Amritsar, December 22
Mystery shrouds death of a 13-year-old boy, Jobanjit, who had gone missing on December 20. His body was found the next morning near a godown in Mehta area.

He was allegedly strangled to death with the help of a woollen. The instance further gained attention when the family members cremated the body without informing the police.

A murder case was registered against unidentified persons after an aunt of the deceased, Karamjit Kaur, informed the police about the instance. The police have registered a case under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC against unidentified persons.

In a complaint submitted with the police, Karamjit Kaur stated that her nephew Jobanjit Singh of Mehta had gone to pay obeisance at a local gurudwara on December 20 but he never returned home. Next day, Jobanjit's body was found by the residents of the village near a godown which was located close to the residence of the deceased.

Darbara Singh, SHO Mehta police station, said as per the complaint there were injury marks on his waist too. "However, the family members cremated the body without informing us. This has raised suspicion in our mind. Though the case has been registered solely on the basis of the complaint submitted by the deceased's aunt but we are working on different theories," he said.

He said, "Following the complaint, the police rushed to the spot where the body was being cremated. When the police team reached the spot, they had already lit the pyre. We waited for it to be subdued and took over the possession of the mortal remains of the body for forensic examination," said Darbara Singh.

"We couldn't reach the spot on time as the family members had concealed the facts. When we questioned them, the parents of the deceased tried to justify it by saying that since they were illiterate and they had little idea about the legal matter. We are trying our level best to make breakthrough in the case," he said.

Amritsar, December 22
The MC employees deputed on field duties would have a new dress code. They have been provided with new uniform and other safety equipments, including reflectors and helmets.

The new uniform and other equipments were distributed by Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi today. Speaking on the occasion, Joshi said the initiative had been taken keeping in view the safety of the employees who were pressed into service in adverse conditions.

“They have immense contribution in maintaining the cleanliness irrespective of late hours. Generally, their place of work would be the roadside like mending the patches or desilting the sewerage and water lines. It was very important to provide them with special jackets having flourscent stripes and reflectors so that they could be noticed from a distance by commuters,” he said.

Joshi said the employees had been provided with walkie-talkie sets to set up a coordination among them while on job.“This would also help them get in touch instantly in case of emergency,” he said.

Others present on the occasion included MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda, Health Officer Dr Yogesh Arora, SE Jaswinder Singh, Xen Navtej Singh, Xen Pardooman Singh and others.

Amritsar, December 22
The cash-starved Municipal Corporation has started the practice of selling its properties to generate funds but the recent sale of property on Mall Road has rolled into controversy.

The party which had given bid for this property measuring 4,067 sq yards located behind the MC Commissioner's official residence on July 26 has backtracked alleging that the facts of the property were concealed before putting it under hammer.

Even as the MC has received the 10 per cent of the bid value, the party has declined to furnish the condition of depositing another 15 per cent of the property value. They stated that the MC had not disclosed that the plot could not be utilised to its optimum use, as barred by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). This plot is located within the purview of 100 meters of Company Bagh, the protected historic site. The ASI has also imposed a blanket ban on the stipulated radius against any type of construction. According to information, some portion of this plot comes under this preview and any type of construction on it was barred.

The bidders argued that this condition was not clarified before the auction by the authorities and that since he would have just 2,400 square yard out of a total of 4,067 square yard at his discretion, he should be held liable to pay the cost of only the portion on which he could be allowed to do construction on his will. This plot had a reserve price of Rs 36,000 per sq yard. It was put under hammer and the deal was struck at the rate of Rs 36,100 per sq yard and was valued Rs 14.68 crore.

Even as the Mall road commands a highest commercial value here, but this particular plot could be utilised for residential purpose only because of its close proximity with the historical Company Bagh.

The MC Commissioner, DPS Kharbanda, said 10 per cent of the cost of property has already been received by the MC and can be confiscated in this case. All the terms and conditions were duly laid down before the bidders well in advance. "Now, that the bidder is on the back foot, it will be termed as a breach of contract. He was bound to pay the rest of the price of plot as per the law but he defied it. It will be his liability now to clear the dues against this property. We have sought permission from the general house which has authorised us to proceed as per the law.," he said. 

