03052026-JTR-01.qxd 5/2/2026 11:49 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune COMPUTER TEACHERS TO HOLD ‘SATYAGRAHA’ WITH KEJRIWAL YASHIKA WINS FEMINA MISS INDIA NORTH ZONE TITLE Educators said they would hold ‘Satyagraha’ in Delhi to protest AAP government’s failure to fulfil promises made to them. P2 Yashika Sharma (19) brought pride to city by clinching the Femina Miss India North Zone title at Bhubaneswar in Odisha. P3 » CULINARY MASTER CLASS BY CELEBRITY CHEF HARPAL SOKHI Celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi conducted a culinary master class at Karigari, Sector 26, Chandigarh. P4 » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY/RAIN MAX 35°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.08 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5.40 AM » SUNDAY | 3 MAY 2026 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF AGENT BOOKED FOR ~14.5L FRAUD State’s flagship SOE model struggles Mother-sonduoheld for assaulting cops as Class IX seats remain vacant CURRENT ENROLMENT AT SCHOOL OF EMINENCE Location Nakodar: The Sadar police have booked a travel agent for allegedly duping a Nakodar village resident of Rs 14.50 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. Nakodar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Onkar Singh Brar said the accused was identified as Madan Lal of Chania village. Sukhpreet Singh of Gurre village complained to the Jalandhar (rural) SSP that he paid Rs 14.50 lakh to the accused for facilitating his migration abroad. Madan Lal said he was neither sent abroad nor his money was returned. The DSP said a case was registered against accused after an inquiry. OC WOMAN BOOKED FOR ~2.86L FRAUD Shahkot: The Jalandhar (rural) Cyber Crime police station has booked a Nakodar woman on charge of cheating a Shahkot resident of Rs 2.86 lakh. Investigating officer (IO) Nirmal Singh said the accused was identified as Aneetaka of Mohalla Guru Nanakpura, Nakodar. Rup Basant of Mohalla Rishi Nagar, Shahkot, complained to Jalandhar (rural) SSP that the accused fraudulently withdrew money through his credit card. The IO said the SSP instructed Shahkot DSP to conduct an inquiry into the incident. The IO said a case under Sections 316(2) (breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the BNS was registered against the accused woman. OC BIKE STOLEN, CASE REGISTERED Shahkot: The police have booked an unidentified person on the charge of stealing a motorcycle. Ajit Singh of Mohalla Ajad Nagar, Shahkot, complained to the police that he parked his motorcycle (bearing registration number PB-67 -B 5358) outside his house from where it was stolen. Investigating officer (IO) Angrej Singh said a case under Section 305(theft) of the BNS was registered against unidentified accused in this connection. OC ONE HELD FOR SELLING LIQUOR Nakodar: The Mehatpur police have arrested a villager on the charge of selling illicit liquor. Investigating Officer (IO) Harkirat Singh said 25 bottles of illicit liquor were recovered from the possession of the accused, identified as Balwindar Singh, a resident of Vehran village. The IO said a case under sections 61/1/14 of the Punjab Excise Act was registered against the accused in this connection. OC ■ Ladowali Road ■ Model Town ■ Bhargo Camp ■ Kartarpur ■ Nakodar ■ Bajwa Kalan Qualified Students Confirmed Admissions 24 2 31 16 110 20 34 6 55 14 70 35 the ❝The problem has arisen because hasnumber ofthis students qualifying the entrance test declined year. Against 36 sanctioned seats in Class IX, only 24 students have qualified for my school. Most of these students are from the far flung areas and are not willing to take admission here. So far, only two students have taken admission in this school. Students at the School of Eminence, Ladowali Road, Jalandhar. FILE PHOTO Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 2 Despite the state government’s much touted “Sikhya Kranti” push, Punjab’s flagship Schools of Eminence (SOE) in Jalandhar are struggling to fill sanctioned Class IX seats even weeks after entrance exam results were declared. The situation has raised fresh concerns over the effectiveness of Punjab’s most ambitious school reform model. The shortfall is now beginning to disrupt academic planning on the ground. With sections yet to be fully formed, schools are finding it difficult to finalise timetables, allocate teachers and start structured classroom teaching for the new session. According to official data, Jalandhar district has nine Schools of Eminence, each with around 36 sanctioned seats for Class IX. Despite a structured selection process, several schools are reporting significant vacancies due to less admission of selected candidates. The Punjab Schools of Eminence (SoE) programme was launched as a key reform initiative to strengthen government education by identifying meritorious students through a competitive entrance examination and enrolling them in specially designated schools with better infrastructure and academic support. Officials say the issue stems from two main factors. They say fewer students qualified the