Holy city: Punjab govt begins shifting liquor, meat kiosks out of Amritsar walled city
Amritsar (PTI): Punjab government has begun shifting temporary kiosks and street vendors selling liquor, meat, eggs, tobacco and other non-vegetarian items from the old walled city of Amritsar, which has recently been declared a holy city, officials said on Saturday.
Officials of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation said a detailed survey has identified around 150 temporary shops and stalls operating within the walled city.
These include meat shops, pan-bidi kiosks and carts selling boiled eggs, particularly in areas such as the Old Telephone Exchange near Shastri Market and Katra Jaimal Singh.
Several other locations, including Hathi Gate, Lohgarh Gate, Hakiman Gate, Bhagtanwala Gate, Guruwali Gate, Guru Bazaar, Lahori Gate, Namak Mandi and surrounding areas were also found to have vendors selling non-vegetarian food and tobacco products, officials said.
Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association president Surinder Singh said that excise department has not issued liquor vend licences within the walled city, nevertheless some illegal liquor sale was taking place.
The government decision will not impact around 650 hotels and guest houses near the Golden Temple as they do not serve liquor or non-vegetarian food to pilgrims, he said.
Meanwhile, a wholesale fish trader in Amritsar, Yuvraj Singh, expressed concern over the move.
Nearly 60,000 people are linked to the fish trade, supplying fish across Punjab and neighbouring states, doing business worth several crores of rupees, he said, adding that these traders would face temporary unemployment if the market is shifted without proper rehabilitation.
Yuvraj urged the state government to prioritise rehabilitation, stating that restaurants, hotels and eateries dependent on fish supply from the walled city market would also suffer losses.
The Aam Aadmi Party-led government recently declared parts of Amritsar, Talwindi Sabo and Sri Anandpur Sahib as holy cities.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the decision in a video message on December 21.
Following this, the sale of meat, fish, alcohol, tobacco and other intoxicants were banned in these areas.
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Mule bank accounts frozen in crackdown on cyber fraudsters in Karnataka, 68 held
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka State Cyber Command has arrested 68 people as part of a statewide drive against mule bank accounts and “mule herders” involved in cyber fraud, officials said on Friday.
The special operations, which have been continuing since last week across Karnataka, targeted networks engaged in aggregating and selling mule bank accounts used for cyber crimes.
The arrests were made between December 2025 and February 2026, police said in an updated report.
“The Karnataka Cyber Command has conducted statewide special operations against Mule accounts and mule herders across Karnataka. The special drive has continued since last week and this is an updated report,” the department said in a statement.
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Police said the investigation identified a network of “mule herders” — individuals who aggregate and misuse mule bank accounts — who were retailing and selling such accounts to cyber criminals.
A total of 68 key accused and suspects have been arrested during the period.
According to the statement, mule herders had collected personal information and documents from unsuspecting laypersons and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives.
“These accounts were operated in a business-like manner,” it added.
As part of the crackdown, police registered 60 cases and identified 869 mule accounts across the state. As many as 8,788 complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against the identified mule accounts.
The total money involved in all NCRP-linked crimes stood at Rs 85.05 crore, of which Rs 13.43 crore has been put on hold, the Cyber Command said.
During the drive, police obtained 32 search warrants and conducted 35 searches. In the searches, 35 ATM cards, 37 passbooks, 80 mobile phones, 28 cheque books and 22 SIM cards were seized, along with other incriminating materials, officials said. Pronab Mohanty, the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Cyber Command) supervised the special drive, police added.
