Sadar police with two persons arrested with synthetic drugs in Amritsar

Amritsar, December 21
The year 2013 has witnessed the arrest of a large number of drug peddlers in the city as well as rural area, besides confiscation of huge quantity of drugs and narcotic substances. Thanks to the state government’s ‘clear-cut’ directions to the Police Department for launching a concerted drive against drug peddlers. The seizure of habit forming drugs and synthetic drugs has also seen a rise this year.

Although the police arrested a large number of peddlers barring a couple of persons, it is yet to nab big fish involved in the illegal trade so far. Besides petty crime, including snatchings and robberies continue to haunt the residents of holy city like previous years. There is no let up in the instances where robbers even barged into the houses and decamped with valuables.

As per the data available, the city police have registered as many as 853 cases under the NDPS Act, while 1,019 drug peddlers were arrested in these cases. The figure is much higher than last couple of years. In 2012, the police had registered 450 cases and in 2011 the number of cases registered was 250. On the other hand the Amritsar rural police has claimed to have registered over 750 cases and arrested 776 drug traffickers involved in these cases.

The city police have seized 7 kg heroin, around 18 kg of charas, 41.649 kg of narcotic powder, 4.50 kg of opium and over 1.50 kg of smack till now. Amritsar rural police have recovered 164 kg of heroin (including seizure from Indo-Pak border by the Border Security Force), 13.8 kg of opium, around 60 kg of narcotic powder, 209 gm charas and 177 gm of smack.

What has baffled that the police have seized a huge quantity of proscribed drugs from the city as well as rural areas. It has confiscated total of 11.46 lakh of intoxicant capsules and tablets.

“The seizure of huge quantity of habit forming drugs is high in the city and its rural belt, which clearly indicates the involvement of chemist shop owners. It has been found that even though there are no clinics and hospitals in various parts of the rural belt, but they do have chemist shops in the vicinity,” said the police authorities.

A former top policeman on condition of anonymity said the state government had directed the police to leave no stone unturned in eradication of the menace. It was political patronage to peddlers, which was hampering the functioning of the police against them, he added. He said the police should be given a free hand in fight against narco terrorism.

Another police official said arrest of a large number of persons testified that the police was working honestly against drug menace. He said, “In the first phase, we have arrested the consumers and small time peddlers, but from their investigations police officials are laying their hands on their sources from where they procure the contraband.”

Amritsar, December 21
The annual sports day and the prize distribution function were held at Khalsa College Public School. Brig Harcharan Singh, VSM, Arjuna awardee and a hockey Olympian was the chief guest. Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, honorary secretary, Khalsa College Charitable Society, presided over the function.

The guests were extended a warm welcome by the Principal, Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar, who presented the school report also.

The programme started with a march past followed by a guard of honour presented to the chief guest. The athletic meet was followed by a cultural programme where students showcased their talent by performing a fusion dance and an Arabian dance. Gatka and bhangra were also performed. Parents were enthralled by the mesmerising performances of students. Students who excelled in scholastic and co-scholastic activities were awarded prizes. Special awards were given to national players in the school.

Brig Harcharan Singh blessed the students and motivated them to take part in sports and be disciplined in life.

Chhina appreciated the students for their achievements and motivated them to excel in life. He congratulated the Principal and the staff of the school for their untiring efforts towards the betterment of the students and taking the school to great heights.

Amritsar, December 21
A day after holding the general house meeting, which had declared the hefty amount raised as loans from banks, supposed to carry out development works, the MC’s own staff raised their voices against its policy matters. HUDCO and Bank of India have cleared extending loans worth Rs 55 crore and Rs 50 crore to the MC.

The Joint Action Committee of the MC employees, including all superintendents and estate officers, yesterday held a meeting at the Town Hall office and flayed the MC authorities for not releasing their payment on various counts. Besides, the MC employees lamented that their provident fund dues had not been accounted for long.

They resented that though their personal loan component was being deducted from their salaries, yet it never reached the bank. This was adding to their debt burden. Another revelation by them was that their income-tax deductions, too, were never accounted for in their accounts.

They have submitted a letter to the Bank of India Hall Bazar branch, Amritsar, apprising its chief manager that the MC which could not pay the salaries of its employees will hardly be in a position to pay back the loan amount of Rs 50 crore. Harjinder Singh Walia, president of the Nagar Nigam Karamchari Talmel Dal, said that since April 2013, the MC had not been crediting their provident fund dues amounting to Rs 7 crore. Similarly, instalments of bank loans taken by safai sewaks, too, were not being deposited by the MC.