entrance test this year compared to previous years. Besides a large number of selected candidates belonged to distant villages or semi-urban areas, making daily commuting difficult to schools and discouraging them from taking admission, say officials. The situation is particularly stark at School of Eminence, Ladowali Road, where only 24 students have qualified against 36 seats, and only two have confirmed their admission so far. Confirming the development, Yogesh Kumar, Principal, School of Eminence, Ladowali Road, said, “The problem has arisen because the number of students qual- ❞ Yogesh Kumar, Principal, SCHOOL OF EMINENCE, LADOWALI ROAD, JALANDHAR ifying the entrance test has declined this year. Against 36 sanctioned seats in Class IX, only 24 students have qualified for my school. Most of these students are from the far flung areas and are not willing to take admission here. So far, only two students have taken admission in this school.” He added that low enrolment was directly affecting academic planning. “We are unable to form proper sections due to shortage of students, which is delaying start of structured teaching for this session,” he said. At Shaheed Major Rohit Sharma School of Eminence, Model Town, 31 students qualified for 36 seats, but only 16 had taken admission. Similarly, 110 students qualified for the SOE, Bhargo Camp, but only 20 had taken admission so far. The situation is even more concerning at the SOE, Kartarpur, where only six students had joined out of 34 qualified candidates. At the SOE, Nakodar, only 14 admissions had been confirmed against 55 selected students. The SOE, Bajwa Kalan, performed relatively better with 35 admissions against 70 seats, but the school still remained short of its full capacity. Officials, however, maintained that the situation would likely improve in the coming days as admissions for the SOE classes were still underway and would continue until all seats were filled. Phagwara, May 2 On a complaint lodged by Rawalpindi Station House Officer (SHO) Sub-Inspector Major Singh, the police have registered a case under Sections 133, 132 and 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested two persons, including a woman, for allegedly assaulting a police team and obstructing officials from performing duty during a patrol operation at Rampur Sunnra village near Phagwara. The arrested accused were identified as Harjeet Singh, and his mother Gurbaksh Kaur, both residents of Rampur Sunnra village. According to the complaint, the incident occurred when a police team was on routine patrol duty to check suspicious persons. A youth standing near roadside was stopped for questioning, but he allegedly resisted and engaged in a scuffle with the police personnel, raising an alarm. Hearing the commotion, a woman came out from a nearby house. The youth identified her as his mother, and she too allegedly joined him in resisting the police action and interfering with officials in the performance of their duty. During the scuffle, SHO Major Singh’s khaki turban reportedly fell off, and the shoulder flap of his uniform shirt bearing two stars was torn, the police said. — OC Youth dies after jumping from third floor of house Phagwara, May 2 A youth reportedly died after allegedly jumping from the third floor of his residence at Daddal Mohalla here on Friday evening. The deceased was identified as Sharanjit Singh. According to Balbir Kaur, mother of the deceased, her son was struggling with drug addiction and was reportedly demanding money for substance use shortly before the incident. She said the family was facing financial hardship and earned a living through ironing clothes. She said Sharanjit frequently asked for money to sustain his addiction and was distressed on Friday after being refused. He then went to the third floor of the house. The family immediately alerted the police, but before they could arrive, he jumped from the third floor. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital in a critical condition and later referred to a hospital in Jalandhar. However, he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Sources said the youth had previously undergone treatment at a deaddiction centre twice. Speaking to mediapersons, SP Madhavi Sharma said as per family’s account, the youth was mentally disturbed for the last 10 to 15 days and had reportedly expressed suicidal thoughts during this period. — OC AAP’s upheaval reflects through MLA Arora resumes work as rivalry hoardings across city, Nakodar with AAP halqa in-charge heats up Cash, jewellery worth ~9L stolen Deepkamal Kaur Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 2 A day after Jalandhar Central Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora got four gunmen for his security from the Punjab Police, he started functioning from his office on Saturday. An upbeat Arora posted his video on social media this evening showing him walking from his home to office guarded by his security personnel. Reaching his office, he was seen being received by his well-wishers who also offered him sweets. The video also shows that when a