07052026-JTR-01.qxd 5/6/2026 11:50 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune 187% SURGE IN HEROIN SEIZURES IN KAPURTHALA DISTRICT Amidst a spate of recent drug-related deaths in district, the police released data claiming surge in drug recoveries. P2 » DEMOCRATIC TEACHERS FRONT CONDEMNS WAR ON IRAN PET FRIENDLY CAFÉ IN SHIMLA OFFERS 10 PER CENT DISCOUNT The Democratic Teachers Front condemned “unjust war” imposed on Iran by the United States and Israel.P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.11 PM Café Khoblu in Shimla offers 10 per cent discount to those who visit the restaurant with their pets. P4 » FORECAST SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:37 AM » THURSDAY | 7 MAY 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. INBRIEF 506 GM HEROIN SEIZED IN 2 CASES Phagwara: The police have arrested three individuals and recovered heroin. A police party set up a naka after receiving information that Laddi Singh and Ram Singh of village Dogranwal were on their way to Kapurthala via Hamira and Lakhan Kalan on a bike to deliver a consignment to a person. The police laid a blockade and intercepted the motorcycle. The rider was Laddi Singh while the pillion rider disclosed his identity as Ram Singh. A search led to the recovery of 500 gram of heroin from them. In a separate operation, a police team arrested a youth in Sukh Sagar Colony. The suspect attempted to flee but was overpowered by the police. He identified himself as Amandeep Sood of Laxmi Nagar and living in Kapurthala . A search resulted in the recovery of 6 gram of heroin from his possession. OC CASH BAG STOLEN FROM ATM Phagwara: A case has been registered in Kapurthala following an inquiry into the alleged theft of a bag containing cash from outside an ATM kiosk, highlighting concerns over security lapses during cash handling operations. The complaint was filed by Palvinder Singh of village Fattu Dhinga. The accused has been identified as Nirmal Kaur, residing in Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Kapurthala. He said he was engaged in the work of loading cash into ATM machines. During the process, one of the bags was inadvertently left outside the ATM premises. It is alleged that the accused picked up the bag containing ~3 lakh and left the scene. OC When wedding reception turned into quiet candlelight dinner ONE YEAR ON Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 6 As the country marked the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, a Canada-based couple recalled how their carefully planned wedding reception was reduced to a quiet candlelight dinner shared only with family. Dr Gursimran Kaur, a Ludhiana-based dentist, married Ramit Pal Singh, a lawyer from Jammu, on May 5, and the families had planned a reception in Jammu on May 8. Guests from Ludhiana, Phagwara and other cities were to reach a hotel in Jammu but most of them could not make it as there had been a drone strike, with Jammu being one of the main targets. “All ready for the function, we were heading towards the venue that evening at 7 pm when the police stopped us midway and did not allow us to proceed towards the hotel for the wedding function. We had to wait for sometime at a safe location but somehow managed to reach the hotel. Reaching the venue, we were told by the hotel staff that a blackout had been announced. No lights could be switched on. No music could be played and hence there could be no dance as we had all planned. The possibility of a firecracker show to make the reception look like a gala event was completely ruled out”, recalled father of the bride Surinder Pal Singh. “By that time, our guests from far and near had already started informing us that they would not be able to make it because of the situation going tense. Even our local relatives were telling us that the police had put up nakas and were not allowing us to reach the venue. We talked to our sonin-law, his family and the hotel staff on how things could be worked out in such a situation. The only thing we could plan at that time was a cake cutting and quiet candlelight dinner. In fact, it was not very quiet as there were NIA steps in to probe blast case Role of Pak’s Shehzad Bhatti being looked into Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 6 The National Investigating Agency has stepped in to probe the Tuesday evening blast case outside the gates of the Northern Frontier of the Border Security Force here. A team from the agency visited the spot and looked into all possible angles for probing into the incident. Even though officials claim that the forensic reports will confirm the nature of the explosives, they hinted that it could be an IED blast. No sharpnels, however, were recovered from the spot. As per the information received so far, two men were involved in the incident, one of whom reportedly stayed in a local hotel and had even DGP Gaurav Yadav visits the area outside the BSF headquarters, Jalandhar, where a blast took place on Tuesday. FILE conducted a recce of the busy intersection. The other was paid to plant the device at the site right next to the point where the scooter got parked. Since it was a remote-controlled device, officials said it must have been planted the same day, possibly concealed in a nearby lighting