08012026-ATR-01.qxd 1/7/2026 10:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON CHINA DOR USE AS MERCURY FALLS, RISK OF HEART ATTACK RISES: DOCS DHURANDHAR GROSSES OVER ~831 CR, SETS BENCHMARK Warns of fine up to ~15 lakh for sale or storage; officials directed to ensure strict enforcement. P2 With the onset of winter, chances of heart attacks and stroke increase, prompting experts to issue warnings. P3 Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar has become the only Hindi film ever to gross over ~831 crore. P4 » » » MAX 12°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 5°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:30 AM THURSDAY | 8 JANUARY 2026 | AMRITSAR Wall clock offered by Lord Curzon at Golden Temple restored, reinstalled Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 A wall clock offered by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, to the holiest Sikh shrine in the World, the Golden Temple, 123 years ago was reinstalled at the same place today after it was successfully repaired by its parent company. The restoration work and transit took two years. Inderjeet Singh, in charge of the affairs of the Birmingham-based Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha (GNNSJ) here, said overseas jatha members paid around Rs 90 lakh restoration cost to Elking- ton & Co, the company which had manufactured it over a century and a quarter ago. The company is engaged in production of trophies for Wimbledon. The golden colour clock easily jells well with the gold plating around it. It is liked for its exquisite craftsmanship. It was found that the clock had been extensively damaged, which included dents, cracks and breakage of elements, some of which possibly happened due to falling from height. A number of repairs of the clock had been undertaken using readily available tools and methods that too had caused damage of their own. Some decorative fea- Members of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha pose with the restored wall clock in Amritsar. tures appeared missing. The original clock move- ment, hands and dial were not present, and were replaced with a more modern mass produced quartz movement and aluminium sheet dial with stickered Gurmukhi numerals. Restoration of the clock movement, hands and dial design was carried out by Alastair Chandler, director, The Clock Clinic. Restoration of the remaining clock, including the housing, front face, bezel, rear door and embellishments was the responsibility of Kam Lawla of Genius of the Lamp and Concours Plating. After getting the clock back on its premises, the company started researching its antiquity, embellishments and technical details. David Rooney, a historian, curator and author spe- cialising in the history of timekeeping and its impact on society, shared accounts of Curzon’s first official visit to the Golden Temple on April 9, 1900, as well as official presentation of the clock to the authorities by the Viceroy’s representative on October 31, 1902. He noted that Curzon offered to replace this clock keeping with the surroundings. The clock has been executed according to his designs, which contained his family’s hereditary badge rather than a personal emblem. Its case, which is of chiselled and gilded brass, has been designed to harmonise as far as feasible, with the feature and style of the Golden Temple, showing Curzon as a person having interest in religion and the holy place of worship of the brave and loyal Sikh people,” reads the speech given by Curzon’s representative on presenting the clock at the Golden Temple. Dr Andrews Lewis in his research observed that Lord Curzon, it transpired, had visited the Golden Temple as part of his spring tour as Viceroy. He or his wife, according to later press reports, had noticed an old and unbecoming clock in the shrine, and convinced that this would never do, Curzon had offered to replace it. Two main shooters of foreign-based Grenade found near Batala brings gangster culture, gangster Prabh Dasuwal arrested extortions into limelight One injured in exchange of fire with police during recovery of weapon Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 The Amritsar police have arrested two main shooters of foreign-based gangster Prabh Dasuwal, whose name had figured in the recent AAP sarpanch Jarmal Singh’s murder. One of the arrested accused, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Chattiwind village in Amritsar (Rural), was injured in the police encounter on Wednesday during the recovery of a weapon. Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Police Commissioner, Amritsar, said with their arrest the police had cracked the firing incident outside a tyre showroom that took place in April last year. Sharing details, he said that on April 11, 2025, two unidentified youths with their faces covered fired three rounds at Creative Wheels showroom over extortion. Following this, a case under the BNS and Arms Act was registered at Maqboolpura police station here. “Following sustained technical surveillance and investiga- Commissioner GS Bhullar and other officers at the firing spot in Amritsar on Wednesday. tion, police teams identified the accused and reconstructed their roles. It was found that Bohar Singh, a resident of Cheemi village at Patti, Tarn Taran, was riding the motorcycle during the incident while Gurpreet fired at the showroom. Their third accomplice Jobanpreet Singh of Chatiwind village remained positioned at a distance to provide logistical support and facilitate their escape,” said 5 kg heroin seized in two instances, one nabbed Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 In two separate seizures, the police and the Border Security Force (BSF) seized a large quantity of heroin, along with firearms, and arrested one accused here today. In the first instance, a police team while conducting vehicle checking at a naka near the stadium in Lopoke area to trace wanted persons, intercepted a white Honda City car coming at high speed from the side of Hetampura village. The vehicle was stopped and its driver, identified as Ajul Arora, a resident of Bagh Ramanand, Ghee Mandi here, who runs a boutique, was taken into custody. A search of the car led to the recovery of 4.863 kg of heroin, two 9 mm pistols, 10 cartridges and the vehicle used for transportation. A case was registered against him and further probe was on to ascertain the source of the contraband and the arms seized, apart from establishing his links. Meanwhile in a separate case, the BSF seized around 1 kg heroin smuggled from Pakistan. The packet, wrapped in yellow tape, was opened in the presence of BSF officials and found to contain heroin. A sample was tested with a drug detection kit, which confirmed the substance to be heroin. On weighing it, the total weight of the heroin was found to be 1 kg. It was later handed over to the police for further probe and a case had been registered with Ramdass police station in Ajnala subdivision. Further investigation is underway to establish the source of the contraband and to identify other persons involved in the drug trafficking network. the Police Commissioner. Gurpreet is a cousin of Bohar, while Jobanpreet was their close associate. The police said the accused was involved in several cases of firing and intimidation. Bhullar said the investigation further revealed that gangster Prabh had been making extortion calls to businessmen and prominent individuals. Bohar acted as the local coordinator and was in direct VISHAL KUMAR contact with the gangster. During recovery proceedings today, Gurpreet allegedly opened fire at the police party. Acting in self-defence, Inspector Jasjit Singh, SHO, Maqboolpura police station, retaliated with his service weapon. The accused sustained a bullet injury in his right leg, and was overpowered and taken to a hospital. A .30-bore pistol was seized from his possession, he said. Gurpreet and Joban were arrested by the local police from Vallah area on Monday. Gurpreet is already facing a case under the Arms Act and extortion-related provisions registered at Tarn Taran police station, while Jobanpreet is involved in a criminal case. The police have also added the name of Bohar, who is presently lodged in a jail in an attempt to murder case registered at Patti Sadar police station. He will be brought on a production warrant for further investigation, the Police Commissioner said. The police said the accused were also involved in several other firing incidents, including an attack on a salon in Tarn Taran on April 20, 2025, firing at a parked car of a private school principal in Valtoha, firing at an individual outside a grocery shop at Seron village and firing at a goldsmith’s shop in Tarn Taran. The police said further investigation is underway to trace additional links of the extortion network and identify other accomplices of the gang. Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, January 7 A grenade found at the Jalandhar bypass near Batala on Monday night has once again turned the spotlight on the scourge of gangsterism, which, in any case, is widely prevalent in the area. The incident has also put the Batala police on the backfoot even as the BSF had to be requisitioned from Gurdaspur to diffuse the grenade. Batala SSP Mehtab Singh said that the grenade was diffused in a joint operation with the BSF “A bomb disposal . squad was called to tackle the situation. We are investigating the case. An FIR has been registered at the Civil Lines police station,” he said. Extortion calls made either by the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria or Donny Bal group have become the talk of the town. Police officers, while admitting that such calls are regularly being made to residents, say a majority of them are never reported to the the investigations. The police are also under orders from the top to downplay incidents of grenades and IEDs. That is the reason why officers resort to claiming that “a tyre had exploded” whenever an attack is launched on a police station. It is a known fact that gangsters who are