Amritsar, May 15
Prisoners at the high security Amritsar Central Jail have been complaining of getting eatables and other items of daily use at very high rates at the two government-run canteens located on the jail premises.

The prison authorities, on the other hand, said they had signed a pact with Metro Cash and Carry and admitted to charging 10 per cent premium on the current price.

The issue of charging more from the inmates came to the fore a couple of days ago when some of the kin of the prisoners staged protest outside the jail alleging that the prices of essential items were higher than the prevailing market rates.

They further said the jail authorities did not allow them to take along items for the ones lodged in the jail during visiting hours.

The prisoners get coupons in lieu of the work they do inside the jail and these coupons are valid for making purchases from this canteen only.

Sources inside the jail said banana, which was sold for Rs 20 a dozen outside, is being made available for prisoners at Rs 80 a dozen. Mango, which is available for Rs 40 per kilogram in the market, is being sold at Rs 100 per kilogram (of same quality) in the jail.

Even the basic food items like milk packet, curd, biscuit and bread are overpriced at the canteen.

Furthermore, the inmates can buy a limited amount of milk, juice or curd inside the jail. One 500 ml milk packet, available at Rs 16 in the market, is being sold at Rs 22 or even more.

A juice bottle or a bread packet is priced from Rs 4-6 more in comparison to prices outside.

Sources said as the inmates could not pay cash directly and had to obtain coupons after depositing money with the jail staff, this too leads to corrupt practices.

“As each jail inmate is allowed to spend around Rs 50 only, he would have to take care of the interests of the jail staff concerned,” a source said while pleading anonymity.

Rubbishing the allegations, the Cental Jail authorities said the prices of Metro Cash & Carry were already less than retail market prices.

Deputy Superintendent, Amritsar Central Jail, RK Sharma said, “Almost all essential articles, including fruits and vegetables, are supplied through Metro store located in the city. We charge 10 per cent extra here to run the canteen. Moreover, this surplus amount too is ploughed back for the welfare of the prisoners only. It is totally baseless to say that we charge exorbitant rates from the prisoners.”

“Also, there is blanket ban on bringing in articles from outside for prisoners as forbidden material like drugs, mobiles and SIM cards are sneaked in the garb of food items many a times,” Sharma said. 

Almost all essential articles, including fruits and vegetables, are supplied through Metro store located in the city. We charge 10 per cent extra here to run the canteen. Moreover, this surplus amount too is ploughed back for the welfare of the prisoners only. It is totally baseless to say that we charge exorbitant rates from the prisoners — RK Sharma, Deputy Superintendent, Amritsar Central Jail

Amritsar, May 15
In a first, the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar is set to introduce biometric time attendance system.

The system, which works online, has been designed in such a way that the attendance marked by any employee reaches the central server using the mobile connectivity.

This system has been designed for the executives as well as safai karamcharis of the Municipal Corporation.

Costing about Rs 50,000, the system will have a battery backup and GPRS connectivity. The software generates the attendance report and all other reports for the entire workforce.

Amritsar, May 15
The huge warehouses for storing foodgrains near Chheharta have thrown the traffic out of gear on the key road that witnesses regular flow of vehicles throughout the day.

The long queues of loaded trucks on the road lead to traffic jams. The magnitude of the problem increases every time the railway crossing in the Chheharta bazaar is closed.

The close vicinity of the Chheharta railway station to the bazaar, which is also being used to transport grain to far off places, is also contributing to the problem.

Savant Kumar, a local resident, said, “The road to the railway station is ‘kutcha’ and heavy vehicles plying on the road cause a lot of dust. We wish that the transportation of grains ends soon.”

Even the main road inside the bazaar has large potholes that cause these trucks to slow down even more. The residents also said if the shopkeepers were stopped from encroaching on the roadsides, which they are often doing by displaying goods outside the shops, the road could instantly be widened for traffic.

Commuters coming from Dhand and Kasel villages said the entire stretch had three large warehouses. “As the trucks are not emptied out instantly, the length of the queues outside these warehouses is increasing each day,” said Sulakhan Singh, a commuter. He said the trucks had been parked on both sides of the road which left little space for vehicles to cross.

The trucks parked on both sides of the road can make a way for only one vehicle to pass at a time. The traffic from the other sides often comes to a standstill. “Sometimes it takes around one hour to pass through the 500 m stretch,” said Gurbhej Singh, another commuter.

