19022023-LT-01.qxd 2/19/2023 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DJIBOUTI ENVOY WANTS TO STRENGTHEN ACADEMIC TIES BHAWEEKA CHAUDHARY SHOOTS WITH A BABY BUMP ACTOR ZEENAT AMAN OPENS UP ABOUT HER GREY HAIR The Djibouti ambassador meets PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal during recent visit to campus. P2 Bhaweeka is shooting for Maitree with a baby bump. She has been pulling off every scene effortlessly. P3 Zeenat Aman has now opened up about her grey hair through a picture post, clicked by her son . P4 » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.16 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7:03 AM » SUNDAY | 19 FEBRUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA Man opens fire at trader, held Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 The Police Division 6 yesterday arrested a man who had fired a gunshot at a shopkeeper. The police after registering a case under the IPC and the Arms Act, arrested the suspect, Inderbir Singh, a resident of Flower Enclave. Complainant Mohd Tamane of Giaspura said when he was standing outside his shop on Friday, Inderbir came and started arguments with him. When his father and brother came to calm the suspect, the latter did not budge and attacked both of them. He even brandished a pistol to intimidate them. “Later, the suspect went inside Gandhi factory. When I along with my friend went to meet him to sort out the issue, Inderbir, along with two of his accomplices, came out of the factory and attacked us. He even fired a bullet at us. To save our life, we fled the spot and lodged a police complaint in the matter,” the complainant said. ASI Davinder Singh said after registering a case on Friday, a raid was conducted and key accused Inderbir was nabbed. Further raids were on to catch the other suspects. 3 mobiles seized from jail inmates Ludhiana, February 18 A surprise checking at the Central Jail here led to the recovery of three mobile phones from inmates. The inmates have been identified as Gurdawar Singh, Harminder Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Amanjot Singh. Assistant Jail Superintendent Sarup Chand said on February 16, he along with other officials conducted a checking in the jail. During the checking of belongings of the four inmates, three cell phones were seized. A case under the Prisons Act was registered. Notably, it is not the first time that mobile phones were seized from the jail, the seizure of phones from there has become a routine affair. In the past few days, three jail officials, including two warders and a counsellor, was also arrested on the charges of supplying mobile phones, drugs and other banned items inside the jail. — TNS Recarpeting work on Southern Delhi-Amritsar expressway fails to take off in dist: NHAI Bypass Road to kick-off soon 22.7-km stretch acquired, rest 16.25-km land not available Tenders have been floated for overlay, special repair of bypass Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 The Southern Bypass Road (along Sidhwan Canal) riddled with deep potholes is a nightmare for commuters for a long time. Now, the work to repair the road that links Ferozepur Road Junction in Ludhiana with Doraha is expected to be started soon as tenders for the same have been floated. The PWD, Ludhiana, has invited bids from eligible bidders for the overlay and special repair of Southern Bypass, including the maintenance of the main carriageway and service road for five years. Notably, residents have been demanding repair of the road for a long period as huge potholes pose a threat to the lives of commuters. The road under the Southern Bypass project was constructed/carpeted over a decade ago, according to information. ‘Ensure safety of commuters’ A number of road mishaps have taken place on the Southern Bypass raising questions about the safety of the commuters. A resident of Guru Nanak Colony, Rajwinder Singh, said the government must take steps for the safety ~63.60 CRORE TO BE SPENT ON PROJECT The estimated cost of the project is ~63.60 crore and the work is to be completed within the period of one year once the work order is issued. Technical bids for the project would be opened on March 10. of commuters on the highway as a number of mishaps have taken place on the road. “The pending service lane construction work under the Southern Bypass project near the Ludhiana-Dhuri railway lines, Guru Nanak Colony, must be completed at the earliest. Moreover, unwanted road cuts should be closed to avert mishaps.” Kapil Dev, president of the Faith beckons Council of Engineers, said traffic cones which were placed at different locations to avoid wrong-side turns have broken and the authorities concerned should pay attention to this regard. “There is also a need to construct a service lane to give a safe passage for residential colonies near Lohara. New flyovers should be constructed on Lohara Bridge and at TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Ludhiana, February 18 After over three years of inquiry, the Ludhiana police registered a fraud case against four employees of a trading firm who had misappropriated an amount of Rs 1.07 crore. An FIR was registered after over three-yearlong inquiry. The suspects have been identified as Sanjiv Kumar of GGS Nagar, Nitin Jutter of Chaura Bazaar, Anshul Kumar of Santokh Nagar and Neeraj Kumar of Preet Nagar. A case of fraud and criminal conspiracy was registered against the suspects on Friday. Complainant Madhav Gupta, owner of Krishna Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 The construction of DelhiAmritsar-Katra expressway has failed to take off in Ludhiana district, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed. Reason: Non-availability of land for country’s one of the most critical highway project, which will reduce the distance between Delhi and Amritsar by about 40-km and provide travel time from Delhi to Amritsar within 4-4.5hours and Delhi to Katra within 6-6.5-hours. The development