26112020-LT-01.qxd 11/26/2020 12:31 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE COVID-19: SAFETY NORMS GO FOR A TOSS IN CITY AREAS PAGE 2 Covid precautionary norms are being flouted with impunity by people at market places and construction sites. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MALAYALAM FILM JALLIKATTU IS INDIA’S ENTRY FOR OSCARS Jallikattu has been selected as the official Indian entry in the Best International Feature Film category. MAX 22°C | MIN 10°C | YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5:25 PM Inter-state gang of cyber criminals busted, 7 held Class X pass suspects duped many innocent people Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 25 The police claims to have busted an inter-state gang of cyber criminals by arresting seven of its members. The police recovered Rs 5.45 lakh, eight laptops, 10 mobile phones, three credit cards, 17 SIM cards, six memory cards, 45 PAN cards, 11 ATM cards, one printer and a scanner from the gang. The arrested suspects have been identified as, Vijay Kumar Bitty, Ayushman Anshu, Sushil Kumar Patel, Suraj Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Rohit and Ram Naryan, alias Dablu, all natives of Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), presently living at separate places in Ludhiana to run their cyber fraud activities. Commissioner of Police (CP) Rakesh Agrawal addressed an online press conference regarding the matter today. DCP SPS Dhindsa, Additional DCP (Crime) Rupinder Kaur Bhatti and ACP Vaibhab Sehgal were also present along with the CP during the online briefing. The gang was busted in a joint operation conducted by CIA-II, cyber cell and the counter intelligence wing, the CP added. “All the suspects are 10th passed. Instead of doing any job they took to cyber crime to make easy money,” the CP said. The suspects in the custody of the police in Ludhiana on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO “The police are checking bank accounts and online wallets of the gang, which will be freezed,” the CP added. Revealing modus operandi of the gang, the CP said, “The gang collected documents like Aadhar and PAN cards of people in Punjab, West Bengal, UP Jharkhand and other , states. They used these documents to open insta bank accounts and as an identify proofs of the people to get SIM cards for use in cyber frauds.” The gang used fake identity proofs like Aadhar and PAN cards for opening bank accounts mostly in ICICI Bank, the CP added. They also opened multiple bank accounts using IDs of innocent persons and sold their details to other fraudsters for about ~1500 to ~3,000, the CP said. PAGE 4 The gang also sold debit cards of these bank accounts to fraudsters for ~3,000 to ~4,000, the CP added. The gang used fake identities to get online loan from apps like Dhani and Red Carpet and transferred the amount online into wallets and further to their personal bank accounts, the CP said. They committed a fraud of over ~20 lakh in this way, the CP added. The gang also fooled cab drivers by getting IDs and OTPs from them in the name of verification by Ola company and opened online bank accounts on the basis of such credentials of victims, the CP said. They sold these accounts on WhatsApp/FB groups and sought refunds from Ola company, the CP added. The gang sold Aadhar and Pan card details of innocent people without their consent through WhatsApp/Facebook groups, the CP said. The gang also took refund from Zomato and Swiggy fraudulently, the CP added. One of the suspects was an employee Blue Dart company, the CP said. He helped other gang members to divert delivery of credit and debit cards applied on the basis of insta bank accounts, which were opened using Aadhar and PAN cards of people of different states, to their own addresses, the CP added. The courier boy used to get Rs 100 commission for each delivery, the CP said. The role of some bank officials was under scanner, the CP added. If connivance of any bank officials was found, the police would take legal action against them accordingly, the CP said. SONU AIRLIFTS HIS FAN WHO WAS CYCLING FROM BIHAR TO MUMBAI PAGE 4 Cycling all the way, Armaan, Sonu Sood’s fan from Bihar, was on his way to Mumbai to meet Bollywood actor. SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:03 AM THURSDAY | 26 NOVEMBER 2020 | LUDHIANA Issewal gang rape case: DSP partly cross-examined 2 deaths, 104 fresh cases in dist Legal Correspondent Ludhiana, November 25 As many 104 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported from Ludhiana district today. Besides, the virus claimed the lives of two more persons in the district. The Health Department confirmed 113 coronavirus cases, including 104 from Ludhiana district and nine from other districts or states. In Ludhiana, 37 persons came in contact of Covid positive patients, eight visited the OPD and 42 with influenza like illness visited the flu corner. Seventeen others, including four health care workers, have tested positive for the virus. The Ludhiana Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajesh Bagga, confirmed that five persons, including two patients from Ludhiana, one each from Bathinda, J&K and Haryana, died of virus during the past 24 hours. As per the information, a 46year-old