26112025-ATR-01.qxd 11/25/2025 11:38 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 22°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 8°C GNDU TO SET UP CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES CENTRE ARTIST SHALINI PASSI WALKS THE RED CARPET IN NY DILJIT DOSANJH SHINES, CHAMKILA DOESN’T GNDU Vice-Chancellor Karamjeet Singh has discussed the future roadmap for the university’s academic development. P2 Shalini Passi turned heads as she made a fashion statement at the 53rd Emmy Awards in New York. P4 Actor-singer misses out on the Best Actor award at the 53rd International Emmy Awards-2025. P4 » » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.27 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7.08 AM WEDNESDAY | 26 NOVEMBER 2025 | AMRITSAR Flood-hit farmers fail to sow wheat crop as fields still buried under silt Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar along with other officials at the encounter spot at Verka in Amritsar on Tuesday. Sultanwind robbery cracked: Key accused held after encounter Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 25 The city police claimed to have solved the armed robbery that took place on November 20 at a readymade garment shop in the Sultanwind area, where three youths held the shop owner at gunpoint and looted Rs 2.5 lakh in cash along with a gold bracelet. The police arrested Baljit Singh, alias Buli, who was caught along with a Glock pistol and a bulletproof jacket. During questioning, he revealed the names of his associates Kanish of Yasin Road, Varun Bhatia, alias Billa, of Amarkot Joura Phatak and Karan Singh, alias Suraj of Chattiwind. With this information, the police launched a coordinated operation to track down the remaining suspects. On November 25, a police team was on patrol near the Verka bypass when they signalled a man to stop. Instead of halting, he ran towards nearby fields and fired three rounds at the police. Inspector Baljinder Singh, SHO, BDivision, fired a warning shot, but the suspect continued shooting. To protect the team, the SHO fired back in self-defence, injuring the accused in the leg. The man was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was identified as Kanish. The police recovered a .30 bore pistol from him on the spot. During further questioning, he revealed that he was on his way to meet his associates Suraj and Varun. Acting on this lead, another police team raided the Vallah area the same evening and arrested both Suraj and Varun, recovering two pistols from them. The investigation has since revealed that Kanish and Suraj had earlier shot and injured a man, Sagar of Krishna Nagar, under the jurisdiction of the Mohkampura police station, where on November 6, an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and the Arms Act. It also came to light that Kanish and Varun were involved in the snatching of an Activa scooter, reported on November 17 at the Sultanwind police station. Kanish is also wanted in an attempted murder case at the Maqboolpura police station. The police said the gang’s criminal activities extend further. Suraj and Baljit Singh were previously found involved in the murder of councillor Harjinder Singh, alias Brahman, of Jandiala Guru, a case registered on May 25 at the Chheharta police station. With the fresh arrests, the police have recovered four weapons, including a Glock pistol, two .30 bore pistols and one 9mm pistol, along with a bulletproof jacket. All four arrested gang members have criminal records. Baljit Singh, 32, from Jandiala Guru, is unemployed and has eight previous cases registered against him, including under the Arms Act, NDPS Act, murder and snatching. Kanish, 20, has studied up to eighth standard and is unemployed, with three previous cases of snatching and Arms Act violations registered against him. Karan Singh, alias Suraj, 22, from Chattiwind, works as a waiter and is involved in six earlier cases under the Arms Act, NDPS Act and attempt to murder. Varun Bhatia, 25, has one previous snatching case and works in marketing. Kanish, who fired at the police, remains under medical care due to injuries sustained during the Verka bypass encounter. The operation was led by DCP (Detective) Ravinderpal Singh, ADCP-3 Jasroop Batth, ACP (East) Gagandeep Singh and Inspector Baljinder Singh, SHO, BDivision police station. The police said investigation is underway. Tarn Taran, November 25 Thousands of acres of land situated in the Mand area of several villages along the river in Tarn Taran, which were completely damaged during the floods when river water entered the fields, have still not been made cultivable. The affected farmers not only lost their paddy crop at the time but have also failed to sow the next wheat crop. A satisfactory aspect of the situation is that many social organisations and several religious bodies have come forward to help the affected farmers in cleaning the vast stretches of land filled with sand and silt, which is not an easy task. In the Mand area of Chamba Kalan village, a total of 1,500 acres were damaged in the floods, out of which wheat NSG conducts mock drills in parts of city Amritsar, November 25 A team of the National Security Guard (NSG) carried out a mock drill to test their preparedness to tackle any untoward event in the city on Tuesday. The mock drill, about which the media was not informed, was held on the campus of Guru Nanak Dev University. Punjab police also assisted the NSG. Last night, a mock drill was held outside Durgiana temple. Sources in the police said people need not panic if blast-like sounds were heard during the drill as the city is preparing for