04082026-ATR-01.qxd 8/3/2026 11:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 29°C PINGALWARA MARKS BHAGAT PURAN SINGH’S 34TH DEATH ANNIV FILM SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY EARNS $900M IMTIAZ ALI, ANURAG KASHYAP TO PRESENT SHORT FILM Events held to mark the 34th death anniversary of Pingalwara founder Bhagat Puran Singh. P2 The film featuring Tom Holland as Spider-Man has earned over $900 million on opening weekend. P4 Filmmakers Imtiaz and Anurag have collaborated to present Bobby Beauty Parlour during Friendship Week. P4 » » » SUNSET TUESDAY 7.25 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.49 AM TUESDAY | 4 AUGUST 2026 | AMRITSAR Over 10 kg heroin seized near border, three booked Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 3 A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recovered around 9 kg of heroin from the Lopoke area, the Amritsar Rural Police on Monday seized 10.4 kg of heroin from Sufian village under the Ramdass sector, close to the Indo-Pak border. The police have booked three alleged drug peddlers — Raja Singh, Gora Singh and Amrinder Singh alias Abu, all residents of Sufian village. They allegedly reached the designated location to retrieve a heroin consignment after receiving its coordinates from Pakistan-based smugglers through encrypted communication applications. However, the trio managed to escape by taking advantage of the tall jowar crop after spotting the police team. According to the police, the recovery was made following a specific intelligence input. Acting swiftly, a police team reached agricultural fields near a tubewell room on the Sultan Mahal road leading from The contraband that was seized from fields in Amritsar. POLICE RECOVER ABANDONED BIKE ■ Acting on intelligence, the police seized heroin allegedly smuggled from Pakistan by drone. ■ The police recovered 20 packets of heroin from fields near Sufian village. ■ Three alleged peddlers fled through Sufian village. A Hero Splendor motorcycle (PB02-FE-5752), allegedly used by the accused, was found parked near the spot. During a search of the tall jowar fields after spotting the police during an operation near the Indo-Pak border. ■ A Hero Splendor motorcycle allegedly used by the accused was also found abandoned near the site. fields, the police recovered a black kit bag concealed near the fields. The bag contained 20 packets of heroin, each wrapped in yellow adhesive tape. On opening the pack- ets, the police found heroin weighing between 505 grams and 549 grams, taking the total recovery to approximately 10.4 kg. Preliminary investigations indicate that the consignment had been smuggled into Indian territory from Pakistan using a drone. Investigators believe the Pakistan-based handlers had shared the exact drop location with the accused through encrypted messaging platforms, following which they reached the spot to collect the narcotics. A case has been registered under Sections 21(C), 29 and 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act at the Ramdass police station. The police said raids were underway to arrest the absconding accused and identify other members of the cross-border smuggling network. The latest seizure comes within a day of the NCB recovering around 9 kg of heroin from the Lopoke sector, highlighting the continued use of drones by Pakistan-based smugglers to push narcotics across the International Border into Punjab. Thieves steal gold, cash from house; one nabbed Our Correspondent Garbage dumped at a BRTS bus stop near SSSS Chowk in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Vikas Manch urges state govt to revive BRTS service in city Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 3 Office-bearers of social organisation Amritsar Vikas Manch have urged the Punjab Government to immediately restore the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) service in Amritsar and fix accountability for officials allegedly responsible for its closure, claiming the move has deprived thousands of commuters of affordable public transport and caused a huge loss to the public exchequer. Inarepresentationaddressedto the Punjab Chief Secretary, the organisation demanded a departmental inquiry and legal action against officials who were respon- sible for shutting down the BRTS service on July 3, 2023. It also soughtrecoveryoffinanciallosses incurred due to the closure of the transport system, which was established at an estimated cost of around Rs 600 crore. The organisation claimed that before its suspension, the BRTS service was used daily by 40,000 to 50,000 commuters, including students, employees, women and low- and middle-income residents, providing them with safe, air-conditioned and affordable transportation across the city. The Amritsar Vikas Manch alleged that the closure had adversely affected public mobility and forced nearly 1,000 employees associated with the service to lose their livelihoods. It termed the prolonged suspension of the service a denial of citizens’ right to accessible public transport