The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Man tries to sneak drugs into jail in diaper Arrested and booked under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act and Section 42 of the Prisoners Act GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Novel ways to sneak drugs into Amritsar Central Jail continue to come to fore as a man has been arrested while trying to smuggle poppy husk and other narcotic powder into the jail by hiding them in a diaper meant for an infant of his female relative lodged in the jail. In another instance, the jail guards found drugs in a tennis ball that landed on the jail premises. Sometimes back, the jail authorities had put a blanket ban on the entry of onions, tomatoes, capsicum and even the bathing soap through an outsider into the jail as these articles were being used to conceal drugs. But now, it was a diaper. One among the five diapers contained 10 gm of narcotics. The man trying to sneak drugs into the jail has been identified as Badal, alias Jiwan Lal, a resident of Agra. It has been learnt that he came to see three women - Ravita, Alisha and Bharti - who were lodged in the jail on the charges of looting and immoral trafficking at the Tarn Taran railway station sometime ago. Yesterday evening, Jiwan Lal, carrying a few diapers, came to meet them in the meeting room of the jail. Jail guards got suspicious and before he could pass on the diapers to the women, the jail guards took them into their possession. Deputy Superintendent RK Sharma said, "The diapers for the child raised our suspicion and after we got them checked thoroughly, we found the drugs like poppy husk and 'jarda' in polythene packets concealed in the folds of the diaper in a very crafty manner. Jiwan Lal was taken into custody and a case was registered against him under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act and Section 42 of the Prisoners Act at the Cantonment police station," he said. "This was the second instance which virtually astonished us after the last instance in which the drugs were attempted to be smuggled in through rectum by an undertrial," he added. The accused in this case was undertrial Narinder Singh, already lodged in the jail in a case registered under the NDPS Act. Narinder concealed the packet, passed on to him by a visitor, Manpreet, in his rectum, but before he could smuggle it into the jail, the vigilant jail guards caught him. About the tennis ball instance, Sharma said a tennis ball was spotted on the jail premises by our vigilant guards too. "It appeared to be bit heavy. When we tore it open, we found around 230 gm of opium in it. Even as no individual could be pointed out in this case, but still we got an FIR registered," he said.
	Two, including woman, held with 1 kg heroin Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 The city police today claimed to have arrested two persons, including a woman, for allegedly possessing 1 kg of heroin, worth Rs 5 crore in the international market. Besides, the police also nabbed two more persons with a huge quantity of alcohol and 10 kg poppy husk in a separate instance. Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Police Commissioner, while addressing mediapersons said the police had arrested Arun Sharma, a resident of Katra Khazana, and Rani, a resident of Shivpuri Mohalla located on Majitha Road, with 1 kg heroin, while their third accomplice, identified as Sikander of Nangali village, managed to escape. While detailing he said Arun Sharma was a notorious criminal and wanted in around half a dozen cases of snatching and robberies registered against him. He was recently released on a bail and soon after his release restarted his nefarious activities. He said both Arun Sharma and Rani were nabbed following a tip-off this morning. He said investigations revealed that Arun Sharma and Rani were involved in selling drugs in their respective areas. Rani’s husband Baldev Singh was already in jail on similar charges. He said further investigations were under progress to unearth the whole nexus and arrest the persons from whom they procured the drugs. Meanwhile, the CIA staff nabbed two persons for bootlegging and drug peddling, while their two accomplices managed to dodge the police. The police received a tip-off that Amrik Singh, alias Raju, of Kapur Nagar, Sultanwind, Gurmail Singh of Malluwal, Davinderdeep Singh of Chheharta and Satnam Singh, alias Satta, of Anngarh, were involved in bootlegging and used to smuggle alcohol and narcotics in the city area in a canter having fake registration number plate. The police immediately laid a naka near New Amritsar on the GT Road. Police Commissioner said when the police party signalled the canter to stop, two of them fled away leaving the canter behind. The other two, who were travelling in a Bolero vehicle, also sped away seeing the police party. During checking the police found 20 drums of alcohol and 10 kg of poppy husk from the cabin of the canter. Following the investigation, the police managed to arrest Gurmail Singh and Davinderdeep Singh. They told the police that the alcohol was meant for preparing illicit liquor. Aulakh said further investigations had been launched while raids were being conducted to nab the fugitives.