voter from the area approached him for authentication of his documents, he signed and put an MLA’s stamp on papers, indicating that he had now been authorised for this work and his constituents could reach out to him for validation of their documents on day-to-day basis. The video is set to clearly dilute the position of businessman and halqa in-charge Kohli, who had been calling the shots since Arora got arrested on May 23. The cre- Jalandhar, May 2 The recent upheaval in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) post defection of its seven Rajya Sabha MPs into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is clearly visible through signages across the city. On one hand, there are signages in the Jalandhar Central Assembly constituency which were installed by halqa incharge Nitin Kohli regarding various development works. These still bear pictures of defected MP and Kohli’s confidant Ashok Mittal. Such billboards with pictures of Kohli and Mittal could be seen at various sites where development projects were launched by Kohli since last year, especially those related to his Fit Jalandhar Central campaign of installation of sports infrastructure in public parks. The number of such billboards across the Jalandhar Central area is so high that it probably will not be easy for Kohli to get all of them removed. There is one such hoarding few hundred metres away from the official A hoarding with a picture of Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal at Old Baradari in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the Old Baradari Park. Another story reflects through hoardings across the Nakodar constituency. These have the photographs of six Rajya Sabha members from Punjab with the word “traitor” written below them. Nakodar Congress halqa in-charge Dr Navjot Dahiya said, “This act not only reflects poor political standards, but also goes against the democratic values.” He said, “The biggest question is — who is behind these billboards?” Though no one has claimed to have these hoardings installed, many believe that it is the handiwork of the local AAP workers. Dahiya challenged, “If someone truly believes in what they are saying, they should come forward and reveal their identity. Levelling allegations while in hiding is an act of cowardice.” He further said, “It must also be clearly understood that the Rajya Sabha members are not directly elected by the people, but by the MLAs. In Punjab, these members were elected by MLAs following the directions of the party high command. Ignoring this reality and labelling individuals as “traitors” is nothing but political theatrics.” Dahiya said, “When leaders from other parties join the AAP , they are welcomed with open arms. However, when same leaders leave party, they are suddenly branded as “traitors”.” c m y b AAP MLA Raman Arora in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH ation of two parallel power centres of the AAP in one Assembly segment may also lead to confusion among the masses. It is now being learnt that the exact position would be clear once CM Bhagwant Mann visits Jalandhar in the next few days and gives any indication. Ever since Arora got released on bail in a corruption case filed by the Vigilance Bureau, Jalandhar range, he was not seen meeting his constituents with clear directions from the top. He was seen singing bhajans and attending religious programmes. He had been flagging off his parallel tirath yatra jathas, which were in no way linked with the state government. In between, he also attended his garment business, mainly managed by his son. In fact, all government functioning in the constituency was being handled by AAP halqa in-charge Nitin Kohli, even post Arora’s release. An Congress ex-MLA Rajinder Beri and former BJP-minister Manoranjan Kalia had often pointed fingers at the arrangements made by the AAP of keeping the MLA away from political activities and empowering the halqa in-charge, who they said was discharging his duties unconstitutionally. Phagwara, May 2 A major daylight burglary was reported from the Nighahan locality here, where a thief targeted a house while the entire family was away attending a religious ceremony. According to family members, they left their residence around 11.30 am to attend rasam pagri (last rites ceremony) of their deceased father at a temple, leaving the house locked yesterday. The incident came to light when a family member, accompanied by a neighbour, returned home to collect a motorcycle keys. Upon entering the house, they found belongings scattered and an almirah broken open. The family said cash amounting to Rs 3.25 lakh and gold jewellery worth Rs 6 lakh was stolen from the house. The entire act was captured in footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the area. The footage showed a man wearing a red shirt approaching the house on foot, with his face clearly visible. Based on this, the family suspects that the theft might have been committed by someone familiar with their routine and movements. On receiving information, the police reached the spot and initiated a probe. — OC