Amritsar, December 19
Hato Dravid, a 28-year-old youth who had committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance in the Patti area in Tarn Taran on Tuesday, was cremated near Ramtirath temple amid tight security here today.

Though the police denied finding any suicide note, leaders of the community had blamed Mahant Baldev Giri and Ramesh Sharma, a Brahmin Samaj leader, for Hato's death. They had claimed that Hato ended his life as he was upset with a court order to hand over Dhuna Sahib in the ancient Ram Tirath temple to a rival faction headed by Mahant Baldev Giri. Hato, a painter by profession, was married and had a daughter from it.

Dhuna Sahib was at present in the possession of Mahant Malkeet Nath, who is supported by OP Gabbar, a SAD and prominent Valmiki Samaj leader.

Earlier, Valmiki Samaj, which had given a bandh call in Amritsar and Tarn Tran following the suicide, today withdrew the call after the district administration on behalf of the government announced to give government job to the deceased's wife.

The Valmiki Samaj held demonstrations against the Police Department and administration whenever the bailiff reached there 
to take over Dhuna Sahib located in the shrine. It denied handing over the charge to Mahant Baldev Giri.

"The Deputy Commissioner who was present during the cremation of the Hato said the government had announced to give a job to his wife besides some financial help," said Gabbar.

He said heavy security arrangements were in place at the temple and the cremation was held peacefully.

Meanwhile, various Hindu organisations today came out in the support of Sharma and Mahant Baldev Giri who were booked in an abetment to suicide case following Hato's death. The organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, different factions of the Shiv Sena, in a press conference at Durgiana Temple here threatened to go launch an agitation if the Police Department or administration failed to cancel the FIR registered against Mahant Baldev Giri and Sharma.

In case the administration failed to cancel the case by Saturday they would hold a meeting on Sunday to chalk out further course of action.

Amritsar, December 19
The District Health Department has sealed another ultrasound centre in the city after it was found that it was operating without a registration licence for the past seven months. The department had earlier inspected 20 ultrasound centres in the city by constituting four different teams.

Civil Surgeon Dr Usha Bansal said the NBT Cardiac Care Centre, run by Dr Rohit Kapoor, was found to be operating without a valid licence for the past seven months. She said the ultrasound centres were required to apply for the renewal of the licence before one month of the expiry of the licence. She said the machine had been sealed and the centre had been served with a notice.

District Family Welfare Officer Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar said teams were constituted under Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, Dr Satinder Singh Bedi, Dr Kiran Sikri, all SMOs, and himself. He said all legal aspects were being examined during these inspections.

Dr Buttar said the department had earlier sealed two machines: Echo cardiography and an ultrasound machine at Ved Gupta Hospital on December 10 following an inspection.

Dr Buttar said the inspections were conducted under the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Tests (Prohibition) Act.

Amritsar, December 19
In a major development, the city police have approached Illaqa Magistrate seeking permission for the polygraph test on three suspects in the murder case of 10-year-old Gurkirat Singh in Verka around a year ago.

Among the suspects include a relative and two others having property dispute with the family of the deceased. The suspects, identified as Jagwant Singh, Harpal Singh and Jaspal Singh, are residents of the same village.

This is perhaps for the first time that the Police Department has sought the permission for conducting polygraph test in a crime case in the holy city. In the request letter to the Ilaqa magistrate, the police claimed that during investigations, the three suspects were not giving clear answers to the queries of police officials. The police said the suspects were trying to mislead the investigating official, which prompted them to conduct a polygraph test upon them.

The Verka police filed the application on December 10, a copy of which is with The Tribune. The Ilaqa Magistrate has reportedly asked them (the suspects) to file a reply in this regard. If the police get the permission, the test would be conducted at the Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban (Karnal).

Gurkirat had mysteriously gone missing on November 7, 2012, while playing just close to his residence. The police filed a missing report and on November 10 and registered a kidnapping case after family members and area residents held a demonstration and blocked the Amritsar-Batala highway.

On November 16, his body was found dumped in a secluded building located just a few metres away from his residence.

Last month, the city police restarted the investigation, which was handed over to Assistant Commissioner of Police Gaurav Garg. The High Court had directed the city police to submit a status report in the case by November 15. However, the police had sought more time. So, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had fixed February 3 while asking the police to file a status report.