any major terrorist attack. The exercise also involved the use of fire extinguishers and other hi-tech gadgets. They said such exercises were needed to make the force ready to handle any eventuality. — TNS Murder suspect injured, arrested in police shootout Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 25 The Amritsar Rural Police arrested a key accused in the Dhulka village murder case following a brief encounter here in the wee hours of Tuesday. The arrested accused has been identified as Sukhpreet Singh, alias Sukh, a resident of Ugana village in Patiala district. He is the main accused of supplying weapons and providing shelter to the shooters involved in the murder of Manjit Singh on November 16. DIG, Border Range, Sandeep Goel and SSP , Amritsar (Rural), Suhail Mir said on November 16, two unidentified assailants entered a shop at Dhulka village and shot dead Manjit Singh. A case was registered at the Khilchian police station under BNS provisions and the Arms Act. Earlier, the prime accused, Raja Singh, alias Billa, of Cheema Kalan, was gunned down in a police encounter, while his associate, Manpreet Singh, alias Shammi, was arrested. During the ongoing investigation, the police received intelligence that Sukhpreet Singh was moving in the area and planning another incident. Acting on information, SI Ajaypal Singh and his team laid a naka near the Jethuwal canal. The accused arrived at the spot and attempted to flee, opening fire at the police party. In retaliatory fire, he sustained injuries and was overpowered. The police recovered a 9mm pistol and three live cartridges from his possession. He was taken to hospital, where his condition was stated to be stable. The police said the accused had strong links with an organised gang and had facilitated the shooters both before and after the murder. Officials confirmed efforts were underway to identify more associates, trace the weapon supply chain and establish wider gang connections. c m y b PHOTO BY WRITER Gurbaxpuri Followers of the Kar Sewa sect (Sarhali) provide help to farmers at Bhojoke village in Tarn Taran. could be sown in only 500 acres. Master Dalbir Singh, former sarpanch Balkar Singh, Pargat Singh Chamba, Ajitpal Singh and others said that about 300 farmers owning 1,000 acres are facing acute hardship and have been pushed to the brink of destitution. They said they have neither received compensation for the damaged crop nor has any government official or MLA offered to help them in making their land cultivable. The situation is the same in Mundapind village, where wheat could not be sown on 1,200 acres due to the extent of land damage. Followers of Baba Sukha Singh and Baba Hakam Singh of Kar Sewa Samparda, Sarhali Sahib, have deployed tractor-trolleys for the last three weeks to help restore the damaged land of farmers at Dhunn, Karmunwala, Gharka and other Mand area villages. The sect is currently restoring 60 acres belonging to 17 farmers at Bhojoke village in Patti tehsil. There are a large number of flood-affected farmers who have still not been paid compensation. The district administration has not been able to provide data on the land damaged due to the floods. Nachhatar Singh, district president of the Kirti Kisan Union, said the state government has totally failed to provide the due compensation to the affected farmers. Deputy Commissioner Rahul, when contacted, neither picked up the phone nor replied to messages sent on WhatsApp in this regard. RO systems installed in 23 flood-affected Ajnala schools for safe drinking water Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 25 The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), district unit, in collaboration with the Rotary Club, has distributed Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems to 23 middle and primary schools in Ajnala. These systems will filter contaminated water into safe drinking water. These schools were among the worsthit government institutions during the floods that struck the border belt in Amritsar in August and September. On Tuesday, members of the DTF and the Rotary Club visited these schools with the ROs to be installed. “There was large-scale damage inside government schools, especially middle and primary schools, which were already in need of infrastructural over- The ROs which would be installed at government schools in Ajnala. haul. The immediate damage was to the kitchens where ration was stocked and to the clean water systems where submersibles were damaged. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, the DTF Amritsar unit, under the decisions taken in the district committee meeting, allocated an amount of ?1.76 lakh to farmers for the purchase of advanced seeds, with the aim of spending the collected amount in three parts. Also, to provide clean and pure water to students of flood-affected primary and middle schools, ROs were distributed to reinstate safe water supply for children,” said Ashwani Awasthi, district unit head of DTF and a member of Rotary Club, New Amritsar. Block Education Officer (Ajnala-1) Daljit Singh said that for the last one month, group-building activities have been conducted in schools damaged in the floods. “Due to disruptions in the supply of clean drinking water in schools, we used to ask school heads to either purchase water for drinking purposes or ask children to bring water from their homes. But with the RO systems installed, schools will now be able to provide safe drinking water,” he said. DEO, Elementary, Amritsar, Kanwaljit Singh assured that rebuilding work in all government schools in the area would continue through collaborative efforts.