28042022-LT-01.qxd 4/28/2022 12:16 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE NEHAL WADHERA SETS NEW RECORD, SMASHES 578 RUNS Former India U-19 player, Nehal gave a swashbuckling performance in the Inter-District U-23 Cricket Championship. MAINLY CLEAR SKY Drug smuggler fires at STF team at naka Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 27 Ludhiana STF officials had a narrow escape as a smuggler fired shots at them at a naka in Dhandra village on Wednesday evening. The smuggler also rammed his car into the official vehicle of the STF. Station House Officer, Sadar police station, SubInspector Jaspal Singh told The Tribune that an STF team, led by its senior officials, had laid a naka at Dhandra village. The STF had secret information that notorious smuggler Deepak Kumar of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar was on the way to supply drugs to his clients. The STF had parked their vehicles at the naka point. When the smuggler was signalled to stop the car for checking he rammed his car into the official vehicle of the STF, revealed SHO Jaspal. The SHO said the smuggler also fired shots at the STF officials but they had a narrow escape as no one suffered any bullet injury. Meanwhile, the STF team also attempted to chase the smuggler but in vain. The SHO said on the complaint of the STF officials a case is being registered against the smuggler. Two new Covid cases in dist Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 27 Two fresh cases of Covid19 were confirmed here on Wednesday. Civil Surgeon Dr SP Singh informed that 1,09,844 positive cases from Ludhiana and 14,754 from other districts or states have been confirmed to date. He said 2,280 patients from Ludhiana and 1,126 patients from other districts or states have died of the virus till date. There were 21 active cases in the district today and all the patients are in home isolation. COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 34,91,660 1,09,844 21 2,280 For info Contact: 0161-2444193 & 4622276 POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 9 am to 3 pm: Shingar Road, Dhoka Mohhalla, Dharam Pura, Ranjit Singh Park, Shivaji Nagar, New Shivaji Nagar, Harcharan Nagar, Hargovind Nagar, New Hargovind Nagar, Harikartar Colony, Janakpuri, Link Road, Transport Chowk and surrounding areas. 10 am to 3 pm: South City all blocks, Garden Enclave, Basera Heights, Ayali Khurd, Dashmesh Nagar, F-2 Raceway, Canal Road and Jesus Sacred Heart School. 10 am to 4 pm: New Tagore Nagar, Rajesh Nagar, New Chander Nagar, Gurdwara Bhuri Wala Chowk, some area of Durgapuri and 22-Feet Road. 10 am to 6 pm: Industrial Area-A Extension, Bihari Colony and surrounding area of Transport Nagar. VIDHI PANDYA IS INSPIRING FANS TO FULFIL THEIR DREAMS PAGE 3 MAX 42°C | MIN 21°C | YESTERDAY MAX 41°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7:03 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:44 AM Tribune News Service Tribune News Service The NGT’s monitoring committee inspects the hut fire incident site near the MC’s main garbage dumpsite on Tajpur Road near Kakka village in Ludhiana on Tuesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN survivor as he had slept in his friend’s shanty that night. Rajesh told the panel chairman that he suspected that their ‘jhuggi’ was put on fire that night by somebody. He also expressed suspicion over a person and showed the suspect’s photo in a mobile Ludhiana, April 27 A 29-year-old man committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at Partap Singh Wala last night. He took the extreme step due to the alleged torture by his wife and in-laws. On the basis of a suicide note of the deceased, Ramandeep Singh, and on the statement of the deceased’s mother Surjit Kaur, the PAU police registered a case against the deceased’s wife Kirandeep Kaur, his father-inlaw Sher Singh and mother-in-law Harjit Kaur. The deceased’s mother said four years back her son got married to Kirandeep Kaur and soon after the marriage, the accused started torturing him. phone. Rajesh claimed that the suspect had abandoned his bike there. The chairman then asked the police officials to look into the allegations. A senior police officer then asked the staff concerned to recover the bike. Continued on page 2 Ludhiana, April 27 A man, Sanjeev Kumar, resident of Prem Vihar on Tibba Road, Ludhiana, has been arrested for allegedly smuggling leopard skins. According to the Forest Department, three skins of leopards have been recovered from his house. Sanjeev Kumar was presented before the court on Wednesday and remanded in one-day police custody. Shaminder Singh, Forest Range Officer, Ludhiana, said they received a tip-off, after which a joint raid was conducted by a team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau from Delhi and Forest Department, Ludhiana, on Monday night on the house of Sanjeev Kumar. “We recovered three leopard skins from his house. The leopard skins, packed in a cloth and plastic carry bag, were hidden on the roof of his house,” he said. He said, “As per the condi- The leopard skins recovered from a house in Ludhiana. tion of the recovered leopard skins, it seems these are