30082023-LT-01.qxd 8/30/2023 12:23 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune KHELO INDIA: GURU NANAK CLUB EVES LIFT U-18 TROPHY PANKAJ TRIPATHI ON ONE YEAR OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE Pankaj Tripathi says he would love to see the character flourish professionally and also in his personal life. P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C SHREYA GHOSHAL SAYS SHE IS AVID FOLLOWER OF INDIAN IDOL Guru Nanak Club of Ludhiana romp home in the two-day Khelo India Girls (U-18) Basketball League. P2 FORECAST Singer Shreya Ghoshal says re-entering the vibrant world of Indian Idolfeels like a joyful homecoming. P3 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.48 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:59 AM » WEDNESDAY | 30 AUGUST 2023 | LUDHIANA INBRIEF BICYCLE WORTH ~27K STOLEN Ludhiana: A bicycle worth ~27,000 was stolen from a house in Joshi Nagar, Haibowal. According to a complaint filed by Anupam Verma, an unidentified person barged into his house on Monday afternoon and stole his bicycle. Verma came to know about the theft when he heard some noise. When he went outside to check, he found the bicycle missing. After searching the nearby street for the thief, Verma scrutinised the CCTV footage where he saw a man riding away with the cycle. Verma has filed a complaint in this regard at the Haibowal police station. However, no FIR has been registered in this regard yet. TNS DEATH OF ROAD ACCIDENT VICTIM Civil Surgeon forms panel to probe matter Ludhiana, August 29 Though a three-member committee from the Civil Hospital was formed to probe the death of an unidentified road mishap victim, Civil Surgeon Dr Hitinder Kaur has formed a new committee comprising of senior officials to investigate the matter. The three-member committee comprising forensic expert Dr Charankamal Singh, medicine specialist Dr Amanpreet Kaur and surgeon Dr Ankur Uppal was formed earlier. However, the Civil Surgeon was not satisfied with the report and the matter is being re-investigated now. On Sunday, an unidentified person, who suffered serious injuries in a road accident at the Sherpur Chowk, was brought to the hospital by a 108 ambulance. After administering first aid, he was shifted to the wrong ward. He was lying on a stretcher due to lack of beds. He fell off and succumbed to his injuries. The Civil Surgeon said she had reordered the probe. The report would be submitted within two days. — TNS Opposing civic body action, two brothers set themselves ablaze Suffer severe burn injuries, were protesting demolition by MC team Tribune News Service DUO REFERRED TO CMCH Ludhiana, August 29 Opposing the Municipal Corporation’s action against an alleged encroachment, two brothers set themselves on fire by pouring some inflammable liquid on themselves at Onkar Vihar here today. The injured persons have been identified as Beeru and Anmol. They suffered severe burn injuries and are presently undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. Their relatives blamed Municipal Corporation officials for forcing them to take such an extreme step. They alleged that the MC team had come to demolish their hut and a tea stall without issuing them any notice. Municipal Corporation offi- Following a complaint by the MC’s Assistant Town Planner, a case under Sections 307, 336, 353 and 186, IPC, has been registered against Beeru, Anmol and some of their relatives, including four sisters. The police said Beeru and Anmol had been referred to the CMCH. KIN BLAME MC OFFICIALS The hut where two brothers set themselves on fire in Onkar Vihar. cials accused Beeru and Anmol of attempting to set civic body employees on fire during an operation to demolish the ‘encroachment’ in the Onkar Vihar area near Sector 32 here. According to the relatives of the victims, they had been operating a tea stall in the area for the past three decades. A few days ago, Municipal Corporation officials asked them to vacate their shop, terming it as an unlawful occupation. A team of the Municipal Corporation’s Building Department Relatives of the victims blamed MC officials for forcing them to take such an extreme step. They alleged that the MC team had come to demolish their hut and a tea stall without issuing them any notice. today went to demolish their tea stall. In protest, both brothers poured some inflammable liquid on themselves and set themselves ablaze. Both brothers suffered severe burn injuries. They were Continued on page 2 Four land in police net for drug peddling 3.98 quintals of poppy husk, 500 grams of opium recovered from them Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 29 In two separate cases, the Khanna police have arrested four persons allegedly involved in drug peddling. The police claimed to have recovered 3.98 quintals of poppy husk and 500 grams of opium from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Yousuf Masih (45) of Mullanpur Sadiq in Fatehgarh Sahib, Gogo Devi (46) of