08022026-ATR-01.qxd 2/7/2026 11:22 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune SCIENTISTS TALK SUSTAINABLE FARMING, HEALTH AT CONCLAVE SADE BAZURG, SADA MAAN CAMP ORGANISED AT JANDIALA GURU State Public Works Department Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO was the chief guest at the event. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 20°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 9°C AP DHILLON DROPS HIS NEW TRACK ON KAPIL SHOW The Int’l Conclave on Sustainable Agriculture, Food, Health and AgriLogistics commenced at GNDU. P2 FORECAST AP proved once again why he was no longer just a Punjabi artiste but a true global phenomenon. P4 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.10 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7.17 AM » SUNDAY | 8 FEBRUARY 2026 | AMRITSAR Hit by tractor, woman dies, husband hurt in Tarn Taran Our Correspondent Cops nab two, recover 11 kg heroin, ~5.75 lakh drugcashinGurdaspur Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, February 7 A woman died after she and her husband were hit by a tractor in Sarhali village in Tarn Taran. The couple — Gurmeet Kaur and Dalbir Singh — were trying to take a bus on Thursday morning as the former had to go to work at a dhaba in Sarhali village. When they were crossing the national highway, a tractor hit them. The duo sustained injuries after which 50-yearold Gurmeet, who hails from Rajasthan, was taken to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, where she succumbed to the injuries at night. Meanwhile, Dalbir Singh is under treatment at a private hospital in the Rasulpur canal area here and his condition is said to be stable. ASI Heera Singh from the local Sadar police station said that a case under Sections 281, 125 (a), 125 (b) and 106 of the BNS has been registered against the tractor driver who fled the spot after the accident. Gurdaspur, February 7 The Gurdaspur police have busted two separate modules dealing in narcotics with the arrest of two persons and subsequently recovered 11 kg heroin and Rs 5.75 lakh in drug money in separate incidents. DGP Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Mohammad Wasim, a resident of Qasimpur, Muzzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, and Harshdeep Singh, alias Harsh, a resident of Amritsar. SSP Aditya said, “The police have also impounded two cars used to transport the drug. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were in contact with Pakistan-based agencies through their handlers in India. Further investigation is underway to trace forward and backward linkages of the network.” The SSP said it was an intelligence-based operation. “One of the accused Harshdeep Harsh was arrested with 8 kg heroin and Rs 3.5 lakh drug money from near Chitti village in Gurdaspur. In the other operation, accused Mohammad Wasim was arrested at a checkpost near Paniyar Sugar Mill in Dinanagar subdivision. During the search of his vehicle, the cops found heroin packed in six packets, weighing 3 kg. Besides, Rs 2.25 lakh drug money was also recovered.” he said. FIRs have been registered at the Dinanagar and Dorangla police stations. Two peddlers arrested with 817 gm heroin, drug money BSF seizes over 500 gm heroin near Pul Moran border outpost Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 7 The Border Security Force confiscated 541gm heroin from the Pul Moran border outpost (BOP) here on Thursday night. The BSF handed over the contraband to the police, which have registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in this regard. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Arun Singh of the BSF , along with accompanying staff, handed over a sealed packet containing 541 grams of suspected heroin to the police for further legal action. The contraband was dropped by a drone. Police officials confirmed that a case has been formally registered and the seized contraband has been taken into possession as evidence. Further investigation is underway to establish the source, intended destination and any possible crossborder links related to the seizure. Amritsar, February 7 The Anti-Gangster operation cell of the Amritsar Commissionerate Police has arrested two alleged drug traffickers in separate cases and recovered a total of 817 grams of heroin, Rs 12,000 in drug money and a luxury car from their possession. Sharing details, Assistant Commissioner of Police Harminder Singh said that in the first instance, the police arrested Sarabjit Singh, alias Babba, a resident of Chhiddan village. The police team intercepted the accused near the Naraiangarh area in Chheharta, and recovered 115 grams of heroin from his possession. During further investigation, an additional 500 grams of heroin and Rs 4,500 suspected drug proceeds were recovered based on his disclosure, bringing the total recovery in the case to 615 grams. In the second incident, the Cantonment police arrested Anti-Gangster team officials with the seized contraband in