12072026-JTR-01.qxd 7/12/2026 12:05 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune PM MODI TO INAUGURATE CANTT RAILWAY STATION ON JULY 17 SIX MONTHS ON, RATION DEPOT HOLDERS AWAIT COMMISSION MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA WINS BACK THE AUDIENCE Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar reviews works ahead of PM’s inauguration of the redeveloped railway station . P2 Around 100 ration depot holders are awaiting commission for January-March quarter despite representations to authorities.P2 After a slow opening, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali reflects on Partition, Punjab & enduring power of stories rooted in love. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY/RAIN MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.34 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5.32 AM SUNDAY | 12 JULY 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune has started 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. Painter robs elderly couple of jewellery, cash in Kapurthala Accused forced victims into a room &locked it from outside Our Correspondent LABOURER SHOT, CASE REGISTERED Phagwara: The police have registered a case against four named accused and two to three unidentified persons after a labourer was allegedly shot and assaulted at a private commission agency in Sultanpur Lodhi. Complainant Karandeep Singh, alias Kannu, alleged that his friend Sunny Kumar sustained gunshot injuries after one of the accused allegedly opened fire at him, while the others assaulted him with weapons before fleeing the spot on motorcycles. One of the accused, Kala Singh, has been arrested, while the remaining accused are absconding. OC MAN HELD FOR STEALING BIKE Phagwara: The Nakodar city police have arrested a man for allegedly stealing a motorcycle. Investigating Officer (IO) Sukhdev Singh said the accused was identified as Sahil, a resident of Kotli Gajran village in Shahkot. According to the police, complainant Chindar Pal of Bhodipur village, reported that he had parked his motorcycle outside the grain market, from where it was allegedly stolen by the accused. OC MAN ARRESTED FOR ATTACKING COPS Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have arrested a villager for allegedly attacking police personnel. Investigating Officer (IO) Surindar Mohan said the accused was identified as Chamba Singh, alias Ajay, of Dharme Dian Chhana village. In his statement, Sub-Inspector Kashmir Singh alleged that the accused waylaid and attacked police personnel with weapons in an attempt to free an arrested drug peddler, Hans Raj, alias Hansa, also of Dharme Dian Chhana village. He alleged that several policemen sustained serious injuries in the attack. OC The police personnel investigate at the elderly couple’s residence on Mall Road in Kapurthala. assaulted Pawan Kumar, causing serious injuries. When his wife tried to intervene and raised an alarm, the accused allegedly pulled out a revolver, pointed it at her head and threatened to shoot her. Investigators said the accused initially attempted to confine the woman in a bathroom. When the couple resisted, he allegedly forced both victims into a room and locked it from the outside. The elderly couple remained confined for nearly five hours while the accused searched the house, broke open cupboards and lockers, and fled with gold and diamond jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees, a substantial amount of cash and important documents. The crime came to light around 8 pm when Pawan Kumar’s son, Rohit, and grandson returned home and found the main entrance open. After unlocking the room, they discovered the elderly couple injured and in a state of shock. A search of the house revealed that lock- Special SIR camps held at 1,926 polling booths to facilitate voters Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 11 To speed up the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, the district administration organised special camps at 1,926 polling booths across Jalandhar on Saturday. Deputy Commissionercum-District Election Officer Varjeet Walia said the camps received an encouraging response, with voters visiting their designated polling stations to fill and submit their enumeration forms and verify their electoral details. The camps were organised to expedite the collection and TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH INBRIEF Kapurthala, July 11 A shocking robbery was reported from the upscale Sunny Side area on Mall Road in Kapurthala, where a house painter allegedly betrayed the trust of the family that had employed him, holding an elderly couple hostage for nearly five hours before fleeing with gold and diamond jewellery, cash and important documents. According to the complaint lodged by the victims, the accused, identified as Ranjit Singh, a resident of Rajapur village, had been carrying out painting work at the house for the past 20 days. The family had known him from previous assignments and trusted him enough to allow him regular access to their residence. The incident allegedly occurred around 3 pm on July 8 when homeowner Pawan Kumar and his wife were resting in their room. The police said the accused suddenly entered the room armed with an iron rod, snatched their mobile phones and repeatedly Booth-level officers fill enumeration forms at SIR camp in Jalandhar. digitisation of enumeration forms. Booth-level officers (BLOs) remained present at all polling stations from 8 am to 3 pm to assist