21052023-LT-01.qxd 5/21/2023 12:34 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune LATE PLANTATION COULD CAUSE LABOUR PANGS, FEAR FARMERS EIJAZ KHAN DOES THOROUGH PREPARATION FOR COP’S ROLE ACTOR BEN KINGSLEY JOINS CAST OF THE KILLER’S GAME The govt has advised farmers of dist to begin the sowing of paddy as late as June 19 onwards this year. P2 Eijaz Khan, who plays the role of a cop, highlights significance of attention to detail in character portrayal. P3 The details of the characters to be played by Ben Kingsley and Boutella have been kept under wraps. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 43°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 41°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.18 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5.27 AM » SUNDAY | 21 MAY 2023 | LUDHIANA 2 booked for issuing fake Portugal visa Ludhiana, May 20 The Police Division 5 yesterday registered a case against two travel agents who had issued a fake visa of Portugal to a city resident. The suspects have been identified as Baljinder Singh Matharu of Rajguru Nagar, and Sanjay Sharma of Gurdev Enclave, Jalandhar. Gurpreet Sing of Kot Mangal Singh said he wanted to settle in Portugal and after he came in contact with the agents, the latter assured to arrange a visa of Portugal. After negotiation, the deal was struck at Rs 13 lakh and the money was given in advance to the duo. In October, 2022, the suspects handed him a visa of Portugal. However, when he enquired about the authenticity of the same, he was shocked to know that it was fake. Later, he asked them about the matter but they did not give any satisfactory reply. They also refused to return Rs 13 lakh taken in advance from him. ASI Harbhajan Singh said after registering a case of fraud and criminal conspiracy, further probe was launched in the matter. — TNS Youth booked for thrashing stray dog Ludhiana, May 20 The city police yesterday registered a case against a youth who mercilessly beaten up a stray dog at Islam Ganj here. A video of the incident went viral on social media. Activists of the People for Animal Welfare Organisation had admitted the injured dog to a hospital for treatment. Complainant Raj Kanwar Singh, a resident of the Badewal road area and a member of the animal welfare body, told the police that on May 16 he had received a phone call from the Islam Ganj area where a youth, Gurjot, was brutally attacking a dog. He mercilessly hit the dog’s head and other parts of the body with a stick. On receiving information, he rushed to the scene and took the injured dog to a hospital. ASI Didar Singh said after registering a case, further probe was launched in the case. Later, the suspect tendered an apology on social media. — TNS Four land in police net for supplying weapons 8 pistols seized; suspects belong to Pavitar-Husandeep, Kahlon gangs Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 The Khanna police busted an inter-state racket of illegal weapon suppliers and arrested four persons. The police seized eight weapons, 13 magazines and five cartridges from their possession. Though the suspects had been supplying weapons to their clients, they belong to the Darman Kahlon and Pavitar-Husandeep gangs. A case under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act was registered against them. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amneet Kondal and Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Pragya Jain addressed a press conference regarding the matter on Saturday. The SSP said on May 15 when a team of the Sadar police station, Khanna, was on its way to Manji Sahib to check suspicious elements, they received a tip-off that four unidentified persons, who were travelling towards Ludhiana from Delhi in a Hyundai Venue vehicle (bearing registration number PB18 X 8135) were carrying illegal weapons. Afterwards, they set up a naka at a strategic point where the vehicle was stopped for checking. Four occupants of the SUV were Three of the suspects in custody of the Khanna police. TRIBUNE PHOTO WERE COMING TO CITY FROM DELHI SSP Amneet Kondal said on May 15 when a team of the Sadar police station, Khanna, was on its way to Manji Sahib to check suspicious elements, they received a tip-off that four unidentified persons, who were travelling towards Ludhiana from Delhi in a Hyundai Venue vehicle were carrying illegal weapons. identified as Hardev Singh, alias Dev, of Puria Kalan village, Gurdaspur, Ravinderpal Singh, another resident of the village, Dharampreet Singh, alias Mota, and Manpreet Singh, both residents of Batala. During their search, three .32 bore pistols were seized from Hardev, Ravinderpal and Dharampreet along with three magazines, Kondal said. She said a four-day police remand of the suspects was sought and during their questioning, it was found that