26052026-JTR-01.qxd 5/25/2026 11:18 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune INSURER FINED ~29,000 FOR DELAYING SCOOTER THEFT CLAIM REVISED SUMMER TIMINGS KICK IN FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICES RANDEEP WAS ONLY CHOICE FOR WEB SERIES: DIRECTOR Withheld the claim for years despite approving it, citing failure to submit the second key of the vehicle. P2 DC instructs employees to strictly maintain punctuality according to the new working hours. P2 Neeraj Pathak speaks on casting, cop culture & balancing realism with massy appeal of Inspector Avinash. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 41°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 41°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.23 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.26 AM » TUESDAY | 26 MAY 2026 | JALANDHAR 1,200 cops to keep vigil during civic body elections in rural areas 133 parties dispatched to voting stations with election material aparnabanerjee Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May25 To maintain peace and law and order during the MC elections in the rural areas of Jalandhar, 1,200 police personnel across over 100 rural polling stations have been deployed to conduct peaceful and smooth conduct of the MC elections on Tuesday. In view of the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections in Jalandhar district Rural, 24×7 surveillance is being maintained to prevent any untoward incident. Patrolling parties and heavy deputations at booths shall also mark the MC elections. In view of the elections, a special meeting was also convened today by Harvinder Singh Virk, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar Rural, with all Gazetted Officers, SHOs, and chowki incharges to ensure that the election process was conducted peacefully, fairly, transparently and smoothly. In the Jalandhar rural areas, the police shall man 60 polling stations and 133 polling booths. Across Jalandhar rural booths, 50 have been designated as sensitive and 3 as hypersensitive (all three in Nakodar). One to five police personnel shall remain deputed at all booths. Across rural areas in Jalandhar, of these 133 booths, 11 are single booths (housing only one booth on their premises), 34 double, Tribune News Service Polling staff carry election material and ballot boxes as they leave for their designated stations ahead of the MC polls in Jalandhar district. TRIBUNE PHOTO SARABJIT SINGH eight triple, five quadruple and two penta booths. Further, gurdwaras, religious places and deras in Jalandhar Rural have also been categorised as sensitive locations, and additional security arrangements have been made there. Special patrolling parties are continuously monitoring these places to ensure complete maintenance of peace and communal harmony. During the meeting today, detailed directions were issued to all officers for main- taining law and order and for conducting the election process in a systematic and lawful manner. The entire district has been kept on high alert in view of the elections. To further strengthen election arrangements, gazetted officers have been assigned responsibility for close monitoring of their respective areas. Continuous flag marches, anti-sabotage checking, inspection of polling booths and day-and-night nakabandi/checking operations are being carried out throughout the district. Jalandhar Rural Police has appealed to the general public to immediately inform the police in case of any suspicious activity, dispute, unlawful act or violation of law during the election period. Citizens may contact the 112 helpline for any such information or emergency assistance. Patrolling parties and ERV teams have been kept active round the clock and are fully prepared to respond immedi- ately to any emergency situation. Notably, in the Jalandhar district, five municipal councils (Nakodar, Kartarpur, Phillaur, Adampur, and Nurmahal) and two nagar panchayats (Mehatpur and Lohian Khas) shall go to the polls on Tuesday. A total of 1,08,067 voters, including 54,943 male, 53,116 female and eight other voters, will exercise their franchise in the Municipal Council/Nagar Panchayat elections in the district. Jalandhar, May25 As many as 133 polling parties, carrying election material, were dispatched from dispatch centres to polling stations for the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections scheduled to be held on May 26 in the district. Deputy Commissionercum-District Election Officer Varjeet Walia, while encouraging the polling parties, said the election staff should feel proud to be part of the electoral system. He motivated the polling personnel to perform their duty with complete dedication and honesty. He said elaborate arrangements had been made by the district administration to ensure that the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat elections were conducted in a transparent, fair and peaceful manner. He informed that 133 polling parties had been constituted for the smooth and uninterrupted conduct of the polling process and each polling party comprised one PRO, one APRO and three POs. He added that around 800 polling staff, including 20 percent reserve staff, have been deployed and imparted detailed training regarding Polling staff check election material and a ballot box as they leave for their designated stations ahead of the MC polls. TRIBUNE PHOTO the election process. Walia said a total of 1,08,067 voters, including 54,943 male, 53,116 female and 8 other voters, will exercise their franchise in the Municipal Council/Nagar Panchayat elections. He informed that Municipal Council Nakodar has 27,964 voters, including 14,173 male, 13,788 female and 3 other voters. Similarly, Municipal Council Adampur has 12,610 voters, including 6,415 male, 6,194 female and one other voter; Kartarpur has 19,736 voters, including 10,120 male, 9,614 female and 2 other voters; Nurmahal has 11,105 voters, including 5,695 male and 5,410 female voters; and Municipal Council Phillaur 15 alternative documents valid for Six arrested for extortion on rental vehicles voting in absence of voter ID card Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Nawanshahr, May25 Deputy Commissioner-cumDistrict Election Officer Gulpreet Singh Aulakh said voters could exercise their franchise in the upcoming municipal councils elections even if they did not possess a voter photo identity card, provided their names are listed in the ward-wise voter rolls. Giving details, the Deputy Commissioner said the State Election Commission had approved 15 alternative documents as valid proof of identity for voting. He stated that eligi- ble voters could cast their votes by producing documents such as Aadhaar Card, Indian passport, driving licence, PAN card with photograph, MGNREGA job card, ration card/blue card, arms licence with photograph, pension documents with photograph, freedom fighter identity card, passbook with photograph issued by a bank or post office, health insurance smart card issued under Labour Ministry schemes, official identity cards issued to MPs and MLAs, UDID card issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, service identity cards issued by Cen- tral/state government departments, PSUs or public limited companies, and photo identity cards issued by recognised educational institutions. Aulakh said polling for the three Municipal Council elections, including Banga, Nawanshahar and Rahon, would be held on May 26 from 8 am to 5 pm, while the counting of votes would take place on May 29. He reiterated that the district administration had made elaborate arrangements to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in accordance with the directions of the State Election Commission. Phagwara, May25 In a crackdown on alleged extortion by vehicle rental operators, the Phagwara police have registered cases against six persons accused of deliberately damaging rented vehicles and forcibly extracting money from customers while they returned the vehicles. SP Madhavi Sharma said the action was initiated following complaints lodged by victims who alleged harassment, intimidation and forcible recovery of money by the accused. In the first case, Tama Pravan Sai, son of Kanak Shiva, and resident of Meeka Shah PG near Law Gate, informed the police that he had rented a Swift car from the accused. He alleged that when he went to return the vehicle, the accused claimed that the car had suffered scratches and demanded Rs 80,000 as compensation for repairs. The complainant further alleged that the accused forcibly retained his mobile phone and snatched Rs 22,000 from him. Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case and arrested Akash, alias Karan, son of Rakesh Kumar, resident of Kothra Road, Mohalla Ukar Nagar; Abhishek Kumar, alias Sandy, son of Narendra Maan, resident of Defence Enclave; and Juher Khan, son of late Ali Mohammad, resident of village Jigni. In a similar case, Yadu Krishna, son of Prashad and residing at Lovely Professional University, alleged in his complaint that he had rented a Bullet motorcycle and while returning it, the accused claimed that the engine was making abnormal noise. He alleged that the accused forcibly took payments of Rs 16,400, Rs 10,800 and Rs 3,300 through Google Pay after snatching his mobile phone. The complainant further alleged that his laptop was taken as security and that he was threatened with false police cases if he demanded the return of his money. Following the complaint, the police registered a case against Himanshu, son of Anuj Kumar, resident of Ghaziabad, and presently residing at Net PG, Maheru; Abhinav Anand, alias Prince, son of Mani Bhushan Sharma, and presently residing at Kaushal Villa Room; and Bhagwat Kapoor, son of Haninder Kapoor, resident of Mohalla Bagotu, Maheru. All three accused have been arrested. Police officials said further investigation is underway and additional complaints are also being verified to ascertain whether more people were similarly targeted by the accused. has 19,179 voters, including 9,710 male, 9,468 female and one other voter. Besides, Nagar Panchayat Lohian has 7,958 voters, including 3,914 male and 4,044 female voters, while Nagar Panchayat Mehatpur has 9,515 voters, including 4,916 male, 4,598 female and one other voter. 