voters in completing the process. Walia said special attention was given to polling booths where the submission of enumeration forms and digitisation work had been comparatively slow with additional efforts made to improve the pace of the exercise. ers had been broken open and valuables were missing. In his complaint, Pawan Kumar alleged that after fleeing the scene, the accused sent a voice message to his son threatening the family with serious consequences. The police are examining the CCTV footage from neighbouring houses, which reportedly shows the accused leaving the area on a motorcycle after the crime. Confirming the case, Amandeep, Station House Officer (SHO) of Kapurthala city police station, said an FIR had been registered against the accused under relevant sections pertaining to wrongful confinement, attempt to murder, robbery and the Arms Act on the basis of the victim’s statement. Special police teams have been conducting raids at the accused’s suspected hideouts, including Rajapur village. The police said the CCTV footage and mobile phone location data were being analysed as part of the investigation and expressed confidence that the accused would be arrested soon and the stolen property recovered. SDM reviews digitisation work Phagwara, July 11 In compliance with the directions of the Election Commission of India, Phagwara SDM Dr Navjot Sharma on Saturday inspected the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) camps across subdivision. During her visit, the SDM reviewed the functioning of the camps and noted the enthusiastic response from the general public. Navjot Sharma directed BLOs, who had completed 100 per cent digitisation of the collected forms, to concentrate on rectifying deficiencies and errors in the submitted applications. She instructed officials at booths where a large number of forms had been collected but digitisation remained pending to complete the process. — OC Speeding vehicle kills man in K’thala Phagwara: A man was killed and a woman injured after an unidentified speeding vehicle allegedly rammed into a handcart near Talwandi Salem village in Kapurthala district. Complainant Sarvan, a resident of Khagaria district in Bihar, who is presently living at Dana Mandi, Uggi, stated that his father, Pradeshi Bind (39), mother Lakshmi Devi and sister Pinki Kumari were travelling on a handcart after collecting fodder from nearby fields when an unidentified driver allegedly hit the handcart with his speeding vehicle. Pradeshi Bind died on the spot, while Lakshmi Devi sustained serious injuries. The police have registered a case against the unidentified driver and initiated a probe. — OC Protesters refuse to lift road blockade, demand action in K’thala jail death case Our Correspondent Kapurthala, July 11 Around 70 to 80 members of the Guru Ravidas Tiger Force (GRTF) have been protesting on the Kartarpur-Kapurthala road since Friday, demanding action against Kapurthala jail officials over the alleged custodial death of an inmate from Talhan village. Leading the protest, GRTF leader Jassi Talhan said the deceased, Harpreet Chahal, had recently returned from Saudi Arabia. Following his return, the police took him into custody as he had been declared a proclaimed offender in a case registered at the Patara police station. The protesters alleged that Chahal’s health had deteriorated over the past few days, but he was not shifted to a hospital for treatment. “Had the authorities provided him timely medical care, he would have been alive today,” Talhan claimed. The protest, which began on Friday, continued on Saturday, with demonstrators refusing to end their dharna and road blockade despite repeated attempts by the district administration to persuade them to disperse. Family members of the deceased also gathered outside the office of the Senior Super- Protesters block the Kartarpur-Kapurthala road on Saturday. intendent of Police (SSP), Kapurthala, on Saturday, seeking immediate action against jail officials. Senior police officers held talks with the protesters in an attempt to defuse the situation, but they remained firm on their demand for prompt administrative action. Police personnel were deployed at the protest site to maintain law and order, while traffic on the KartarpurKapurthala road remained disrupted due to the blockade. Nachattar Singh, president of the Sher-e-Punjab Naujawan Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, also joined the protest in support of the demonstrators. The protesters insisted that either the SSP or the Deputy Commissioner (DC) visit the protest site and directly address their grievances. Signalling their determination to continue the agitation, they arranged mattresses and food supplies to stay at the site overnight. Later, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Kapurthala, reached the protest venue and accepted a memorandum outlining the protesters’ demands. The ADC assured them that their grievances would be addressed by Monday. However, the assurance failed to satisfy the protesters, who insisted on immediate action and refused to lift the road blockade. The dharna continued into the evening, with around 15 to 20 protesters remaining at the site. Police barricades kept the Kartarpur-Kapurthala road closed to traffic, while security personnel remained deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Meet city-based advocate who plays Khalra’s associate in film ‘Satluj’ Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 11 Even as gurdwaras and