20072025-LT-01.qxd 7/20/2025 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SMART HERBICIDE PRACTICES CAN BOOST RICE YIELD: EXPERTS TIGER ATTENDS JACKIE’S HUNTER 2 TRAILER LAUNCH Experts from the PAU have issued detailed recommendations to ensure safe and effective weed control. P3 Actor Tiger Shroff attended trailer launch of Hunter 2, surprising dad Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty. P4 » » SONAM: A JOURNEY STITCHED TOGETHER WITH FIRE & FAITH Sonam Bajwa, who made her Hindi debut this year, has completed shooting for her next film Baaghi 4.P4 » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.23 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5:35 AM SUNDAY | 20 JULY 2025 | LUDHIANA Firing at shopkeeper: Two shooters held, most-wanted Batala booked One of suspects opens fire at cops; gangster recently held by FBI in California Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 19 Achieving a major success, the Ludhiana rural police arrested two suspects who had opened fire at a hardware shopkeeper, Jatinder Singh, in Rumi village, Jagraon, on July 5. The suspects were shooters allegedly hired by Lovepreet Singh Lovely, who is staying in Serbia, reportedly at the behest of a most-wanted gangster, Pavittar Singh Batala, now staying in California. The most wanted gangster, Batala, was recently arrested by the FBI in California. He is a member of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Interpol had a red corner notice against him. Batala is also believed to have made extortion calls to the shopkeeper, demanding Rs 50 lakh and a probe is underway to clear the fact. The nabbed suspects were identified as Nanak Ram, alias Nanku (24), a resident of Andana village in Sangrur, and Deepu Singh (23), a resident of Gobindpura, Sangrur. The police also The suspects in custody of the Ludhiana rural police on Saturday. recovered one .32 bore pistol, two cartridges and a motorcycle from the suspects, which were provided to them by the conspirators. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ludhiana rural, Ankur Gupta, said on Friday, both suspects were arrested from Andana village after getting a tip-off. Later, they were brought to the CIA, Jagraon, for interrogation. Nanak Ram told the police that he had concealed an illegal weapon used in the crime at Sohian village. When the police along with him reached the spot at the village, he took out a weapon lying hidden beneath the ground and opened fire at the police officials. One bullet hit the police vehicle while another whizzed past a policeman’s leg. In self-defence, the policemen also fired shots and one of the bullets hit the suspect’s leg. Batala behind attack on trader: Police sources A senior police official told The Tribune that gangster Pavittar Singh Batala, who is on the most wanted list of the National Investigation FIRING AT WITNESS’ HOUSE IN MURDER CASE Three nabbed with pistols; jailed suspect, Dubai-based friend hatched conspiracy Ludhiana, July 19 The Ludhiana police claimed to have solved a firing case in which three bike-borne assailants had opened fire at the house of a key witness, Kanwaljit Singh, in the murder case of his brother Harjinder Singh Jindi at Jawahar Camp in the wee hours of July 15. Interestingly, the planning to carry out the firing was done from the Central Jail, Ludhiana, where one of the murder suspects was lodged. He hatched the conspiracy with his close aide based in Dubai. The suspects were identified as Manya Sahni, Kushvir Singh, alias Guri, and Varun Gogi, all residents of Jawahar Camp. The police seized four .32 bore pistols, one .30 bore pistol and 27 cartridges from the suspects. Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma, DCP (Crime) Harpal Singh, ADCP Amandeep Singh Brar and inspector Navdeep Singh of the special cell addressed a press conference in this regard on Saturday. The CP said initially the police recovered three empty cartridges and proceeded with the investigation. During the probe, it came to light that Darpan, who is lodged in the Central Jail in connection with a murder case of Harjinder Jindi, had hatched a conspiracy in connivance with close aide Namit Sharma, who is staying in Dubai, and his friends Akshay and Danish. They further sent the three nabbed suspects to carry out the firing to intimidate the witness. Kanwaljit’s brother Harjinder, a resident of Jawahar Nagar Camp, was brutally murdered in Jawahar Nagar in 2020. Kanwaljit was scheduled to testify in the case in July. He had filed a complaint with the police, suspecting that the suspects fired shots at his house to threaten him and deter him from testifying. The bullet hit the gate of his house. The incident was also captured on CCTV cameras installed in the area. After the attack, the Ludhiana police arrested three suspects during probe. “Now, the police will question the suspects how they managed to get illegal weapons and cartridges. Weapon supplier will not be spared and action will also be taken against them,” Sharma said. Agency (NIA), has been arrested along with seven other Khalistani terrorists by the FBI on July 11, and he is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in terror activities. “We have booked Batala, suspecting his direct involvement in a case related to a firing at a shopkeeper in Jagraon, hiring shooters, arranging weapons and making extortion calls. Batala seemed to have asked his aide Lovepreet, a native of Sangrur, at present staying in Serbia, to hire shooters to kill the shopkeeper in Jagraon. A sum of Rs 1.50 lakh was also transferred in bank accounts of Nanak Ram by Lovepreet from Serbia. The exact role of Batala and Lovepreet will come out in further questioning of the nabbed suspects,” said a senior police official. Meanwhile, link of the victim’s brother-in-law Rupinder Singh with Batala is also under scanner as the police suspect that a fresh attack on the shopkeeper on July 5 could have been orchestrated by the gangster at the behest of Rupinder. BJP leader attacked Ludhiana, July 19 BJP leader Naman Bansal was attacked by some unidentified youths on Friday night in Gopal Nagar on Tibba Road.The suspects first slapped Naman and then attacked him on his back with a sharp weapon. The victim managed to save his life by escaping from the scene and going to a nearby shop and informed his friends. His friends took him to the Civil Hospital. Naman said he was the vicepresident