04042026-ATR-01.qxd 4/3/2026 11:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY GNDU FEST PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT ARTISTES SAVOUR BIHAR’S LITTI CHOKHA, CURRIES AT HYATT CENTRIC ‘NAMAK SHAMAK’ FAME SOKHI BRINGS KARIGARITO CHANDIGARH On the second day of ‘Jashan-2026’ , dance and group drama drew audience in a large number. P2 Hyatt Centric, Chandigarh, is offering litti chokha and village curries at a special Magadhi pop-up. P4 In the landscape of Indian dining, Harpal Singh Sokhi seamlessly manages to blend storytelling, nostalgia & innovation. P4 » » » MAX 26°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.51 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.14 AM SATURDAY | 4 APRIL 2026 | AMRITSAR Families booked for marrying minor girls in Tarn Taran Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 3 The police have registered cases against two families for allegedly marrying off their minor daughters in violation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. According to official information, the action was initiated following a complaint filed by Amanpreet Kaur, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Tarn Taran. In the first case, the Goindwal Sahib police have booked Saun Singh, a resident of Tur village, along with other unidentified persons, for solemnising the marriage of his 14-year-old daughter. The CWC Chairperson stated that efforts are underway to identify other individuals involved in the ceremony. In another case reported from Mallia village, the police have registered a case against Kulwinder Singh, his wife Sandeep Kaur, Harbhej Singh, a granthi at Gurdwara Charan Kamal Sahib, Sheikhchak, and Komalpreet Singh for marrying off a 15-year-old girl. Officials said that both cases have been registered under relevant sections of the Act, which prohibits the marriage of girls below 18 years of age. MC allocates funds for sewer desilting ahead of monsoon Man brutally assaulted inside Baba Bakala govt hospital Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 A man was critically injured after being brutally assaulted inside the emergency ward of a sub-divisional government hospital at Baba Bakala on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The shocking incident, captured on video and widely shared on social media, triggered widespread outrage. The police have registered a case on charges of attempt to murder and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, but no arrests have been made so far. The victim, Jagroop Singh, a resident of Thathia village under the Beas police station, was attacked by a group of people allegedly led by Kuldeep Singh, Paramjit Singh, Jagir Singh, Paramjit Kaur and others. According to the police, the assault stemmed from a verbal dispute over the non-construction of a street or road near the village pond. The argument reportedly took place on Wednesday evening, following which Jagroop Singh was admitted to the government hospital at Baba Bakala. On the intervening night, the accused group allegedly entered the hospital complex Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 Facing recurring problems of waterlogging, flooding and choked sewer lines during the monsoon season, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has this year made a focused provision in its budget for desilting of sewer lines across the city. The move comes in response to issues witnessed in previous years, when several localities remained inundated due to blocked sewerage systems, leading to overflow of dirty water into streets and posing serious sanitation concerns. Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia said that a key focus ahead of the monsoon will be to ensure timely desilting of choked sewer lines to prevent waterlogging and related health hazards. Multiple proposals related to operation and maintenance were approved during the budget meeting held on March 30. According to MC officials, tenders have been prepared and received preliminary approval from the Finance and Contracts Committee for large-scale sewer cleaning using super sucker A video grab of a youth being beaten up by miscreants at the Baba Bakala government hospital. and attacked the victim inside the emergency ward, leaving blood splattered across the floor and walls. Gurvinder Singh, SHO, Beas police station, said that raids were being conducted to nab the accused. At the time of the incident, hospital staff were reportedly terrified and did not intervene, as the attackers continued to assault the victim Faith march without fear. Dr Satinder Singh Bajaj, Civil Surgeon, Amritsar, said he is in constant touch with the concerned police authorities, who have assured that the accused will be arrested soon. He added that the Senior Medical Officer can utilise user charges generated by the hospital to hire security personnel after following due procedure. A truck-mounted super-suction machine being employed for cleaning a sewer in Amritsar. machines. An estimated Rs 48.50 lakh has been earmarked for the North segment, Rs 47 lakh for the East, Rs 46.50 lakh for the South and Rs 47.50 lakh for the Central segment for mechanised desilting operations. Over- 33 emergency vehicles provided to city police Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 The Amritsar Rural Police have booked notorious gangsters Happy Jatt and Balwinder Singh, alias Doni Bal, among nine persons in connection with an alleged murderous attack in Timowal village that left one person injured. Others named in the case include Rawaljit Singh, alias Sonu, Nishan Singh, Ajaypal Singh, Amritpal Singh, Gora, Jeeta Dhol, Bau Dhillon and four unidentified persons. They have been booked on charges of attempt to murder and under the Arms Act, 1959. The police have recovered three empty shells of 7.62 mm and four empty cases of 9 mm bullets from the spot. continued on page 2 Amritsar Rural Police bust terror module, one held Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 The Amritsar Rural Police on Friday foiled a major terror plot and arrested a man suspected of carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab at the behest of Pakistan’s InterServices Intelligence (ISI). A powerful improvised explosive device (IED) was recovered from his possession and a case has been registered. According to police sources, the accused, identified as Harman Singh of Umarpura village under the Ajnala police station, is being interrogated to uncover his network and handlers. Central intelligence agencies are also expected to question the suspect. The IED, a tiffin bomb weighing around 500 grams along with a battery, was seized