28102025-JTR-01.qxd 10/27/2025 10:39 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune SUKHBIR VISITS PHAGWARA TO UNITE CADRE AHEAD OF ELECTIONS SCHOOLS TO REPRESENT STATE AT NAT’L SCIENCE EXHIBITION MADHAVAN TRANSFORMS INTO EDISON OF INDIA GD NAIDU He visited the residence of Jarnail Singh Wahid, where he convened a closed-door meeting with SGPC members. P2 52nd National Children’s Science Exhibition will be held in Bhopal from November 18 to 23. P3 R Madhavan in his biopic GDN plays the role of Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, aka the Edison of India. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 28°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:40 AM » TUESDAY | 28 OCTOBER 2025 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. 400 families face eviction from Woman drugged, raped by man in encroached PSPCL land in city Jalandhar hotel Accused absconding, cops’ raids on Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service INBRIEF TWO BOOKED FOR FARM FIRES Phagwara: The police have booked a farmer on the charge of burning paddy stubble. The accused has been identified as Satpal Singh, a resident of Gatta Mundi Kassu village. The officers have sent their reports to the police which were verified and examined at the place of occurrence. The accused had set afire his stubble and violated government order and polluted the atmosphere. A casse has been registered against the accused. The police booked farmer Gurcharan Singh of Raipur village for burning paddy stubble . OC WOMEN NABBED FOR KIDNAPPING Phagwara: The police arrested a woman on the charge of kidnapping a minor. The accused has been identified as Chhindar Kaur of Badshahpur village. The mother of the victim had complained to the police that the accused conspired with her son to kidnap her minor daughter on September 30. A case has been registered against the accused and her son. OC MURDER ACCUSED PO ARRESTED Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) absconding for the last year. The accused has been identified as Sukhpreet Singh, alias Sukh Chahal, a resident of Shahla Nagar village and wanted in a murder case registered in 2021 and was declared PO in 2024. OC MLA takes up issues with MC Commissioner Jalandhar, October 27 Jalandhar North MLA Bawa Henry, along with elected Congress councillors, met Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Rishi at the MC office on Monday to discuss several development-related issues concerning the constituency. Speaking to The Tribune after the meeting, the MLA said he had raised multiple questions regarding civic infrastructure and ongoing development works, but alleged that the official present was unable to provide satisfactory answers. Henry pointed out that storm water line was not connected in Lammapind where road had been dug up. He also highlighted persistent sewerage issues in Transport Nagar, Ram Nagar, and the Gajigulla area, urging the administration to take immediate corrective measures. The MLA further expressed concern over the delay in developing the green belt from Patel Chowk towards Vidhipur railway lines. “I am amazed that the MC officials who were present had no answers when they should have been on their fingertips,” Henry remarked, emphasizing the need for greater accountability and efficiency in civic works. — TNS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 27 Occupants of nearly 400 houses in Dr BR Ambedkar Nagar, who have been living on a huge chunk of 7.79 acres of encroached land of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), are set to be evicted in a few weeks. Even as the PSPCL had won the case for possession of this prime property along Chugitti about 11 years ago in the local court, it could not take possession owing to lack of police support. The PSPCL had to move a petition for execution of the orders, following which the Rama Mandi SHO was asked to appear today in the court. Since the occupants of the land also appeared in the case, citing that they had some documents to prove their possession, the court decided to put off the matter to November 14. The land, which had been encroached since 1986, was in a litigation row since 2001. The matter was decided in 2014 after 13-year-long legal battle. However, the PSPCL is yet to get possession of the land, which is worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Advocate Sundeep Kanwal Singh Chhabra, counsel for the PSPCL, said it is all geared up to take possession of the land. “We have only been awaiting police protec- Jalandhar, October 27 A Dhilwan resident has been booked by the Rama Mandi police after a woman has alleged that the man raped her at a hotel in Jalandhar. On the complaint of the victim, the police has registered an FIR under Section 69 of the BNS against the accused, identified as Amandeep Singh Lally, a resident of Dhilwan. In a complaint to the police, made on Sunday morning, the victim alleged that the accused, who was known to her, called her to a hotel at Rama Mandi