Khatauli village in Patiala, Sukhwinder Singh, alias Laddi (30), of Sholi village in Patiala and Gurpreet Singh, alias Sodhi (33), of Kulgran in Ropar. Amneet Kondal, Senior Superintendent of Police, Khanna, said teams of the Khanna police arrested four persons and recovered 3.98 The suspects in police custody in Khanna. TRIBUNE PHOTO quintals of poppy husk and 500 grams of opium from their possession in two separate cases. A car and a truck used by them had also been recovered. Kondal said the SHO of the Maloud police station, along with his police party, was present at the Jagera main road for checking on August 27. The police team saw a car coming from the Malerkotla side towards Kupp Kalan. The police signalled the car to stop for checking. During questioning, the car occupants disclosed their names as Yousuf Masih and Gogo Devi. The police said 1.5 quintals of poppy husk were recovered from their possession. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against the suspects at the Maloud police station. A team of the Sadar Khanna police station was present under the Dheru bridge to check the movement of suspicious persons yesterday. The police party saw a truck coming from the Khanna side towards Ludhiana. They signalled the truck driver to stop the vehicle checking. During questioning, persons travelling in the truck revealed their identities as Sukhwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh. During checking, the police recovered 2.48 quintals of poppy husk and 500 grams of opium from their possession, the police said. A case under Sections 15, 18, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the suspects at Sadar Khanna police station. Shoppers throng markets ahead of Raksha Bandhan Markets wear festive look, huge crowd outside gift, sweets shops Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 29 On the eve of Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi, markets are abuzz with activity here today. Long queues are being witnessed in main markets such as Ghumar Mandi, Model Town, BRS Nagar, Chaura Bazar, Sarabha Nagar, etc., with customers thronging in good numbers to make necessary purchases. Beautiful rakhis of different styles and colours are on display in the markets to attract customers. However, residents feel that the rates of rakhis have almost doubled everywhere. “I purchased two simple rakhi threads from the Sarabha Nagar main market. The price of each thread was ~65. In Chaura Bazar, these will not cost more than ~20 each. Since I had to buy in a hurry, I found the rates too high,” said Sheetal, a resident. Different kinds of rakhis are on display at shops and the range started from ~3040 to ~1,000 and even above (silver rakhis). At the same time, huge rush was witnessed outside gift shops and sweet marts as buyers were busy making SACRED BOND A woman selects rakhis at a market in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN COLOURFUL RAKHIS ON DISPLAY Beautiful rakhis of different styles and colours are on display in the markets to attract customers. However, residents feel that the rates of rakhis have almost doubled everywhere. Different kinds of rakhis are on display at shops and the range started from ~30-40 to ~1,000 and even above (silver rakhis). purchases for rakhi. A salesman at a gift shop in Ghumar Mandi said rakhi gifts were available for the past 10 days and several residents, in order to avoid the rush, had made timely purchases of gift items. “We are busy with the packing process now as prior orders were also taken to make gift hampers. At this time, the shop witnesses a huge rush of customers, especially women and girls,” he said. Similarly, crowd was witnessed outside the bakery and sweet shops and so were traffic jams on roads. “There was a huge traffic jam outside the Rani Jhansi Road. It took approximately 20 minutes to cross the small stretch,” said a resident. Travel agent’s aide held for taking ‘bribe’ renew their passports. After the complaint, the Vigilance Bureau today arrested Sonu for allegedly accepting a bribe of ~20,000 from the complainant. A case has been registered under Section 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) police station of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in Ludhiana against Kamal Goyal and his accomplice Sonu Shah. The suspect, Kamal Goyal, is yet to be arrested. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 29 A man associated with a travel agent here has been apprehended by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) for allegedly accepting a bribe of ~20,000 from a Moga resident on Tuesday. The suspect has been identified as Sonu Shah, who is associated with travel agent Kamal Goyal. According to information, Sukhdeep Kaur Gill from Moga had filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Vigilance Bureau in Ludhiana. The complainant had alleged that Kamal Goyal, who runs his office near the Passport Sewa Kendra in Ludhiana, had demanded ~20,000 to correct names of her daughters and Civic issues aplenty in Mundian Kalan, nearby areas ASI gets 5-yr RI, fined WARD WATCH Low water pressure, damaged roads, non-functional streetlights trouble residents WARD NO 27 Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service WHAT RESIDENTS SAY the Bhamian Road from ❝Stretch onChowk to Bhamian is in a Sundar Nagar A biker commutes on a damaged portion of the main road in Mundian Kalan; and (right) a park in a dilapidated condition near government flats in Ward No. 27. PHOTOS: INDERJEET VERMA commuters, especially at night. Poor drainage leads to waterlogging on the damaged stretch during rains. The residents urged the authorities to get these issues resolved as soon as possible. A few months after being recarpeted, the Mundian Kalan’s main road developed potholes due to a lack of oversight by the civic authorities. Some residents of Mundian Kalan village alleged that the road was recarpeted only last year. It had started deteriorating at multiple locations. Additionally, they have raised concerns about contaminated water supply and low water pressure in Mundian Kalan. Durjant Singh, a resident of New Sundar Nagar on 33ft Road near Mundian Kalan, has expressed anger against the authorities concerned over disrupted or low-pressure water supply in their area. He urged the civic body to ensure consistent supply of safe drinking water for residents. He also highlighted the issue of non-functional streetlights. Dangling wires are another safety concern in New Sundar Nagar. Government flats (also known as Mundian flats), constructed for people of economically weaker sections on the 33-ft Road are also in need of attention. Garbage can be seen scattered in the Continued on page 2 c m y b dilapidated condition since long. It must be re-carpeted at the earliest. Several streetlights on this stretch are lying non-functional. Due to blocked road gullies, there was a problem of waterlogging during rainy season. The MC should take prompt action to address these issues. Rajinder Singh, A RESIDENT ON BHAMIAN ROAD ❝ ❞ The main Mundian Kalan road, which was recarpeted last year, is deteriorating. Potholes have appeared on this road. This matter should be taken up seriously. We are also grappling with problems such as contaminated water supply and insufficient water pressure. Additionally, rainwater accumulation is a major problem here. The MC should resolve these issues on a priority. Gurwinder Singh, A RESIDENT OF MUNDIAN KALAN ❞ Ludhiana, August 29 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Ajit Atri has convicted ASI Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Isharwal Adampur, Jalandhar, in a corruption case. He was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for five years. The court also imposed a fine of ~10,000 on the convict. He allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe of ~7,000 in a matrimonial dispute. Divulging details, Additional Public Prosecutor Amandeep Singh Adiwal said the Vigilance Bureau (VB), Ludhiana, registered a case against the accused on June 1, 2018. He was caught red-handed while taking the bribe money to settle a matrimonial dispute following the complaint of Sahil Sharma. The complainant had submitted that he was working as a private taxi driver. His marriage was solemnised with Bhanu Priya, a resident of Nanak Nagar, New Vegetable Market, Ludhiana, on March 30, 2012. A FILE PHOTO Legal Correspondent LUDHIANA Ludhiana, August 29 Residents of Mundian Kalan and nearby areas of Ward Number 27, situated along the Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road, have been facing several pressing problems. These mainly include low water pressure, deteriorating condition of road, sporadic instances of water contamination, rainwater accumulation and dysfunctional streetlights. A section of the Bhamian Road, connecting various areas to Sundar Nagar Chowk near Mundian Kalan, has been in a state of disrepair for years. Residents and traders have highlighted the problems being faced by commuters on the damaged sections of the road. Defunct streetlights add to the woes of ~10,000 in graft case few days after the marriage, a dispute started between the complainant and his wife. On May 31, 2018, a quarrel took place between the complainant and his wife. As a result, his wife left the house. On May 31, 2018, the complainant received a call stating that he had been called by ASI Kulwinder Singh at the Salem Tabri police station in connection with the inquiry of the application moved by his wife. After around one hour of the phone call, the complainant, along with his friends Karan and Bobby, went to the Salem Tabri police station. The complainant alone met ASI Kulwinder Singh, who threatened to lodge an FIR. After receiving ~2,500 from the complainant, the ASI allowed him to go home. The accused also directed the complainant to come to the police station again on June 1, 2018. Continued on page 2