09012026-JTR-01.qxd 1/8/2026 11:02 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune DHEEYAN DI LOHRI CELEBRATED FOR 25TH YEAR OLYMPIAN SURJIT SINGH REMEMBERED ON DEATH ANNIV AKSHAY'S BHOOTH BANGLA SET FOR RELEASE IN MAY Dr Jasmine Dahiya says that respecting daughters is not only a social responsibility, but a moral duty of humanity. P2 Budding players, coaches, and sports officials gathered to pay their respects to the ‘King of the penalty corner.’ P3 Originally set to hit theatres in April this year, Akshay Kumar’s film Bhooth Bangla will now be released on May 15. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 11°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 12°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:27 AM » FRIDAY | 9 JANUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR Jalandhar MC clerk caught accepting bribe of ~2,000 HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. ~2.72 lakh recovered from the house of the accused Tribune News Service INBRIEF TWO BOOKED FOR VISA FRAUD Phagwara:The police have registered a case against Zorawar Himat Singh and Inderjit Singh of Shahkot on the charges of cheating him of ?25 lakh on the pretext of sending him to the US. Harshanjeet Singh of Nurmahal said the accused took ?25 lakh from him after promising to arrange his immigration to the US but neither sent him abroad, nor returned the money. The matter was marked for inquiry to the cops, who conducted an investigation and recommended registration of a criminal case. OC WOMAN HELD FOR DOWRY DEATH Hoshiarpur: The Chabbewal police have arrested a woman on charges of abetting her daughter-in-law to commit suicide. Balkar Singh, a resident of village Patti, lodged a complaint stating that his sister Manuradha was married in 2015 to Deepak Kumar of village Saido Patti. He alleged that Manuradha's mother-inlaw Paramjit Kaur used to harass her repeatedly over dowry. Due to mental torture, Manuradha reportedly ended her life by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. oc DRUGS, LIQUOR SEIZED, 3 HELD Hoshiarpur: The police have recovered drugs and liquor from various locations in the district during the last 24 hours. Four persons were booked while three of them were arrested. The police stopped a car for checking. During the search, the police arrested Vijay Kumar and recovered banned tablets. Meanwhile, the police arrested Rohit Sai of Mohalla Balmiki, Ghanta Ghar, and recovered nine bottles of illicit liquor from him. In another case, the police arrested Rajinder Kumar of village Tabba and seized banned tablets. oc SCOOTER STOLEN FROM GYM Phagwara: A scooter of girl Mauli Gupta was stolen on Thursday evening from outside a gym near Hello Food from the Hargobind Nagar locality. She had parked the vehicle before entering the gym and discovered it missing on her return. The matter has been reported to the city police, who have begun investigating the incident. OC TWO ARRESTED FOR PEDDLING Phagwara: The police have registered two separate cases following the recovery of narcotics and illegal ammunition from Gulzar Singh of Mehatpur. Twenty gram of heroin was allegedly recovered from the accused. In the second incident, a police team from Bilga recovered 25 intoxicant pills during checking from Deepak Kumar of Patti Bhatti, Bilga. Both have been arrested. OC Congress leaders during a ‘MGNREGA Bachao’ rally at Tanda in Hoshiarpur on Thursday. ‘Save MGNREGA’ rally at Tanda, Congress warns of statewide agitation Our Correspondent Tanda Urmar (Hoshiarpur), January 8 The Punjab Congress on Wednesday organised a massive “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram Rally” at Tanda, opposing the alleged changes being made to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The rally was led by former Cabinet Minister Sangat Singh Gilzian and district Congress president Advocate Daljit Singh Gilzian. Senior Congress leaders, including former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, AICC secretary Ravinder Dalvi and Suraj Thakur were present. Addressing the large gathering of party workers and labourers, the leaders accused the Centre of adopting antilabour policies and weakening MGNREGA, which they said had provided employment and dignity to crores of workers across the country. The speakers said the Congress would launch a strong movement to protect the employment guarantee law and restore it to its original form. Baghel said the Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, would fight a decisive battle to save MGNREGA. He recalled that former Prime Minister Dr Manmo- Congress Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, along with PCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and other Congress leaders, meets the family of deceased Mandeep Kumar at Goraya, who lost his life on the Russia-Ukraine warfront. han Singh had given the right to employment to the poor and working class through MGNREGA. He alleged that the Modi government was now trying to dilute the law and convert it into a charity scheme. “The Congress empowers the people, while the BJP empowers only its friends,” Baghel