18092023-LT-01.qxd 18-09-2023 00:57 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune ‘TAKE STRICT ACTION IN CASES OF MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE’ HADDI CLOCKS 150 MN VIEWING MINUTES IN A WEEK PRAJAKTA KOLI ENGAGED TO BEAU VRISHANK KHANAL Recruit more staff, improve infra and conduct regular inspections, say residents. P2 Revenge drama Haddi has broken records and left audiences and critics spellbound within a week. P3 Actress Prajakta Koli on Sunday morning announced that she and her beau Vrishank Khanal have got engaged.P4 » » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 27.4°C | MIN 26.6°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.29 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:12 AM MONDAY | 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 | LUDHIANA Youth booked for abducting, raping minor Road accidents claimed 249 lives in eight months black spots in the city so that commuters can drive safely but on the other side, the police have also been urging the commuters to drive responsibly on roads. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 17 A 15-year-old girl was kidnapped by a youth. The suspect also got married with the girl and had been sexually exploiting her for the past three months. The youth has been identified as Rohit Nagar (22), a resident of Prem Nagar. The complainant, the mother of the victim, who is also a resident of Prem Nagar, told the police that on June 5, her daughter went missing. Recently, she came to know that the suspect, who was their neighbour, had kidnapped her daughter and forcibly got married with her. Following which, the woman lodged a police complaint and a case of kidnapping and rape was registered against the youngster on Saturday. Investigating officer Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Atma Ram said a probe was on to trace the suspect. Ludhiana, September 17 What appears to be a serious development, road mishaps snuffed out 249 lives in the past eight months in the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana Commissionerate. Hence, on an average, one person was killed in a day. Rash driving, overspeeding, drunken driving or haphazard parking on roads, especially highways, are said to be the causes behind these accidents. As per the month-wise data of accidents obtained by The Tribune on Sunday, the Commissionerate limits consist of 28 police stations, including rural area police stations of Dehlon, Sahnewal, Koom Kalan and Meharban. “The city witnessed as many as 336 road accidents from January 1 to August 31. In the mishaps, 243 suffered fatal injuries, 62 grievous injuries, 20 minor and five suffered normal injuries. Of the injured, 249 lost their lives. Of these, most of them died on the spot,” reveals a Colours of faith Major road mishaps On an average, one person was killed in a day in eight months in city. 2023 FIGURES (TILL AUG 31) ■ Total accidents ■ Fatally injured ■ Grievously injured ■ Minorly injured ■ Total deaths 336 243 62 20 249 police report. Interestingly, in 226 of the 336 accidents, as many as 138 persons had died as two or more vehicles were involved in collisions and the police registered cases of causing death by negligence under Section 304-A the IPC and a few cases were registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC against errant drivers. While LIVES SNUFFED OUT IN PAST YEARS 2019 2020 2021 2022 357 260 377 358 in 110 accidents, which snuffed out 111 lives, the police had initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc as the mishaps occurred due to the negligence of the deceased as they might have rammed their vehicle into trees or roadside dividers, or due to any other natural cause. It is learnt that the Ludhiana police had been devising a strategy to eliminate the 77 On May 12, a six-year-old boy died while his mother Monica (41), vice-principal at a private school, suffered severe injuries after a speeding truck hit their scooter near Fortis Hospital on the Chandigarh road. On July 7, Prabhjot Singh, driver at the DPRO, Ludhiana office, was crushed by rashly driven Mahindra Bolero Pik-up vehicle in Sahnewal. Two others suffered critical injuries in the mishap. On August 31, a Toyota Fortuner rammed into a divider on the Chandigarh road, killing a businessman Surinder Dhillon, on the spot. On September 12, a speeding Mahindra Scorpio rammed into a tree, killing two persons on the spot and injuring one critically in Moti Nagar. An artisan gives finishing touches to an idol of Lord Ganesha ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi in Ludhiana.TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN 3 youths came to supply drugs caught by villagers Ludhiana, September 17 The anti-drug committee of Phullanwal village caught three youths who had come to deliver ‘chitta’ to their clients on Sunday. The residents of the village also made a video of the suspects. Later, the residents informed the police, following which the officials took them to the police station for questioning. The youths even confessed on camera that they had come to deliver ‘chitta’ to their clients. The video of the incident also went viral on social media. They admitted that they sell drugs and were also consuming the same. The residents alleged that the peddlers were supplying drugs to some addicts and the police should increase patrolling in the village. They said some of the addicts of the We achieved more benchmarks than