Hardev was a member of the Pavittar-Husandeep gang. He met Husandeep in an Amritsar jail and on his directions, he started supplying weapons and drugs at the inter-state level. Hardev has several FIRs registered against him under the NDPS Act in the state. He is also a proclaimed offender. The investigation also found that Ravinderpal was an active member of the Darman Kahlon gang and he too has several FIRs registered on his name under the NDPS Act and the Arms Act and on attempt to murder charge in the state. On the disclosures of Ravinderpal, three pistols of.32 bore, five magazines and three live cartridges were seized from his farmhouse, the SSP said, adding that Ravinderpal had purchased these weapons from Sandhaur in Indore district, MP with the help of one of , his accomplice, currently lodged in jail, and the jailed accused was nominated and also brought on a production warrant. His questioning further led to the recovery of two .32 bore pistols along with five magazines and two live cartridges. Manual slips being issued at parking lot, MC in slumber Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 After ignoring numerous complaints of visitor exploitation at different parking lots in past years, the Municipal Corporation Ludhiana, has again failed to address such violations at the Sarabha Nagar main market parking lot. Now, two-wheelers are being charged Rs 20, even for a parking period of less than an hour, in violation of the norms at the Sarabha Nagar market. Furthermore, manual parking slips without any mention of rates are being issued to visitors as a means of exploitation. During a visit to the market on Saturday, it came to light that one employee deployed by the contractor possessed an e-ticketing machine while another employee was issuing manual parking slips. However, the manual slips provided to the visitors did not mention any parking fees. When questioned, the contractor’s employee said the parking fee for a two-wheeler was Rs 20, regardless of the duration of the vehicle’s stay, be it five minutes or till midnight. It is important to note that the Municipal Corporation had implemented a bihourly parking system, where the initial fee for twowheelers is Rs 10 for the first two hours. Additionally, an extra charge of Rs 5 is levied for every subsequent twohour period. Similarly, for car parking, the initial fee is Rs 20 for the first two hours, with an additional charge of Rs 10 for each subsequent two-hour period. Accord- ing to the regulations, the use of manual parking fee slips is not allowed. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Sarabha Nagar Main Market Traders’ Association Wang said a few four-wheelers were allegedly overcharged recently and then the market association warned the contractor not to fleece anyone. He said the market association was going to get a parking fee board displayed there soon. Notably, traders had opposed the hiked parking rates last year and the matter was “resolved” later. Attempts to contact MC’s Joint Commissioner Kulpreet Singh, who oversees the Tehbazari branch, were unsuccessful. Another official of the branch, TS Panchi, said the matter would be investigated. Vehicles parked at the Sarabha Nagar market parking lot in Ludhiana. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA Two held with 500-gm heroin Close shave for 3 as car catches fire at Raikot Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 The Special Task Force (STF) of Ludhiana arrested two smugglers and seized 500 gm of heroin from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Harpreet Singh (38) and Harmandeep Singh (36), both residents of Daraha. One of their accomplices, Inderjit Singh (30) of Lopo, Samrala, managed to give the slip to the police. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the duo. STF Ludhiana range in- charge Inspector Harbans Singh said acting on a tipoff on May 19, the STF team laid a naka at a strategic point near Sahnewal. A car (bearing registration number MP14CC7789) was signalled to stop for checking. One of the occupant in the vehicle managed to escape from the spot while two were nabbed. Heroin was seized from beneath the driver’s seat. During questioning, Harpreet admitted the he was into the illegal trade for a long time and he was already facing six cases of murder, drug smuggling registered against him in the past. Harmandeep said he was a truck driver and he also had a criminal past. Both of them after coming out on bail continued the notorious trade. The suspects also admitted that they had been buying consignment of heroin from some smugglers in Sahnewal and Ghora Colony in Ludhiana, Harbans said. He said now, the police remand of the suspects would be sought to bust the entire drug supply line and big smugglers would be arrested soon. Raikot, May 20 Three members of a family