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P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7:05 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:33 AM » WEDNESDAY | 2 SEPTEMBER 2026 | LUDHIANA Tempers run high as AAP leaders protest Chemist selling narcotics held, medical store sealed BJP MPs’ visit to Sajjan’s Delhi residence Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 1 In a major action under the “War Against Drugs” campaign, the Khanna police along with the Health Department, conducted a joint operation against a chemist selling narcotic drugs under the guise of a medical store near Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib. As many as 460 capsules of restricted Pregabalin 300 mg were recovered and the medical store was sealed after the raid. The SSP Khanna, Darpan , Ahluwalia, said that police had made it clear that no one selling narcotics or restricted medicines at medical stores would be spared. The Khanna police, in coordination with other departments, were keeping a close watch on such stores and the illegal sale of narcotic drugs. According to information, a team of the Health Department, led by Drug Inspector Sandeep Kaushik, with the assistance of the Khanna police, raided Grewal Medical Store. During the inspection, a total of 460 capsules of Pregabalin 300 mg were seized. When records pertaining to the sale of the seized medicines were sought, the chemist failed to produce any satisfactory documents. The police apprehended the chemist, Rachhpal Singh, a resident of Kot Panej village, and currently staying in Guru Harkrishan Nagar, Khanna, on the spot. Besides the 460 capsules, drug money amounting to Rs 16,500 was also seized from him. The store was sealed and would remain closed till further orders. Drug Inspector Sandeep Kaushik said Rachhpal Singh had a criminal history. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against him on August 12, 2023, in which narcotic drugs were recovered. He remained in a Ludhiana jail for nearly four months and was released on December 8, 2023. Departmental action would also be initiated to cancel the medical store licence of the suspect. Dr Ahluwalia said the Khanna police’s war against drugs would continue unabated. Drug peddlers could not escape law. AAP leaders try to remove barricades to reach the BJP office; and (right) BJP workers raise slogans against them during the protest at the office in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 1 AAP leaders held a protest over outside the BJP’s office in Dana Mandi here on Tuesday over the visit of three BJP MPs to the residence of late Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in Delhi to pay their last respects. They were holding placards bearing slogans such as ‘Sajjan Kumar naal yaari, Punjab naal gaddari’ and ‘Bhajpa waleo sharam karo, nakk dubo ke dubb maro”. Workers and leaders of both AAP and BJP had a verbal clash when the former held a protest against the BJP MPs for attending the last rites of Sajjan Kumar, the controversial Congress leader allegedly convicted in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, outside the BJP’s office in Dana Mandi. While the protesting AAP leaders tried to break the barricading put by the police, BJP leaders went up to the rooftop of their office building to challenge the protesters. Gurdeep Singh Gosha, a BJP leader, climbed one of the barricades to challenge the AAP leaders to come towards the office and face the music. Referring to AAP leaders as “Panth dokhis”, Gosha said AAP was too weak a party to come along to fight and the party leaders always wanted the protection by the police. AAP MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi said BJPs double standards had come to fore as their own leaders had attended the condolence meeting of Sajjan Kumar who had allegedly killed many Sikhs during the 1984 riots. The protesters, leaders and supporters of AAP over 70 in , number, raised slogans against the BJP leaders outside the office of the BJP The . police had done barricading but the protesters tried to remove the same to reach the office. However, they were stopped from moving ahead. MLAs Pappi and Daljit Bhola Grewal attended the protest while other MLAs failed to make it, though the party leaders had announced that all AAP MLAs from Ludhiana would lead the protest. The AAP activists said Sajjan Kumar had played a key role in the1984 antiSikh riots in Delhi and by visiting his residence, the BJP leaders had played with the sentiments of Punjabis, especially Sikhs. The suspect in Khanna police custody on Tuesday. Car-borne suspect opens fire at petrol station Councillor seeks time-boundaction after dispute with man, vehicle vandalised on pending development works Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 1 A minor dispute at Kuber Petrol Pump near Aarti Chowk here escalated when a man, who had come to refuel his car, got into an argument with another customer and fired a shot into the air. After the firing, the suspect fled with his companions but returned after some time with four more armed men and vandalised a car parked at the petrol station. The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the station. Raju Sharma, a resident of Tagore Nagar and owner of Kuber Petrol Pump at Aarti Chowk, has lodged a complaint with the Police Division 8. Acting on the complaint, the police regis- tered a case against unidentified suspects and began investigation. In his complaint, Raju Sharma said his petrol pump remains open round-the-clock. On the intervening night of August 29 and 30, a Volkswagen Vento (bearing registration no PB04AE4914) reached the pump to fill diesel. Petrol was filled in the vehicle instead of diesel due to a mistake by a pump attendant. It led to an argument between the driver of the car and pump staff. Meanwhile, another vehicle (bearing registration no DL1CR6500) also reached the petrol station to refuel petrol. The driver of Vento vehicle stopped the Delhi vehicle from getting fuel on the plea that pump employees are fraudsters. Later, the dispute between the Man robbed of gold jewellery at knifepoint Ludhiana, September 1 A man driving a Toyota Fortuner was targeted by robbers in the city’s posh Sarabha Nagar area. They first stopped the moving vehicle by throwing stones at it. Then, as the driver got out to enquire, they robbed him at knifepoint. The complainant, Yashul Chopra, said the incident occurred on August 30 when he was travelling in his Fortuner with his friend Aryan Nadiyar. When they made a U-turn at the Verka cut and reached near the canal underpass, they heard a loud sound of something heavy hitting their vehicle. Hearing the noise, he stopped the car on the roadside to check. Afterwards, two unidentified persons on a motorcycle came. Before he could ask them anything, they pointed a knife at him. They threatened him, snatched his gold chain, bracelet, ring