30012026-JTR-01.qxd 1/29/2026 11:09 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune TWO KILLED, FOUR INJURED AS CAR RAMS INTO BUS SHUTTLER INAYAT AWARDED AT REPUBLIC DAY FUNCTION A car rammed into a stationary private bus, resulting in on-the-spot death of two persons & injuries to four others. P2 Inayat Gulati was awarded during the Republic Day function at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium in Jalandhar P3 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MAX 19°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 5°C RAPPER NICKI MINAJ IS ‘FAN NO. 1’ OF DONALD TRUMP SUNSET FRIDAY 6.00 PM Rapper Nicki Minaj at the ‘Trump Accounts Summit’ ideclared herself the ‘No 1 fan’ of the US President. P4 SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:20 AM » FRIDAY | 30 JANUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR Thousands attend flagging off of special train to Varanasi After announcement of PM’s visit, AAP gets into active mode Minister gets registries done for Ravidas research centre Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Dera Ballan chief Sant Niranjan Dass boards train | Political leaders unite Deepkamal Kaur 2,200 ON PILGRIMAGE Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 29 Ahead of the 649th Guru Ravidas Jayanti falling on February 1, tens of thousands of devotees from the Ravidassia community attended the flagging off ceremony of a special train to Varanasi (the birth place of the guru) from Jalandhar City Railway Station on Thursday afternoon. The enthusiasm ran high this time as devotees wanted to catch a glimpse of Sant Niranjan Dass, the gaddi nashin of Dera Sachkhand Ballan, as he had been chosen for the Padma Shri award. The devotees were also excited over the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Ballan dera on the jayanti. While Sant Niranjan Dass always goes and comes back by this train, it will be for the first time that he will fly back on his return journey to Jalandhar so as to be present at the dera when the PM visits here on February 1 evening. The train was decorated with buntings and balloons Abolish TET as condition for promotions: Teachers Jalandhar, January 29 Government Teachers Union Punjab State president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, general secretary Gurbinder Singh Saskaur, finance secretary Manohar Lal Sharma and press secretary Karnail Phillaur have demanded that all teachers, who have received promotions in the master cadre in the Education Department, should be made to join duties by choosing their favoured stations. They said it is pointless to impose the condition on teachers, who have been recruited before 2011, that they must have cleared TET. They said due to the condition, many senior teachers will be deprived of promotions. They said recruitments following the passing of TET within the Education Department began in 2011, and the condition of TET cannot be applied to those recruited earlier than that. They further said the meaning of promotion is based on experience and length of service. They said the department was interpreting the rules of the Supreme Court, not to aid education reforms but more to cause trouble to teachers, while it is also refraining from implementing the proteacher decisions of many other honorable high courts.— TNS 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 train was decorated with buntings and balloons as nearly 2,200 devotees set off on the pilgrimage. Many arrived on bikes, cars and tractor-trolleys, reciting hymns of Guru Ravidas throughout the journey. Former Union Minister Vijay Sampla and BJP leader Manorajan Kalia with Dera Sachkhand Ballan chief Sant Niranjan Dass in Jalandhar on on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH as nearly 2,200 devotees set off on the pilgrimage. Many arrived on bikes, cars and tractor-trolleys, reciting hymns of Guru Ravidas throughout the journey. The vehicle of Sant Niranjan Dass stood out, adorned with flowers, and led the cavalcade. His SUV, which departed around 10 am, reached the railway station by 12:30 pm. Upon arrival, the dera chief attended the kirtan programme arranged at the entrance itself and sat with the sangat for more than two hours before the train finally Bike-borne couple loses life in road accident Our Correspondent Phillaur, January 29 In a heartbreaking road accident late last night, a husband and wife lost their lives after their motorcycle collided with a tractor-trolley on the Phillaur–Talwan Road. According to preliminary information, the accident occurred when a tractor-trolley and a motorcycle collided on the busy stretch of road. The couple, who was on the motorcycle, sustained critical injuries in the impact. They were immediately rushed to a private hospital in Phillaur for emergency treatment. However, due to the seriousness of their condition, doctors referred them to Ludhiana for advanced medical care. Both were declared dead by doctors there. The deceased have been identified as Uma Shankar and his wife Indu Devi, residents of Indra Colony, Phillaur. Family members said Uma Shankar was a migrant worker After being denied kite, 11-year boy hangs self in room Our Correspondent Phagwara, January 29 A heart-breaking incident has come to light from village Panchhat near Phagwara where an 11-year-old