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P4 » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7:14 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:44 AM TUESDAY | 4 AUGUST 2026 | LUDHIANA Sons of two MLAs step down from Missing migrant labourer’s son found dead in fields F&CC ahead of High Court hearing Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service After high-level meeting, civic body chief ‘told to cancel their nominations’ Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 3 In a major development in the controversy over the constitution of the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC), two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors — Yuvraj Singh Sidhu and Aman Bagga, sons of Atam Nagar MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu and Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga, respectively, — have announced that they had resigned from the committee on July 30, days before the next hearing of a petition pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The dispute began after Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti approached the High Court, challenging the nomination of the two councillors to the powerful committee. In his petition, Bhatti Yuvraj Singh Sidhu Aman Bagga alleged that the appointments were made in violation of provisions of the Municipal Corporation Act and that the prescribed procedure for nominating members had not been followed. The petition has also received support from councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). During the last hearing, the petitioner also alleged that despite the court restraining fresh meetings of the F&CC, certain resolutions were being approved in anticipation by the Mayor and Municipal Corporation officials. The matter is now listed for hearing on August 7. On Monday, both Yuvraj Singh Sidhu and Aman Bagga made separate announcements on social media, stating that they had already submitted their resignations from the committee on July 30. In a detailed Facebook post, Yuvraj said he had accepted the responsibility of serving in the committee with gratitude after being nominated by the party leadership and the Mayor. However, he said after his appointment was challenged in the court, the committee’s functioning had come to a halt as meetings could not be held while the matter remained under judicial consideration, affecting development works in the city. Stating that the city’s development was more important than any position, he said he had decided to resign voluntarily so that civic projects did not remain stalled due to the legal dispute. He added that he was prepared to sacrifice “thousands of such posts” if it helped protect the city’s interests and ensured public welfare. Aman, in a separate social media post, also confirmed that he had stepped down from the F&CC on July 30. He said he did not want the ongoing controversy to become a hurdle in the committee’s functioning or delay development projects undertaken by the corporation. Meanwhile, highly placed sources said a high-level meeting was held on Saturday to discuss the legal implications of the appointments. Following the meeting, directions were reportedly issued to the Municipal Commissioner to cancel the nominations of the two councillors with immediate effect. Sources further said the authorities had also been advised not to nominate new members to the committee for the next couple of months as the matter was still pending before the High Court. An official confirmation regarding the directions, however, was awaited. Ludhiana, August 3 A 16-year-old boy who had been missing for three days was found dead as his decomposed body was recovered from the fields on the outskirts of Balibeg Basti village in Machhiwara. The police sent the body for a post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death. The deceased was identified as Rajesh Kumar (16), son of migrant labourer Joginder Paswan, a resident of Balibeg Basti. Sources said Rajesh left home on the evening of July 31 after receiving a phone call. When he failed to return late at night, his family members began searching for him on their own. They turned anxious as his mobile phone remained switched off. On Sunday night, villagers informed the family about a body lying in the fields. When the family reached the spot, they identified the victim. Station House Officer (SHO) inspector Charanjit Singh said a decomposed body was found. Preliminary investigation suggests that death might have occurred two-three days ago. The SHO said the reason of his death would be ascertained in the post-mortem examination. The deceased’s family told the police that when Rajesh did not return home, they suspected that he might have gone to pay obesiance at Mata Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh. His father even went to Naina Devi to search for him but to no avail. Following the incident, family members and local residents were saying that many people of Balibeg Basti and surrounding areas were involved in drug trade and the police need to investigate the death thoroughly to ascertain the exact cause of death and take stern action against the culprits. They alleged that some children of migrant labourers in the area were also allegedly addicted to drugs, besides local youths. Though the Khanna police had been taking strict action against the people involved in drug trade, an aggressive anti-drug drive was needed to break the backbone of the drug trade and save the youth. Bihar youth’s body found A youth was found dead at Guru Nanak Colony in Tibba on Monday. The deceased’s family had accused his brother-in-law and another man staying with him of strangling him to death. Both suspects were at large after the incident. The deceased was identified as Sonu Alam, a native of Bihar. He had been staying in Ludhiana for the past over one year. Family members said the deceased had a domestic dispute with his wife, who is staying separately from him. The incident came to light Monday morning when Sonu’s brother, Miraj Alam, went into the room and found the victim lying unconscious on the bed. Later, he was declared dead by doctors. SHO, Tibba police station, Inspector Gagandeep Singh, said the family had accused victim’s brother-inlaw of killing him. Police investigation was on. The culprits would not be spared. Bittu pays surprise visit to Bank employee robbed of motorcycle, valuables After a few hours of rain, 25-ft-deep primary ‘smart’ school Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 3 Exactly after 24 hours of the visit of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann in the city to inaugurate two Schools of Eminence, former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu conducted a “surprise inspection” of a government Dismisses ‘tall claims’ of AAP govt, says school lacks basic amenities Ravneet Bittu at government primary ‘smart’ school in Kundanpuri. primary ‘smart’ school in Kundanpuri area to dismiss the “tall claims” of the AAP government. During the visit, Bittu assessed the school’s dilapidated state and shared photographs of the premises. Bittu on his X account also mentioned about the visit targeting the AAP government for its false claims. He wrote on his Instagram handle: “Witness the real truth of