31052025-ATR-01.qxd 5/30/2025 11:29 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY IIT-ROPAR INKS PACT WITH TARN TARAN COLLEGE GURU ARJAN DEV’S SHAHEEDI PURB OBSERVED LT GEN KJS ‘TINY’ DHILLON (RETD) LAUNCHES HIS SECOND BOOK IIT-Ropar Tech & Innovation Foundation has signed an MoU with Government Polytechnic College Bhikhiwind. P2 The Shaheedi Purb of Guru Arjan Dev was observed in Sikh religious traditions in the holy city on Friday. P2 MAX 41°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 28°C In a hall full of people, ‘Tiny’ Lt Gen KJS Dhillon (retd) launched his book, Wafadari Imaandari Zimmedari: War Room to Boardroom.P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 7.14 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5.23 AM » SATURDAY | 31 MAY 2025 | AMRITSAR Drug peddler sent to police custody for three days Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 30 Harpal Singh, alias Pala, of Rorawala border village, arrested with 516 gm of heroin, was produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody for three days on Friday. The police had intercepted the drug peddler from near a drain in Attari. A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) was registered against him. Police officials said a probe was on to ascertain the source of the contraband. He said Harpal’s links with Pakistan-based drug smugglers were being verified. He was a new entrant to the illegal drug trade and did not have any previous criminal history. He would be produced in the court tomorrow seeking police remand for further probe. Two accomplices of Kishna gang held with pistols, three live rounds Amritsar, May 30 The city police have arrested two alleged operatives of the Kishna gang, members of which were behind the killing of Jandiala Guru’s sitting councillor Harjinder Singh in Chheharta area recently. The police recovered two pistols from their possession. They were wanted by the Jandiala Guru police in two other criminal cases, though their involvement in Harjinder Singh’s murder case was yet to be ascertained. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (City-III) Jasroop Kaur Bath said those arrested were identified as Chand Anand of Thathiawala and Bachitar Singh, alias Likhari, of Udham Singh Chowk (Jandiala Guru). “The police also seized a Glock pistol with three live rounds and a .32 bore pistol with four bullets from them,” she said, adding that the duo was arrested from Sun City road area falling under the Mohkampura police station here. Op Shield: Blackout drill from 8 to 8.30pm today Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service The two accused in custody of the police in Amritsar on Friday. Police teams were checking suspicious vehicles at a naka set up on the Sun City road when they intercepted the two bike-borne persons. On their search, the police recovered the pistols. Further investigation revealed that they were operatives of the Kishna gang, which was operating his network from Dubai. He has a number of criminal cases registered against him. Kishna was allegedly involved in the broad daylight killing of Harjinder Singh, alias Baman, in Chheharta area when he was attending a family function here. The police identified and arrested the assailants later on. Investigations revealed that Kishna had supplied the two pistols to Chand Anand and Bachitar Singh through some other unknown accomplices. Chand had three criminal cases registered against him and all of them were registered at the Jandiala Guru police. — TNS Amritsar, May 30 A citywide blackout drill will be conducted tomorrow as part of Operation Shield from 8pm to 8.30pm. This was announced by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Amit Sareen here on Friday. The purpose is to enhance public preparedness for emergency situations. Amit Sareen clarified that certain areas have been exempted from the blackout drill. These include the Walled City, the Amritsar airport, and surrounding villages where power supply will not be disrupted during the drill. “This is just a preparedness exercise to ensure public cooperation during emergencies. There is no need to panic, your participation and DOS DON’TS ■ Switch off all visible lights, including main ■ Do not turn on any power and inverter lights. lights, including small screen glows. ■ Do not move, whether on leakage from windows. foot or in a vehicle, after ■ Keep all essential devices charged (mobile the siren is sounded. phones, power banks, torches, radios). ■ Inform neighbours and children who may ■ Do not open windows or doors that allow light to not be aware of the drill. escape. ■ Prepare emergency essentials like water, ■ Avoid spreading or documents, shoes, torches in advance. believing rumours, only ■ If in a vehicle during siren, switch off follow official headlights, park safely, and avoid instructions. movement. ■ Use heavy curtains to prevent any light cooperation are all that is needed,” said Sareen, urging residents to follow the drill instructions seriously. As per the drill guidelines issued for public awareness, sirens will be sounded across the city at exactly 8pm. After hearing the siren, citizens will have to switch off all external lights, including those connected to automatic systems, CCTV cameras, and inverter-powered lighting. While it is permitted to use lights indoors, people must ensure no light escapes outside. Heavy curtains or similar coverings should be used to block any illumination from windows or doors. Officials of the administra- Man arrested after burnt pictures of Golden Illegal properties of two drug Temple, Sikh Gurus found dumped on road smuggler brothers razed in Patti Police say owner asked accused to clean the shop, further investigation on Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 30 Division A police arrested a man on the charges of hurting religious sentiments after he allegedly set some pictures of the Golden Temple and Sikh Gurus on fire and dumped them on the roadside. Jasroop Kaur Bath, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, City-III, while sharing details said that the burnt pictures of Golden Temple and Sikh Gurus were found dumped by the roadside. Activists of some Sikh organisation found them and raised the issue. “As information reached the police, it swung into action and registered a case and began the process to identify the suspects who had set the pictures on fire,” said ADCP Bath. A case under section 298 The suspect in custody of the police in Amritsar on Friday. (destroying, damaging or defiling any place of worship or sacred object, with the intention of insulting a religion, knowing it will likely be considered an insult) and section 238 (causing the disap- pearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information to screen an offender) of the BNS has been registered in this connection. The accused was identified as Surinder Yadav, who originally hails from Bihar and runs a tea stall in the market. A resident of Golden Avenue area here, he has been residing in the city for over a decade. Investigations revealed that the owner of a shop located opposite his tea stall asked him to clean the shop. It had been closed for over a decade because of some dispute with the Improvement Trust, police said. He had recently got the ownership and asked Yadav to clean the shop and remove the old and waste material from there. Yadav, a resident of Golden Avenue, allegedly took out the old pictures of Golden Temple and Sikh Gurus among other material and set them on fire. The ADCP said the police have called the shop owner for investigations. His role would also be ascertained in the incident. Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, May 30 Continuing with their drive launched under ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ from March 1, the district police demolished illegal properties of two brothers involved in drug smuggling in Patti town on Friday. The Patti tehsildar had issued orders to demolish the two siblings’ illegal properties. SSP Abhimanyu Rana, who was present during the demolition operation, briefed mediapersons that the two drug smuggler brothers, identified as Rajiv Kumar and his brother Sajan Kumar, residents of Ward No.2 in Patti town, had constructed buildings illegally. The SSP said 13 cases had already been registered against Rajiv Kumar and nine cases against Sajan Kumar under the NDPS Act in the past. The SSP warned the drug smugglers to be ready to face the dire consequences in case they do not tion urged the public to adopt safety precautions during the blackout. The residents are advised to remain indoors, preferably on the ground floor, away from windows, especially glass ones. People should avoid rooftops, open streets, or any exposed areas. Those travelling by car, scooter, or motorcycle during the drill are instructed to turn off the lights of their vehicles immediately and park safely along the roadside without any movement. A mock drill by Civil Defence will also take place prior to the blackout, from 6pm to 7pm at Dussehra Ground, Ranjit Avenue, as part of overall preparedness measures. The administration has sought full cooperation from citizens to make this drill a success and ensure readiness for any emergency scenarios in the future. US dollars worth ~35.4L seized at city airport, 1 held Tribune News Service The house of the two drug smuggler brothers being razed in Patti on Friday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI shun illegal activities. Just a few days ago, the residential building of another drug smuggler in Patti was razed which was the first case in the district and with the demolition of these two illegal buildings, the tally of razed structures has reached three in the district. The SSP said the district police have registered a total of 433 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 571 persons so far. He said 144 kg of heroin, 8 kg of opium and Rs 66 lakh of drug money have been recovered from the two accused. Amritsar, May 30 Acting on a tip-off, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) thwarted the attempt of a passenger to smuggle foreign currency out of the country by concealing it in a bag at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport here on Thursday. DRI officials in a statement issued here on Friday said the accused was travelling to Dubai via an Air Indian Express flight. They said during the search of his baggage, sleuths of the DRI recovered 41,400 US dollars worth Rs 35.40 lakh. The baggage was hidden in another bag kept in the check-in bag. “The currency was unaccounted and exceeded the permitted RBI limits, therefore it was seized by the DRI under various provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Bomb blast case: Cops await forensic In a first, GNDU re-plants 20-year-old report to detect material used in explosion tree uprooted in storm on campus Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 30 Two days after the powerful blast at a vacant plot along the Majitha Road bypass that claimed one life, the Punjab Police are still awaiting the forensic reports to ascertain the nature of explosive material that caused the explosion. The police were investigating whether the blast was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), hidden at the spot or by hand grenades which deceased Nitin Kumar of Chheharta had come to retrieve. “Going by the intensity of the blast that blew the hands and legs of the suspect, we are yet to ascertain the nature of explosive material,” said SSP Amritsar Rural, Manin, der Singh, adding that they are waiting for the forensic reports in this regard. “A hand grenade blast would not have been that Senior police officials and forensic experts visit the blast spot on Majitha Road in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO powerful while IED would have caused much powerful impact,” said the official. On the other hand, a police official wishing not to be named said it appears to be a hand grenade blast. “There must be more than one hand grenade at the spot which Nitin had gone to retrieve,” he said. Meanwhile, the police were still to establish the link of the suspect with any Babba Khalsa International module. Nitin took lifts from different persons to reach the spot. The police identified and interrogated those who gave lift to him but nothing substantial was found till now, though the probe was still in progress. DIG (Border Range) Satinder Singh had on Tuesday hinted the involvement of Pakistan’s spy agency ISIbacked terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International, adding that such tactics of dropping explosives at isolated places and marking the spot with identifiable objects like electric poles and then share the pictures of the site with operatives for collection are used by BKI. Police officials have claimed to have strong evidence linking Nitin to the terror group, adding that he had been under surveillance for some time. c m y b Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 30 Horticulture experts and staff at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) came together to re-plant a 20year-old tree on its campus. An effort that took four days of work, the university’s Landscape Department, along with its dedicated team of gardeners, worked hard for a week to replant the tree, carefully securing its roots in a deep pit. The tree near the Lecture Theatre Complex was uprooted during a powerful storm a few days back. Landscape Officer Gurwinder Singh shared that the effort was guided by Vice-Chancellor Dr Karamjeet Singh, a passionate environmentalist. Gurwinder Singh said that at GNDU, cutting down trees, plants or creepers is strictly prohibited. “Even A tree that got uprooted during a recent storm being restored by horticulture experts on the GNDU campus in Amritsar. fallen leaves and branches are not burnt; instead, they are turned into compost for medicinal and other uses. A dedicated department works tirelessly to support these efforts. Re-planting the uprooted tree is difficult but not impossible. Since this one was not a very large tree and was relatively young, the root network was not entirely damaged,” he said. The pit was filled with nutrient-rich soil and watered properly to ensure that the weakened roots gain strength. Dr Karamjeet Singh hailed the efforts by the staff and said that it reflects the university’s commitment towards its green, sustainable campus status. “Saving the environment and trees is our shared responsibility. In today’s challenging times, when the continued on page 2