28052026-LT-01.qxd 5/28/2026 12:56 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune ROW OVER CONVEYANCE ALLOWANCE TO MC OFFICIALS AS TEMP RISES, HEALTH DEPT FIRES UP EMERGENCY READINESS BOLLYWOOD DIVAS WITH A DESI TWIST XEN recommended conveyance allowance should not be paid to nine officers using official vehicles. P2 Civil Surgeon reviews preparedness; At 78, Amritsar reported highest number of fatalities in 2024. P3 From becoming one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Katrina Kaif has become huge part of Indian pop culture. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 42°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 44°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.17 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:23 AM THURSDAY | 28 MAY 2026 | LUDHIANA After singer’s arrestin drug case, distributors under police lens Man robbed of ~1,500, beaten to death; two factory workers land in police net Links being checked to dismantle syndicate run from Oz, Canada Suspects looted money from the victim for purchasing alcohol Tribune News Service night. Since they had come to buy liquor, they decided to loot cash from the drunk man (the victim) sitting outside the vend. “Initially, the suspects tried to show sympathy with the man and took him to the nearby vacant plot. They looted Rs 1,500 in cash from him. When the victim opposed, they brought a concrete block and hit on his head. Afterwards, the suspects bought liquor with the looted money and fled the scene,” the officials said. Later, a passer-by informed the police about the body. SHO, Police Division 6, inspector Gurshinder Kaur, said after the incident, when the police checked the CCTV camera footage, the two suspects were identified and held. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service 7am on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Brij Mangal Singh (51), a resident of Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar. According to his brother, Raj Mangal, Brij was unmarried and earned his livelihood by collecting used cooking oil. On Wednesday, he had gone for a walk at the Colony Park where some local residents killed him. The police booked key suspect Kamal and his associates, who committed the murder. Ludhiana, May 27 In a shocking incident, a man was brutally beaten to death allegedly by two factory workers near Sherpur chowk. The deceased was reportedly drunk when he was attacked by the suspects and Rs 1,500 was looted from him for buying liquor. The victim was hit on his head with a concrete block. The suspects have been identified as factory labourers Sandeep Srivastava and Ishaq Ali, both residents of Uttar Pradesh. Both of them were arrested by the police. As per the police, the victim could not be identified as his face was badly damaged by the assailants. A police official said the two suspects had gone to buy alcohol from a liquor vend in an inebriated state on Tuesday Sand-laden tractor-trailer crushes cyclist to death Dirty water from seasonal drain enters Dhoka Mohalla streets even before monsoon Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 27 After the recovery of 5.1 kg of heroin from Punjabi singer Harbir Singh Sohal, the Khanna police are all set to dismantle the international drug syndicate being operated from Australia and Canada. Arrest of Sohal is being considered key to identify other associates involved in drug supply in the state, particularly in Khanna and other surrounding regions. The entire investigation into the network is being looked after personally by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia. She told The Tribune that since two key players in the network, Jatinder Singh, alias Goldy, a native of Shahpur, Kharar, at present staying in Canada, and Gurjant Singh Janta, a native of Sohavi, Fatehgarh Sahib, now staying in Australia, had been operating the network from foreign lands. Sukhpreet Singh Man killed during minor altercation In another incident, a man was chased and brutally assaulted by some suspects during a minor altercation, leading to his death. The incident occurred around Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 27 In a tragic road accident in the Dholewal area here on Wednesday morning, a 56year-old daily wage labourer was crushed to death on the spot by a speeding sandladen tractor-trailer. Victim, a daily wage labourer, was working at factory in Dholewal The deceased has been identified as Mohammad Alam, a resident of Giaspura area, who worked as a labourer at a bangle-making factory in Dholewal. According to information, Alam was on his way to work as usual on his bicycle on Wednesday morning. After receiving instructions from his employer at the factory office, he was proceeding towards the factory