Amritsar, December 22
A quarrel between students of a local government school took an ugly turn when a group of youths attacked a student near bus stand with sharp-edged weapons.

The police have booked eight persons in this regard following the complaint submitted by the victim, Kaushik, a resident of Mustafabad.

Among those booked include Sandeep of Shobha Singh Colony and Sona of Ganda Singh Colony, Majitha Road. Besides, the police have also booked six unidentified persons in the case.

According to complainant, the accused were jealous of him as he always secured good position in his class. Rajpal Singh, in charge of the bus stand police chowki, said both the groups had an altercation over some minor issue a few days ago and today's incident was outcome of that altercation. Though at that time the matter was sorted out, but the accused kept grudge against him.

He said a case under Sections 323, 324, 148, 149 of the IPC has been registered at the Rambagh police station. He said no arrest has been made in the case so far as the accused were absconding ever since the incident. 

Amritsar, December 22
The city today witnessed a sudden drop in temperature and cloudy morning, yet again. A minimum temperature of 5 degrees and rainfall added to the woes of the residents.

The winter chill increased after the surprise rain. Rain seems to have spoiled plans for many and even disrupted rail and air traffic. But there were few residents who took it positively. "Rain is a positive sign as at least now the air will not be dry. It is considered good for health and keeps the usual winter problems away," said Neeraj Gupta, a resident of Cherhrta.

"Weather has been quite unpredictable this year. The winters started off late and might end late as well, just like last year," said Anupam Dayal, a retired government officer from Adarsh Nagar.

The low spirits are common for young and old, with some even complaining about the year end, "The winters seem to be never ending. During the end of the year, parties are on cards and rain can spoil the fun. I hope it gets over before New Year's eve," said Sahil Madaan, a student of Khalsa College.

Packed were the coffee shops and dhabas in the city corners with people enjoying the rain over piping hot cups of masala teas and even hot pakoras. "It's the best time to have pakoras. Since, you can't go out with friends when it rains, you have to make use of whatever is available," said Manjot Kaur, a student.

The adults gave mixed reactions to the sudden showers, while the children and youngsters had their fun. 

Amritsar, December 22
The district administration has initiated a special awareness programme against cancer both in rural, semi-urban and urban areas, besides conducting a special door-to-door survey.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat while launching the programme, 'Early Screening-Early Detection' said Health Department in association with the district administration had identified more than 1,064 cases of cancer with disbursement of treatment charges to a tune of Rs 12.87 crore.

On the occasion, DC announced that the patients would soon be able to submit their financial help files online. "Amritsar has witnessed maximum disbursement of financial help to cancer patients under the Cancer Raahat Kosh Scheme. In Amritsar, this scheme was launched on June 1, 2011. We have just 28 compensation files pending. They will be cleared on priority basis," he said. "The process is under way. Three doctors deputed on the board of Health Department were already on job to clear the genuine files after thorough verification of documents with treatment record," he said.

Bhagat also called upon the people that if they find any difficulty in filing their applications for seeking financial help against cancer patients, they could visit the Civil Surgeon or his office without any hesitation. He said the state government has arranged ultra modern machines for treatment of cancer in Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot while Bathinda would get state-of-the-art Cancer Treatment Centre soon.

Amritsar, December 22
Bathinda beat Sonepat 5-4 during the inaugural match of the Shaheed Udham Singh Girls Junior Hockey Tournament held at the GNDU turf today.

In the second match, Patiala beat Delhi 2-1 while Gwalior defeated Jalandhar 1-0 in another match.

The meet is being organised by Sthe haheed Udham Singh Sports and Welfare Society which was opened by Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi.

The veteran Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Brig, Harcharan Singh Brar, who was present on the occasion, showed concern about the depleting graph of Indian hockey on global platform.

