07092023-LT-01.qxd 9/7/2023 12:06 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune BASKETBALL COURTS AT STADIUM FAR FROM READY DALLAS ACTRESS GAYLE HUNNICUTT DIES AT 80 Gayle Hunnicutt, best remembered for her roles in Marlowe and the series Dallas, passed away in London. P4 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 36°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C SINGER JOE JONAS, ACTRESS SOPHIE FILE FOR DIVORCE The Municipal Corporation has ‘failed’ to complete the construction of courts at the Guru Nanak Stadium. P2 FORECAST After four years of marriage, singer Joe Jonas and actress Sophie Turner have filed for divorce. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6:38 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:03 AM » THURSDAY | 7 SEPTEMBER 2023 | LUDHIANA Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 6 The Machhiwara police yesterday registered a case of fraud against a woman travel agent for duping a resident on the pretext of sending him abroad. The woman also issued a fake air ticket of Canada to the complainant. The suspect has been identified as Satwinder Kaur Aujla, a resident of Machhiwara Sahib. Complainant Rajpal Singh of Machhiwara told the police that he, along with his relative, went to the house of the travel agent in November 2022. She promised to send him to Canada on work permit visa and demanded ~10 lakh for the same. “I gave her ~80,000 in advance along with my passport. On January 28 this year, I again went to her house where she asked me to pay a sum of ~40,000 more as my biometric was scheduled on February 6. One of my relatives transferred the amount to her bank account,” the complainant alleged. On February 6, when he asked for an appointment for biometric, the suspect said it was already taken by the Embassy from the Aadhaar card data. On February 13, the woman gave him an air ticket of Canada. She asked him to board a flight for Vancouver from Delhi airport on March 13 and took an amount of ~25,000 from him, the complainant said. “When I checked my passport, I found no visa stamp on it. I was shocked to know that even the air ticket was also fake. When I contacted the travel agent, she said she will return the entire money. She gave me two cheques, which bounced,” the complainant said. The police have initiated further investigations into the case. Work allotted to construct 4 Supervisor caught taking ~6K bribe bridges over Sidhwan canal Tribune News Service ~19-crore NHAI project to end traffic logjam in busy south city area Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 6 Finally, work has been allotted to construct four bridges over Sidhwan canal on the Laddowal bypass in Ludhiana, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said. This will help decongest massive traffic congestion in the busy south city area, which is becoming a hotspot for the food, recreation and tourism industry. The development assumes significance as the project was awaiting nod for the past some time and the Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, had recently impressed upon NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to accord green signal to the project. Sharing details, Arora, who reviewed the progress of NHAI projects with the Deputy Commissioner, Surabhi Malik, and NHAI officials concerned here recently, told The Tribune, here on Wednesday that following the in-principle approval received from the NHAI headquarters in March, the local office has allotted the work to construct four bridges over Sidhwan canal at an estimated cost of ~19 crore. He disclosed that nine bids had been received, which were examined and the most eligible one was awarded the project. He said a feasibility and alignment survey was conducted to prepare the detailed project report on the basis of which tenders were floated to award the work. According to the award of work, the bridges will be TRIBUNE PHOTO Woman travel agent booked on fraud charge The project was awaiting nod for the past some time and the Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, had recently impressed upon NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to accord green signal to it. PROJECT REPORT Total cost: ~19 crore Bridges: Four Location: 300-m away from Raceway and Barewal bridges on Sidhwan Canal Deadline: December 31, 2023 constructed 300 metre away from the F2 Raceway bridge (both on its right and left sides) and 300 metre away from Barewal bridge (both on its right and left sides). “The bridges will help decongest the south city area, which sees heavy traffic flow,” the Rajya Sabha MP said, adding that the project would also help in improving road safety and convenience of the commuters on the national highways covered under the project. Arora said the NHAI Chairman had kept his words of giving approval to the construction of four bridges over WILL IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY the city ❝The bridges will help decongestflow.southproject area, which witnesses heavy traffic The will also help in improving road safety and convenience of commuters on the national