and called for its immediate restoration. The organisation alleged that hundreds of mature roadside trees had been uprooted during the execution of the BRTS project, causing environmental damage and said the subsequent closure of the service had rendered the investment ineffective. In its memorandum, AVM president Surinderjit Singh urged the government to immediately deploy the 92 BRTS buses currently lying idle at the Metro bus station on the Verka bypass for continued on page 2 Tarn Taran, August 3 Two persons allegedly stole gold ornaments and Rs 6,000 in cash from the house of Charanjit Kaur, a resident of Marhana village, on Sunday. The victim later lodged a complaint with the Chohla Sahib police. Charanjit Kaur stated that she had gone to Gurdwara Tahla Sahib in Amritsar along with her family on Sunday morning to pay obeisance. On returning home, she found the locks of the house broken and the iron cupboard lying open. On checking her belongings, she found that around 11 grams of gold ornaments and Rs 6,000 in cash had been stolen. She suspected the involvement of Kuldeep Singh, alias Pita, and Gursahib Singh, alias Saba, both residents of her village. The police arrested Kuldeep Singh and recovered Rs 5,000 from his possession. His alleged accomplice, Gursahib Singh, alias Saba, is absconding. The Chohla Sahib police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 305 and 331(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway. Punjab Roadways, PRTC Batala police, CI wing arrest two Relief from heat contractual staff’s strike juveniles in grenade blast case has commuters stranded Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Contractual workers of the Punjab Roadways and the PRTC during a protest over their pending demands in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 3 Contractual employees of the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC on Monday began a three-day strike, disrupting passenger bus services across the state and causing inconvenience to commuters. Among those affected was the family of Sarwan Singh, who had to make alternate travel arrangements to reach Sri Hargobindpur to meet relatives in need after waiting for more than an hour at the Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra InterState Bus Terminal (ISBT). The family was not alone. Hundreds of passengers saw their travel plans disrupted as Punbus and PRTC buses remained off the roads in support of the strike. The Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contractual Workers’ Union launched the three-day protest, resulting in a major disruption of public transport services. The union’s key demands include the regularisation of outsourced and contractual employees, withdrawal of cases registered against workers during previous agitations and reinstatement of dismissed employees. The protesters also staged a sit-in demonstration to press the government to accept their long-pending demands. Passengers, particularly women, bore the brunt of the strike. A majority of those waiting at the ISBT were women, whose numbers have increased significantly since the introduction of free bus travel for women in Punjab. While government-run bus services remained affected, private bus operators witnessed a surge in passengers. Commuters jostled to secure seats on private buses as they searched for alternative means of travel. Angry over the government’s failure to address their demands, union members carrying placards raised slogans against the state government. Jodh Singh, state joint secretary of the union, said the strike was started after serving prior notice to the authorities. He said employees were compelled to resort to agitation as several rounds of talks with the government had failed to produce any results. He recalled that Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema had earlier assured union representatives that their demands would be addressed. He said many employees had been working on contract for the past 12 to 15 continued on page 2 Batala, August 3 The Batala police, in a joint operation with the Counter Intelligence (CI) wing, solved the Urban Estate police post grenade explosion incident by arresting two juveniles while a third accused is likely to be nabbed soon. SSP Mehtab Singh said that the third accused had been identified. “We have formed a special team to arrest him. We have concrete clues pertaining to his whereabouts following which my team can apprehend him anytime.” DIG (Border) Harmanbir Singh Gill, who was in the city today to supervise Operation Parhar 4.0, made this announcement. The DIG said that some antisocial elements were using the name of a terrorist organisation to further their own interests. He was obviously referring to the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), which took responsibility for the blast. All the three accused were lured by monetary promises from handlers based in foreign lands. “The identification of the third suspect is complete and active searches are underway to arrest