20092025-LT-01.qxd 9/20/2025 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RELIEF EFFORTS LAUNCHED FOR LIVESTOCK FARMERS GADVASU has launched a series of targeted relief initiatives to support livestock farmers.P2 » 70-YEAR-OLD DURGA MATA MANDIR LIGHTS UP HUMBLE HOODIE UNDERGOES MAJOR STYLE EVOLUTION Ahead of Navratri, the Durga Mata Mandir near Jagraon Bridge has become a centre of devotion.P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.21 PM How Giorgia Andriani, Miley Cyrus, Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner are redefining the hoodie game P4 » FORECAST SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:10 AM » SATURDAY | 20 SEPTEMBER 2025 | LUDHIANA Major Ponzi scam unearthed, transactions worth ~122 cr made in 7 months, four held ~60 lakh freezed in 21 accounts of fake companies, says Khanna SSP Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 19 The Khanna police claimed to have busted a major ponzi scam involving crores of rupees wherein people were duped by company officials by creating fake companies. Four suspects were also arrested by the Khanna police in this regard. As per the police, Rs 122 crore was transacted in 21 bank accounts of these companies in just seven months, from January to July this year. The police have also freezed Rs 60 lakh lying in various accounts. The suspects were identified as Bikramjit Singh (42), a resident of Gahlewal, Samrala, Amit Khullar (43) of Ferozepur, Harpreet Singh of Gahlewal, Samrala (25) and Avtar Singh (47) of Khirnia, Samrala. The police also recovered four laptops, four CPUs and two mobile phones from the suspects. Suspects who are still at large in the case were identified as Jaspreet Singh of Jallanpur, Samrala, Satvinder Singh, alias Sona, of Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib district Man posing as customer steals 2 diamond rings from showroom Ludhiana, September 19 A miscreant while posing as a customer stole two diamond rings from a jewellery store located on the college road. After receiving a complaint, the police registered a case against the unidentified person and launched an investigation to identify him. The complainant, Ketan Chopra, a resident of Smart City Colony, Jassian road, in a complaint to the police stated that he works as a manager at Jewelbox Jewellers Private Limited on the college road. On September 15, an unidentified person came to the showroom, where the salesman, Gurpartap Singh, showed him rings and while looking at the same, he liked one of the rings and said he would deposit Rs 2,000 in advance and take the ring on Saturday. After depositing the advance money, the suspect left the showroom. When rings were counted in the display counter in the evening, two rings were missing. On checking the CCTV footage, it was found that the unidentified person, while selecting the rings, put two of the diamond rings in his trouser’s pocket and took them away. The weight of the rings is 9.24 gm and 6.50 gm, respectively. Head constable Ashish Kumar said the CCTV footage was procured from the jewellery showroom and a probe was launched to nab the suspect. — 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. SSP Jyoti Yadav, along with other cops, addresses mediapersons in Khanna on Friday. and Jatinder Singh, alias Kamal Grewal, of Mandi Gobindgarh and Parvinder Singh of Amloh. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Jyoti Yadav, while addressing a press conference said on September 17, Joginder Kumar of Baba Nand Singh Nagar, Phullawal, here, submitted a police complaint that the suspects claimed to have set up a company, ‘The Generation of Farming, which deals in organic farming practices at Samrala. They provided information about organic products and told the complainant that by investing money in their company, he would receive 8 per cent monthly profit. Believing them, the complainant invested Rs 25,75,000 along with his brother-in-law. Of the total amount, he only received Rs 3,00,000 back and thereafter no further payments were made. The SSP revealed that on the basis of the complaint, an FIR was lodged at the Samrala police station against all suspects. Later, another FIR was also registered on September 18 in which suspects Bikramjit Singh and Parvinder Singh, also named in previous FIR 247/2025, were nominated. Acting promptly, a raid was conducted at ‘The Generation of Farming’ office in Samrala and four suspects were apprehended. She revealed that after the police unearthed the multi- crore ponzi scheme racket, eight more complaints were received against the suspects, which are under investigation. Since it was a major racket, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted with SP (Detective) Khanna as the nodal officer, Samrala DSP DSP (Detec, tive) and Inspector Vinod Kumar as its members. Yadav said it was also found that the suspects had registered multiple other firms under different names such as The Generation of Farming, Hope of Farming, Randhawa Enterprises, The GAF Trading Enterprises, Kisan of Punjab Agro Nursery, Generation of Fitness Lab, The GAF Family Care