highways covered under the project. Sanjeev Arora, RAJYA SABHA MP FROM LUDHIANA ❞ Sidhwan canal, which he had demanded during his recent meeting with him. “I had apprised the NHAI Chairman that construction of four bridges across Sidhwan canal towards south city in Ludhiana was yet to see the day of light for which application was pending with the NHAI since long,” Arora said, while thanking Yadav for approving the project. Arora had informed the NHAI Chairman that traffic situation in Ludhiana, being one of biggest industrial cities in the country with over 5 million population, was getting chaotic due to the pending projects. He had request- NRI brother-sister duo lose Landlord booked on charges ~57.60 lakh to cyber crooks of raping, threatening tenant Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 6 The Sadar police have registered a case of fraud, criminal conspiracy and under the IT Act against two women and some unidentified persons for fraudulently withdrawing ~57.60 lakh from bank accounts of an NRI brother-sister duo. The suspects have been identified as Suneha Gupta of Threeke, Kiran Devi of Faridabad and some unidentified persons. The case was registered on the complaint of Puneet Sahni, branch manager, HDFC Bank, Pakhowal road, Ludhiana. Puneet Sahni said when the bank noticed that there were large online transactions and withdrawal from both accounts of NRIs Ramandeep Singh Grewal and his sister Harpreet Kaur, they immediately contacted them. The NRIs confirmed that they did not make any transactions from their accounts. Sahni said during investigation, it came to fore that the suspects cloned ATM cards of the account holders. They used the cloned ATM cards for online shopping and cash withdrawal to the tune of ~57.60 lakh. Investigation officer Inspector Gurpreet Singh said the suspects would be arrested soon. Ludhiana, September 6 A landlord allegedly raped his tenant by barging into her accommodation at Netaji Park in Haibowal here. The suspect also threatened the woman with dire consequences if she informed the police about the incident or lodged any complaint. The woman filed a complaint against the suspect at the Haibowal police station. The police registered a case against the suspect on the charges of rape and criminal intimidation yesterday. In her complaint, the victim said she had to pay a monthly rent of ~3,200. On September 4, the suspect came to her accommodation to collect rent. He forcibly dragged her in the room and raped her. The woman revealed that her first husband died in 2020. She solemnised second marriage with Rohit. Yesterday, Rohit was away for work when the suspect sexually abused her and fled the spot. She informed her husband after the incident. The Haibowal police said raids were being conducted to nab the suspect. SSP marks probe in fake verification case Victim’s nomination papers rejected in Panchayat polls due to false info Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 6 In a case related to the fake verification of an elderly person from Rasulra village, Khanna Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Swati, after conducting an inquiry, has written a letter to the SSP (a copy of which is with the Tribune) for taking immediate legal action. The verification was reportedly done by the village’s nambardar, panchayat members, former sarpanch and Block Samiti members. Following this, complainant Jasvir Singh, along with social worker Gurdeep Singh Kaali, met Khanna SSP Amneet Kondal, who marked a probe to the SP (Investigations). Social worker Gurdeep Singh Kaali stated that during the panchayat elections in 2018 at Rasulra village, nomination papers of Jasvir Singh, who was contesting as a candidate, were reject- ed on false grounds. For the past four and a half years, he had been struggling with government offices to seek action against those involved in fake verification of his grandfather. Victim Jasvir Singh’s son Swaran Singh, grandson Ajmer Singh and great grandson Inder Singh said they expect justice to prevail as investigations had revealed wrongdoing in the case. “The accused verified my grandfather Ajmer Singh as son of Gulli, but in reality, my grandfather’s identity was Ajmer Singh, son of Inder Singh. Not only the SDM but also the report of the Tehsildar (a copy of which is also with the Tribune) decided the inquiry in our favour,” asserted Jasvir. The Khanna SDM, in a letter to the SSP clearly men, tioned that the accused were found guilty in the report and should face action under relevant sections of the IPC. c m y b ed him to direct the officials concerned to speed up the pending projects in and around Ludhiana. While appreciating the work being done, he had drawn the NHAI Chairman’s attention towards the matters, which needed immediate intervention. He had told Yadav that the traffic situation within the MC limits of Ludhiana was in a bad shape on account of ongoing NHAI projects passing through the city causing traffic snarls and was a nightmare for commuters. “Frequent and long traffic jams are making citizens lose their temper as it takes long Continued on page 