“Ultimately, these safai sewaks will have to bear the brunt of hefty interest amounts on their loans. The MC is in the process of taking loans worth Rs 105 crore from the Bank of India and HUDCO. It has been learnt that its pay-back instalment will be paid through the VAT amount incurred on employees’ salaries, which could never be acceptable. The income-tax deduction is made from our salaries but it is never forwarded to the Income Tax Department for quite sometime. That’s why many employees had received notices.

Amritsar, December 21
With the arrest of three persons, the Civil Lines police today busted a gang involved in betting on cricket matches that are being played between India and South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

The police recovered 10 mobile phones, one LCD, Rs 1,800 in cash and seven mobile chargers besides a register from their possession. Among those arrested included Rajesh Kumar, alias Ghora of Kishan Kot, Islamabad area, Vijay Kumar of Haripura and Vishal Pal of Albert Road. They have been booked under Sections 66-A IT Act, 13-A/3/67 under the Gambling Act.

Bikrampal Singh Bhatti, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said the police received a tip-off that the suspects were involved in betting and operated from the first floor of Soni Complex, located near Amritsar railway station. — TNS

Amritsar, December 21
Senior BJP leader Lakshmi Kanta Chawla has urged the government to frame a comprehensive policy to suggest dos and don't’s during investigation under police custody.

She said unconfirmed reports stated that inhuman ways like severe thrashing and passing of electric shock on genitals of arrested persons were employed.

She said bribes were sought to spare the arrested persons of physical thrashing. She added that the government must elaborate the measures and intensity of physical punishment that could be inflicted during interrogation.

Amritsar, December 21
A retired home guard jawan is running from pillar to post for getting justice for his daughter, who was allegedly thrown out of the house after being thrashed by her husband and in-laws. “I lodged a complaint with the senior police authorities around a month ago, but the police have yet to take any action against the accused,” said Hardev Singh, who works as a watchman on the Lawrence road area. He alleged that his daughter’s in-laws had also filed a false complaint against him for pressurising him to withdraw the complaint.

In a complaint to the police commissioner, he alleged that his 23-year-old daughter Rakhi was married to Major Singh, a resident of Jora Phatak, in September 2010. He said during the marriage he had told her in-laws that he could not give dowry. He alleged that now her in-laws, including husband, were harassing his daughter for not bringing dowry. He said the accused also tried to kill his daughter.

Hardev said the accused lodged a false case with the Mohkampura police against him for pressurising him to withdraw the complaint. He said despite the fact that they were called a couple of times by the police they did not reach the police station.

Police officials said investigations were under progress. They said several residents of the area, including councilor, had intervened in the case and sought amicable settlement of the dispute.

Amritsar, December 21
At a time when the expensive smart phones and i pads are a rage amongst the youth, there is always a threat of getting these gadgets stolen or snatched by miscreants. It is very cumbersome to get them traced as the police hardly gave priority to such cases. In majority of incidents, it limits itself only to filing a case or making an entry in their daily diary report.

However, a city based e-commerce businessman, Randip Singh, has set an example by tracing his lost Apple i pad using a mobile application ‘i-cloud’. By doing so, he has also shown the way to other gadget users as how they can use such apps to their advantage.

Giving details he said he recovered his i pad within two hours of it being stolen by an unidentified person. However, the accused managed to escape from the spot taking the advantage of darkness in the evening.

He said his friend Major Lalit Sehgal was coming to his office located at Nehru Shopping Complex on Lawrence Road. When he parked his car in the complex, he found i pad missing. He had stopped at a shop for replacing the car tyre before reaching the office.

Randip said his Apple gadget was registered with the Google. Therefore, it took no time for them to trace the location of the mobile by using the application ‘icloud.com’. “We clicked the lost mode application of the i-cloud, which showed the geographical location of the device at Bhandari bridge. At lost mode, the mobile remains on and cannot be switched off,” said Randip. They continued to chase the accused through the GPRS location of the i pad and finally located the device on the Batala road.

He said, “Later, we put the device on ‘play sound’ mode under which it emits a beeping sound. This helped and we finally located the accused youth. However, before we caught him, he fled leaving behind his bag, which contained the i pad.”

