18042025-JTR-01.qxd 17-04-2025 22:39 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune CELEBRITY CHEF KUNAL KAPUR LAUNCHES HIS RESTAURANT GAURI KHAN’S RESTAURANT REFUTES ‘FAKE PANEER’ CHARGE ANURAG UPSET OVER CENSORSHIP ISSUES FACED BY PHULE Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur has launched his signature restaurant Pincode at a Tricity mall on Wednesday. P4 Gauri Khan’s upscale Mumbai restaurant Torii has addressed allegations of using adulterated paneer. P4 Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has expressed his frustration over the censorship issues faced by the biographical drama Phule.P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 39°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 19°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.58 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:54 AM FRIDAY | 18 APRIL 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF VILLAGER HELD FOR RAPE Phagwara: The police have arrested a villager and booked another one on the charge of raping a minor. The arrested accused has been identified as Bobbi Singh of Umrewal village and the booked accused Gurwindar Singh is a resident of Vehran village. The victim (17) complained to the police that the accused gave her lift on the promise to drop her to her village but took her to another village and locked her in a room where Bobbi raped her and second accused stood guard outside the room. Raids are being conducted to arrested the absconding accused. OC MAN ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Phagwara: The police have arrested a drug peddler and recovered 8 gm of heroin from his possession on Wednesday night.The accused was identified as Narinder Kumar, resident of village Atholi near Phagwara. Cops nabbed him at a check point. A case under NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. OC MAN HELD FOR SELLING LIQUOR Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a villager on the charge of brewing and selling illicit liquor. Investigating officer Balvir Chand said 240 kg of lahan was seized from the possession of the accused Pippal Singh, a resident of Ismailpur village. A case has been registered against the accused. OC 3 BOOKED FOR STEALING CASH Phagwara: The Lohian Khas police have booked three 'thieves' on charge of stealing cash and jewellery from a house. The accused have been identified as Surindar Singh of Kara Ram Singh village and his two accomplices. Tarsem Singh of Sabuwal village complained to the police that thieves barged into his house and stole Rs18,000, jewellery and other items. oc Key accused in Mahadev betting app scam in K’thalabail pleasince hearing jail came up for Feb Arrest came to light two weeks back when his Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 17 One of the key accused in the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev betting app scam, highlighted by the Mumbai police in November 2023 and subsequently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, had been quietly arrested by the Jalandhar police two months back. The arrest was not disclosed but came to light only after his bail application came up for hearing last week. A Bhopal native, Girish Talreja, was arrested by the police on February 15. His name was added in an already registered FIR pertaining to the recovery of poppy husk in November 2024 at Sadar Police Station here. He is currently on judicial remand in the Kapurthala jail. It had been just 12 days since Talreja had been released from Central Jail at Raipur on bail from the Supreme Court in the ED case when he was arrested again by the Jalandhar police. Talreja’s lawyer Mandeep Sachdev had pleaded in the Special Court of Dharminder Paul Singla last week during the hearing on his bail application, “No recovery of drugs had been made from him. He had been booked only on the basis of disclosure statement made by a co-accused”. The bail application, however, was rejected on the ground that the case involved the recovery of 15 quintals and 40 kg of poppy husk, which is a commercial quantity and there were allegations against him of being involved in hawala transactions through a Ludhianabased person. Dhanpreet Kaur, Commissioner of Police, Jalandhar, said, “The case was registered before I joined the post. I am sure the teams must have done all investigations by now. I need to get it checked”. The FIR has the names of ‘Bajwa-Pannun link’: BJP leader seeks probe Phagwara, April 17 Punjab BJP media panelist Parminder Mehta has urged the government to initiate a probe into the alleged links between Congress leader Partap Bajwa and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Mehta raised serious questions over Bajwa’s recent claim that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, which has now reportedly been corroborated by Pannun himself. Mehta suggested that Bajwa’s reluctance to reveal the source of his information could be due to the possibility that Pannun himself was the source. — OC Jalandhar. The ED continues to conduct more raids, follow the money trails and political links. The ED has already made 30 arrests in the case. Even yesterday, raids were conducted by the Central agency on the premises of those linked to the case at multiple locations, including Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chennai and Indore. Dr Daljit S Cheema, SAD leader, has already been claiming that in more serious cases of drugs haul, both state and central agencies should work in tandem and undertake joint investigation so that any chances of hanky panky are ruled out. Two employees of the Civil Hospital, Bholath, in VB custody. 