Chandigarh, May 13: At least 15 men have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in four villages of the Majitha area in Amritsar district, officials said on Tuesday.

The deceased, mostly labourers working in brick kilns, include residents of Bhangali, Marari Kalan Therwal and Patalpuri villages.

Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural), Maninder Singh said the main accused Prabhjit Singh has been arrested and he turned out to be the mastermind behind supplying the spurious liquor.

A First Information Report (FIR) was on Tuesday registered under Section 105 of the BNS and 61-A of the Excise Act.

The others arrested were Kulbir Singh, alias Jaggu, a brother of the main accused Prabhjit Singh, Sahib Singh, alias Sarai, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, wife of Jeeta.

The Investigation Police Officer told the media that preliminary investigation indicated that “all took liquor from a single source on Sunday evening. Some of them died on Monday and locals cremated them without informing the police. We received information about the deaths due to liquor late in the evening (Monday) and initiated an investigation.”

A spokesperson for the government said an investigation of the entire spurious liquor network is on.

In March 2024, as many as 24 people had died in Sangrur due to spurious liquor. Earlier in 2020, more than 100 people died across Punjab in one of the deadliest illicit liquor tragedies.

As the war against drugs ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ to eradicate the drug menace from the state completed 72 days on Monday, Punjab Police registered 6,280 FIRs and arrested 10,444 drug smugglers.

Notably, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab a drug free state.

Since the launch of the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, Punjab Police under the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav has been conducting different operations including cordon and search operations, night domination and raids at drug hotspots across the state.

Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Law and Order, Arpit Shukla, who has been monitoring these operations, on Monday said that police teams have recovered 398 kg heroin, 186 kg opium, 117 quintals poppy husk, 8 kg charas, 135 kg ganja, 2.5 kg ICE, 1.2 kg cocaine, 23.57 lakh intoxicant pills/tablets and Rs 8.58 crore drug money from their possession.

New Delhi, May 13: India will brief Defence Attaches (DAs) from various countries based in New Delhi on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., providing them with technical details of ‘Operation Sindoor’, the country’s recent anti-terror military offensive.

The Indian armed forces are set to share critical insights and operational data, including the performance of the indigenous air defence systems and outcomes of the strike missions carried out between May 7 and May 10.

Sources confirmed that the session will cover a wide array of developments, including the destruction of Chinese and Turkish-made drones and PL-15 missiles by India’s air defence forces, preventing any breach into Indian airspace.

The move comes a day after Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai addressed the media, stating that the budgetary and policy support received by the armed forces over the past decade enabled the creation of a robust multi-layered air defence grid.

He said the system proved to be a decisive shield during Pakistan’s retaliatory aerial attacks on May 9 and 10. “Our battle-proven systems performed exceptionally, and the indigenous Akash missile system played a critical role,” Lt Gen Ghai noted.

The briefing to the Defence Attaches will also include details of a hotline conversation that took place on Monday evening around 5 p.m. between the Indian and Pakistani DGMOs.

Lt Gen Ghai and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah, reportedly discussed methods to restore calm along the Line of Control and reiterated commitments to the ceasefire understanding reached after the Indian operation halted at Pakistan’s request on May 10.

Official sources said that Pakistan conveyed it would not escalate the conflict and expressed willingness to adhere to the ceasefire agreement. The hotline exchange between the two military leaders also included discussions on maintaining restraint and monitoring the situation moving forward.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the nation for the first time following the understanding that ended the intense military exchanges.

He reiterated India’s hardline stance against Pakistan, stating unequivocally that New Delhi will not hold any dialogue with Islamabad except on issues related to terrorism and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

“The Kashmir issue cannot be viewed in isolation from Pakistan’s continuous export of terrorism,” the Prime Minister said.

He strongly criticised Pakistan’s military and government for protecting and promoting terror outfits, warning that such support could bring about their eventual downfall.

PM Modi’s remarks also come amid reports that Pakistan attached certain conditions to the ceasefire, including a proposal to revive the Indus Waters Treaty, which India had suspended as a non-military strategic pressure tactic.

However, India has maintained that talks, if any, will remain confined strictly to terrorism and PoK.

Aligarh, May 12: Muslim religious leader Maulana Chaudhary Ibrahim Hussain on Monday strongly praised the Indian armed forces for the successful execution of ‘Operation Sindoor’ and sharply criticised Pakistan for using religious institutions like mosques and madrasas to train terrorists.

“India destroyed Pakistan’s terrorist bases. This is a huge achievement. No one in the world has ever carried out such precise destruction of terror camps inside Pakistan, and our forces even returned safely after striking military bases. This is an even greater accomplishment,” he said.

Responding to Pakistan’s claims that madrasas and mosques were targeted, the Maulana asserted, “They say we attacked their mosques and madrasas, but what kind of mosques and madrasas are these where terror is trained and humanity is destroyed? These places are meant for worship and spreading humanity, not for breeding terror.”

He condemned the misuse of Islamic symbols for terrorism, saying, “Which Islam allows such interpretation that terrorism is spread in the name of religion? They are not Muslims; they are terrorists and devils who want to poison society by distorting Islam.”

Ibrahim Hussain stressed that terrorism is a betrayal of the core values of Islam.

“They use the name of Islam to manipulate innocent minds, to mislead the common man emotionally, and drag them into terrorism. But Islam stands for peace, not violence.”

Calling for the total elimination of terrorism, he added, “Our military’s action has made every Indian proud. But the only way to defeat terrorism is to uproot it completely. Even if one terrorist remains, he will use deceit and mislead others in the name of Islam. So it must be destroyed from its roots.”

The Maulana’s remarks come amid growing support across communities in India for the operation, seen as a strong message to terror groups and their state sponsors.