20022026-JTR-01.qxd 2/19/2026 11:01 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune TEACHERS OPPOSE TET REQUIREMENT FOR THOSE APPOINTED BEFORE 2011 MAHILPUR STANDS TALL AS NURSERY OF FOOTBALL FOR 63 YEARS TANVI THE GREAT SWEEPS TOP HONOURS Delegation of teachers’ unions submits letter to Dasuya MLA Karambir Singh Ghumman. P2 Tourney stands testament to the fact that, here, the sport is a shared heartbeat passed down through generations.P3 The directorial effort from Anupam Kher swept major honours at the Iconic Gold Awards-2026. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 25°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.18 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:03 AM FRIDAY | 20 FEBRUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR Youth dies of drug overdose in Udhowal; villagers hand peddlers over to police Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 19 The death of a 22-year-old youth in village Udhowal due to the drug overdose on Wednesday sent shockwaves across the region. Irate villagers of Udhowal, angered by the incident, caught two drug smugglers and handed them over to the police. A resolution has also been passed by Udhowal village panchayat that the village would not spare anyone indulging in the drug trade henceforth and anyone selling drugs will be handed over to the police. The deceased has been identified as Jasvir, alias Jassa, resident of village Udhowal in Jalandhar. A case has been registered against Vishal Kumar, resident of village Natta under Section 105 (culpable homicide) at the Mehatpur police station on February 18. The police have so far made three arrests in the case - Vishal of Natta and Sandeep of Bulanda and another associate of Sandeep from the same village. Help sought for potato farmers suffering losses Tribune News Service Jalandhar- February 19 State president of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha Punjab Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala and general secretary Kulwant Singh Sandhu have appealed to the government to help farmers suffering from a recession. They said this time while the cost of potato production has increased, the proper rate of potato crop is not being received. Due to this, they said the burden of debt will increase further on the farmers who are already under debt. They said the private companies that had given seeds to the farmers at expensive prices and made them grow potatoes, are not selling the farmers’ potatoes at the fixed rates. They have asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudiyan to take strict legal action against the companies that are betraying the trust of farmers. Balraj Singh Kotumra, president of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, Ludhiana, and secretary Harnek Singh Gujjarwal said in a separate statement that the central and state governments should make pro-farmer policies and purchase their produce at remunerative prices. They said if the government does not listen to the farmers, they will be forced to struggle. 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. The panchayat at Mehatpur has passed a resolution against drugs after a youth, Jasvir, alias Jassa, (right) died of a drug overdose at Mehatpur in Jalandhar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH The deceased and his friend Lovedeep Sidhu were taking drugs together at Udhowal village when its overdose claimed Jasvir’s life late on Tuesday evening. Villagers, however, were successful in rescuing Lovedeep Sidhu, who is under treatment. Irate villagers held a protest and indulged in sloganeering after the youth’s death, alleging police inaction against “chitta” being openly sold in the village. The SHO of the Mehatpur police station, Pankaj Kumar, who reached the spot, took the body into his possession and sent it for post-mortem. Amid the heated opposition to the death and sale of drugs, some local drug smugglers were caught and handed over to the police by the villagers. Meanwhile, the villagers and labour organisations later met at the village gurdwara and made an announcement that those selling drugs must give up such activities, failing which the panchayat will hand them over to the police. A resolution was also passed. In a video released on social media today, Lovedeep Sidhu alleged, “I’m not addicted to drugs but consume it sometimes. Yesterday, I bought drugs from ‘Ravi Ranga’ for Rs 300. My family and neighbours have saved me. My friend, aged about 20 years, had also consumed the drugs. I got saved, but he died.” In his complaint to the police, Tirath Ram, the father of the deceased alleged that owing to his son’s drug habit, he had sent Jasvir to his uncle’s house for the past three months to keep him away from such friends. But on February 18, Jasvir came back to his home along with his friend Vishal from Natta village and the duo consumed heroin and Jasvir died. The complainant alleges that Vishal supplied Jasvir with