Amritsar. Vijay Pal Singh, alias Jaggu, of Galowali village while travelling in a car on Loharka Road. The police recovered 202 grams of heroin from the vehicle. Subsequent searches led to the recovery of Rs 7,500 drug money from his residence. The police said further investigations are underway to trace backward and forward linkages in the nar- cotics network while two separate FIRs under provisions of the NDPS Act was registered with the Chheharta and Cantonment police stations, respectively. Meanwhile, the Border Security Force confiscated a drone along with 548gm of heroin near the Attari joint check post area here on Friday night. The incident was videographed and tested with a drug kit to ascertain the nature of the contraband smuggled with a drone. The drone and the drugs were later handed over to the Gharinda police station for further necessary action. The police registered a case under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act following the statement of BSF Assistant Commandant Sunil Kumar. Tribune News Service Narcotics seized in 200 NDPS cases destroyed Protests held over lathi-charge on farmers Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, February 7 The Commissionerate Police, Amritsar, have destroyed a significant quantity of narcotics seized in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The disposal was carried out by the Drug Disposal Committee constituted under the supervision of Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. The committee was chaired by DCP (Investigation) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu and included ADCP (Detective) Jagbinder Singh and ACP (Detective) Harminder Singh. Officials said the committee reached Khanna Paper Mill, where the seized contra- Tarn Taran, February 7 Farmers under the banner of Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) today held a massive protest against the Punjab government near Sarhali Khurd on the Tarn Taran-Patti road and burnt its effigy to protest against the brutal lathi-charge on farmers in Bathinda. Addressing a gathering, district president of KKU Nachhatar Singh, said that the Punjab government is resorting to torture of farmers out of a sense of revenge. He said that the state government has already lodged many farmers in jail for the past 10 months on false charges. Nachhatar Singh alleged that the Punjab government is following in the footsteps of City man gets extortion threat from foreign number Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 7 The Rajasansi police have booked foreign-based notorious gangster Prabh Dassuwal following a complaint by a 46year-old farmer in the Ajnala subdivision here on Friday. The complainant, Harpreet Singh Gill, a resident of Mehlawala village, told the police that he received a WhatsApp call on Friday from a US-based number. The caller allegedly identified himself as “Prabh Dassuwal” and demanded Rs 50 lakh as extortion, while threatening to cause harm to his life or property if the demand was not met. The caller also dared him to record the conversation or inform the police, claiming that he feared no consequences. He further warned that ignoring his calls would lead to serious repercussions. continued on page 3 Police officials destroy the seized drugs in Amritsar on Saturday. band was destroyed in a boiler in accordance with prescribed legal procedures and safety norms. In a major disposal exercise conducted recently, nar- cotics seized in 200 NDPS cases were destroyed. The contraband included over 65.7 kg of heroin, 7.773 kg of ICE (methamphetamine), 230 intoxicant capsules, 7,674 intoxicant tablets, five intoxicant injections, 143 grams of narcotic powder, over 15 kg of charas, 990 grams of smack, and a small quantity of ganja. Farmers burn an effigy of the state government and raise slogans in Tarn Taran. GURBAXPURI the Union government and is oppressing farmers and others demanding their rights. Among those leaders of the Kirti Kisan Union present were Santokh Singh, Baldev Singh, Nirmal Singh, Pritpal Singh and Tara Singh. Serving Army officer writes to DC Three from Maha held for duping about ordeal at RTO office in Tarn Taran Gurdaspur resident of ~1.88 cr Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, February 7 Major Yadpreet Kaur Dhillon, a serving officer of the Indian Army, wife of Major Ajayvir Partap Singh, resident of Chabal, has in a letter to the Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner, brought to notice the “inconvenience and poor administrative conduct” faced by the couple at the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Tarn Taran, after successfully qualifying in the four-wheeler driving test on Friday (February 6). The lady major had gone to the office of the Regional Transport Office to get her driving licence issued. At the time of online application, she opted for both two-wheeler and four-wheeler categories. However, prior to the driving test, she clearly expressed her intent to proceed only