Amritsar, June 5
There is no end to crime against minor girls with the city witnessing a couple of shocking incidents in which three girls were allegedly raped by three persons.

In the first case, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her foster father with whom both the mother and daughter were living for the past several years.

The victim stated to the police that yesterday, her father gave her a soft drink containing some intoxicant. After drinking it, she became unconscious and was raped by the accused, she said.

Her mother had gone to Nangli village for some work when the incident took place.

A case under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act has been registered at the Sultanwind police station.

SHO Arun Sharma said the victim’s mother had divorced from her first husband and was residing with the accused identified as Charanjit Singh, a resident of Rattan village, who later shifted to Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar.

Charanjit is a security guard with a private security company. The girl alleged that the accused had raped her earlier too.

The SHO said the accused informed about the incident to her teacher Satwant Kaur, who later informed about it to the police. He said raids were being conducted to nab the accused.

In the second incident, two girls — 13 and 15-year-old — were allegedly raped by their ‘gatka’ (Sikh martial art) teachers.

They lodged a complaint with the police alleging that they used to learn ‘gatka’ from Randeep Singh of Gurnam Nagar area and Saminder Singh of Gali Bedian Wali, Dam Ganj area.

They stated that about four months ago, the accused had sent all the children, excluding them, to a competition at Sarhali village in Tarn Taran. The two teachers also stayed at the training centre.

They alleged the accused gave them some tablets, following which they fell unconscious.

When they woke up, they found that the accused were raping them, they added. The accused threatened them to kidnap their fathers and brothers.

SHO, Islamabad police station, Sushil Kumar, said raids were being conducted to nab the culprits.

A case under Sections 376, 506 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act has been registered against the accused.

Amritsar, June 5
With the police tightening the noose around drug peddlers and the supply line of drugs getting affected, the rush at the local Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre has doubled as compared to the past.

Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College (GMC), Dr PD Garg, said there had been an unprecedented rush of patients. At present around 550 patients visit the OPD of the department against the usual rush of around 200 patients, he said.

Call it a fear of the police that have launched a state-wide crackdown on the drug trafficking, this is a welcome sign that a large number of patients are approaching the health authorities for detoxification, he said.

The crackdown has led to the arrest of a number of drug peddlers and consumers. It has dismantled the supply chain thus raising the prices of drugs.

Dr Garg said the patients who were coming for treatment wanted to shun them because narcotics had become unaffordable and there is also a fear that they would be arrested by the police.

It is pertinent to mention here that Border Security Force (BSF) has also launched a de-addiction campaign. Under the campaign, the BSF has been admitting drug-addicts to Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre at GMC for treatment.

The city police are going to launch a drug de-addiction helpline. The main objective of the helpline is to help and support the drug-addicts who want to get themselves rehabilitated.

Further, it would also help in getting information against drug peddlers, said Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh.

Amritsar, June 5
With the arrest of two persons, the Tarn Taran police today claimed to have solved the blind murder case of Baljinder Singh, a taxi driver and resident of Verka, who was found murdered on the railway track between Tangra-Jandiala on May 16.

The CIA staff of the Tarn Taran police nabbed the two accused while they had gone to sell the Innova car (PB-02-AX-4161), which they had robbed from the deceased.

Besides the vehicle, the police have also recovered 1 kg of heroin worth Rs 5 crore in the international market from the two accused, identified as Sarwan Singh of Jandiala Guru and Surinder Singh of Jethuwal village.

Earlier, the city police had the inputs that the vehicle was found in the Jethuwal area, but they failed to crack the case. Tarn Taran police sources found that the accused were roaming in the area.

Police interrogation revealed that the deceased begged for his life before he was strangled to death by the two accused. They later threw his body on the railway track to make it look like a case of suicide.

Tarn Taran SSP Rajjit Singh Hundal said the CIA staff had nabbed the two accused from a check point set up at Khabbe Digran village.

