02042025-ATR-01.qxd 4/1/2025 11:34 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 30°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 12°C SALE OF LOW-POTENCY PREGABALIN GOES UNABATED SATIRICAL JIBE AT THE MAHARASHTRA GOVT AGAIN HOW YOU CAN UP YOUR FASHION GAME THIS SEASON Despite ban on the sale of pregabalin beyond 75 mg in the state, addicts continue to use it to get a high. P3 Kamra posts a step-by-step guide on 'How to Kill An Artiste Democratically' amid the ongoing controversy. P4 Powder pinks, sunny yellows, striped pants and chunky accessories are all set to rule the roost this season. P4 » » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.39 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6.08 AM WEDNESDAY | 2 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR Drug smuggler nabbed with 100-gm heroin Police bust gang for trying to honey-trap affluent, extort money Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, April 1 The Khemkaran police, led by SHO (Station House Officer) SubInspector Gurinder Singh, have arrested a member of a gang of drug smugglers with 100 grams of heroin and illegal weapons. The police stated here on Tuesday that the arrested person has been identified as Lovepreet Singh, Lov of Kals village, with 100 gm of heroin, a Glock and ~78,850 as drug money. The Station House Officer (SHO) said the other members of the gang have been named as Akashdeep Singh, Jatinder Singh, Gurminder Singh, Sajan, Harveer Singh Veeru and Daler Singh. The accused, Daler Singh, is locked in jail and was running a trade of drugs from behind bars. The other gang members have been booked under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Arms Act. Amritsar, April 1 The city police have busted an organised gang involved in blackmailing wealthy individuals by establishing contact through women, recording false accusations of sexual harassment and using media exposure threats to extort large sums of money. Police have arrested Varun Kapoor, a resident of Diamond Woollen Mill Street, Chheharta, Amritsar, on March 30 and Anil Singh alias Amarinder Singh, a resident of Street No. 6-A, Jujhar Singh Avenue, Ajnala Road, Amritsar, on March 31. Inspector Harpakash Singh, SHO of Maqboolpura police station, along with his team, successfully traced and arrested the accused. A case was registered based on a complaint from Jujhar Singh, a resident of Amritsar. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Harpal Singh said, “During the investigation, it was revealed that Varun Kapoor Police demolish notorious drug trafficker’s house A suspect in the custody of the police in Amritsar on Tuesday. and Anil Singh alias Amarinder Singh, along with four women, namely, Pooja, Kuldeep Kaur, Kulwinder Kaur and Monica, had formed a gang specialising in blackmail. The gang obtained mobile numbers of affluent individuals and had the women establish communication with them. After building a relationship, the women met these individuals while covering their faces, and the gang members secretly recorded videos, falsely accusing them of sexual harassment and assault. Subsequently, the gang contacted these individuals, threatening to release the videos to the media, thereby tarnishing their reputation and future. Under fear, the victims were forced to pay large sums of money to avoid public disgrace. The masterminds, Varun Kapoor and Anil Singh, have been arrested, while a search operation is underway to locate the four women involved in crime.” A case has been registered under sections 308(2), 62, 351(2)(3), 61(2) and 111 of the BNS at Maqboolpura police station in Amritsar. Amritsar, April 1 In a crackdown on drug traffickers, the district administration carried out an operation in Makboolpura area and demolished an illegal construction erected by notorious drug trafficker Gurmeet Singh here on Tuesday. The accused has three cases registered against him under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act at different police stations. Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said Gurmeet Singh had been actively involved in drug trafficking and had multiple cases registered against him. He said under the ‘War Against Drugs’ drive launched by the Punjab Government, a three-pronged approach focusing on prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation is being implemented. The authorities concerned are identifying ‘hot spot’ areas for drug activities and taking stringent PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Workers of the MC demolish the house of the drug peddler in Maqboolpura area in Amritsar on Tuesday. action against traffickers. Besides, special emphasis is being placed on raising awareness about the harmful effects of drugs and providing skillbased training to the rehabilitated youth to enable selfemployment opportunities. The Commissioner of Police revealed that during the months of March alone, the district police registered 125 FIRs under the NDPS Act, arresting 237 drug smugglers and peddlers. The police also seized 36.36 kg of heroin, 2.179 kg of opium, ~10.50 lakh in drug money, and 18 vehicles, including five four-wheelers and 13 two-wheelers. Appealing to the public, the Police Commissioner urged cit- izens to support the fight against drugs by reporting traffickers. He said informants’ identities would be kept confidential and strict action would be taken against those involved in drug-related crimes. On the occasion, DCP (Law and Order) Vijay Alam Singh and SP Harpal Singh were also present. Cong protests against forces threatening peace in state MC borewells develop snags ahead Tribune Reporters Amritsar, April 1 Members of the District Congress Committee (Rural), led by former Ajnala constituency MLA Harpratap Ajnala, staged a demonstration against communal forces threatening peace in the state here on Tuesday. They slammed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for airing disrespectful words against Rahul Gandhi and vandalisation of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s statue, spoke against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and proscribed pro-Khalistan party head Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. Before the members of the DCC (Rural) staged a demonstration at its rural office here on Tuesday, Ajnala demanded strict action against those who are inimical to communal harmony and co-existence and issuing statements to incite unrest among communities. Members of the DCC gathered to show their resentment against Chief Minister Bhgawant Singh Mann and the