16102026-ATR-01.qxd 10/15/2026 11:01 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 18°C AUTHOR SARNA REFLECTS ON GEN-Z PROTESTS GNDU WANTS SYNTHETIC TRACK PROJECT REVIVED PERO OPENS LFW 2026 WITH BARBIE-INSPIRED LOOKS Author Navtej Sarna shares his elation over the current generation’s resonance with the idealism of Bhagat Singh . P2 A synthetic track, proposed for Guru Nanak Dev University, was shelved despite the release of first instalment. P3 The ’70s seem to be back on the runway as Pero opens Lakme Fashion Week in New Delhi on October 14. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.51 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:26 AM FRIDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2026 | AMRITSAR PUNJAB BANDH: CRUSADE AGAINST DRUGS Farmers hit Amritsar roads to protest the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. Calling out the state government and seeking the resignation of CM Bhagwant Mann, the protesters want Punjab to be purged of the drug scourge. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR Markets shut, transport hit as city sees outrage over activist’s killing Tribune News Service Police personnel on guard in Amritsar on Thursday. Demarcation put off; parties summoned Amritsar, October 15 Markets remained shut, transportserviceshitandeducational institutions closed in view of the bandh call given by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee over the killing of the antidrug activist, Parvinder Singh Jhota,atamedicalstoreinMansa. Although a few parts of the city witnessed effigy burning and sloganeering, the day-long bandh largely remained peaceful. Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee visited major markets in the city, asking shopkeepers to close their establishments to ensure compliance of the bandh. Raising slogans against the Mann-led state government and demanding its resignation, farmers and workers protested at the Golden Gate on the AmritsarJalandhar GT Road at 7 am. Amid heavy rain, the protesters burnt an effigy of Amritsar, October 15 The demarcation of a prime piece of disputed land on the Mall Road near Thandi Khui and opposite Company Bagh could not be carried out on Thursday due to the bandh call over the killing of an anti-drug activist in Mansa. The exercise has now been rescheduled for Friday (October 16). The civic body has issued fresh directions, asking nine individuals claiming ownership of the land and officials of eight departments to remain present during the demarcation. The kanungo of Amritsar- 1 will carry out the exercise in the presence of the parties. The administration has also been asked to appoint a duty magistrate for the process. According to a notice issued by the Municipal Corporation, the demarcation will cover khasra numbers 1193 to 1199 in Amritsar Urban-11 on the Mall Road near Thandi Khui. The notice states that the parties must produce any stay order or other relevant documents, failing which the demarcation may be carried out ex parte. The exercise was earlier postponed after the Revenue Continued on page 2 government had miserably failed to curb the drug menace in Punjab. They held the Chief Minister responsible for the open sale of drugs, questioning law Four held for opening fire at cloth merchant BRTS: Court seeks project reports, flags risk of hundreds of crores going unused 34-year-old held for bid to extort ~50 lakh Charanjit Singh Teja Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 15 The Amritsar Commissionerate Police claims to have arrested four persons involved in opening fire at a cloth merchant near Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Shaheedan Sahib in the Sundar Nagar area. The incident took place around 10 pm and the accused were arrested five hours later, the police said. Panic triggered after two motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly opened fire at Vishal Bhatia, a cloth merchant, as he tried to save his bag from being snatched. The bullet hit his leg, leaving him seriously injured. The assailants fled the scene soonafter. The police said the accused were apprehended around 3 am on Thursday following a swift operation. They also recovered a .32-bore pistol, three live cartridges, two empty cartridge shells and a motorcycle from them. Those arrested have been identified as Prince Kumar, alias Model (27), a native of Jagatpura village in Mohali, currently living on rent on the Sultanwind Road; Gurprinsdeep Singh (21), a resident of Continued on page 2 Chandigarh, October 15 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought the original project report on the basis of which Amritsar’s Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) was conceived and approved, along with any subsequent report supporting its proposed discontinuation, observing that “hundreds of crores of money already spent” on the project “may go unutilised”. The Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor called upon the state counsel to place both reports on record, making the basis of the proposed decision and the fate of the public investment central to the proceedings. “In the meantime, we call upon the state counsel to place on record the project report pursuant to which the project was earlier conceived and approved as also the subsequent project report, if any, on the strength of which it is proposed to be discontinued,” the Bench observed. Explaining the relevance of the documents, the Bench asserted: “This would be relevant as we prima facie find that Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service A market wears a deserted look during the bandh; and (below) an empty bus stand in Amritsar. CANDLE MARCH IN TARN TARAN ■ Congress workers took out a candle march in Tarn Taran over the killing of Parvinder Singh Jhota. ■ They flayed the AAP government for failing to check Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Farm leaders said the state the drug menace in Punjab. District Congress Committee president Rajbir Singh Bhullar termed the anti-drug activist’s killing unfortunate, demanding a fair investigation. PROJECT WORTH CRORES ■ The Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor called upon the state counsel to place both reports on record, making the basis of the proposed decision and the fate of the public investment central to the proceedings. ■ Explaining the relevance of the documents, the Bench asserted: “This would be relevant as we prima facie find that hundreds of crores of money already spent pursuant to the previous report may go unutilised in the process.” << The BRTS corridor in Amritsar. hundreds of crores of money already spent pursuant to the previous report may go unutilised in the process.” The direction came on a public interest petition filed by the Amritsar Vikas Manch, which raised the grievance that the BRTS project was being discontinued without any justifiable cause despite the substantial public expenditure involved. The petitioner was represented by senior advocate SS Behl, along with counsel GVS Behl, Chetan Juneja, Raageshwari Sharma and Urvi Sharma. The Punjab Government has already kept in abeyance the proposed discontinuation of the BRTS. A statement to this effect was made before the High Court on a previous date of hearing by the State Advocate-General. The High Court, at the same time, had directed the State to explain why the project in Amritsar — implemented at a cost of nearly Rs 600 crore — was being discontinued after about 10 years. The court had also sought details of what was originally conceived when the project was introduced, the public money spent on it and what the state and other respon- c m y b dents proposed to do now. The Bench had recorded the grievance that the project was “implemented by incurring cost of nearly Rs.600 crores” and was “being discontinued without any justifiable cause”. The petitioner also submitted that discontinuation “would not only result in wastage of huge public money, but would also cause grievance to the public at large”. After going through the contentions, the Bench had called upon the respondents to file an affidavit clarifying “what was originally conceived, when the project of Continued on page 2 Amritsar, October 15 The Amritsar police on Thursday arrested a 34-yearold man for extortion bid. The accused, Yadavinder Singh, a resident of Tarsikka, with the help of his ally tried to extort Rs 50 lakh from a local by threatening him on a Whatsapp call, officials said. The police said the accused knew complainant Puneet Aggarwal and allegedly shared his mobile number with a UK-based associate, identified as Yuvraj Singh, who allegedly made the extortion call while claiming to be some Doni Ball. Aggarwal told the police that he got a call from an international number on WhatsApp and was asked to give Rs 50 lakh. Commissioner of Police Harmanbir Singh Gill said a team, led by Sadar police station SHO Sub-Inspector Gurjit Singh, under the supervision of ACP North Gagandeep Singh, acted swiftly and arrested the accused within a few hours. A probe had been launched and a case registered, the police chief added. and order in the state. The protesters sought accountability over the activist’s killing in Mansa. SGPC-run institutions also remained closed during the bandh, with only emergency services exempted. The city’s commercial hubs, including wholesale textile markets, too were shut. Due to the bandh, the local railway station and inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) wore a deserted look. Later in the evening, the police detained farmers after they tried to get a few shops closed down forcibly. It is learnt that some establishments on the Mall Road and the Lawrence Road were open during the morning hours. Parvinder Singh Jhota was known for exposing the alleged illegal sale of addictive drugs at medical stores. During a live session, he was seen confronting the chemist over allegations of selling drugs. A detained activist. Govt is all talk, no action, say students Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 15 Protesting the murder of Parvinder Singh Jhota, an antidrug activist, several student organisations, including the Sath Punjab and the Punjab Students Union, today called out the state government over the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state. Sath members staged a sit-in outside the GNDU. “The killing has exposed the chinks in the system. The government only talks and goes quiet when it’s time to act. Its “war on drugs” campaign seems more of a fight against anti-drug crusaders,” said Baljit Dharamkot, founder member of thePunjab Student Union. Father-son duo among five arrested with 13 pistols, hand grenades Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 15 The Counter Intelligence, Amritsar, busted a suspected cross-border arms and explosives smuggling module with the arrest of five persons, including a father-son duo, and recovered an assault rifle, two hand grenades and 13 foreign-made pistols from their possession. Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday that the accused were allegedly involved in retrieving consignments of arms, ammunition and explosives dropped by drones from across the International Border and supplying them further through their local network. Those arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh and his son Jaskaran Singh, both residents of Ballarwal village in Ajnala; Veenu, a resident of Sagarpur in Batala; Amritpal Singh, a resident of Rasulpur village in Batala; and Gaurav Masih, a resident of Gounspura village in Batala. The police recovered one .30-bore assault rifle, two hand grenades, four 9-mm A .30-bore assault rifle and 25 live cartridges also recovered Glock pistols, nine .30-bore pistols and 25 live cartridges. Two motorcycles, a Honda Livo and a Hero Splendor, allegedly used for transporting the consignments, were also impounded. Sharing details, the DGP said the Counter Intelligence unit had received specific input that Gurpreet Singh and Jaskaran Singh were in contact with a foreign-based smuggler. The duo allegedly retrieved consignments of weapons, ammunition and explosives dropped by drones on the smuggler’s instructions and supplied them to other operatives. According to the police, the father-son duo was scheduled to meet their associates Veenu, Amritpal Singh and Continued on page 2