26052022-LT-01.qxd 5/26/2022 12:24 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE NGOS RAISE DEVELOPMENT, CIVIC ISSUES WITH MC COMMISSIONER Representatives of NGOs met MC chief and discussed major issues concerning development and civic amenities in city. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH WEAPON PAGE 2 ACTOR SIDDHANT CHATURVEDI UNVEILS ZING’S NEW AVATAR PAGE 3 Channel’s new look reflects a fresh and dynamic mood that celebrates the spirit and positivity of youth. MAX 38°C | MIN 27°C | YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7:22 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:29 AM Ex-IAF officer, wife found murdered at GTB Nagar HIGH DRAMA NEAR HOTEL Ludhiana: A Dubai-based NRI on Wednesday thrashed his girlfriend at a hotel near railway station. High drama was witnessed when the girl came out of the hotel and asked people for help. People called the police who took the boy and the girl to the police station. Kotwali SHO Amritpal Singh said the boy called the girl in his hotel room. He turned furious after seeing the girl’s photo with another guy in her cellphone. TNS POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 8 am to 5 pm: Fatehgarh Mohla, Lav Kush Nagar, Sohan Singh Nagar, Surinder Nagar, Street No. 1 to 6, 13 to 16 of Gandhi Nagar. 10 am to 3 pm: G-block of BRS Nagar, Orient Cinema Market, Golden Enclave, Sarabha Nagar police station, Inder Nagar and Sunet village. THURSDAY | 26 MAY 2022 | LUDHIANA NON-PAYMENT OF DUES BY IREO WATERFRONT DEVELOPER Development authority officials in the dock Kuldip Bhatia Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 25 An elderly couple was found murdered at their house in street no. 2, GTB Nagar, Jamalpur, today. The deceased have been identified as Bhupinder Singh (66) and his wife Sushpinder Kaur (62). They couple ran the Kartar Convent school at Mundian Kalan. Bhupinder was a retired IAF officer of the audit branch. The Police Commissioner, Dr Kaustubh Sharma, and other senior police officers reached the spot to investigate the double murder. A dog squad and a team of forensic experts also reached there. The deceased’s son, Mani, told the police that last night, he, along with his wife and children, slept in a room on the ground floor of the house, while his parents were sleeping on the third floor. When he woke up in the morning and went upstairs, he was shocked to see his parents lying dead. The body of his mother was lying in a room and that of his father in the Police officials investigate at the couple’s house in GTB Nagar on Wednesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN COPS SUSPECT INSIDER’S ROLE IN DOUBLE MURDER ■ The killers were aware of the exact scene by ransacking the room. location of the DVR of the CCTV. ■ The deceased’s son and daughter-inlaw were sleeping on the ground floor but they didn’t sense anything suspicious in the house. ■ The killers tried to make up a robbery ■ There were signs of a friendly entry to lobby. The room was also ransacked by the killers. The police said CCTV cameras were installed in the house but the killers took away the digital video recorder. They suspect that the murders were carried out by some persons close to the family. Joint CP Ravcharan Singh Brar said the killers had made a friendly entry into the house. The way the bodies were lying signals that the couple did not struggle to save themselves. The way the room was ransacked indicates that the killers wanted to pass off the inci- the house which has one entrance. ■ The rear door of the couple’s room on the third floor was open. ■ The deceased’s son said his parents had no enmity with anyone. Deceased Bhupinder (66) and Sushpinder Kaur (62) dent as a robbery. “We have certain clues and our team is working on the same. Soon, the case will be cracked,” added Brar. Meanwhile, Dr Sharma said Bhupinder retired from the IAF about eight years ago. The couple also ran a construction business. Ludhiana, May 25 A leading Delhi/Gurgaonbased developer, Ireo Waterfront Private Limited with a mega project here under its belt, was able to persistently cheat buyers and also defaulted in paying dues to the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) allegedly with active connivance of senior officials including the then Chief Administrator (CA) has been established by a report sent by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Vigilance Department, in November 2021. Forwarding its report on a complaint (49/2021) regarding default in payment to GLADA and other irregularities against the developer (Ireo Waterfront), a joint director of the Vigilance Bureau stated that the mega housing project of the company was approved under the Punjab Industrial Policy 2003 and the company was permitted to develop the project on 396.29 acres in five phases. “However, the developer had deposited dues towards licence fee and development Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 25 The Division 6 police today arrested a man on the charge of attempting to rape his mother and also attacking her. He has been identified as Sandeep (35) of Kabir Nagar. The complainant said her son was an addict and his wife had left him due to his addiction to drugs. During the night of May 23, her son, under the influence of drugs, entered the house and attempted to rape her. When she raised the alarm, local residents gathered there, and her son fled the scene. Yesterday, the police had registered a case against the suspect. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 25 A 19-year-old boy, Ankit, was electrocuted on the rooftop of a bakery at Abdulapur Basti last night. Today, when the deceased’s family and the bakery owner were taking the body for cremation, the police stopped them and shifted the body to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem. According to the police, the deceased had been working at the bakery for the past one year. Last night, he went to the rooftop of the bakery to fetch his clothes. When he tried to pick some clothes, which had fallen on an AC unit, with a rod, he suffered a shock from the high-tension lines and died on the spot. The bakery owner informed the deceased’s family about the incident next morning. The Atam Park police post in-charge, ASI Daljit Singh, INQUEST PROCEEDINGS LAUNCHED “Inquest proceedings under section 174 of the CrPC have been registered and if anything suspicious comes up in further probe, the police will pursue the investigation accordingly,” said ASI Daljit Singh. said someone rang the police up and informed that a boy had been electrocuted and he was being taken for cremation without informing the police. “We immediately reached the spot and stopped the cremation. After the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family. “Inquest proceedings under section 174 of the CrPC have been registered and if anything suspicious comes up in further probe, the police will pursue the investigation accordingly,” said the ASI. Ludhiana, May 25 In what appears to be the signs of gradual retreat, the third Covid wave has completely plateaued in Ludhiana district, as per official figures. While no Covid death had been reported in the district for over a month, no one has been hospitalised in the past four days. However, Ludhiana had earned the dubious distinction of being the worsthit district during all the three Covid waves that had hit the state so far with a maximum of 3,406 deaths due to the dreaded virus recorded in the district, including 2,280 locals and 1,126 outsiders. The last Covid death was registered in the district on April 21 and since then no virus casualty has been reported here. Similarly, no Covid patient was admitted in Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service ~80-CRORE PROJECT YET TO GET GOVT NOD We have prepared an estimate of ~80 crore for recarpeting of the road from the Ferozepur road to Doraha. The file has been sent to the government. We are expecting approval soon. ❝ The southern bypass stretch between Jawaddi and the Dugri flyover. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN the road to prevent accidents. A large number of commuters use this road daily. Gurpal Singh Grewal of the Model Town area said it seemed the road had not been recarpeted for many years. “A large number of heavy vehicles also pass through the stretch. The chances of accidents remain high due to big potholes. The department con- ❞ Davinderpal Singh, Executive Engineer cerned must take necessary steps to ensure the repair or recarpeting of the road at the earliest. Moreover, necessary steps should be taken to ensure the safety of commuters taking c m y b OFFICIALSPEAK Spread of Covid touching its low is a positive sign but we are still maintaining full precaution and vigil to keep the district safe. The people should also continue to exercise restraint and follow Covidappropriate behaviour for keeping the virus at bay. – SURABHI MALIK, DC ❝ A boy gets vaccinated at the Civil Hospital . INDERJEET VERMA any government or private hospital across the district since Sunday after the two critical Covid patients were discharged following recovery from the private institutions. The plateauing of the third Covid wave was evident from the fact that from 103 Covid deaths in January, the district’s virus casualty tally dipped to almost half in February 11 years on, bypass awaits recarpeting Ludhiana, May 25 As the poor shape of southern bypass has failed to stir PWD authorities into action, commuters, especially two-wheeler riders, are forced to risk their lives on this road which is riddled with potholes. There are big potholes on the bypass alongside the Sidhwan Canal. Another stretch between Jawaddi and the Dugri flyover is in a dilapidated condition. It was learnt that the road had not been recarpeted for a decade. Residents of the nearby areas accused the department concerned of failing to take timely action to repair charges till now for the first phase only developed on 150.81 acres. And that too before PS Gill joined as CA of GLADA in June 2017. Dues amounting to ~90 crore for the rest of the four phases of the