04122025-LT-01.qxd 12/3/2025 10:20 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MUSICAL, DANCE EVENTS ADD SPARK TO YOUTH FEST PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM WINTER ALLERGIES, ASTHMA ASHUTOSH RANA BRINGS PLAY HUMARE RAM TO TRICITY The Inter-College Youth Festival 'Yuv Tarang' of GADVASU entered its second phase with vibrant performances. P2 Karambir Singh Gill, Asstt Prof, Paediatrics at DMCH, talks on common allergens and how to treat them. P3 For Ashutosh Rana, it’s a lifelong journey steeped in theatre, introspection and artistic devotion. P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 22°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 4°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.24 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:10 AM THURSDAY | 4 DECEMBER 2025 | LUDHIANA Bath Castle firing case: Police allow Finance company employee dies in Khanna car accident only pre-booked weddings for now Tribune News Service Eight persons already arrested so far in the case, claim sources Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 Taking strict action against the Bath Castle marriage palace located on Pakhowal road, where clash between two notorious groups had cost the lives of two innocent guests — Vasu Chopra and Neeru Chhabra, the Ludhiana police have stopped any future bookings for holding weddings at the palace for glaring violations. According to sources, eight persons have been arrested so far. Confirming this, Police Commissioner, Ludhiana, Swapan Sharma said that action was taken after the tragic incident happened inside the palace. The management failed to Bath Castle in Ludhiana, where a clash took place between two groups, killing two persons. FILE PHOTO ensure compliance of orders of police administration that arms should not be allowed at wedding venues. The security guards deployed at the palace failed to prevent the entry of guests carrying arms and as a consequence, gunshots were exchanged between the two groups, which led to the death of the two guests. “The police have categorically told Bath Castle management that they could only allow prebooked wedding functions, while no new booking should be made. They should first implement all security norms in the palace and install frisking machines, so that guests could not carry weapons inside the palace,” added Sharma. Asked if the police has written to the state government for the cancellation of the licence of the palace, the Commissioner replied Appreciating art that as of now the police had not recommended cancellation of licence, but in the future, it might recommend cancellation as investigation was still going on. Meanwhile, sources said the police had already arrested eight accused in the clash case, while the main accused, gangster Shubham Mota, who was being considered the key accused, is still at large. It is learnt that Shubham enjoys close proximity with some senior politicians and was also quite often seen posing with them and other prominent persons of the city. Unconfirmed reports say that some politicians may play middleman in ensuring safe surrender of Shubham before the police. Ludhiana, December 3 A branch manager of a finance company died on the spot in a road accident in front of the Pristine Mall on GT Road in Khanna on Tuesday. The accident occurred when the branch manager was returning to Khanna after visiting his younger brother at the PGI Hospital in Chandigarh. The deceased has been identified as 40year-old Manit Sharma, a resident of Radhe Wali Gali, Lalheri Road, Khanna. According to eyewitnesses, Manit was driving his car from Khanna to Ludhiana, and when he reached near the Pristine Mall, his car rammed into the rear of a truck. The impact was so severe that the front of the car was severely damaged, and Manit got trapped inside. Bystanders and passersby tried to pull him out of the car, but he was already dead. The condition of the car showed the severity of the accident. The truck driver fled the scene after the accident. The police have launched a search for him. Preliminary investigations suggest that the truck may have suddenly applied its brakes or that Manit’s car may have lost control due to high speed. However, the exact cause of the accident will only be determined after the investigation is complete. The police said a case had been registered against the truck driver, Balwinder Singh, a resident of Mandi Gobindgarh. Student succumbs to mishap injuries A student succumbed to her injuries after she was hit by a vehicle near City University on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway in Jagraon. The deceased, identified as Divyanshi Negi, a resident of Nagel village in Shimla, was a first-year psychology student at City University. Divyanshi had gone to Ludhiana with her friends for a trip. While returning in the evening, her friends dropped her off on the other side of the road near the university. As she was crossing the road, a speeding Bolero coming from Ludhiana side hit her. The driver fled the spot. The incident had taken place on November 29. Locals had rushed the seriously injured student to the hospital, where she died during treatment late on Tuesday. The student’s grandfather, Geeta Ram Negi, a retired police officer, filed a complaint with the Chowkiman police post at Sadar police station. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against the accused driver, Tarsem Singh, a resident of Jagraon. NHM employees stage massive protest at Civil Surgeon office, demand 2-month salary Tribune News Service Enthusiasts admire a photograph at an open-air exhibition, “Photo Vision-25”, displaying the works of 35 artists from various walks of life in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN 10-gm drug powder seized from PESCO employee in jail Man accused of sharing provocative content on social media arrested Ludhiana, December 3 Narcotic substances are often seized from the possession of jail inmates as well as staff. In yet another case, 10 gm of a white narcotic substance were found from the possession of PESCO employee Bachittar Singh from inside the jail. In this matter, the police division No. 7 acting on the complaint of Assistant Superintendent of Jail Daulat Ram registered a case against the person yesterday, a resident of Rasulpur Jandi village, Jagraon. The police took action against the accused under various sections of the Prison and the NDPS Acts. Providing information, investigating officer ASI Dinesh Kumar said that Daulat Ram informed the police that during a surprise check conducted in the jail in the morning today, Bachittar was frisked and 10 gm of white narcotic substance was found from his possession. Now questioning of the accused would be done to inquire about the jail inmate(s) to