16102025-LT-01.qxd 10/16/2025 12:40 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SARAS MELA CONCLUDES ON POSITIVE NOTE AT PAU DIWALI POLLUTION: DOCS SAY AVOID EXPOSURE Saras Mela came to an end with most of the exhibitors expressing satisfaction over sales. P2 SALMAN TURNS SHOWSTOPPER FOR VIKRAM PHADNIS Doctors across Ludhiana are already seeing a rise in pollution-related ailments among people. P3 » Salman Khan turned showstopper for designer Vikram Phadnis, who celebrated 35 years in fashion. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 31°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 19°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.51 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:25 AM THURSDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2025 | LUDHIANA Dalit bodies block nat’l highway to seek justice for Hry IPS officer Demands will be raised with government, DC assures protesters Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 15 Dalit organisations protested and blocked the national highway near Jalandhar bypass to seek justice for Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who recently died by suicide. They were demanding registration of a murder case against all police officials whose name figured in the suicide note. On Wednesday morning, Dalit organisations, led by the Bharatiya Dharma Samaj (Bhavadhas), blocked the Jalandhar Bypass intersection. The Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 was also blocked for some time. The protesters insisted on calling the Deputy Commissioner for submitting the memorandum. Meanwhile, SDM Jasleen Kaur Bhullar reached the spot and spoke with them but the protesters insisted on a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner. However, the SDM managed to convince them and fixed their meeting with the DC, following which the protest was lifted and traffic was restored. The DC also held a meeting Protesters block the national highway near the Jalandhar bypass; and (right) commuters walk on the road during the protest. INDERJEET VERMA ‘ACT AGAINST OFFICIALS NAMED IN SUICIDE NOTE’ Protesters are demanding that all officials whose names were given by the IPS officer in his suicide note should be arrested and a murder case should be registered against them. with the protesters. He pacified them and assured that their demands would be raised with the government. However, commuters faced huge inconvenience due to the protest as long queues of vehicles were witnessed on the highway. To ensure a smooth flow of traffic, the police had initiated diversion of vehicles. During the protest, the protesters raised slogans against the Haryana Government and the police. Chaudhary Yashpal, a leader of the Bhavadhas, who attended the protest, said ambulances, school buses and other emergency services were were allowed to move during the blockade. The Dalit organisations demanded that all officials whose names were given by the IPS officer in his suicide note should be arrested in the case and a murder case should be registered against them. They also threw slippers at a picture of the Haryana DGP, who was sent on leave by the government. Amit Kumar from Goraya, who was stuck in a traffic jam, said: “I had to go to the DMCH for a medical checkup of my mother but got stuck in traffic near the Ludhiana-Jalandhar bypass intersection due to the road blockade.” Another commuter, Rohit Arora, said: “I was going to pick up my children from school as they had been waiting there for an hour. I had no option than to wait here till the time the protest was lifted”. 2 more held in Ponzi scheme, Prisoner goes missing fraud amount crosses ~170 cr from jail, officials on toes With this, total arrests reached 8, six were nabbed in Sept Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 15 The ongoing probe into the first-of-its-kind ponzi scam in the name of organic farming practices and manufacturing organic products by creating a fake company that cheated gullible investors mainly farmers across the country of over Rs 100 crore by promising huge returns has led to the arrest of two more suspects on Wednesday. With this, the arrest in the scam reached eight as six were earlier arrested in the case in September this year. Mohit Singla, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Detective), Khanna, said the suspects were identified as Dr DD Verma and Jagtar Singh. Both of them had invested the money looted by key suspects from the investors into properties. Despite the duo were aware that money being invested in a ponzi scam, they invested the money into the property business and helped other suspects in buying properties. As per the police, the suspects had created nine fake companies related to organic farming with office addresses in Samrala but in reality those companies had no physical presence. The gang was, however, quite active on digital space through which they used to lure the innocent investors for multiple returns on the investment. Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police, Khanna, Jyoti Yadav, had said 21 bank accounts were freezed by the police in which transactions of Rs 122 crore took Ludhiana, October 15 An inmate went missing from the Central Jail on Tajpur Road on Tuesday night. Officials are on their toes as the suspect was yet to be traced. They believe that the inmate seemed to be hiding inside the jail only and there was less possibility of escape from the jail premises. The officials came to know about his disappearance at night, causing a stir within the prison administration. The inmate was identified as Rahul, native of Ghaziabad, UP and at presnt staying in , Bhamian Kalan, here. He was arrested on January 25, 2024, after a case of snatching was registered against him. As per information, on April 16, 2024, the police brought him to a court in a government bus. Even then, the suspect escaped from the place. They believe suspect seems to be hiding inside prisons only After which, a complaint was lodged at Police Division 5 and he was arrested later. The serious lapse has raised many questions about the functioning of the jail administration and the police. Following the incident, the police launched a search operation at various locations. The Ludhaina police also registered a case against the inmate under the Prisons Act. In May 2023 also, taking advantage of security lapses in the Central Jail, an undertrial had escaped through an underconstruction watchtower of the prison after returning from Nawanshahr court. He was arrested later. — TNS KERALA TECHIE’S SUICIDE Youth Cong gheraoes RSS office, BJP demands impartial probe Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 15 The Punjab Youth Congress gheraoed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office here, demanding justice for the software engineer, Anandu Aji, who died by suicide in Kerala after alleged sexual exploitation in a RSS camp. A confrontation occurred between Youth Congress workers, who had gathered under the leadership of state Youth Congress president Mohit Mohindra, and the police force stationed outside the RSS office. During the protest, Mohit Mohindra, Ludhiana Youth Congress president Happy Lali and several other Youth Congress workers were detained by the police. Referring to the last Instagram post of the software engineer, Mohindra said Aji’s father had sent him to RSS shakhas and camps to learn good things but who knew that he would be sexually abused at a young age there. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab, has expressed sorrow over the untimely death of Anandu Aji, a young and dedicated RSS volunteer belonging to Elikkulam village in Kottayam district of Kerala. His family has been associated with the sangh for many years and his father was also a respected activist. The incident is tragic, said Bikramjit Singh Cheema, vice-president of the state BJP during a press conference in Ludhiana on Wednesday. Cheema expressed condolences and sympathy to the bereaved family, praying for the peace of the departed soul. He said the Punjab BJP demands a full, impartial and transparent probe into circumstances surrounding the unnatural death of Anandu Aji. He said the allegations made in the alleged suicide note circulating on social media were false and baseless. It was merely an attempt to tarnish the image of the sangh and divert attention from the truth, which needs to be brought to light. Cheema condemned the Congress and other opposition parties for trying to use the tragic incident for political gains. He said converting a moment of grief into political advantage was not only unethical but also unfortunate and condemnable. Cheema recalled that the Congress had a history full of false accusations, propaganda and defamation against the sangh but the truth had always prevailed. BJP district vice-presidents Mahesh Sharma and Manish Chopra and press secretary Satish Kumar were among others present. Protesting Youth Congress workers being stopped by the police outside the RSS office in Ludhiana on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Huge quantity of ‘adulterated’ sweets seized from vehicle Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 15 The Food Safety Team, Ludhiana, conducted a major inspection and enforcement drive in the Payal area on Wednesday. The operation was part of a special campaign to ensure the quality and safety of sweets and other food products being sold during the festive season. During the inspection, the team intercepted a vehicle A total of five samples were collected and sent to laboratory carrying a large consignment of sweets from Chandigarh, which was en route to deliver supplies to various sweet shops in the Payal region. On checking, the stock of sweets was found to be of suspicious quality, following which the entire consignment was seized on the spot by the police. The seized items included around three quintals of milk cake, 210 kg of khoya barfi, 50 kg of laddoo, 5 kg of dodha, and 10 kg of rasgulla. A total of five samples were collected and sent to the State Food Laboratory for analysis. Appropriate legal action will be taken based on the laboratory test results of the samples. The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Wednesday. MODUS OPERANDI As per the police, the gang members had created nine fake companies related to organic farming with office addresses in Samrala but in reality those companies had no physical presence. The gang was, however, quite active on digital space through which they used to lure innocent investors for multiple returns on investment. place in just seven months, from January to July this year. During further probe, the count of bank accounts had crossed 30. Singla confirmed that now the fraud amount that include transactions and inflow of money from the investors had crossed Rs 170 crore and the amount freezed in the banks accounts was about Rs 74 lakh, which had now crossed Rs 1 crore. The DSP said two days’ police remand of the suspects were sought from court for questioning and more revelations were expected in further probe. Notably, the suspects had created several fake firms in different names, namely The Generation of Farming, 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 and even fake office addresses of these companies were given to the investors. Whenever any investor yearned to visit farmhouses or offices, they used to take them to farms and offices of other people. Ahead of Diwali, garbage on roadsides presents a dirty picture Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 15 With the festival of lights approaching, residents have begun cleaning their homes and business establishments to celebrate the festivities. However, several areas of the city present a miserable picture, with piles of garbage lying unattended by the roadsides, which raises questions on the efficiency of sanitation staff. Right opposite the posh locality on the main Rani Jhansi Road, near Khalsa College for Women, a small public park has turned into a garbage dump. Illegal rehris are stationed there regularly and leftover food disposable plates and cups are being c m y b Heaps of garbage lying unattended by roadsides raise questions on efficiency of sanitation staff. dumped. Local residents alleged that for the past four days, garbage has not been lifted by safai sewaks, despite repeated complaints. Komal, a student of Khalsa College for Women, said the park had turned into an eyesore. “Students usually wait there for their family members after college, but half of the park area is filled with garbage while the other half is used for parking vehicles. Both Khalsa College for Women and GGNIMT College have ample parking on their premises — so why allow vehi- cles outside? On top of it, rehris add to the chaos and traffic snarls,” she said. A rehri vendor admitted that garbage had been lying there for several days. “Usually it is lifted within a day, but this time, it has been around five days and no one has come to clean the area,” he said. Similar scenes were witnessed at Bhadaur House, opposite AC Market, where heaps of garbage and dry leaves remain unattended. A shopkeeper dealing in readymade garments said: “The market sees heavy footfall during the festive season but garbage lying unattended for days presents a shabby look. At least during festivals, the authorities should ensure regular cleaning.”