27052025-JTR-01.qxd 5/26/2025 11:11 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune 'E-LEARNING A TURNING POINT IN DEMOCRATISING EDUCATION' POLL DUTIES TO BLAME FOR DIST'S ACADEMIC DECLINE AYUSHMANN GEARS UP FOR FIRST BIG DIWALI RELEASE Dr RS Deol discusses how SWAYAM is bridging the gap between education and industry skills. P3 Once among the top districts, Jalandhar has now slipped from 8th rank in 2023 to 17th place in 2025. P3 Ayushmann is thrilled to have his first Diwali film as it marks a milestone moment in his glittering career. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.24 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:25 AM TUESDAY | 27 MAY 2025| JALANDHAR INBRIEF FIVE ‘DRUG PEDDLERS’ HELD Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested two 'drug peddlers' on the charge of selling heroin. As much as 35 gram of heroin was recovered from the possession of the accused Jatindar and Paramjit Singh, both residents of Shampur village under Bilga police station. A case under Sections 21-B/61/85 of the NDPS Act had been registered against the accused. The police arrested woman Balwindar Kaur of Bute Dian Chhana village with 8.60 gram of heroin and 40 intoxicating tablets. The police also arrested drug peddlers Jaspreet and Ravi Pal of Sahrihn village with 2.39 heroin and 40 intoxicating tablets. The Nurmahal police arrested Lovpreet Lal of Kot Badal Khan village, Lovpreet of Fatehpur village and Amrit of Kot Badal Khan village with 151 intoxicating tablets. OC 3 ARRESTED FOR FLOUR THEFT Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested three persons for stealing wheat bags. The accused has been identified as Jaswindar Singh of Burrewal village, Balwindar Singh of Chak Hathianna village and Gurcharan Singh of Patokhurd village. Manjit Singh of Burrewal village complained to the police that the accused barged into his flour mill and stole two bags of wheat on May 24. A case has been registered against the accused. The police also arrested a migrant Arjun Parsad of UP and presently living in Ludhiana for stealing cash from a house. OC Arora’s inner circle on the radar, aide Madaan flees MLA probe widens, VB raids MC branches in Jalandhar Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 26 Four days since the arrest of Jalandhar Central AAP MLA Raman Arora, Vigilance Bureau teams in Jalandhar have expanded their ambit from building branch of the Municipal Corporation to other branches of the civic body. The VB teams from Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali have started verification of files of the B&R and O&M branches of the Municipal Corporation too and have started zeroing in on the works that had been allotted to Arora’s favourite contractor. The list of all works allotted to this contractor in the Jalandhar Central Assembly segment has been prepared and their details are being assessed from the files. The initial inquiry had focused only on fake notices that Arora had got prepared through Vashisht to be served to those violating building bylaws and thus extorting money from them in lieu withdrawal of cases. The 80 fake notices that the VB had recovered did not bear any dispatch numbers in the MC register. The VB officials have also sought the files from the building branch related to the properties which were reportedly purchased by Arora’s close rel- A Vigilance team along with MLA Raman Arora raids the house of MLA Raman Arora’s relative Raju Madaan in Jalandhar on Monday. atives. Two of these properties, the record of which the VB has taken, include one along market on Nakodar Road and another in Vijay Nagar. MC officials said amid all such searches and presence of VB officials, the atmosphere in the MC office had become extremely tense making it difficult for them to work. Senior officials of the arrested ATP Sukhdev Vashisht too are reportedly on the radar as the teams suspect that malafide practices on such a large scale could not be possible without things being in their knowledge. The VB teams are also ‘DRUG ADDICT’ ARRESTED Phagwara: The Bilga police have arrested a drug addict on the charge of consuming heroin. The accused has been identified as Inderjit Singh, a resident of Poadharra village. A lighter, a silver paper and a plastic pipe used for consuming contraband were recovered from his possession. A case under Sections 27/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. OC Man held with revolver in Kapurthala PHAGWARA, May 26 The CIA wing of Kapurthala Police has arrested a man allegedly involved in illegal arms trafficking. The accused has been identified as Pawan Kumar, alias Babbu, of Akalpur Malsian in the district. According to CIA in-charge Jarnail Singh, the arrest was made near the government school in Talwandi Mahima village, where a police team led by ASI Gurdev Singh was conducting patrol duty. Acting on a tip-off, the police were informed that Kumar was on his way from the Kala Sanghian side, looking for a buyer to sell an illegal revolver. In a swift operation, the police arrested the suspect on Kala Sanghian Road. On searching him, officers recovered a country-made .32 bore revolver and two cartridges. A case has been registered against the accused at Sadar Police Station under the Arms Act. The authorities are interrogating him to trace the source of the weapon and to uncover the broader network involved in the illegal arms trade. — OC reportedly working