29012026-ATR-01.qxd 1/28/2026 10:28 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 9°C GOL BAGH RAEN BASERA SUFFERS FROM NEGLECT EXPERTS FLAG SOCIAL MEDIA AYURVEDIC ‘REMEDIES’ REVISITING ARIJIT SINGH'S ICONIC TRACKS AS HE RETIRES A visit to the shelter home is proof enough that the facility has serious safety concerns. P2 Doctors have reported rise in ailments linked to unsupervised consumption of decoctions. P3 After Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2, Singh went on to delivermemorable tracksthat demonstrated his vocal range. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.57 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.14 AM THURSDAY | 29 JANUARY 2026 | AMRITSAR Drive launched to boost Man on way to enrollment in govt schools Gurdwara falls off tractor, dies Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 28 Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced the commencement of the admission drive for the new academic session from Nursery to Class XII. The admission drive this year will be carried out under the slogan, "Government School — Knowledge Bhi — Honour Bhi". Today, Additional Deputy Commissioner Rohit Gupta launched the campaign in the district by flagging off the awareness van from government school located at Gwal Mandi. The admission drive was launched under the joint supervision of District Education Officer (Primary) Kanwaljit Singh Sandhu and District Education Officer (Secondary) Rajesh Sharma. Addressing the gathering, ADC Rohit Gupta said that due to the Punjab government's efforts to upgrade all government schools, children from government schools are achieving results in every field. He appealed to parents to understand the importance of education and ensure that their children get enrolled in government schools so that they can take the maximum advantage of government facilities. District Education Officers Kanwaljit Singh Sandhu and Rajesh Sharma stated that the Punjab government is spending crores on infrastructural overhaul of government schools. "Our entire team will work hard to provide quality education in government schools and increase enrollment," said Rajesh Sharma. As part of the admission campaign, awareness vans will travel to various villages, towns and cities in the district from January 28 to 30 to inform people about the facilities available in government schools. Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 28 A devotee died in a road accident when he along with others was on way to Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Shaheed, Pahuwind, on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday on a tractor-trolley. The deceased has been identified as Vishal Singh, son of Major Singh, a resident of Pringri. He was sitting on the mudguard of the tractor when it received a jolt due to a pit in the road. He fell down on the road and was crushed under the tyre of the tractor-trolley. He died on the spot. A team from the Kacha Pakka police station led by ASI Kulbir Singh reached the spot and registered a case under section 106 of BNS against Kulwant Singh, driver of the tractortrolley on Tuesday. The accused driver of the tractortrolley is absconding. Gang involved in gold theft busted, woman among three held by cops 152 grams of stolen gold, Rs 4 lakh in cash, double-barrel illegal gun seized Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 28 With the arrest of three persons, including a woman, the police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an organised gang involved in gold theft and recovered 152 grams of stolen gold apart from Rs 4 lakh cash and an illegal double-barrel gun from them. Jagjit Singh Walia, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), said that the police cracked the blind case within three days. The arrests were made by the B-Division police following a swift and multi-angle investigation into a theft reported from a jeweller's shop on Sultanwind Road, he added. Farmers, labourers plan to hold dharna outside AAP MLAs’ residence on Feb 5 Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 28 The zonal branch meeting of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Punjab, was held today at Gurdwara Baba Jogi Peer in village Manochahal Kalan. Addressing the meeting, Satnam Singh Manochahal, district president of the KMSC, asked the farmers and labourers to wage a struggle against the policies of the Union and state governments. He said that the organisation will hold protests in front of the houses of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on February 5. The KMSC will ask the MLAs to account for the torture inflicted on farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri and the theft of machinery worth crores KMSC district president Satnam Singh Manochahal addresses a meeting. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI belonging to farmers. He said that dharnas will be held outside the residences of Tarn Taran MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Khadoor Sahib MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura, Khemkaran MLA Sarwan Singh Dhun and Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar from Patti. The meeting was also addressed by leaders like Lakhwinder Singh Palasaur, Sarwan Singh Walipur, Kalwinder Singh Wan, Tarsem Singh Kadg- ill, Amrik Singh Jandoke and others. The speakers said that the AAP government in state was trying to protect the interests of corporate houses by neglecting the interests of the common people. Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagjit Singh Walia addresses mediapersons regarding the cracking of a gold robbery case. Sharing details of the case, DCP Walia said that the case was registered on the complaint of Rakesh Suspected gang operatives fire at bizman’s house Tarn Taran, January 28 Three unidentified suspects, believed to be operatives of gangsters, fired at the residence of businessman Gurwinder Singh in Chambal village on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. The businessman, Gurwinder Singh, has lodged a complaint with the Sarhali police in this regard. The businessman said that he along with his family members was asleep at home when three unidentified persons fired at the gate of his residence at midnight. He came out of his house but the suspects escaped on their motorcycle. There are reports that the businessman has been receiving extortion calls from gangsters. ASI Gursewak Singh of the Sarhali police said that a case has been registered. — OC Kumar, a resident of Sultanwind Road. He alleged that on January 22, around 5 pm, four unidentified persons Dr Baldev Gambhiris regarded as a pioneer in the modern Indian landscape genre Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 28 Baldev Gambhir, eminent artist and a towering figure in Amritsar's art landscape, passed away on January 26 due to age-related illnesses. The octogenarian, who became a pioneer in modern Indian landscape genre, had taken a break from art for the past few years and shifted to Jalandhar to stay close to his family. As art fraternity from Amritsar reflected on the profound loss, tributes were paid to him by