drugs and hence is responsible for his death. SHO Mehatpur Pankaj Kumar said, “Two accused Sandeep and his associate from Bulanda village were arrested immediately after being handed over by villagers to the police. Intoxicating tablets were found from their possession. Vishal, who has been absconding since the incident, was also arrested today. Further investigation is on and other culprits also won’t be spared.” Pendu Mazdoor Union leader Tarsem Peter, who was also among those opposing the sale of drugs in the village, said, “Many such elements are involved in sale of drugs in the villages, luring the gullible youth. The resolution is a message to drug dealers that in future no such criminals will be spared. We also wait the arrest of all those involved in the supply chain of drugs to the youth.” 99-year-old woman’s body found in trunk, one arrested Our Correspondent Garhshankar, February 19 Panic spread in Garhshankar after the body of a 99-year-old woman was found inside a metal trunk at her house in Bham village of Mahilpur block. After getting information about the incident, senior officers of the Hoshiarpur police and Chabbewal police station reached the spot. The body was taken into custody and kept at the Civil Hospital in Hoshiarpur. The police have started an investigation into the case. The deceased has been identified as Joginder Kaur (99), wife of Malkiat Singh. Her son Sukhdev Singh lives in Australia and she was staying alone at her home in the village. According to her neighbour Surjit Kaur, the incident came to light when the milkman informed villagers that Joginder Kaur had not collected milk for the past two days. The family was informed and her son checked the CCTV cameras installed at the house from abroad. He noticed that a young man had Staff under NPS burn effigy of CM over delay in OPS entered the house after which Joginder Kaur was not seen again in the footage. The villagers searched the house and found her body inside an iron trunk kept in a room. Based on the description given by the victim’s son, the police checked the CCTV cameras installed in nearby houses. During the investigation, the police arrested a local youth Daniel, who lives a short distance from the victim’s house. Station House Officer Maninder Singh of Chabbewal police station said a case has been registered against the accused based on the statement of Surjit Kaur. The accused is being questioned. The police also recovered ?90,000 and a mobile phone allegedly stolen from the victim’s house. Villagers said the accused was addicted to drugs and often remained under the influence of intoxicants. DGP Gaurav Yadav inaugurates the new building of Anti-Narcotics Task Force in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH DGP opens ANTF office in Police Lines Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 19 DGP Gaurav Yadav on Thursday inaugurated a new building of the Jalandhar Range of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) inside the Police Lines here. He was accompanied by Special DGP ANTF Kuldeep , , Singh, ADGP ANTF Nilabh Kishore and ADGP State Armed Police MF Farooqui for the inauguration. The double-storey building has come up at a cost of Rs 1.60 crore at approximately 9,000 sq feet to combat drug trafficking more effectively. On the lines of a similar setup launched earlier in Patiala and also coming up in Ludhiana and Ferozepur, the ANTF building will have dedicated offices for the gazetted officers, cabins for investigating officers and support staff, a reader’s room, besides a conference room. Yadav said the specialised unit will be stocked with mobile and computer forensic tools, advanced data analysis systems, forensic data extraction, decryption and analysis capabilities as well as equipment for technical interception and cryp- tocurrency tracking. “Recognising the critical need for technological upgrade in drug enforcement, we have not only provided the infrastructure, but also deployed a dedicated team of technical staff proficient in operating this advanced equipment,” said the DGP . He said, “Being a border state, Punjab is facing a triple challenge - terrorism, organised crime and narcotics. The police are taking on the challenges with full force to counter the proxy war”. He added that the school dropouts were a vulnerable target of the handlers and they were being lured into crime for a paltry sum as low as Rs 4,000 or even with a promise to get them new shoes or shirts. DGP Gaurav Yadav exhorted people to report drugrelated information confidentially at Safe Punjab Chatbot 97791-00200. Also present on the occasion were Commissioner of Police (CP), Jalandhar, Dhanpreet Kaur, DIG Naveen Singla, DIG ANTF Sanjeev Kumar Rampal, DIG ANTF Akhil Chaudhary and AIG ANTF Ashwini Gotyal. Crackdown on drug trafficking, 3 arrested Our Correspondent Our Correspondent Talwara, February 19 Angry over the delay in restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), employees under