The commuters demanded that instead of rushing all the trucks to the warehouses at one time, the authorities concerned should only send those many trucks that could be accommodated on the premises of the warehouses.

Truck drivers on the other hand complained that there were not given any facility. “Except for a tea stall, which a local resident had put up seeing a huge rush here, there’s no other place to rest. We have to wait for about 48 hours before the turn and most of our time we stay in truck cabins to shelter from scorching heat,”  said Joginder Singh, a truck driver. 

Amritsar, May 15
A city resident has complained that former councillor and BJP leader Anuj Sikka is harassing him to vacate a commercial property, which he had hired on rent two decades ago.

Rajinder Sharma said Sikka purchased the commercial property about three years ago and since then he has been pressurising and harassing him to vacate the property.

Sikka, however, rebutted the charges. Sharma alleged that Sikka, using his influence, had recently got stationed a defunct de-silting machine and later threw pebbles in front of his shop and blocked way to his shop. He has been running a glass and plywood shop located on Batala Road for the past two decades. He alleged that he was ready to give the rent as per the deed of rent made between him and the previous owner. However, Sikka refused to accept the rent and started forcing them to vacate it, as he wanted to open a hotel there. Sharma has procured a stay order from the district court yesterday.

Sikka said Sharma was not giving him any rent since he purchased the property.

“I had asked him to give the rent but he did not,” said Sikka, while adding that he would take the legal course of action against them. On throwing of pebbles and stationing defunct de-silting machine, he said as an owner, he had the right to beautify the front of his property. 

Amritsar, May 15
The National SC/ST Commission today asked the police department to file a report on the alleged inaction in a case in which a couple of youths had attempted to rape and assaulted a girl from Gharinda.

The victim, along with her family members, approached National SC/ST Commission Vice-Chairman Rajkumar Verka. They alleged that they were being pressurised by police officials to strike a compromise with the accused who had been evading arrest since the incident took place.

The victim alleged that Kuldeep Singh and Gurvail Singh of her native village Khehra entered her house when she was alone and tried to rape her. She, however, resisted the attempt following which the accused assaulted her. They broke her nose bone besides inflicting head injuries as a result of which she fell unconscious. Assuming her dead, the accused fled the spot.

When her family members reached home, they found her unconscious and rushed her to hospital.

She later narrated the incident to her family.

Anokh Singh Bhatti, general secretary, Bhagwan Valmiki Dhuna Sahib, alleged that the police was helping the accused in the case. He said when the victim approached police officials seeking justice, the police instead started pointing finger on the victim’s character.

The family demanded slapping of case under sections of the SC/ST Atrocity Act against the accused. Verka said he had sought a report from the police officials concerned and further action would be taken thereafter.

He said if the police officials were found guilty of dereliction of duty, a case would be registered against them. 

Amritsar, May 15
As the political atmosphere in Pakistan spells positivity for its relations with India, a delegation of 31 people from the Sain Mian Meer Foundation from Lahore travelled to Amritsar for a seminar on Indo-Pak peace process.

The seminar held in association with Virsa Vihar had prominent activists and scholars associated with the foundation’s Lahore Chapter. They shared their ideas on the Indo-Pak ties.

Speaking on the occasion, general secretary of the Sain Mian Meer Foundation Akram Mirza Baig said, “The only difference between the two countries is their geography. With so much in common, it is a shame that we have wasted so many years fighting rather than supporting each other.” He also said with the new political change coming in and positive vibes dominating the political atmosphere, the two countries may be heading towards a peaceful future.

“The money wasted on fighting wars between the two countries would have otherwise helped so many poor in both the countries,” shared Baig. While the panel agreed on the responsibility of boosting cultural ties between India and Pakistan by the way of cultural exchange, the hiccups in the process were also discussed at length. The visa norms between the two nations should be relaxed in order to boost people-to-people interaction,” suggested Baig. 

Amritsar, May 15
Even though the cocktail culture is still in its early stage in Amritsar, people visiting bars to ‘talk over a glass of drink’ is making city mixologists hopeful of a good business prospects in the city.