from Harman’s residence. The police also confis- cated his mobile phone for forensic analysis. Though police officials remained tight-lipped, sources said that the preliminary probe has revealed the presence of several suspicious mobile numbers on the accused’s phone. The accused allegedly made calls to Pakistan through internetbased calling platforms. The device is suspected to have been dropped on the Indian side by Pakistanbased handlers using a drone from the Ramdass area. The police are also probing whether the arrested man has any connection with the recent grenade attack at the Bhindi Saida police station, as further investigations are underway. Since January, the Punjab Police have recovered around five RDX-laden IEDs. While the State Special Operation continued on page 2 Amritsar, April 3 In a bid to curb rising crime in the district, the Punjab Government has provided 33 new emergency response vehicles to the Amritsar Rural Police and the Amritsar Police Commissionerate. Of these, 28 SUV vehicles have been allotted to the Amritsar (Rural) police, while five have been handed over to the Amritsar Commissionerate Police. Addressing a press conference on Friday, DGP (Special) A S Rai, accompanied by Amritsar (Rural) SSP Sohail Qasim Mir, said that the addition of these vehicles would significantly improve response time and strengthen law enforcement in the region. He claimed that the police would now be able to reach the scene of a crime within five to seven min- DGP (Special) AS Rai (left) addresses media in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR utes of receiving information on the 112 police helpline. Earlier, the rural police had only 11 emergency response vehicles. Highlighting further measures, the DGP said that the Punjab Government is also trying to address the shortage of manpower in the police force. He noted that the Amritsar Rural Police cur- rently face a shortage of around 250 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 1,700. He added that a report on the issue would be submitted to the government and the shortage would be addressed in the coming days. He said the situation prevails across Punjab and is being taken seriously. Additionally, the government is planning to install 137 CCTV cameras at key strategic locations in border areas. The move aims to enhance surveillance and curb cross-border smuggling of drugs and arms. Meanwhile, ACP Harminder Singh of the Amritsar Commissionerate Police said that with the addition of five new vehicles, the city police fleet has been strengthened. He noted that 41 vehicles and 25 motorcycles were already deployed for patrolling in the city. He further urged residents not to visit police stations in case of emergencies, but instead dial the emergency helpline number 112. “The police will reach the spot within five to seven minutes of receiving a call regarding any suspicious activity or crime,” he said. often remained incomplete due to alleged negligence on the part of civic body officials. The biggest challenge before the MC will be to ensure that these works are executed on the ground continued on page 2 Ludhiana man nabbed with unlicensed pistol Tarn Taran, April 3 The city police, led by SubInspector Jaspal Singh, recovered an illegal pistol along with a magazine from a man at the Goindwal bypass here on Thursday. According to the police, the accused has been identified as Gaganpreet Singh, a resident of Pakhowal village in Ludhiana. He was passing through the Goindwal Sahib bypass in a vehicle when a police team intercepted him and conducted a search of the vehicle. During the search, the police recovered an illegal pistol along with a magazine from the vehicle. A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act, 1959.–OC Sudden weather change damages ripening wheat crop Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 Unseasonal weather conditions prevailed across the city and surrounding rural areas on Friday, as intermittent rain accompanied by a hailstorm and gusty winds was reported since early morning. While the weather brought down temperatures, it caused significant damage to the standing wheat crop nearing harvest. The day began on a cloudy and cool note, providing respite from rising temperatures. However, the sudden spell of rain and hailstorm later intensified, with strong winds sweeping across several parts of the region. By evening, light to moderate rainfall continued intermittently in various areas. Farmers in the region expressed concern over heavy losses to wheat crops, which were in the final stage of ripening and ready for harvest. The impact was particu- c m y b PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Devotees take part in a religious procession to mark Good Friday at St Mary’s Church in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Gangsters booked for murder bid in Timowal village firing case all, more than Rs 3.7 crore has been allocated exclusively for desilting of sewer lines across the city. However, concerns persist over implementation. In previous years, despite allocation and release of funds, crucial works like desilting A farmer assesses the damage caused to his wheat crop after hailstorm and rain in Amritsar on Friday. larly severe as repeated rainfall over the past week had already left fields waterlogged, weakening the roots of the crop. The strong winds that followed led to lodging of wheat in isolated pockets. According to farmers, the flattening of the crop is likely to affect both yield and quality. They fear that moisture and lodging could lead to discoloration of grains, turning them darker and reducing their mar- ket value, making procurement more difficult in mandis. Ranjit Singh, a farmer from Bhaini Gill village, said the untimely rain and hailstorm had come at a crucial time when the crop was fully mature and ready for harvest. He estimated that the fallen crop would not only result in lower yield but also affect grain quality. He urged the government to conduct a special girdawari and provide compensation for the losses incurred by farmers. Another farmer, Gurdev Singh, said that the combined impact of rain, hail and strong winds could reduce yield by up to five quintals per acre. “Last year, we harvested around 23-24 quintals per acre, but this time it may drop to 17-18 quintals,” he said, adding that the situation would lead to significant financial losses for farmers. Agriculture experts stated that continued adverse weather conditions at the time of harvest can negatively impact both productivity and grain quality, especially in wheat, which is highly sensitive to lodging and excess moisture at the maturity stage.