about one year old. Sanjeev Kumar has not revealed anything about the recovered leopard skins. He was presented before the court today and he was remanded in one-day police custody.” Following a complaint filed by Forest Range Officer Shaminder Singh, a case under Sections 2, 9, 39, 44, 50 and 51 of the Wild Protection Act-1972 was registered against Sanjeev Kumar at the Tibba police station, Ludhiana, on April 26. SubInspector Baldev Singh is investigating the matter. Speedy disposal can’t be misread 3 drug smugglers held to deny fair hearing, says HC 29-yr-old man ends life; wife, in-laws booked Tribune News Service THURSDAY | 28 APRIL 2022 | LUDHIANA 3 leopard skins recovered from house, man arrested CommitteechairmanpullsupMCoverhugeaccumulationofwaste ure, remedial action, including a measure, to prevent such incidents in future. A notice was also issued to the Chief Secretary. Today, the panel chairman Justice (retd) Jasbir Singh met son of the deceased couple Rajesh, who is the lone PAGE 4 Actress Chhavi Mittal is now cancerfree. She shared a photo from hospital, after she underwent an operation. NGT’s panel visits hut fire incident site near dumpsite Ludhiana, April 27 The National Green Tribunal’s monitoring committee, headed by Justice (retd) Jasbir Singh, on Wednesday visited the tragic hut fire incident site near the MC’s main garbage dumpsite on Tajpur Road near Kakka village. Seven family members — a couple and their five children — were charred to death after a fire broke out in their ‘jhuggi’ located just near the MC’s main dumpsite. While taking suo motu notice on a media report regarding hut (jhuggi) fire incident and accumulation of 20 lakh metric tonnes of waste at the dumpsite, the National Green Tribunal had asked the monitoring committee to furnish a factual situation report with regard to the cause of death, persons responsible for the fail- CHHAVI MITTAL UNDERGOES BREAST CANCER SURGERY Sony TV’s Mose Chhal Kiye Jaaye features how Vidhi inspired her motherin-law Sushma to become independent. Tribune News Service “My daughter-in-law wanted to live separately and due to her pressure, my son recently took a house on rent at Partap Singh Wala. Still the torture of my son didn’t stop there,” she added. The mother said recently the wife and in-laws of her son had also thrashed him and her son had been under depression since then. Yesterday her son committed suicide. He was rushed to a hospital but doctors declared him brought dead. A suicide note was also recovered from the room in which he mentioned that his wife and in-laws are responsible for his death, she said. The SHO, PAU police station, Balwinder Singh, said raids are being conducted to nab the accused. Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 27 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the concepts of “speedy disposal” and “dispensation of justice” cannot be misconstrued to deny legitimate right, audience in the court and opportunity of fair hearing to a party. The assertion in a rent matter came as Justice Fateh Deep Singh of the High Court asserted that a Ludhiana court was required to be sensitised to the requirements of law. The Bench asserted the court below certainly ran into an error by granting “only a single opportunity” to a party, necessitating intervention by the High Court. “In view of the sad state of affairs, one more opportunity is afforded to the petitioner to file the written reply to the main petition,” Justice Fateh Deep Singh added. The direction came with a pre-condition. Justice Fateh Deep Singh made it clear that the same was subject to payment of Rs 500 costs, which would go to free legal aid account at Ludhiana. The parties through their counsels were also directed to appear before the court concerned on the next date of hearing. The matter was brought to the High Court’s notice after a petition was filed challenging order dated October 16, 2019, passed by the Court of Ludhiana Rent Controllercum-Civil Judge (Junior Division). The Bench was told that the petitioner was respondent before the court below and his defence was struck of vide the impugned order. Justice Fateh Deep Singh asserted the matter was filed before the court on November 3, 2018. After three adjournments, the respondents on the fourth date had put in an appearance and the matter was listed for filing of an application for leave to defend. Arguments were heard on September 6, 2019, after affording adjournments for filing reply to it. Subsequently, the same was disposed of on September 10, 2019, and the matter was listed for reply to the main eviction application on October 16, 2019. “When the impugned order was passed, it was reflective of the undue haste that has been shown by the court below,” Justice Fateh Deep Singh added. Ludhiana, April 27 The Ludhiana rural police yesterday nabbed three smugglers, including a woman, in separate cases and recovered drugs from their possession. In the first case, the police nabbed two smugglers, namely Lovepreet Singh of Sherpur Kalan and Kirandeep Kaur Kirna of Disposal road, Jagraon. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them. Investigating officer ASI Randhir Singh said secret information was received that Lovepreet Singh and Kirandeep Kaur are into the heroin smuggling trade and they are on the way to Kokri village in Jagraon from the Moga side to deliver heroin to their clients. Accordingly, a police party laid a trap and stopped the Swift Dzire car in which the duo were travelling. During the checking of car, 50 gram of heroin was recovered. The car was also impounded. In another case registered under the NDPS Act, the rural police nabbed Pankaj of Civil Lines, Moga, and recovered 1.25 kg of opium and Rs 32,000 drug money from them. The police also impounded the Toyota Fortuner of the accused. Investigating officer ASI Balwinder Singh said acting on secret information, a naka was laid at a village near Jagraon. The Toyota Fortuner in which Pankaj was travelling was stopped for checking. During the search of the vehicle, opium and drug money were recovered. Ludhiana tops all 3 police commissionerates in state in road mishaps Records maximum 283 casualties, almost double than combined total of Amritsar and Jalandhar, in the year 2020 Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 27 In what appears to be a dubious distinction of becoming the “accident capital” of the state, Ludhiana has topped all three police commissionerates in recording the maximum number of road accidents and fatalities therein in Punjab, the government has confirmed. As many as 283 persons had lost their lives, while 184, including 139 serious and 45 minor, had sustained injuries in 418 road mishaps registered in the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate in 2020, which were almost double than the combined total of 146 casualties reported by Amritsar and Jalandhar, the other two police commissionerates in the border state, the official figures have revealed. The report on Punjab Road Accidents and Traffic-2020, released by Director General of Police (DGP) Viresh Kumar Bhawra, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, showed that Amritsar reported the minimum of 66 casualties and injuries to 59, including 38 seriously and 21 minor, in 100 road accidents, while 82 persons had lost their lives and 81 had sustained injuries, including 62 seriously and 19 minor, in 118 road accidents reported in the limits of the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate. The month-wise break-up indicated that Ludhiana lost 28 lives in road mishaps in January as compared to 4 in Jalandhar and 1 in Amritsar; February reported 24 fatalities in Ludhiana, 15 in Jalandhar and 6 in Amritsar; March saw 27 deaths in Ludhiana, 10 in Jalandhar and 6 in Amritsar; April witnessed 5 casualties in Ludhiana and 3 each in Jalandhar and Amritsar; May registered 14 fatalities in Ludhiana, 5 in Jalandhar and 3 in Amritsar; June saw 16 deaths in Ludhi- FIGURES AT A GLANCE Commissionerate Ludhiana Jalandhar Amritsar FILE PHOTO FORECAST PAGE 2 Accidents 418 118 100 Casualties 283 82 66 OFFICIALSPEAK initiatives, numerous ❝We are taking multipleenforcement, ❝There areassociated catastrophic including those related to ramifications with road road engineering, as well as education and awareness to ensure safe mobility and reduce the risk of accidents through scientifically-based road safety management plan.” – Viresh Kumar Bhawra, DGP c m y b accidents, all of which have significant social, economic and psychological consequences. Individuals, communities, societies and states are all affected by the road traffic injuries and deaths.” – Amardeep Singh Rai, ADGP, TRAFFIC ana, 6 in Jalandhar and 4 in Amritsar; July claimed 26 lives in Ludhiana, 11 in Amritsar and 4 in Jalandhar; August reported 27 deaths in Ludhiana, 5 in Jalandhar and 1 in Amritsar; September witnessed 28 casualties in Ludhiana, 6 in Jalandhar and 5 in Amritsar; October saw 31 fatalities in Ludhiana, 14 in Amritsar and 6 in Jalandhar; November registered 27 deaths in Ludhiana, 12 in Jalandhar and 6 in Amritsar; and the month of December claimed the highest of 30 lives in Ludhiana and 6 each in Amritsar and Jalandhar. The report highlighted that January, March, July and November remained the most critical months as maximum of 55, 50, 42 and 42, respectively, road mishaps were reported during these four months in Ludhiana. While hit-and-run and hit from the back cases, numbering 60 and 68, respectively, accounted for most of the fatalities, most casualties had occurred between 12 noon and 3 pm in Ludhiana. According to the victim profiles, 51 per cent victims were two-wheeler riders, while 24 per cent were pedestrians. The most killer vehicles included cars, jeeps, vans and taxis, which caused 35 per cent of the total deaths as impacting vehicles involved in the road mishaps in the industrial capital of the state. Similarly, July and October remained the most critical months in Amritsar, while February, March and November reported the maximum number of road mishaps in Jalandhar. While hit-and-run and hit from the back remained the major causes of accidents in Amritsar and Jalandhar as well, most casualties in Amritsar occurred between 3 pm and 9 pm, while Jalandhar reported maximum fatal accidents between 12 noon and 3 pm. Continued on page 2