341 candidates in fray The District Election Officer informed that 341 candidates are contesting elections for 99 wards of 5 Municipal Councils and 2 Nagar Panchayats in the district. He said that 44 candidates are in the fray for 13 wards of Municipal Council Adampur, 50 candidates for 15 continued on page 2 Powercom staff hold rally against ‘dictatorial orders’ Talwara(Hoshiarpur), May25 On the call of the Joint Forum, electricity employees of the Talwara sub-division staged a gate rally against what they termed as “dictatorial orders” being imposed by the Powercom management instead of addressing the shortage of staff and equipment. Employee leaders said that Powercom officials were issuing new directives to technical employees every day, but no action was being taken to ensure that technical staff posted inside offices were shifted to field duties. They alleged that favoured linemen continue to sit in offices in violation of rules — TNS Dream big, sprint sensation Gurindervir Singh exhorts young girls Pendulum ride gets stuck mid-air at fair Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 25 Just two days before rewriting Indian athletics history, sprint sensation Gurindervir Singh was on a phone call, motivating a group of young girls training in Jalandhar. Now, after storming to a sensational 10.09-second finish in the men’s 100m to set a new national record, his words have become even more special for the budding athletes who heard him speak. The girls had cleared the PIS trials nearly two months ago and had gathered for practice at the grounds of Government Arts and Sports College, Jalandhar, when athletics coach Sarabjeet Singh Happy, who had earlier trained Gurindervir, decided to connect them with the star sprinter over a phone call. “Tusi vi ethe takk pahunchna hai, khoob mehnat kro, main vi ethe hi khed-da si,” Gurindervir told them in Punjabi, encouraging the youngsters to work hard and dream big. (“You too have to reach this level. Work very hard. I also used to play here once.”) At that moment, the girls knew about Gurindervir, but little did they know that within two days, he would become the talk of the nation after his historic run, dominating headlines and social media feeds alike. “Just two days later, Gurindervir became the best in the country and was everywhere in the news. The girls couldn’t have been happier,” coach Happy said. During the interaction, Gurindervir reminded the youngsters that he, too, had once trained on the same grounds where they now chase their dreams. “He has always motivated the new talent that comes here. Earlier also, whenever he visited Jalandhar, he ensured that he used motivational words for players so that they also felt encouraged. “His Oiur Correspon?ent Investigation sought Gurindervir Singh with players at Government Arts and Sports College. FILE PHOTO dream is to see more young people come forward and make our state and nation proud,” said Happy. “Best wishes for your future. I will see you all c m y b soon,” he told them before ending the call, a message that has now turned into a powerful source of inspiration for the next generation of Punjab athletes. Kapurthala,May 25 A major tragedy was narrowly averted late Sunday night when a giant “Pendulum Ride” installed at a fair in Begowal suddenly stopped mid-air due to a suspected technical fault, leaving several people in panic. The fair is being organised on June 1, 2 and 3 in connection with the death anniversary of Sant Baba Prem Singh Ji. As part of the celebrations, various amusement rides and attractions had been set up for children and youth visiting the fairgrounds. According to eyewitnesses, the giant pendulum ride was operating normally when it suddenly came to a halt while suspended high in the air. Several riders remained trapped for a considerable period, while panic spread among their family members and onlookers gathered below. The incident led to chaos at the fair venue as a large crowd assembled around the ride. After nearly an hour of efforts, the ride operators managed to rectify the technical problem and safely brought all stranded riders to the ground. No casualties or injuries were reported in the incident. The incident created fear and anxiety among visitors at the fair. Local residents and those present at the fair have demanded that the administration should conduct a thorough inspection of all rides and amusement equipment installed at the fair to prevent any untoward incident.