He said this application was also available for other smart phones in ‘find my mobile’ option available in the android market.

Amritsar, December 21
As the year draws to an end, students from various schools are busy working their creativity out just before they take a winter break. As popular, the best has been saved for last. Schools in the city are organising exhibits, events and celebrations for the students to present their creative on and off the stage. As the season of fetes and carnivals is on, a lot of children are getting the spotlight with some stage productions and performances.

Recently, DPS celebrated annual event with ‘100 years of Indian Cinema’ as its theme. Students took to stage to pay tribute to the country’s cinematic glory. Springdales’s annual cultural extravaganza ‘Saanjh’ too had students performing on-stage and off-stage duties.

Off late, there has been a lot of talk about passive learning, out of classroom learning and edutainment. The fact that children need more engaging ways of learning and gaining through self-experience has been highlighted by the growing school-based programmes that initiate creative communication of children.

Springdales annual production is an all-student show. This year almost over 700 students participated in its annual production on women empowerment. Each student took a turn on the stage to suggest solutions to fight crimes against women and social stigmas. Even the play Moran Sarkar staged at Saanjh-2013 showed the thespian skills of teachers and students contribution on stage.

Similarly, DPS’s annual show had tiny tots present the value and impact of cinema over young minds through dance, drama and songs. Right from costumes to music and taking up the stage in confidence, the children seemed in-charge of most of the school productions.

“Creative platforms like these are very important for nurturing young minds and parents, academic institutions. Children stand on a parallel line of thought with activities like performing arts given a priority when it comes to learning without being burdened. Amritsar has a growing number of children who are exploring their creative side whether inside the classroom or outside it,” said Amit Sharma, who takes theatre workshops for schoolchildren.

Sprindales principal Rajiv Sharma too feels that such theatrical activities encourage free thinking among young students. Sanjog Ahuja, a student of Springdales and a regular face at school’s theatre productions credits his stint with theatre at school for his career alternative. Already preparing for NSD, he says, “I worked as an assistant director in three school plays. I would like to write and direct plays in future as well.” Sanjog believes theatre is a cool career option for youngsters. He said, “Given its freedom of thought and the way it channelises your thinking moulded by creativity is fascinating for me. I believe it has a potential worth exploring.”

Amritsar, December 21
Wrestler from the holy city, Vikram Sharma, won a bronze medal in the recently concluded All India Police Games at Ranchi in Jharkhand. He lost to 2010 Commonwealth champion. Earlier, he won six gold medals in the same championship. He was a wrestling champion in the Police Games in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012.

In response to dip in his performance he said, “Before the run up to the game, he was down with fever, which not only made him physically weak, but also adversely impacted his exercise regimen.” He hoped to regain his form soon as he was exercising twice a day.

A wrestling player in the 84-kg Greeco Roman style, Vikram took part in the World Police Games in Ireland this year. He has already won gold medals in the two editions of the World Police Games in 2009 and 2011.

An international-level wrestler, he is employed with the Punjab Police as Head Constable. He has won many titles for the state and the department. List of his achievements is in-exhausting. He won the silver in the 84-kg Greeco-Roman style in the World Police Games held in New York in September, 2011. He also achieved the first position in the National Games after beating Haryana's Rinku at Ranchi in 2011. In the National Wrestling Championship, 2009, at Udaipur, he got silver in 84-kg Greeco-Roman style. Besides, in the 2011 Wrestling Federation Cup in Mumbai he vanquished Maharashtra's Sanjay Yadav and won the gold medal. Earlier, in the 2009 World Police Games held at Vancouver, Vikram snatched the gold in the same category and the silver medal in the freestyle.

His maiden international exposure came in the 2001 Junior Wrestling Asian Championship held in Iran in the U-20 category. Following this championship he joined the Punjab Police.

His father Kamal Kishore Sharma, a keen wrestler in his youth, introduced Vikram to the game in his childhood. He started wrestling at the Gole Bagh wrestling stadium in 1997. During his educational career, he represented Hindu Sabha School.

Vikram credits Sohan Singh, an international coach, for honing his skills in the game. He practices six hour a day to keep himself fit for the championships. He says, “I adjust my practice schedule in the morning and the evening to make myself available for other jobs in the department.” Vikram said he was also grooming his seven-year-old son Uday for the game.

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