	2 smugglers arrested with 1 kg synthetic drugs Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 The police has arrested a notorious smuggler, Balwinder Singh, alias Billa, a former sarpanch of Hawelian village (Tarn Taran), along with his cousin with 1 kg synthetic drugs, which they procured from the national capital New Delhi. According to the police authorities, Balwinder Singh and his cousin had been in the illegal trade for a long time and has close connections with Pakistan-based notorious smugglers, besides those involved in the trade in the country. At present Balwinder Singh was living in posh locality of Preet Vihar located on Airport Road. Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Police Commissioner, said Billa and his cousin, identified as Gurjinder Singh, alias Kala, were already wanted in many similar cases registered at the Sarhali and Sarai Amanat Khan police station in Tarn Taran. "In the cases, he had been evading arrest. As per the intelligence inputs, he also used to finance several smugglers in the vicinity of the Indo-Pak border fence," said Aulakh. Investigations revealed that he had procured the synthetic drugs from a Delhi-based drug peddler for Rs 1 lakh per kg. The police recovered 500 gm each from Billa and his cousin. He said the police teams were now trying to find out his links on both sides of barbed border fence. He added that the department was also looking into the property which he had made over the years. Billa remained the sarpanch of the village for around 10 years and at present his brother is heading the village panchayat. Vavinder Kumar, SHO, Sadar police station, said that Balwinder's name figured in a case in which the police had arrested two persons Ripudaman Singh and Baljinder Singh last month. During interrogation they had revealed that they had procured heroin from him. Following a tip-off that he was going to deliver a consignment of drugs to someone on the Mehta road, a naka was laid, which led to his arrest. "We are trying to locate the person to whom the drug was to be supplied," said Vavinder. Aulakh said during the past two months the police had arrested around 360 drug peddlers in 332 cases and seized over 3 kg of heroin worth Rs 15 crore in the international market, besides over 13 kg of narcotic powder. The police also confiscated around 36,000 proscribed capsules and tablets and over 900 injections.
	Pall of gloom descends on residence of tae kwon do player PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 A pall of gloom descended on the residence of city-based tae kwon do player, who drowned in the sea in Chennai, where he had gone to take part in a national event. All the hopes of the family of the deceased, Sunny Singh, seemed dashed as soon as the news of his death landed at their residence located in a slum of Ekta Nagar, located on the Chamrang road. Surinder Kaur, Sunny's mother, was inconsolable. She worked hard as a domestic help to bring up her children, two boys and a girl, who is now married, after her husband died of a heart attack around 10 years ago. Talking to The Tribune, Deepak Singh, elder brother of Sunny, said several teachers of his school, Khalsa College Senior Secondary School (KCSSS), came to their residence on Monday and told them about the incident. "We were shocked to hear this. What had happened was the only question at that time. Earlier, too, he to visited various parts of the country for national-level karate championships and brought laurels to the city as well as the family by winning silver and bronze medals, said Deepak with a heavy heart while pointing towards the trophies put on a shelf in a one-room house. The trophies and scores of medals are testimonial to the tremendous potential he had. "We used to save from our family earnings, besides he also used to work as part time in order to generate funds for participating in the championships. He wanted to earn a big name in the world of martial arts besides supporting his family through the game," Deepak said. The area where we reside is infamous for drug abuse. But my mother worked hard as a domestic help to bring us up and tried to provide us education and also tried that we did not indulge in such things, he added. Sunny (17), a national-level tae kwon do player, was Class XI student of the KCSSS, being run under the Khalsa College Governing Council. He had gone with the Punjab Tae Kwon Do Association team to participate in the 33rd National Junior Tae Kwon Do and Sixth National Junior Poomsae Tae Kwon Do Championship held at Puducherry from October 18. On Monday he had gone to the Marina Beach with his coach and his co-players when the incident took place. As per the spokesman for the Khalsa College Governing Council, he lost his balance while posing for a photograph. He reportedly went deeper in the sea for having a photo clicked before he was dragged into the sea by a huge wave. His coach and friends tried to save him, but failed. Later they took the help of some fishermen, who pulled his body out. The doctors declared him dead when they took him to a hospital. Honorary secretary of the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina today expressed deep condolences with family members of Sunny Singh. "It is a shocking incident and I express my condolences with the aggrieved family," said Chhina, adding that the school management would extend suitable financial assistance to the family, which is living in poor conditions. Principal, KCSSS, Nirmal Singh Bhandu, said Sunny was a bright student and prominent player in the Punjab team and was studying in Class XI in the school. He said during the morning assembly condolences were read and tributes paid to the departed soul apart from prayers.
