14032025-ATR-01.qxd 3/13/2025 11:51 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY HOLA MOHALLA FESTIVITIES ON FULL PEAK MAHARASHTRA’S DADA CHILKE FLOORS IRAN'S IRFAN KARTAR GOES DOWN MEMORY LANE TO RECOLLECT FOND TIMES There are stalls of bread pakoras, tea, water, kadhi-chawal, daal-chapati, etc. Stalls also have places to rest. P2 Dada Chilke of Maharashtra beat Iran’s Irfan during a match held as part of the wrestling matches P3 Pollywood actor Kartar Cheema goes down memory lane to recollect fond times, as he bats for a safe Holi. P4 » » MAX 25°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.29 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.30 AM » FRIDAY | 14 MARCH 2025 | AMRITSAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Amritsar city police have arrested a drug smuggler and confiscated 1 kg of the drug “Rain” from his possession. He was identified as Surjit Singh alias Bittu (40) of Bal Chander village. Sharing details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) RPS Sandhu said a police party during patrolling in the Punjab Roadways workshop area, intercepted the accused. During search operations, the police seized the contraband from his possession. A case has been registered in this regard under relevant sections of the NDPS Act at division D police station here. He was produced in court and sent to police remand for further investigation to probe his backward and forward linkages, said the DCP . Police nab 2 for sheltering killers of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria aide Was shot in Chunga village while partaking of langar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Four days after an alleged close aide of notorious gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria was shot dead in Chunga village in Baba Bakala tehsil falling under Mehta police station here, the Amritsar rural police have arrested two persons for sheltering the shooters who gunned him down. The shooters belonged to the Balwinder Singh alias Dony Bal gang that is based abroad. The deceased was identified as Varinder Singh of Chungh village. He was partaking of langar when he was shot dead by unknown armed assailants. Maninder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar rural), confirmed the development while adding that a manhunt had been launched to arrest the shooters. Those arrested were identified as Danish and Pardeep Singh. While Danish was arrested yesterday, the latter was nabbed on Tuesday. The deceased Varinder Singh had five criminal cases registered against him by Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar city police. It may be mentioned that on Sunday, Varinder Singh was partaking of langar in the area. The langar had been organised by the villagers for devotees going to Anandpur Sahib for Hola Mohalla celebrations. Suddenly, six armed persons came on two bikes and sprayed bullets at him. After the incident, a social media handle in the name of another gangster Gopi Ghanshampuria claimed that gangsters Balwinder Singh alias Dony Bal, Prabh Dasuwal, Billa Manga and Kaushal Chaudhry were taking responsibility for the murder. It also claimed that Varinder alias Vicky was gunned down by their accomplices Daddi Chohan and Afridi Toot. It further said that Varinder was close to Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and he had given shelter to those who had killed their leader Rana Kandowalia. 12 nabbed for drug trade in Tarn Taran 18 booked, raids conducted as part of state govt’s war against drugs Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 13 The police booked 18 drug peddlers and arrested 12, including a woman, with 640 grams of heroin, 117 intoxicating tablets and 45 grams of opium in raids conducted at different places on Wednesday. The drive was part of the state government’s ‘war against drugs’ with the police action marking its 12th day. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abhimanyu Rana said that the Goindwal Sahib police busted a five-member gang of peddlers involved in drug trade and arms smuggling. The SSP said that the police arrested Mohan Singh, a member of the gang while those who are absconding have been identified as Akashdeep Singh of Goindwal Sahib village, Ranjit Singh of The suspects in the custody of the police in Tarn Taran on Thursday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Dinewal, Sandeep Singh Seepa of Kang village and Gurpreet Singh Gopi of Tur village. The gang has been booked under provisions of the NDPS Act and Arms Act. The SSP added that the Patti city police led by sub- inspector Manpreet Kaur arrested four, including a woman Kulwinder Kaur, Lovepret Singh, Heera Singh and Jujbir Singh, residents of different localities in Patti city. The police recovered 100 grams of heroin from their Commuters irked as barricades on roads lead to chaos in city Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 Every evening, the police install barricades at various locations on roads to monitor and deter miscreants. However, in the morning, these barricades are often left on the spot, causing congestion and traffic jams. The barricades, intended to slow down vehicles at night, force drivers to navigate a zigzag path, significantly reducing their speed. While this may serve the police’s purpose in the night when traffic is minimal, it proves to be a major obstacle during the morning rush hours when traffic vol- ume increases substantially. Motorists are irked over the daily ordeal, which not only wastes their time but also increases the risk of an accident. “It’s unnerving to see these barricades still in place during the morning hours,” said commuter Rohan Sharma. He said the police should be more responsible and remove them promptly after the night-time operations. These barricades can be seen outside most of the police stations. The plastic drums used as barricades are placed in such a way that only one vehicle can pass at a time while those coming from the other side have to wait till the passage is clear. “The barricades stay at the place, but cops are not there. But the fear of the police is such that even when no policemen is in sight, a common man dare not remove these drums to ensure the smooth flow of traffic,” said another commuter. Commuters have appealed to senior officials of the police department to sensitise cops at nakas to remove some of the drums to let traffic move smoothly during the rush hours. They stated that they appreciate the department’s efforts to keep a vigil on anti-social activities during the night. possession. The SSP added that the Valtoha police and the BSF in a joint operation , launched in Sankattra border village, recovered 509 grams of heroin with 23 grams of packing material. The SSP said that the material was sent by drone from across the India-Pakistan border. The police is yet to nominate the accused who might have brought the consignment from across the border. Amanpreet Singh Abhi and Baljit Singh, both of Fatehbad village, were arrested by the Goindwal Sahib police while consuming heroin. The other arrested accuseds include Lakhbir Singh of Sabhra who was arrested by Patti Sadar police with 9 grams of heroin and Jora Singh of Mehindipur with two grams of heroin. They were apprehended by Khemkaran police. Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 13 The city police along with the municipal corporation demolished the house of another drug peddler in the infamous Gujjarpura locality here on Thursday. The house allegedly belonged to Ajay Kumar, alias Billi, who faced around five criminal cases, including one under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against him, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. “Billi, a notorious drug peddler, is facing five criminal cases, one robbery case and four under the NDPS Act registered at the Civil Lines and Division C police stations here,” said Bhullar, adding that he has been absconding for around a year now. The two-storeyed house was being razed after the municipal corporation designated it as illegal structure and sought police help for demolition. As the house was located in the narrow street of Gujjarpura locality, the JCB machine was unable to demolish the house. MC workers demolish the house of a drug peddler in Gujjarpura locality of Amritsar on Thursday. Later, the authorities manually demolished the upper portion. Paramjit Kaur, mother of Ajay Kumar Billi, repeatedly urged the administration not to raze the house. She said she did not get any prior notice from the civic body. She said she had disinherited him from her property. She said the house was built from the money earned by her husband who died in 2018. She said she had two widow daughters. “Billi has not visited his house for a year and she too lives with her two daughters. She comes to house once in a month,” she pleaded. This is the third such operation in the city. Earlier, the police and civic body authorities had demolished the houses of two drug traffickers — Sandeep Singh, alias Sonu, in Bharariwal area on the Jhabal road and Gurmeet Singh of Maqboolpura area on March 6. Bhullar said the police investigation was being carried to identify drug peddlers and their properties. He said the city police have made significant seizures during a crackdown on the drug trafficking by the Punjab Government. He said people have appreciated the steps being taken by the police and the civic body by demolishing the houses of drug peddlers which were raised from illgotten money. Firing during football match: Woman held Amritsar, March 13 The Amritsar rural police have cracked the case of firing during a football tournament in Khabbe Rajputa village in Mehta on Saturday night that claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy and injured an Army man with the arrest of a woman. She was currently in police remand for further investigations. An illicit relation was said to be the reason behind the incident. Nevertheless, two assailants were still out of the reach of the police. 13-year-old boy was killed & Army man injured in incident Gursewak Singh, alias Sabu, a resident of Nangali Kalan village, died on way to hospital while injured Army man Gurpreet Singh (25) of Khabbe Rajputa village who suffered a gunshot injury in the leg was admitted to hospital for treatment. Gursewak was the only son of the family. He is survived by his parents and three sisters. The incident occurred when the award ceremony was underway on a village ground following a football tournament. Gursewak was a member of the Nangali Kalan village football team and was participating in the tournament. He was standing beside Gurpreet who was participating as a goalkeeper when two unidentified bike-borne persons opened fire on him. The assailants fired four gunshots leading to panic in the ground. The accused fled the scene after the incident. Maninder Singh, SSP , Amritsar rural, said the woman told the police that Gurpreet Singh had made a video of her viral which enraged her. She hired the shooters through another person and committed the crime. The target was Gurpreet, but the bullets fired at him also hit the victim (Gursewak Singh). He said raids were on to nab her accomplices in the case. — TNS City soaks in colours, festive fervour on Holi eve People revel in Holi celebrations; and (right) gujiyas displayed at a sweet shop inside the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTOS: SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service Barricades installed on a road in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Another drug peddler faces house demolition in city PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Drug seized, one arrested Amritsar, March 13 Colours in the air and a festive spirit gripped the holy city ahead of Holi as devotees made a beeline for the Laxmi Narayan temple in the Durgiana complex and other places of worship to play dry Holi with flowers. On the eve of the festival, an annual kirtan was organised which was followed by a ‘rath yatra’. The famous Pushp Holi (flower Holi) at Durgiana temple uses dry c m y b flowers like marigold, tesu, amaltaas and red hibiscus to make natural colours. The devotees applied colours on each other and danced to the tunes of religious bhajans. Children dressed up as ‘Radha’ and ‘Krishna’ participated in the religious procession. The annual Holi festivities attract tourists, both foreign and domestic, who join in the celebrations. Functions were organised at Bijli Pehalwan Mandir, Maha Kali Temple, Gopal Mandir and others. The ISKCON temple also organised kirtan and festivities, with many enjoying with their families. Traditional Hola Mohalla celebrations at Golden Temple are also held every year where devotees shower flower petals on the beautifully decorated palanquin, which carries the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, to pay obeisance. Though the Hola Mohalla celebrations at Anandpur, the birth place of Khalsa are a much larger event, the festival has now been celebrated at Golden Temple every year for more than two centuries. Devotees from far off places visit the place to attend the annual event. For those who love sweets on Holi, the quintessential Gujiyas and malpuas have already made their appearance in city. Almost all sweet shops in city are selling gujiya and malpua that are Holi staples. Traditional sweets made from flour, sugar or jaggery and fried till the outer layer turns crispy, these make for exclusive Holi delicacies. Also in market, especially inside the walled city and around the temple complexes, one can find thandai, a milk and dry fruits-based drink, an exclusive offering of Holi festival. So, the ones who don’t enjoy getting smeared with colours or getting hit by water balloons, can just gulp down that tall, cold delicious glass of thandai and enjoy the hot gujiyas!