2 Ludhiana, September 6 The Vigilance Bureau (VB), Ludhiana, today arrested Supervisor Darshan Lal, posted at the Zone-D, Municipal Corporation, here, while accepting a bribe of ~6,000 for releasing salary of a safai sevak. A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said complainant Arun Kumar, who has been working as a safai sevak at the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, on a temporary basis since 2014 and was regularised in November 2022, lodged a complaint with the VB, Ludhiana Range office, alleging that supervisor Darshan Lal was taking ~1,000 per month from all safai sevaks by threatening them to mark them absent. The complainant stated that after regularisation, he received a pay of six months and the suspect was demanding ~6,000 (~1000 per month) from him for releasing the The suspect in custody of the Vigilance Bureau. TRIBUNE PHOTO NABBED RED-HANDED Police teams from the Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, laid a trap and arrested supervisor Darshan Lal red-handed while taking a bribe of ~6,000 from the complainant in the presence of officers from the Haibowal area. salary. Otherwise, he would harass him in future by marking him absent. The spokesperson said as per his statement, a case was registered against the suspect under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at VB Range police station, FILE PHOTO Ludhiana. The spokesperson said police teams from the Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, laid a trap and arrested supervisor Darshan Lal red-handed while taking a bribe of ~6,000 from the complainant in the presence of officers from the Haibowal area. Lights of faith Govind Godham all decked up for Janmashtami on the Hambran road in Ludhiana on Wednesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Ishar Nagar areas in state of complete neglect Potholed streets, dumping of garbage in plots, absence of traffic lights irk people WARD WATCH WARD NO 34 LUDHIANA A damaged stretch in Block D of Ishar Nagar. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA WHAT RESIDENTS SAY Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 6 Several parts of Ishar Nagar, particularly along Gill Road and the Southern Bypass, within Ward No. 34 (as per the 2018 ward delimitation) have remained in a state of neglect for an extended period. Residents of the affected areas raised concern over damaged streets, unchecked dumping of garbage in vacant plots, rainwater accumulation, absence of traffic signals at the Ishar Nagar intersection on the Southern Bypass Road, non-functional streetlights and contaminated water supply. However, the authorities concerned have failed to address these issues. In the heart of Ishar Nagar, main Sua Road and several internal roads have deteriorated significantly, with numerous potholes. Naresh, a resident of Ishar ❝ A few days ago, drinking water was full of worms and had foul smell. People dump garbage in vacant plots and along streets. No sweeper comes to clean streets. Several streetlights are lying defunct. These issues should be addressed on a priority. — Charanjit Kaur, BLOCK D, ISHAR NAGAR ❞ ❝ A vacant site is turning into a huge garbage dump near our house. Damaged streets have not been repaired since long. The MC also failed to ensure regular cleaning of streets and garbage lifting service was not good. Whenever it rains, there is a problem of waterlogging. — Jaspal Singh, BLOCK C, ISHAR NAGAR ❞ Nagar, said due to the lack of proper solid waste management, vacant sites were being transformed into dumping grounds. He alleged that sweepers and waste collectors do not perform their duties consistently. He also highlighted the poor condition of various roads and internal streets. Naresh emphasised the perilous situation at the Ishar Nagar intersection on the Southern Bypass Road along Sidhwan Canal, where several accidents have taken place, resulting in some fatalities. “Neither streetlights nor traffic signals have been installed at this critical intersection on the Southern Bypass Road. We demand that the authorities concerned pay heed of our demands and initiate prompt resolutions,” he said. Kuldeep Singh, another resident, said their area had been consistently neglected over the years. In addition to deteriorated roads, residents face the problem of water contamination. He highlighted that several parts of the ward were divided by highways, which is a result of improper past delimitation processes. Even as per the recent draft delimitation, their area was slated to be merged with sections located on the other side of Sidhwan Canal, he said. Meanwhile, a public toilet near Merado Colony had been in poor condition since long. Despite substantial expenditure on its construction, the public toilet remains in a state of neglect. While the MC authorities had earlier claimed that the toilet was closed for repairs and would be reopened to the public soon, no action had been taken in this regard, he said. Residents in different areas of the ward alleged that the MC does not conduct timely fogging to check breeding of mosquitoes. Continued on page 2