05062025-JTR-01.qxd 6/4/2025 11:23 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune NAPA CONDEMNS RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SIKH TEACHERS DEMAND STORAGE ROOM IN FLOOD-HIT SCHOOLS IPL 2025: FINALLY, JERSEY NO. 18 — AFTER 18 YEARS Dalvinder Singh, Sikh tourist, during his detention in Abu Dhabi, faced discriminatory treatment. P2 Teachers demand construction of a safe room on the top floor of school buildings in low-lying areas of Lohian.P3 The IPL witnessed a momentous achievement as Royal Challengers clinched their maiden title. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.29 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:23 AM » THURSDAY | 5 JUNE 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF BIKE RIDER KILLED IN ACCIDENT Phagwara: A motorcyclist was killed in an accident when his bike was hit by a speeding car near Bhularai Chowk here last night. The victim, identified as Tejs, a resident of Sukhchain Nagar, was on his way for some domestic work when the accident occurred. He was admitted to Johal Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The car involved bore registration number RJ-CA-3007. Police have registered a case under Section 304A of the IPC against the car driver. — OC TWO DRUG PEDDLERS HELD Phagwara: The police arrested two drug peddlers and recovered 65 intoxicating tablets from their possession last night. The accused, identified as Raman and Punit, residents of Soofian Mohalla, Phagwara, were apprehended at a checkpoint. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against them. — OC RS 52,000 IN CASH SNATCHED Phagwara: An unidentified miscreant snatched Rs 52,000 from an Amritsar resident, Satinderjit Singh, near Om Dhaba last night. The victim was en route to Ludhiana in his car and had stopped at the dhaba for a meal when the accused struck, snatched the cash, and escaped. The police have registered a case under Section 379B of the IPC. — OC SAD (A) Protest held over Phillaur incident Police detaincondemns leader, party Organisations ask administration to act with alacrity, threaten Phagwara bandh Our Correspondent desecration of statue Our Correspondent Phagwara, June 4 A joint delegation comprising leaders and activists from various social and political organisations, including the Guru Ravidas Tiger Force, Ambedkar Sena Moolnivasi, Yuva Vikas Morcha and the Indian National Congress, staged a protest march in Phagwara on Sunday following the alleged desecration of a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in village Nangal of Phillaur tehsil in Jalandhar district. The protest began at Ambedkar Park in Hargobind Nagar, where community members gathered in large numbers before marching towards the Tehsil Complex. There, the delegation submitted a memorandum to Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Jashanjeet Singh, expressing anger and concern over the incident, which reportedly took place on the intervening night of June 1 and 2. The statue was found defaced, an act the protesters called both deliberate and deeply hurtful to the sentiments of Dalits and followers of Dr Ambedkar. In their memorandum, the leaders named Gurpatwant Singh Pannu and his alleged supporters as being behind the Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal submitting a memorandum to SDM Jashanjit Singh on Wednesday. VOICING CONCERN ■ The delegation has appealed for permanent security arrangements for all statues of Dr Ambedkar across Punjab, citing the need to protect these symbols of social justice and constitutional values. ■ The leaders in the delegation said that repeated incidents of desecration were not only acts of vandalism but attacks on the dignity of marginalised communities. act and demanded immediate police action. They urged the administration to identify and apprehend the culprits within 48 hours. Failing this, they warned, they would mobilise supporters in greater numbers and call for a complete shutdown (Phagwara Bandh) as a mark of protest. The delegation further appealed for permanent security arrangements for all statues of Dr Ambedkar across Punjab, citing the need to protect these symbols of social justice and constitutional values. The leaders said that repeated incidents of desecration were not only acts of vandalism but attacks on the dignity of marginalised communities. SDM Jashanjeet Singh received the memorandum and assured the delegation that the matter would be dealt with promptly and appropriately. He also conveyed the administration’s commitment to maintaining peace and ensuring justice. Among those who led the protest were Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Congress MLA from Phagwara; Anu Suhota, president of Yuva Vikas Morcha; Ashvini Sahota, vice-president of Yuva Vikas Morcha; Dharamveer Bodh, president of Ambedkar Sena Moolnivasi; Ajay Moolni- TRIBUNE PHOTO vasi, vice-president of the same organisation; advocate Randeep Kailey; and Bittu, general secretary and municipal councillor from the Congress. The event remained peaceful and was marked by