him,” said DIG Gill. A police officer said, “Mentioning the name of a banned outfit like the BKI, which in any case has a chequered past, provides an aura of ruthless efficiency that ordinary criminals, like the ones involved in yesterday’s crime, lack. Striking high-visibility symbols of state authority like police installations creates high-impact psychological terror that can force law enforcement into a defensive posture. That is why police establishments are targeted by criminals.” Rain lashed Amritsar in the afternoon, leaving various roads waterlogged on Monday. VISHAL Inspired by Amritsar, Odisha Red Cross to Firing near Pipli Sahib launch cradle scheme for abandoned infants Gurdwara, one injured Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 3 Pangoora, a shelter and care scheme for abandoned babies, has provided care to as many as 105 children since its inception in 2008. The shelter, run from Red Cross Bhawan in Amritsar, has a cradle placed along its front wall where anyone wishing to leave an infant can do so safely and anonymously. The cradle scheme will soon be implemented by the Odisha state branch of the Indian Red Cross Society. A meeting between the Punjab and Odisha state branches was held on Monday at Red Cross Bhawan, Amritsar, to discuss various humanitarian initiatives, with special emphasis on the cradle scheme that has been successfully operating in Amritsar since 2008. The meeting was attended by Ganesh Chandra Patra, IAS, State Secretary, Odisha Red Cross; Ashok Kumar Mohanty, Joint Secretary; Dr Ramesh Chandra Behra, Deputy Secre- A delegation of Odisha Red Cross during a visit to the Pangoora shelter care home in Amritsar. tary (Higher Education); Ranjan Kumar; and other members of the Odisha delegation. They met Dalwinderjit Singh, IAS, Deputy Commissioner and president of Red Cross Amritsar; Shivdular Singh, IAS, State Secretary, Punjab Red Cross; and Samson Masih, Secretary, Red Cross Amritsar. Pragati Sethi, PCS, Assistant Commissioner (General)-cumHonorary Secretary, Red Cross Amritsar, presented a detailed report on the district branch’s c m y b activities and welfare initiatives. She also highlighted the achievements of the cradle scheme, which has been operating at the Red Cross Bhawan since 2008. The initiative has so far saved the lives of 197 abandoned and unwanted newborns, making it one of the organisation’s most significant humanitarian programmes. Impressed by the success of the initiative, Ganesh Chandra Patra announced that the Odisha Red Cross would launch a similar cradle scheme in Bhubaneswar for the protection and care of abandoned and unwanted infants. He described the Amritsar model as an inspiring example of humanitarian service and said similar initiatives should be replicated in other states. Pangoora was launched in 2008 by the then Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, Kahan Singh Pannu, to help curb female foeticide by providing a safe alternative for those unwilling or unable to care for newborns. After undergoing medical examination, healthy babies admitted to the shelter are transferred to recognised specialised adoption agencies, including the Swami Ganga Nand Bhuriwale Foundation, under the Legal Adoption and Placement Scheme (LAPA) to help them find permanent homes. A vast majority of the babies rescued through Pangoora have been girls, with the initiative having saved well over 180 girl children since its inception. Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 3 Panic gripped the PutligharIslamabad road area late on Sunday evening after two groups clashed near the historic Pipli Sahib Gurdwara and opened fire, leaving one person injured. The injured, identified as Kamal Sharma of Rode Shah Colony, sustained a bullet injury in his leg and was admitted to a hospital. The police have arrested two persons — Danish and Satinderpal Singh, alias Sunny, both residents of the locality near the gurdwara — in connection with the incident. The police have registered a case under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to attempt to murder and other relevant provisions, besides the Arms Act. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishaljit Singh said the clash stemmed from a minor dispute over the parking of a motorcycle near Minor issue triggered clash Rode Shah Colony. According to preliminary investigation, Kamal Sharma and his associates later allegedly reached the residence of Sunny and attacked him. In retaliation, Sunny’s group allegedly opened fire, while members of both groups also pelted stones at each other. Police teams rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. During the search, the police recovered a .32 bore country-made pistol, three live cartridges and three empty shells from the scene. For now, the police have booked Danish, Sunny and three unidentified persons on charges, including attempt to murder. Officials said statements of members of the rival group were being recorded and a cross-case is likely to be registered after the investigation.