04022026-JTR-01.qxd 2/3/2026 11:44 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune HIGHWAY STRETCH NEAR LADOWAL TOLL IN POOR CONDITION REGISTRATIONS BEGIN UNDER CM’S PILGRIMAGE SCHEME DHURANDHAR: THE REVENGE SET TO RETURN ON MARCH 19 Despite heavy toll collection, the highway stretch has reportedly turned into a highrisk zone due to big potholes. P2 A medical team will accompany the pilgrims during the journey to provide immediate assistance in case of any emergency.P3 The striking poster presents Ranveer Singh in a dramatically transformed avatar from the first film. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MAX 20°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.05 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:17 AM » WEDNESDAY | 4 FEBRUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR Finally, fencing project to take off along Former city police commissioner gets BistBhagat lays stone for the project | Also launches ~6.24-cr works across Jalandhar bailable warrant Doab Canal, to curb waste dumping Minister Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 3 In an effort to ensure that no waste is dumped into the Bist Doab Canal passing through the city, the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, has finally laid the foundation stone for a project to fence its boundary. Laying the foundation stone for the project, minister Mohinder Bhagat and Mayor Vaneet Dhir said the project would be completed at a cost of Rs 3.28 crore. Residents all along the canal had been dumping domestic waste into the canal. Those engaged in listing of garbage had been emptying their carts into the canal, leading to accumulation of a large amount of filth into it. Though the canal remains dry for most part of the year, officials of the Drainage Department had to rope in workers after every few Love in the air months to get it cleaned. Those living along the edges of the canal too had to face a tough time as the smell emanating from the rotten waste had made their lives difficult. To add to the problem, a large chunk of the Bihari community used to leave stalks of bananas, pine apples, earthenware, cane baskets and other stuff into the canal after celebrating Chhatt Puja every year. But with fencing of the canal, things are set to improve at least to some extent, said a senior official of the department posted in Jalandhar. “We had been taking up the project of fencing of the canal with the MC officials for the last over two years”, he said. Bhagat launched 11 other development projects at an outlay of Rs 6.24 crore aimed at upgrading roads, streets, public spaces and community facilities across Jalandhar. The projects include the construction of various roads in C-Block at a cost of Rs 31.1 lakh, roads in Bhargo Camp and adjoining areas worth Rs 48.55 lakh, streets in Raj Nagar costing Rs 37 lakh, a street in Abadpura at Rs 15.5 lakh, and another near Harbans Nagar at Rs 20.49 lakh. In addition, various streets near Apna Park will be constructed at Rs 49.63 lakh, while a street in JP Nagar will be developed at Rs 44.14 lakh. He announced that two new public libraries — one near Baba Budha Mall Park and another on the 120-foot road — will be constructed at Rs 25 lakh each to promote educational and community activities. Dhir said the state government was consistently focusing on projects that uplift urban infrastructure and ensure planned development of the city. 4 killed as car hits scooter near Mukerian Our Correspondent Mukerian, February 3 In a road accident late last night, four youths on a scooter were killed on the spot on the national highway near Mukerian. The accident occurred around 1:30 am when a car coming from behind rammed into the scooter. All four youths were working as waiters at a palace and were returning home after finishing their late-night duty. Two of the scooter riders were migrant workers. As they reached near the Muker- The car that hit a bike, killing four youths near Mukerian. ian Chungi, the speeding car hit the scooter from behind. After the impact, they were flung onto a truck parked on the roadside, resulting in the instantaneous death of all four youths. The deceased have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh and Narinder Kumar, while the other two were migrant workers Vivek Sahu and Mithun Mandal, residents of Darbhanga district in Bihar. The Mukerian police rushed to the spot, took the bodies into custody and initiated legal proceedings. A case has been registered against the driver of the car and investigation is underway. Jalandhar, February 3 The Special Court of Judge Rajeev K Beri has summoned Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma through a bailable warrant of Rs 5,000 with one surety in the same amount for February 4 in a high-profile NDPS case dating back to March 2024. Swapan was the Jalandhar Police Commissioner when the case was registered. The court issued a bailable warrant after observing that repeated requests for exemption had been submitted by Swapan Sharma from appearing as a witness, which had consequently stalled proceedings in the time-bound matter. The court had also summoned the Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur for February 2 but she sought exemption on the basis that she had filed a petition on the matter in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, saying that she was not the Commissioner of Police at Jalandhar when the case was lodged and the challan was presented, and hence has no concern with the case. She had sought a date to wait for the outcome from the High Court, but now she too had been asked to appear before the court tomorrow. On March 3, 2024, Swapan had claimed to have busted an international drug trafficking syndicate involved in the illicit trade of narcotics across four countries, the UK, Swapan Sharma To appear in court today as witness in 5kg opium haul case the US, Canada and Australia, using courier services. The police had initially arrested three persons Aman, Sunny and Shejal with the seizure of 5 kg of opium. An FIR had been lodged under Sections 18, 25, 29, 27A, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. Swapan had named Manish Thakur, alias Mani Kumar, of Jalandhar, based in the UK, as the kingpin. Days later his picture with Sheetal Angural, who had just quit as MLA of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP had start, ed doing rounds. Angural had later clarified that Manish had pictures with several AAP leaders and that he had no connection with him. The 13 accused Mani Kumar, Sunny Jagga, Amandeep, Abhiram Tuti, Harmanpreet, Sikander, Pawan Kumar, Sunny Sohal, Jaspal, Parmod, Balihar Singh, Sushil Kumar ad Bhupinder Singh are on bail in the case. Accused Amarjit Kaur, however, is a proclaimed