	Rs 5 lakh property tax collected during awareness camp Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 To spread awareness about the property tax among the residents, a Municipal Corporation (MC) team today launched an awareness-cum-recovery camp at Ward 9. Residents visited the camp to get the answers for their queries regarding the tax, besides finding out how much tax they owe to the MC for which software has been prepared by the MC. According to officials, an amount of Rs 5 lakh was collected during the drive conducted till 4 pm in the presence of Local Bodies Minster Anil Joshi, who is also a resident of the same locality and deposited his tax. Others present on the occasion included noted leader Pappu Mahajan and his wife councillor Neetu Mahajan. As many as 350 residents volunteered to deposit their property tax forms after availing themselves of the self-assessment facility. Joshi also gauged the residents’ viewpoint about the property tax structure chalked out by the government and invited their suggestions in this regard too. There have been confusion among the resident about the methodology of calculating the dues after self-assessing the property dimensions. To clear this confusion, the MC has prepared a software wherein if the location of the land and covered area of the land is punched in, the exact amount of the property tax will be shown as per the prevailing collectorate rate of the land. Pappu Mahajan said it was the best endeavour on the part of the authorities to organise such awareness camps as the residents had lot of querries in their minds about how to go about when it comes to filling up the self-assessment pro forma and on what basis the calculations have to be done. “Lot of residents were considering the collectorate rate at the time when they bought the property as the basis, which was wrong. Though, the discrepancies would clear during the final scrutiny by the MC authorities, but it could make them liable to pay the balance amount with penalty,” he said. DPS Kharbanda, Commissioner, MC, said instructions had been issued to the tax collection teams that such awareness camps should be conducted in each and every ward within the stipulated time frame. “The deadline for depositing the property tax is November 30. Our endeavour would be to chalk out the programme in such a way that no ward should be left out where the awareness camps are not conducted,” he said.
	Teachers resent extension to GNDU Registrar GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 As the GNDU authorities extended the tenure of Dr Inderjit Singh, Registrar, today during the Syndicate meeting, resentment prevailed in the teaching fraternity about adopting biased and discriminatory approach when it comes to granting extension to the retiring teachers. They handed over a charter of demands to the Syndicate members ahead of the meeting, highlighting the irregularities prevailing in the university concerning their promotional avenues. Nonetheless, the GNDU Syndicate gave its nod to extend the services of Dr Inderjit Singh whose four-year tenure was about to expire on October 31. Similarly, Deputy Registrar Sukhnandan Singh, got six months' extension and Senior Medical Officer Dr HP Singh, two years. Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, presided over the meeting while Dr Inderjit Singh, Registrar, presented the agenda. Prof Brar said the GNDU would sign an MoU with Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai in the field of sports medicine. “This MoU is made as a gesture of good will between the two institutions, which will strive to see the development of the links/collaborations in the area of learning and teaching, including the development of academic programmes, exchange of students and faculty and development of collaborative projects,” he said. In another decision, the Syndicate also gave approval to the 22 PhD thesis under various faculties. On the other hand, GNDU Teachers Association president Dr Davinder Singh said there had been gross irregularities and violations by the UGC rules in recruitment and promotions of teachers, discrimination in granting extension to retiring teachers. “The V-C has never taken into confidence the Board of Control of respective departments for appointing subject experts in affiliated colleges. Similarly, promotions or extension to retiring teachers is done as per the whims and fancy of the V-C. About granting extension to retiring teachers, four cases were tabled in the last Syndicate meeting, only two were granted extension. It is unfortunate that a senior physics teacher who brought projects worth crores and published more than 260 papers in reputed national and international journals was denied extension,” he said.