whom drug was to be supplied. — TNS Ludhiana, December 3 Launching a crackdown against social media content spreading disharmony and discord in the state, the cyber crime police station of Ludhiana police commissionerate has registered an FIR against a social media user, Arshdeep Singh Saini, and arrested him. Swapan Sharma, Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, stated here today that Arshdeep had been using his X handle @the_lama_singh to share posts that were provocative, communal in tone, potentially capable of spreading discord and disharmony in society and inflammatory. Arshdeep has been active on the platform X since February 2019 with a followers’ count of 13,000. The Commissioner further stated that preliminary monitoring by the cyber crime police station revealed the objectionable, communal, provocative content targeting various religious groups, including Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. Furthermore, the responses and the credentials of the followers indicate a Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 The strike, called by National Health Mission (NHM) employees across Punjab, entered its third day today. The employees, who have been working in the Health Department for a long time, are protesting under the programme outlined by the NHM Employees Union, Punjab. The purpose of the protest is to convey their demands to the government and secure the immediate release of their salaries of two months. All employees of the Health Department in Kapurthala held a protest at the Civil Surgeon’s office and raised slogans against the state government. The employees, who are enduring mental distress due to the non-release of their salaries, also claimed that if they could collectively help form the ‘jharoo’ government, they also have the power to scatter the broom (dismantle the government) in view of such anti-employee behaviour. The employees challenged the government that if their National Health Mission employees hold placards during the protest at the Civil Surgeon office in favour of their pending demands in Ludhiana on Wednesday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA rightful demands were not addressed, then the NHM employees would give the government a befitting reply in the upcoming election. Ram Singh, general secretary of the union in Punjab, stated that the National Health Mission employees had completely shut down all types of online and offline reporting, daily OPD and oth- er department works. Sharanjit Kaur, district leader of the ANM Union, said that the vaccination programme was completely boycotted today to protest against the government’s attitude. She demanded that the employees’ salaries be released by the fifth of every month. A warning was also given that the struggle would be intensified if this demand was not met. She stated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s government, which made big promises before coming to power, was not only seen backing out of its commitments, but also proving to be a failure on every front by not releasing employees’ salaries and ignoring key demands. 40 industrialists of induction and furnace biz rue GST notices over bogus billing Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Commissioner Swapan Sharma addresses a press conference on the arrest of the suspect in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN planned and deliberate strategy to infuse hatred among various groups and communities in the state. The accused had lived in the UK for long and returned to India in 2014. Now, the accused was working as an AI expert taking online classes of the subject. The cyber wing of Ludhiana police noticed several inflammatory posts of the accused. Sharma said that the cyber crime police station of the Ludhiana police had registered an FIR under relevant sections of the BNS and the Information Technology (IT) Act, arrested the accused, obtained his police remand and initiated investigations. The Commissioner stated that Ludhiana Police was investigating whether the online inflammatory posts were part of a plan to spread disharmony in Punjab at the behest of Pakistan’s ISI. Further investigations are going on. c m y b Ludhiana, December 3 The Induction Furnace Association of North India is perturbed over regular notices being served on them by the Central and state GST Departments. About 40 industrialists representing the industry in Ludhiana are perturbed as they are being asked to pay GST, which, they claim, had already been deposited with the scrap dealers from whom they had purchased stocks. Their concern is that if certain scrap dealers have claimed GST through bogus billing or are defaulters, then genuine industrialists should not be penalised for no fault of theirs. Talking to The Tribune, Dev Dutta, general secretary of the association, said that a few black sheep in the trade had claimed GST by presenting fake or bogus bills and were already on the radar of GST sleuths. “But that does not mean all industrialists in the trade are conducting business in the same unethical manner,” he added. “The genuine furnace and induction industries are also receiving Central and state GST notices to deposit GST along with penalties and interest. We have already paid 18 per cent GST to the dealers when we procure scrap. Now, if these dealers indulge in unethical practices, evade taxes or claim GST on bogus bills, we should not be punished unnecessarily. The department issues them GST num- bers — it is their duty to verify credentials because we provide all e-way bills, vehicle numbers, pictures, etc. Due to this bogus billing scam, running into several crores, the genuine induction and furnace industry is suffering,” said Dev Dutta. Another industrialist, KK Garg, said that tax evasion was happening with impunity because the GST on MS scrap was 18 per cent, which was a huge amount. “If the government brings it down to 5 per cent, there would be no need to evade GST and it would be paid honestly. But presently, 9 per cent GST is imposed by the Central government and another 9 per cent by the state government, totalling 18 per cent,” he said. According to information, an office-bearer of another furnace association was allegedly involved in the bogus billing scam and was on the radar of the GST Department. His premises had also been raided by GST teams. Keeping this in mind, the Induction and Furnace Association here convened a meeting, in which an appeal was made to the GST Department to withdraw the showcause notices. The industrialists maintained that the notices required heavy pre-deposits, blocking working capital and risking loan defaults, especially when many had already paid their suppliers. Being made to pay extra GST to the department now, they said, was unjustified.