2 hospital workers nabbed for fake dope test reports Our Correspondent GOC-in-C 2-day visit Couple dies in hit-&-run mishap to Vajra Corps ends Going to shrine on scooter, car Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 17 Lieut Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, General Office Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, concluded his two-day visit to Vajra Corps on Thursday. The visit was aimed at assessing the formation’s operational preparedness and administrative efficiency. During the visit, Lieut Gen Ajay Chandpuria, General Officer Commanding, Vajra Corps, briefed the Army Commander on the prevailing security environment and a host of forward-looking initiatives undertaken to enhance synergy among all stakeholders. He also outlined key efforts to strengthen border infrastructure and highlighted the corps’ growing role in nation-building. The Army Commander reviewed the progress of various ongoing projects and engaged in discussions on the roadmap for future development. To mark the occasion, he dedicated several newly completed habitat and welfare facilities for troops and their families. driver flees Our Correspondent PHAGWARA, APRIL 17 In a tragic incident early Thursday morning, a couple lost their lives in a hit-andrun accident while going on a motorcycle to pay obeisance at the Baba Murad Shah shrine in Nakodar. The victims, identified as Sunil Gupta and his wife Raveena Gupta, were struck by a speeding car near village Lambra on the NakodarJalandhar road in the wee Sunil Gupta, Raveena Gupta hours today. According to witnesses, the couple was dragged for a distance after the impact, causing critical injuries. Raveena died on the spot due to severe head injury, while Sunil succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Family members said the couple had celebrated their daughter’s birthday just the night before. They were on their way to offer prayers for the well-being and prosperity of their family. A relative of the deceased, Sonu, has called for a thorough investigation and urged the authorities to review the CCTV footages to identify the driver responsible. “They have two children who now have no one to care for them,” he said, appealing for justice and support. The Lambra police have launched an investigation and are working to trace the vehicle. No arrests had been made at the time of reporting. PHAGWARA, APRIL 17 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has uncovered a scam at the Civil Hospital, Bholath, in Kapurthala district, where employees were taking bribes to issue false negative dope test reports. Acting on a complaint filed on the Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line, the VB arrested two accused – Manpreet Singh, alias Sonu, a ward attendant, and Bholu, alias Ismail, a contractual computer operator, for accepting Rs 10,000. The role of Dr Mohitpal, posted in the hospital, and a contractual laboratory technician Maan Singh is under scanner. Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said investigation had revealed that the accused had demanded and accepted Rs 10,000 from the complainant to issue him a negative dope test report. The further probe indicated that the accused were routinely accepting bribes to manipulate dope test results, which were then used for arms licence applications or during renewals. The complainant provided evidence of the bribe demand and both positive and falsified negative reports. He further added that in this regard, a case has been registered under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 61(2) of the BNS at the VB police station, Jalandhar range. The VB range, Jalandhar, is also examining the involvement of other staff members and the full extent of this scam to expose the corrupt practices in this regard, he said. Police engage public in anti-drug drive MURDER ACCUSED PO ARRESTED Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in a murder case, who had been absconding for the last two years. The accused has been identified as Gurdeep Singh, alias Deepa, a resident of Kandola Khurd village. The accused and his accomplices had murdered Chamkaur Lal of Palsa village in February 2023. oc Guravtar Singh of Bilga, Daler Singh and Desh Raj, both from Mehatpur town of Jalandhar. The name of Parkash Patel, working for a Gujarat-based courier company in Ludhiana, on whose statement Talreja got arrested, had been added later in the FIR. Meanwhile, there are suspects from Punjab - Amit Sharma, Hemant Sood, Rajiv Bhatia, Chander Aggarwal and Dinesh Khanwat - whose names have been allegedly linked to the Mahadev app betting scam. The ED had in October last conducted a raid at the residence of Chander Aggarwal at Guru Teg Bahadir Nagar in Due to high-velocity winds, a boundary wall of Shri Guru Ravidas Arts and Crafts College collapsed near Domoria Pull in Jalandhar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH High-velocity winds disrupt electricity supply