from Ludhiana had a miraculous escape when the car they were travelling in caught fire near Goindwal drain on the Bathinda-Ludhiana Highway at Raikot on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Though the car was gutted completely, all occupants, Pushpinder Singh, his wife and son, came out unhurt. The family was returning from Rampura Phool to Ludhiana at midnight on Friday when the occupants of the car noticed an atypical sound when it reached near the The gutted vehicle on Bathinda-Ludhiana highway at Raikot. Goindwal drain on the outskirts of Raikot city. Pushpinder’s son, who was driving the car, stopped it and noticed sparking under the floor of the vehicle. He alerted his father and mother and helped them get out of the vehicle without losing any time. Soon, flames engulfed the entire vehicle. Later, police officials from the Raikot city police station, under the supervision of SHO Kulwinder Singh Dhaliwal, reached the spot and summoned a fire tender from Mullanpur. The car had, however, burnt completely before the arrival of the fire tender. SHO Dhaliwal said a report in connection with the incident had been registered for administrative purposes and no action was required against any person. — OC Residential area mishaps most fatal, claimed max lives: NCRB 5 days on, dumpsite Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 20 Residential areas remained the most fatal, claiming maximum lives in road accidents reported in the district during 2021, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. As many as 380 persons had lost their lives while 169 were left seriously injured in 478 road mishaps that had come on record in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, last year. The NCRB report on “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2021”, a copy of which is with The Tribune, revealed that 141 persons had lost their lives in the road mishaps that had occurred in residential areas in the district last year. These included 112 deaths in urban areas and 29 deaths in rural areas. While 103 Pedestrian crossing, points near schools, colleges accident-prone spots DEADLY FIGURES Spot Residential areas Pedestrian crossing Areas near school/college Near religious place Near factory Near recreation places Others Total Casualties 141 22 16 8 29 2 153 380 Urban 112 22 6 4 8 2 66 220 Rural 29 0 10 4 21 0 87 160 GENDER-WISE FATALITIES A file picture of a fatal road accident occurred in Ludhiana. males and nine females were included in the urban casualties, 27 males and two females were among those killed in the rural areas. The other most accidentprone area remained pedestrian crossing in urban areas where 22 persons had lost their lives. These included 20 male and two females. Spots near schools, colleges and other educational institutions were also among accident-prone areas in the district, claiming 16 lives. These Male 345 included 10 in rural areas and six in urban areas. While nine male and one female were included in rural casualties, five male and one female had died in road mishaps that had occurred near educational institutions in urban areas. c m y b Female 35 Among other killer spots, areas close to religious places had claimed eight lives, four each in urban and rural areas. These included all male. Areas near factories had claimed 29 lives, including 21 in rural areas and eight in urban areas. These included 19 male and two female in rural areas and seven male and one female in urban areas. Two lives, both male, were also lost in accidents that had occurred near recreation places or cinema halls in urban areas of the district. Non-specified areas had claimed 153 lives, including 87 in rural areas and 66 in urban areas of the district. These included 80 male and seven female in rural areas and 59 male and seven female in urban areas. When it comes to the urbanrural divide, as many as 220 persons were killed in the urban areas while 160 lives were lost in road mishaps that had taken place in the rural areas of the district. The urban casualties included 200 male and 20 female while 145 male and 15 female had died in the rural areas. fire yet to be doused Ludhiana, May 20 Even after passing of five days, the fire that broke out at the MC’s garbage dumpsite near Kakka village remains unextinguished. According to an official from the Fire Brigade, Ludhiana, four fire tenders were dispatched to the dumpsite on Saturday as well. The tenders made several rounds to fetch water to douse the flames. However, the official said smoke still persists and continues to emanate from the dumpsite. Notably, the fire broke out at the dumpsite on Tuesday. According to sources, approximately 25 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste has accumulated at the dump. — TNS Four fire tenders were sent to the dumpsite on Saturday. FILE