16012026-ATR-01.qxd 1/15/2026 10:20 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 9°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 11°C | MIN 4°C MINISTER LINKS MURDER ACCUSED TO CONG LEADERS PUNJAB’S CRICKETING FUTURE LIES IN SMALLER DISTRICTS PRIYANKA CHOPRA-STARRER THE BLUFF TRAILER OUT Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar has released several photographs of murder accused with senior Congress leaders. P2 With Gurdaspur-born cricketer becoming Canada team captain, the spotlight has shifted to neglected hinterland. P3 The film offers a glimpse into high-octane action drama which centres on the survival of a family on an island. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.49 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:30 AM FRIDAY | 16 JANUARY 2026 | AMRITSAR President recalls Guru’s teachings, confers degrees at GNDU golden jubilee convocation Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 15 Guru Nanak Dev University organised its 50th golden jubilee convocation on Thursday at the Golden Jubilee Convention Centre, with President Droupadi Murmu presiding over the event. Murmu delivered an inspiring convocation address, encouraging students to serve the nation with knowledge, innovation and ethical values. The ceremony was held in the presence of the Governor of Punjab and Chancellor, GNDU, Gulab Chand Kataria, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains and Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Murmu conferred honorary doctorate degrees (honoris causa) upon Vikramjit Singh Sahney, member of Rajya Sabha, and Jasvir Gill, Chief Executive Officer, Alert Enterprise Inc., California (USA). She also awarded 17 medals, 176 PG/UG degrees and 258 PhD degrees. Guru Nanak Dev University VC Karamjeet Singh presents a memento to President Droupadi Murmu at the university’s 50th golden jubilee convocation in Amritsar on Thursday. She expressed delight that Guru Nanak Dev University was founded amid the 500th birth celebrations of the Guru, with his profound teachings and ethos serving as its enduring compass. The President recalled that Guru Nanak Dev championed equality for women in all spheres of life. She asserted that empowering women to advance with unbridled assurance was essential for societal harmony and national vitality, calling on all to champion this cause. She also mentioned the drug abuse issue in Punjab. “We need an absolute solution to it and that can only come when youth connects with youth, making education accessible and inclusive. Youth needs to move towards the future with scientific temperament, a sense of responsibility and commitment towards nation.” She advised students to harness expertise and talent gained from formal education not for personal profit, but for the broader welfare of community and country. Vice-Chancellor Karamjeet Singh shared that responsively adapting to evolving strategic needs, the university had pioneered AI-based and job-oriented programmes, bolstered skill development and entrepreneurship education and incubated innovation that had spawned over 50 startups. “Equally resolute in its social mandate, the GNDU remains steadfastly committed to responsibility via its green campus environmental ini- tiatives, animal welfare endeavours and a 5 per cent supernumerary reservation for students from rural and border areas, thereby championing inclusive access to quality education,” he said. Meanwhile, Lalit Jain, an officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, presently on Central deputation with the Government of India as Director, Census Operations & Citizenship Registration, Ministry of Home Affairs, today received the degree of PhD in law from Guru Nanak Dev University. His doctoral research, titled “Impact of Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 on Ease of Doing Business and Entrepreneurial Intentions”, presents a comprehensive legal and policy analysis of land reforms, ease of doing business, environmental protection, climate change considerations and sustainable entrepreneurship with special reference to Himachal Pradesh. Ten months on, Police bust racket involved in theft, Tarn Taran MC sale of CCTV batteries, arrest four awaits office-bearers Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, January 15 The Tarn Taran Municipal Council is still awaiting its office-bearers, including the president. The election of the 25-member municipal council was held in March last year. In this election, the ruling party (AAP) had to face a huge embarrassment as it managed to win only eight wards. In the election, Navjot Kaur Hundal, wife of then AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, had lost the election. In the election, 14 Independents and Congress candidates from three wards won the election. Following this, the eight elected councillors of AAP did not put up a united face, and of the 14 Independent candidates, eight joined SAD during the run-up to the Tarn Taran byelection. However, the political equation of