project were outstanding and surprisingly, no apparent attempts were made by the CA or other senior officials for the recovery of the dues,” the report maintained. Pointing an accusing finger at the then GLADA CA, the report further said the said official had written to the Housing and Urban Development Department, Punjab, that the (defaulting) developer had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with another company, AIPL, which would complete the remaining works of the mega project and also give an undertaking for payment of dues. The Vigilance report termed the MoU as a grave irregularity and procedural lapse as the agreement for the project was signed between the Punjab Government and the promoter company, Ireo Waterfront, and any other MoU or agreement with a third party without the approval of the government was illegal, against the rules and also an attempt to further complicate the matter. “It is evident that the then CA had tried to give more latitude to the defaulting developer,” the report mentioned. The bureau has sought permission from the competent authority to launch criminal proceedings after registration of FIRs under sections 406/409/420/120-B of the IPC and section 13 (1-A) (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the then CA, PS Gill, nine other GLADA officials and directors of Ireo Waterfront. Other officials indicted in the case were then Additional Chief Administrator Bhupinder Singh, Estate Officer (Regulatory) Sonam Chaudhry, Deepak Bansal and Gurmel Singh, both ADO (Licensing); Vasdev Singh, Karnail Singh, Ranbir Singh, Jasjot Singh and Tarun Aggarwal, all divisional engineers, along with four directors of the defaulting company. Boy electrocuted at No Covid death in dist for over a month rooftop of bakery Nitin Jain Addict makes rape bid on mother, held PAGE 4 As Sonu dons poet Chand Bardai’s avatar for Prithviraj, it’s a dream come true for the actor-philanthropist. Elderly couple of Jamalpur ran school at Mundian Kalan Ludhiana: The Khanna police arrested a man with a US-made weapon along with 17 cartridges on Tuesday night. The police also impounded the SUV of the suspect, Gurpartap Singh, of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. A case under the Arms Act has been registered against him at the Samrala police station. TNS YOU GET WHAT YOU DREAM OF, BELIEVES SONU SOOD this road,” he said. A major accident took place on this road near the Dugri flyover recently. The residents said commuters generally took a wrong turn near the flyover. They want the department to take steps to avert accidents at this point. Meanwhile, PWD Executive Engineer Davinderpal Singh said the road had not been recarpeted since 2011. “We have prepared an estimate of ~80 crore for the recarpeting of the entire road from the Ferozepur road, the Ludhiana junction to Doraha. The project file has been sent to the government. We are expecting to get necessary approval soon,” he said. when 56 persons died due to Covid while March recorded only four Covid deaths and the virus has claimed no life in Ludhiana in May so far. Likewise, the count of daily positive cases has also slipped drastically from as high as 1,808 on January 14 to 207 (month’s highest) on February 1, 9 (month’s highest) on March 2, 9 (month’s high- ❞ est) on April 22, and 7 each (month’s highest) on May 8 and 14. While no single day passed without reporting Covid patients in the district during the months of January and February, when the third virus wave was on its peak, no Covid case was reported in Ludhiana on two days in March (30 and 31), four days in April (3, 4, 10 and 16), and two days so far in TELLING NUMBERS Total Covid deaths: 3,406 Ludhiana residents: 2,280 Outsiders: 1,126 No Covid death since April 21 No hospitalisation since May 22 Positivity rate: 0.09% Active cases: 13 LUDHIANA RECORDED MAXIMUM 3,406 DEATHS DUE TO VIRUS IN STATE May (7 and 9). Also, the positivity rate, a key indicator of virus surge, was below 0.1 per cent since May 18 when it feel down to 0.09 per cent, remained same on May 19, further dipped to 0.03 per cent on May 20 and 21, 0.06 per cent on May 22, 23 and 24, and slightly rose to 0.09 per cent on May 25. With no Covid patient Continued on page 2 School buses challaned in city Ludhiana, May 25 Under the Safe School Vahan Policy, a joint team of the District Child Protection Unit, Police Department, Education Department and the Transport Department inspected school buses of BCM School and RS Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, today. Challans were issued against the buses that were found violating the norms of the policy. Motor Vehicle Inspector Naresh Kaler told the school bus drivers that those violating the rules of the Safe School Vahan Policy would be dealt with strictly. Rashmi, District Child Pro- Officials inspect school buses in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO tection Officer, said the challans were issued against four school vehicles today. She said such surprise inspections of school vehicles would continue. — TNS