13092025-ATR-01.qxd 9/12/2025 10:13 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY RICH TRIBUTES PAID TO 21 SIKH SOLDIERS OF SARAGARHI PUNJABI ARTISTES DELIVER AID, HOPE FOR REBUILDING LIVES AMANDA SEYFRIED’S ‘SACRIFICE’ FOR THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE Tributes were paid to the bravehearts on the 128th anniversary of the epic battle at Gurdwara Saragarhi. P2 Region’s singers, actors have expressed solidarity, offering both emotional and material support to those affected. P3 The movie stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Christian sect, the Shakers. P4 » » MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.38 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:13 AM » SATURDAY | 13 SEPTEMBER 2025 | AMRITSAR Cordon & search operations Five operatives of cross-border smuggling module nabbed carried out in 3 zones, 3 held Six pistols, 1 kg heroin, ~6 lakh drug money seized Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 12 Director General of Police (Special) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, along with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and other police officials, today carried out a cordon-and-search operation (CASO) on 88-foot area located on Majitha road here. The DGP said that during the search operation, the police official got a tip-off that some outsiders were coming in the area to sell narcotics, following which three persons were arrested for drug peddling. She also interacted with the residents, especially the women, to know about the current situation in the area, which is infamous for drug abuse and other criminal activities. She claimed that the residents were happy as the quantum of drug trafficking and substance abuse had declined to certain extent. They told her that earlier unscrupulous elements used to stand at every nook and corner, passing objectionable DGP (Special) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, along with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, talks to some women during CASO operation in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR comments to women. Apart from the 88-foot road, the police also carried out cordon-and-search operation in different areas in the three zones of the city police commissionerate. Shashi said the police officials were also meeting the people under Operation Sampark, seeking their help and urging them to share the information regarding activities of the anti-social elements and drug peddlers. She said those involved in substance abuse had been admitted at the de-addiction and rehabilitation centres. She said since March 1, when the state government had launched anti-drug campaign ‘ Yudh Nashiya Virudh’, the city police have registered as many as 930 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 1,776 drug traffickers. As many as 200 kg of heroin, apart from 10.8 kg opium, 325 kg narcotic powder, 15.4 kg charas and Rs 2.43 crore drug money were seized. As many as 266 proclaimed offenders were also nabbed during the campaign. Amritsar, September 12 With the arrest of five persons, the Counter Intelligence (CI) here on Friday claimed to have busted a cross-border arms and narcotics smuggling module and seized six sophisticated pistols, 1 kg heroin and ~6 lakh drug money from their possession. Those arrested included Jaskaran Singh of Bhittewad village, Amritpal Singh of Rangarh village, Gurwinder Singh and Amandeep Singh of Boparai village and Harkeerat Singh of Mansoora village in Ludhiana. The police seized two 9 mm Glock pistols along with magazines, two .30-bore Px5 pistols along with magazines and two .30-bore Star Mark Pistols, along with magazines. Apart from this, it has impounded two cars and a bike used for transporting the consignments. Director-General. Punjab Police, Gaurav Yadav said that as per preliminary probe, the Counter Intelligence officials along with seized contraband and weapons in Amritsar on Friday. accused were acting upon the instructions of certain Pakbased smugglers, who were using drones to drop drugs and weapon consignments. They were further supplying the arms to criminals and gangsters in Punjab in order to fuel criminal activities in the state, he pointed out. The CI received a reliable input that a Pak-based smuggler had delivered two sepa- rate consignments through drones, which were retrieved by the arrested persons. Acting upon the information, a police party launched an intelligence-based operation and intercepted these five suspects when they were waiting to deliver the consignments. The DGP said one of the arrested accused turned out to be a hawala operator, iden- tified as Harkeerat — from whom Rs 6 lakh was seized, and who was further supposed to route the illicit money to Pakistan via hawala channels. A case has been registered under Sections 21, 25, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act and Section 25 of the Arms Act at State Special Operation Cell, Amritsar police station, while a probe was on. Health Minister gives ~50,000 to family of Properties of four drug peddlers frozen child rescued during recent floods Eight-year old Abhijot has been fighting nephrotic syndrome for the last 3 years Tribune News Service AMRITSAR, September 12 Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh today met eightyear-old Abhijot Singh, a native of Talwandi Rai Dadu, Ajnala, who is currently being treated at the paediatric ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. Abhijot was rescued during floods in a critical condition and has been fighting nephrotic syndrome for the last three years. He was diagnosed by Dr Rakesh Sharma, a senior surgeon, from Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, who accompanied the team of doctors from AIIMS in flood-affected villages of Ajnala. Dr Balbir Singh interacted with Abhijot and his family and handed over a cheque of Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh hands over the cheque to Abhijot’s family at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital on Friday. VISHAL KUMAR Rs 50,000 to them for his treatment. He said that the entire cost of the child’s treatment would be borne by the Punjab Government. Health Minister, Punjab, inquired about his treatment and current condition and said that doctors of the PGI were also being con- sulted for the treatment of the child suffering from kidney disease. Abhijot’s condition became critical due to lack of medicines during the floods, but the Health Department team admitted him to medical college, Amritsar, on time through boat ambulance. Earlier, he flagged off 15 ambulances from Amritsar medical college to help the flood-affected families of Ajnala. Around 23 vans have already been sent for the flood-affected areas to conduct medical check-up of the people and to also provide them with free medicines. “My visit today is primarily to see the medical relief work going on in the floodaffected areas and in view of the emergency situation, these ambulances have been sent to provide health services to the people,” he said. The Health Minister said that “Our first task during the floods was to rescue people and deliver relief materials. He said that now the water level has come down considerably and Health Department teams are continuously going to the villages and doing fogging and anti-larvae spraying. The Health Minister said that any medical assistance can be obtained by dialling helpline number 104. The Health Department teams are going from door-to-door to provide information about dengue and chikungunya diseases and blood samples of suspected persons are also being taken. Amritsar, September 12 The Amritsar police have frozen the moveable and immovable assets of four drug peddlers worth Rs 1.27 crore on Thursday. The police had confiscated 500 gm of heroin, a drone, two pistols and Rs 15 lakh drug money from their possession on May 14. Dr Sheetal Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police while sharing details said that the action was taken under Section 68F of the NDPS Act. The drug smugglers whose properties were seized included Varinderpal Singh (32) of Akalgarh Dhapaiya village located on Mehta Road, Gurmukh Singh (21) of Sudhar Rajputa village in Khalichian, Taljinder Kumar of Dande village and Jasvinderpal Singh (32) of Akalgarh Dhapaiya village. Among the properties frozen included 25 marla house of Gurmukh Singh in ACP Sheetal Singh puts up a notice announcing the freezing of the property of a drug peddler in Amritsar. Sudhar Rarjputa village, two marla house of Varinderpal in Akalgarh Dhapiyan, a 10marla house of Jaswinderpal Singh in Akalgarh Dhapiyan and a 2.5 marla house of Taljinder Kumar at Dande village. Apart from this Rs 15 lakh of drug money and the amount which they deposited in the accounts of their relatives was also frozen. — TNS In Gurdaspur, 3 hockey legends go all out to rescue marooned villagers Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, September 12 As the floodwaters recede, stories of bravery in the face of adversity are slowly tumbling out of the closet. These floods will not only be remembered for the mayhem they created, but also for the fact that three international hockey players, including two best drag-flickers the hockey world has ever seen, and a versatile forward, gave it all they had to rescue hundreds of marooned people. Two-time Olympian Rupinder Pal Singh has donned India colours 223 times. He is posted as Assistant Commissioner (Under-Training) and is also designated as the Chief Minister’s field offi- cer. He was assigned the arduous duty of rescuing people living in a cluster of seven villages located across the raging Ravi. This was apart from supervising rescue operations in other parts of Dinanagar subdivision. Officially, Dinanagar was the worst hit in Gurdaspur district. He led a team of officials that made Makoran Pattan hamlet their base. He knew that water had encircled it from all four sides, still he went ahead. He managed to take to safety at least 1,500 people from several villages. He was helped by the IAF, Army choppers and the NDRF. Gurdaspur DC Dalwinderjit Singh stood by him to guide him. Once finished with the daunting task given to him, he felt like Two-time Olympian Rupinder Pal Singh and Gurdaspur DC supervise a rescue mission; and (right) Olympian Gurwinder Singh Chandi oversees a rescue operation. a man who had triumphed against all odds. The moment he savoured the most in his life was c m y b when he converted the crucial penalty stroke in the bronze medal match against Germany in the Tokyo Olympics. Now, he admits, this effort of rescuing villagers, who had nothing to eat or drink for days even as their houses were submerged in 6-8 feet of water, gave him even more satisfaction than the penalty stroke. In Tokyo, he had put India on the pedestal. Here, in Dinanagar, the villagers put him on a pedestal. London Olympian DSP Gurwinder Singh Chandi, was in-charge of saving and rehabilitating the historical town of Kalanaur. He and his team gave a boat ride to a bride and her family from Shalle Chak village to a marriage palace in Kalanaur. On the way back, Chandi noticed a man writhing in pain following a snake bite near Kotla Mughlan village. He was immediately shifted to the nearest relief camp. “Champions become champions only by enduring setbacks,” he said. Then there was the irresistible, sturdily built Jugraj Singh. Like Rupinder Pal, he too was a dragflicker par-excellence. He did duty in villages where there was an increased danger to human lives and livestock. He also ensured that starving villagers did not fight over ration packets. The former full-back is posted as an SP. His effervescent hockey career was cut short following a car accident in 2003. These hockey warriors have turned out to be true sons of the soil. They put their own lives on the line to save the lives of hundreds of others.