"Be it Astroturf or grass ground, until and unless we practice rigorously and achieve mastery in our traditional style of hockey, there will be a little hope in raising the standard of hockey in our country," he said.

"Today, lot has to be done to raise the standard of hockey. With the advent of Astroturf, our players too have adopted the European style of hockey. Earlier, when they used to adopt our traditional techniques, the overseas teams could never stand against them. Now, the situation is other way around,"he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Anil Joshi appreciated the efforts of the Shaheed Udham Singh Sports and Welfare Society for promoting the national game. "There were times when 80 per cent of the hockey players belonged to Punjab, now the situation is otherwise. The state government has contemplated to spend over Rs 100 crore for promotion of hockey by setting up Astroturfs and stadiums in different districts," he said.

Tournament organiser Manminder Singh said that this tournament was being organised to pay tribute to Shaheed Udham Singh. An NRI Gagan Sharma has announced to present a cash prize of Rs 31,000 to the winning team in the memory of his late father Ram Lubhaya.

Amritsar, December 22
Have you ever seen Santa doing a bhangra? And we saw one while driving through the city and he wasn't wearing kurta pyjama. Thankfully, dressed up in his dress code, the Santa was busy spreading the yuletide spirit on road.

This very much describes the Christmas celebrations in the holy city, with two more days to go. While Santa is an all-time favourite whether it Amritsar or Amsterdam, the King of the North Pole seems to have made home in the walled city, with every nook and corner shop decorated with X-mas trees, Santa goodies and Christmas specials.

While the city malls wear a decorative look, Alpha One has decided to give its customers a Santa surprise. To make Christmas eve entertaining, they have a festive evening planned for its visitors. The other shopping spaces in city have also turned red, with the Christmas tree turning blue and white this season. Imbued in silvery, glittering colourful lights and ornaments, Christmas tree is finding a place in most homes this X-mas. Archies Gallery has a list of Christmas goodies like silver balls, bells, miniature Santa Claus, decorative stockings, musical cards and stick candies cut out like X-mas tree.

Apart from the goodies, cakes and candies too make for Christmas celebrations. Special offers around city bakeries are Gingerbread house, plum puddings, Christmas chocolate tree and homemade chocolates for the occasion.“People buy cakes specially as a gift or otherwise on Christmas, specially

kids who are fond of baked Christmas delights. We have special Santa Claus icings and toppings for Christmas but they are on order,” says Rakesh, working at Popular Bakery, Lawrence Road.

City hotels and clubs too are waiting to play Santa for young and grown up, with Christmas parties being organised. Special offers and costume parties will be the order of the day.

Though the colour of the festival is red, but some will be happy making it green for the cause of it. Eco-Amritsar, a movement to create a cleaner and greener Amritsar by 2017 which is the 440th year of this pious city's foundation, will be urging people to celebrate the festival in such a manner that the natural environment is not strained. The Christian sangat and young volunteers of St Mary's Church, Gumtala have decided to join the cause. Whereby, they will use washable utensils instead of disposable ones, Eco-Amritsar will symbolically have the Santa Claus distribute cloth bags to people carrying polythenes to send across the message that we want a plastic free Amritsar and that each cloth bag replaces 1,000 plastic polythenes. 

Amritsar, December 22
Unemployed linesmen at a meeting today decided to disrupt the Punjab government’s Fatehgarh Sahib rally scheduled on December 26, if the government failed to fulfill their long-pending demands. Raising slogan against the ill-conceived policy matter of the government, they pressed for jobs with the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd, as was promised.

They told that the government had issued a notification for recruiting 5,000 linesmen in Punjab, but only 1,000 were given jobs in 2010. Since then, the recruitment process has been stalled.

They showed their resentment against the government’s recent move to invite fresh applications for the posts of linesmen.

Rajinder Kumar, district president of the Unemployed Linesmen Union, Amritsar, told that the government had been misguiding linesmen by giving false promises.