when the accident occurred near the Military Camp. A speeding tractor-trailer loaded with sand allegedly hit him from the front and crushed him brutally. The impact of the accident was so severe that Alam died on the spot. The driver of the tractor-trailer fled he scene after the incident. Following the accident, a large crowd gathered at the spot. On receiving information, a team from the Division No 6 police station reached the scene and seized the vehicle. Preliminary investigation by the police revealed that Continued on page 2 Ludhiana, May 27 Residents of Dhoka Mohalla are again facing problems due to the overflowing dirty water from the seasonal drain, even before the arrival of the monsoon season. The situation has worsened to such an extent that dirty water has started entering streets, creating foul smell and unhygienic conditions in the locality. Area councillor Arun Sharma visited the affected locality and warned the Municipal Corporation authorities to resolve the issue within a week. He said if no action was taken, residents would stage a protest outside the Municipal Corporation office and dump the sludge and garbage coming from the Nullah there. Residents alleged that dirty water was not only overflowing from the drain but was also seeping out through cracks on roads, making it difficult to differentiate between streets and drains in some areas. Locals also raised concern over a temporary wooden bridge constructed near the drain, claiming that it had started getting damaged and could lead to a major accident. Councillor Arun Sharma said the area had been facing the problem for the past three to four years. He claimed that during the rainy season in 2023 and last year, several houses and shops in the local- They had been managing the funding and operations of the syndicate while their associates such as Harbir Singh Sohal and others had been managing handling and delivery of drugs. In the international drug syndicate, the Khanna police have arrested four persons, Harbir Singh Sohal (29) of Bhindi Saidan, Amritsar, Sanjeev Kumar Sunny (35), Vishal (25) and Akshay Kumar (22), all three from Shimlapuri, Ludhiana, with the total recovery of 5.669 kg of heroin, Rs 1.60 lakh drug money, 10 gm of ICE drug, 30 cartridges, Toyota Etios car and a Mahindra Thar vehicle. “These six persons, including the two hiding in Canada and Australia, are the key players but the police probe into the international drug syndicate has found that many foot soldiers or frontline workers have been recruited by the gang to distribute drugs and in lieu, they get commission. The police have already identified many of them and after verifying the role, anyone found involved in the drug chain will not be spared,” Dr Ahluwalia said. She revealed that Sohal was said to be a close associate of slain gangster Jaipal Bhullar. In 2022, he was arrested by the Mohali police with illegal weapons and for running an extortion racket at the behest of foreign handlers. Gurjant is the handler of the NDPS supply chain. His aunt’s son Jassi Kharar and gangster Jaipal were neutralised in Kolkata in 2021. Both had been on the run after killing two assistant sub-inspectors in the Jagraon grain market. Probe on to know who delivered heroin to Sohal SSP Darpan Ahluwalia said 5 kg of heroin was delivered to singer Harbir Singh Sohal by some associates suspected to be at the behest of Gurjant Janta or Goldy and the police are investigating the matter by scanning mobile phone details and digital forensics. ASI caught taking ~14K bribe Took money to provide FIR copy to father of missing girl Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 27 The Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana Range, claimed to have caught an assistant subinspector (ASI), posted at Police Station Division 8, redhanded for accepting a bribe of Rs 14,000 from a man for supplying a copy of the first information report (FIR) and acting in the complaint. The arrested policeman was identified as ASI Hardeep Singh. A spokesperson for the VB, Ludhiana, stated that complainant Ram Ishwar of Gopal Nagar, Haibowal Kalan, Ludhiana, accompanied by his nephew Ram Sewak, appeared at the office of the Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana Range, and recorded his statement before DSP Shiv Chand that his daughter Khushbu (22), who had passed a tailoring course from Government ITI Girls, Ghumar Mandi, here, went to the ITI to get her results on May 18 but she did not return home till the evening. Hence, the complainant searched for her but his daughter was not found. Later, the complainant filed Drain water flowing into a street of Dhoka Mohalla in Ludhiana. ity were badly affected due to waterlogging caused by overflowing Buddha Nullah. He said residents had also staged