boy allegedly died by suicide, plunging the area into shock. The incident occurred inside the victim’s home while the family was preparing to celebrate the birthday of the elder sibling. The police said the deceased was the younger son of Jarnail Singh, a resident of the village, who has two sons. On the day of the incident, the family was busy making arrangements to celebrate the birthday of the elder child. The younger boy reportedly insisted on getting a kite. When his father tried to counsel him and asked him to go to his room and study instead, the child went inside the room. After some time, when family members went to check him, they found the room locked from inside. Despite repeated calls, there was no response. Sensing something wrong, the door was broken open, where the boy was found hanging from a curtain rod pipe using a rope. The police were immediately informed and reached the spot. The body was taken into custody and sent for the postmortem examination. Police officials said no foul play was suspected at this stage. The sudden death of the minor has left the family inconsolable and the village community in deep grief. and worked as a contractor for paint-related jobs in the area. At the time of the accident, the couple was returning home from their native village Nangal, after purchasing household items and medicines. The Phillaur police reached the spot and initiated legal proceedings. The bodies of the deceased have been kept at the local hospital for post-mortem examination, after which they will be handed over to the family for last rites. Man held for extortion calls, NRI booked Phagwara, January 29 A case of extortion and criminal intimidation has been registered by the Goraya police after a local resident complained of receiving continuous threat calls, demanding Rs 20 lakh through WhatsApp. The case has been registered and one accused has been arrested. DSP Phillaur, Bharat Masih , said here today the complainant, Harmanjot Singh, a resident of village Jajja Kalan near Goraya , alleged that he had been receiving threatening phone calls on his mobile number since January 22. The calls were made through WhatsApp and allegedly demanded Rs20 lakh, while also threatening dire consequences if the demand was not met. The Goraya police registered a case against Parasjeet of Nurmahal, who has been arrested. The FIR has also named Henry, a resident of Nurmahal, currently residing in South Africa, along with one unidentified person. Investigation suggests the accused wanted to extort money by intimidating him. — OC c m y b moved at 3.40 pm. Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal too came to the railway station to send off Sant Niranjan Dass for the yatra. Leaders of all political parties, including Punjab ministers Harpal Cheema, Lal Chand Kataruchak and Mohinder Bhagat, MLA Balkar Singh, ex-MLA Pawan Tinu and Steven Kler from the Aam Aadmi Party, ex-Chief Minister Charanjit Channi and MLA Sukhwinder Kotli from the Congress, ex-Union MoS Vijay Sampla, ex-minister Manoranjan Kalia and exMLA Sheetal Angural from the BJP and Balwinder Kumar from the BSP attend, ed the flagging off ceremony of the train. Jalandhar, January 29 Just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan on February 1 for Guru Ravidas Jayanti programme has made the event big, the state government too clearly does not want to leave the opportunity to take mileage out of it. Three ministers of the Aam Aadmi Party, Harpal Singh Cheema, Lal Chand Kataruchak and Mohinder Bhagat, and MLAs Balkar Singh and Kulwant Singh and ex-MLA Pawan Tinu reached the railway station to greet Sant Niranjan Dass, head of the dera, before he was to leave for Varanasi. Before he boarded the train, they apprised the dera head about getting land registration done for nearly 76 kanal and 90 marlas of land in the vicinity of the dera for a consideration of Rs 7.02 crore. Ahead of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll in 2023, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had presented a cheque for Rs 25 crore to the dera head for setting up of Sri Guru Ravidas Research Centre. But there had been no work done on the ground. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has got registered more than 9-acre land in the name of the Adhayyan Centre of Sri Guru Ravidas at Dera Ballan in Jalandhar. A TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH Chairman of the Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes Jasvir Singh Garhi too had taken up the matter summoning the Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal over the pendency of the work. The DC had assured him that land was being acquired near the dera for the purpose. Just as the announcement of the PM’s visit was made by Union MoS Ravneet Bittu on Tuesday, the AAP government also got into an active mode. Cheema, after taking a meeting on the celebrations of Guru Ravidas Jayanti, visited the Jalandhar tehsil office and himself got the land registration work expedited. Having got it done, he went to the Jalandhar City Railway Station and greeted the dera chief apprising him of the development. Tinu, expressed gratitude to the government and Cheema for completing the land-related formalities for the Sri Guru Ravidas Bani Adhayyan Centre. 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