26042025-ATR-01.qxd 4/25/2025 11:16 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR POPE AT ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL SINGER ARIJIT ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF HIS CONCERT SELENA GOMEZ OPENS UP ON HER MENTAL HEALTH JOURNEY Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias led a short memorial service for Pope Francis at St Mary's Cathedral in Jalandhar Cantt.P2 Arijit Singh announced cancellation of his Chennai concert as a mark of respect for Pahalgam terrorist attack victims. P4 Actress and singer Selena Gomez opened up about her mental health journey and said she must advocate for the same. P4 » » » MAX 39°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 18°C SUNSET SATURDAY 7.07 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:48 AM SATURDAY | 26 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR DIG, SSP (Rural)meet students from Kashmir, assure all help Drug peddler’s house razed in Mustafabad Special DGP Shashi Prabha Dwivedi supervises search ops in 3 zones Apprise them about measures taken for their safety Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 25 Days after the horrifying terrorist attack on tourists and civilians in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir that left 27 tourists dead and several other injured, Satinder Singh, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Border Range, and Maninder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural), today met students from Kashmir at Global Group of Institutes (GGI) here and assured them about their safety and security. Kashmiri students from different educational institutes had arrived at the GGI today. The senior police personnel shared their personal contact numbers apart from helpline numbers with students for use in case of any emergency. “It was more of a confidence building exercise,” said DIG Satinder Singh, while adding that all gazetted officers and Station House Officers were also directed to visit educational institutes in their jurisdiction where Kashmiri students were studying. He said adequate measures had been taken to ensure safety and security of students belonging to the Valley. Though no untoward incident had been reported, students also said that they were not feeling threatened, while adding that they were safe and secure. SSP Maninder Singh said the police had already held meeting with managements of various educational institutes in their area. He said patrolling parties were also stationed near institutes which could reach the spot in case of any emergency. “We have shared our contact numbers and issued helpline numbers so that students can approach us in case of any emergency or untoward incident,” he said. A Municipal Corporation employee demolishes drug peddler’s house with a JCB machine; and (right) Special DGP Shashi Prabha Dwivedi along with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar during a surprise search operation in Amritsar on Friday. Tribune News Service Feeling ‘safe for now’: Students Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 25 In the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack, Kashmiri students are facing the heat again, in different parts of the country. With reports coming from several parts of the country on incidents of violence and threat to Kashmiri students, the ones living in holy city say that they are “safe for now”. With potential threat or backlash against Kashmiri students, the city police and DIG border range reached out to those pupils studying at Global Group of Institutes, listened to their concerns and assured their safety. There are 150 students from Kashmir pursuing various undergraduate courses in pharmacy, engineering and IT at the institute. “The DIG Border Range and SSP (Rural) along with their team interacted with us and assured that our safety will be their top priority. For now, we feel safe as there is no such threat to us here,” shared a student from Sopore, who along with others is a hosteller at the Global Group of Institutes. Among them, 50 students are female, who have been receiving calls Protest against woman drug peddler Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 25 Residents of Wadala Bhoma village in Majitha are up in arms against a local woman allegedly involved in drug peddling. They alleged that inaction by the police and the district administration forced them to take the path of agitation. Malkeet Singh, a village resident, said not only the youth from the village, but from adjoining areas too came to their village for procuring drugs from the alleged woman trafficker. He said repeated warnings to the accused had failed to yield any result, while they had also informed the police authorities about woman’s activities, but no action was taken against her. Residents alleged that the woman asked them to give Rs 50,000 per month for stopping her illegal trade. Perturbed over this, villagers blocked the Sri Kartarpur Corridor road via Majitha to lodge their protest. DSP Amolak Singh reached the spot and assured protesters of stringent action against woman. Following his assurance, villagers lifted their dharna. ❝The DIG Border Range and SSP (Rural) along with their team interacted with us and assured that our safety will be their top priority. For now, we feel safe as there is no such threat to us here. ❞ A student from Sopore from their families back home, with concerns about their safety. “The families back in Kashmir are a bit in panic, to be honest. But we have told them that we are safe here and do not feel that there is any need for our urgent return. Our exams are beginning next week and we want to focus on studies and not anything else right now,” shared a female student of pharmacy at the institute. Global Group of Institutes meanwhile has hiked the campus security and asked faculty to be careful of any untoward incident. “The security at hostels and other campus areas has been tightened. Students have been asked to contact faculty or management in case of need. Our campus is safe and we take responsibility of our stu- dents seriously,” said Dr Manbir Kaur, faculty member of the institute. Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh are a preferred destinations to pursue higher education for students from the troubled UT because these cities are considered safe. The Jammu and Kashmir Government has also established multiple helpline numbers for Kashmiri students studying across the country in view of potential threat to them following the horrendous attack on tourists in Pahalgam. Emergency assistance is also being provided, with safe houses and shelter homes for those facing eviction by their landlords or those who wish to return to their homes. Guru Nanak Dev University Vice Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh said, “Instructions have been issued to all hostel wardens to keep a strict watch on the situation. All university officials have been asked to take special care of students from Kashmir and report immediately, if any untoward situation is witnessed. We have a good number of students from Kashmir. We will ensure their safety.” Hotels, spa centres, restaurants raided Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 25 With the security forces on high alert following the ghastly terrorist attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, the police commissionerate today carried out surprise checking at spa centres, hookah bars and saloons, besides hotels across all three zones of the city. During the campaign, the police raided 24 spa centres, 12 hookah bars and 52 saloons. The raiding teams were led by senior officials of the rank of Assistant Commissioners of Police. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said during checking, two hookah bars were found operating without any valid licence. Separate FIRs were registered at the Civil Lines and Ranjit Avenue police stations under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act against hookah bar operators identified as Ravi Chaurasia, Shubham Mahajan and Neeraj Sahota in this connection. The police also confiscated two hookahs and more than 80 hookah flavours, he said. Officials said the Ranjit Avenue police got tip-off that Neeraj Sahota, manager of Blind Tiger restaurant, was serving hookahs illegally after which a raid was conducted and two hookahs and flavours were seized from the eatery. Ravi Chaurasia and Shubham Mahajan used to sell hookah flavours in the Railway station area, they said. During raids, the police checked records of hotels. The police asked staff of hotels to maintain proper record of visitors and inform the authorities concerned about suspicious elements staying on their hotel premises. Bhullar said the police had also launched a special campaign against flesh trade racket operating under the garb of spa centres. Amritsar, April 25 Continuing with demolition of houses of drug peddlers, the Amritsar city police commissionerate today demolished the home belonging to a drug trafficker identified as Sonu Singh, alias Mota, in Mustafabad area of Indira Colony here today. According to the police, Sonu Mota and his mother Joginder Kaur had four and two FIRs registered against them, respectively, Two nabbed with heroin, weapons Amritsar, April 25 The Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested two drug peddlers in separate incidents and recovered 1.335kg of heroin along with two pistols and a car from their possession here on Friday. Acting on a tip-off about Pardeep Singh of Kiampura village having links with Pakistan-based smugglers and retrieval a consignment of drugs by him, the CIA staff arrested him from the Ram Tirath Road area. The police seized 1.335kg of heroin and a car from his possession. In the second incident, the Lopoke police arrested Sukhchain Singh, alias Chanan, of Bachiwind village, after recovering a 9mm Glock pistol, a .30 bore pistol and magazines from him. — TNS Heroin recovered from border village Tarn Taran, April 25 A joint team of the police and the BSF recovered a packet of heroin from fields belonging to a farmer identified as Baldev Singh of Van Tara Singh village on Thursday. Khalra SHO Sub-Inspector said here today that the police and the BSF in a joint search operation, recovered a 550 grams packet which contained 492 grams of heroin. He said the remaining 58 grams drug was in the packing material. The SHO said the packet came from the Pakistan side through drone. A case was registered in this connection. In another incident, the city police during raid at a bar on the Chabal road seized six hookahs on Thursday. The outlet had no licence to run hookah bar. The police said Gurbhej Singh was arrested from the bar, while his accomplice Balkar Singh managed to escape from the spot. The police registered a case against the two accused in this connection. — OC c m y b under the NDPS Act. Police Commissioner (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) had sought security for its staff for the demolition of the drug peddlers’ house due to various violation of the building bylaws. He said Sonu Mota and his mother were involved in drug peddling for a quite some time. His father was also in jail on similar charges. The CP said whoever was involved in drug trafficking would be dealt with an iron hand. Meanwhile, Special Director General of Police (DGP) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi today reviewed surprise search operations conducted by the police commissionerate in three zones of the city. The Police Commissioner and other senior officials also accompanied her during the search operations. The DGP interacted with residents to take their feedback on the current campaign against drugs launched by the Punjab Police. Speaking on the occasion, she said the police were taking strict action against those involved in illegal drug trade. Apart from taking enforcement measures, awareness campaigns were also being held at public places, schools, colleges and other educational institutions to apprise people about the harmful effects and consequences of drug abuse, she said. “Efforts are also being made to rehabilitate drug addicts by encouraging them to seek help and facilitating their admission to de-addiction centres,” she said. Bhullar said the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign was launched in the state by the Punjab Government on March 1 during which the city police registered 221 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 471 drug smugglers. The police seized 43.695 kg of heroin, 2.2kg of opium, over 6,000 intoxicating tablets, 13 kg of poppy husk, Rs 59.32 lakh of drug money and 27 two-wheelers and four-wheelers during the drive, he said. The police also arrested 41 proclaimed offenders, he said.