28052026-ATR-01.qxd 5/27/2026 11:27 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST RAIN MAX 42°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 23°C EMPLOYEES ANNOUNCE PROTEST MARCH TO CM RESIDENCE AS TEMP RISES, HEALTH DEPT FIRES UP EMERGENCY READINESS BOLLYWOOD DIVAS WITH A DESI TWIST Joint front formed by 10 employee unions in Punjab demands restoration of Old Pension Scheme. P2 Civil Surgeon reviews preparedness; At 78, Amritsar reported highest number of fatalities in 2024. P3 From becoming one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Katrina Kaif has become a huge part of Indian pop culture. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.26 AM THURSDAY | 28 MAY 2026 | AMRITSAR Cross-border arms trafficking module busted, five nabbed Cool splash Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Young boys cool off with a bath at a tubewell on a blistering summer day in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Police auction 115 vehicles lying abandoned at different stations in city, earn over ~ 5 lakh Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 27 In a step towards clearing long-pending case property lying abandoned at various police stations, the city police on Tuesday auctioned around 115 seized vehicles, including five cars and over 100 motorcycles, during a public auction held at the Police Lines in Amritsar. The police earned Rs 5.44 lakh through the auction. The auction was conducted by the city police commissionerate under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu as part of an ongoing drive to dispose of vehicles seized in cases registered under the NDPS Act and other criminal offences. Spl training for BLOs to be held ahead of SIR exercise Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 27 With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls set to begin in Punjab from June 15, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, Dalwinderjit Singh has directed the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) of all 11 Assembly constituencies in the district to ensure the smooth implementation of Special Intensive Revision-2026. He said that for the exercise, 55 additional Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, two Supervisors, five District-Level Master Trainers, and 2,134 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been deployed across the district. The Deputy Commissioner said that, as per the schedule issued for the Special Intensive Revision, BLOs will conduct door-to-door visits and assist voters in filling forms from June 25 to July 24. The draft electoral roll will be published on July 31. He further said that claims and objections will be accepted till August 30. After their disposal by September 28, the final electoral roll will continued on page 2 A large number of case property vehicles gather dust on the premises of a police station in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO Many of these vehicles had been lying parked for years at different police stations, occupying valuable space and deteriorating due to prolonged exposure to harsh weather conditions. Sandhu said the auction process was conducted in three phases to ensure transparency and the smooth conduct of proceedings. In the first two phases, 51 and 59 motorcycles were auctioned, respectively, while the remaining vehicles, including cars, were disposed of in the final phase. A total of 23 bidders from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar participated in the auction process. Police officials said the bidders showed keen interest in purchasing the vehicles, many of which were in repairable condition. Officials added that such auctions help decongest police station premises and ensure the lawful disposal of case property after the completion of legal formalities. The DCP said the city police would continue similar drives in future to clear pending seized vehicles and improve the management of police station premises. Amritsar, May 27 The Amritsar police have busted a cross-border illegal arms trafficking module with the arrest of five persons having criminal antecedents. The police also recovered eight sophisticated pistols from their possession. Those arrested included Arshdeep Singh, alias D (21) of Guru Ki Wadali, Manpreet Singh, alias Mann (26), of Bhaini village, Sukhraj Singh, alias Billa (29), of Naushera Dhalla village in Tarn Taran, Rahul Gill, alias Rahul (22) of Bhikhiwind (currently residing in Drajke village, Tarn Taran), and Arshdeep Singh, alias Gagarh (25), of Lohke village in Tarn Taran. Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that the accused were in regular contact with a foreign-based smuggler using virtual numbers. The module was reportedly receiving consignments of weapons and narcotics via drones from across the border for distribution to criminal elements Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar addresses mediapersons in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR within Punjab. “The arrested accused have previous criminal records, with cases registered against them under the Arms Act, NDPS Act, attempt to murder, kidnapping and the Prisons Act,” said Police Commissioner (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. The police seized eight pistols, including 9mm Zigana, .30 bore PX3 (made in China), .30 bore Beretta (Made in Italy), three 9mm Glock pistols, two .32 bore pistols along with live cartridges. Sharing details, Bhullar said that acting on specific intelligence, the police first apprehended Rahul Gill and recovered two pistols from him. Based on his disclosure, Arshdeep Singh, alias Gagarh, was arrested and one Glock pistol was recovered from him. Subsequently, Arshdeep Singh, alias D, and Manpreet Singh, alias Mann, were intercepted on a motorcycle near Meeri Peeri Academy Road in Chheharta, leading to the recovery of two more pistols. Two additional pistols were recovered based on their disclosures. During interrogation, both accused revealed that the weapons had been procured from Sukhraj Singh, alias Billa, who was later arrested with a .30 bore Beretta pistol in his possession. Two separate cases have been registered at the Chheharta police station under relevant sections of the Arms Act, said the Police Commissioner. Further investigation is underway to uncover the full network, including forward and backward linkages of the smuggling module. Husband, in-laws booked for demanding dowry Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, May 27 On the complaint of Roopamdeep Kaur, daughter of Nirmal Singh, a resident of Dubli village under the Patti (Sadar) police station, the police have registered a case against three members of her in-laws’ family for