Amritsar, December 19
The Municipal Corporation has failed to comply with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to give intimation and permission to the general public to attend the MC House meeting, which was held yesterday, if they want.

Earlier, a city resident, Parbodh Chander Bali, had filed a plea with the court last year following which the court had directed the local body to entertain the applications of those who wanted to watch the proceedings of the meeting and to make suitable sitting arrangements for them.

The HC orders categorically say that even though the general public cannot participate in House meetings directly, the public can definitely “witness” the meetings rightfully as their fundamental right.

Even as the MC had formulated the Ámritsar Municipal Corporation Attendance of Meeting of Members of General Public Regulation, 2013, but it never bothered to act on the laid-down clauses.

Bali had written a letter to the City Mayor on February 12, 2013, that despite the HC orders, the MC had failed to act according to the Punjab Municipal Act 1976 norms and had failed to invite the public to watch the meetings of the House of Councillors. After this exercise, Bali was allowed to the meeting held on July 16, 2013.

Nonetheless, this lapse was repeated during the yesterday’s general 
house meeting.

Exercising his rights under section 3 of attendance of meeting of the house by general public Regulations 2013, he had sent an e-mail to the MC Commissioner, seeking permission for him and his sister, Urmila Vaid, to watch the meeting proceedings, a day in advance, but their request was not entertained. Bali has now decided to file a contempt of court petition.

“I along with my sister wanted to attend the meeting for the purpose of knowing the quality of participation by our area councillors and the problems we face in our localities. I had requested the MC authorities to issue us entry passes for the meeting, but no one bothered to respond. Even as it was mandatory for the MC to intimate the general public at least 72 hours ahead of the scheduled meeting through whatever suitable means, but the instructions were never followed. I am now going to file a fresh writ petition against the wilful contempt of court orders by the MC”, he said.

City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said though the rights of permission to attend the House meeting were reserved with the MC Commissioner, he (Mayor) was the appellate authority to hear the grievances pertaining to the House, if any. “If someone who was interested to watch the house proceedings, but was denied or not entertained, he has full rights to submit a complaint to me,” he said.

Maya Monica Devi, Italian dancer, performs at Art Gallery in Amritsar

Amritsar, December 19
“I was not born in India but India was born in me,” this is how 43-year-old Maya Monica Devi, Italian dancer, yoga expert and choreographer, professed her love for India. The leader of the Italian dance group, Nomadi, on a mystical tour of India shared her ancestry and the Gypsy spirit that her group signifies. Performing at the art gallery here for the World Folk Fusion Festival organised by the Punjab Culture Promotion Council, Maya along with her group mates, gave spellbinding performances of flamenco fused with kathak, kalbelia and Sufi renditions.

Their dance presented an amalgamation of western folk and Indian folk genres, with live music. “Our ancestors belonged to the Thar region of Rajasthan and from there they travelled through Afghanistan, Turkey and finally settled in Andulasia. So our cultural influences resemble Indian folk dance forms from the North. The nomadic way of life is about spirituality, mystism and celebrating life. Even our language resembles Hindi and the concept of multi-culturism we believe in.”

As for her performance, this is the second time she is in India. “Our first trip was to Rajasthan. We visited Jaipur, Udaipur and connected with folk artists from those places. As for Punjab, folk music forms like gidda, bhangra and the spiritual energy from Golden Temple is amazing and we sure have imbibed it in our way of life,” she said.

With the graceful grooves of Spanish flamenco and serpentine movements of Rajasthani kalbelia, Maya’s performance was about a glimpse of global folk culture. In the background were Sufi renditions the group experienced while collaborating with musicians in Ajmer. The group will next perform at Chandigarh and Ludhiana.

Calling India her spiritual home and Maya her spiritual name added to Monica, her birth name, she is busy making a song that features artists from India. “I usually work with two-three artists from India during my international tours, and am currently making a song called Banjara, which is a special edition about our roots in Pushkar,” said the member of the International Dance Council of UNESCO.

As for organising more such events, Davinder Mohan Singh Chinna, president, Punjab Culture Promotion Council, added, “Such efforts promote multiculturalism and bring global art forms on a single platform. Punjab is an important cultural centre, internationally as well and to host international artists of repute adds to its rapport with them.”