man from the Model Town area and a 72-year-old man from Satjot Nagar on Dhandra Road in Ludhiana died due to Covid-19. According to the Health Department, a total of 4,41,320 samples had been collected till date, out of which 4,09,914 were found negative while report of 2,368 was pending. Now, the total number of positive cases related to Ludhiana district is 22,346 while 3,148 cases are from other districts and states. As many as 20,599 (92.18%) patients have recovered while 888 have died of the virus till date. At present, Ludhiana, November 25 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Rashmi Sharma adjourned the hearing in the much-talked-about Issewal gang rape case till December 1. Defence lawyers today partly cross-examined the case investigation officer, DSP Harkamal Kaur, for about one-and-a-half hour. Special public prosecutor BD Gupta apprised that prosecution had already examined 24 witnesses, including the victim girl and eyewitness in this case. The remaining cross-examination of DSP would be conducted on the next date of hearing. The girl was allegedly gang raped on Feburary 9, 2019, near Issewal village on the banks of Sidwan canal, about 15 km from Ludhiana. As per the prosecution, she was travelling in a car with her friend when the accused stopped the vehicle. The victim was dragged out of the car and raped by the accused. The charges were framed in the case on May 6, 2019. The police had filed charge sheet based upon the scientific investigation supported by 54 witnesses against the accused. All accused, including Sadiq Ali of Mukandpur, Nawanshahar, Jagroop Singh, alias Rupi, of Jaspal Bangar village, Surmo of Khanpur village, Dehlon, Saif Ali of Dehlon and Ajay, alias Lalan, of Jassad Paddi village, Ludhiana, joined proceedings through videoconferencing. Tribune News Service A resident gives a sample for the Covid-19 test in Ludhiana on Wednesday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA COVID-19 CONTROL ROOM ■ For Home Isolation: 78147-64759 ■ For Ambulance Problem: COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 78143-63850 4,41,320 22,346 856 888 ■ For Hospital Problem: 62849-12553 ■ For General Problem: 62845-31852 WEBLINK WHERE RESIDENTS CAN CHECK REAL TIME STATUS OF VACANT AND FILLED BEDS IN ALL HOSPITALS: https://ludhiana.nic.in/notice/covid-19-bed-status-in-ludhiana-district there are 856 active Covid-19 cases in Ludhiana district. As per the information, 3,544 samples were collected for Covid testing today. The people are being urged to wear masks, maintain social distancing and washing/sanitise hands frequently. The administration has also appealed to the people to voluntarily get tested for the Covid-19 if they have any symptoms so as to prevent infection to their near and dear ones. The Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, Varinder Sharma, asked residents to wear masks to avert second wave of the Covid-19. “Residents must follow all directions of the Punjab Government and stay indoors to keep themselves and others safe,” he added. Improvement Trust officials once again caught in tender muddle Fail to upload estimates for works with notice inviting tenders Kuldip Bhatia Passengers check with officials before boarding their respective trains at the railway station in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Rlys’ plan to resume traffic goes haywire Our Correspondent Trains partially cancelled, short-terminated/originated Ludhiana, November 25 Just a day after the Northern Railway authorities restored operation of passenger and goods trains after two months of ‘rail roko’ agitation by farmers against farm related Acts of the Modi government, one dissident group led by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha again laid a siege to rail tracks at Jandiala on the Jalandhar-Amritsar section putting the schedule once again in jeopardy. Consequently, railways announced cancellation of five trains terminating at and originating from Amritsar. These are 04623/24 Saharsa-Amritsar-Saharsa Superfast Express (Nov 25, 26), 04651/52 Jaynagar-Amritsar-Jaynagar Humsafar Express (Nov 25, 27) and 04654 Amritsar-Newjalpiguri Humsafar Express (Nov 25). Further, some more trains would continue to be short terminate and short originate till tracks are cleared. At Ambala Cantt: 08237/38 Korba-Amritsar-Korba Chhattisgarh Express; 02407/08 Newjalpiguri-Amritsar-Newjalpiguri; 02357/58 Kolkata-Amritsar-Kolkata Durgiana Express; and 05933/34 Darbhanga-Amritsar-Darbhanga Express. At New Delhi: 02715/16 Nanded-Amritsar-Nanded Sachkhand Express. At Chandigarh: 02925/26 Banra Terminus-Amritsar-Bandra Terminus Pashchim Express. Trains diverted: 02903/04 Mumbai Central-AmritsarMumbai Central Golden Temple Mail; 04673/74 JaynagarAmritsar-Jaynagar Shaheed Express; 08215/16 Durg-Jammu Tawi-Durg Express; 04649/50 Jaynagar-AmritsarJaynagar Saryu Yamuna Express; and 09025/26 Bandra Terminus-Amritsar-Bandra Termninus Humsafar Express trains would be diverted via alternate routes. Ludhiana, November 25 For officials of the engineering branch of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) bending rules for allotment of development works through etenders to politically connected or their own favourite contractors, it seems, has become a routine