06022025-ATR-01.qxd 2/5/2025 11:31 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 19°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C INT’L WRESTLING CONTEST AT GAKHAL VILLAGE ON FEB 18-19 STONE CRUSHER OWNERS PROTEST CLOSURE OF UNITS YO YO HONEY SINGH TO JOIN FORCES WITH SHAEL OSWAL Sports promoters, NRIs and Gakhal family will jointly hold a wrestling competition at Gakhal village. P2 Stone crusher owners of Hajipur and Talwara blocks held a protest near the T-point of Hajipur. P2 Music lovers are in for a treat as Shael Oswal will be joining hands with rap king Yo Yo Honey Singh. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.09 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.19 AM THURSDAY | 6 FEBRUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Landa gang operatives held for extortion bid sent to police custody Centre, state must help out deportees, says MP Aujla Tribune News Service Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar at the spot where the incident took place in Amritsar. PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 5 Three operatives of gangsterturned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa Harike were produced in court on Wednesday. The court sent them to four-day police remand for further interrogation. The trio was identified as Jagroop Singh alias Charna, Jugraj Singh alias Gazi and Shamsher Singh alias Shera, all residents of Talwandi Mohar Singh in Patti, Tarn Taran. Jagroop was injured in the firing when he tried to flee from police custody late last evening. The police received a tip-off that Landa Harike and his associates based abroad were using their local operatives in Punjab to obtain the phone numbers of prominent businessmen and later target them for extortion. Recently, a local trader had received an extortion call in the name of Landa. He received a voice message and multiple threat messages from the accused. Investigating the case, the CIA staff arrested the three accused. They had conducted a recce of the victim and sent photos of his office and vehicles to Jarnail Singh, a resident of Talwandi Mohar Singh, currently residing in Australia. Jarnail Singh is the brother of Rajwinder Singh alias Raza, who was killed in a gang war near Patti some time ago. Jagroop’s disclosure lead to the recovery of a .32 bore pistol and two live cartridges from him. While returning to Chheharta police station after the recovery, Jagroop said he was feeling dizzy. As he was brought out of the car, he allegedly attempted to grab a cop’s service pistol and escape from spot. Vinod Kumar, SHO, Chheharta police station, said to prevent his escape and protect the police force, he fired a shot from his service pistol which hit Jagroop Singh Charna in his right leg. Amritsar, February 5 Reacting to the deportation of illegal migrants of Indian origin by the US Government, Congress MP from Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla has appealed to the Centre and the state government to extend a helping hand to the deportees. The issue would be taken up in Parliament for serious discussion over it. He said despite being well aware of the adverse circumstances, Indian youth look for greener pastures abroad only after they get tired of job searching with little success here. “Most of the deportees were in the age group of 20-30 years. They went to the US in search of a livelihood which they could not find here. A majority of them are from a poor background. The governments should not shy away from accepting their failure. I am not in favour of giving them monetary compensation. I appeal to both the Centre and the state government to provide job opportunities according to their capacity and caliber as a gesture so that they could settle here,” he said. Sharing a piece of advice with the youth, he said they should be prepared to accept any job they come by. “It is also a tragedy that they would be ready to do any kind of petty job overseas, but would be reluctant to do the same job here. I advise them to shun this thought,” he said. Army man among 3 held with heroin, ~10 lakh drug money PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 5 In a major breakthrough, the Amritsar rural police have arrested a serving Army constable along with two others on charges of spying and cross-border drug peddling. The police said the accused shared vital information on Army movements, ammunition details, location of different units with Pakistan-based ISI. The racket had been operating for the past two years. The police recovered 500 gm of heroin along with ~10 lakh drug money, a cash counting machine apart from a .30 bore pistol from their possession. It also impounded the car they were travelling in. Those arrested were identified as Amritpal Singh, a resident of Chamba Kalan village in Chohla Sahin in Tarn Taran, Mandeep Singh, alias Maddy, and Madhav Sharma of Rajasthan. The police have nominated another Army constable Rajbir Singh in the case. He hailed from Patti in Tarn Taran. Both Amritpal and Rajbir were posted at the Deolali camp in Nashik. Maddy was neighbour of Amritpal. Deportation, wars no deterrent for Punjabi youth migrating abroad Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 5 The deportation of illegal immigrants by the US government and scores of Indians returning from Russia after serving