the elected members of the MC has changed after Harmeet Singh Sandhu became the MLA from Tarn Taran Assembly constituency. The tone of the eight elected councillors of AAP changed. Apart from this, three candidates of the Congress broke away from the party and announced their support to the then ruling party MLA, Kashmir Singh. According to the current situation, the election of the president of the municipal council is in the hands of the AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu, he is keeping the cards close to his heart. About two months ago, when the result of the Tarn Taran byelection was announced, the councillors were expecting the election of the president, etc. to be held soon. Surinder Singh Malhi, a councillor who won the municipal council election as an Independent candidate, said that no councillor could claim anything on when the election would be held because no higher official was ready to act as per the law. The SDM is the competent authority to conduct the election for this post, but he did not even pick up his mobile phone to give information about it. MLA Sandhu has also refused to give any information. Amritsar, January 15 The Amritsar city police on Thursday arrested four persons for stealing and illegally purchasing batteries installed in surveillance cameras under the Smart City Project, dealing a blow to a gang targeting the city’s CCTV infrastructure. According to the police, a case was registered at the cantonment police station on the complaint of KEC International Ltd., Mumbai, the executing agency for the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) project. It reported that during inspections conducted on the night of January 7 and 8, 12V SMF batteries were found missing from surveillance junctions number 149 and 150, falling under the jurisdiction of the cantonment police station. The arrested accused have been identified as Satnam Singh, a resident of Ghannupur Kale village, Kashmir Singh Jaju of Milap Avenue on Sher Shah Suri Road, Amrik Singh of Gali Thane Wali in the Japani Mill area and Chander Parkash of Ram Nagar Colony, Islamabad. City police with the four accused in Amritsar on Thursday. The seized drugs in the custody of police in Amritsar on Thursday. 4 held with 40 kg heroin in Amritsar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 15 In one of the major heroin hauls this year, the Counter Intelligence (CI) here has busted an inter-state racket of narcotic smuggling with the seizure of 40 kg heroin. Four operatives involved in the racket have been arrested by the police so far. Disclosing the details, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that in the intelligenceled operation the arrested accused had been identified as Narinder Singh, Suraj, Jacob Masih and Ajay Kumar, all residents of Kot Isse Khan in Moga district. The police have also impounded two vehicles — a Toyota Corolla Altis and a BMW car — which were being used to transport the narcotics consignment, he said. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had retrieved the heroin consignment on the directions of their handler, a habitual offender. The seized contraband was meant to be further supplied across various locations in Punjab,” the DGP said. He further said further Two arrested with 264 gm contraband Our Correspondent The police seized 17 batteries, apart from seizing a white Mahindra Bolero allegedly used in the crime. During interrogation, Satnam and Kashmir confessed to stealing the batteries and revealed that they sold the stolen items to Amrik and Chander. Acting on this disclosure, the police arrested the remaining two accused and seized 10 batteries from Amrik and seven from Chander. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that all seized batteries belonged to surveillance cameras installed under the Smart City Project. The accused have been brought on police remand and further interrogation is underway to ascertain the full extent of the network involved in such thefts. The ICCC project, launched under the Smart City Mission at a cost of Rs 105 crore, has repeatedly come under attack from thieves, thereby severely hampering Amritsar’s surveillance system. Over the past 26 months, miscreants have stolen nearly 800 batteries worth approximately Rs 50 lakh from CCTV camera installations across the city. Officials stated that the company executing the project has filed nearly 150 complaints at various police stations so far, but no significant recovery had been made until now. Due to the persistent thefts, the authorities concerned were compelled to directly connect around 200 CCTV cameras to the main electricity supply, bypassing the battery backup system. As a result, the cameras failed to operate during power cuts, disrupting roundthe-clock surveillance and affecting the city’s overall security monitoring. investigations were underway to unearth the entire supply chain and identify any more links, including possible cross-border connections. The police said CI Amritsar had received specific