31082025-ATR-01.qxd 8/30/2025 11:44 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune VOLUNTARY GROUPS JOIN HANDS TO AID FLOOD VICTIMS MC COMMISSIONER CONDUCTS SURPRISE INSPECTION MC Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill paid surprise visits to many areas to review sanitation work. P2 MAINLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C A FOOD STORY ROOTED IN INDIA’S FIELDS Three relief camps have been established in Ajnala town of Amritsar district to assist flood-affected families. P2 FORECAST Chandigarh enjoyed a unique ninecourse artisanal vegetarian feast at Corby’s, Hyatt Centric. P4 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.55 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.05 AM » SUNDAY | 31 AUGUST 2025 | AMRITSAR Education Dept officials join rescue efforts ‘Honour killing’: Two suspects land in police net, two at large Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, August 30 After flood-related disruption in schools across the flood-affected areas in Amritsar district, the District Education Office has appointed its officials for ground relief operations to help in relief and rescue operations. District Education Officer, Secondary, Rajesh Sharma said 20 officials of the department have joined the rescue and relief teams and the department is also keeping a tab on school buildings that have submerged in water in affected areas. “Around 20-25 schools, including private and government ones, have been affected by the floods, with boundary walls being damaged. Around 15 government school buildings have incurred multiple damages in Ajnala and Ramdass sectors due to the floods,” he said. These buildings were recently renovated under Sikhiya Kranti. Several government schools in nearby areas in Fatehgarh Churian and Ajnala have turned into relief camps with food and shelter for affected villagers. Tarn Taran, August 30 The Chabal police have arrested two suspects in a suspected case of honour killing in which Gurpreet Singh (26), son of Joginder Singh (a daily wager), a resident of Muse Kalan village, was brutally killed here on Friday. His body was found from the spot near Panjwar Kalan village. SSP Deepak Pareek stated here on Saturday that the victim had abducted the daughter of Sahib Singh of Muse Kalan village a few days ago and then both did court marriage. The couple was living in Amritsar to avoid dire consequences. The SSP said besides main suspect Sahib Singh, the other accused have been identified as his son Amarjit Singh, Gurjat Singh his nephew of Muse Kalan and Gurbir Singh of Bhuchar Kalan, sonin-law (husband of his elder daughter) of Sahib Singh. The accused had been searching for Gurpreet Singh since he got married with the Landa’s operative nabbed following police encounter Juvenile among 5 nabbed; Glock pistol, 13 bullets seized Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service The arrested accused in the custody of the police in Tarn Taran. daughter of Sahib Singh. Chabal police station SHO Inspector Kashmir Singh said the victim came to his village on Friday and the accused caught hold of him and murdered him. His body was found from Panjwar Kalan village on Friday. The SHO said the accused have been booked under Sections 103 (1), 191 (3), 190 and 61 (2) of the BNS. Sahib Singh and his nephew Gurjant Singh have been arrested and the remaining are absconding. The police are conducting raids to arrest them, said SHO Kashmir Singh. Amritsar, August 30 The Amritsar (city) police commissionerate on Saturday claimed to have averted a major target killing with the arrest of five persons, including a juvenile, in this connection. Those arrested were identified as Karandeep Singh, alias Karan (18), of Chaudhariwala in Sarhali in Tarn Taran, Gursewak Singh, alias Balli (18), Arshdeep Singh (19) of Luhar (Tarn Taran) and Amritpal Singh (18) of Naushehara Pannuan. The accused were allegedly operatives of foreign-based gangster-turned terrorist Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa, Harike and Satbir Singh, alias Satta, Naushehra. Karan was arrested following an encounter during a search operation in Kot Khalsa area falling under the Islamabad police station here Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Sheetal Singh along with other officials inspect the encounter spot in Amritsar on Saturday. after the cops received a specific input that he was hiding in the area. A police team tried to arrest him, but the accused opened fired on them, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar on Saturday. He said ASI Gurjinder Singh fired in self-defence at him from his service weapon leaving him injured. He suffered a bullet injury in the right leg and was admitted to a hospital. Sharing details, Bhullar said as per an initial probe, Karan- deep was associated with the Landa Harike gang, members of which introduced him to the foreign-based handlers. He was tasked to carry out target killings in the area and all the logistic support was provided to him by his foreign-based handlers, who handed over weapon and cartridges to him to execute killings. The arms and ammunition was provided through cut-out modules at different locations. They did not know each other. During investigations, the police arrested Gursewak, Arshdeep, Amritpal and a juvenile and their interrogation led the police to Karandeep. A case under the Arms Act and other relevant sections of the BNS was registered against them at the Division A police station here. The police also recovered a Glock pistol, 13 live cartridges and two empty shells from the encounter scene. More villages come in grip of floods in dist Floods, landslides in Himachal Pradesh impact vegetable supply chain in city Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Ajnala, August 30 With more water flowing in the Ravi river, which is already in spate, and heavy rain showing no sign of stopping, several villages near Ajnala are now under a serious threat. Residents are making desperate efforts to protect their homes and fields from being swallowed by the rising water. On Friday night, floodwaters had already reached the outskirts of Ajnala town. By Saturday morning, it had begun flowing towards Bhindi village along the Sakki Nullah. Villagers across the belt have started preparing themselves for any eventuality. Many families have shifted to the rooftop of their homes, carrying whatever essentials they could save. Near the Sakki Nullah, residents were seen filling sandbags in the hope of stopping water from entering their houses. People are not only worried about the floods, but also about the bad days they The excess water in the Sakki Nullah leads to flooding in areas near Ajnala town on Saturday. would face if their crops and homes get damaged by it. “We have seen the floods of 1988, 1993 and then in 1995. Back then, people had less belongings and simple houses. Now as people have become more prosperous, they shudder to think of the losses they have to bear,” said Sarwan Singh, a resident. As the water level continues to rise, fields lie submerged and shelters stand abandoned. On the Ajnala-Chogawan road, a Gujjar family was seen putting together a makeshift shelter to spend the night. Amid the