in sync with the officials of the tehsil complex. Records of details of properties purchased by Arora and his family members in the past three years are being sought for further expanding the probe into the network run by him. The role of Arora, councillors and his henchmen in the sale of government properties like the one of irrigation department in Lajpat Nagar and shamlat land and cremation ground in Dhilwan and around is also set to be probed. Arora’s relatives, including Raju Madaan, father-in-law of his daughter, is learnt to be on the run. The VB teams had taken Arora to Madaan’s place for search this afternoon. Madaan, who worked very closely with Arora in his political innings, is learnt to be absconding since Friday after locking his house. Arora had even openly supported the candidature of Madaan in the MC elections held in December but the party had other plans. Amid tightening of noose around Arora, there are reports that another prominent AAP leader from Jalandhar could come on the VB radar as similar complaints are being lodged against him too. Man arrested for brandishing weapons on FB Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 26 The Shahkot police arrested a man flaunting weapons illegally on the social media. The man running a Facebook page “Kakra Vale Ghabroo” has photos on social media apps with two guns in both hands. The police said his actions violated the ban by the government on brandishing weapons in a public place. DSP Onkar Singh Brar shared ASI Harvinder Singh, along with members of a police party, was present at a T-point at Lohian when they received information that a photograph had gone viral on social media in which a man was illegally brandishing weapons. In view of the ban in place by the government on brandishing weapons in a public place, the DSP said the man’s actions comprised a violation of the government orders. Upon investigation, the man was identified as Jagtar Singh, alias Kali, resident of village Kakar Kalan in Lohian, Jalandhar. A case was registered against the accused under Section 223 of the BNS and Sections 25, 27 54 and 59 of the Arms Act after which Jagtar Singh was arrested. The police said various cases have also been registered against the accused. The DSP said the accused had been flaunting weapons illegally on social media to attain fame. He said several photographs and videos of the accused with arms on social media sites had also gone viral. The police said the probe was on to ascertain on whose name the weapons brandished by Jagtar are registered and where were these videos and photos shot. The police said the detailed questioning is being undertaken and the accused will also be presented in a court. Previous cases against Jagtar were registered at Lohian and Shahkot date back to 2021 and 2024. The accused formerly faces cases for charges, including assault, criminal intimidation, rioting, obstructing public servants in conduct of duty, voluntarily causing hurt, etc. Nakodar clerk booked for embezzlement PHAGWARA,MAY 26 The Nakodar police have booked a Nagar Council (NC ) clerk on the charge of embezzlementy. Nakodar DSP Sukhpal Singh, who is investigating the case, said the accused has been identified as Navi Nahar, a clerk posted in the Nakodar Nagar office. NC Executive Officer (EO) Randhir Singh complained to the SSP Jalandhar (rural), , that the accused misappropriated funds of Rs 13.55 lakh from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban and Swachh Bharat Mission by transferring amounts to seven non-beneficiaries. The EO said the accused was managing government grants to beneficiaries through the PFMS portal since December 2021, when he started embezzling grants. The local body had initiated action against the erring clerk after which he deposited the embezzled amounts in the account of the Municipal Council, Nakodar, and was suspended. The EO said in his complaint to the police that criminal action should be taken against the accused. The SSP sought the opinion of the district attorney, who recommended an FIR against the accused and SSP ordered Nakodar city police to register a case. A case under Sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of the IPC and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 has been registered against the accused. — OC Hayer Punjab B’minton 8 arrested with Association president drugs in Phillaur Ritin Khanna becomes secy Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Residents of Khurla Kingra stage a protest against the shortage of water supply in Jalandhar on Monday. Residents protest erratic water supply Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 26 For the past few days, residents of various areas have been complaining of erratic water supply. Last week, it were the residents of Bhargo Camp and today, women from Khurla Kingra gathered and protested against the corporation, alleging that they were not getting water for the last few days. A woman, talking to mediapersons, said they will not stop protesting unless they start getting water. “We have been approaching the authorities, but to no avail. Even if we have to hold a hunger strike, we will do that but we won’t sit back and waiting for the water to come. Can’t they give us basic amenities? Is it too much to ask for?,” she said. The protesters blocked the road and didn’t allow commuters to pass. This also enraged the commuters who claimed that they were