on the pretext of marrying her. She alleged that she came on her scooter on the night of October 25 to the hotel room, where the accused had also called two of his friends. The woman, who is an event manager by profession, alleged the accused drugged her by putting an intoxicant substance in her energy drink and raped her. She alleged she woke up in the morning with bruise marks all over her body. SHO Rama Mandi police station Manjinder Singh said, “An FIR has been registered against the accused, Mandeep Singh, who is reportedly a married man. The complainant has alleged that she was lured on the pretext of Residents of Dr BR Ambedkar Nagar live under fear of eviction after court orders in favour of PSPCL in Jalandhar. tion to avoid any untoward incident”, he said. It was on October 17, 1969, that the government had acquired the chunk of the land for the benefit of the BSF and had even got the mutation done in the name of the BSF Out of it, some land was . also transferred to Punjab Agriculture University for building the Sugarcane Research Station. Two years later on February 24, 1971, an agreement was signed in which the BSF and LAND WAS MEANT FOR PSPCL SUB-STATIONS ■ The PSPCL had plans to build sub-stations, residential quarters for staff ■ As it kept the construction pending for 15 years, people started encroaching over the land. around 179 constructions, including cemented, double-storey residences and shops were built illegally by people ■ With the passage of time, the PAU transferred the entire chunk of their land to the PSPCL. The land was officially transferred to the PSPCL. The PSPCL had plans to build sub-stations and residential quarters for their employees, Chhabra said. As the PSPCL kept the construction pending for 15 years, people started encroaching over the land. With the passage of time, around 179 constructions, including cemented, double-storey residences and shops were built illegally by people, the counsel said. The PSPCL filed a civil suit to get the land vacated. Interestingly, local politicians had even got the houses constructed with Centre’s grant utilising the PM Awas Yojna. Grants had even been doled out by the MLAs for constructing religious places and laying water and sewerage lines. The occupants had thus shown these documents in the court to prove that they were in the right possession of the property but to no avail. Kapurthala man released from BJP’s Khanna writes to PSHRC Saudi jail, thanks to Seechewal over waste surge at Phagwara Our Correspondent Phagwarai, October 27 A young man from Kapurthala district, Akshay Kumar (name changed), had gone to Saudi Arabia for work, where he was accused of theft by his employer and imprisoned. After enduring more than three-anda-half years of imprisonment for a sentence that was meant to last just 10 months, he has finally returned home, thanks to the efforts of MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. Akshay shared that he was never even informed about what item he had stolen. He said many Indians in Saudi prisons are trapped in false cases and have been languishing there for years. Akshay recalled that even after completing his sentence, he was kept behind bars for two more years, and he had lost all hope of ever seeing life beyond the high prison walls again. His wife said he had been working as a driver in Saudi Arabia for several years. In 2022, he returned home on a two-month leave, but after going back, all contact with him had been lost for months. Finally, on August 25, 2023, she reached out to Seechewal’s office for help. Following his intervention, it was discovered that Akshay had been charged with theft and sentenced to 10 months in jail. Even after his sentence had ended, the company demanded around Rs 7.25 lakh for his release. The family, already struggling financially, was facing hardships. They again approached Seechewal, whose efforts ensured that Akshay was released and safely brought back to India — without paying a single penny. THE TRIBUNE IMPACT Our Correspondent Phagwara, October 27 Former Rajya Sabha member and ex-MLA from Garhshankar Avinash Rai Khanna has written to the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC), urging it to take cognizance of what he termed a clear case of human rights violation arising from administrative inaction over the post-Diwali waste crisis in Phagwara. In his letter addressed to the Chairman of the commission, Khanna cited a recent news report titled “Phagwara grapples with post-Diwali waste surge” published in The Tribune, highlighting the plight of residents struggling with heaps of garbage and unhygienic conditions after the festive celebrations. Khanna expressed concern over the “complete inaction” of the municipal authorities, stating that the accumulation of waste posed serious health and sanitation risks to the public. “The failure of officials to maintain cleanliness amounts to a denial of basic human rights,” he wrote, urging the commission to intervene immediately. The former BJP leader requested