	Students get advice on higher education in US by experts Tribune News service Amritsar, October 23 Students who wish to study in the US met with a team of officials from US embassy on their three-day visit to the city. Speaking about the prospects of higher education in US and clearing queries about proper legal channels of getting student visas for Indian students, the team headed by Paul Swider, Counsellor Officer at the US embassy, interacted with students and parents at One Up library. “A lot of Punjabi youth come to US for better educational prospects and during the process find themselves in an immigration fix and are duped by the agents. To stop this victimisation students should be educated about the visa norms, educational institutions offering best courses and proper channels to ensure a safe and best education,” he said. The team included Richa Bhasin, educational advisor, United States-India Education Foundation (USIEF), a non-profitable organisation working in the field of educational advising, fellowship support and facilitating academic dialogue between the US and India, Paul Loh, deputy press spokesperson and Sudha Gandhi, media advisor at the US embassy in Delhi. Answering queries like educational costs, background information on various educational institutes and visa facilitation, Swider, who is also working for Consular Team India, advised to stay away from the agents. “There are standard tests, channels of education testing working in the US to check any discrepancies in the system. Indian students need to educate themselves about these proper channels and not put their parents’ hard earned money at risk,” said the Counsellor. He also cleared doubts regarding misconceptions on visa norms. He said the US had an open policy towards accepting foreign students and your course of study and type of university you were applying was considered while clearing the visa. So, it was always better to do a background check on the public and private educational institutes before applying, he advised. Richa Bhasin, too, spoke about how the USIEF came into the picture while helping Indian students get proper higher education in US. “We are committed to providing educational advising services, resources and even scholarships to students who wish to study abroad. We have been working to provide prestigious grants like Nehru-Fulbright scholarships and promote communication between students and academic institutions in US,” she added. On the rising costs of studying in the US due to fall in rupee, Bhasin said, “The annual cost on an average to study in the US through established, non-profitable educational advising services comes out to be Rs 3,000 per year, which is quite low compared to what the immigration agents took from the students.”
	DAV School bag top positions in karate tourney Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 DAV Public School, Lawrence Road, Amritsar, bagged top positions in Ist International Karate Championship- 2013 held at the SR Resort, Tarn Taran. The championship was organised by the Passion Tiger Academy. Principal of the school Neera Sharma said Gurpreet Singh Kataria of Std II won the first place in 30 kg, Hridyansh Khosla of Std I got first place in 25 kg category and Rakshit Chopra of Std IX got second place in + 50 kg category. Regional Director, Amritsar Zone, Dr Neelam Kamra, Principal, BBK DAV College for Women, Lawrence Road, and the manager of the school Dr KN Kaul, Principal, DAV College, Hathi Gate congratulated the winners. Shivpreet Kaur, a student of Spring Dale Senior School, won a gold medal in the Sub-Junior Category in the 19th North Zone Sport Climbing Championship held at Salwan Public School, Delhi. The event, which witnessed the participation of more than 300 sport climbers from different schools, was organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF). Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Principal, Spring Dale Senior School, said Shivpreet Kaur had been selected for the National-level Sport Climbing Championship to be held at Bangalore from October 28 to 31. "The school is proud of her win. We wish her good luck in all her future endeavours," he said. Creative writing Students of DAV International School shine in the Creative Writing Competition held at New Delhi. The competition was organised by the Katha Club in collaboration with the CBSE. Six students who had composed poems and wrote short stories were selected on the national level. As many as 300 schoolshad participated in the online competition. Vani, Priyanka, Sameeksha, Suhasini, Suvecha and Rajdeepthe were were chosen for the workshop. The two-day workshop was held at on October 18 and 19, where they were apprised of the various techniques of creative writing.
