08102026-JTR-01.qxd 10/7/2026 11:05 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune WORK ON 2 E-BUS DEPOTS MAY BE COMPLETED BY YEAR-END 14.4% WOMEN SEEKING FERTILITY TREATMENT HAVE PCOS: EXPERT AYUSHMANN KHURRANA — THE FORGETFUL PAK SPY Work on Company Bagh facility set to finish by Nov 30, Lamma Pind Chowk eyes December 31 completion. P2 IVF specialist Dr Jasmine Dahiya delves into the importance of early diagnosis and customised care. P3 Memory loss, mistaken loyalties: Ayushmann, Sara Ali Khan-starrer Udta Teer has plenty of noise. P4 » » FORECAST RAINY MAX 33°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 22°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.04 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:26 AM » THURSDAY | 8 OCTOBER 2026 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF TWO BOOKED FOR ~12 LAKH FRAUD Hoshiarpur: The police have registered two cases of fraud involving ~12.40 lakh against travel agents. Sanjay Kumar Mishra of Rahimpur told the police that on September 26, he went to an ATM to withdraw cash. A man, who claimed to have come to repair the ATM, allegedly distracted him and swapped his ATM card when the machine failed to dispense cash. The accused withdrew ~1 lakh from his bank account on different dates. In the second case, Naveen Sial of Narayan Nagar, Bahadurpur, alleged that travel agent Gurtej Singh of Jalandhar cheated him of ~11.40 lakh on the pretext of sending his daughter to the UK on a study visa. OC VILLAGER NABBED FOR CHEATING Phagwara: The police have arrested a villager on the charge of cheating. The accused has been identified as Gurmukh Singh of Pati Akalpur village near Malsian. According to the police, complainant Sohan Lal alleged that Gurmukh Singh, the owner of a shop currently in his possession, sold the property without informing him despite an ongoing court case related to the shop. He accused the latter of cheating him through the transaction. oc MAN DIES BY SUICIDE Phagwara: Awadh Srivastava, a resident of village Kot Rani near Phagwara, reportedly died by suicide. His body was found hanging from a tree at a deserted place near Gobindpura on Wednesday afternoon. The reason behind the extreme step could not be ascertained immediately. The police have registered a case and sent the deceased’s body to the local Civil Hospital for the post-mortem examination. OC 3 HELD WITH NARCOTICS Hoshiarpur: The police have arrested three persons and recovered heroin and prohibited tablets. The police arrested Labhjit Singh of Pippalawala and seized 22 gram of heroin from him. The Bullowal police arrested Sunil Kumar and recovered prohibited tablets from him. Meanwhile, the Hariana police arrested Goru of Kotli and also recovered prohibited tablets from his possession. OC TWO NABBED FOR WOMAN'S MURDER Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested two persons on the charge of murdering a woman while snatching her earrings. The accused murdered Kulwindar Kaur of Shamshabad village in Nurmahal during snatching of her earrings near Malsian village on October 3. oc SIX BOOKED FOR FIRING Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have booked six villagers for house trespass and firing. The accused have been identified as Gurmail Singh, Jaswindar Singh, Dharam Pal, Gurmit Singh, Gori, and Harwindar Singh, all residents of Vehran village. Sukhchian Singh of the same village complained to the police that the accused barged into his house, fired at the gate, and issued threats. oc Hoarding politics at play as city set to greet PCC chief Pargat today Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 7 A day before his return to his hometown Jalandhar following his appointment as Punjab Congress Committee president, the city has been adorned with congratulatory hoardings welcoming senior Congress leader Pargat Singh. Pargat is scheduled to arrive in Amritsar from New Delhi on Thursday morning, where he will be received by party leaders and supporters from across Punjab, including a large contingent from Jalandhar. Accompanied by Punjab Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot, he will pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and later visit Sri Durgiana Temple, St Paul Church and Ram Tirath Temple. By the evening, he is expected to reach Jalandhar where he is likely to visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan before heading towards his place. Councillors and party workers are expected to accord Likely to visit shrines and Dera Sachkhand Ballan SUPPORTERS’ CHOICE Supporters have been selective about the use of pictures of LoP Partap Bajwa, MP Charanjit Channi and ex-PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, depending on their personal equations. A congratulatory hoarding for Pargat Singh in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO SARABJIT SINGH Skylark Chowk, Workshop Chowk, Model Town and the entire passage towards his home in Mithapur. Since the hoardings have been put up by various activists of the party, there is a lot of variation in the use of pictures of other senior leaders. The pictures of Sonia Gandhi, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Sachin Pilot have been used by everyone. But the supporters have been selective about the use of pictures of LoP Partap Bajwa, MP Charanjit Channi and ex-PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, depending on their personal equations. NHM workers to take out rally in Dhuri tomorrow Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 7 