the National Pension System (NPS) held a protest and burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday. The protest was organised on a call given by the Old Pension Bahali Sangharsh Committee Punjab and the CPF Employees Union Punjab. A large number of NPS employees gathered outside the local tehsil complex and raised slogans against the state government. Addressing a gathering, state coordinator Jasvir Talwara, finance secretary Varinder Vicky, IT in-charge Sat Prakash, Naresh Midda, Manjit Singh Saini, Rajeev Sharma, Shashikant, Pinky Badiyal and other leaders accused the government of failing to fulfil its election promise of restoring the Old Pension Scheme. The speakers said the notification issued by the government in 2022 regarding restoration of the old pension was weak and has not been implemented even after four years in office. They alleged that the government’s NPS employees burn an effigy of the Chief Minister at Talwara. silence has increased anger among NPS employees, who are now ready to intensify their agitation to secure their retirement benefits. As part of the protest, employees burnt effigies of the Chief Minister at blocklevel demonstrations across Punjab. The leaders also announced that NPS employees will march towards the Vidhan Sabha during the upcoming Budget session. The protesting leaders further accused the government of trying to divert the attention from the pension issue by imposing a “non-essential” TET condition on teachers recruited before 2010. They demanded that the government bring an Ordinance in the Assembly to cancel the TET condition immediately. The employees also extended support to a mega rally planned on February 22 in the Anandpur Sahib constituency against the TET condition in the area represented by Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains. Several employees, including Hitesh Sharma, Sujata, Karuna Parihar, Rajinder Tappa, Ram Krishan, Rajeev Kumar, Pankaj Sharma, Anuj Kumar, Raghuveer Singh, Vikas Sharma and Davinder Singh Sahota, were present at the protest. c m y b Phagwara, February 19 The Jalandhar rural police have stepped up efforts against drug trafficking, registering multiple cases under the NDPS Act. Three arrests were made and heroin and intoxicating tablets were seized across the district. In the first incident, a police team, led by SI Gurnam Singh, patrolling near the Bhallolwal canal area, intercepted Vikram Singh of Dharmiya Chhana village. A search uncovered 10 gram of heroin, leading to charges under Sections 21(B), 61, and 85 of the NDPS Act. Singh was arrested and investigations are underway to trace the drug’s source and possible distribution networks. In a second case, the Mehatpur police detained two suspects, Sandeep Kumar, alias Sipa, and Parmjeet Singh, alias Pamma, both from Bulanda village and 30 intoxicating tablets were recovered from them. They were arrested and the drugs were confiscated under Sections 22, 61, and 85 of the NDPS Act. The police have emphasised that all actions were carried out following legal procedures. The arrested individuals are being interrogated to uncover broader drug trade connections. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema visits the land where Guru Ravidas Research Centre will be set up in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Guru Ravidas Research Centre gets 10.5 acres Tribune News Service JALANDHAR, February 19 Finance Minister Harpal Cheema on Thursday took possession of 10.50 acres of land at Naugajja and Faridpur villages on the Kartarpur road for setting up Guru Ravidas Research Centre. The action came fast after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dera Sachkhand Ballan on the occasion Guru Ravidas Jayanti on February 1. Earlier, Cheema had himself visited the tehsil office of Jalandhar and got the land acquired for the government. The possession process was completed in the presence of MLA Balkar Singh, Chairman, Punjab Agriculture Development Bank, Pawan Tinu, Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal and representatives of Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Immediately after the process, Cheema, Balkar Singh, Tinu, AAP halqa incharges Nitin Kohli and Rajwinder Kaur Thiara, paid obeisance at Dera Sachkhand Ballan and sought the blessings of Dera chief Sant Niranjan Dass. Cheema further announced, “The government will bear an expendi- ture of ?55 lakh to shift the high-tension electricity wires from the site so that construction work can proceed smoothly and without delay.” The Finance Minister said, “The design and layout plan of the Centre is being prepared by experts in consultation with representatives of Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Tenders will be floated at the earliest so that construction begins without any further delay.” He also highlighted that the government has already announced year-long celebrations to mark the 650th Parkash Purb of Guru Ravidas next year.