22072025-JTR-01.qxd 7/21/2025 10:43 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune STADIUM OPENED IN VILLAGE AT ~10 LAKH RAINS EXPOSE UNSAFE SCHOOL BUILDINGS BOX OFFICE COLLECTION OF SAIYAARA CROSSES ~100 CR As part of the govt’s initiative to promote sports, a new sports stadium was inaugurated in Khalwara. P2 PWD delays in issuing certificates and procedural bottlenecks have put students’ lives at risk. P3 Saiyaarais in the company of those rare gems which keep alive the hysteria we associate with Bollywood. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.29 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:38 AM TUESDAY | 22 JULY 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF NAKODAR TRAVEL AGENT BOOKED Phagwara: The Nakodar police have booked a travel agent on charge of allegedly duping a village woman of Rs 27 lakh on the pretext of sending her abroad. The accused has been identified as Harpreet Singh of Guru Teg Bahadar Nagar, Nakodar. Ravendar complained to SSP that she had paid Rs 27 lakh to the accused for facilitating her migration to Canada. However, neither did the accused send her abroad, nor he return the money. OC 10 BOOKED FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have booked 10 persons, including a woman, on charges of assault, house trespass, and criminal intimidation. Parshotam Lal, a village resident, complained to the police that the accused barged into his house and assaulted and threatened him. A case has been registered against the accused. OC ‘DRUG PEDDLER’ ARRESTED Phagwara: The police have arrested a drug trader and recovered 5 gm of heroin and 65 gm of intoxicating powder from his possession on Sunday night. The accused Ashu Sachdeva of Rattanpura in Phagwara was nabbed at a check-point near Basra Palace on the Phagwara-Banga road when he was coming in a car. The police have impounded his car also. OC MAN HELD FOR MURDER BID Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have arrested a tractor driver on the charge of attempted murder. The accused has been identified as Shamindar Singh, alias Shinda, of Nurpur Chatha village in Nakodar. Manjit Singh of Nakodar had complained to the police that he was returning home from Ludhiana on his moped on July 4 when the accused tried to kill him using his tractor. He was seriously injured. oc 150 BOOKED FOR BLOCKING NH Phagwara: The Lohian Khas police have booked 150 persons for obstructing traffic at national highway and abusing police force. The accused have been identified as Harjindar Singh Gill, Nayab Singh, Lakhwindar Singh, Gurmukh Singh, and Jagtar Singh Khosa, and their 150 accomplices. The accused staged a dharna without any permission on the Lohian-Makhu highway and stopped traffic and used abusive language against police officials and created problems for commuters. oc 'DRUG PEDDLER' ARRESTED Jalandhar: The Bilga police have arrested a 'drug peddler' on the charge of selling intoxicating tablets. As many as 41 tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Pritam Singh, alias Neelu, of Burj Hassan village. oc WOMAN HELD FOR ILLEGAL MINING Phagwara: The police arrested a woman, Balwindar Kaur from Reharrwan village for illegal sand mining. A case was registered against her under Section 21 of the Punjab Mining Act and Section 303(2) of the BNS (theft). OC UKG girl run over by school bus, DGP: Chatbot aids in nearly 4,872 drug irate relatives block highway arrests since March Driver detained|School chairman, principal, board members among 11 booked Tribune News Service Tribune News Service PHILLAUR, July 21 Holding a law and order review meeting at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, near here on Monday, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said ‘Safe Punjab’ WhatsApp Chatbot helpline had led to the registration of 3,671 FIRs and 4,872 arrests since March 1. Yadav said the helpline — 9779100200— had achieved an unprecedented 30 per cent tip conversion rate. The helpline is a flagship initiative of the government aimed at providing anonymous, accessible, and non-judgmental support to individuals grappling with drug-related issues. “Safe Punjab Chatbot has emerged as a game-changer as it has received an overwhelming response from the public for its confidentiality feature encouraging individuals to report smugglers, addicts, and providing suggestions,” said the DGP while , further encouraging people to share information regarding drug traffickers on this chatbot without any fear. The DGP chaired the meet- Jalandhar, July 21 A four-year-old girl was run over by a school bus outside a private school in Adampur today. Eleven persons have been booked. Kirat Kaur, daughter of Inderjit Singh, a resident of Udesiyan village in Adampur, was getting down from the bus outside her school at Alawalpur in Jalandhar when the incident happened. Kirat was studying in UKG. Daughter of a car mechanic, the father of the girl in his complaint to the police alleged that she was run over by the same bus (PB08-DG-8214) which had been picking and dropping her to the school everyday. The father also alleged that he had asked the school authorities to hire a person who may help kids board and get down from the bus. Alleging negligence on part of the school authorities, he made a complaint against bus driver Jiwan Singh, school principal Bindu, chairman Swami Ram