National Health Mission (NHM) employees working on contract in Punjab have threatened to intensify their agitation, claiming that the state government has repeatedly deferred meetings on their long pending demands and failed to pay their salaries on time. The employees have announced a protest rally in Dhuri on October 9, NHM state leader Dr Sunil Targotra said. Targotra said a meeting with the Finance Minister had been postponed three times, while a meeting scheduled with the Health Minister on October 5 has also been deferred. The repeated postponements had left the employees frustrated, he said. They had been assured that a high-level NHM Employees Welfare Committee would be constituted to address their demands within 15 days. However, more than 20 days have passed and the commit- tee is yet to be formed, Targotra said. “The government is only delaying the matter instead of finding a solution to our demands,” he said. During the October 9 protest, employees will hold a march in Dhuri and distribute pamphlets, highlighting their demands and what they described as repeated assurances by the government. The union has also threatened to step up the agitation if its demands remain unresolved, including an indefinite protest outside the residences of the Health and Finance Ministers. Union leader Dr Ravinder Singh Kahlon said delayed salaries had added to employees concerns. “Repeated meetings have brought only assurances. If salaries are not paid on time, we will stop work,” he said. The employees warned that the agitation would be intensified if the government failed to take immediate steps to address their demands. him a warm welcome. The hoardings for his recep- tion have been put up at Congress Bhawan in Jalandhar and at almost all intersections in the city, including Ad agency alleges illegal flexes on 230 MC unipoles 2 more nabbed in varsity violence case 5 members of Patial gang arrested, three pistols, 13 cartridges seized Asks MC to remove all such flexes Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 7 An advertising agency from the city, which has a sevenyear contract with the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar (MCJ), has approached the authorities alleging large-scale violation of its advertisement contract by some religious groups. It has alleged that 230 out of 254 unipoles that it had erected had been covered with illegal flexes causing it a huge revenue loss. In a representation submitted to the MC Commissioner, Nishant Mittal, owner of Creative OOH, which operates advertising sites under the DBOMT contract, alleged that nearly 100 per cent of the company’s operational advertising sites had been covered or occupied by unauthorised religious and political flexes. The company claimed that advertisements displayed on several sites had been torn, damaged, defaced or completely covered. The affected displays allegedly included advertisements issued by government departments as well. Citing the near-complete disruption of its inventory, the company has sought a waiver of licence charges for September and October for the allotted outdoor media devices (OMDs). It has also reserved the right to seek proportionate remission for any continued disruption, extension of the affected period and compensation for demonstrable losses. Creative OOH pays about Rs 1.4 crore annually to the MCJ under a contract valued at Rs 13.71 crore per year. The agency alleged that various groups had installed their own flexes on the advertising structures without its consent or authority. It further claimed that its employ- ees faced threats and intimidation when they attempted to remove the unauthorised material or prevent its installation, making it unsafe for staff to act without administrative and police support. The complaint comes during the peak festive advertising season of September and October, when demand for outdoor advertising space is typically at its highest. Mittal said the unauthorised occupation of sites had already started affecting client relationships and business commitments. The company also pointed out that it had invested more than Rs 15 crore in developing and installing the advertising structures under the project, which would ultimately become the property of the MCJ. Despite being deprived of commercial use of the sites, it said it continued to incur expenditure on electricity, salaries, repairs, maintenance and mounting operations. Seeking immediate intervention, the agency has asked the MCJ to coordinate with the police wherever required and remove all unauthorised religious and political flexes from its allotted OMDs. It has also sought restoration of the sites to a commercially usable condition. The company has requested the Commissioner to treat the matter as “most urgent”, saying that the festive period could see further unauthorised occupation of the sites. Senior Deputy Mayor Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “On our part, we had convened a meeting on the issue calling the advertisement agency owner and the leaders from religious groups who have covered the unipoles. We have asked the representatives of the community to get the flexes removed but they have so far not done anything”. Our Correspondent Our Correspondent Phagwara, October 7 The police on Wednesday produced two more youths in a court in connection with a case registered at Satnampura police station over the violence, vandalism and damage to police vehicles at Lovely Professional University (LPU). The court remanded both accused to two days of