Amritsar, December 19
Two mobile phones were recovered from a prisoner in the Amritsar Central Jail. The undertrial has been identified as Narinder Singh, a resident of Batala, lodged in the jail.

According to information, the mobile phones were seized during a routine checking in the jail. Deputy Superintendent of Jail RK Sharma said two mobile phones- IEMI number 8685866003064363 and 868566003364867, without SIM, were recovered from the accused.

A case under Sections 420 of the IPC and 42, 52 under the Prisoners Act was registered against the accused at the Cantonment police station.

Amritsar, December 19
It is kite-flying season again, but thanks to the Chinese kite string, kite flying has become a source of trouble for the people rather than a way of recreation.

The synthetic string also known as ‘dragon dor’ has started spitting fire and taking its toll. Hospitals have started getting patients with injuries, sometimes fatal, caused by stray Chinese strings.

Recently, a woman sustained critical injuries when a stray Chinese string slit her neck. She was immediately taken to a hospital where the doctors attending on her had to apply over 20 stitches as she was profusely bleeding.

Despite the fact that the district administration has banned the sale and storage of China-made metal-zinc laced string, it has been going on with impunity. The string is posing a grave threat to the people especially those driving two-wheelers.

Recently the Deputy Commissioner, Ravi Bhagat, has directed all SDMs to ensure a blanket ban on 'dragon dor' and implementation of orders in letter and in spirit. They have been asked to raid various shops indulging in selling of kites and illegal sale of the 'dragon dor'.

However, so far nothing has been done to nail the offenders who were involved in selling the twine. The city police yesterday arrested a shopkeeper and seized around a dozen ‘gattus’ (Chinese string rolls) from his shop. He was later released on bail.

The residents said that with the onset of the kite-flying season, such incidents were bound to increase.

“If authorities see no illegal sale at shops, they should go to the rooftops of the shops and see youngsters flying kites with the Chinese dor,” said Malkeet Singh, a resident of Majitha road.

It has been learnt that these shopkeepers are storing Chinese string somewhere else instead of in their shops.

A kite-shop owner, Gurbax Singh, said the Chinese string had ruined the traditional 'dor' makers. They were finding it difficult to sell it as compared to the 'dragon dor' which can be stretched extensively.

Further, these strings are not only proving fatal for the people, but these are also harmful for birds who got entangled in the strings or lose wings. The district administration and the Police Department should take stringent action against violators so that they will not sell it in future.

Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, said that though he had asked administrative officials to raid and take action against the offenders, the people should also cooperate and informe the administration and the Police Department about the violators.

Amritsar, December 19
Braving severe cold conditions prevailing in the region, employees of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) continued their protest against the state government for its indifferent attitude towards their genuine demands, which include regularisation of their jobs. These employees have been holding agitation outside the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) for the last few days. They also have threatened to proceed on a hunger strike from December 30 if their demands were not met.

District president Havinder Pal Singh today said employees of the Panchayat Secretary Association had also extended their support to their agitation. He said the MGNREGA employees would hold hunger strike outside the ADC office on December 30, which would be followed by a three days’ state-level hunger strike outside the Panchayat Raj office at Mohali starting from December 31.

He said it was unfortunate that the government had not paid any heed towards their genuine demand. The state government had also failed to release their salaries for past several months, he added. He said employees were feeling cheated as the state as well as Central government had failed to regularise their jobs. Moreover, they were getting very low wages as compared to masons working under the scheme.

Amritsar, December 19
A minor dispute between two schoolchildren took an ugly turn, when the family members of a boy allegedly attacked the residence of the other, located in Katra Moti Ram area last evening.

Panic gripped the locality, when over two dozen youths pelted stones and soda bottles at the residence of Sanjay Mehra, father of the one of the boy. The situation was so tense that the police had to call backup force of at least four police stations on the spot to control the violent group.

Following the complaint of Sanjay Mehra, the police have booked Lukesh Kumar and his brother Nagesh Kumar, both residents of Haathi Gate area. In his complaint Sanjay said his son was student of a eighth standard at a private school. He had a quarrel with another student on the school premises. He said several people along with women came to their house to complain about the incident involving his son. According to the police authorities, women of both sides entered into heated arguments. Family members of the opposite group returned after the matter was sorted out.