said. He added that just like the three black farm laws were withdrawn after public pressure, the Congress would ensure that these changes to MGNREGA were also rolled back. He said the movement had begun from Gurdaspur and Tanda and would spread across the state. Warring said MGNREGA had helped keep the kitchens of labourers running and had strengthened rural economy. He warned that Punjab could suffer a major financial setback if funds meant for MGNREGA were stopped. He alleged that due to the failed policies of the Aam Aadmi Party government, Punjab was already facing economic distress. “Instead of fighting for the rights of the poor, the state government is spending huge amounts on publicity,” he said, adding that Congress would fight both the Centre and the Punjab Government on this issue. Bajwa also criticised the Centre’s and said the Congress would not allow the rights of labourers to be snatched away. He announced that after this campaign, Congress workers would gherao the houses of BJP leaders across Punjab. The Congress leadership, including Baghel and Warring, also visited the house of Mandeep Kumar, who lost his life on the Russia-Ukraine war front at Goraya. They expressed sympathy with the family and appealed for the support. Jalandhar, January 8 The working of the Municipal Corporation has remained under scanner for the past nearly six months since Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raman Arora and the MC staff, including Assistant Town Planner Sukhdev Vashisht and Inspector Harpreet Kaur, had been nabbed by the Municipal Corporation. The VB apprehended Karun Dhir, a clerk posted in the Water Supply and Sewerage Branch of the MC, redhanded while accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000. An amount of Rs 2.72 lakh has been recovered from the house of the accused during a search by the VB team. VB officials said the accused had been arrested based on a complaint lodged by a resident of Ram Nagar. He said the complainant is running a tavern near Doaba Chowk for the last 15 months. The complainant alleged that accused Karan Dhir visited his tavern and threatened to disconnect the water and sewerage connections, terming the connection and discharge into sewer to be illegal. The complainant said the connections had been in exis- The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrests a clerk of the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar. ASI ARRESTED BY VIGILANCE IN PHAGWARA ■ A vigilance team conducted a raid at the City Police Station, Phagwara, and arrested ASI Sarabjit Singh for allegedly accepting a bribe. The operation was led by the DSP, Vigilance, Joginder Pal, who confirmed that the team apprehended the officer and reportedly recovered Rs 5,000 during the action. ■ The ASI had allegedly demanded and accepted the bribe to “rectify” a case involving a villager. Following the recovery, Vigilance officials began official documentation and further legal proceedings inside the police station. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused officer. tence for nearly 15 years but the accused continued to threaten him and demanded illegal gratification. The complainant had recorded the entire conversation. He further said he approached the VB and alleged that the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 2,000 in lieu of not Gym owner, trainer get 20 years for boy’s sexual abuse Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 8 The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Archna Kamboj has sentenced a gym owner and a trainer to 20 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting a teenaged boy in a hotel on the New Year eve of 2023. Gym owner Girish Aggarwal and trainer Honey, both residents of Kartarpur, had reportedly befriended the 16year-old boy, who was doing bike repair work. On December 31, 2022, they had brought the teenager for a party to a hotel in Jalandhar. They had intoxicated him and sexually assaulted him. They had even shot a video of The convicts have also been asked to pay a fine of ~52,000 each the act. The next morning, he was threatened by the duo for sharing anything against them. After the incident, the teen had not reportedly shared anything about the incident BJP downplays rift between two former MLAs Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 8 As BJP state president Sunil Jakhar visited the district to address a ‘Chaupal’ outreach event on the BJP government’s VB G Ram G Scheme — introduced as a replacement for the Congress-led MGNREGA — an earlier altercation between two party leaders continued to dominate discussions. The public spat, which occurred during a BJP meeting at the Circuit House two days prior to the Chaupal event, has now escalated to the party high command. While the senior party leadership remained tightlipped about the entire altercation, highly placed sources in the BJP said the issue of a senior leader’s behaviour and verbal attacks against each other Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar with BJP leaders during a press conference in Jalandhar on Thursday. PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH by two former MLAs during a party meeting has been considered unsavoury by the district leadership at large and the matter has been taken up with the high command. This issue was also taken up with Jakhar during his visit today, leaders said. The matter has also been taken up with party working president Ashwini Sharma and general secretary (org), BJP Punjab, Manthri Srini, vasulu. Both these former MLAs, c m y b disconnecting the water and sewerage connections. The officials added that after a preliminary inquiry, it has found that accused used to take small bribes from those who wanted to get their work done. Acting on the complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the accused was however, were present at Jakhar’s Chaupal event and a subsequent press conference. Party sources said a senior party leader and ex-MLA aired vocal displeasure over the interference in his constituency by other leaders during a recent meeting held at the Circuit House, Jalandhar, to plan for the Chaupal. The meeting took a heated turn when requests by a party’s senior leader, who is known for his politeness, were met by another verbal salvo when he told him to maintain decorum. Upon this, another party leader and ex-MLA intervened which led to a serious verbal altercation between the duo – making personal attacks and hurling abuses against each other. Things got so heated up that the oth- er leaders had to intervene to prevent a further escalation. A senior party leader said, “People from different parties have joined the BJP and the party leadership has the task of keeping the flock together. Disagreements arise when people from diverse backgrounds work together. It’s just a one-off event.” When questioned on a fight, Jakhar said, “Here videos of Bhagwant Mann are going viral and we are talking of other issues. I think the CM’s video is of utmost importance. These matters, we will see.” District BJP president Sushil Sharma, when questioned on the issue, said, “All these reports have no grounds. We have even asked people to show us a video. We are all together.” but on June 20, 2023, his worst fears came true. His two videos went viral on social media. One was a 14second and another was 1 minute 28 seconds video. At this, he decided to disclose everything to his father. His father took him to police station where his statement was recorded. An FIR wasregistered under Sections 377, 34 and the POCSO Act at Division No. 8 police station. The two accused have been convicted and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. They have also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 52,000 each, failing which each of them will have to spend one more year behind the bars. Two held with illegal firearms Phagwara, January 8 The police have arrested two persons following the alleged recovery of illegal firearms and ammunition during an operation conducted near Talwandi Mehma village. SSP Gaurav Toora said here today that the police team received information from a village defence volunteer that two suspects were transporting illegal weapons reportedly procured from MP for sale to potential buyers in Punjab. Acting on the tip-off, the police intercepted and apprehended Bobby of Randhawa Masanda, Jalandhar, along with Harpreet Singh, also known as Veeru,of Plasaur, Tarn Taran district. Cops recovered three country-made pistols of 7.65 mm caliber along with three cartridges. — OC arrested while accepting bribe money of Rs 2,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB police station, Jalandhar, and further investigation into this case is under progress. Youth dies in K’thala bike accident Our Correspondent Phagwara, January 8 A young man lost his life in a tragic road accident in Kapurthala on Thursday morning when two motorcycles collided head-on. Soon after the impact, a passing truck also came in contact with one of the riders, leading to his death on the spot. Another youth involved in the accident escaped with comparatively minor injuries, reportedly because he was wearing a helmet at the time. Upon receiving information, the SSF team, PCR unit and city police reached the spot and took the body into custody, later shifting it to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital for post-mortem. The deceased has been identified as Gaurav, a resident of Old Dana Mandi, who had left home for work in the morning. According to police, Harsh Pandit, a resident of Dashmesh Colony, was travelling on his motorcycle on circular road when it collided with Gaurav’s bike coming from the opposite direction. Both riders fell onto the road after the collision. While Harsh was wearing a helmet, which helped save his life, Gaurav reportedly was not. Police officials said that preliminary inquiry is underway to establish the exact circumstances of the accident. Statements of family members and eyewitnesses are being recorded, and CCTV footage from nearby areas is also being examined as part of the investigation. The authorities have appealed to the public to strictly follow traffic rules and always wear helmets to prevent such tragedies.