27022026-JTR-01.qxd 2/26/2026 10:34 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune MC LAUNCHES SURVEY TO ASSESS RESIDENTS’ NEEDS OVER 500 PARTICIPANTS DISPLAY SKILL AT ANNUAL ATHLETICS MEET Kanya Maha Vidyalaya college organised the annual athletics meet ‘Trailblazer-2026’. P3 MAINLY CLEAR MAX 26°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 11°C BAKING SOME LOVE ON SHIMLA’S MALL ROAD Officials emphasised that active participation of citizens is crucial to build a better-served city. P2 FORECAST National Bakers located on the Mall Road in Shimla offers delicious cakes, burgers, patties, momos, cookies. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.24 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:55 AM » FRIDAY | 27 FEBRUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. At Maa Bolimarch, singer Aulakh glorifies gun culture, sparks row Organiser AAP leader slips away, activists condemn the controversial song Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service INBRIEF MAN BOOKED FOR MURDER BID Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have booked an unidentified miscreant on the charge of attempt to murder. Jagtar Singh, a resident of Jandiala village, complained to the police that the miscreants came to Bundala petrol pump on the Goraya road on February 24 evening and asked to fill his car petrol tank and fled without paying Rs 1,000. The complainant said he along with another employee chased the accused and tried to stop him near Kangiwal village on the Jalandhar road, but the accused did not stop and hit their vehicle with his car with an intention to kill both of them. OC WOMAN DRUG PEDDLER HELD Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have arrested a woman on the charge of selling intoxicating tablets. As many as 27 tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused identified as Joti, a resident of Shankar village. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against her. OC MIGRANT HELD FOR SODOMY Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a migrant youth on the charge of sodomising a nine-year-old child. The accused has been identified as Nitin Kumarson of Bhagwan Pandit, a native of Mathura and presently living near Usha Mata Mandir, Shahkot. The mother of the victim had complained to the police that the accused sodomised her 9-year-old son and brutally injured him. OC Doctor killed in road accident Hoshiarpur, February 26 A 34-year-old doctor lost his life in a road accident late last night on the HoshiarpurJalandhar main road. Dr Navreet Singh Mandial, son of former SMO and dental specialist Dr Jaswant Singh Mandial, died after his motorcycle reportedly went out of control and collided with an unidentified vehicle in front of a factory along the main road. According to information, Dr Navreet had gone to his ancestral village Mandialan to look after agricultural work. Around 8:30 pm, while returning to his home in Hoshiarpur on his motorcycle, the accident occurred. He sustained serious injuries in the collision. He was being rushed to the Civil Hospital in Hoshiarpur in a critical condition, but he succumbed to his injuries on the way. The untimely death of Dr Navreet has sent a wave of grief across Hoshiarpur city and his native village Mandiala. — OC Jalandhar, February 26 The Maa Boli Punjabi March, organised by the Punjabi Jagriti Manch to promote Punjabi language, courted controversy after Punjabi singer Mankirt Aulakh sang his song ‘Badnaam’ on the stage, drawing criticism for glorifying liquor, weapons and violence. The march was led by Deepak Bali, AAP general secretary and adviser, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, Punjab, on whose invitation Aulakh had come. But, instead, he made the youth sing the lyrics of the controversial song with him which had words ‘bandook’, ‘asla’, ‘neat’ and ‘khoon’, all in contradiction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions. The HC directions state, “The DGPs of Punjab, Haryana and the UT Chandigarh are directed to ensure that no songs are played, glorifying the liquor, wine, drugs and violence in any song even in live shows”. Interestingly, when the singer was singing the song, Punjabi singer Mankirt Aulakh during his performance in Jalandhar on Thursday. PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH Bali, who was standing close to him before and after his performance, quickly sneaked away trying to avoid being with him that moment. However, the local activists have taken a strong exception to the choice of song of Mankirt at the event. “It made completely no sense singing such controversial song and making the youth sing the same lyrics after him. He has violated the HC orders at a function where he had been invited to promote Punjabi language and culture. The organisers should have stopped him and given him instructions about the choice of songs that he would sing from Student jumps off university building, dead Girl dies as tree branch falls on her Phagwara, February 26 An eight-year-old girl died after a heavy tree branch fell on her head while she was collecting firewood on Dhaliwal Road in Kapurthala district, the police said. The deceased has been identified as Kavita, a resident of Mansoorwal Dona Aujla Road and originally from Bihar. According to her father, Kavita had gone to collect wood for the household stove when the incident occurred. A large branch suddenly broke off and struck her on the head, leaving her critically injured. Family members rushed the child to the Civil Hospital, Kapurthala, where the doctor on duty declared her brought dead. — OC Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 26 Nine persons have been booked for obstructing a team of the CGST Department from performing its duties during a raid at an establishment at PPR Market in Jalandhar some days ago. The accused are also charged with confining CGST officials inside the premises during the operation. The FIR has been registered against leader Major Singh, a former Congress leader who’s also known to be close to AAP leaders, Inderjot Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Tarun Sharma and five unidentified persons. It has been registered almost a week after a team