10052026-ATR-01.qxd 5/9/2026 11:52 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune LOVE, LAUGHTER & MAA KE HAATH KA KHANA WHEN ISMAT CHUGHTAI SPOKE THROUGH DASTANGOS Sunil Mehra & Pallav Mishra present works by the feminist writer at Phulkari-Women of Amritsar gala. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 38°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 24°C FINDING THE DIVINE IN MUSICAL EXPRESSION This Mother’s Day, Amritsar celebrates the beauty of motherhood through food and storytelling. P2 FORECAST Sonam Kalra speaks about her concert, Ibadat, which explored the poetry of mystic writers. P4 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 7.16 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5.36 AM » SUNDAY | 10 MAY 2026 | AMRITSAR 2 more accomplices of gangster Happy Singh held with pistols Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Two more accomplices of notorious criminal Happy Singh, alias Harpreet Singh, were arrested by the Sultanwind police in the Amritsar Police Commissionerate during further investigations into an arms and narcotics case. The police recovered two more pistols and four live cartridges from their possession. The arrested accused were identified as Lovepreet Singh, alias Love, and Mandeep Singh, alias Monu. With the latest recoveries, the total seizure in the case has risen to four pistols, nine live cartridges and 96.71 grams of heroin. Police officials said the arrests were made during the interrogation of Happy Singh, alias Harpreet Singh, who had earlier been arrested with 96 grams of heroin, two pistols and five live cartridges. Happy Singh, a resident of the Algo Kothi area in Khemkaran of Tarn Taran district and originally from Majitha, was wanted by the Tarn Taran police in murder and attempt-to-murder cases. According to the police, he has a criminal history involving at Did not beg for son’s release, says jailed MP’s mother Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, May 9 Members of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) organised a meeting at Khadoor Sahib on Saturday, which was specially addressed by the parents (father Tarsem Singh and mother Balwinder Kaur) of jailed MP Amritpal Singh. Addressing the gathering at Rayya, Balwinder Kaur said that she had not pleaded with Bhagwant Mann for her son’s release, but had instead questioned him over the alleged illegal detention of thousands of youths. She claimed that the Chief Minister left without responding to her query. A large number of women participated in the meeting, continued on page 3 Tribune News Service Police officials detail about the two criminals arrested with two pistols in Amritsar. least seven cases, including offences related to murder, attempt to murder and violations under the NDPS Act. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishaljit Singh and Assistant Commissioner of Police (South) Preet Inder Singh said Happy Singh was released from jail around eight months ago, but allegedly resumed criminal activities soon after his release. Two fresh cases under Sections 302 and 307, besides one under the NDPS Act, have been registered against him in Tarn Taran district, where he is absconding. The ACP said Lovepreet Singh was accompanying Happy Singh at the time of his arrest, but managed to escape. The police later recovered a .32 bore pistol and two cartridges from him. He was also wanted in a murder case registered in Tarn Taran district. His disclosure led to the arrest of Mandeep Singh, from whom another .32 bore pistol and two live cartridges were recovered. Police officials said more names have surfaced during the investigation and further recoveries are expected. Amritsar, May 9 Amid rising security concerns following the twin IED blasts in Punjab, the Border Security Force has confiscated more than 5 kg of heroin from the Gharinda area after it was allegedly smuggled through a drone. The seizure comes two days after the recovery of over 2 kg of heroin in multiple operations carried out by the BSF . According to officials, BSF jawans patrolling the Attari border belt recovered a large packet along with a drone. On weighing the seized contraband, officials found 5.175 kg of heroin. The BSF later handed over the narcotics to the Gharinda police for further action. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam Act. In a separate incident, the Gharinda police recovered 440 gm of heroin from harvested wheat fields at Jathaul village. ASI Saheb Singh, the continued on page 3 Nigerian woman, taxi driver held with over 3 kg heroin Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, May 9 A team of the local Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff, led by Inspector Rupinderpal Singh, arrested a Nigerian woman and her taxi driver and recovered 3.069 kg of heroin from their possession at the Goindwal Sahib bypass here on Friday night. The two alleged members of an international smuggling network were identified as Bella, daughter of Tawo and a resident of Delta State, Nigeria, currently residing near Zia Memorial Public School in Nangloi, New Delhi, and taxi driver Dilip Kumar, a resident of Sector 62, Khoda Colony, Adarsh Niketan Sital Vihar, Noida. SP (Investigation) Riputapan Singh said on Saturday that the accused had allegedly come to the area to collect heroin smuggled from Pakistan. Acting on specific information regarding their movement, the police set up a checkpoint at the Goindwal Sahib bypass The accused in the custody of the police in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI and arrested them. The police said the seized heroin is valued at over Rs 15 crore in the international market. Riputapan Singh added that the accused were suspected to have links with smugglers operating in the region. They allegedly procured heroin from Pakistan through their network and supplied it to various parts of the country, including Punjab and Delhi. According to the police, Bella had originally come to India for studies but later became involved in the narcotics trade. Officials recovered the taxi car being used by the accused, Rs 1,500 suspected to be drug money, and a mobile phone from their possession. During preliminary interro- gation, the police found that Bella allegedly had links with Pakistan-based smugglers involved in procuring and supplying narcotics across the border. The city police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and launched further investigations to trace the accused’s network and activities in the region. Sewer desilting ahead of monsoon in city Police release photos of Jandiala Guru shooting suspects one jetting-cum-suction machine have been deployed. Officials said hotspot areas were identified based on reports submitted by Junior Engineers, as these recorded the highest number of sewer blockage complaints. Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 In an effort to tackle sewer blockages and prevent waterlogging during the upcoming monsoon season, the municipal corporation has handed over the desilting work of around 73 km of main and branch sewer lines across five Assembly constituencies of the city to private contractors. The project, estimated to cost around Rs 14 crore, includes the cleaning of over 40 km of main sewer lines, along with branch lines in identified hotspot areas — where residents have been facing frequent sewer overflows and blockages. Civic officials have directed contractors to complete the work by June 30, before the onset of heavy spells of rain. According to officials, desilting work in hotspot areas began last month, and nearly 5 km of main and Civic body constructs rainwater harvesting pits Civic officials have directed contractors to complete the work by June 30, before the onset of heavy spells of rain. FILE PHOTO branch sewer lines have been cleaned so far. At present, around 50 m of the main sewer line and nearly 100 m of branch sewer lines are being desilted daily. The work involves cleaning sewer lines that are 8-102 inches in diameter. To avoid disruption to vehicular movement, most BJP holds protest march over CM Mann’s blast allegations Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Acting on a statewide protest call against Bhagwant Mann over his alleged remarks linking the BJP to the recent IED blasts in Jalandhar and Amritsar, the district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday organised a protest march and submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Alam Vijay Singh, demanding the registration of an FIR against the Chief Minister for what it termed “irresponsible” statements. In Amritsar, district BJP president Harwinder Singh Sandhu led the protest march from Rani Ka Bagh to the office of the Police Commissioner. Party workers raised slogans against the state government and accused the Chief Minister of making “false and baseless” BSF seizes over 5 kg heroin smuggled via drone allegations against the BJP . Addressing mediapersons, Sandhu alleged that the Chief Minister had wrongly linked the BJP to recent bomb blast incidents in Punjab without any evidence. He said such statements were disturbing the atmosphere in the state. He demanded an independent high-level inquiry into the matter and sought legal action against the Chief Minister after ques- tioning him over his remarks. Senior BJP leader Sukhdev Singh also criticised the state government, alleging that the law and order situation in Punjab had deteriorated significantly. He claimed that senior police officials, including the DGP , had earlier pointed to the involvement of Pakistanbased elements and the ISI in recent blast incidents, continued on page 3 of the desilting work is being carried out during night hours. The municipal corporation has engaged three contractors for the project under governmentapproved rate contracts. For the operation, three corporation-owned super sucker machines, two contractoroperated super suckers and Meanwhile, the corporation constructed rainwater harvesting pits in several lowlying areas to reduce water accumulation during rainfall. Areas identified as floodprone include Town Hall; Taylor Road; Court Road to Swani Motors; Madan Mohan Malviya Road; Putlighar; the Khalsa College area; the bus stand; the railway station; Circuit House; outside Guru Nanak Dev University; Maqbool Road; and Beri Gate. Officials said the construction of rainwater harvesting pits had already continued on page 3 Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 The Amritsar Rural Police on Saturday released photographs of two suspected assailants wanted in connection with a firing incident reported in Jandiala Guru earlier this month and appealed to the public to help trace them. The incident took place on May 1, following which the Jandiala Guru police registered a case of attempt to murder and under the Arms Act against unidentified assailants. According to the complainant, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Green City Colony, Jandiala Guru, the attack occurred around 6.30 pm when he had gone to pick up his children from a tuition centre. A CCTV grab of the two suspects wanted in a firing case by the Jandiala Guru police in Amritsar on Saturday. He told the police that as he reached near the residence of the tuition teacher on his motorcycle, two unidentified persons riding another motorcycle approached him from behind. The accused had allegedly covered their faces before opening fire on him with the intention to kill. One of the bullets reportedly struck him on the left side below the waist. The victim said he managed to save himself by running into the nearby house of Charanjit Singh, while the attackers allegedly continued firing at him. The police said two continued on page 3 The end of an era: How cinema halls vanished from city Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 The story of cinema in Amritsar began more than a century ago with a vision far ahead of its time. In 1915, a young entrepreneur, Mahna Singh Nagi, laid the foundation of Punjab’s first theatre, Crown Cinema. It was a bold experiment in a city where audiences were still devoted to live performances and stage shows. The flickering screen initially struggled to find acceptance, but gradually, curiosity turned into fascination. That modest beginning grew into a cultural phenomenon. Over the decades, cinema became woven into the social fabric of the city. By the 1970s, Amritsar — then smaller and quieter than it is today — had at least 25 cinema halls. The journey of Crown Cinema itself mirrored changing times. It was later renamed Pearl Cinema and c m y b A view of the now closed Chitra Talkies, the first cinema hall of Punjab, in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR eventually Chitra Talkies — the same structure that still stands, abandoned and silent, outside Hall Gate. Few passersby today would guess that the plot, pur- chased by Nagi at an open auction in 1909, once nurtured the dreams of a new form of storytelling. Across the city, singlescreen cinemas flourished. Names such as Sangam Theatre, Gagan Cinema, Nandhan Cinema, Aanaam Cinema, Parkash Cinema, Regal Talkies, and Amrit Talkies became part of everyday life. Near the bus stand stood the unique cluster of SurajChanda-Tara Cinemas — three theatres housed in a single building — thriving in an era when buses were the lifeline of travel. However, as time passed, the trajectory of cinema followed a familiar course. The rise of multiplexes in malls and the quiet invasion of digital streaming platforms like Netflix transformed viewing habits. The grand old single screens began to fade. In their final years, many tried to survive by screening B-grade or Bhojpuri films, but even that could not hold back the inevitable. Today, the screens have gone dark, but the buildings remain—standing as relics of another era, when cinema was not merely watched but collectively experienced. And perhaps a day will come when even these structures will no longer exist.