in the Russian army as helpers while it is engaged in the war against Ukraine has laid bare the fact that Punjabi youths are desperate to go to the country of ‘whites’. Among the 104 deported to India by the USA today, 30 are of Punjabi origin. Adverse conditions abroad notwithstanding, Punjabi youth are desperate to go to the country of ‘whites’ by any means, ignoring the fact that leading global economies are facing cost-of-living crisis and internecine conflicts are threatening world peace. They are unable to resist the charm to go overseas in search of greener pastures. Their desperation is reflected in flying to even those countries where wars are being fought. Many have lost their lives or sustained injuries. There are examples galore! Less than three months after landing in Moscow, Amritsar’s Tejpal Singh was killed fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine on March 12, 2024. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t smart. He had been to Cyprus twice on a study visa, the first time for six months in 201314 where he undertook a travel and tourism management course; and for the second time, for 17 months, when he Tribune News Service Amritsar rural SSP Charanjit Singh Sohal said the police have informed Army authorities about the involvement of Amritpal and Rajbir in transferring vital details with Pakistan’s ISI and the cross-border drug smuggling. Rajbir would be brought from Nasik and arrested in the case, he added. Investigations revealed that Rajbir had introduced Amritpal to Pakistan-based drug peddlers. The Pakistan’s intelligence agencies also jumped into this and cultivated Amritpal for spying. They extracted vital information of military installations and their loca- tions from him and in return paid him huge amounts. Madhav Sharma used to collect the money generated from illegal drug proceeds after selling the drugs from different parts of the state. “The 500-gm heroin seized today was smuggled with the help of drones from across the border,” the police said. A case under the NDPS Act, Arms Act and Official Secrets Act was registered against them. They were produced in a court and brought on five-day police remand. They would now be produced in the court on February 10. PUNJABI YOUTH EVER DESPERATE TO GO ABROAD BY ANY MEANS ■ Among the 104 deported to India by the USA on Wednesday, 30 are of Punjabi origin. Adverse conditions abroad notwithstanding, Punjabi youth are desperate to go to the country of ‘whites’ by any means, ignoring the fact that leading global economies are facing cost-of-living crisis and internecine conflicts are threatening world peace. They are unable to resist the charm to go overseas in search of greener pastures. Their desperation is reflected in flying to even those countries where wars are being fought. Many have lost their lives or sustained injuries. met his future wife, Parminder Kaur, who had gone there on a work visa. Amritsar’s Harpreet Singh had joined the Russian army with the help of a youth from his village who works as an agent of a travel agency who operates most of his business over mobile phone. Unable to stand the ravages of war and harsh winter, he prayed to his parents over the phone to arrange for help to take him out of Russia. Over five youngsters from Amritsar’s Ajnala, a border Amritsar, February 5 Even though the police are in denial mode about suspected hand grenade blast, various police teams, including of the counter intelligence, have started the probe into the incident from different angles. The incident occurred outside the abandoned Fatehgarh Churian bypass police chowki located on the Amritsar-Attari road at around 7.30pm on Monday. It created panic among the residents and shopkeepers of nearby localities. A team of officials manning the checkpoint outside the police post rushed to the site. The Police Commissioner, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Harpreet Singh Mandher, among other police officials also reached the spot for investigation. A team of forensic experts examined the site where the blast is said to have occurred. Police teams have started a probe taking into account possible causes of the blast, he added. It has been learnt that the police teams scanned the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the Amritsar-Attari bypass road to find clues about any suspects. Sources in the police intelligence said two bike-borne persons were seen escaping towards the Majitha road bypass side. “Preliminary investigations suggest that the noise may not have been caused by a grenade blast, but the police are not ruling out its possibility entirely. The impact is negligible and first impressions don’t indicate a hand grenade blast,” Bhullar had said after the blast while adding that they were, however, investigating the matter from all angles to determine the cause of the noise. Police arrest four drug traffickers with 2.5-kg heroin Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 5 The Amritsar rural police have arrested six drug peddlers and confiscated over three and a half kg of nar- cotics from their possession. Sharing details, Senior Superintendent of Police Charanjit Singh Sohal said the Bhindi Saida police arrested Lakhbir Singh, Avtar Singh, Shamsher Singh and Manjit Singh, all residents of Saidpur Kalan, for allegedly possessing 2.5 kg of