“The advertisement for recruiting 5,000 linesmen was published in 2010, thereafter only 1,000 linesmen were recruited in different power stations in the state. The rest were assured to be absorbed in due course, but even after a lapse of three years, the government didn’t keep its words. The latest move of releasing another advertisement of hiring fresh linesmen is another political stunt by the government which was not acceptable to us as there were over 4,000 linesmen who were lurching for the job,” he said.

Ranjit Singh, press secretary of the union said it had been decided by the union to oppose the Fatehgarh Sahib rally on December 26. Others present on the occasion included vice-president of the union, Gursharan Singh, secretary, Sandeep Singh, Paramjit Singh Majitha, Gurmej Singh Jandiala and others. 

Amritsar, December 22
Panchayat members from as many as 30 villages were invited by Amandeep Hospital in its awareness event ‘Magic of Hands’ to learn about prevention and management of severe hand injuries while performing agricultural activities in their fields.

As many as 32 per cent of hand injuries during farming lead to amputation of fingers or hands, especially while using the fodder-cutting machine called ‘tokka’.

Along with panchayat members were 30 patients who had undergone treatment for severe hand injuries and were leading near normal lives besides industrialists, educationists to interact and understand preventive measures and first aid during such accidents such as having security guards on machines.

“Many a times such injuries can be rectified with prompt treatment,” said Dr Ravi Mahajan, head of plastic and microvascular surgery of the hospital.

Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, was the chief guest on the occasion. He was greeted by hospital director Dr Avtar Singh, Dr Amandeep Kaur, managing director and Dr Harish Ghildiyal. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda, SS Chinna, school and college principals were also present on the occasion.

Folk dance and drama organised by noted national awardee, Kewal Dhaliwal, was presented to bring home the message through enactment of daily occurrences causing such casualties, their solutions and best practices to save human limbs.

In the last 12 years, as many as 4,600 cases had been treated for hand injuries due to various reasons. Out of which 38 per cent of hand injuries occurred during road accidents, 32 per cent due to agricultural related machine accidents, while industrial hand injuries constitute 21 per cent, domestic injuries was the reason for 9 per cent of the hand injuries especially among women and children.

Dr Ravi informed that hand injuries can be incurred by something as innocent as leaving out your hand in a moving vehicle. It is also important if the amputated part is brought in a polythene bag with ice, in the shortest possible time to a relevant hospital dealing with such emergencies. The time factor counts a lot in such cases.

International kabbadi player Hira Singh who incurred severe hand injury in a road accident shared his experience as well as a young Saransh Khanna, whose arm was crushed during a school trip and underwent 16 surgeries, was able to drive a car now.

The invitees shared their traumatic stories with the audience. Hand injuries and deformity are also caused due to assaults, birth defects, Chinese kite string cuts, electrical or other burns, sword cuts and wearing jewellery in workplaces. The surgeries could take up to 24 hours with several medical teams involving experts from various fields working in successive time spans to help patients. “We have about five such experts in the hospital,” stated Dr Avtar Singh, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon of the hospital. 

Amritsar, December 22
The Beas police have booked four persons besides an identified person for allegedly endangering life and created panic in the Baba Bakala area.

Among those who have been booked include Sukhdev Singh of Sohal village (Gurdaspur), Randeep Singh of Athwal village, Jatinder Singh of Kandiala village and Pehaljit Singh of Ghuman Kalan village.

The police recovered four rifles of .315 bore from the spot while the accused managed to flee the spot.

Gurnam Singh, in charge Baba Bakala police chowki informed that he along with a police party, were on night patrolling and held a naka near Baba Bakala when they heard the sounds of gun shots.

When they reached Baba Bakala Gurdwara they found the accused with the rifles. Seeing the police party, the accused fled the spot after throwing their weapons in the two vehicles. The police recovered the rifles which were found to be licensed. Besides rifles the police also recovered 12 cartridges.

A case under Section 336 of the IPC and Sections 25,54,59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused and no arrest has been made so far. 

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