rather than exception. Bending rules often and allotting works to one or the other contractor or construction agency in a whimsical manner has become a ‘new normal’ in the LIT working. Recently, e-tenders were invited for over two dozen development works to be executed at an estimated cost of ~28 crore, which were to be opened on November 25, 2020. However, intending bidders found to their shock and dismay that estimates for several works were not uploaded along with notices inviting tenders (NITs), which is mandatory so that they could have an idea of the extent of work and specifi- ❝Estimates for several works were not available on the e-tender portal till November 24, whereas the last date for offering bids was November 25, which goes on to prove that Trust officials want to keep most contractors away from the tendering process. ❞ Sanjeev Kumar, GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR cations of the material to place competitive bids. Many contractors keen to take part in the bidding process raised hue and cry and took up the matter with the LIT top brass and the Local Government Department drawing their attention towards the anomaly, which seemed an attempt to allot certain lucrative development works to contractors of officials choice for monetary considerations. “Estimates for several works were not available on the e-tender portal till November 24, whereas the last date for offering bids was November 25, 2020, which goes on to prove that Trust officials want to keep most contractors away from the tendering process,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a government contractor, who complained to the Additional Chief Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, in this regard. When contacted, Trust Engineer Buta Ram said matter had been brought to the notice of the LIT. There was some unforeseen issue with regard to preparation of estimates for certain works, he added. “Keeping in view the situation, the last date for receipt of tenders has been extended till December 1, 2020, and the relevant estimates are also being uploaded for the convenience of contractors,” he said. Executive Engineer served notice Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 25 Ahead of the NGT monitoring committee’s visit, MC Commissioner Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal has served a showcause notice to an Executive Engineer Harkiran Singh for not attending meetings. A meeting was held today to discuss NGT monitoring committee’s upcoming visit. As per the show-cause notice, the Executive Engineer was given information via telephone to attend today’s meeting, but he did not come. As per the notice earlier too, the officer was asked to attend meetings, but he did not turn up. The officer has c m y b been asked to submit his reply within seven days otherwise disciplinary action will be initiated against him. According to the information, Municipal Corporation (MC) officials are making arrangements for the NGT monitoring committee’s visit scheduled on November 27. Vehicles parked at the Feroze Gandhi market in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO Market association opposes MC’s e-auction of parking lots Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 25 Members of the Feroze Gandhi Market Association have written a letter to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra against the Municipal Corporation’s upcoming e-auction of parking lots of the market. Chairman of the association Col Harjap Singh said the MC had failed to mark the fire lanes and remove encroachments from the market. “Even no demarcation of parking lots has been done but the MC is going to hold eauction of the lots soon, as per information,” he said. President of the association PS Gill said: “Without taking any concrete steps on ground to save life and property of visitors and occupants of the market, the MC is going to hold auction of the lots of the market.” “We had earlier raised the Members write to CM, minister to direct civic body to do the needful before auction any ❝Without takingground concrete steps on to save life and property of visitors and occupants of the market, the MC is going to hold auction of the lots of the market. ❞ PS Gill, PRESIDENT, FEROZE GANDHI MARKET ASSOCIATION, LUDHIANA matter regarding the parking lots with the Director of the Department of the Local Government. The director had given directions to the MC to take required measures but nothing has been done so far. Now, the civic body is rushing to auction parking lots without doing anything on ground to implement basic firefighting measures. The MC must take steps for decongestion of the five parking lots so that fire tenders and ambulance could easily move through the market,” he said. “It should mark “no parking”, “tow away zone” and “fire lanes” in the market. Moreover, there should be provision of fire hydrants in each parking lot. It should also ensure construction of a footpath. In the absence of footpaths, pedestrians are forced to walk on roads, endangering their own life,” he said. The association has demanded from the Chief Minister and the Local Bodies Minister to direct the MC to pay attention towards their long-pending demands, rather than rushing to auction parking lots.