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act have been registered against them.

In another instance, the A Division police recovered 7.5 litres of illicit liquor from Satnam Singh, a resident of Patti Hardass Ki, Verka, and registered case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act against him. He was later released on bail.