coordinated slogans, speeches and appeals for unity and vigilance among communities. The protesters emphasised that the legacy of Dr Ambedkar, as the architect of the Indian Constitution and a champion of human rights, must be safeguarded from divisive forces to maintain social harmony and amity in general. Phagwara, June 4 Tension prevailed in the Phillaur and Goraya areas on Tuesday after the police briefly detained Harjinder Singh Jakhu, state vice-president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), along with a group of party supporters. The group had gathered near the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in village Nangal, Phillaur, to pay tribute and hold a rally condemning the desecration of the social reformer’s statue. The event, as per the SAD (A)’s schedule, was to be addressed by party working president Emaan Singh Mann and followed by a community langar. However, local police intervened before the programme could commence, citing concerns over potential disruption to public order. Jakhu and approximately 1520 party activists were taken into preventive custody and escorted to Goraya police station, where they were SAD (A) leader Dr Harjinder Jakhu along with his supporters after being released from detention by the police. TRIBUNE PHOTO Ludhiana bypoll aside, Cong a Kidnapped in Iran, Jaspal divided house in Jalandhar too released from captivity Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Phillaur Congress MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary being welcomed back into the party fold during a party rally at Dakha in Ludhiana on Monday after revoking of his suspension orders. The party is gearing up for the Ludhiana (West) Assembly bypoll. FILE PHOTO Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 3 The growing polarisation between the two groups of Congress leaders has made Jalandhar a divided house. The growing differences may also come as a big cropper for the party in holding a ‘Samvidhan Bachao rally’ in the district in the days to come. A district-level rally for Jalandhar had been earlier planned on May 18 at White Diamond Resort on 66-feet road but was cancelled after the Indian government had launched Operation Sindoor. The rally was to see the presence of leaders and workers from all nine Assembly segments of Jalandhar. Post the cancellation, a fresh date is likely to be announced any time but the party leaders may not be on the same page for this. In the run-up to Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, the conflict between two groups —- one led by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa, and the other of former CM and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh has come to fore. The local leaders are divided between the two groups. Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, whose suspension was revoked by Bajwa two days back, is clearly with Warring-Bajwa group. He had opposed Channi’s candidature during MP polls. Channi had already been looking for his replacement, even exploring the scope of his elder son Navjit Singh here. Congress leader Amritpal Bhonsle too has been quite active here. Shahkot MLA and DCC (rural) chief Hardev S Laddi Sherowalia is completely proRana Gurjeet. Jalandhar North MLA Bawa Henry has been clearly averse to Rana Gurjeet Singh for many years. Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh has clear differences with Warring. In Kartarpur, while Warring favours halqa in-charge Rajinder Singh, Channi has been prodding exMLA Chaudhary Surinder Singh. Jalandhar Central halqa in-charge and DCC chief Rajinder Beri is quite neutral but Channi has been pepping up Manu Warring from this segment, clearly to the annoyance of Beri. Adampur legislator Sukhwinder Kotli, who initially had been close to Channi, is now seen more inclined for Warring. Nakodar halqa incharge Dr Navjot Dahiya too is largely neutral and is in the US these days. Many Congress leaders are of the opinion that it was perfect time to hold a rally here as AAP MLA Raman Arora had been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case and it was time for the party to gain more ground. However, it shall be a Herculean task to gather all leaders together on one platform now. “The presence of Warring and Channi on the same stage too could be quite problematic,” opined many workers noting the developments. The Congress has held 13 programmes under Samvidhan Bachao format including those in Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, Fazila, Muktsar, Faridkot, Bathinda, Patiala, Fategarh Sahib and Dakha. c m y b Jalandhar, June 4 “My elder child would ask me daily why wasn’t his father talking to him after he went abroad? He is just 3, I couldn’t even tell him that his father was getting tortured there,” an emotional Kuldip Kaur, Jaspal Singh’s wife told The Tribune. A 32-year-old Jaspal Singh from Langroya, Nawanshahr, who along with two others was kidnapped in Iran, was rescued from captivity today. The family that was on tenterhooks all these days and was fearful of