Sanjay said, a few hours later, a group of people armed with soda bottles and bricks came on four vehicles to their house and indulged in hooliganism. They threw bricks and soda bottles and created a panic among the locality residents, he added.

The police said a case under Sections 452, 427, 148, 149 of the IPC has been registered at Kotwali police station against the hooligans. No arrests have been made so far, while further investigations were on.

Amritsar, December 19
Activists of various unions under the banner of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, Dehati Mazdoor Sabha and Janwadi Istri Sabha held a demonstration outside the Rajasansi police station today. They were demanding action against ASI Gurdip Singh for the alleged illegal detention and thrashing of Sawinder Singh, a former sarpanch of Umarpura village. While raising slogans against the police, they demanded registration of a case against the accused ASI.

Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, state president of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha alleged that on November 28, a police team, headed by ASI Gurdip Singh, picked up Sawinder Singh from his shop located in the main bazaar of Ajnala without adopting any legal procedure. He said Sawinder was brutally thrashed by the team at the police station.

Union activists sought the registration of criminal case against the accused policeman. They also threatened to go on an indefinite protest dharna outside the police station if the police failed to accede to their demand.

Senior police authorities, including SP (D) Jasdeep Singh and Rajasansi DSP Jagatpreet Singh reached the spot and tried to pacify the agitators. Jagatpreet said the police have registered a case under Section 377 of the IPC (unnatural sex) against a village youth, who was a relative of the former sarpanch Sawinder Singh. Repeated requests to the family to produce the accused before the police did not yield any result. Later, he said, both the groups reached on a compromise and asked the police to cancel the case.

The DSP pointed out, “As the nature of offence was very serious, it was not possible for the police to cancel the case on their own.”

The dharna was later lifted after SP (D) Jasdeep Singh assured activists of a thorough probe in this connection. He said appropriate action would be taken against anyone found guilty during the investigation. — TNS

Amritsar, December 19
Hoteliers of the holy city have resented the Amritsar Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) proposed move to levy City Beautification Fund on their units. Hotel owners lamented that they were already reeling under high taxes.

President of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRA), Civil Lines, APS Chatha, said hospitality industry in the city was already burdened with multiple taxes and the proposed fund would add one more tax to the array of taxes. He said the hospitality industry in the rest of the holy cities of the country was kept out of the purview of taxes to encourage investment by private players. On the other hand, the hospitality industry in the holy city of the Golden temple was not so old. In a shortest span after the end of the terrorism in the early 90’s, it gained the attention of national and international hospitality brands, he added.

He said instead of maintaining the momentum to encourage more players and create enough spots to prolong the stay of tourists in the city, the government and its agencies were coming out with a tax one after another.

A four-star hotel general manager Piyush Kapoor said this would be a novel and unique tax as no similar tax was being levied on this industry in any other district of the state. He said it would be an additional burden on hospitality players as they were already paying conservancy tax annually, which was decided on the basis area of hotel, property tax and trade license fee paid to the MC. Besides, service tax was paid to the Union government, VAT and luxury taxes were being paid to the state government, he added.

Satnam Singh, a hotelier from the walled city, said they strongly protested the proposed tax, which prompted them to think that the government was not sincere to attract tourist. He said eventually hoteliers would pass on the hike to customers by increasing rates of the services being offered in hotels and lodges.

He suggested the government should study hospitality industry, tax pattern and other factors prevalent in holy cities across the country, including popular tourist destinations Goa and Mumbai, before levying new taxes.

Amritsar, December 19
During the ongoing All India Maharaja Ranjit Singh Junior Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, Sports School, Jallandhar, defeated Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow, with a score of 7-2. The Jallandhar team set the winning pace by scoring a goal in 15th minute, converting two penalty shoots at the 18th and 25th minute into goals and then scoring two more goals in the 49th and 53rd minute. The Lucknow school managed to score two goals in 54th and 57th minute.

In the second match played today, Surjit Academy, Jallandhar, defeated Punjab National Bank Academy, Delhi, by 7-0. In the third match Army Boys Danapur team defeated Amirtsar Eleven team by 4-1.

In the fourth match played today between women teams, Chandigarh Eleven, Sector 42, won the match from Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hockey Academy by a score of 3-2. Both the teams could not score a goal against each other during the match time and the outcome was decided through penalty strokes.