heroin. “They were arrested two days ago with 500-gm contraband and later on the disclo- sub-division, returned safely home from Russia after the Consulate General of India in St Petersburg arranged their return flight, which was facilitated by a request from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8. All of them were lured to pounce upon the offer made by advertisements on Instagram to serve in Russia as a food delivery agent, cook or helpers at a monthly salary of ~1 lakh. Kamal K Bhumla, operat- ing an overseas educational company in Doaba region, known for a large number of NRI population, said roughly an annual average of 1.4 lakh students — approximately 70,000 students and 50,000 by other means — are going out of Punjab. This trend was limited for the past two years but the scenario is expected to change after the actual start of deportation. People who illegally go to Europe prefer to commute via Serbia and East European countries. To reach the USA, Blast outside police GNDU reserves 5% seats for post: Probe from students of border, rural areas varied angles begins PK Jaiswar The suspects in custody of the police in Amritsar. Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (left) interacts with deportees at the Amritsar airport on Wednesday. they travel via Mexico and Panama. On the way, their families back home have little idea about their whereabouts and it takes them a couple of months to reach their destinations. Yet many are ready to take risks. Last March, 28-year-old Karan Singh from Pathankot’s Siyonti village went missing in the forests of Belarus after he took the ‘donkey route’. He had left for Spain in January in search of a job. Another travel agent Baljinder Singh said over 90 per cent of the youth migrating from Punjab hail from rural areas who have their relatives abroad to guide them and handhold them. Among various procedures employed by the youth keen to migrate abroad is ‘donkey route’. The mode of procedure and transportation has been changing under the term ‘donkey route’. Punjabis have been using the route to reach the destinations of their choices and do not hold back from taking risks. Of late, small East European countries have figured on their list to go abroad. Among them, Portugal tops the list. It provides them with the opportunity to migrate to any European country in future. The police and intelligence agencies have completely failed to check the operations of illegal immigration agencies that operate over phones and social media accounts rather than having offices. sure of Shamsher Singh, the police recovered 2-kg more heroin,” said the Senior Superintendent of Police, while adding that they were currently on police remand and further probe was on to c m y b expose his backward and forward links. Lakhbir has a criminal case registered under the Mining Act and Manjit also had a case registered against him under the Excise Act in the past. GNDU Vice-Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh during a meeting of Syndicate members in Amritsar. Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 5 Addressing the concerns of students from border and rural belts, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has announced a 5 per cent increase in seats programmewise. A decision in this regard was made during the meeting of the Syndicate held here on Wednesday. Presiding over his first Syndicate meeting, Vice-Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh emphasized his commitment to ensuring that children from these underprivileged regions receive access to higher education. To achieve this, a three-member committee was constituted to formulate a comprehensive plan for the benefit of students from border and rural areas. The committee recommends that 5 per cent supernumerary seats each for the cate- gories of border area and rural area candidates, subject to a minimum of one seat in each course of study, may be reserved on the required terms and conditions. Prof Karamjeet Singh said, “It has always been my dream to uplift children of border and rural areas by providing them access to quality higher education. Owing to a lack of opportunities, many talented students have been deprived of higher education. The decision will pave the way for their brighter future and improved living standard.” Notably, student organisations last year had helped several protests and dharnas, demanding reservation in rural and border belt quota of seats in the university. The Syndicate members also authorised the ViceChancellor to take anticipatory decisions relating to some urgent cases which require the approval of the Syndicate. Prof Karamjeet Singh outlined his broader vision for student development, stating that along with academic excellence, vocational and employment-oriented courses will be introduced. He stressed the importance of financial independence for students and emphasized skill-based education to ensure that graduates can secure jobs or even become job providers. Special emphasis will also be placed on women’s empowerment, with plans to introduce specific courses to help female students achieve financial independence and create employment opportunities for others. Apart from these key initiatives, the Syndicate also approved teaching and non-teaching promotions and sanctioned 57 PhD degrees in various disciplines.