03042026-ATR-01.qxd 4/2/2026 11:45 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST THUNDERSTORM MAX 30°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 17°C DINING OUT GETS COSTLIER AMID LPG SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS ~2.5 CR COLLECTED FROM TICKETLESS TRAVELLERS ARTIST RAJA RAVI VARMA’S PAINTING FETCHES ~167.2 CR Eating out at eateries has become expensive following hike in commercial LPG refill prices and supply disruptions. P2 The Ferozepur Division earned revenue of ~2.50 cr in fines from ticketless passengers across various railway stations. P2 The painting depticting Yashoda milking a cow as little Krishna reaches out to her for milk has fetched ~167.2 crore. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.51 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.15 AM FRIDAY | 3 APRIL 2026 | AMRITSAR Miscreants fire shots at house in Sialka village, no one injured SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia at the victim’s residence; and (right) bullet marks at the gate of the house at Sialka village in Amritsar. Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 Unidentified persons fired several rounds outside a house at Sialka village under the Mattewal police station on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Though a case has been registered, the police have yet to identify assailants involved in the incident. BSNL cables stolen, landline services hit in Katra Sher Singh Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 Telephone services were disrupted in parts of the Katra Sher Singh area after thieves decamped with underground cables belonging to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The police have registered a case under Sections 303(2), 317(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the complaint of Rajesh Kumar, Junior Telecom Officer (JTO), posted at the BSNL Telephone Exchange, Katra Sher Singh area. In his complaint, Rajesh Kumar stated that on March 30 around 11 am, complaints were received regarding disruption in telephone services. Acting on this, lineman Dilbagh Singh inspected lines and found no current in cables leading to customers’ premises. As the inspection progressed towards the exchange, it was found that several underground cables had been cut near the Katra Jaimal Singh area. Subsequent checking of ducts near Katra Jaimal Singh Road and the RS Tower area revealed that a large number of cables had been damaged and some stolen. During verification, nearly 1,450 metres of 1,200-pair cable was found missing. Following preliminary investigations, the police arrested three persons — Sonu, Ashish, alias Chunnu, and Sunil, alias Sunny, all residents of Sultanpuri in Delhi in this connection. The police said around four metres of stolen cable pieces had been recovered from the accused. The incident has triggered panic among family residing in the house. The firing came to light after senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia shared videos of the incident on his social media handle and questioned the Punjab Government over the deteriorating law and order situation in the border state. “People in Punjab are living in fear due to repeated incidents of firing and blasts, even at the police establishments,” Majithia said, urging Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav to take strict action against criminals and restore the rule of law. Rashpal Singh, owner of the house, said his family was asleep when they heard gun- shots. When villagers gathered outside the house, the family stepped out and found around eight empty bullet shells. The bullets had struck the entrance gate and the outer wall of the house. Rashpal denied having any enmity with anyone or receiving any threat from gangsters. He appealed to the police to crack the case at the earliest. “My family is in a state of panic and tension after the incident,” he said. Avtar Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Mattewal police station, said a case under relevant sections of attempt to murder and the Arms Act was registered against unidentified persons in this connection. He added that CCTV footage from the area was being scanned to identify culprits involved in the incident. Civic body collects over ~46 crore in property tax Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has collected Rs 46.92 crore as property tax in the last financial year, while total target stood at around Rs 53 crore, falling short of its aim to recover nearly Rs 6 crore. Despite this, officials reported an increase in the number of returns and better compliance from taxpayers compared to last year. According to official data, 58,887 property tax returns were filed this year, nearly 3,000 more than the 55,842 returns received in 2024-25, when Rs 41.54 crore was collected. The authorities said apart from fresh returns, many residents also cleared pending dues from previous years, contributing to the rise in overall revenue. The civic body processed a significantly higher number of cases this year. While about 1.04 lakh receipts were handled in 2024-25, the number increased to around 1.54 lakh this year, including old pending cases. Officials said this reflects improved efficiency and enforcement by the property tax department of the MC. The office of the Municipal Corporation at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar. Data shows that the north zone contributed the highest share, collecting Rs 22.31 crore from over 16,800 taxpayers. The east zone followed with Rs 7.98 crore, while officials collected Rs 6.81 crore in the central zone. The west zone contributed Rs 6.22 crore, and the south zone recorded Rs 3.58 crore in tax collection. However, despite improvement in collections, the corporation could not meet its recovery target. Officials attributed the shortfall of around Rs 6 crore to various factors, including delays in payments and incomplete compliance in some areas. The overall recovery performance was reported to be around 97 per cent of the set target. The authorities also noted that recovery improved compared to previous years due to stricter monitoring and increased awareness among residents. Efforts such as notices to defaulters and follow-ups helped boost collections, officials said. For the upcoming financial year, the corporation has set a higher target of Rs 65 crore. Officials have warned that strict action will be taken against defaulters. A penalty of 20 per cent along with monthly interest may be imposed on unpaid property tax, said officials. Flood-affected farmers demand Probe hit as mobile phone, CCTV DVR relief, protest outside SDM office hard disk remain untraced in Bhullar case Amritsar, April 2 Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee staged a protest outside the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) office at Ajnala demanding release of compensation for floodaffected farmers of the area. The union complained that despite government claims, a large number of farmers whose crops were damaged in floods last year, had not received any compensation. Speaking on the occasion, Kisan Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said the government was trying to muzzle the voice of farmer unions. He alleged that as it was an election year, both the BJP and the AAP could try to increase communal divide between different sections of society. Apart from deliberating on agrarian issues, Pandher also asked farmers to