assumes significance as the work to build the expressway was awarded in April last but due to the non-availability of the land falling under the project, the construction work could not begin on the ground. While the physical possession of around 58 per cent of the land required to build 38.95-km stretch of one of the six greenfield expressways identified under the Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I and included in the list of 22 greenfield corridors in the Budget announcements for last fiscal, falling across 24 villages in Ludhiana district, has already been taken, the land acquisition for the rest 42 per cent of the project has hit a roadblock with the The project will reduce the distance between Delhi and Amritsar by about 40-km. PROJECT REPORT Estimated cost: ~25,000 crore Total length: 650-km Main Expressway: 550-km Greenfield expressway: 397-km Greenfield spur: 99-km Punjab section: 362-km Ludhiana stretch: 38.95-km Lanes: 4 (expandable to 8) Right of way: 90-meter Owner: NHAI Status: Work awarded Completion deadline: Dec 2025 Project model: HAM landowners continue to resist giving away their land for want of higher compensation amount, officials have said. The NHAI Expressway Project Director, Santosh Arya, told The Tribune, here on Friday that the possession of 22.7-km of land had already Two of robbers’ gang nabbed been taken while the land for the remaining 16.25-km stretch was yet to be acquired in Ludhiana district. He said the work on the project had already taken off in six districts across Punjab and has been expedited to meet the revised deadline while the construction could not be started in two districts – Ludhiana and Gurdaspur – for want of land. “Of the total eight project packages in Punjab, work on five packages, comprising 193-km passing through Sangrur, Patiala, Malerkotla, Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts is in progress while another package in Pathankot will take off in April,” Arya revealed, while informing that work in Ludhiana and Gurdaspur districts could only start once the total land for the project will be made available. In Gurdaspur, 21.09-km of total 43.6-km land had been acquired. He said 44 per cent work had been completed on package 6, 40 per cent on package 7, 18 per cent on package 10, 8 per cent on package 9, and 5 per cent on package 11. “Package 6 work started on May 23 last and in last around 8 months, 44 per cent physical progress has been achieved while construction on package 7 began on July 11 last continued on page 2 Notorious thief lands in cops’ net Tribune News Service Devotees take part in rituals at a temple on Mahashivratri in Ludhiana on Saturday. P2 3 yrs on, 4 pvt firm employees booked for ~1.07-crore fraud Tribune News Service Dehlon Chowk on Southern Bypass due to the heavy flow of traffic. The traffic signboards must be displayed on the road,” he added. PWD Executive Engineer Davinderpal Singh said the tenders had been floated for the road repair. He said the work was underway to construct a service lane near the LudhianaDhuri railway line. Nitin Jain Finishing Works which deals in distribution of products of ITC, said he had appointed Sanjiv as accountant, Nitin as area sales manager, Anshul and Neeraj as salesmen in the firm. “All these persons had earned my trust and due to the same, I did not care to see account books and even routine customers,” he said. The complainant said when Sanjeev had resigned from his job in July 2017, he found some anomalies in account books. When he compared the accounts with bank accounts and day books, he saw huge cash difference. Later, he was shocked to find that the employees have committed a fraud with him by embezzling around Rs 1.07 crore. The owner said the suspects used to receive cash on behalf of his firm and they would mention less amount in the account books. Sometimes, they even used to send more products to customers and enter less number in the account books. However, they received cash as per goods sent to customers and would kept the excess money with them. The complainant said he had filed a complaint in July 2019 but the police took more than three years to register a case. ASI Harpal Singh said further investigation was launched in the case. c m y b Ludhiana, February 18 The Salem Tabri police on Friday busted a gang of robbers which had looted a chota hathi (mini-truck), from the driver a few days ago and arrested the two suspects. They were identified as Neelkanth, alias Neela, of Kali Sadak and Shivam, alias Billa, of Bhaura village. ACP (North) Maninder Bedi and Salem Tabri SHO SI Harjit Singh issued a statement in this regard. The ACP said on February 14, Parmod Kumar was heading towards Ludhiana from Phagwara, when he reached near Malhotra Resort, around five persons stopped his way. Before he could understand The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO anything, they pointed some sharp weapon at him and forcibly took away his auto, Rs 25,700 in cash and two mobile phones from him. After the police started a probe, the two suspects were identified and arrested and the looted vehicle was recovered. SHO Harjit said now, police remand of the suspects would be sought so that in further questioning, whereabouts of the remaining accused could be known and they be arrested. Involvement of the accused in old loot cases would also be verified. Ludhiana, February 18 The city police today arrested a notorious thief, Sher Singh, alias Sheru, of New Shyam Nagar, and recovered gold and other valuables from him. ADCP Shubham Aggarwal and ACP Mandeep Singh issued a statement in this regard. After his arrest, the police recovered two gold necklaces, four gold bangles, four good bracelets, three gold rings, a diamond ring, some other gold and silver ornaments, 514 US dollars, 33 Thai baht, six Euros, four Canadian dollars, three CHF (Swiss Franc) and Rs 1.83 lakh from Sheru. The ADCP said he was already facing 16 cases of theft and snatching. — TNS