grim situation, the only solace for residents is the sight of a serpentine queue of trolleys and trucks, laden with relief material, entering the devastated township. People from far-off areas have started reaching with rations, medicines and drinking water. The administration too has pressed into service 30 boats in those areas, which have been cut off from road routes, to rescue stranded people and distribute relief material to them. Officials of the administration stated that tarpaulin sheets are also being provided to residents who have taken shelter on the roofs of their houses. The administration officials stated that at least 1,700 people have been rescued and shifted to safer places. Amritsar, August 30 Amid continuous spells of rain, swollen rivers and landslides in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, supplies of fresh vegetables from the hill state to the holy city has come down by 80 per cent (due to incessant rain) as compared to the corresponding period last year. Rakesh Kumar Ladda, a wholesale vegetable dealer, who has been dealing in vegetable supplies with Himachal Pradesh for the past two decades, said barring tomato, prices of several varieties of fresh vegetables surged by about 40 to 60 per cent in the past fortnight in the local wholesale market. He said despite the hike, vegetables are affordable for most people as rates of main vegetables like tomato, onion and potato are reasonable. A kilogram of tomatoes is available at Rs 40, onion at Rs 30 and potato Rs 20. Notably, Disruption in supplies from Himachal areas led to a jump in prices of tomatoes in the local market. FILE the price of tomatoes was hovering around Rs 100 about 10 days ago. Disruption in supplies from Himachal areas led to a jump in prices of tomatoes in the local market. However, it prompted the vegetable dealers to look for crops in other markets of the country. The bulk of tomato supply from Maharashtra brought down the prices, bringing relief to common people. From July to September, the city receives the bulk of supplies of tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, capsicum (in all three colours — green, yellow and red), beans and other fresh vegetables from Himachal. Paramjit Singh, another wholesale vegetable dealer, said the prices of several vegetables have surged due to the continuous rain, floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, disrupting the known supply routes for the local market. Local entrepreneurs swiftly approached markets in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi for the smooth supply of vegetables. At present, there is no supply disruption on account of floods in parts of Punjab. The supply of cauliflower from Dera Baba Nanak, which starts in September, is likely to be affected due to the floods in the border areas of Gurdaspur. The Ravi, which is in spate, passes through Dera Baba Nanak before crossing over to Pakistan. Rajasthan’s Pushkar has replaced Himachal Pradesh as the supply hub of cauliflower and cabbage. Guru Nanak Dev’s wedding anniv celebrations conclude IED blast: Probe revealed target was inspector-rank official Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, August 30 Guru Nanak Dev’s 538th wedding anniversary celebrations, also known as Babe da Viah, concluded on a vibrant note with nearly a lakh devotees paying obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Kandh Sahib. Intermittent drizzle failed to dampen the spirits of the devotees. The police had made arrangements to ensure that the roads did not get clogged with traffic. Both the devout and the dedicated walked for kilometres in the wedding procession notwithstanding the rain. The queues leading to the sacred gurdwara were too serpentine for comfort and unfortunately many lost a chance to bow their heads in reverence. Residents felt elated as the city sported a clean look. Street lights had been Devotees take out a procession on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev’s wedding anniversary. repaired and heaps of garbage, which normally used to pile up on roads, were taken care of. The onus was on Batala MLA Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi to make the event a success. This organisation of this event is considered to be politically important because a mistake here or there can dent the vote-bank of the sitting legislator. On his part, Kalsi and some officials carried out an inspection in the c m y b wee hours today to make sure everything was in order. Special arrangements were made by Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Vikramjit Singh Panthey to lighten up the strategic Hansli bridge, one of the oldest landmarks of this town. Keeping in view the religious significance and sensitivity of the event, Gurdaspur administration officials, including Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dalwinderjit Singh, ADC (General) Harjinder Singh Bedi and Batala SSP Suhail Qasim Mir, pulled out all the stops to make the ceremony a fruitful one. “On the one hand, the area was ravaged by floods, while on the other hand, this particular event could not be ignored at any cost. The officials did well to balance things and ensure the ceremony ended on a lively note,” said a senior official. Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 30 Days after a senior constable was critically wounded in the IED blast while defusing it, it has been learnt that the IED recovered by the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) was meant to target an inspector-rank official. Cops associated with the investigation are tightlipped over this. Nevertheless, sources said the IED was to be planted by operatives of ISI-supported Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International, but the police got an intelligence input and it was recovered from a police station where the cop was deputed. The SSOC had recovered the IED along with two hand grenades. It SPECIAL CELL HAD RECOVERED IED ■ Cops associated with the investigation are tight-lipped over this. Nevertheless, sources said the IED was to be planted by operatives of ISI-supported Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International, but the police got an intelligence input and it was recovered from a police station where the cop was deputed. The SSOC had recovered the IED along with two hand grenades. It was safely shifted to the SSOC office complex to be defused later on. was safely shifted to the SSOC office complex to be defused later on. As per the laid-down procedure, a bomb disposal squad was summoned from Jalandhar and after defusing the same, the IED and hand grenades were being shifted safely. However, an explosion took place in the IED leading to critical injuries to senior constable Gurpreet Singh. Initially, the police remained in denial mode over the incident, however, when The Tribune highlighted the incident, the police released the statement admitting to the blast and injury to the cop. According to the sources, the IED was meant to target an inspector-rank official who had made significant seizure of arms, weapons and drugs while busting BKI modules and arresting their operatives. The cop had earlier got threats from the terrorist organisation.