attempt to vandalise the Harprtap Singh Ajanala (centre), president of the District Congress Committee (Rural), and other party workers during a protest in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR statue of the architect of the Constitution, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, in Jalandhar. Earlier, a similar incident of vandalism had occurred in January. Ajnala said on the directions of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, they held the protest to express displeasure against the unsavoury developments. He alleged that those sitting in safe locations overseas were trying to de-stabilise the state. The derogatory comments made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann against Congress party’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday did not befit a head of a state, observed Congress in- charge of Majitha constituency and senior leader Bhagwant Pal Singh Sachar. Tarn Taran: Workers of the Congress party expressed their great resentment against using allegedly derogatory remarks by Bhagwant Singh Mann , chief minister , Punjab against Rahul Gandhi party leader and the LoP in the Lok Sabha. The party workers organized a protest march in the town , burn effigy of Chief Minister and also presented a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Rahul on Tuesday. Former MLA Harmidner Singh Gill, District President while addressing party workers in the rally organized at the local Congress Bhawan said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has no right to use low level remarks against the personality of such with personality of clean image. Gill said that before leveling such low level remarks Bhagwant Mann should clarify regarding the allegation leveled against his personal life by certain quarters. Gill said that Chief Bhagwant Mann has lost control over the administration and for this killing, looting ,extortion incidents like incidents have made the normal of the people a miserable. He also condemned the StateGovernment against committing brutality on the agitating farmers at Shambhu-Khnauri birders. of summer, disrupt water supply Amritsar, April 1 Though the summer season is yet to start, the borewell motors of the Municipal Corporation which supply potable water, are frequently breaking down. Residents of Veer Enclave on bypass road have been deprived of potable water for the past week. The operation and maintenance wing of the MC has hired contractors to repair the borewell motors in the city. However, residents alleged that it takes private contractors three to four days just to diagnose the fault, followed by nearly a week to repair and reinstall the motor. Residents who rely on the MC’s water supply are the worst affected. Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Veer Enclave, said, “The MC has only one borewell in the locality. In case of any technical fault, the residents don’t get water. There should be an additional tubewell as an alternative. The complaint redress system is very poor. If you Workers of a contractor take the motor out from a borewell at Veer Enclave in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR approach the MLA or councillor, they register the complaint, otherwise the MC staff ignore the issue. The MC forces residents to install private borewells in their homes as an alternative.” Residents who paid all charges in private colonies faced severe inconvenience when the coloniser handed over the colonies to the MC. “The MC does not show concern for basic amenities. There should be an alternative arrangement in the locality,” said Harkrishan Singh, another resident. — TNS BSF, Punjab Police Ram Tirath Road area residents hold Batala shooter Goraya does city proud seize 492-gm heroin protest, demand closure of liquor vend The contraband in custody of BSF troops and the police in Amritsar. Amritsar, April 1 BSF troops in collaboration with Punjab Police carried out an extensive search operation in a suspected area and seized heroin. The search culminated at about 8.30 am leading to the recovery of one packet of suspected heroin (gross weight 492 grams) along with some medicines wrapped in transparent tape with three illumination strips and a steel ring attached to the packet. This recovery took place near a cattle shed adjacent to Dhariwal village. The successful operation was the result of reliable information and well-coordinated follow-up actions by the BSF and Punjab Police, which thwarted yet another attempt of the narco-syndicate to smuggle drugs in Punjab. — TNS Amritsar, April 1 Residents of Gali number two of Ram Tirath Road staged a protest in front of a liquor vend opened over a year ago outside their street here on Tuesday. They were led by Dimple Arora, who unsuccessfully contested the MC election from Ward No.65. They managed to close the liquor vend. The protest, which began about 9.30 am, continued till 12 pm when the SHO of the Cantonment police station intervened. Arora said they had taken up the matter with the Excise Department and the owner of the vend several times. Despite their commitments to close the vend, they did not ful- PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service People stage a dharna outside a liquor vend on Ram Tirath Road near Gawal Mandi in Amritsar on Tuesday. fil their commitment to close it from a residential area, forcing them to hold the protest. He said now the proprietor c m y b of the vend has given in writing to the police that he would wind up the shop in the next two days. Rajiv Pal, a resident of the area, said the vend was attracting unscrupulous elements to their area. Batala, April 1 Batala shooter Kanwar Himmat Singh Goraya did the city proud by bagging a bronze medal in the big bore 300m open shooting championship held at Mhow last week. The event was organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) at the Infantry school, Mhow in collaboration with the Army Marksmanship Unit. Goraya is seen as an upcoming shooter of the region. He had won a bronze medal in the Indian open shooting championship held last year in Bhopal. He had also performed well in the Gurdaspur district level competition where he bagged three gold and two silver medals. Kanwar Himmat is a law student at the GNDU, Amritsar. He is the son of Kanwar Himmat Singh Goraya. national awardee Harmanjit Singh Goraya. “Dream as big as you can dream and nothing is impossible. My ultimate aim is to represent the country in international meets. Credit goes to my coaches and parents who have always encouraged me,” said Kanwar Himmat. — TNS