13022025-ATR-01.qxd 2/12/2025 11:33 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 23°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 7°C RAISED PEDESTRIAN PATHS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN ART TAKES TIME, SAYS SITAR EXPONENT USTAD SHAHID MANDY TAKHAR TALKS ABOUT HER UPCOMING TALK SHOW The raised pedestrian paths constructed on main GT Road are resulting in regular accidents and inconvenience. P2 Ustad Shahid said everything that is of any value takes time and youth must be ready to put in effort. P4 The Punjabi actress was in Chandigarh for the launch of her upcoming talk show, Spotlight with Mandy. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.15 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.13 AM THURSDAY | 13 FEBRUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Property dealer dies by suicide, three booked Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 12 A property dealer, identified as Rajiv Kumar (56) of Loharaka Road area here, ended his life by jumping from the sixth floor of a hotel in Ranjit Avenue area here on Tuesday evening. Following a preliminary probe and statement of the victim’s son, the police have booked three persons on charges of abetment to suicide. A monetary dispute is stated to be the reason behind the incident. Robin Hans, SHO, Ranjit Avenue police station, said investigation was on and efforts were being made to arrest the suspects. The family members told the police that Rajiv Kumar was under mental stress for the last few months. Some persons were not returning the money he had given them on loan. They accused were known to him. The police said the victim yesterday went to a prominent hotel in Ranjit Avenue area and later jumped from the sixth floor of the hotel. He was immediately rushed to hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The police have started a probe and collected the footage of the CCTVs installed in the hotel. City consultant nabbed in police crackdown on illegal travel agents PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 12 Following the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants by US recently, the Punjab police have started tightening the noose around illegal immigration consultants here. The NRI wing of Punjab police has arrested a fake immigration consultant, identified as Suraj Sathiali, a resident of Sathiali in Gurdaspur, in a four-month old case here on Wednesday. He along with his accomplice, Bunti of Sathiali, was booked by police in October 2024 for allegedly duping Punjab Singh of Dullat village in Batala and his relative Daljit Singh of Indira Colony, Majitha road, Amritsar. The accused had assured to send them to Russia on work permit and visa. The deal was settled for Rs 2.80 lakh for sending the duo to Russia. Police investigations revealed that the accused sent them visa and tickets on their mobile which were later found to be fake. He said when the accused failed to send them abroad, they demanded their money back. Out of the total amount, they returned Rs 80,000 to them but failed to return the remaining amount. Investigations also found Two held with 1-kg heroin in Amritsar It was being operated by France-based Punjabi NRI, others Tribune News Service The travel agent in custody of the Gurdaspur NRI police. that they had duped another man Mahinder Ram of Rs 1.3 lakh on similar promise. They used to run their office, Kirpa Overseas, in Dhariwal area without requisite permission and licence from the district administration, the police official said. JS Walia, AIG, NRI police wing, said that the Punjab government has started a campaign against illegal travel agents and immigration consultants who were defrauding innocent people wanting to go abroad in search of greener pastures. He said the NRI police wing of Gurdaspur registered a case under section 406, 420, 465, 468, 471 and 34 of IPC and section 24 of Emigration Act against the two. He said raids were also on to arrest Bunty Sathiali. On February 5, as many as 104 illegal Indian immigrants were deported back on a military aircraft by the US government after its crackdown on illegal immigrants there. The majority of deportees told the police that they were cheated by the illegal immigration consultants and travel agents who promised to take them to US on valid documents but took them through the illegal “dunki” route. Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 12 The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Amritsar, in a joint operation have nabbed two smugglers and seized 1.1 kg of narcotics from their possession. BSF Intelligence Wing officials received and shared information regarding a possible smuggling attempt involving some suspects on the Amritsar border. At approximately 10.10 pm on Tuesday, the joint team established a check-point near Chota Fatehwal village in the district. During the operation, two Indian smugglers were appre- Amritsar, February 12 The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main session 1 result, 2025 late on Tuesday night. As per the result, a total of 14 candidates have secured 100 NTA score in JEE Main 2025 session 1. In Amritsar, Vansh Goel, student of Springdale Senior Secondary School emerged as district topper, with 99.97 percentile. Six students from Aakash Educational Services also scored above 99 percentile. Top achievers from district include Kavya with 99.93 percentile, Devendra Sahu with 99.92, hended along with two packets of suspected heroin weighing 1.100 kg and a motorcycle. Both suspects are residents of Sarang Dev village under the Ajnala police station. They are currently in the custody of the ANTF Amritsar, , for further investigation. Vansh Goel Raahil Dhawan with 99.88 percentile, Budhish Dhawan with 99.87, Safdar with 99.87, Daksh Sehgal scored 99.74, Japneet Singh 99.57 percentile, Japneet Singh with 99.57, Harnoor Singh with 99.30 percentile. JEE (Main) is structured in two sessions to provide Food processing unit launched at GNDU Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 12 Pushing for advancing research, innovation and entrepreneurship in food technology, Guru Nanak Dev University today inaugurated a state-of-the-art food processing unit at the Dietetics and Nutrition Division, Department of Agriculture, GNDU. The facility established under RUSA 2.0 (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) and spearheaded by the Golden Jubilee Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (GJCEI), was inaugurated by Prof Karamjeet Singh, vice-chancellor, GNDU. Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Prof Karamjeet Singh said that the facility is among the few in India offering an end-toend food processing ecosystem — from handling raw The food processing unit being launched at GNDU campus in Amritsar. material to market-ready product development. He emphasised its role in fostering sustainable, innovative food solutions and supporting agri-preneurs and startups in establishing viable businesses in the food processing sector. Amritsar, February 12 The city police have arrested a jeweller among five persons on charges of cross-border drug trafficking through drone. The cartel was being operated by a France-based Punjabi NRI along with their Pakistan-based associates. The police confiscated 2.25 kg of heroin, ~1.05 lakh drug money, a modern Glock pistol and a car from their possession. Those arrested were identified as Kiratpal Singh, alias Kirat (18), of Vila Teja village in Gurdaspur, Karanbir Singh (21) of Baupur Afghana, Dorangla (Gurdaspur), Sukhdeep Singh, alias Sukh (18), and and Pankaj Verma, alias Bablu (43), of Fatehgarh Churian (Gurdaspur), and Pyara Singh (40) of Ballarwal village in Ajnala here. Karanbir was the kingpin of the racket. He had earlier tried to flee to the US through the ‘dunki’ route, but was deported back to India. After this, he entered into an illegal drug trade. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said The suspects in custody of the Amritsar police on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR teams of the Islamabad police under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Harpreet Singh Mandr, and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishaljit Singh nabbed the suspects from a checkpoint near Kabir Park area. He said preliminary investigations carried out in the case revealed that France-based Cheema and Sikander Singh were operating the racket from there. They had links with Pakistan-based drug and weapons smugglers who introduced Karandeep to them. Sikander originally hailed from Gurdaspur area. He came in contact with Karandeep through social media. Karandeep had earlier tried to sneak into the US using the ‘dunki’ route. However, he was deported back to India. After his return, he allegedly developed his links with the cross-border drug peddler and started smuggling of narcotics and weapons from Pakistan. “The heroin consignments were allegedly sent via drones from Pakistan to border areas between Fatehgarh Churian and Gurdaspur. After getting the delivery of the contraband, they used to distribute it in Amritsar and other border areas,” said Bhullar while adding that investigations are on to find out their backward and forward links. He said Pankaj Verma, who works as a jeweller, was earlier arrested by the Pinjore police on charges of dacoity. Kiratpal Singh also had a case registered against him under the Arms Act at Batala. A case under Sections 21(C) and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, has been registered at the Islamabad police station here. Vansh Goel emerges top scorer in city with Local textile units to 99.97 percentile as JEE Main results out join Delhi expo Tribune News Service The seized packet containing the heroin in Amritsar. Police bust cross-border drug cartel, 5 arrested Dr PK Pati, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Coordinator for the Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (CARI), elaborated on the unit’s capabilities. He noted that the facility houses a line extruder for continuous food production, enabling the manufacturing of