in city Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 17 High velocity winds disrupted power supply for a few hours in several areas last night. Senior officials at the PSPCL said transformers and electricity poles were reportedly damaged in some areas. They said the PSPCL staff were actively working to ascertain the damage that had been done due to the winds. “We don’t have any data recovery right now, everything will be clear after sometime,” he said. While in some areas, the power went off for a few hours, in other areas the electricity was not there in the morning as well. Reports of a wall getting collapsed due to high winds also came to the fore in Jalandhar. However, not much affect was reported on the crops. The harvesting of wheat has started. Farmers said if velocity winds were accompanied with rain or hailstorm, then it would have created problem. Meanwhile, Punjab Horticulture and Defence Welfare Minister Mohinder Bhagat, along with Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal, inaugurated the wheat procurement season at the New Grain Market in Jalandhar on Thursday with the arrival of the first heap of wheat. The duo also convened a meeting of officials from procurement agencies, directing them to ensure seamless operations, timely lifting of produce and prompt payments to farmers. The minister and DC stated that the district is expected to receive around 5.25 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat this season across 79 procurement centres. To date, more than 2,101 MTs have already been procured, with 100 per cent of payments cleared for the purchased crop, an achievement that underscores the administration’s commitment to farmer welfare. Accompanied by Market Committee Chairman Gurpal Singh and District Mandi Officer Arvinder Singh, the minister reiterated the government’s resolve to conduct farmer-friendly procurement operations. In anticipation of a bumper harvest, over 29 temporary mandi yards have been arranged to accommodate the expected influx. c m y b Jalandhar, April 17 A special meeting, under the ‘Sampark’, aimed at making Jalandhar a drug-free city, was held today at Victoria Garden. The event was led by the ADGP Technical Ser, vices, the CP Jalandhar, the DC, the Joint CP Jalandhar along with other senior police officers. It saw the active participation of over 200 persons, along with various associations and organisations. During the interaction session, various activities such as plays, one-on-one discussions and awareness campaigns were organised to educate the public about drug abuse and its far-reaching consequences. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage in direct conversations with senior officers. ADGP Technical Services, , Ram Singh, said the police are working relentlessly to curb both the supply and demand of narcotics. He further said the Sampark meeting would serve as an impetus in transforming Jalandhar into a completely drug-free city, stressing that such a grave challenge can only be overcome through collective efforts. CP Dhanpreet Kaur also made an appeal to the masses to join the war and report any drug-related activities on Anti-Drug Helpline at 9779100200. She reiterated that the core objective of this event was to protect the young blood from falling into the deep pit of addiction. TNS Youth Congress leaders, led by its state president Mohit Mohindra, hold a dharna outside the ED office over chargesheet filed against the Gandhis, in Jalandhar.TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH YC workers gherao ED office over chargesheet to Gandhis Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 17 Hundreds of volunteers of the Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) led by state president Mohit Mohindra on Thursday sat on a dharna in front of the office of the Enforcement Directorate to register their protest against ‘political vendetta’ unleashed by the Modi government against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Youth Congress workers raised slogans against PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah blaming them for conspiracy against Congress leaders to defame them. They expressed solidarity with the Gandhis. Mohindra, while addressing the party workers, said Rahul Gandhi had become the voice of the nation as he is strongly opposing the antipeople policies of the BJPled NDA government. Gandhi has been exposing the scams of the BJP government and collusion of BJP leaders with the economic offenders. He added that the BJP was misusing the ED against Opposition leaders to silence their voice. BJP is rattled with the rising popularity of Rahul Gandhi, added Lakhvir Singh Garry Kotli, Jalandhar Youth President, and Honey Joshi. Mohindra said Modi and Amit Shah were running the country like dictators. He said the BJP action against Rahul Gandhi was a challenge to 150 crore people of country. He said the BJP would not be able to scare the Congress by misusing the ED. He said Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of Opposition and represented the voice of the country. He said Rahul Gandhi had given the slogan ‘Daro Mat’ (don’t be scared) and the Punjab Youth Congress would stand by its leader like a rock. “We will fight on the forefront to defeat the nefarious designs of the BJP”, he stated.