Products and The GAF Milk Products. A total of 21 bank accounts related to these firms have been identified, which had transactions amounting to Rs 122 crore between January to July this year. Of this, nearly Rs 60 lakh has already been frozen. Interestingly, transactions were made by gullible people from the state, Haryana and other parts of the country. MURDER OF INDIAN-ORIGIN US WOMAN IN KILARAIPUR VILLAGE Lookout circular being issued against UK-based conspirator Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, September 19 Providing justice to Indianorigin US citizen Rupinder Kaur Pandher, who was killed by a Kilaraipur youth, Sukhjeet Singh Sonu, at behest of former’s would-be groom Charanjit Singh Grewal, an NRI from Mehma Singh Wala, seems to be a litmus test for the Dehlon police as the main conspirator of the crime is beyond the reach of the local police. Identification of the body of the deceased, partial remains of which have been collected and sealed by the investigating team, is also a challenge as none of the parts could be recognisable. The investigating team will have to get the identity of the body ascertained on the basis of a DNA test of a family member of the deceased. At present, deceased’s sister Kamaljit Khairah residing in Texas is in touch with the police, whose STR (short tandem repeat) can be matched with that of victim’s body parts available with the police. Sukhjeet, who has confessed his crime before the Identification of victim’s remains a challenge as none of parts is recognisable police, may not be relied upon till the conclusion of trial of the case as he can go hostile any time. His smartness can be gauged from the fact that he had kept the murder a secret for around two months. Even on being questioned by senior functionaries in the Police Commissionerate, he managed to convince them about his “innocence” till the Dehlon police received a tipoff regarding the murder of the woman. Residents and kin of the deceased are not ready to accept that a single person can kill a woman at a small house situated in the middle of the village and then burn her body without getting people know about the smoke and peculiar smell of burning flesh and dump the body remains in a drain at a distant place in a single night. The victim was allegedly killed by Sukhjeet at the behest of a 75-year-old UKbased NRI from Mehma Singh Wala village here. The police revealed that the victim was lured to Punjab under the pretext of marriage. She had reportedly transferred large amounts of money to accounts linked to the Sukhjeet and his brother. The crime came to light only weeks later when Rupinder Kaur’s sister reported her missing and alerted the US Embassy in India on July 28, after repeated failed attempts to contact her. Acknowledging challenges in further investigation, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Harjinder Singh Gill said a lookout circular (LOC) was being issued against Charanjit. The police would also adopt legal procedure for declaring him as a proclaimed offender (PO) and he will forfeit his property in India. “When our team can crack this blind and well-planned high-profile murder case, we can also nab the suspect and his accomplice, if any,” said Gill, maintaining that the Ludhiana police had already conveyed to relatives of Rupinder Kaur that justice would be provided to the victim’s family at all costs. World Bank delegation reviews canal-based water supply project Ludhiana, September 19 A delegation comprising senior officials from the World Bank (WB) reviewed the progress of the ongoing canal-based water supply project in the city. The delegation, led by cotask team leader from the World Bank, Srinivasa Rao Podipireddy, was on a threeday visit to the city. Besides conducting review meetings with officials, the delegation also conducted inspections at the water treatment plant (WTP) site in Bilga village, near Sahnewal, and a number of other sites where OHSRs are being constructed or pipeline is being laid under the project. A review meeting was also held between MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and members of the delegation wherein the World Bank officials appreciated over 14.8 per Appreciate officials for over 14.8 per cent progress The house where victim Rupinder Kaur Pandher was murdered at Kilaraipur village. PHOTO BY WRITER Abducted child traced in 12 hrs, 6 held The World Bank officials review canal-based water supply project in Ludhiana. cent progress under the project, which was officially launched in February this year. Chief Engineer Ravinder Garg; General Manager (projects), PMIDC, Har Satinder Pal Singh Dhillon; Manager (Environment & Social), PMIDC, Badal Soni; Superintending Engineer Parul Goyal, who were among other officials of the project implementation unit (PIU), and staff of contractor were present during the review meetings and site inspections. The officials stated that directions had been issued to further expedite the project and ensure that the works were completed within the stipulated period. Also the PIU members and staff of the contractor had been