being harassed by the protesters. Recently, residents of the Bhargo Camp area had also protested by showing empty buckets and said there was erratic water supply which was causing various problems. Jalandhar, May 26 Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer has become the president of the Punjab Badminton Association. He was elected to the association’s executive meeting held in Jalandhar on Sunday. Hayer is also the former Sports Minister and a good badminton and cricket player. Ritin Khanna became the secretary, Lalit Gupta, Sandeep Rinwa, Vinay Vohra, Kavi Raj Dogra, Vinod Vatrana and Rohit Jain the vice-presidents, Anupam Kumaria, treasurer, Chittaranjan Bansal and Jatinder Sandhu, secretaries, Jaswant Dhillon, Shamsher Dhillon and Punjab Masih joint secretaries. Meet Hayer said he will fulfil this responsibility by taking everyone along. He said efforts will be made to spread the game of badminton in the state and take the players to AAP MP Meet Hayer, who was elected as president of the Punjab Badminton Association, with honorary secretary Ritin Khanna. the international level. Efforts will be made to provide badminton courts in every corner of the state. In today’s meeting, the newly elected secretary Ritin Khanna, releasing the calendar for 2025-26, emphasised on increasing the ranking competition and talked about providing free food and cash prizes for the players during the tournament. During the meeting, a two-minute silence was also observed in memory of the departed badminton coach Harjinder Singh. In the election of the Punjab Badminton Association, Parminder Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Ranbir Dhindsa, Rahul Kaplish, Manoj Kumar, Sukhchain Singh, Gurpreet Bajwa, Harinder Sharma and Vishal Ralla were elected as executive members. Phagwara, May 26 Under the directions of Harvinder Singh Virk, SSP , Jalandhar Rural, and supervision of Sarbjit Rai, SP (Investigation) and Sarwan Singh Bal, DSP Phillaur, a , special operation “Yuddh Nashe De Virudh” was launched against drug trafficking in Phillaura. Acting swiftly and decisively, the police team led by Inspector Sanjeev Kapoor, SHO, Phillaur, arrested eight ‘drug peddlers’ in separate cases, achieving a major breakthrough in the district’s ongoing war against narcotics. During the operation, the police apprehended Sarathik Masih, Paramjit, Rinku, Sandeep Singh, Happy and Ramandeep of Phillaur, recovering 33 gram of heroin, 150 intoxicating tablets and one canister of addictive chemical “Akiva” from their possession. An FIR under Sections 21/22 of the NDPS Act was registered at Phillaur. In another crackdown, the police arrested Suhas Padam and Maninderjit Singh of Phillaur, from whom 3.71 gram of heroin and 105 intoxicating tablets were recovered. Initial interrogation has revealed that the individuals had been procuring drugs through various means from different areas and were supplying them within Phillaur. The police have secured their remand for further investigation and are working to uncover the wider supply network. With these arrests and recoveries, Jalandhar Rural Police has again reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating drug menace from society and continues to urge the public to remain vigilant and cooperate in the fight against narcotics. Rural workers start protest 6 arrested with heroin, drug money Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 26 The Dehati Mazdur Sabha started a three-day protest in front of the Divisional Commissioner’s office today, asking for the fulfilment of demands of the landless rural workers. On the first day, a number of workers, especially women, along with their families, expressed their anger against the governments. They raised slogans and said the state and Centre were anti-worker and antipeople. The members were addressed by state president Darshan Nahar, general secretary Gurnam Singh Daud and others. The speakers said the dis- criminatory attitude of the central and state governments towards the working class, especially the landless and resourceless rural workers, and the governments’ indifference to their legitimate demands was resulting in rise of anger among them. “We will intensify the protest if the government fails to act,” the protesters said. c m y b Hoshiarpur, May 26 The district police have arrested six persons, including a woman, with drugs and drug money from them. While the police have arrested seven persons consuming drugs from different places and sent them to jail. According to information, the police have arrested Mangat Ram, alias Mani, a resident of Adamwal and recovered 7 gram of heroin and drug money worth Rs 570 from him. While the police have arrested Mandeep Kumar, alias Laddu, a resident of Sherpur Galid, and Surinder Kumar, alias Sipi, a resident of Hargarh and recovered a huge amount of banned injections from them. On the other hand, the police have arrested Sandeep Kumar Sipa, a resident of Khairar Rawal Basi and recovered a huge amount of banned pills from him. Meanwhile, the police have arrested Neetu, a resident of Harsi Pind and recovered 7 gram of heroin and drug money of Rs 7,500 from him. During this, it was learnt that the police of Bullowal arrested two accused, the police of Garhdiwala arrested two, the police of Model Town arrested two, while the police of Mahilpur arrested one accused while consuming drugs and recovered material from them. —OC