02032025-ATR-01.qxd 3/1/2025 11:51 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY 2-DAY FLOWER EXHIBITION BEGINS IN JALANDHAR REGO OVERBRIDGE CONSTRUCTION WORK CONTINUES AT SLOW PACE JOHN ABRAHAM TALKS ABOUT HIS CAREER TRAJECTORY AAP minister Mohinder Bhagat attends the opening ceremony as the chief guest. P2 The slow progress of work has caused major inconvenience to residents and commuters. P2 Actor-producer John Abraham says his audience has kept him going, something that he respects & wants to repay. P4 » » » MAX 20°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.21 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.44 AM SUNDAY | 2 MARCH 2025 | AMRITSAR 29 nabbed, over 6-kg heroin, 1-kg opium seized in CASO PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 1 With the Punjab Government adamant on eradicating the scourge of drugs from the state within three months, the Punjab Police on Saturday carried out cordon and search operations (CASO) at hotspots in areas under the Amritsar city police commissionerate and the Amritsar rural police belt. The crackdown yielded good results and the police teams made huge recoveries of contraband during the operation. While the city police claimed to have arrested 9 persons, seized over 5 kg of heroin and 1 kg of opium in six separate cases, the Amritsar rural police confiscated 1.21 kg of heroin, 1 kg of ICE (Crystal methamphetamine), ~1.43 lakh of drug money and 600 sedative pills. The Rural police arrested 20 drug peddlers and registered 14 FIRs in this regard. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar supervised the CASO in Amritsar city. Around 800 cops led by senior police officials, including ADCPs, ACPs, SHOs and Cops during a search operation at a house in Amritsar on Saturday. SWAT teams conducted CASO in five subdivisions in three zones of the city. Among the localities where raids were conducted included Maqboolpura, Mohkampura, Gate Hakima, Fateh Singh Colonym Sultanwind village, Anngarh, Housing Board Colony at Ranjit Avenue, Faizpura, Navi Abadi, Mustafabad, Kapatgarh, Kale Ghanupur, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar flats, Guru Ki Wadali, Bharariwal, Gujjarpura and the bus stand, etc. The police teams checked vehicles and ascertained their ownerships and searched the houses of drug peddlers and history-sheeters who came out of jail on bail. Police officials interacted with respectable people of different areas and appealed to them to share information about black sheeps in their localities. Bhullar said people can share information about drug peddlers 24X7 at WhastApp number 77101-04818. ADGP MF Farooqui leads ops in rural areas Additional Director General of Police MF Farooqui supervised the search operations in the rural belt wherein over 500 cops were led by SSP (Amritsar rural) Maninder Singh, SPs Harinder Singh Gill and Jagdish Bishnoi and 8 DSPs searched 70 drug traffickers at various locations. Cordon and search operations were conducted at Sheikhpura Mohalla and Manjhpur village in Jandiala Guru, Mehlawala in Jhander, Meerakot Indra Colony at Kamboh, Mata Rani Mohalla in Baba Bakala, Naagkalan in Majitha and Chogwan in Lopoke. Speaking on the occasion, the ADGP said the Punjab Police have made a proper strategy to end the drug menace from Punjab. He said the government would not only work on smashing the supply lines but also diminish the demand by spreading awareness and getting the drug addicts detoxified, treated and rehabilitated. Meanwhile, Punjab Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said the Punjab Government was committed to getting the state rid of the drug menace by launching ‘war on drugs’. He warned the drug traffickers to leave the state or mend their ways by shunning drug peddling. Trans-border drug cartel busted, two nabbed with 4-kg heroin Tribune News Service Gurpreet Singh Panesar. Panesar is Dist Bar Assn president Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 1 Gurpreet Singh Panesar was elected the president of the executive body of the Amritsar Bar Association here on Friday. Besides, Rajdeep Singh Ghumman was elected as vice-president, Vicky Mehra secretary, Saurabh Sharma joint secretary and Rakesh Sharma as treasurer. Panesar said, “Our priority would be to ensure that all new entrants in the legal profession get office space. Besides, we would try to set up a building where chambers would be provided.” Amritsar, March 1 The city police have busted a trans-border drug trafficking module with the arrest of two drug peddlers and seizure of 4 kg of heroin, which was smuggled through Ferozepur border belt via a drone. The contraband was sent by Pakistanbased entities. The accused have been identified as Karanpal Singh (37) and Ranjit Singh (36), both hailing from border villages falling under the jurisdiction of Khemkaran in Tarn Taran, said Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. The Police Commissioner said during the intelligencebased operation, teams of CIA Staff-I and CIA staff-2 under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) Navjot Singh arrested the duo from Jhabal road area. During search, the police confiscated the con- Two suspects in custody of the Amritsar police on Saturday. signment of heroin from their possession. As per a preliminary probe, both the accused recently took to the crime and had no previous criminal record. They were in direct contact with a Pakistan-based smuggler. “The notorious Pakistanbased smuggler used the Ferozepur sector to transport the drug consignment using drones,” said Bhullar, adding that the drug consignment bore the stamps of Pakistan. The two persons after receiving consignments from across the border was further selling it to drug peddlers to supply narcotics across the state. He said further investigations are on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case. Besides, efforts were being made to determine the total quantity of drugs purchased and distributed by the duo, he added. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them at the continued on page 2 8.17-kg ganja seized Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 1 In a crackdown on drug smuggling, officials of the Customs Department at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport have nabbed a passenger carrying 8.17 kg of cannabis (ganja). The accused, identified as Mandeep Singh, had arrived from Malaysia on February 26. During an inspection of his luggage, the officials discovered 8.17 kg of an illegal substance, suspected to be ganja, concealed in his luggage. The accused has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and further investigations are underway to determine possible links to a drug smuggling network. In another incident, Customs Department officials seized 400 gm of gold from a passenger who had arrived from Singapore. The confiscated gold, in the form of chains and bangles, is estimated to be worth around ~35.60 lakh. The officials have heightened surveillance measures at the airport to prevent smuggling activities and ensure strict action against those involved in the illegal trade. Authorities reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining security and cracking down on unlawful activities at the international entry points. c m y b DC orders ‘girdawari’ to assess crop loss Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 1 The district administration has asked the Sub—Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) to visit fields to assess the loss of crop caused by heavy hailstorm in some areas of the district on Friday night. Farmers said over two hundred acres of wheat crop has been completely destroyed by hailstorm. The farmers stated that maximum damage was Agriculture Department officials assess damage caused to wheat crop at Bal Sachander village in Amritsar on Saturday. reported from villages near the airport road. They said apart from wheat crop, fodder for animals was destroyed. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the Agriculture Department has been asked to provide all required help to the affected farmers. She said all SDMs have been asked to constitute teams, including officials of the Revenue and Agriculture Departments, so that they can assess the loss continued on page 2