the commission to direct the departments to undertake urgent cleaning drives in the affected areas and fix accountability for the lapse. He emphasised that such negligence not only tarnishes the image of the administration, but also directly affects the dignity and well-being of citizens. Industrialists pamper migrants, offer Chhath Puja facilities Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 27 Alarmed by trainloads of migrant workers leaving for their home states for the Chhath Puja since the last week, members of the Focal Point Association are offering special facilities to them to celebrate the festival here only. The association was jolted to action after the workforce of factories slipped by 20 per cent, with more labourers lined up to take a month-long leave. They then convinced the workers by promising to provide elaborate arrangements for them and their families to perform the rituals right outside the entry point of Focal Point. To create temporary ghats for performing the puja, rectangular pits were dug up and water was released into them from an adjoining overhead tank. As the evening Arghya to the Sun God was to be performed today, thousands of Bihar-based families, carrying bamboo baskets laden with offerings, reached the ghats. Women lit up diyas and stood in the water and prayed. All roads leading to the Chhath Puja ghats were jampacked this evening. Besides the temporary ghats, factory owners have also organised a cultural show for the migrants. Narinder S Sagoo, president of Focal Point Extension, said, “About 90 of the total 400 labourers of my factory had already left and similar was the case with other factory owners. So, we all decided to provide all festival-related facilities to the labourers right here. The labourers did not have to walk miles with their families to reach a canal or a water body. They literally got a doorstep facility. Even vendors selling items for offerings are also here. We allowed the workers to go home after 2 pm and they are all happy.” Mamta, who works in a hardware factory at Focal Point, said, “We used to earlier hire a tempo to reach a water body or go to Devi Talab Mandir for Chhath Puja. But this time, factory owners have been kind enough to make elaborate arrangements for the festival for us. Owing to their gesture, we decided to forgo our plan to go to Bihar. We might not even go on election days.” Two months ago there had been a campaign to oust migrants from Punjab relating them with more incidents of crime. But today it all seemed untrue as they were pampered not just by the industrialists but also the area councillors and leaders. All of them donated and contributed for their festivities to create a ‘Mini Bihar’ in Jalandhar. c m y b Create temporary ghats, hold cultural events near Focal Point Devotees perform Chhath Puja in Jalandhar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH ACCUSED’S 2 FRIENDS ALSO IN HOTEL The woman alleged the accused drugged her by putting an intoxicating substance in her energy drink and raped her. The accused had also called two of his friends. She woke up in the morning with bruise marks all over her body. marriage, drugged, and subsequently raped. The investigation is currently underway. The police have also conducted raids at the residence of the main accused and at the homes of his relatives.” But he is currently absconding. Investigations on the role of the other two friends of the accused, are also on. Their role in the case is still inconclusive. More details can only be expected only after the investigation. The police are on the lookout for the accused and he will be nabbed soon.” Call to repair road linking Hadiabad to Gandhwan Our Correspondent Phagwara, October 27 Residents of Hadiabad and adjoining villages, including Gandhwan and Mehtan, are facing immense difficulties due to the poor condition of the Hadiabad–Gandhwan link road, which connects several rural areas to Phagwara city. Locals on Monday submitted a memorandum to Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr Akshita Gupta and Mayor Rampal Uppal, demanding immediate reconstruction of the road to ensure safe and smooth commuting. Speaking to reporters after submitting the memorandum, local representatives Rajinder Kapoor, Kashmiri Lal (Sarpanch), Naresh Duggall and Manit Kapoor said the road had been dug up nearly a month ago for reconstruction, but no work had commenced since then. As a result, the road has become nearly impassable, causing daily inconvenience to commuters and posing a constant risk of accidents. The residents also demanded the installation of speed control signboards and a traffic light at Love-Kush Chowk, Hadiabad, stating that vehicles speeding from the Nakodar side often create dangerous situations that could lead to serious accidents. Mayor Rampal Uppal and Commissioner Dr Akshita Gupta assured the residents’ delegation that reconstruction work on the Gandhwan road would commence soon and that the ongoing problems would be resolved at the earliest.