“Cocktails have become a part of the food culture and people want to try out new things. This is why cocktails are becoming popular here,” shares Khilender Singh Rawat, assistant manager, Café OZ. Rawat is a mixologist and has come up with some refreshing fruit-based cocktails at Café OZ.

Amritsar, May 15
The city police has arrested six persons in separate incidents for possessing narcotic substances.

The Rambagh police arrested two Bihar residents identified as Chhote Lal and Narinder Kumar and recovered 3.50 kilogram charas from their possession.

Neeraj Kumar, SHO A-division police station, said the two accused were held after a tip-off. They were arrested near a naka at the Celebration shopping mall. Preliminary investigations revealed that they used to smuggle the contraband from Bihar and sell it in various parts of the city. They allegedly procured the drugs from one Yadav in Bihar. A case under Section 20/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against them.

The accused have been sent to two-day police remand and further investigations are on.

The city police (Narcotic Cell) arrested two Uttar Pradesh residents, including a woman, who were involved in drug peddling. They have been identified as Lita Wanti of Sujanpur and Pal Singh of Bheele Bheet. The police seized 300 and 500 gram of opium from their possession respectively. Cases under Section 18/61/85 of the NDPS Act have been registered against them.

The Gate Hakima police claimed to have nabbed two drug peddlers Sonu and Mangal Singh, both residents of Fakir Singh Colony in Anngarh. The police teams recovered 270 and 250 gram of narcotic powder from their possession. 

Amritsar, May 15
The Beas police have seized a luxury car during a naka near the Rayya Army cantonment area and recovered arms, Army uniform, four mobile phones and a large number of SIM cards.

Four persons, who were in the car bearing number UK-04-HH-9699, managed to escape leaving their car behind.

Reports said the four unidentified accused came to a liquor vend and two of them alighted from the car and asked for two bottles of beer. After taking the bottles, they pushed the liquor vend employee and took away the wooden locker containing cash at gunpoint.

The employee immediately raised an alarm and informed the Beas police. Swinging into action, the Rayya police chowki team laid a naka near the Army cantonment area and intercepted the car. On seeing the police party, the robbers fled away.

The police searched the vehicle and found the said articles besides Rs 94,100 cash looted from the liquor vend.

A case under Section 392, 34 of the IPC has been registered in this regard while search operation has been launched to nab the culprits.

The police said they also seized identity cards of the Army besides several photographs which would help in tracking down the accused. 

Amritsar, May 15
A resident of New Jawahar Nagar has accused his brother of robbing him of Rs 50,000 and 750 dirham after inflicting serious injuries on him in a brawl.

In a complaint lodged with the Maqboolpura police station, Satnam Singh said he had gone to Dubai in November 2012 and gave his house on rent to his brother, Sawinder Singh, of Bale Chak village, Tarn Taran. He said he returned earlier this month and asked his brother to vacate the property and go back to his house.

However, he alleged, the accused demanded Rs 50,000 for vacating the house. He said when he refused to do so, he entered in a brawl and injured him. He then took away Rs 50,000 cash and 750 dirham (UAE currency) from his possession.

Investigating Officer Gursahib Singh said a case under Section 324 and 380 of the IPC had been registered and further investigations were on. The accused has been on a run since the registration of case, he added. —TNS

Amritsar, May 15
Mathura Dass Arora (82), father of Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University (PTU) Rajneesh Arora, died after prolonged illness here today. His eyes were donated to Government Medical College, Amritsar.

Several social, religious, academic and political personalities, including former BJP ministers Laxmi Kanta Chawla and Baldev Raj Chawla, former GNDU Vice-Chancellor HS Soch, Vice-Chairman of Lovely Group Naresh Mittal and Principal of DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology AL Sangal attended the cremation at the Durgiana crematorium. Staff members of the PTU and GNDU were also present.

Arora was also assertive in his approach when it came to fight for the rights of his colleagues or common man. As secretary of the Punjab Government Aided School Teachers Union, he spearheaded an agitation against the state government in 1967. Though he remained underground to lead the agitation, his wife Sumitra Devi, also a teacher, was arrested and jailed.

During terrorism in Punjab from 1984 to 1992, Arora not only promoted communal harmony among Hindu and Sikhs, but he also worked hard for arranging relief and rehabilitation measures for terror victims under the banner of the Rashtriya Suraksha Samiti and Peerat Sahayata Samiti.