	Dy Commissioner holds meeting on dengue control Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 In order to check the rising cases of dengue, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ravi Bhagat held a meeting with the officials of the Health Department and Municipal Corporation. While stressing on spreading awareness about the causes responsible for the disease, the DC directed the health department and MC authorities to form various teams in this connection. He asked the MC authorities to immediately repair the leaking water pipes and replace the taps which was leading to accumulation of water where mosquitoes responsible for dengue could breed. He also directed the health department to form separate wards for the dengue patients in government as well as private hospitals. Taking a serious view that a number of private hospitals are not informing the health department about the suspected dengue patients, he asked the health department to look into this and take appropriate action against the hospitals which failed to report to the department. He also instructed the education department to conduct an awareness programme during morning prayers in the schools. He said the teachers could spread awareness among the students about the causes of disease and preventive steps to be taken.
	Two killed in road accidents in city Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Dilbagh Singh, a resident of Khilchian, located on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road was crushed to death by a speeding truck near the Alpha shopping mall here today. According to information, the truck was coming from wrong side while the deceased was crossing the road. Dilbagh Singh worked in a factory located just across the road and opposite to the mall. The driver of the truck bearing number PB-02-BN-9867 fled the scene. According to eyewitnesses, the truck was coming from wrong side and was at high speed which led to the accident. Pardeep Kumar, ASI Maqboolpura police station said a case had been registered in this connection while investigations were under progress to identify the accused. He said the police has informed the family members of the deceased about the incident. Meanwhile, in another incident Santosh Yadav, a migrant, who was residing in Sandhu Colony, Banke Bihari Gali, located on Batala road lost his life when a speeding four wheeler hit him on a link road near Vallah. Rajesh Yadav, the deceased’s brother said, he was on his bicycle while the accused had been identified as Raju, a resident of Tarn Taran, was driving Tata Ace make vehicle at a high speed. Amrik Singh, SHO Mohakampura police said the deceased was rushed to the Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Sciences and Research where he succumbed his injuries. He said the police had arrested Raju, who was later released on bail.
	Staff, proprietors need training: Hotel body chief Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Even as there are norms for the hotels, lodges and inn operators to ensure that those availing the lodging facility must produce their ID proofs, a section of the hospitality industry is throwing these norms to the wind. This came to the fore in the recurring suicide instances at hotels and lodges in the city. The body of a youth from Ludhiana was found from a room at a local guest house yesterday. The lodge staff had neither got the copy of an ID proof nor cross checked his details before giving a room to the deceased. The similar thing came to light when a woman in her mid thirties from Ambala had committed suicide by immolating herself in a guest house near the Golden Temple on September 23. Later, the police investigation revealed that the woman had told the hotel staff that her husband would also be joining her in few minutes. The hotel staff did not bother to contact her again. The hospitality players remain negligent in enforcing proper vigilance verifying proper identity proof and documents not only of the domestic, but also of the foreign tourists while they check into hotels. There are well over 100 hotels, lodges, stay houses and inns in the walled city, specifically situated around the Golden Temple. Besides, these hospitality players are members of about three associations. One of these associations is Hotel Restaurant Association (HRA). Its president Surinder Singh said there was a great need to educate staff and proprietors of these units as these had switched over to the industry with spurt in tourists in their mid-career. He rued that the tourism department never bothered to educate these hotel operators and alleged that officials of the department preferred to mingle with civil line hotels and restaurant operators. It has been noticed that majority of suicides occurred at hotels situated in the walled city. He said semi-educated and untrained professionals were in the profession who need training and instructions to iron out gaps.
	Panchayat members from Ramban visit holy city Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 A group of 25 sarpanches and panches from the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir today visited Panther Division where they met Major General RS Yadav, General Officer Commanding, Panther Division. They were on a three-day visit to the holy city as part of Operation Sadbhavana. Over the past three days, the team visited various villages of Amritsar, including Sultanwind and Naushera Pannua. They interacted and exchanged views, ideas and thoughts with their counterparts which provided them an opportunity to share experience which will enable them to implement various measures, projects and innovations, so as to bring about development, welfare and a progressive environment in their villages. They also visited various places of interest such as the Golden Temple, the Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah Border. The visitors also got an opportunity to interact with the civil administration to gain exposure, so as to undertake measures for transforming their administration into an absolute self-reliant society. They expressed gratitude and were thankful to people of Amritsar for their hospitality and support.