18062025-ATR-01.qxd 6/17/2025 11:35 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY HIMACHAL DEPUTY CM PAYS OBEISANCE AT GOLDEN TEMPLE R MADHAVAN'S ROMANTIC DRAMA GETS RELEASE DATE HILLANG YAJIK WINS TOP PRIZE AT BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri paid obeisance at the Golden Temple today. P2 R Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh's upcoming film Aap Jaisa Koi has finally got a release date. P4 Yajik became the first woman athlete from Arunachal Pradesh to win a gold in physique sports at international event.P4 » » » MAX 37°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 29°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.21 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.23 AM WEDNESDAY | 18 JUNE 2025 | AMRITSAR Addict dies of drug overdose in Fatehbad Our Correspondent Cops at encounter site in Attari area on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Notorious drug smuggler held after brief encounter with police Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 17 The Amritsar Rural Police arrested a notorious drug smuggler, Harpreet Singh alias Happy, after a brief exchange of fire in Attari area here on Tuesday. The arrest led to the recovery of 534 grams of heroin, a PX-5 pistol, and two live cartridges. The operation was carried out on the directives of DIG, Border Range, Amritsar, Satinder Singh and SSP Amritsar , Rural, Maninder Singh IPS. The police team, led by DSP , Attari, Lakhwinder Singh and the SHO, Gharinda police station, confronted the accused during a search operation near Neshta village. According to SSP Maninder Singh, the incident traces back to June 11 when the police attempted to stop Harpreet Singh and his associate on a motorcycle during a routine check. Instead of stopping, the duo opened fire on the police party. Tragically, a passerby, Gurjit Singh, alias Billa, a resident of Rasulpur in Tarn Taran, was shot and killed during the exchange of fire. In the ensuing chaos, a suspicious object fell from the motorcycle, later discovered to be a packet containing 5 kg of heroin. A case was immediately registered at the Gharinda police station, and a detailed investigation was launched. Based on a tip-off received during the investigation, the Gharinda police learned that Harpreet Singh was hiding near the defence drain area in Attari. Acting swiftly, the police team pursued the accused, who once again fired at the cops. The police retaliated in self-defence, shooting Harpreet in the leg. He was arrested in an injured condition and was found in possession of a PX-5 pistol and two live rounds. The SSP further stated that investigations are underway to identify Harpreet Singh’s associates. “Anyone found involved in this smuggling operation will face strict legal action,” he said. Tarn Taran, June 17 An addict died of drug overdose at Fatehbad village falling under the Goindwal Sahib police station here on Monday late evening. The deceased has been identified as Partap Singh (40) of Valmik Mohalla, Fatehbad, who is survived by his wife and three children. Kulwinder Kaur, wife of the victim, and Jasbir Singh, brother of the deceased, said Partap Singh, who was a daily wage worker, was in bad company and turned a drug addict. On Monday night, after taking drugs, his condition deteriorated. He was rushed to a private hospital in the town where he died. Kulwinder Kaur, Jasbir Singh and other members of the aggrieved family said drugs is easily available in their area and there is even the provision of ‘doorstep service’ and it is in the knowledge of the administration, which is allegedly doing nothing to curb the menace. Inspector Prabhjit Singh, SHO, Goindwal Sahib, said Partap Singh died as he was sick. Child welfare panel, juvenile board to be restructured soon Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 17 Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney has announced that for the protection and care of children between the ages of 0 and 18 and for children caught in legal disputes in the district, the Child Welfare Committee and a Juvenile Justice Board will be reconstituted in the district. These agencies are formed under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which have the authority to take appropriate decisions keeping in mind the future of children and protection of the rights of children caught in any legal dispute with the state or any other entity. The tenure of the Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice Board is three years, which ended a few months back. While the district had Child Protection Unit and a Special Juvenile Unit in police functioning, the Juvenile Justice Board will now need to be restructured with new appointments. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney has announced that appointments for reviving the Juvenile Justice Board will be made soon, in Amritsar on Tuesday. The DC informed that new eligible members are to be appointed for the Juvenile Justice Board and a Chairperson and four members for the Child Welfare Committee. The Juvenile justice board in each district usually has three appointed members, out of which one has to be a registered social worker or child rights activist. Currently, the board is in suspended state. These appointments will be made in accordance with Sections 4 and 27 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. In 2018, 22 districts of Punjab constituted Juvenile Justice Boards, aligned with a state level Juvenile Justice Int’l drug, hawala rackets busted, 6 nabbed Drizzle brings much-needed relief from heat in Tarn Taran Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 17 The Amritsar Commissionerate Police have busted two crime rackets involving narcotics and illegal financial transactions, arresting six persons, including a Nigerian national, and recovering commercial quantities of cocaine, heroin, a firearm, and over Rs 8 lakh of hawala drug money. The breakthrough came through two separate cases reported at the Cantonment and Sadar police stations, respectively. In the first case, the police exposed an international party drug racket being run by a Nigerian citizen, Collins, who was arrested along with two local distributors, Ishpreet Singh, alias Harsh, and Akhlesh Vij, both residents of Basant Avenue, Amritsar. The investigation revealed that Collins had come to India in 2023 for his son’s medical treatment and stayed back illegally after his son returned to Nigeria. Operating primarily from Mehrauli area in Delhi, he built a network in northern India to supply cocaine using WhatsApp for coordination. His primary clientele included affluent individuals and Gurbaxpuri The four suspects in custody of the police in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR the drug was sold for as much as Rs 20,000 per gram. The cocaine was either directly delivered by Collins or collected through associates like Akhlesh. The police recovered 112 grams of cocaine and a .32 bore pistol during the operation. In the second case, three persons Gurpreet Singh, Ravi Kumar, alias Jaggu, and Shyam Singh, alias Rahul, were arrested for their involvement in heroin smuggling and handling of hawala drug money. Ravi Kumar and Shyam Singh had established links with Pakistani drug smugglers and used pre-arranged pickup spots to collect heroin. Gurpreet Singh, who runs a meat cart in his village, operated a hawala network using a token system to collect and transfer drug money. The police recovered Rs 8.10 lakh from him. The hawala money was routed to Pakistan via Dubai, exposing a well-organised cross- Civic body to ensure prompt redress of online complaints Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 17 Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner held a highlevel meeting with officials of its Health Department to enhance city’s cleanliness and sanitation infrastructure here on Tuesday. During the meeting, he instructed the officials to improve the city’s sanitation system and ensure that complaints registered by citizens on the MPortal are addressed promptly without delays. City residents often allege that MC staff do not respond to online complaints. Even complaints received on the Swachhta App are not addressed on time. MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh assured that complaints received through the M-Portal are being resolved daily, with only a few pending at any given time. However, officials have been instructed to ensure that even these are addressed without delay. Reaffirming the municipal corporation’s commitment, the MC Commissioner assured the public that all necessary measures are being taken to make the city’s sanitation system more efficient, responsive, and effective. Aulakh appreciated the dedication of sanitation workers who have continued to perform their duties diligently despite the extreme heat. He stated that the municipal corporation is making every possible effort to maintain cleanliness continued on page 2 border financial channel. Both Ravi Kumar and Shyam Singh have previous criminal records. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar stated that the arrests and seizures were made possible by DCP (Investigations) Ravinder Pal Singh, ADCP Jagbinder Singh, and ACP Yadvinder Singh. The operations were carried out by Inspector Amolakdeep Singh, incharge of CIA Staff-1, Amritsar, and his team. Tarn Taran, June 17 Drizzle followed by cool winds in the district provided the much-needed relief from heatwave conditions here on Tuesday. It also brought down the day temperature, which had been hovering above 40 degrees Celsius for the past few days, to 33 degrees Celsius, turning the weather pleasant, which was welcomed by every resident of the city. Buzz returned to marketplaces, which wore a deserted look most of the day due to extreme heat. Commuters, customers and other people, who remained disappeared from roads and shops, were seen present everywhere. The pleasant weather led to a heavy rush of people in bazaars of the town. A large number of devotees paid obeisance at Darbar Sahib in Tarn Taran. A visibly happy Kuldeep Singh, a cloth merchant at Tehsil Bazar in Tarn Taran, said during the last 10 days, he had not entertained even a single customer the whole day. He said with a drop in the temperature, streams of customers kept thronging mar- Monitoring Committee comprising high courts judges. These boards are supported under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The state has the primary responsibility of constituting and functioning of these boards. Suicide note helps cops find reason behind woman’s death Our Correspondent As weather turns pleasant after light rain, customers throng shops in Tarn Taran on Tuesday. PHOTO BY WRITER ketplaces right from the opening of shops. Mohtam Singh, Deputy Chief Engineer, Powercom, said even the power utility got relief with a drop in the temperature. He said the number of power faults, which was 1,572 in two days on June 13 and 14, has come down to 847 on June 16 and 17. He said the complaints regarding the overloading of transformers too has decreased resulting in fewer occurrences of power faults. The Deputy Chief Engineer said power consumption too has decreased to 20 per cent. Charanjit Singh Bath, a farmer of Bath village, said farmers and farm labourers, who were facing great trouble in planting paddy saplings, heaved a sigh of relief today. Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Harpal Singh Pannu said drizzling in the night and this morning has made the weather pleasant. Weather experts predict that the fall in the temperature and pleasant weather is just for one or two days and after that the temperature would start rising again. Tarn Taran, June 17 The two-and-a-half-monthold woman’s death case took a new turn with the recovery of a suicide note from the almirah in the house recently. The deceased in question, Kuljit Kaur (43), a resident of Mughal Chakk Pannuan here, died by consuming some poisonous substance on March 1 in her house . On the statement of Jasbir Kaur, mother of the victim, the local Sadar police lodged a report under Section 194 of the BNSS the next day (March 2). Recently, Komal, husband of the victim, who, after returning home from his work, opened the almirah of his wife and started searching for a thing, but he recovered a handwritten suicide note in which his wife Kuljit Kaur had mentioned that Surjit Singh Gagan, a resident of the same village, had fraudulently taken a loan worth 1.5 lakh from the SelfHelp Group and from a private party in her name, but continued on page 2 Defying age, 66-yr-old cyclist covers five Takhts in 63 days Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 17 Defying age and exemplifying social responsibility, 66year-old Mangal Singh Hundal has been creating awareness against drug abuse by cycling for the last 10 years. Today, he received a hero’s welcome at the Golden Gate as he cycled across the five Takhts, the most revered seats of spirituality in Sikhism, peddling 7,130 km. Hundal is on a mission for the last 10 years – to make Punjab drug-free and his bicycle is a way to reach out to masses with his message. c m y b Cyclist Mangal Singh Hundal in Amritsar on Tuesday. VISHAL KUMAR A resident of Amritsar, he started his journey on April 16, on a spiritual tour of five Takhts and completed it today at Akal Takht. His feat was celebrated by Sukhwinder Singh, a cyclist of the Turbinatar Group Amritsar, who arrived specially on this occasion. He said Mangal Singh is an example for the Punjabi youth. A retired government employee, Hundal completed the journey in 63 days. “Shukrana for the Almighty as he gave me strength and perseverance to complete my journey without facing any major health chal- lenges. I believe that if you make up your mind, the heart follows,” said Hundal. He first reached Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Sabo ki Talwandi, from Sri Amritsar Sahib for darshan, where he paid obeisance at Takht Sri Abichal Nagar, Nanded, Hazur Sahib via Rajasthan, Gujarat and Mumbai. From here, he started his journey to Takht Sri Patna Sahib and there after paying obeisance at the birthplace of Sri Guru Gobind Singh, he reached Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, via Paonta Sahib. From here he left for Amritsar. continued on page 2