what will happen next, has finally heaved a sigh of relief. Jaspal Singh who used to work here as a painter, has two kids— aged 3 years and 3 months. Kuldip Kaur said that every day, the family was getting video calls where A file photo of Jaspal Singh from Langroya, Nawanshahr. his husband was seen getting beaten up brutally. It was only today that a normal phone call came from Jaspal saying that he was fine and safe, Kuldip Kaur said. “Zyada gall nai kitti, bass ehi ki theek ne. Hun koi khatra nahee,” she said. “Only my heart knows how I am spending my days and nights. I was doing Ardaas daily for his well-being,” she further added. Jaspal wanted to go abroad for a better future and had approached a travel agent in Hoshiarpur who promised to send him to Australia. With great difficulty, the family arranged Rs 18 lakh and gave it to the agent. He was first taken to Dubai where he remained for a month and after that when he landed in Iran, he was allegedly kidnapped. Asked if she would want Jaspal to again go abroad, Kuldip replied, “I just want him to return to us and be with his kids who need him the most at this moment.” Jaspal’s brother Balwinder Singh said that the family was relieved after the news of him being released came. Garhshankar youth’s body parts found Hoshiarpur, June 4 Missing for the past nine days, parts of the body of a 20year-old youth of Nainwan village of Garhshankar have been found from near Sutlej waterworks at Ropar. The victim Bhupinder Singh’s father Jagjeevan Ram had reported that his son had left home on his bike on May 25 without informing as to where he was going. “Since he did not return home, we kept calling him on his phone. But it was switched off. The next day, his bike was recovered from Bandlehri village of Nangal town. We kept looking for him but to no avail,” he said. The victim’s father has reported that on June 1, he got a message that a body had been recovered from near Sutlej waterworks and was kept in a mortuary. He said that he along with Sarpanch of the village had gone to identify it. To his horror, only the head and one arm of his son had been recovered which indicated his gruesome death. The family has since then been looking for the remaining parts of the body but to no avail. Jagjeevan Ram has given a statement that a girl was after his son and was forcing him to marry her. The girl’s moth- detained for nearly two hours. Their detention prompted a swift reaction, with hundreds of SAD (A) supporters from nearby areas, including Phagwara, Goraya and Phillaur, assembling outside the Goraya police station. Following mounting pressure and the peaceful congregation of party workers, the detained leaders were released without charges. Speaking to the media after his release, Harjinder Singh Jakhu strongly criticised what he described as the administration’s “unjustified high-handedness”, asserting that the party’s intent was peaceful and constitutional. The situation in Phillaur and surrounding areas remains calm but tense, as local authorities continue to monitor the aftermath of the aborted protest and the community’s response to the statue desecration incident. No fresh arrests or protests were reported at the time of filing this report. er too was in favour of their marriage but his son was averse. “Not being able to bear the pressure, he chose to die by suicide and jumped into the river,” he said. On the basis of the statements of the deceased’s father, a girl and her mother have been booked under Sections 108 and 3 (5) of the BNS. SHO, Garhshankar, Santokh Ram said, “Since only parts of the body have been recovered, the postmortem could be conducted only at Government Medical College in Amritsar.” The family will conduct the last rites after the post-mortem. — TNS Headmasters demand fair share in promotions Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 4 The Punjab Headmasters Association has urged the School Education Department to grant them their fair share in promotions for the post of principal by including the backlog quota that has been overlooked for years. Association president Kulwinder Kataria and general secretary Jaswinder Singh Bhullar stated that, as per rules and court rulings, any unfulfilled quota in promotions for a cadre cannot be cancelled. They highlighted that the department itself admitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2018 that by 2014, 260 extra lecturers were promoted as principals beyond their quota. Since then, nearly 1,500 more lecturers have been promoted, while headmasters have received hardly any promotions. Currently, the department reportedly plans to calculate promotion quotas based on how many current principals come from the lecturer and headmaster cadres. The Association argues that this approach is unfair and contradicts Supreme Court guidelines, which mandate that backlog must be calculated based on past promotion records—not on who is currently serving. They demanded that the backlog for headmasters be calculated from 1986 to 1996, with promotions made accordingly from 1996 to 2022.