villages across Jalandhar and its outskirts host special screenings of the controversial film “Satluj” following its ban on streaming platform ZEE5, the film is also drawing attention for the brief yet significant appearances of two actors from the city. Jalandhar-based advocate, theatre artiste and actor Neeraj Kaushik plays a human rights activist who accompanies the film’s protagonist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, portrayed by Diljit Dosanjh, on visits to victims’ families. Citybased artiste Santosh Basra appears as a neighbour questioned by a CBI team searching for one of the characters. Kaushik has previously appeared in projects such as “Kohrra” —where he shared screen space with Suvinder Vicky, who also features in “Satluj” — and “Sadda Haq”, another film set against the backdrop of Punjab’s militancy era. According to Kaushik, while the makers expected some controversy because of the film’s sensitive subject, the scale of the backlash took them by surprise. “‘Satluj’ was conceived in 2019 and shooting began in late 2020. At the time, many politically correct films were being made, and Honey Trehan and the team never imagined that a film depicting events from Punjab’s past would face objections of this magnitude. The film neither criticises any current political dispensation nor endorses separatist ideology. Therefore, such a largescale controversy was unexpected, especially since approvals had been obtained from Jaswant Singh Khalra’s family as well as the SGPC. We expected some debate because of the subject, and there were a few permission-related issues during filming, but nothing on this scale,” he said. Recalling his experience on the sets, Kaushik said his role Actor Neeraj Kaushik (back in the left), who portrays a human rights activist alongside Jaswant Singh Khalra (played by Diljit Dosanjh) in the film Satluj; and (inset) actor and singer Santosh Basra. was inspired by the network of human rights activists who worked alongside Khalra. “The work of human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, author of book “Reduced to Ashes”, along with several other activists who supported Jaswant Singh Khalra, is well known. I and several other actors portrayed human rights workers associated with Khalra. I was selected after an audition by casting director Varun Bajaj. Honey Trehan liked my audition. We shot for eight days across Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Chandigarh and Patiala. I have c m y b great admiration for Honey Trehan. He is a wonderful human being and his research is meticulous. We even filmed in villages where actual disappearances had taken place during the 1990s,” he said. Kaushik shared screen space with both Diljit Dosan- jh and Arjun Rampal, and spoke warmly about working with the two actors. “Diljit Dosanjh is generally reserved on set, but he enjoys discussing important issues at length. He is deeply spiritual and very protective of junior artistes, speaking up whenever he feels they are not being treated fairly. Once, I asked him how he managed his hectic schedule and superstardom. He simply replied, ‘Kuch nahi haiga yaar, sab ainwai dooron lagda, asi vi onne ku hi khush ya pareshan haan jinna aam banda’ (Stardom seems big from afar. We are as happy or as troubled as any ordinary person),” he recalled. Speaking about Arjun Rampal, Kaushik said, “He was extremely open, candid and free of any star tantrums. He interacted warmly with everyone on the set and had a very relaxed, easy-going personality. Among the film’s performances, his portrayal is one of my favourites.” Reflecting on the growing number of OTT films and series centred on Punjab’s social and political issues, Kaushik observed that the state’s changing realities have provided filmmakers with compelling subjects. “In Punjab, ‘Pehle pyaar mudda tha, ab takraar mudda hai’ (Earlier, love was the dominant theme; today, conflict is). Earlier, Punjabi stories revolved around legendary romances like ‘Heer Ranjha’, ‘Sassi Punnu’ and ‘Sohni Mahiwal’. But the state’s complex social and political realities have made Punjab fertile ground for filmmakers. Just as Anurag Kashyap often turns to Uttar Pradesh or Bihar to explore gang violence, filmmakers increasingly look to Punjab for stories about drugs, militancy, policing and conflict. These films are reflections of both the state’s past and its contemporary upheavals.” Jalandhar-based actor, singer and artiste Santosh Basra, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film, says, “It was a beautiful and serious project. Working on the film was a great experience. The controversy surrounding it was something we anticipated, as people have not forgotten 1984 and its aftermath. It was also long felt that a film on Khalra Sahib’s life and work needed to be made. This is an issue that resonates across communities in Punjab, as children from both Hindu and Sikh families lost their lives during those years.” “On the sets, it felt like one big family. I feel proud to have been associated with such an important cinematic project of our times,” she says. Besides Neeraj Kaushik and Santosh Basra, several theatre artistes and actors from the region are part of the film, including Jalandharbased theatre personality and actor Gurwinder Singh, Haryana-based theatre artiste and actor Rajindra Sharma (Nanu), and theatre actor Emmanuel Singh, among others. Rajindra has been a familiar presence in Jalandhar’s theatre circles and has also appeared in several Bollywood films.