behind grenade attacks have nothing to do with terrorist organisations like the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) or the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). “The Khalistan issue is dead and buried. People responsible for such things are hardened criminals and extortionists. Most of the gangsters operating in Majha have links with their handlers residing in foreign countries,” admitted an SSPrank officer. Repeated attacks on police stations of border areas have forced cops to take corrective measures like increasing the size of the outer walls of their establishments. Now, vacuum-based litter picking machine to clean city roads Punjabi singer booked for displaying arms on social media Amritsar, January 7 The Amritsar (Rural) police have registered a case against Punjabi singer Ramandeep Singh, popularly known as Rammi Randhawa, for allegedly displaying firearms on his social media account. The police took suo motu cognisance of the post after it came to their notice that the singer had uploaded photographs of arms on Facebook. Following verification of the content, the Ajnala police registered an FIR against him under Section 223 of the BNS and relevant provisions of the Arms Act. ASI Kanwaljit Singh said the police received specific information that Ramandeep had shared objectionable images of weapons on his social media platform. “On checking his Facebook account, the information was found to be correct. Display of arms on social media is a violation of the law, following which a case was registered,” he said. — TNS police. “People just pay the money and keep quiet. On their part, gangsters diligently follow the unwritten rule of not calling the same person again once he has coughed up the ransom,” said an officer. It has also become common for gangsters to target police stations in Majha. Several instances of police installations being targeted have surfaced in the recent past. The information about Monday’s grenade incident was kept under wraps by the security agencies. A senior officer claimed that district police chiefs “were under orders from the top” not to disclose any information about any grenade attack till it is cleared by Chandigarh top-brass of the Punjab Police. Such incidents have created a fear-psychosis among residents in the past. “This is one reason why officers are reluctant to divulge any information till instructions arrive from Chandigarh,” said an officer involved in Tribune News Service Amritsar Rural SSP hands over a lost mobile phone to the owner during a programme organised in Amritsar on Wednesday. Amritsar Rural police return 300 lost phones to owners Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 In a people-friendly drive, the Amritsar Rural Police traced and returned 300 lost mobile phones worth nearly Rs 60 lakh to their rightful owners within just one month. Launched under a special campaign, the operation used c m y b the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal and a dedicated district-level help desk to track missing phones across Punjab and several other states. The recovered devices included seven high-end iPhones. The recovered mobile phones were formally handed over to their owners during a special event organised by the police. Amritsar SSP Rural Suhail Qasim Mir said the initiative would continue, reaffirming the police commitment to public. The drive brought visible relief and smiles to the faces of people, many of whom thanked the police for restoring their lost phones and faith in the system. Amritsar, January 7 In a major step towards keeping the city clean and beautiful, Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Bikramjit Singh Shergill on Wednesday inaugurated an advanced vacuum-based litter picking and dust blowing machine at the Company Bagh. The modern machine will help in cleaning road sides by vacuuming garbage, dry leaves, plastic bags and other waste. Using advanced vacuum technology, the machine will ensure faster, more effective and environment-friendly cleaning of city roads. Addressing the gathering, Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia said that the municipal corporation was making continuous efforts to keep the city clean, green and garbage free. He said that recently a contract for garbage collection and transportation had been awarded to RRR Company. He added that under this arrangement, new garbage collection vehicles have already been deployed and their number will be increased in the coming days. The Mayor said that despite regular cleaning by the sanitation staff and garbage collection vehicles, some people continue to throw waste on roadsides. To tackle this problem, two advanced vacuumbased litter picking machines will be introduced. These machines will help in thorough cleaning of road sides. Initially, they will be used on major commercial roads and later similar machines will be deployed in other parts of the city. He added that the use of modern technology will help transform Amritsar into a smart city in the true sense.