a protest in February, demanding permanent solution but no major action had been taken by the civic authorities so far. Sharma alleged that the work related to covering the Buddha Nullah and construction of a bridge was moving at a slow pace for the past two-three years. He claimed that officials had assured residents that pipeline work inside the drain would start soon but the work was yet to begin. The councillor also alleged that despite repeated assurances by the Municipal Commissioner, zonal officials and engineers regarding cleaning of the drain, no proper desilting work had been carried out. According to him, heaps of garbage and sludge were still lying inside the drain and required cleaning through machines. He further claimed that the pumping station in the area remained non-functional most of the time, worsening the situation during water accumulation. Sharma also questioned the quality of the temporary wooden bridge constructed around three to four months ago, saying it had already started breaking and posed a risk to residents, especially during the night. In lap of nature Targeting the civic body, Sharma said the Municipal Corporation was making tall claims regarding cleanliness and issuing tenders worth crores but residents in old localities were still struggling with basic civic problems. He alleged that while funds were being spent on new vehicles and renovation works, residents of Dhoka Mohalla continued to suffer due to poor civic infrastructure and negligence. Executive Engineer Kamal Ram said: “We are going to initiate the cleaning of the seasonal drain and work would be completed in 15 days. The matter is already under the knowledge of officials.” The cop in custody of VB sleuths in Ludhiana on Wednesday. a complaint regarding the disappearance of his daughter at the Division No 8 police station on May 19. The VB spokesperson said the investigating officer, ASI Hardeep Singh, called the complainant to the police station on May 20, on which the complainant went there along with his nephew Ram Sewak, where the ASI demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 for taking action on his application and took Rs 6,000 on the spot. After the orders of senior officials, an FIR, dated May 26, was registered at the Division No 8 police station on the charges of wrongful confinement against the suspect, identified as Puneet Kumar, a resident of UP . The ASI demanded the remaining amount of Rs 14,000 from the complainant to give him the copy of the FIR and take further action in the case. On May 27, he recorded his statement with DSP Shiv Chand and promised to pay Rs 14,000 to the suspect. By laying a trap through proper means, the ASI was arrested in the presence of official witnesses while taking the bribe from the Police Station Division 8. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against the policeman and further investigation was underway. Discarded traffic lights lying on roadsides Nikhil Bhardwaj Ludhiana, May 27 The replacement of old traffic lights with new LED smart signals at several busy intersections and roads in the city have left behind a messy trail of neglect. The discarded signal poles and equipment lying scattered and unattended on roadsides are causing discomfort and becoming a visual eyesore for residents. The issue has again highlighted the poor coordination between different wings of the MC. While funds are being spent on modernisation of traffic infrastructure under Smart City initiatives, basic follow-up actions such as clearing junk appear to be missing. Students walk under Amaltas trees on the PAU campus in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN c m y b ASHWANI DHIMAN Tribune News Service Discarded traffic lights lying unattended on the roadside in Ludhiana. According to information, the Municipal Corporation (MC) recently undertook a drive to install advanced traffic lights at multiple locations across the city. While the new signals have been installed and made functional, the authorities have apparently shown little concern for the proper disposal or removal of the old infrastructure. As a result, rusted iron poles, broken signal heads and other debris from the old traffic lights continue to lie scattered on roads and footpaths in areas, including Pavillion Chowk, traffic lights near Rose Garden, Haibowal Chowk, Durga Mata temple chowk, etc. During interaction with commuters and local residents, they said the old lights were kept in a haphazard manner and were not less than an eyesore. It shows the lethargic attitude of authorities. “When the city gets new advanced lights, which give a beautiful look to intersections, dumping the old ones near the new lights, literally spoils the city’s aesthetics during night hours,” they said. Continued on page 2