26032023-LT-01.qxd 3/26/2023 12:13 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CoE DEMANDS ACTION ON ENCROACHMENTS OF PARKS RAINFALL TURNS PAU KISAN MELA A DAMP SQUIB Event witnesses low footfall of farmers andvisitors on both days as water plays spoilsport for stalls. P2 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 27°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 15°C MOMENT TO CHERISH: RAVIE ON MEETING SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR Engineers’ body threatens to move NGT if violations are not addressed by GLADA, LIT and civic body. P2 FORECAST Taking to Instagram, Ravie Dubey wrote: “An unforgettable meeting with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji.” P3 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.41 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.22 AM » SUNDAY | 26 MARCH 2023 | LUDHIANA 24 mobiles seized from Central Jail Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 25 A surprise checking in the Central Jail here led to the seizure of 24 mobile phones. Of the 24 mobiles, 14 were found abandoned on the jail premises while the others were recovered from jail inmates. Assistant Jail Superintendent Satnam Singh said on March 21, he, along with the team, conducted a surprise checking in the jail. During the checking, 14 mobile phones were found abandoned in the jail barracks. The cell phones could be dumped by some unknown inmates. A case under the Prisons Act was registered against the unidentified inmates on Friday. In another case, Assistant Jail Superintendent Suraj Mall said on March 23, during a checking in jail, three mobile phones were seized from inmates Sahil Sharma, Suhail Khan, Charanjit Singh and Sachin Kumar. A case under the Prisons Act was registered against them and further probe into the seizures was launched to inquire how they managed to get the cell phones inside the jail. Assistant Jail Superintendent Satnam Singh said on March 24, seven mobile phones were seized from inmates Jagdev Singh, Ranjit Singh, Varun Tayal and Chetan Singh. He said after registering a case against the inmates on Friday, further probe was launched to check the source which facilitated the entry of mobile phones inside the jail. One fresh Covid case in district Ludhiana, March 25 According to the office of the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, one person tested positive for Covid in the district today. The person who tested positive today is a 25-yearold man from Army Camp, Jagraon Bridge. Civil Surgeon Hitinder Kaur said 1,13,664 persons have tested positive and 3,018 patients have lost their lives to the deadly virus since March 2020 in the district. On Saturday, 277 samples were sent for testing which include 213 RTPCR and 64 antigen samples. — TNS Waterlogged roads trouble Another plaint against DMCH, misuse of IT exemption alleged commuters after rain in city NGO claims ‘bogus charity, amassing of crores of rupees’ Residents complain of water accumulation on Chandigarh Road again Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 25 Commuters and residents faced inconvenience due to waterlogging on a national highway stretch near Sector 39 on Chandigarh Road, here. According to residents: “Rainwater and sewage had accumulated on the stretch for a few hours before draining out the same.” Premjit Singh, a resident of Sector 39 on Chandigarh Road, said waterlogging occurred again on Saturday morning after rainfall. “The sewer started overflowing in the area, resulting in the accumulation of sewage and rainwater on the main road. The water had drained out later. We have been complaining about the issue for a long time but it has not been fixed so far,” he added. Premjit said the Municipal Corporation (MC) had previously installed a stormwater drainage system on the stretch. Officials had also claimed that sewers would not overflow once the new Jamalpur STP is operational. “However, dirty water accumulated on the main road again after rainfall. We want the civic body to find a permanent solution to the problem,” he said. MC’s executive engineer Ranveer Singh countered the residents’ claims, stating that the sewers did not overflow anywhere on Chandigarh Road on Saturday. “I inspect- Pedestrians and commuters pass through a waterlogged road in Haibowal; and (below) water accumulates on a portion of Hambran Road after rain in Ludhiana on Saturday. ASHWANI DHIMAN ROAD GULLIES CLOGGED IN AFFECTED AREAS There were reports of waterlogging in some parts of the city, including Hambran Road, Ferozepur Road and the Haibowal area, after the rainfall. Road gullies were reportedly clogged in the affected areas. ed the Chandigarh Road on Saturday morning, and the sewerage system was functioning properly. There was no complaint about sewer overflow. However, rainwater had accumulated on a stretch as road gullies were clogged. Our staff cleaned the road gullies and the accumulated rainwater was drained out,” he said. Meanwhile, there were reports of waterlogging in some parts of the city, including Hambran Road, Ferozepur Road and the Haibowal area, after the rainfall. The road gullies were reportedly Ludhiana, March 25 Municipal Corporation’s suvidha centres across all zones were open on Saturday for the collection of property tax and will remain open on Sunday (March 26). MC’s Superintendent Vivek Verma said the civic body collected around Rs 25.27 lakh property tax on Saturday, with 939 property owners making their tax payments by the evening. During the ongoing financial Suvidha centres to remain open today year, the MC has collected approximately Rs 115 crore as property tax till March 24. The MC is urging residents to pay their taxes by March 31 to avoid an additional 10 per cent penalty and 18 per cent interest on delayed payment. The MC will charge 10 per cent penalty on payment of tax from January 1 to March 31. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 25 The Police Division 6 yesterday arrested a factory owner on the charges of copying design of cycle pedals and manufacturing the same. The suspect has been identified as Harmeet Singh of GRD Enclave, Dhandra Road. A case has been registered against him. Complainant Vishal Sehgal of Janta Nagar told the Committed crime over suspicion of illicit relationship Ludhiana, March 25 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge KK Goyal has convicted Sukhpal Singh, a resident of Chakkar village, on the charge of killing his mother Karamjit Kaur over suspicion of her having illicit relationship with a man. He was sentenced to undergo rigorous life imprisonment. A fine of Rs 1 lakh was also slapped on him. Pronouncing the verdict, the court held that the prosecution has successfully proved the guilt of the accused beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt. The body of Karamjit Kaur was found in the house. The claim of the accused that she was killed by her paramour was not believable as so Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 25 A day after the Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu ordered an investigation through a special investigation team into the allegations of “misappropriation of funds, forging documents, account books, records, fudging accounts and cheating poor patients,” another complaint has been filed against the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), a 1,326-bed (inclusive of 800 teaching beds) tertiary care teaching hospital here. Filed by advocates and social activists PC Sharma and Rohit Sabharwal, the complaint addressed to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Income Tax Department has alleged “misuse of income tax exemption” being availed by the leading medical college and hospital. However, the managing society of the DMCH has vehemently denied the allegations as “totally false and baseless” while terming them as a bid to “deflect the attention from the good work for noble cause being done by the institution since ages”. The complainants, who were running an NGO, “Fighting Against Social Evils and Corruption”, have submitted that the hospital had been availing exemptions under the provisions of Sections 11 and 12 of the Income Tax Act since one of the objectives of the hospital was to provide charitable ZERO TOLERANCE TO CORRUPTION: HOSPITAL ❝ We have zero tolerance for corruption and wrongdoings. Since we have a three-tier accounting system with three layers of audit in place, not even a small discrepancy in our accounts is possible at all. There are some bad elements who are behind making such false and frivolous complaints. Prem Gupta, DMCH SECRETARY ❞ medical facilities to the poor and needy. “It is a bogus charity and crores of rupees have been amassed showing it as charitable. Section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, provides exemptions for income earned from property held under charitable trusts/ societies for activities carried out for charitable or religious purposes subject to certain terms and conditions,” they alleged while referring to conditions laid down in relevant law provisions. Alleging that the audited account of hospital show “vast irregularities”, they said the DMCH had an inhouse pharmacy also with an objective of providing patients with easy access to medicines at reasonable and subsidised rates but “though the pharmacy was buying medicines at highly concessional rates, merely 20 per cent of the maximum retail price was offered to patients while a substantial portion of such discount was not passed on to the patients by charging a much higher price than the actual purchase price”. Raising questions on the claim of the DMCH being a charitable institution, the complainants said one of the fundamental criteria of granting tax exemption was that none of the activities must not be undertaken on commercial lines. But if the operations of the pharmacy were carried out on “commercial lines”, it should be treated as business with the intent of making profits. Seeking withdrawal of registration granted to the DMCH under Sections 12-A continued on page 2 Civic body collects Businessman nabbedfor Seven jail inmates ~ 25L property tax copying product design booked for clash Man gets life term for killing mother Legal Correspondent clogged in the affected areas. MC’s staff was deployed to clean the road gullies on Hambran Road and other areas. The Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, PAU, Ludhiana, recorded 29 mm of rainfall on Saturday. Nitin Jain THEY WILL KILL ME, VICTIM TOLD HER MOTHER A day before the tragic incident, the victim, Karamjit Kaur, made a telephonic call to her mother Kulwant Kaur stating that the accused will kill her today, and on the next day, she came to know that she was murdered. many family members were residing in the house and his entry was not possible. Additional public prosecutor Ajay Kumar Singla apprised that a case against the accused and two juveniles was registered at the Hathur police station on June 29, 2016, following the statement of Karnail Kaur, cousin of the deceased. The prosecution examined as many as 11 witnesses to prove the case of the accused. The complainant had stated to the police that her cousin Karamjit Kaur was suspected of having an illicit affair by her husband Bhinder Singh, her son Sukhpal Singh, alias Sukha, and other family members. About three months ago, they gave her beatings and the matter was compromised by the panchayat. A day before the incident, Karamjit Kaur made a telephonic call to her mother Kulwant Kaur that they will kill her today and on the next day, she came to know that she was murdered. However, the accused pleaded innocence but after appreciating the evidence on record, the court found him guilty. c m y b police that he was the owner of Shah Plastic Works and his unit manufactures pedals and other cycle products. The accused had set up a cycle parts manufacturing unit in Janta Nagar. “Recently I came to know that the suspect had copied the cycle pedal design of my company and manufactured huge stock of pedals. He had also sold a large number of the same in the market. My company was facing huge losses due to due to the fraud. Yesterday, the police nabbed the suspect and also seized pedals from the unit,” he alleged. Investigating officer SI Jaspal Singh said further probe into the case was launched. Ludhiana, March 25 The city police yesterday registered a case against seven inmates after they indulged in a clash inside the Central Jail over old enmity. The inmates even tried to manhandle jail officials when the latter intervened in the matter. The accused from one group were identified as Sandeep Kumar, Sourav, Shivam, Jagtar Singh while Krishan Sahni, Bharat Chauhan and Raj belonged to the other group. Assistant Jail Superintendent Harbans Singh said on March 23, two groups of inmates were fighting outside the jail hospital. Officials after hearing some noise, went to calm down the inmates. “When the officials were trying to control the situation, the inmates also attempted to manhandle the former. The jail staff managed to control them and sent two injured inmates to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, he said. — TNS