offender. Man found dead in women’s Man booked for extortion threat bathroom at ESI Hospital Our Correspondent A vendor sells heart-shaped balloons during sunset in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Phagwara, February 3 The body of an unidentified young man was found inside a women’s bathroom at the ESI Hospital in Phagwara on Monday, causing concern among hospital staff and visitors. The deceased was later shifted to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara, for the postmortem examination. According to hospital Inspection of Rahon-Jadla road, samples to be sent to lab for test Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 3 PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO conducted a surprise inspection of the RahonJadla road, constructed at Rs 7.49 crore today. The newly built road, measuring approximately 11.70 kilometre, was completed on December 15. During the inspection, the minister said the road was being checked by the Quality Control Team and directed officials to collect samples and send these to the laboratory for quality testing. He instructed that no payments should be released until the laboratory reports were received and found satisfactory. The minister further directed officials to ensure the completion of road berms and white line marking before any payment was processed. PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO during inspection of the Rahon to Jadla road, in Nawanshar. Emphasising the state government’s commitment to infrastructure development, he said the government is constructing 45,000 km of roads across the state to ensure better transportation facilities. Harbhajan Singh ETO stat- ed that all targeted roads would be completed by March 31. He also inspected the construction of a primary health centre in village Muzaffarpur, being built over 4,186 square feet and scheduled for completion in April. sources, the bathroom door had remained locked for an extended period, raising suspicion. Vikram, a plumber employed at the hospital, said he climbed over the wall and opened the door from inside. Upon entering, he found the young man lying unconscious on the floor. He was later declared dead. The identity of the deceased has not yet been established. Officials are also trying to ascertain how the man gained access to the women’s bathroom and the circumstances leading to his presence there. The cause of death remains unclear at this stage. The police have registered a case and initiated an investigation. Details are expected after the post-mortem report. — OC Phagwara, February 3 The Nakodar police have registered a criminal case after a person allegedly attempted to extort money by issuing death threats on a phone call. The case has been lodged at Nakodar on the complaint of Surinder Singh Toor, a resident of village Mund near Nakodar. According to the police, the complainant reported that an unidentified caller contacted him on his phone number and demanded 50,000 pounds. During the call, the accused allegedly threatened to kill the complainant and his family members, if the demand was not met, causing fear and panic. DSP Onkar Singh Brar stated that taking the matter seriously, the police registered an FIR under Sections 308(5) and 351(2) of the BNS and Sections 386 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with extortion and criminal intimidation. The case has been registered against the unknown person, and preliminary investigation has been initiated. The police are examining call records, WhatsApp details and other digital evidence to trace the identity of the accused. Officials stated that all possible angles are being explored and strict action will be taken once the suspect is identified. Gas cylinder explodes after fire at boutique Waqf Board rent collector caught taking ~18,000 Mother–daughter duo, two fire personnel among five suffer burn injuries Hoshiarpur, February 3 The Vigilance Bureau has caught two employees of the Punjab Waqf Board red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 18,000. The accused have been identified as Mohammad Yasin, Rent Collector, and Mohammad Talim, a peon, both posted at the Punjab Waqf Board office in Garhshankar. The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint by a resident of Balachaur. The complainant had taken 10 kanals of land belonging to the Waqf Board at village Bhaddi on lease from 2018 to 2021. After the lease period ended in 2021, the complainant approached Yasin for renewal of the lease. It is alleged that Yasin demanded Rs 20,000. Of this, Rs 2,000 was taken immediately, while the remaining Rs 18,000 was demanded later. A Vigilance team caught them red-handed. — OC c m y b Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, February 3 Five persons, including mother-daughter duo and two fire brigade personnel, sustained burn injuries after a gas cylinder exploded following a fire at a boutique shop on the HoshiarpurDasuya road near village Sataur on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred around 8 am when Mandeep Kaur (25), daughter of Amarjeet Singh, and her mother Rajvir Kaur (45) opened their boutique shop Saini Boutique located on the outskirts of village Sataur. As soon as they switched on the electricity inside the shop, a sudden fire broke out, engulfing both of them in flames. On noticing the fire, owners of nearby shops and local residents rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the mother and A fireman attempts to extinguish fire in a shop in Hoshiarpur. daughter. With great difficulty, the severely burnt victims were pulled out and the fire on their bodies was extinguished. During the rescue attempt, Gurman Singh, a resident of the village, also suffered burn injuries on his hands. All three were immediately admitted to a private hospital in Hoshiarpur. Meanwhile, the Fire Department was informed about the incident. When a fire brigade team reached the spot and started efforts to control the fire, a gas cylinder kept inside the shop suddenly exploded, triggering a loud blast. As a result, two fire brigade personnel, Manjeet Singh and Paramjeet Singh, also came in the grip of flames. They were immediately shifted to the Civil Hospital, Hoshiarpur. On receiving information about the incident, Cabinet Minister and local MLA Dr Ravjot Singh, MLA Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain and other administrative officials visited the Civil Hospital and KDM Hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured. Ravjot Singh said all possible assistance would be provided for the treatment of those injured in the fire and cylinder explosion at the boutique shop in village Sataur. He also said financial assistance would be given to compensate for the losses suffered by the shop due to the fire.