Capt to inaugurate memorial today
AMRITSAR: Punjab chief minister (CM) Capt Amarinder Singh will inaugurate the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre centenary memorial, set up at Anand Amrit Park in Ranjit Avenue locality of Amritsar, on Saturday. The CM is on a two-day visit to the holy city.
The memorial has been set up over 4,490 square metres at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore to serve as a memory of the Jallianwala Bagh martyrs for the future generations. The names of 492 martyrs of the massacre have been enshrined on the walls of the memorial, in accordance with the list available with the Amritsar deputy commissioner’s office. The CM will also honour the martyrs’ kin on the occasion. Punjab government has been able to trace the family members of only 29 martyrs.
The CM had laid the foundation stone of the memorial in January this year. It may be recalled that the project had irked BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP and Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust member Shwait Malik, who cited that building another memorial, just five kilometres away from the place of massacre, is unfair.
It will be after more than two years that Capt will be visiting Amritsar, the constituency from where he had been elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014.
It is to be seen if Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will attend the ceremony being organised on his home turf.
The CM is also scheduled to visit Guru Nanak Dev University campus and Government Medical College for inaugurations. On Sunday, he will preside over the state-level Independence Day function at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium here.
Inactive grenade found near event venue
A day before Punjab chief minis“At ter’s visit to Amritsar, an inactive (without a pin) grenade was recovered outside a house in D-block of Ranjit Avenue, which isn’t far from Anand Amrit Park.
The area houses hotels and restaurants, offices of government departments, companies and banks.
Amritsar police commissioner Sukhchain Singh Gill, who visited the spot along with other senior police officials, said, “We have fielded our teams for search and cordoning in wake of the state-level Independence Day function being held in the city on August 15. During the search, this grenade-like object was found.”
this stage, we cannot say what this object actually is. A forensic examination will reveal if it is dead or alive or if it is an abandoned or decorative grenade. Recovering such kinds of objects is normal,” the commissioner added.
“We will investigate who kept this object here and why. It can be a mischievous act committed to create sensation. Had it been placed for damaging anyone, it would have exploded immediately after being thrown,” he added. Later in the evening, the squad took the object to a ground in Manawala village on the outskirts of the city to ensure it was disposed off safely.