specified, claims SMO Sidhu PATIENT’S DEATH Says Civil Hospital emergency catered to 150 patients every Sunday in August Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 17 Dr Mandeep Sidhu, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) incharge of the Civil Hospital, here, has claimed that doctors working at the hospital had achieved more benchmarks than specified by the Health Department. In her additional report submitted to the high-level inquiry committee, she stated that the Emergency Department of the hospital had catered to an average of 150 patients on every Sunday in STAFF POSITION POST SANCTIONED EMO 17 Staff nurse 49 Class IV 103 (SOURCE: SMO REPORT) August when an unidentified patient had died after falling off the stretcher at the hospital. The SMO was found lacking in control and supervision over staff and management during the inquiry into the death of the unidentified patient at the hospital on August 27, which was conducted by a panel, headed by Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik as its chairperson and comprising Additional Deputy Commissioner Gautam Jain, SDM (East) Gursimran Singh Dhillon and Civil Surgeon Hatinder Kaur as members. The inquiry, ordered by Chief Secretary Anurag Verma while taking cognisance Man gets life term in murder case Legal Correspondent Ludhiana September 17 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Harbans Singh Lekhi has sentenced Hardeep Singh, a resident of Kalsian village in Raikot, to rigorous life imprisonment in a murder case. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also imposed. Other three co-accused were acquitted by the court. According to prosecution, a case was registered on April 30, 2017, at the Sadar Raikot police station on the complaint of Gurmeet Kaur, a resident of Kalsian village, daughter of the victim. The complainant had told the police that on April 29, 2017, her father Shingara Singh had gone to the field to plow the field with a tractor. “At 9:48 pm I got a call from my father Singara Singh that Hardeep Singh was calling someone on phone,” she said. She told his father to stop work at fields and came back home. Then she, along with her sister Jaspreet Kaur, went AVAILABLE 3 EMOs, 11 specialists, 4 MOs 45 regular, 2 under NHM, 19 (honorarium basis) 14 regular, 38 sweepers, 14 outsourced to their fields. When they reached outside the village. They saw Hardeep, Jugraj Singh both brothers, along with their father Sukhdev Singh and mother Harbans Kaur had encircled the tractor of their father. “Harbans Kaur had tightly held the arms of their father. Hardeep had a 12 bore rifle. When the suspects saw us, Hardeep fired at her father with rifle on the head,” she said. Then Sukhdev took the rifle and fired at him below his dad’s left ear. Then Jugraj fired at her dad. She saw that her father was bleeding profusely from her neck and left arm. Her father died on the spot. Hearing the noise and fire, people of the village started gathering at the scene. Later, the suspects fled the spot. The police registered a case and arrested the suspects. After hearing the arguments of both parties and going through the evidence, the court had found only Hardeep Singh guilty and acquitted other three suspects. c m y b of the matter on August 29, had already reported additional/ supervisory lapses on the part of five other doctors and lack of better management/ vigilance on the part of another doctor on duty at the hospital on the fateful day. “All specialists have achieved more benchmarks than specified by the department. In August, an average of 150 patients had visited the Emergency Department on every Sunday for treatment,” she submitted while stating that during the Covid-19 pandemic when the Civil Hospital was converted into a 200bed hospital, including 16-bed ICU unit, over 4,000 patients were treated with dedication by medical and paramedical staff. Highlighting the acute staff shortage, the SMO reported that the Civil Hospital had been upgraded to 300-bed from 100bed but most of the staff strength had not been increased as per the Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) guidelines. “The hospital has shortage of staff even against the sanctioned posts,” she said. Dr Sidhu submitted that only 13 regular Class IV employees had been posted against the sanctioned 51 posts while only two safai sewaks had been posted against the sanctioned 52 posts at the Civil Hospital, following which the cleanliness work at the hospital had been outsourced to a private agency. continued on page 2 village were sent to a de-addiction centre for treatment and residents were also contributing money for their treatment. The committee was ready to help the police in eliminating the menace from the village. Sources said the police also rounded up some more suspects after the questioning of the suspects. The police were yet to register a case against them. — TNS Body of boy drowned in canal found Ludhiana, September 17 The body of a boy who had drowned in a canal near Pakhowal Road was recovered yesterday near the Badewal grid. On Thursday, Rishabh, a Class X student, had drowned in the canal when he jumped into it to take bath. He had gone with friends without informing his family. After the incident, the deceased’s kin faced inconvenience as they had to visit different police stations due to some jurisdictional issue. Later, the Police Division 5 had confirmed that the area falls in their jurisdiction. — TNS