with the fourwheeler driving licence and submitted an affidavit stating the same. Based on this clari- Regional Transport Officer Kapil Jindal, when contacted, said the matter was not in his notice fication, her application file was successfully accepted and submitted for further processing by the department concerned. Thereafter, access to the file was solely with the departmental staff. The letter added that despite this, the Regional Transport Office staff (name given as Gurbhej Singh), who was clicking photographs and declaring pass/fail status, misguided her and instructed her to visit the Court Complex for rectification, without providing any clear explanation or justification. She said that at one stage, the staff took a prolonged tea break, stating that the system had shut down from Chandigarh, which later proved to be misleading. Due to this poor handling and lack of coordination, she was made to wait for nearly three to four hours unnecessarily. This was despite her informing them that she was a serving Army Officer, currently posted in Assam, with leave valid only till February 8, 2026. She alleged that she was present at the test centre along with her husband, Major Ajayvir Partap Singh, and their minor daughter, Bhagbhari Kaur. The manner in which the matter was handled caused avoidable stress and inconvenience to her family and her. The Major said that there were basic facilities lacking at the test centre: Washrooms for women were locked, safe drinking water was not available and the absence of lady staff, which is essential for women candidates during the test procedures. While she understood the challenges involved in managing a large c m y b number of applicants, clear guidance and responsible conduct by the Regional Transport Office staff could have prevented this situation. The lady officer stated in the letter that as a responsible citizen and government servant, she considered it to be her duty to bring these issues to the notice of the administration, so that appropriate corrective measures could be taken. She said that she wanted to bring on record her appreciation for another Regional Transport Office staff member who later assisted in the further processing of her file. Efforts were made to contact the Deputy Commissioner for his comments in the matter, but he could not be contacted. In spite of repeated attempts, he did not respond to SMS messages. Meanwhile, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Kapil Jindal , when contacted, said that the matter was not in his notice. Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, February 7 The Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) has urged residents to stay away from unregulated online financial platforms which offer exorbitant returns by using the banned multi-level marketing structures even as the police arrested three persons from Maharashtra who had duped a local resident of Rs 1.88 crore. Police sources claim people belonging to even wealthy families are falling in the trap. SSP Aditya said he had cautioned the public after receiving complaints from scores of local residents. “These entities either wind up within days of announcing that the returns will double within a short time or actually give inflated returns for a few months just to gain the confidence of the people before closing down. These platforms do not have offices where the residents can approach them. It is difficult to locate the people operating them. A majority of the fraudsters are operating from Dubai. These platforms are promoted through social media influencers with the promise of guaranteed income, high-return Forex, crypto trading and strong referral bonuses with absolutely no verified regulation,” said a senior police officer. Sources reveal that in Gurdaspur district, a substantial number of persons have already lost their hard-earned money. “These people approach the cyber cell of the police after they are conned and have nothing left with them. Such platforms impress upon people that their money increases manifold by using AI-powered Forex transactions, a fact which is blatantly wrong,” said SSP Aditya. “There is an agent operat- ing in Gurdaspur on behalf of a Dubai-based company which offers returns of 5 to 10 per cent per month. It is actually a multi-level marketing scheme which pays returns to early investors using funds from new investors, rather than actual trading profits. The police should arrest him. Scores of persons have been cheated by him,” said a resident. There are reports that these fraudulent entities are particularly effective in rural areas of Gurdaspur where illiteracy is high. Meanwhile, acting on a complaint filed by a Gurdaspur-based victim, Gagandeep Singh, the police have registered a case against three Maharashtra-based conmen. All the three —Aatish, Jatinder Jeetu and Krishan Verma —- have been arrested. The victim, who claimed he had been deceived of Rs 1 88 crore, had filed his complaint through the cyber crime helpline.