and Rs 3,000 and fled the scene. Following the incident, an FIR was filed against both unidentified suspects at the Sarabha Nagar police station on August 31. Head constable Sukhvirpal Singh has been investigating the case. — TNS two sides intensified and turned into a full-fledged clash. Following which, a person sitting in the Delhi-registered vehicle took out a pistol from his pocket and fired a shot into the air. The firing created panic at the petrol station and employees ran for cover. After the incident, the occupants of the Delhi-registered vehicle left the scene. The person from the other group also left the place after parking his vehicle at the scene. Interestingly, the matter did not end there. Around 3.30 am, the man associated with the Delhi vehicle group again returned to the pump. This time, he was accompanied by four other persons who were allegedly armed. On reaching there, they vandalised the Volkswagen Vento parked there and left the scene. Afterwards, Raju Sharma informed the police. The police are examining the footage to identify the person who fired the shot and the other suspects who accompanied him. ASI Davinder Passi, incharge of Ghumar Mandi police post, also visited the site and began a detailed probe. The ASI said police investigation was on to trace the occupants of the car. It was yet to be established whether they were residents of Ludhiana or Delhi. The police registered a case against the unidentified suspects. Efforts are on to identify the culprits. It would be probed that the weapon used in the firing was licensed or illegal after its recovery. Ludhiana, September 1 Soon after being elected to the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti has sought a time-bound mechanism for clearing proposals related to development works and public issues raised by elected representatives. In a letter to MC Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar, Bhatti said councillors regularly approached the Mayor with proposals and letter pads seeking development works and action on urgent problems in their respective wards. However, he alleged that several such proposals remained pending with officials at different stages of processing. He pointed out that files often remained pending for preparation of estimates, inviting tenders, issuance of work orders or other administrative formalities. Such delays, he said, ultimately affected works meant for residents. Bhatti has asked the Commissioner to ensure that proposals concerning essential public works were acted upon without unnecessary delay. He said if a proposal could not be processed due to a legal, technical or administrative issue, the councillor concerned should be informed of the specific reason. He has also sought that estimates for pending development works be prepared and sent to the F&CC within 48 hours wherever allowed under the rules. He said a consolidated agenda of pend- ing works should be prepared so that the committee could take up the proposals at the earliest. The councillor has further sought accountability in cases where files remain pending without a valid reason. He suggested that if a file remains with an officer for over a week without reasonable cause, a show-cause notice should be considered and responsibility fixed as per the rules. Bhatti has also proposed fixing responsibility at the level of branch heads. He has asked that each branch head certify in writing that no proposal submitted by a councillor has remained unattended in the branch for over 15 days. He said elected representatives regularly raise com- plaints and seek basic development works on behalf of residents and that administrative delays should not become a hurdle in execution of such works. The demand comes at a time when several civic works and ward-level proposals are pending at different stages in the MC. The councillor has urged the civic administration to put in place a clear system for tracking such proposals and ensuring that files move from one stage to another within the prescribed time. Bhatti said the purpose of the exercise was not merely to speed up paperwork but to ensure that genuine public works were not held up due to avoidable delays at the administrative level. — TNS Drug peddlers’ properties razed in Khanna 4 illegal shopssealed on Noorwala road Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 1 The Khanna police organised a collective demolition and cleanliness drive at a total of 12 locations across the three sub-divisions of Khanna, Samrala and Payal as part of the ongoing campaign against drugs. The main aim of the drive was to remove properties constructed or used by persons linked to drug trafficking and abandoned spots being used for drug consumption and to clean these places to ensure a safer environment for the public. During the drive, action was taken against properties Cops during the demolition drive in Khanna. linked to three NDPS Act suspects in different sub-divisions of Khanna police district. In Samrala sub-division, properties of Manish and Rajnish Kumar, sons of Hari Lal, residents of Ambedkar Colony, Samrala, were targeted. In Payal sub-division, c m y b action was taken against the property of Manpreet Chaudhary, a resident of Vishwakarma Road, Doraha. In Khanna sub-division, the property linked to Nikka, a resident of Meat Market, was acted upon. Besides this, cleanliness through ‘shramdaan’ was also carried out at nine abandoned locations where complaints of drug consumption had been received. In Samrala sub-division, the spots included the area behind the main chowk near the liquor shop, the old Market Committee office, MariaMachhiwara Road, the water tank near Guru Gobind Singh Stadium and the water tank near the bus stand. In Khanna sub-division, the drive covered Kartar Nagar and Meat Market. Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia said more illegal properties of drug smugglers were already under scanner and same would also be razed. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 1 Continuing the drive against illegal constructions, Municipal Corporation (MC) sealed four illegal shops on Noorwala road, near overhead reservoir, on Tuesday. The shops were constructed in violation of the building bylaws and the owner had failed to stop the construction despite warnings issued in the past. Assistant Town Planner (ATP Zone-A) Kapil Dev said working on the directions of MC Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar, regular action was being taken against the illegal constructions. He said the MC had also sealed five illegal shops on the Karabara road on Monday while four illegal shops on Noorwala road were sealed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, civic body officials appealed to residents to commence construction works only after getting the building plan approved from the civic body, otherwise strict action would be taken against illegal constructions.