Bharti along with others, including the school manager and board members. A case has been registered against the school’s 10 management personnel as well as the driver under Sections 281, 106 (1), 3 and 5 of the BNS at the Adampur police station. While the police had detained driver Jiwan Singh for questioning, officials said a formal arrest could only be made after the post-mortem report of the deceased girl is received. Kirat Kaur reached school today by bus. As soon as she got down from the bus near the school gate, the driver started the bus and the girl was run over by it. The driver could not judge her presence near the door. The incident happened between 7 am and 8 am. The driver had fled the spot but was caught later. While Kirat was taken to a local (Adampur) private hospital, she was then referred to a Jalandhar-based private hospital. As per her father, by the time he reached there, she had been declared dead. While the school is on the highway, irate relatives and residents blocked the road for about 20 minutes. The Adampur police reached the spot and pacified the residents and launched investigation. DSP Adampur, Kulwant Singh said, “An FIR has been lodged after the statement of the girl’s father and the accused will be acted against. The matter is under investigation and the report of the post-mortem is awaited.” Construction worker electrocuted 4 of family booked for raping minor 2 held with 1 kg heroin, 2 pistols Hockey coach assaulted during players’ clash Kapurthala, July 21 A construction worker was seriously injured after coming in contact with a high voltage power line during road construction work in Parvez Nagar village, Kapurthala. The victim Vicky from Subhanpur village was operating a mixing machine when the incident occurred. According to witnesses, Vicky was standing on the machine when he accidentally touched an overhead high voltage wire passing directly above the work site. He was electrocuted and immediately fell to the ground unconscious. Members of the local gram panchayatrushed Vicky to the Kapurthala Civil Hospital His condition remains critical but stable. — OC Our Correspondent People protest and block the highway after four-year-old Kirat Kaur was run over by her school bus in front of the school at Adampur on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Phagwara, July 21 The Mehatpur police have booked four members of a family, including a woman, on charges of raping a minor and criminal conspiracy. Investigating officer (IO ) Inspector Meena Kumar said the accused have been identified as Avtar Singh, a resident of Sadikpur village under Shahkot police station, his wife Paramjit Kaur, and two sons Harnek Singh and Jorawar Singh. The father of the victim complained to the police that the accused Harnek Singh and his brother kidnapped his minor daughter on July 7 midnight and took her into the house of Mohindar Singh Pardhan in his absence, where Harnek raped her, and his brother stood guard outside and the accused threatened his daughter to keep her mouth shut or face dire consequences. The IO said the father and mother of the accused supported their sons in committing the crime and tried to save them and pressured the victim’s family to sign blank papers. A case under Sections 65(1) (rape on a woman under 16 years), 61(2)(criminal conspiracy) 127(2)(wrongful confinement) 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS and Section 6.17 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has been registered against the accused and raids are being conducted to arrest them. Jalandhar, July 21 The police have apprehended two accused with 1 kg of heroin, 2 illegal pistols and two cartridges. Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur said the team of the CIA staff was conducting a nakabandi as part of the anti-drug drive near Boharwala Chowk, Kot Kalan. The police apprehended a suspect and recovered 1 kg of heroin from his possession. The accused had been identified as Viney Kumar, alias Mithu, (34), of Guru Nanak Nagar, near Nagra Railway Crossing. A case has been registered against the accused. During investigation, the involvement of another accused, Major Singh of Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar, Basti Bawa Khel here, was revealed. — OC Our Correspondent Kapurthala, July 21 A heated discussion between hockey and cricket players at Guru Nanak Stadium in Kapurthala turned violent, leaving a hockey coach injured and hospitalised. According to coach Deepak Kumar, hockey practice was underway when a hockey ball accidentally struck one of the individuals playing cricket on the same ground. A verbal spat followed, which soon turned aggressive. “Some people began hurling abuses at hockey players. When I tried to intervene and calm the situation, they attacked me,” said Kumar. During the scuffle, he was reportedly knocked unconscious. Hockey players imme- Veggis traders protest ‘overcharging’ for gate passes Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 21 Several fruit and vegetable traders/transporters on Monday lodged a protest outside the main mandi at Maqsudan for overcharging by the contractor in issuing of gate passes. The vendors said they were being charged Rs 100 per round even as the government’s fixed rate was much lower. They demanded that the pass once issued should be valid for 12 hours as they