directed to ensure stakeholder coordination and strict adherence to quality and safety benchmarks. MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said regular review meetings of the project monitoring committee (PMC) were being held to improve coordination among various departments involved in the project and expedite the works. — TNS Ludhiana, September 19 The Khanna police claimed to have solved the kidnapping case of a minor child within 12 hours and recovered the child safely. They arrested six suspects. SSP Khanna, Jyoti Yadav, , issued a statement in this regard. Vikas Kumar, a resident of Garhi Tarkhana village, Machhiwara, had lodged a police complaint on September 18 that his two-and-a-half-year-old son Laksh, alias Laddu, who was playing near the house in the afternoon, went missing. He kept searching for him on his own, and when he failed to trace the child, he reached the police station around 5:30 pm and lodged a complaint. During the investigation, Ramesh Kumar and Chandan Sahni were rounded up and questioned, who told during the interrogation that they had picked up the child on the directions of Babita, wife Jai Nath, a resident of Garhi Tarkhana village. Later,other suspects were nabbed. On questioning Babita, it was found that since her sister Rita Devi, wife Santosh Sahni, a resident of Dana Mandi, Sirsa, did not have any child, she along with her husband Jai Nath, resident of Dana Mandi 170 anganwadi centres in district need urgent repairs Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 19 Following heavy rains in the recent past, as many as 170 anganwadi centres in the district have been declared unsafe due to severe structural issues such as cracks, leakages and dampness. A recent survey conducted by anganwadi workers and unions has flagged these centres and the list has been handed over to the higher authorities for urgent renovation or reconstruction. Instructions have already been issued to shift centres operating from severely dilapidated buildings. Both government and privately housed centres are on the list, Following heavy rains in recent past, these have been declared unsafe with many requiring immediate relocation. One worker, requesting anonymity, said several centres are in such pitiable condition that neither workers nor helpers can sit inside. The worst affected centres are in Bhaini Darera village, Goslan in Dehlon block and many in the Machhiwara and Pakhowal blocks. At Lamma village, rainwater leakage from the ceiling destroyed food stocks stored in drums. In Nathowal, cracks and seepage in the ceiling pose a serious risk, while in Raikot block, leakage has rendered one centre without electricity. Workers in Bassia, Jhorran and Johlan villages are also struggling due to unsafe rooms where children are looked after and ration is stored. “The survey was carried out by workers and helpers after the floods. The list has been submitted to the district programme officer. We hope the government will release funds for renovation or at least relocate the centres to safer premises,” said another anganwadi worker. Confirming the development, district programme officer Gurmit Singh told The Tribune that Ludhiana had 2,487 anganwadi centres, of which 2,317 are in a good c m y b condition while 170 have been found unsafe. “We have asked the authorities to act swiftly. The ultimate assessment lies with the PWD, which declares that a building was unsafe for use. Till then, we have instructed workers to shift to nearby centres or alternative spaces. The district has 1.5 lakh beneficiaries depending on these centres,” he said. Anganwadi centres play a vital role in supporting underprivileged families by providing ration, early childhood care up to three years of age, counselling for mothers, pension schemes for differently abled and other welfare measures. These centres are jointly funded by the Centre and the state government. An anganwadi centre damaged due to heavy rains in Ludhiana. Sirsa, had kidnapped the child and later gave it to her sister Rita Devi. After which they went to Sirsa by bus. A deal was settled for Rs 1,29,000, of which Babita had sent Rs 9,000 to Chandan through Google Pay and had given Rs 50,000 in cash and Rs 69,000 was yet to be paid. The said amount is yet to be recovered. SSP Yadav revealed that a joint operation in coordination with Sirsa police was launched and child was recovered safely. The suspects were identified as Ramesh Kumar, Chandan Sahni, Babita, Rita Devi, Jai Nath, and Santosh Sahni. — TNS Illegal colony demolished in Mundian Kalan Ludhiana, September 19 Continuing action against illegal constructions, the Municipal Corporation (MC) demolished an illegal colony in Mundian Kalan here on Friday. Working on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, the action was taken by the building branch of MC’s Zone B office. Officials said the builder was establishing the colony illegally. A few buildings were being constructed within the colony. The illegal constructions had been razed. They said regular drives were being organised against illegal constructions in the city. — TNS