allegedly demanding dowry, beating Three of in-laws’ family booked for dowry her up and throwing her out of the house when their demands were not met. Roopamdeep Kaur was married to Arshdeep Singh, a resident of Bhalla Colony, Chheharta, about two years ago. Roopamdeep Kaur complained that soon after the marriage, her husband and in-laws started harassing her for dowry. Even she was repeatedly taunted and harassed for giving birth to a girl instead of a boy. Owing to the alleged harassment, her in-laws reportedly forced her out of the house, following which she started living with her parents at Dubli. The complainant said her in-laws told her that she could return to their house only if her parents bought them a new a car. Acting on the complaint, the police on Tuesday registered a case under Sections 498-A and 406 of the BNS against Roopamdeep Kaur’s husband Arshdeep Singh, her father-in-law Joginder Singh and mother-in-law Manpreet Kaur. Higher Education Dept okays conversion ASI’s murder: Punjab Police issue of Khalsa College under NEP-2020 safety advisory for personnel Tribune News Service Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 27 As per the Union Government’s New Education Policy-2020, the Department of Higher Education, Government of Punjab, has approved the conversion of Khalsa College of Education, Ranjit Avenue, into ‘Khalsa College Ranjit Avenue’ Amritsar. It is the first BEd College in the state to be converted as a degree college. “The college, now re-named as ‘Khalsa College Ranjit Avenue’, starts admissions for all arts and science subjects from the current academic year of 2026-27,” said Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina. Established in 2005 by the KCGC, the college applied for conversion and after rigorous inspections, the Higher Edu- Khalsa College of Education has been renamed as ‘Khalsa College Ranjit Avenue’ in Amritsar. cation Department gave its mandatory approval to change the status of the institution, which has also been ratified by National Council Teachers Education (NCTE), New Delhi. Chhina hoped that as the BEd College had made its name in the education world in the region, the new degree college will also emerge as a premier educational institution in the coming years. Meanwhile, Dr Mandeep said that the college previously played an important role in the professional and teachers’ training and now apart from the BEd, MEd, ITEP (BA-BEd), (BSc-BEd) and 3-year BEd-MEd, integrated courses would also be available here. She said other courses, including BA, BSc, BCom, BSc, and PGDCA (TE), would also be available. Amritsar, May 27 After ASI Joga Singh was recently shot dead by unidentified armed persons, the police have reportedly issued certain directions to cops coming for duty from other districts, including avoiding twowheelers, and instead using public transport means or carpooling to come for duty. The deceased cop was posted in the traffic wing of the Amritsar Police Commissionerate. He belonged to Ghaniya Ke Bangar in Gurdaspur district’s Batala. He was going for his duty when he was shot dead at Majitha three days ago. He was cremated at his native village on Wednesday. Officials from the Amritsar police, including Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, attended the crema- tion, and paid the tributes to the departed soul. It has been learnt that, following the shocking incident, the Punjab Police have issued a series of precautionary instructions aimed at protecting police personnel, especially those commuting from distant areas to the city for duty. Police sources said personnel had been advised not to travel in uniform after duty hours, and to avoid commuting alone, particularly on two-wheelers. Instead, cops have been asked to wear civil clothes while travelling, use public transport wherever possible, and move in groups in private vehicles. The advisory comes amid heightened security concerns following the targeted killing of the police officer, which has sounded an alarm within the department. An obscure terror outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), has claimed responsibility for the killing of three cops — two at Dorangla in Gurdaspur, and one at Majitha. A senior police official confirmed that precautionary instructions had been issued in view of the prevailing situation. Officials said personnel travelling alone from distant places had specifically been directed not to wear uniforms during transit, and to change into these only after reaching their place of deployment. In case duty extends late into the night, staff have been asked to stay in police station barracks, Police Lines or rooms available at the Traffic Police Lines instead of returning home alone. Senior officials are likely to hold a meeting in the coming days to review security arrangements for personnel. School mgmts told to ensure strict compliance of Safe School Vahan Policy Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 27 Hitesh Veer Gupta, Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Amritsar, has said that the safety of school-going children remains the top priority of the Transport Department and that strict compliance with the Safe School Vahan Policy must be ensured by all schools and transport operators without any compromise. The RTO stated that all school managements, school bus contractors and transport operators have been directed to ensure that every vehicle ferrying schoolchildren fully complies with the provisions of the Safe School Vahan Policy and the Motor Vehicles Act. He clarified that the department’s objective is not merely to challan vehicles, but to ensure that vehicles transporting children are safe, authorised and compli- c m y b ant with all prescribed norms. Referring to the inspection of school vans and buses conducted a week ahead of the summer vacation, Gupta said that any negligence concerning the safety of children would not be tolerated. “Schools have been advised to ensure that all mandatory safety requirements, including valid permits, fitness certificates, speed governors, CCTV cameras, GPS systems, fire extinguishers, firstaid facilities and other prescribed safety measures, are in place,” he said. Appealing to parents, the RTO urged them not to send their children in unauthorised, overloaded or non-compliant vehicles merely for convenience, as such vehicles pose a serious risk to children’s lives. Parents have also been requested to immediately report any violation or non-compliance by school transport managements or contractors so that timely action can be taken. The RTO further stated that with summer vacations approaching, schools and transport operators should utilise the break to rectify deficiencies and make all continued on page 2