panel. The police are learnt to have identified both accused, who are from another state. But they are yet to be traced. The officials are also linking the incident to the Operation Sindoor anniversary with Pakistan-based gangster Shehzad Bhatti being considered as the mastermind of it. A poster of the Khalistan Liberation Army, taking responsibility of the incident to take revenge of the death of Gurdaspur-based youth Ranjit Singh, had also surfaced this morning. Meanwhile, family members of Gurpreet Singh, delivery boy of Flipkart, whose scooter was damaged in the blast yesterday, have said they have had a tough time. Gurpreet had been questioned overnight but officials later found that he had no role in the blast. He was let off but the family termed it undue harassment. sounds of interception of missiles and drones coming from outside and we were all damn scared. The hotel staff were hospitable and ensured our safe comfort and stay all night. That is how it all ended up on a good, memorable note”, he said. Surinder Pal Singh added, “The next thing that we decided at the dinner was to plan a safe, early exit back to Ludhiana and a quick return of the couple back to Canada, from where both had come for a ‘gala, dreamy wedding’. Both flew back within six days.” Mass protest erupts over garbage dump Jalandhar, May 6 Residents of Model Town in Jalandhar staged a protest on Wednesday against a garbage dump, alleging that it has triggered serious public health concerns in the area. The protest was jointly organised by the Joint Action Committee (Model Town, Jalandhar) and the local Gurdwara Management Committee. Protesters raised serious concerns over administrative negligence, alleging that despite repeated complaints and official orders, the site continues to be used as an unauthorised dumping ground without any regulation. The dump is located opposite Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Model Town, causing immense inconvenience to residents and devotees due to foul odour, unhygienic conditions and increased risk of disease. — TNS Cops stand guard outside a house where protesting leaders were detained in Phagwara on Wednesday. Many detained before CM’s Phagwara visit Our Correspondent PHAGWARA, MAY 6 The visit of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to Phagwara on Wednesday under his “Shukrana Yatra” witnessed heightened security measures, including preventive detentions of union leaders, alongside accelerated civic works carried out on a war footing by the district administration. In a significant development ahead of the Chief Minister’s arrival, the police initiated preventive action and placed several prominent employee and labour union leaders under house arrest early morning today. Those detained included Gurmukh Singh, president of the Democratic Teacher Front, Parminder Pal, convener of the Pension Front Mulazam Union, and Satwant Toora, president of the Gazetted and Non-Gazetted SC/BC Employees Welfare Federation. The leaders wanted to meet the Chief Minister to present their long-pending demands, particularly concerning issues related to Census documentation and employee welfare. Administrative sources maintained that the preventive measures were taken to ensure smooth conduct of the Chief Minister’s programme and to avoid any disruption during the highsecurity visit. Simultaneously, the district administration launched intensive efforts to upgrade infrastructure along the Chief Minister’s route. Road repair work, particularly on the Phagwara-Banga road and key connecting stretches, was undertaken on a war footing late Tuesday evening and continued into Wednesday. The stretch, previously marked by potholes and uneven surfaces, received urgent patchwork to facilitate safe and smooth movement. DC Akash Bansal and SSP Gaurav Toora conducted repeated inspections to oversee security arrangements and infrastructural readiness. Two kids drown in Kali Bein Tech failures slow door-to-door drug, after suicide bid by mother socio-economic survey in Jalandhar Our Correspondent MAN LOSES ~20L IN VISA FRAUD Phagwara: A case of alleged immigration fraud involving ~20 lakh has been registered at Kapurthala, following an inquiry into a complaint filed by a local, who accused two agents of cheating him on the pretext of sending him abroad. Complainant Sabi Singh of Villa Kothi near Kapurthala said he was approached by Gurnam Singh of Miani in Lohian and Jagir Singh of Rajewal near Shahkot. The accused allegedly lured him with promises of facilitating his travel to a European country. The complainant paid ~20 lakh to the agents for processing his overseas journey. However, the accused failed to fulfil their commitment. OC TWO BOOKED FOR STEALING CASH Phagwara: The police have booked two miscreants on the charge of stealing cash from a temple. The accused has been identified as Jashan Deep Singh of Mehmudpur village. Jogindar Singh of Fatehpur village complained to the police that the accused barged into Bhagwan Valmik Temple on April 28 night and stole Rs 18,000 cash from coin box. oc Rishika Kriti Kapurthala, May 6 A heart-breaking incident unfolded in Sultanpur Lodhi on Wednesday, leaving the entire area in shock and grief. A woman allegedly attempted suicide by jumping into the Kali Bein along with her two minor sons. While the mother was rescued, both children drowned. Simran Kaur, wife of Bharpoor Singh and resident of village Adalat Chak, was reportedly under mental stress. She took her two sons — Veer Pratap Singh (6) and Gur Pratap Singh (3) — to the riverside and jumped into the water. Eyewitnesses present at the scene acted swiftly and managed to pull the woman out of Tribune News Service Veer Pratap Singh Gur Pratap Singh the water. However, the two children could not be saved. The tragic scene left onlookers deeply distressed, with a wave of mourning spreading across the locality. Upon receiving information, the Sultanpur Lodhi police reached the spot, took custody of the bodies, and shifted them to the Civil Hos- pital mortuary for further procedures. Investigating officer Baldev Singh stated that the police have initiated a probe into the matter and are examining all possible angles considering the seriousness of the case. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway. Protest over contaminated water Jalandhar, May 6 Residents of Teacher Colony in Nawanshahr protested against the Municipal Council (MC) by banging plates and spoons to highlight the issue of contaminated drinking water, allegedly caused by sewer leakage. The residents alleged that the problem, which has reportedly been ongoing for nearly one-and-a-half years, has caused inconvenience and health concerns among locals. Today, a letter has also been written by the Teachers Society Welfare Committee to the CM and DC stating that since the issue is still persisting, they will continue protest opposite the district administration office. Residents complained that despite repeated complaints to the MC, the issue remains unresolved. They alleged that while roads were dug up days ago for repair work, the incomplete work has left the area in disarray, causing daily hardships. People are reportedly being forced to consume contaminated water, leading to rising health issues. Santosh Kaur, one of the protesting residents, stated that if the contaminated water supply and sewer system are not fixed soon, the residents will escalate the matter by staging a protest at the Deputy Commissioner’s office. — TNS c m y b Jalandhar, May 6 The second day of the state’s first-ever drug and socio-economic survey in Jalandhar continued to be plagued by technical glitches in the survey application, significantly slowing down the enumeration process across the district. Officials confirmed that the survey app has been plagued by persistent technical issues, ranging from login credential failures and mid-process crashes to a recurring glitch where questionnaires continue to show as pending even after successful submission, forcing enumerators to revisit households and repeat the exercise. Sapna Sharma, an enumerator in Kishanganj, said, “The app is working really slow due to issues with internet and wifi connectivity. On top of that, I carried out the survey of a family with 13 members, after filling in every detail and submitting the questionnaire, the app still showed it as pending. I had no choice but to visit the household again and redo the whole process,” she said. Residents reluctant to answer some questions Enumerators noted that resident are hesitant over questions related to caste, sub-caste and drug abuse. Nisha Sahota, an enumera- An enumerator carries out the survey in Suranussi, Jalandhar, on Wednesday. tor in Suranussi, said while they were trained to handle sensitive questions carefully, resistance from residents remains a challenge. “During training, we were prepared to handle caste and drug-related queries with caution. But people are still reluctant to answer them. When asked whether any family member uses drugs, whether substance abuse is an issue in their area, or whether they know of places or people from where drugs can be obtained, they simply say no even if they are aware,” she said. Enumerators also noted that a lack of familiarity with households falling under their booths has added to the difficulty. Ranjana Sharma, also an enumerator in Bidhipur, said, “I am not familiar with the area, so I take my cook along as she knows the people here. I focus first on households known to her. People are not aware that the government is carrying out such a survey, so having a familiar face helps keep them engaged. And that matters, because the questionnaire has more than 125 questions and it takes a really long time to complete,” she said. Residents raise concerns over purpose of survey The length and nature of the questionnaire have also drawn concern from residents themselves. PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH Surinder Kumar of Suranussi said the sheer volume of questions made the survey burdensome. “There are more than 125 questions which make it very difficult to sit through. And out of all of these, only three or four questions are actually about us that is our household details, number of family members, their education and employment. The rest seem to be about only government schemes,” he said. Officials, when questioned about the technical failures, acknowledged the problem and said the issues have been flagged to the authorities. They added that it would take another three or four days before the process is streamlined.