“The accused along with their other accomplice, identified as Shamsher Singh, hired the Innova car from the taxi stand, Verka, on May 15 for Patiala on a fare of Rs 6,000. Immediately after hiring the taxi, they killed Baljinder Singh, driver of the Innova car by hanging him,” he said.

The accused were also using the vehicle for ferrying drugs, he added.

A case under Sections 302, 364 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code had already been registered with the A-Division police station, Amritsar, while a case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered for the recovery of heroin.

The accused were produced in a court here, which sent them on 4-day police remand, said Jaswant Singh, DSP (Detective).

Amritsar, June 5
With June 30, the deadline for depositing property tax with rebate, getting closer, the Municipal Corporation has urged the residents to deposit their dues beforehand. The defaulters have been cautioned that they will have to pay a heavy penalty if they fail to clear their dues before the deadline.

The MC has constituted special teams to collect the tax. The teams will also perform a survey and check if commercial activities are being carried out from residential buildings.

The city has been bifurcated into eight zones for the purpose and officials have been designated to ensure the tax collection in their areas.

It has been learnt that the teams will be equipped with video-cameras to enable them to make clips of illegal commercial activities carried out in residential complexes.

Even as the new policy on rationalisation of property tax calculation formula is under consideration of the government, it will be implemented for 2014-15, post June 30. The dues pending have been accounted for 2013-14.

The MC had identified 3 lakh units, including around 40,000 commercial ones, in the Amritsar’s urban area, which comes under the ambit of property tax. Still, there are around 2,00,000 residents (both residential and commercial) who have not paid their dues.

The MC had set up a target to collect between Rs 40-50 crore till March 2014. According to information, just around Rs 18 crore have been collected.

MC Commissioner Pradeep Sabharwal said every effort was being made to encourage the residents to deposit their dues in time, as there would not be any extension in the deadline or rebate.

“Residents, who have not deposited their tax yet, should take the advantage of this opportunity. They can file their tax return on the spot through our officials who would be approaching them at their door step. I urge the residents to take it as their moral duty to pay the taxes as it will make us eligible under various government schemes,” he said.

Amritsar, June 5
The city police have registered a case against an unidentified person for allegedly demanding ransom from a goldsmith of the East Mohan Nagar area.

The victim, identified as Maheep Singh, lodged a complaint with the police alleging that he received a call from an unknown number in January this year demanding a ransom of Rs 50 lakh.

He said he received another call on his father’s mobile in which the accused demanded Rs 50 lakh as ‘election fund’.

Investigating officer Amrik Singh said a case under Sections 387, 420, 468, 471 of the IPC was registered following an inquiry conducted by the crime branch.

Amritsar, June 5
The honeymoon period for the booze lovers seems to be over as the liquor contractors have again increased the price of beer by Rs 20 per bottle. The prices had gone down by Rs 30 per bottle a few days after the announcement of Lok Sabha election results.

A view of a liquor shop in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar

As per the instructions, a liquor vendor cannot sell the Indian light beer for more than Rs 80 per bottle and strong beer for more than Rs 100 per bottle.

However, in a clear violation of the instructions, most of these vendors are selling light and strong beer for Rs 80 and Rs 100 per bottle respectively. A few of these vends have even displayed billboards quoting the higher price of the beer.

Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department said vends could be challaned if beer was sold at a higher price.

Sources in the department disclosed that the liquor contractors had increased the rates illegally as they enjoy the patronage of political leaders.

As the instructions for reduced beer prices had come a few days after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results, the booze lovers had attributed it to the SAD-BJP drubbing in state.

The highhandedness of employees of contractors has often been criticised by the general public. In another significant move, the state government has also made public the prices of various brands of liquor for marriages and other functions. Employees of liquor contractors have been disallowed from inspecting marriages halls when a party is going on.

Officials of the Excise Department had issued challans to at least 15 such vends. Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rajesh Bhandari said, “We have recommended imposition of fine on all 15 such vends, which were found selling beer at higher rates. As per available provisions, a fine of up to Rs 50,000 can be imposed for selling beer at higher prices.”