inputs about the operation of a drug smuggling network run by a proclaimed offender through his accomplices. Acting on this information, police teams laid a naka on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran highway and intercepted the accused near DPS School, Amritsar. A search of the vehicles led to the seizure of 40 kg heroin. Sources in the CI said that they were acting on the directions of Saurav, a habitual narco-smuggler of Kot Isse Khan. He has already been declared a proclaimed offender in several similar cases. Currently, he is active in Chandigarh and nearby areas. Efforts are on to nab him, the sources said. A case under Sections 21, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act has been registered at the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) police station, Amritsar. The accused were produced in the court and taken on police remand for further probe. Tarn Taran, January 15 The Khemkaran police led by ASI Gursahib Singh, along with a team of the BSF arrest, ed two and seized 264 gm of heroin from their possession on Wednesday. The police party also seized one broken Glock pistol. The police said that the accused had been identified as Sandeep Singh, a resident of ward No. 1, Khemkaran, and Akashdeep Singh Akash, a resident of Mehindipur village. Another accused Sandeep Singh, a resident of Bhangal village, too has been booked as the two confessed that they had procured the consignment from him. The police further said that they were on patrolling duty in the area when they got a tip-off about the movement of the accused with the contraband to deliver it someone. The accused, who were on a motor cycle, were arrested from the defense drain near Dall village. The motor cycle and their two mobile phones have also been impounded. The accused were produced before the court and have been sent to two-day police remand. Delay in flyover projects turns bypass road into accident zone Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 15 Long delayed flyover projects on the city’s bypass road have become a major cause of frequent accidents, especially during the ongoing foggy season. Poor visibility combined with unsafe construction practices are putting the lives of commuters at serious risk. Late on Wednesday night, a truck rammed into heaps of construction material lying on the Ranjit Avenue bypass. The accident occurred when dense fog reduced visibility to a few metres, leaving the driver with no warning of the obstruction ahead. The truck was badly damaged, though the driver escaped unhurt. However, the stranded vehicle became a cause of traffic jams on the stretch throughout on Thursday. Local residents and regular commuters say such incidents have become a routine on the bypass road. Several flyover projects, which were supposed to be completed long ago, are still incomplete, forcing vehicles to navigate through narrow and uneven stretches. Commuters have alleged that construction agencies have failed to install even basic warning signs, diversion boards or blinking lights to alert drivers, particularly at night and during foggy conditions. “During winter mornings and nights, the fog is so thick that you cannot see more than a few steps ahead. And then suddenly, you come across the narrow passage near the construction sites,” said Harjit Singh, a daily commuter. Jagwinder Singh, a resident of the area said, “With at least three flyovers being constructed on the bypass road, and being stalled for years, the commuters are at a great risk. Even the travelling time has increased.” He demanded that the projects should be completed in a time bound manner. Transporters and truck drivers, who frequently use the bypass to avoid inner city traffic, have also expressed concern. They said heavy vehicles face a higher risk as sudden braking on foggy roads can lead to pile ups and fatal accidents. Residents have accused the authorities of negli- c m y b gence, claiming that despite repeated complaints, no effective action has been taken. They have demanded that construction agencies be held accountable for safety lapses and that the administration ensure proper signage, barricading and lighting at all construction sites. Commuters insist that only speedy completion of the flyover projects and strict enforcement of safety norms can prevent further accidents on the bypass road. They stated that the bypass road was also used by people from outside the city to reach the airport and as they were often ignorant of the local road conditions, they are at risk of being in an accident. Recently, Lok Sabha member Gurjit Singh Aujla had raised the issue of the stalled flyover projects in the Parliament too. Aujla had stated that the undue delay and faulty design of some of these projects was not in the interest of the commuters. The LS member had also demanded that the projects which were vital for development of the city must be completed in time. A delayed flyover project on the bypass road in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR