Amritsar, December 29
The Amritsar rural police today claimed to have solved the blind murder case of 13-year-old Jobanjit Singh. Objection to his mother's illicit relation was the reason behind his murder, the police claimed. He was strangulated to death on December 21.

The incident came to light when the boy's family cremated him without informing the police.

Following a complaint regarding this by Karamjit Kaur, an aunt of the deceased, the police had registered a case under Section 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC against an unidentified person.

Jobanjjit had gone missing when he went to pay obeisance at a local gurdwara on December 20 evening. The family tried to trace him, but in vain. The very next day, his body was found by some villagers near a society godown, which was close to Jobanjit's residence.

Confirming the accused, Kuljit Singh's arrest, Jasdeep Singh, SP(D), said he turned out to be the lover of the deceased's mother. During the interrogation, the police found that the accused was in relation with Jobanjit's mother for a couple of years. As the boy was aware of their relationship, he used to raise an objection to it.

“However, this did not go down well with Kuljit Singh who nurtured a grudge against him,” said the police.

The police added that the accused started keeping a close eye on the movement of the deceased with an intention to eliminate him.

The SP (D) said on December 20, the accused found an opportunity and took him to a secluded place and strangulated him to death.

The investigation revealed that Kuljit told everything to Jobanjit's mother and pressured her to cremate the body, said the police. The accused threatened to kill her children if she disclosed this to anyone.

The accused has been sent to judicial custody by the court.

Amritsar, December 29
While opposing the release of former militants from jails, various Hindu organisations today burnt the effigy of three major parties- SAD, BJP and the Congress- for politicising the issue.

They burned the effigy at the local Lohgarh chowk. They said terrorist had no religions. They alleged that the parties were supporting these ex-militants for the sake of vote bank politics. They criticised the BJP for being a mute spectator.

Amritsar, December 29
Faced with the possibility of being taxed by the Municipal Corporation (MC), different hotel associations came together on a common platform to oppose the proposed beautification tax.

Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHARA) President APS Chathah said it was unanimously decided to hold a protest march and submit a memorandum to the MC authorities to rollback the imposition of the tax. He said if the civic body did not agree to their demand, they would move to the court.

The cash trapped MC had proposed to collect the tax for the beautification of the city. It was proposed that hotels should collect the tax from tourists and deposit it with the government. The proposed rate of the tax will be Rs 200 per room for five star and four star hotels, Rs 100 per room for three star and Rs 50 per room for non-star hotels.

On the other hand, the hospitality industry hold that the business was already suffering due to multiple taxes imposed by the civic authority, state and the Union Governments. The hospitality industry is already paying 8 per cent luxury tax and 7.42 per cent service tax on rooms. Food and beverage attracts a service tax of 4.94 per cent and VAT at 14.30 per cent, which amounts to a total of 19.24 per cent. Banqueting attracts service tax of 8.65 per cent and VAT at 14.30 per cent, which is a total of 22.95 per cent.

Satnam Singh Kanda, chairman, Hotel Association Walled City, said," Instead of offering some respite to the industry, a new tax for the beautification of the city is being imposed by the Municipal Corporation."

AHARA general secretary Piyush Kapoor said “it is the responsibility of the MC to make sure that the city is clean and looks good for which the civic body is already charging a number of taxes." He claimed that it was the only city in the state where the industry was paying conservancy tax to the MC.

They claimed that the industry was already struggling due to the poor business environment and had slashed romm charges by 50 per cent.

Amritsar, December 29
The Municipal Corporation (MC) was compelled to launch an awareness drive to sensitise residents against the cheaters when they come to deposit property tax dues at the designated centres.

The MC has decided to erect flex boards to aware the residents, besides launching special phone numbers on which the residents would be able to lodge their complaints in case they find any one collecting or filling up the property tax forms.

The property tax forms are supposed to be distributed free of cost. It has been learnt that several persons, in the guise of MC workers, have been charging money for the same.

These steps are being initiated in the backdrop of two instances in the Chheharta area where several persons were caught red- handed while pocketing money in lieu of filling up the property tax forms. They charged between Rs 20 and Rs 50 for the same, officials told.

The MC team had recovered bundles of forms from their possession. They were let-off after taking written apology keeping in view their age (many among them were underaged college students).

MC Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said big flex boards had been proposed to be installed in designated zones for collection of property tax, besides the main MC Office at Town Hall building.

Apart from starting a special complaint number, the authorities are also in the process of taking all the councillors into confidence while providing them with preventive measures against the unauthorised collection of property tax forms.

MC Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said big flex boards had been proposed to be installed in designated zones for collection of property tax, besides the main MC Office at Town Hall building.

Apart from starting a special complaint number, the authorities are also in the process of taking all the councillors into confidence while providing them with preventive measures against the unauthorised collection of property tax forms.

Amritsar, December 29
A couple of days after an auto-rickshaw driver accused the Sultanwind police of torture, the city police today shifted Sultanwind police chowki in charge Major Singh to the Police Lines while more names are likely to come out during the investigation. The police have also initiated a departmental enquiry against him.

Brahmjit Singh, a resident of Sultanwind, had appeared before the National SC Commission Chairman and had alleged that he was kept in illegal detention by the police and was subjected to an inhuman torture.

Following which, the Rajkumar Verka had ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police to register an FIR and submit a report within five days. He had directed the authorities to get the medical examination of the boy done in the presence of an SDM rank official.

Brahmjit alleged that on December 12 a theft incident had taken place near his residence. On the eve of Christmas, a team from the Sultanwind police chowki asked him to reach the police station. He, along with his family members, went to the chowki where ASI Major Singh said they would leave him only after the investigation in the case was over.

He said the police officials subjected him to the third-degree torture. He alleged that they pressured him to confess to the crime. He had alleged that the police detained him in a canter and later took him to the police station. He said the next day, when his family members reached the police station, they were shocked to see his condition and asked the police officials to release him. The Deputy Commissioner of Police said the investigation was in progress and an appropriate action would be taken against the culprits.

Amritsar, December 29
After Arvind Kejriwal sworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi, the local unit of the Aam Aadmi Party set up a dedicated desk at Nehru Shopping Complex to enrol people with the party today. The party activists, mostly youngsters, were seen guiding people about how to join the party.

“We interacted with 500 people, who were interested in joining the party. However, only 90 could fill membership forms on the spot as the copy of an identity proof and photographs were required,” said a party activist.

Prince Pal Singh, in charge for the drive, said, “People seem interested in joining the party, especially after it showed that the system can be changed.” SS Seth, a retired employee who joined the party, said, “I was just passing through the venue and I decided to join the party instantly. We all are fed up with the corrupt system. The public should give the AAP a chance to bring the change.” He said he wanted to actively participate in the party’s activities.

Surinder Dua, another new member of the party, said, “I personally feel that the AAP has given the people an option. Earlier, we had to vote for one or other party having the same policies.” He said people were taking the AAP seriously .

A retired doctor said, “My wife died four days ago. I had came here to collect her photograph. I joined the party because I feel that I have an obligation towards my country.”

The party had also organised an event on December 25 during which 73 people joined the party.

Amritsar, December 29
The candidates, who appeared in the UGC test today, faced harassment as the examination centres specified against their roll numbers on the website of Guru Nanak Dev University did not match with the same centre.

The candidates held the university liable for the error, but later it was learnt that the confusion was created after they consulted the previous UGC test centre sheet on the website. However, these students again held the varsity responsible for not removing the detail of previous UGC test centres.

Maninder Pal, one of the candidates, said her roll number was 25300122 for UGC (English) exam. She reached Police DAV Public School for the exam but was told that her examination centre was at Khalsa College for Women.

When contacted, GNDU Registrar Dr Inderjit Singh said candidates must be wary while noting down the examination centres. He said about 9,000 candidates appeared at the 32 examination centres for the exam set up in the district.

Amritsar, December 29
Cadets of Second Punjab Air Squadron, NCC, participating in the undergoing nine- day camp at DAV Public School were educated on natural and man-made disasters and were given tips to meet its exigencies.

Civil Defence Deputy Chief Warden Surjit Sharma delivered a guest lecture.The camp is scheduled to conclude on January 3. Over 400 cadets from Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Amritsar are participating in the camp.

Sharma said Civil Defence prepares volunteers to meet natural and man-made disasters. Believing in the age-old adage of “hope for the best and prepare for the worst” he stressed on preparing all year round to better equipped to mitigate the losses in case of any eventuality.

He elaborated that man-made disasters could be war, psychological warfare like drugs, terrorism, while natural disasters were like floods, earthquake and others.

He also gave tips about post disasters. Sharing lessons learnt from the Uttarakhand tragedy, he said it was vital to develop skills to survive the disaster for at least three days so that life saving agencies like National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire brigade, medical aid could reach them.

Amritsar, December 29
Amandeep Hospital and Clinic organised a drug de-addiction awareness camp for the residents of the border area.

Dr Amandeep Kaur, hospital director, said many youngsters in rural areas die because of the want of proper de-addiction facilities.

She said the data compiled on the basis of such camps had revealed more drug addicts in rural areas in comparison to urban areas.

Dr Harjot Singh, de-addiction expert said, “The doctors and family members of the drug addicts should adopt a scientific approach to cure the problem.”

He said use of force and boycott of the addicts would further aggravate the problem.

Amritsar, December 29
Following the accident involving an ambulance of 108 service which killed a scooterist on Majitha Road on December 23, the management here conducted a safety pledge for all his ambulance drivers and supporting staff.

A special pledge containing a protocol was prepared by Ziqitza Health Care Ltd, the service provider for 108 ambulance services and 181 Punjab Police helpline.

Each staff member of 108 Ambulance Service including -1200 ambulance crew ( 600 EMT & 600 drivers) along with 200 (back office and control room employees have signed the pledge for safe driving and follow the traffic rules.

Gurdial Singh, his wife and grandson were riding a scooter when an ambulance of 108 service hit them from behind. Later, Gurdial lost his life, while his wife and kid are still under treatment in ICU and are serious.

Project Head Jitendra K Sharma gave presentation to all staff for road safety and the traffic rules with safe driving tips.

The staff of 108 Ambulance Service control room kept two-minute silence to pray for the peace of departed soul and for empowering the strength to the family members.

Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, Jitendra K Sharma, said, “We are in touch with the family members and pray to the God for the recovery of the injured.

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