members and artists of Kausa Trust at KT Kala art gallery, where Dr Gambhir was a foundermember. Known for his experimental work in composition and technique, where he did not use conventional brush but tools like palette knives, blades and needles, to give a three-dimensional effect that resembled almost sculptural paint surfaces, Dr Gambhir was the first artist from Punjab to be selected nine times for a national award. He finally got an Honorary Mention at the National Awards in 1991 for his inventive art technique of creating behind-the-mirror effects in a Artworks by Dr Baldev Gambhir (Right) painting. "His passion and finesse in textures on canvas remains unmatched till today and he has been a subject of study for art students in over 27 universities. He was deeply immersed in his work and used to travel to hills often to study and later draw them on his canvas. His work was mostly inspired by nature," shared Brajesh Jolly, Director, KT Kala art gallery and a close friend of Dr Gambhir. His work was seen c m y b as modern, passionate and mature by his peers and celebrated for its depth. In Amritsar, Gambhir was popularly called Bhisham Hoshiarpur, currently living as a tenant in Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, here; Harpreet Kaur, a resident of village Gosampur in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, also residing in Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar at present; and Jashanpreet Singh, a resident of Makowal village in Amritsar (Rural). Bhupinder Singh and Harpreet Kaur were arrested on January 25, while Jashanpreet Singh was arrested on January 26. Preliminary probe revealed that the accused were part of an organised gang and had executed the theft by posing as customers. Police said that three more accomplices are still at large and efforts are on to arrest them soon. Jewellery shop firing case: Second accused arrested Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 28 The city police have arrested Sameer alias Bobby, the second accused in the firing and attempted robbery incident at a jewellery shop on Batala Road, nearly a month after the crime. Earlier, the police had arrested his accomplice, Gurjit Singh alias Goldy, a resident of Kot Khalsa area. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Sirivennela said the incident occurred on December 29, 2025, at around 8:15 pm at KK Jewellers, located near Khooh Kundian on Batala Road, under the jurisdiction of Sadar police station. According to the police, two masked youths arrived at the shop on a motorcycle and entered the premises on the Dr Baldev Gambhir leaves behind enduring legacy Neha Saini entered his jewellery shop posing as customers. While one of them engaged the shopkeeper by asking to see the gold ornaments, another member of the group stealthily stole a total of 290 grams of gold from the counter out of which about 190 grams was pure gold, and fled from the scene. Following the incident, a special police team was constituted under ACP Anubhav Jain. The team, led by Inspector Baljinder Singh, SHO, B-Division, conducted technical surveillance and field investigations, leading to the arrest, Walia said. The arrested persons have been identified as Bhupinder Singh, a resident of village Desopura in Pitamah of art by his students and art lovers. He was honoured with lifetime achievement award by the state government at the 50th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev. Born in what is now Pakistan in 1943, Dr Baldev Gambhir studied at Government Arts College, Lucknow, and later taught at BBK DAV College for Women in Amritsar. He has held over 500 and more exhibitions in his lifetime and is the recipient of Punjab Kala Akademi Award as well. Gambhir came to Amritsar in 1973 and started with a few shows, workshops and later turned to teaching art. He continued working as a freelance artist after his retirement from BBKDAV College for Women. Once, asked about his fetish with naming his art series after number 69, Dr Gambhir had replied, "69, I believe, is a figure symbolising extreme love, and here it depicts my extreme love for nature. I paint with all my heart and soul, and the result may not be the same every time, but the intentions are." He often called his work with unconventional tools 'exciting' and admitted that the result on canvas, more than often, left him feeling 'ecstatic'. pretext of selling a silver chain. When the shop owner, Vicky Sharma, refused to buy old jewellery, one of the accused pulled out a pistol and opened fire with the intention to rob and allegedly kill the shop owner. Vicky Sharma and his nephew Amrit Sharma, who was also present in the shop, narrowly escaped by taking cover behind the counter. Hearing the gunshots, panic gripped the area as nearby shopkeepers and residents rushed to the spot. Bystanders managed to overpower one of the accused, later identified as Gurjit alias Goldy, during a scuffle who sustained a head injury at that time. Meanwhile, the second accused, Sameer alias Bobby, managed to flee from the scene after firing a couple of shots in the air. Following sustained technical surveillance and investigation, the police tracked him down and arrested him. The pistol used in the crime has also been recovered from his possession. The ADCP said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC and the Arms Act, and further investigations are underway to ascertain whether the accused were involved in similar criminal incidents in the city. Police recover drones, over 1-kg heroin from village in border area Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 28 The police recovered over 1 kg heroin along with two drones during a search operation conducted in the Kahangarh border village here. The incident came to light when the Gharinda police registered an FIR in this regard against unknown drug traffickers. According to police, acting on specific intelligence, a police team led by ASI Rajbir Singh conducted a raid in agricultural fields located on the outskirts of Kahangarh village. The informer had tipped off the police that packets of heroin had been concealed in the fields and could be recovered if immediate action was taken. Following this, the police team, accompanied by official witnesses, reached the designated location and thoroughly searched the area. During the operation, two drones and two packets suspected to contain heroin, were recov- ered from the fields. On checking one of the packets, a substance resembling heroin was found. The recovered contraband, along with packing material, was weighed using an electronic scale and found to be 1 kilogram and 96 grams of heroin. In addition, two DJI Mavic drones along with their batteries were also seized. Police stated that a case has been registered against unknown persons under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act, and Sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act. The recovery was made following due procedure using a field testing kit. Further probe is underway to identify those involved in the smuggling operation and to trace the source and destination of the recovered narcotics, said the police authorities.