breakfast cereals, snack foods, pet food, pasta, noodles and textured vegetable proteins. He further emphasised its potential to strengthen industry collaborations, improve food quality and sustainability, and serve as a premier training hub for students, researchers and entrepreneurs. The inauguration was attended by renowned scientists, Dr Renu Wadhwa and Dr Sunil Kaul from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan, alongside faculty members, students and staff from the agriculture department. “With this initiative, GNDU continues to reinforce its commitment to research excellence, industry partnerships and groundbreaking advancements in agri-food processing,” said Dr Pati. c m y b students with multiple opportunities to enhance their scores. While JEE Advanced exclusively facilitates admissions to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), JEE Main serves as the gateway to numerous National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other Centrally-aided engineering colleges across India. Participation in JEE Main is a prerequisite for appearing in JEE Advanced. Has been an achiever all his academic life: Mother Dr Smriti Goel, Vansh’s mother shared her excitement on her son’s JEE Main session I results. “It’s Illegal mining case: 15 farmers freed Tarn Taran, February 12 Following pressure built by farmer organisations, the Patti Sadar police had to free the 15 protesting farmers who were arrested after a scuffle with the police on Tuesday from Sabhra village. The farmers were protesting against the alleged illegal sand mining from Sutlej river by influential persons. The farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Punjab (Kot Budha,), BKU (Ugrahan) and Hardh Peedat (Flood Affected) Kisan Sangharsh Committee, had been lodging protest against the arrested farmers. The farmers were lodged in sub-jail, Patti. The police said that farmers would not be allowed to get involved in illegal mining. — OC a big encouragement for him as he is focused on clearing JEE Advanced to get into IITs. He has been an achiever all his academic life and his study hours usually stretch long,” she said. As for Vansh, he wants to explore the field of Artificial Intelligence as he feels that it will shape the future. “AI has taken the world by storm and it has already proved to be a game changer in every field, be it science, medicine, trade or technology,” he shared. Now focused on the CBSE boards starting next week, Vansh wants to remain calm and not celebrate until he gets through JEE Advanced. Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 12 Textile Manufacturers’ Association (TMA), Amritsar, in collaboration with the Cluster Intervention Programme of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), is set to make a strong presence at Bharat Tex 2025, to be held at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from February 14 to 17. Rajiv Khanna, general secretary of the TMA, Amritsar, said here on Wednesday that eight leading textile MSME units from Amritsar will showcase their latest innovations in technical textiles, highlighting the region’s rapid emergence as a key player in this high-value sector. From advanced fabric solutions to next-generation textile applications, these enterprises are set to demonstrate India’s manufacturing excellence and technological capabilities. As a key partner in this initiative, SIDBI has played a crucial role in empowering MSMEs by providing technical knowledge, facilitating access to advanced manufacturing techniques, and opening new market avenues. Through its Cluster Intervention Programme, SIDBI enabled these enterprises to adopt global best practices, enhance product quality, and position themselves competitively in both domestic and international markets. 648th birth anniversary of Bhagat Ravidas celebrated with fervour Amritsar, February 12 The birth anniversary of Bhagat Ravidas, a leading poetsaint of the Bhakti movement which had spread across the Indian sub-continent during medieval history, was celebrated with religious fervour here on Wednesday. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee celebrated the birth anniversary by holding a religious programme at Gurdwara Manji Sahib Diwan Hall with reverence. On this occasion, after the bhog of Akhand Path, the jatha of Hazuri Ragi Jagroop Singh of Golden temple rendered Gurbani Kirtan. Sarwan Singh said prayer and holy edict was presented by Vishal Singh who while sharing his views on the life of Bhagat Ji, said his holy verses recorded in Guru Granth Sahib spoke of the uni- Devotees pay obeisance to Guru Ravidas in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR versality of the Akal Purakh as well as the inspiration of devotion to the Akal Purakh. He exhorted the congregation to follow the path shown by Bhagat ji for the prosperity of the society to make our lives joy- ful. On this occasion, the manager Satnam Singh Riad, Gurinder Singh Devidaspur, Jugraj Singh, Balwinder Singh, Ajay Singh, Head Pracharak Bhai Jagdev Singh and others were present. — TNS