of the CGST raided a real estate establishment at PPR Market. A drama was witnessed during the raid which took place on February 16. Bouncers, allegedly at the behest of establishment owners, had allegedly held team members hostage inside the establishment for a couple of hours, closing the shutters from outside. Threats were also allegedly issued to the officials. It was Jalandhar, February 26 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday caught Ruhi Bala Kalia, a technical assistant posted at the FCI office in Bhogpur, Jalandhar, red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000. The arrest was made on a complaint filed by the manager of Guru Tegh Bahadur Rice Mill, Nangal Fida. The complainant stated that 49,086 bags of paddy had been allotted to the mill, of which two consignments of rice were pending clearance at the FCI warehouse. Kalia allegedly demanded Rs20,000 to clear the consignments. The complainant approached the VB, which laid a trap and arrested Kalia taking the bribe. — TNS only after the intervention of the Jalandhar police that the release of the officials could be secured. The CGST officials had submitted a complaint to the police. The FIR has been registered at the division number 6 police station under Sections 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant to deter them from discharging their lawful duty), 218, 222 (intentional omission to assist a public servant when legally bound to do so), 224 (threat of injury to a public servant), 270 (public nuisance) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the BNS. The digital video recorder of the establishment has also been seized as part of the investigation. The bustling PPR Market in Jalandhar, a home to many high-end establishments, eateries and cafes has also been in controversies since the beginning. Incidents of hooligansim, violence, gun brandishing, etc. have regulalry been reported in the area. Holding the team of the CGST officials hostage, however, is a first even for the market. FCI official caught taking bribe of ~20K Phagwara, February 26 A 20-year-old student of a private university in Phagwara allegedly died by suicide after jumping from a highrise building within the campus. The deceased has been identified as Pristela Thanuj, son of Pristela Venkteshlu, a resident of district Ranga Reddy in Telangana. According to preliminary information, the incident occurred on the campus. The university authorities were alerted immediately, following which the student was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara, by Mahinder Singh, the hostel warden. However, doctors at the hospital declared him brought dead. — OC singer in his office at 10 am to clarify his side on the issue but he did not appear. Kitna said, “Not just has Mankirt glorified weapons, but his new song also mentions a line which implies that to settle scores, one has to keep unlicensed weapons”. Meanwhile, the march received a huge response as students, teachers, AAP leaders and artistes participated in large numbers. The march started from Lyallpur Khalsa School, where Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat, MP Ashok Mittal, DC Dr Himanshu Aggarwal and AAP leader Rajwinder Kaur Thiara took part. Sandhwan lauded the efforts of the Punjabi Jagriti Manch for annually organising the event to spread awareness about the importance of the mother tongue. He urged youngsters to become ambassadors of Punjabi and propagate the message of ‘Maa Boli’ worldwide. Sandhwan emphasised that while all languages deserve respect, people must prioritise their mother tongue. Nine booked for obstructing CGST men during raid Vehicles carrying cattle intercepted, six booked Our Correspondent Phagwara, February 26 The Phagwara police intercepted two vehicles allegedly transporting cattle for illegal slaughter at Sugar Mill Chowk here on the intervening night of February 25 and 26. An FIR was registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act. SP Madhvi Sharma told this correspondent here today that the first vehicle, bearing registration number DL01 LW 3286, was found carrying three bullocks, while the second vehicle, bearing registration number PB13 AR 0623, was transporting seven cows. The vehicles were reportedly stopped during checking following specific inputs. Upon inspection, the drivers allegedly failed to produce valid documents authorising the transportation of the animals. The police have named six accused in the case — Binder Singh and Ninderpal, alias Kakku, both residents of Sangrur, Manga Masih of Gurdaspur, Avtar Singh Tarri and Sonu Singh of Ladhuwal, Ludhiana, along with one unidentified person. The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Gurpreet Singh, chairman of the Gau Rakshak Dal, who claimed to have followed the vehicles on suspicion before alerting the police. Preliminary investigations suggest that the cattle were allegedly being transported to Gurdaspur district, where they were purportedly intended for slaughter and consumption. Officials indicated that further investigation was under way to ascertain the broader network involved in the alleged activity. Reacting strongly to the incident, Shiv Sena Punjab leader Inderjit Karwal and Gau Rakshak Dal chairman Gurpreet Singh condemned the alleged attempt to transport cows and buffaloes for slaughter. They termed the incident deeply disturbing and demanded a time-bound investigation to bring all those involved to justice. They also urged the administration to intensify vigilance and strictly enforce laws relating to cow protection and animal welfare across the state. SP Madhvi maintained that the law and order situation in Phagwara was peaceful and under control. Adequate security arrangements had been ensured and further investigation into the matter was under way. c m y b the stage”, said MP Singh, a Jalandhar-based activist. Interestingly, Mankirt had three weeks ago released a new song ‘Asla’. Nawanshahr-based activist Parvinder Singh Kitna had lodged a complaint against him with the SSP Nawanshahr. The , SSP had summoned the Turn your skills into a powerful portfolio - master real projects through hands-on modules! 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