be vigilant about divisive policies of the political parties. He lashed Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee protest outside the SDM office in Ajnala on Thursday. out at the Aam Aadmi Party government for misusing the police and the civil administration to stop farmer unions from holding dharnas. He warned that leadership of the ruling party would face wrath of the public during the next Assembly elections. “The AAP leadership is confident that it has appeased the people of Punjab by announcing pension for women. The party will see that the people of Punjab cannot be bought with such cheap tactics,” he said. SDM Ashok Kumar clarified that a demand of Rs 6.68 crore was sent to the government for farmers who had not received compensation so far. Officials said relief would be distributed among farmers as soon as money was received. — TNS Amritsar, April 2 Eight days into police custody, the Amritsar police have yet to recover the mobile phone and CCTV DVR hard disk from the residence of former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar. Bhullar, along with his father Sukhdev Singh and personal assistant Dilbagh Singh, was booked in connection with the alleged suicide of Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC) official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa. An FIR was registered against them on charges of abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation on the night of March 21, following sustained pressure from opposition parties, whose members had staged a protest at the police station demanding action. The former minister and Patti MLA was arrested from Mandi Gobindgarh on March 23. His father and personal assistant remain absconding. Highly placed police sources said the missing mobile phone and DVR hard disk are crucial to strengthening the case. Before taking the extreme step, Randhawa recorded a short video in which he accused Bhullar of harassment and humiliation that drove him to suicide. While the deceased’s family handed over his mobile phone to the police, Bhullar’s device remains untraced. He has told investigators that he lost it. The DVR hard disk containing CCTV footage from his residence was also found missing during the police search. “The mobile phone and DVR hard disk are key to corroborating allegations of sustained pressure, threatening calls, or messages from Bhullar or his aides, as claimed by the family and reflected in the deceased’s video and phone data,” said a police official privy to the investigation. Digital records, including call logs, WhatsApp and SMS conversations, and location data, could directly link the accused to the victim and help establish the sequence of events leading up to the suicide, the officer added. Bhullar’s phone is particularly important as it could reveal the “other side” of the communication trail — objective digital proof of any threats, coercion, or meetings — thereby strengthening the case of abetment and intimidation beyond the victim’s video statement, said human rights activist and advocate Sarabjit Singh. Following Bhullar’s arrest, police sought his remand specifically to recover the missing devices. They later requested a five-day extension, though the court granted only three days. Investigators have also learned that Bhullar allegedly sent a video of Randhawa, purportedly confessing to accepting money from another group for issuing tenders, to PWC Managing Director Gautam Jain from his mobile phone. The DVR hard disk could confirm Randhawa’s presence at Bhullar’s residence on March 13, when he was allegedly summoned, physically assaulted, and humiliated. Officials warned that failure to produce these key electronic devices could further compound Bhullar’s legal troubles, with the possible addition of Section 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to causing disappearance of evidence or providing false information. AAP leaders’ kin inaugurate projects in violation of norms One injured in attack on Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, April 2 The ruling AAP dispensation has now allowed kin of unconstitutional halqa incharges to inaugurate projects funded by the Central Government even as senior officials admit that they are helpless to stop this practice and covertly term the development as “blatant violation of the Union Government norms.” Halqa in-charges are those leaders who lost the 2022 Assembly elections, but have been asked by the state government to administratively govern the same people who voted against them. Lokesh Mani, son of Dinanagar halqa in-charge Shamsher Singh, inaugurated the Ayushman Arogya Kendra Lokesh Mani, son of the Dinanagar halqa in-charge, inaugurates a Central Government project. near the Veterinary Hospital. Officials bent backwards to welcome him and get themselves photographed. A livid Dinanagar MLA and Deputy Leader of Opposition Aruna Chaudhary petitioned the Chief Secretary, Health Secretary, Director (Health), Gurdaspur Civil Surgeon and ADC (Development) asking them to inquire into the matter at the earliest. She has also written to Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa informing him that his letter c m y b to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) is not being paid heed to. Bureaucrats admit that they were under pressure from their political bosses not to stop this practice although many termed it as “totally illegal.” A senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “What can we do when our Chandigarh-based bosses do not mind such practices. We have brought these violations to their notice, but nobody listens.” The state government is telling all and sundry through its public relations department that Arogya Kendras are actually the AAP Clinics. Randhawa had recently written to the DC asking him not to allow such anomalies. “Earlier, halqa in-charges used to inaugurate ventures. Now, their kin have started doing so. Is this not a mockery of rules?” asked the MP . Rule states that the name of the MP concerned should be on the inscription plaque whenever a Central Government project is inaugurated, but it is not being followed. sarpanch’s husband’s car Amritsar, April 2 Unidentified assailants on Thursday opened fire on a car carrying Timowal village’s sarpanch husband and his associates in broad daylight in the Jandiala Guru area, critically injuring a youth. Sukhdev Singh, husband of Timowal village sarpanch Ravinder Kaur, was returning from the block office along with his wife and three others in an Innova car when incident happened on the Verowal road. Around seven motorcycleborne assailants intercepted the vehicle and fired multiple rounds indiscriminately. The attackers fled the spot immediately after assault. One youth among the five car occupants sustained serious bullet injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical. The car’s window glass were shattered, with multiple bullet marks visible on the vehicle’s body. Around four empty cartridges were recovered from the spot by the police. Eyewitnesses said the assailants opened fire without warning before speeding away, triggering panic in the area. The police are tight- lipped over the incident. Sources in the Police Department said the attack could be an outcome of an old rivalry and political tensions. The Jandiala Guru police reached the spot and launched a probe. Efforts are underway to identify and nab culprits. A case has been registered in this connection. —TNS