Amritsar, June 5
The state government has recently announced setting up of solid waste management wings (SWMWs) in the Local Bodies Department to rid cities of garbage woes. Prof Sarbjot Singh Behl, Dean, faculty of Physical Planning and Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University, feels that a solid waste management culture also needs to be cultivated, which is not possible without the active participation of civil society and residents.

Talking to The Tribune, Behl said, “The state government’s move is laudable. However, merely setting up SWMWs is not enough. Active participation of the residents is a must for the project to succeed.” Behl said, “Major cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar produce over 1,150 tonnes, 700 tonnes and 550 tonnes of daily waste, respectively. It is not possible to dispose this waste properly by conventional methods of filling on open lands and dumps. This practice not only usurps agricultural, urban or open land, but also generates pollutants and disease. In order to fight this menace, a joint effort and programme by the urban local body and residents is the need of the hour.”

Prof Behl opined that the government with its resources can look at the science and technology driven alternatives such as aerobic composting and mechanical biological treatment, small scale biomethanation, refuse derived fuel (RDF), waste-to-energy combustion (WTE), and landfill mining (or bioremediation).

He said there was a need to examine the role of residents’ participation in dealing with the means of disposing municipal solid waste (MSW). “Self-governance by the residents, including householders, shopkeepers, industries and institutions can help the cause. People need to shake off apathy and have a mutually beneficial relationship with the authorities concerned, which can help in the improvement of the locality,” he added.

Prof Behl also referred to a study according to which the composition of urban municipal solid waste in India is 51 per cent organics, 17.5 per cent recyclables (paper, plastic, metal, and glass) and 31 per cent of inerts (stone, earth, debris etc) while the moisture content of urban municipal solid waste is 47 per cent. “Most centralised municipal systems in low income countries like India collect solid waste in a mixed form because source separate collection systems are non-existent. Here the public can take upon themselves to do the needful. They can start by segregating the waste generated at their homes into dry waste (recyclable) and wet waste (biodegradable). Residents can maintain two bins for bio-degradable waste (wet waste) to be kept separate from recyclable waste (dry waste) for storage,” he averred. He said biodegradable waste could be easily composted into manure for the plants while dry waste could be disposed of directly through municipal cleaners (formal sector), rag pickers and volunteers (informal sector). “A joint action programme needs to be worked out between the residents and municipal corporations/committees to ensure a sustainable solid waste management culture. Going by the dictum of ‘We have not inherited the earth from our forefathers, but we have borrowed it from our children’, it is imperative for all of us to do our bit,” he added.

Amritsar, June 5
Students doing MBBS internship at the local Government Medical College called off their strike after intervention of the Medical Education and Research Minister as he assured them of the disbursal of the stipend within seven days.

A delegation of the MBBS students met Medical Education and Research Minister Anil Joshi and apprised him about the issue. The interns have not received the stipend, which is paid in lieu of their services at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, for the past five months.

In a meeting with the interns, the minister took up the matter with the Principal Secretary, Medical Education and Research, Vinni Mahajan, and asked her to get funds released within seven days. The interns had been on protest for the last three days, which had affected the health services and caused inconvenience to the general public.

Before meeting Joshi today, the interns blocked the Out Patient Department’s (OPD) registration counter. As a result, the patients, who had come to the hospital for the first time, failed to get a registration slip required to see a doctor.

Later, the protesting interns announced to call off the strike for seven days so as to give time to the department to disburse the stipend. As many as 150 MBBS students are undergoing internship at the college. The interns are paid a monthly remuneration of Rs 9,700 for their services.

Manish Siloliya, a leader of the interns’ said, “The minister has assured us to get the matter sorted out within seven days. Meanwhile, he has asked us to end the strike in view of the medical services for the general public.” Siloliya said the interns hoped that the promise would be fulfilled and they would not have to initiate the protest again.