06102025-ATR-01.qxd 10/5/2025 10:29 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS NAVJOT KAUR SIDHU TARGETS ‘VOTE CHORI’ IN MC POLLS PULSE POLIO DRIVE TO BEGIN ON OCTOBER 12 SIMRAN: LIFE IS BACK TO NORMAL, BUT LUSTRE NOT WORN OFF To file 15,000 evidence forms exposing fake votes; alleges deceased voters shown as having cast ballots in polls. P2 During the drive, 2,97,250 children aged 0 to 5 years, will be administered polio drops by 1,407 health teams. P2 American-Indian Simran Baidwan got the Emmy for The Pitt, which she co-wrote and executive produced. P4 » » » MAX 24°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 18°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.08 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.27 AM MONDAY | 6 OCTOBER 2025 | AMRITSAR Jaura Fatak residents allege 6 members of Kishna gang held with pistols delay in restoring power supply Tribune News Service Heroin, five sophisticated pistols and magazines recovered by the Counter Intelligence Wing in Amritsar on Sunday. Cross-border smuggling module busted, two held with 2.5kg heroin, 5 pistols Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 5 The Counter Intelligence (CI) Wing, Amritsar, has dismantled a Pakistan-linked arms and narcotics smuggling module with the arrest of its two operatives, while acting on intelligence inputs. The police recovered 2.5 kg of heroin along with five sophisticated pistols from their possession. Gaurav Yadav, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, said the arrested individuals were identified as Gurjant Singh, a resident of Dholan village, and Gurvel Singh, a resident of Chhina Bidhi Chand village, both in Tarn Taran district. The seizure includes four 9mm Glock pistols with magazines and one .30 bore pistol. The police also impounded their Mahindra 300 vehicle used for transporting the contraband. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were working on the directions of a Pakistan-based Arms meant for gangsters,criminals: says DGP Yadav smuggler. The consignment was reportedly dropped via drones near the Indo-Pak border in Tarn Taran. The recovered weapons were intended for gangsters and criminals operating in Punjab, DGP Yadav said. Acting swiftly on the input, CI Amritsar teams intercepted the vehicle on AmritsarBhikhiwind Road, near Panjwar village, and arrested both suspects while they were on their way to deliver the consignment. A case under Sections 21, 25, and 29 of the NDPS Act and Section 25 of the Arms Act was registered at Police Station State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar. DGP Yadav said that further investigations were in progress to identify backward and forward links of the suspects and to expose the entire network involved in cross-border smuggling. Amritsar, October 5 Residents of Jaura Fatak area are facing power outage after an underground electricity cable developed a snag on early Sunday morning. The disruption, which occurred around 5.30 am, left hundreds of residents without electricity or water, causing widespread inconvenience to them. As per the local residents, they immediately lodged a complaint with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), following which the staff reached the site. However, upon inspection, officials reported that the supply cable was damaged beyond repairs and had to be replaced entirely. As it was Sunday, the employees were unable to procure a new cable from the corporation’s stores, leading to a prolonged delay in restoration work. As a result, power had not been restored till the time of filing this report, leaving the area in darkness and without water supply for basic needs. Residents show damaged power cable in the Jaura Fatak area of Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR Residents, including Sabi, Baljinder Kaur, Nirmala, and Lakshi, expressed their anger over the situation, alleging discrimination in the response of the power corporation. “If such a problem had occurred in a posh area, the cable would have been replaced immediately,” said one of the residents. Another resident pointed out that the unavailability of electricity had also affected water supply. “We do not have water as tubewells run on electric power,” she said, adding that they would have to spend the night without electricity. As of now the corporation employees have assured to change the cable by tomorrow morning. The residents demanded that the power corporation should keep a stock of spare cables and essential repair material to handle such emergencies promptly. They also urged the authorities concerned to ensure that all areas, regardless of status, receive equal attention and timely service during outages. Meanwhile, PSPCL officials said the replacement work would be taken up as soon as the required cable was available, which was likely on Monday morning. Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 5 Unseasonal midnight showers accompanied by gusty winds brought a sudden dip in temperature across the district, but also raised concerns among farmers as harvested paddy lying in grain markets got drenched. The rainfall, which began around midnight and continued intermittently till early morning, soaked grains that had not been adequately covered, raising fears of damage and quality loss among farmers. As per officials from the agriculture and marketing departments, several grain markets reported dampened stocks as traders and farmers were unable to protect all paddy heaps in time. With the arrival of paddy picking up pace in recent days, the sudden rain disrupted the procurement process and created logistical challenges for agencies. Farmers said the moisture content in the paddy would lead to delays in lifting and payments. “Many of us inal act. Acting swiftly, a police team raided the area and apprehended Weapons seized from all six associates of Kishna accused gang in Amritsar. from a secluded spot. Two pistols, two magazines and 10 live cartridges were recovered from the possession of the accused. Notably, gangster Krishna and gangster Happy Jatt are arch rivals. After being released on bail, Krishna fled to Dubai, while Happy Jatt escaped to the USA following their involvement in several crimes, including murder and extortion. Both had obtained fake passports, and separate cases were registered against them for several offences. Despite being abroad, both continue to operate their gangs in Punjab, orchestrating extortion and firing incidents through their local associates. — TNS 2 docs held for supplying tramadol tablets to pvt hospitals Two arrested with illegal firearms in separate ops at Khilchian, Chatiwind Amritsar, October 5 Tightening the noose around the illegal supply of tramadol tablets to private hospitals, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has reportedly arrested two doctors of the city’s private hospital here today. The arrested individuals were identified as Dr Rajesh Kumar and Dr Parveen. Following their arrest, the NCB nominated a retired government doctor as a coaccused in the case, it was learnt. According to officials of the NCB, he had gone underground. Despite being summoned twice for questioning, he appeared only once. Raids are now being conducted to arrest him. The arrested doctors would be produced before the court tomorrow to obtain their police remand for further interrogation, said an NCB official. Earlier, the NCB had arrested the hospital’s owner, Baudh Raj. Meanwhile, the bail hearing for other co-accused doctors — Dr Jatinder Malhotra and Dr Rajinder Rajan — is scheduled before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 9. Dr Parveen had also filed an anticipatory bail plea seeking relief in the same case. The arrest was part of investigations in the alleged illegal supply of tramadol tablets to private hospitals beyond their allotted quota. Earlier, the NCB had arrested a web journalist and a pharmaceutical company owner Deepak Bhandari in the case. His brother Amit Bhandari and two private hospital doctors were also arrested on May 6 this year. Several other members of the Bhandari family were named in the case as well. Amit Bhandari was first arrested on May 2 following the seizure of over 30,000 tramadol tablets, a prescription painkiller often misused as a narcotic. The next day, Dr Malhotra and Dr Rajan were arrested after 2,000 tramadol tablets were recovered from each of them without valid licences to store such psychotropic drugs. — TNS Panic grips farmers as midnight showers drench paddy grains in markets Manmeet Singh Gill Amritsar, October 5 In a major crackdown, the Jandiala Guru police arrested six associates of gangster Krishna, who has been operating his gang from abroad. The arrests were made early Sunday morning. The police recovered two pistols and 10 live cartridges from the possession of the accused. A case has been registered against the accused in this connection. Mukhtiar Singh, SHO, Jandiala Guru police station, said the arrested individuals were allegedly involved in extortion, firing incidents and drug trafficking at the behest of their foreign-based handler. The accused were identified as Sunny, alias Nanni, a resident of Sheikhupura Mohalla, Gagandeep Singh, alias Gajni, a resident of Ganowal, Ravinder Singh, alias Joban, a resident of Miranchak, Arshdeep Singh, a resident of Dharad, Manjinder Singh, alias Rajan, and Karan, who resided near Gopi Di Haveli in Ganowal village. The police received a tip-off that the accused were planning to execute a major crim- brought our crop to the market only yesterday. The rain has drenched grains lying in the open. Now, we will have to spend extra time and labour to dry it again,” said Gurwinder Singh, a farmer from Ajnala. The Meteorological Department has predicted more showers in the coming days, further adding to the anxiety of farmers whose crop is ready for harvest. “We are worried that continuous rainfall will delay harvesting and cause lodging of standing crops,” said another farmer. The strong winds accompanying the rain also flattened portions of the late sown basmati crop in parts of the district. Agricultural experts have advised farmers to wait for fields to dry before resuming harvesting to avoid further grain loss. Meanwhile, the district administration has asked procurement agencies and mandi board to ensure that adequate tarpaulins and coverings were provided in mandis to protect grains from further damage. Workers dry paddy grains drenched by the showers at the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 