police custody. The accused have been identified as Jayant, a resident of Kunhadi, Kota district in Rajasthan, and Aryan, a resident of Khadwali village in Rohtak district, Haryana. The police had sought three days’ remand of the accused. Meanwhile, four other youths arrested by the Sadar police in connection with the LPU violence case were also produced before the court on Wednesday. The court sent all four to judicial custody. Nawanshahr, October 7 The Nawanshahr police have arrested five members of the gang of US-based gangster Gaurav, alias Lucky Patial, and recovered three pistols, including a foreign-made weapon. SSP Tushar Gupta said a police team was constituted under the supervision of SP Sarabjit Singh Wahia, SP , Investigation, Harinder Singh Mann and DSP Jatinder Chauhan to take action against persons involved in criminal activities. The CIA staff of Nawanshahr and Banga police arrested Karn Ram, alias Alla, of Sal Khurd, Satnam Singh, alias Sabi, of Nadalon, presently residing at Rampur, Tarlochan Singh, alias Teji of Ladia, Karn Kumar of Farala and Gurdeep Singh of Garhpadhana. According to the police, the arrested suspects were found Members of the Lucky Patial gang in Nawanshahr police custody. in possession of three pistols, 13 cartridges and a motorcycle without a registration number, which was allegedly stolen. The police said one of the pistols was foreign-made. SSP Gupta said Gaurav Patial, who is reportedly based in the US, was allegedly preparing to assign two targets to the arrested suspects in Jalandhar and Chandigarh. The police said the weapons recovered from the suspects had allegedly been supplied from Tarn Taran. The police claimed that Gurdeep Singh and Karn Ram had a role in a firing incident reported in Banga a few days ago. Karn Kumar allegedly supplied weapons to them. According to the police, Karn Ram, a key shooter, already has five cases registered against him under various charges, including the Arms Act, robbery and the NDPS Act. Karn Kumar is also facing two cases. The police further alleged that Karn Kumar had provided assistance to shooters involved in the Makhan Kang murder case. SSP Gupta said Baljit Singh, who is reportedly residing in England, has also been named in the case. The police said the alleged role of Baljit Singh in criminal activities is also being investigated. Super 100 initiative opens NIT doors for 7 state students Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 7 For students from financially weaker families, expensive coaching for competitive examinations often seems like a far-fetched dream. However, a free coaching programme has helped seven such students from Punjab secure admission to the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar, with one of them already graduated from the institute. The students were selected under the National Super 100 programme, supported by HMEL Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, Bathinda, and the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL), Delhi. Under the programme, the HMEL conducts selection tests at Meritorious School, Bathinda, and other government schools in the district. c m y b Students, who qualify the test, appear for an interview and selected candidates are provided 11 months of free residential coaching for JEE in Delhi. Among the selected students is 18 year-old Abhay Sama from Fazilka, who is currently pursuing electrical engineering at the NITJalandhar. Abhay is the only child of his parents. His father worked as an electrician who lost his eyesight due to diabetes and is currently undergoing treatment at AIIMSBathinda. His mother works as an ASHA worker and looks after the family’s household expenses. The family owns a one-room house. Abhay said with private coaching beyond his family’s means, he had been preparing for government jobs so that he could support his family. Studying at Meritorious School, Bathinda, he appeared for the test conducted by an HMEL team under the National Super 100 programme. After clearing the test and interview, he was sent to Delhi for JEE coaching. He subsequently qualified both JEE Main and JEE Advanced and secured admission at the NIT. Abhay said after becoming an engineer, he wanted to provide the best possible medical care to his father. Another selected candidate Prabhjot Kaur, a tailor’s daughter from Phullewala village in Bathinda, used to work in paddy fields during her summer vacations to fund her education. She is now pursuing mechanical engineering and aspires to become a pilot. Kaur said she used to earn around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 a month while working in the fields. She had always wanted to join the aviation sector but could not afford private coaching. Her selection under the programme gave her access to JEE coaching and eventually helped her secure admission to the NIT-Jalandhar. Similarly, Sahil Sharma, 20year-old from Bathinda, is currently a third year mechanical engineering student at the NIT. His father works at a local pharmacy while his mother is a homemaker. Sharma said he wanted to provide a better life to his family after completing his studies. “I want to bring them to the city and provide them a comfortable lifestyle,” he said. He also plans to pursue higher studies. The other selected candidates include Ajay Kumar from Abohar, Pawandeep from Fazilka and Harpreet from Bathinda. Gurmukh, also from Bathinda, has already graduated from the NIT with a BTech in chemical engineering. Prabhjot Kaur used to work in paddy fields.