of the BJP youth wing. His shop was located in Gopal Nagar. The victim was stopped by some unidentified youths who confirmed his name before attacking him. He saved his life by entering a shop. Naman requested the police to identify the assailants and put them behind bars. The police have initiated a probe into the matter. — TNS Vet varsity researchers create nutritious shrimp-enhanced potato snack, bag award Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 19 In a flavourful leap towards healthier snacking, a team from the College of Fisheries (COF), Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), has developed a new potatobased snack that provides both taste and nutrition. The highlight was that it’s supplemented with 10 per cent shrimp protein powder, transforming a comfort food into a protein-rich health snack with minimal fishy odour, a common barrier for many consumers. The snack was created by a postgraduate student, Ankita Kataria, under the guidance of Dr Vijay Kumar Reddy from the Department of Fish Processing Technology. Designed The snack made with potato and shrimp protein powder. to be convenient and appealing, the product offers a high sensory score, long shelf life and provides a smart solution for supplementing low-protein snack choices often consumed by children and youth. The idea was to make something nutritious but also familiar and acceptable to people who aren’t used to seafoodbased snacks,” shared Kataria. “Shrimp protein powder allowed us to enhance the nutritional profile while keeping the flavour subtle and enjoyable,” she said. Dr Reddy explained that shrimp protein’s application could revolutionise the world of ready-to-use and ready-tocook snacks, helping shift dietary habits towards better nutrition without sacrificing taste or convenience. The trailblazing work was recently showcased at the 2nd Indian Fisheries Outlook–2025, where it earned the Best Poster Presentation Award under the theme ‘Post Harvest Processing, Value Addition and Food Safety’. Vice Chancellor JPS Gill and Dean Meera D Ansal applauded the team’s efforts for shining a light on the power of aquatic proteins in everyday foods and for bringing national recognition to the institution. “The accolade reinforces the snack’s potential to impact both public health and food innovation,” said Dr Gill. “Such recognition not only uplifts the academic spirit of our university but also opens doors for cross-sector collaborations in sustainable food development. It reflects how scientific ingenuity when rooted in local research can ripple outwards to serve national nutritional goals,” he added. c m y b Checking 200 CCTVs, human intel helped crack firing case Ludhiana, July 19 After two shooters opened fire at a shopkeeper, Jatinder Singh, in Rumi village of Jagraon on July 5, SSP (Ludhiana rural) Ankur Gupta took the case as a challenge and spent day and night with police teams to connect the dots. On Saturday, the SSP said it was a blind case and extortion calls made to the shopkeeper had further put up a challenge. He had formed teams and used to take every detail from them. “After July 5, police teams travelled 150-km-long trail to check CCTV cameras on roads, highways and localities till Sangrur. Starting from the crime scene, our teams made efforts to get CCTV footage of the suspects. Over 200 CCTVs were checked and finally the police reached Andana village in Sangrur and reached the suspects,” Gupta said. He said the CCTV footage and human intelligence of the police helped identify them. “Teams worked continuously for around two weeks. Usually criminals think that if they come from different districts to commit any crime, they can go scot-free but they must know that they are not above the Punjab Police and the latter can find them even if they hide hundreds of kilometres away from crime scenes,” he said. — TNS PM to inaugurate Halwara airport, flight ops yet to be announced Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 19 The Halwara international airport will be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually on July 27. The announcement was made by Punjab Minister for Industries and Commerce Sanjeev Arora. Simultaneously, the business community and people are eager to know about the beginning of the flight operations, which are still unclear as the security vetting NOC must be granted first, the Indian Air Force (IAF) must finish the runway process and different airlines must continue with their testing. One of the officials at the Halwara airport, who did not wish to be quoted, said no specific date of operation of flights was decided yet. “The security vetting has been done and an NOC is awaited. Besides, the runway has to be completed by the IAF authorities and they will be able to comment on the same. Once these things are done, the airlines will start with testing flights. At the same time, it is certainly not too far to start the operations now,” the official said. Even on social media plat- The terminal will be dedicated to the public on July 27, with Air India to announce flight commencement date thereafter. FILE forms, the residents look interested in knowing about commencement date of flights and their routes ever since the announcement about its inauguration has been made by Sanjeev Arora on Friday. After missing several deadlines, the airport will, at last, be functional soon, feel the residents. The operations at the Halwara airport are important as it was much awaited demand of the industry and others from this part of the region. The Rs 50-crore project took over three years for near completion and missed over 12 deadlines. “The new Halwara airport will not only serve the purpose of the industrialists from Ludhiana but also cater to the entire state as well as neighbouring areas. It was due to the efforts made by Sanjeev Arora, the then MP , that the project finally would witness inauguration by the Prime Minister on July 27. Finishing touches are being given to the airport, before beginning the flight operations. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) will also issue the airport code,” said Rahul Ahuja, former chairman, CII. Meanwhile, Minister Sanjeev Arora said the AAI, in collaboration with the district administration, has been finalising preparations for the inauguration. The terminal will be dedicated to the public on July 27, with Air India to announce flight commencement date thereafter.