5 The Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested two persons and recovered illegal firearms and live cartridges from their possession in separate operations carried out by officials of the Khilchian and Chatiwind police stations respectively. Maninder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rural, said the police teams apprehended the accused and registered separate cases under the Arms Act against them. In the first instance, the Khilchian police arrested Harmanpreet Singh, a resident of Bhinder village, and recovered a .32 bore pistol, one magazine, and two live cartridges from him. During questioning, Harmanpreet revealed that he had procured the weapon from Gurlal Singh, alias Laal, also a resident of Bhinder village. A case under Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act was registered at the Khilchian police station in this connection. Raids were being conducted to nab Gurlal Singh, who is currently absconding, the SSP said. In another operation, the Chatiwind police arrested Harbhej Singh, alias Bheja, a resident of Channanke village, under the Mehta police station and recovered a .45 bore pistol along with two live cartridges from him. Acting on a tip-off that the accused was involved in the illegal sale and purchase of arms, the police swiftly conducted a raid and arrested Harbhej. A case under Sections 25(8)/54/59 of the Arms Act was registered at the Chatiwind police station in this connection. The police said forward and backward links of both accused were being thoroughly investigated to trace the source and network of illegal arms supply. Road repair begins in North segment Iron grills stolen from improvement project on outer ring road as monsoon draws to close in district Residents allege drug addicts behind thefts Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 5 With the monsoon season drawing to a close, road recarpeting and repair work has begun in the North Assembly constituency. “Pre-mix is being laid on several stretches as part of the city’s ongoing infrastructure upgrade,” said Karamjit Singh Rintu, Chairman, Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) who is also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) incharge for the constituency. Rintu also inaugurated a road project near Kachheri Chowk on Sunday. “The road repair and construction work will continue for the next two months. No street road will be left incomplete,” Rintu said. He emphasised that the AAP government Improvement Trust officials inspect road recarpeting work in the North constituency of Amritsar on Sunday. was committed to equitable development, taking progress to “every lane and every locality of the city without discrimination”. Giving information about sanitation concerns, Rintu said temporary cleanliness issues, which had arisen due to technical reasons involving the previous agency, had been resolved. He said a new company, which was awarded the sanitation contract, would start operations within the next 20 to 25 days. — TNS Amritsar, October 5 Large portions of iron grills, installed under the Facade Improvement Project along the outer ring road between Sultanwind Gate and Gate Hakima in the South Amritsar constituency, have gone missing, raising serious questions over maintenance and security of the public property. The beautification work, which remains incomplete, was initiated in 2019 by then MLA (South) Inderbir Singh Bolaria to enhance the appearance of the city’s historic gateways. The project involved laying Kota stone on the boundary wall along the outer ring road and installing iron grills around the adjoining green belt to c m y b The outer ring road in the walled city of Amritsar where iron grills were installed. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR improve the area’s aesthetics. However, over the past few years, numerous incidents of theft have been reported, with locals alleging that the problem began soon after the grills were first installed. Despite repeated complaints, no concrete action has been taken by the authorities concerned in this connection. Now, a major portion of the grills has gone missing. Residents claim that the stolen material was being sold as scrap, often by drug addicts seeking money for their next fix. “Why do the authorities still install iron grills when everyone knows these are the easiest target for addicts?” asked Raman Sharma, a resident of the Gate Hakima area. He suggested that instead of iron grills, the Municipal Corporation (MC) should use more durable materials or build solid boundary walls to prevent thefts of the public property. Another local resident, Davinder Singh, said thefts reflect the administration’s apathy towards public assets. “The Facade Improvement Project was meant to beautify the city, but now it has turned into a symbol of neglect. There is no police patrolling, no maintenance and no accountability of the officials concerned,” he said. Residents have urged the MC authorities to inspect the site and restore the damaged sections before the project’s original purpose is entirely lost. They also demanded more surveillance, including installation of the CCTV cameras in their area, and a shift toward using materials that were less prone to thefts.