had to sometimes make multiple rounds in the day, which was proving to be too hefty on their pockets. Sarabjit Singh, a vendor, said, “The contractor’s staff tear off our ‘parchi’ once used so that we have to get a new one issued for each round. We have confronted them several times but they say that they have taken the contract by paying more than Rs 7 crore and they have to Traders block the road against enhanced market fee at Maqsudan market Jalandhar. SARABJIT SINGH now recover this amount”. There are about 1,000 vendors, traders or suppliers entering the mandi daily for sale/purchase. Market Committee Chairman Gurpal Singh arrived at the scene and appealed to the traders not to protest. He stated that he had received a call c m y b from the secretary regarding the protest. He had not received any written complaint from the traders or transporters. He said if any irregularities or overcharging would be found, action would be taken against the contractor. The chairman explained that user charges were being levied at all three gates and contractor was not allowed to charge extra money. Action had been taken in similar cases in the past, and if any further incidents occurred, the contractor would face consequences. Upon the chairman’s intervention, the vendors ended their protest and started work. ACP Aatish Bhatia assured them that the police would support the traders and take action if anyone was threatened. Rakhi, representing the Vendors’ Association, demanded that the contract be cancelled, alleging that the contractor had even threatened the association’s president Shunty. Despite a meeting on Saturday, no action was taken, prompting them to stage a protest. diately rushed him to the Kapurthala Civil Hospital. Dr Moin Mohammad at the hospital confirmed that Deepak Kumar’s medicolegal report (MLR) has been prepared and forwarded to the City Police Station for further action. Kumar, a resident of Nakodar Road, has demanded strict police action against those responsible for the attack. He remains under medical care at the hospital. The police have yet to issue a statement regarding any arrests or investigation progress. The incident has raised concerns about the lack of proper regulation and supervision at the stadium, where multiple sports activities often overlap. TOTAL RECOVERY The police have recovered 940 kg heroin, 337 kg opium, 18 tonne poppy husk, 14 kg charas, 325 kg ganja, 6 kg ICE, 3.3 kg cocaine and ~11.84 cr drug money ing with all Range DIGs, SSPs, and CPs. Special DGP , Law and Order, Arpit Shukla, Special DGP Intelligence, , Praveen Sinha, Director, PPA, Phillaur, Anita Punj, ADGP , ANTF Nilabh Kishore, ADGP , , AGTF Promod Ban and , ADGP Counter-Intelligence, , Amit Prasad and IGP Head, quarters, Dr Sukhchain Gill also attended the meeting. Sharing outcome of the ‘ Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, Yadav said the police had registered 14,281 FIRs and arrested 22,772 drug smugglers since March 1 this year and recovered 940 kg heroin, 337 kg opium, 18 tonne poppy husk, 14 kg charas, 325 kg ganja, 6 kg ICE, 3.3 kg cocaine, 29.63 lakh intoxicants/tablets and Rs 11.84 crore drug money from their possession. During the campaign, 162 illegally constructed properties of drug smugglers have been demolished as per law. Vehicle lifter gang busted, 3 arrested Kapurthala, July 21 The Kapurthala police have arrested three persons involved in a series of vehicle thefts. Acting on a tip-off, the police first apprehended two suspects — Nishan Singh, a resident of Baba Himmat Singh Colony in Nadala, and Sandeep Singh from Hambowal. The duo was allegedly trying to sell a stolen motorcycle and an electric motor fan when they were caught. During interrogation, the two suspects revealed the name of their accomplice, Harjeet Singh, alias Jeeta, also a resident of Hambowal. The police arrested Harjeet as well and recovered two stolen motorcycles and a scooter on his identification.— OC Man found hanging; wife, lover booked Our Correspondent Kapurthala, July 21 A man was found hanging from a tree near a cremation ground in Dhariwal Dona village, Kapurthala, with the police booking his wife and four others for abetment to suicide. The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar. According to the police, the incident came to light earlier this week and a post-mortem examination was conducted before the body was handed over to the family. Initial findings and a complaint lodged by Ajay’s mother Surinder Kaur suggest a disturbing story of domestic discord and extramarital involvement. Surinder Kaur told the police that her son had been married to Sandeep Kaur for 12 years and the couple had two children. Ajay had been working in Dubai to support his family, regularly sending money home. However, during his absence, his wife allegedly developed an illicit relationship with Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of the same village. According to the complaint, after Ajay returned from Dubai and confronted his wife, she began threatening him and eventually started living with her lover. Surinder Kaur has alleged that the harassment and betrayal deeply disturbed Ajay, eventually pushing him to take the extreme step. Based on her statement, the police have registered a case against Sandeep Kaur, Sukhwinder Singh, and three others. No arrests have been made so far.