those who falsely claim to be ‘Num- ber 1’ in primary schools. The reality of AAP’s smart school in Ludhiana: Building is in a dilapidated condition, there is shortage of teachers, verandas are being used as classrooms, overcrowded shift system, There are no smart classrooms, playground or sports facilities. Is this the much-hyped Sikhiya Kranti?” According to reliable sources, Bittu witnessed that the institution lacked basic amenities for students. Expressing displeasure at the filth scattered across the premises, the former minister remarked that cleanliness arrangements were being completely neglected. Most shocking part was that he found the ‘midday meal’ for children was being cooked in the open. He termed the matter as a serious issue concerning the children’s health and hygiene. Ludhiana, August 3 Three motorcycle-borne robbers waylaid a bank employee, who was returning home early in the morning, and robbed him of his motorcycle and other valuables. The complainant, Sajan Sharma, a resident of New Janta Nagar, told the police in a complaint that he was returning home around 4 am from the city bus stand on his motorcycle. As he reached the Gill Chowk, three youths surrounded him. The miscreants brandished a knife and threatened to kill him. They asked him to give them cash and valuables, else threatened him of dire consequences. Afterwards, the suspects took away his motorcycle, bag, mobile phone, vehicle documents and purse. On receiving information about the incident, officials from the Police Division 6 registered a case against three unidentified persons. The police are checking the CCTV footage of the area and conducting raids to 3 robbers caught by people road cave-in occurs in Kitchlu Nagar In another incident, threebike borne robbers were caught by people on Tajpur Road. After apprehending the three suspects at the scene, the passers-by roughed them up. Later, they handed them over to the police. MLA Daljit Singh Grewal Bhola also reached the scene after receiving information about the incident. The police seized a knife, injections and a motorcycle used in the crime from the suspects. The incident occurred on Sunday. The complainant told the police that the suspects had surrounded him and tried to loot his mobile phone by pointing a large knife at him. He raised the alarm after which the passers-by came to his rescue. The suspects were identified as Balwinder Singh, a resident of Gill village, Deepak of Sanjay Gandhi Colony and Narinder Kumar of the Gopal Nagar Chowk area. — TNS Ludhiana, August 3 Just a few hours after the city received heavy rainfall on Monday evening, a major road cave-in near Lyalpur Sweets in Kitchlu Nagar triggered panic among residents and commuters. The collapse, estimated to be around 25 feet deep, is suspected to have been caused by damage to an over four-decade-old ‘daat’ sewerage line running beneath the road. The incident occurred on a busy stretch of the locality, prompting the MC to cordon off the area to prevent any mishap. Traffic movement was diverted while civic officials began assessing the extent of the damage. Teams from the MC’s B&R branch and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) wing reached the spot soon after the incident. MC Superintending Engineer Ekjot Singh said preliminary inspection indicated possible damage to the arrest the suspects. MC officials inspect the cave-in in Kithclu Nagar. old ‘daat’ sewerage system, which was believed to be nearly 40 years old. “Our teams have been deployed at the site. There is a suspected damage to the daat sewerage line. The area is being inspected and repair work would begin as soon as the exact point of damage is identified,” he said. Residents said the road caved in a few hours after the rainfall, raising concerns over the condition of the city’s ageing underground infrastructure. They urged the civic body to conduct a comprehensive survey of old sewerage lines in vulnerable areas. Deepika Sunny Bhalla, Congress councilor from Kithclu Nagar, said: “The officials have arrived and the MC should replace the old damaged sewerage line so that in future no more road cave-ins occur at the spot.” — TNS Passengers hit as Punjab Roadways staff hold strike Man dies by suicide Tribune News Service Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 3 The strike of Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC Contractual Workers Union at the bus stand here on Monday caused huge inconvenience to passengers. The union had parked all buses at the bus stand and held a protest against the state government for failing to fulfil their demands. Parveen Kumar, general secretary of the union, said the union had been struggling from years to highlight their pending demands. They had been demanding regularisation of contractual employees so that their future could be secured. “At the time of previous elections, the Aam Aadmi Party had promised that all contractual workers would be regu- Contractual workers of Punjab Roadways and the PRTC hold a protest; and (right) passengers face inconvenience during the strike. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN larised along with the abolition of the contract system and buses of private players would not be enrolled in the name of km scheme, but after forming the government, nothing happened. The gov- ernment failed to fulfil even a single demand,” he alleged. He said as of now, 27 depots of the state were on strike for three days and if the government would not fulfil their demands, an indefinite strike would be held and the government would be responsible for the same. Union members said they also demanded withdrawal of police cases registered against union members fol- c m y b lowing the November 2025 protests, when demonstrations against the km scheme turned violent. Meanwhile, due to the strike, private buses had a good time as passengers, who usually travelled in government-run buses, were forced to board private ones. A private bus operator said private buses ran to full capacity on Monday as government buses were off road. Ludhiana, August 3 A man working at a medical store in the Haibowal area died by suicide. He left a suicide note. On a complaint given by the deceased’s wife, the Haibowal police have registered a case against a person, Rohit Sood, under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly abetting the victim’s suicide. The deceased was survived by his wife and two children. In her complaint, Sandhya Rani, a resident of Lakshmi Nagar, near Pratap Nagar, stated that her husband Tarsem Chand (35) worked at a medical store in Pindi Gali. He returned home around 2.30 pm on Sunday. When she reached home around 3.30 pm, she found him lying unconscious on the floor. With the help of neighbours, she took him to the DMCH but doctors declared him dead. According to the complainant, a suicide note was recovered from the deceased’s diary in which he allegedly mentioned that Rohit Sood had forced him to take the step and he should be held responsible for his death. Investigating official ASI Sukhjinder Singh, incharge of the Jagatpuri police post, said the police were investigating the matter thoroughly from all angles. After the postmortem examination, the body was handed over to his family. Further action would be taken on the basis of the probe.