28102023-LT-01.qxd 10/28/2023 12:32 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune TRADITIONAL DANCES, SUBLIME ACTS BIG DRAW DEOL BROTHERS TO APPEAR ON NEXT EPISODE OF KWK 8 ? PRIYANKA IN MUMBAI TO ATTEND JIO MAMI FILM FEST Day 1 of Saras Mela being organised at PAU witnesses participants from 23 states. P2 The first episode of show premiered on Thursday which featured Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. P3 Top films from around the world will be screened at the 10-day event, which began from October 27. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 30°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:39 AM » SATURDAY | 28 OCTOBER 2023 | LUDHIANA Police forfeit ~25-cr assets of 35 drug lords VB nabs 2 for accepting bribe on cop’s behalf Intensify offensive against drugs, 830 arrested with 1.3-tonne contraband Ludhiana, October 27 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested two private individuals, namely Vishal Kumar and Jatinder Kumar from Ludhiana, for taking bribe in some police case. A spokesperson of the VB said that Rajiv Kumar, alias Ravi, of New Subhash Nagar, had lodged an online complaint on the CM Anti-Corruption Action Line in which he alleged that the above mentioned individuals had already taken Rs 4 lakh to clear his name from a murder case registered in 2020 in city against Manoj, complainant and others. Subsequently, Vishal Kumar met the complainant claiming to be associated with Jatinder Kumar, the owner of branded Bana Garment Store in Subhash Nagar, Ludhiana. Vishal Kumar assured the complainant that he had connections with an ADCP (Additional Commissioner of Police) in Ludhiana who could ensure his innocence by conducting a police inquiry into the murder case. continued on page 2 Nitin Jain TELLING NUMBERS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 27 In a record of sorts, the Ludhiana Commissionerate Police have forfeited the properties worth a whooping Rs 25 crore illegally acquired by 35 drug lords. This is the highest property forfeiture by any Commissionerate or district police in the state, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mandeep Singh Sidhu has claimed. Acting tough, the cops have arrested 830 drug smugglers with 1.3-tonne of contraband in 622 cases registered under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Besides, over 60,000 intoxicant pills and capsules were also recovered. The recent disclosure by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) holds credence as the cases registered under various provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, accused arrested and the recoveries of contraband and intoxicant substances have NDPS CASES ARRESTS 622 830 SEIZURE 1.3-tonne contraband, 60359 pills, capsules SEIZED DRUGS QUANTITY Poppy husk 910.110 Ganja 258.05 Opium 70.613 Heroin 22.015 Hashish 2.003 Charas 1.225 CP Mandeep Sidhu honouring players on the concluding day of 2.502 Promise Cup at Dhule village in Ludhiana on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Powder Cocaine 0.025 POPPY HUSK MOST FAVOURITE ICE 0.213 The analysis of recovery and disposal of drugs showed that poppy husk LSD/ MDMA 0.007 remained the most favourite contraband in Ludhiana. The seizure of Total 1,266.763 910-kg poppy husk was the maximum among all types of recovered (Source: Commissionerate Police, figures in kg, contrabands during the past seven months. data between Nov 15, 2022-Oct 26, 2023) also increased manifold in the state’s industrial and business capital. Sharing details, the CP told The Tribune, here on Friday that the Commissionerate Police had been waging a war on drugs and all-out efforts were being made to catch the smugglers and peddlers involved in the illegal trade, recover the contraband and in turn prevent the narcoticsrelated offences. He said a sustained campaign had also been launched against gangsters, history sheeters, notorious elements, liquor smugglers, and proclaimed offenders, who were evading the law for a long time. Sidhu, who had joined as Ludhiana Police Chief in November last, disclosed that tightening the noose around the drug smugglers, the Commissionerate Police have also forfeited the illegally acquired properties worth Rs 25-crore by 35 drug lords under the provisions of Chapter 5-A of the NDPS Act. “While the forfeited properties worth Rs 1.89-crore acquired by 4 drug lords have already been attached, the rest 31 cases worth Rs 23crore have been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs and are in the process of attachment,” he revealed. The Ludhiana top cop divulged that the anti-drugs drive had led to the arrests of 830 smugglers in 622 cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act from whom 1.3-tonne contraband and over 60,000 intoxicant pills and capsules were seized. While the maximum seizure was of 910.11-kg poppy husk, 213-gram ICE, popularly known as costly party drug, and 7-gram lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) were also among the major recoveries. Among other varieties of drugs confiscated included 258-kg ganja, 71-kg opium, 22kg heroin, 4-kg each of hashish and intoxicant powder, continued on page 2 Cricket tourney ends, cyclothon on Nov 16 Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 27 The Ludhiana Commissionerate gained massive appreciation for organising a threeday cricket tournament ‘Promise Cricket Cup’ at Dhuley village which concluded on Friday. The motive of the tournament was to engage youth of rural areas into sports activities and spread a message of drug awareness. Even DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav also congratulated the Ludhiana police for its efforts in organising such a big event in rural belt. Now after the cricket tournament, top cop Sidhu has decided to extend its campaign against drugs by organising the country’s biggest cycle rally in which youngsters, youth, police officials, students, bureaucrats, doctors, common people from different spheres would take part in the event. Talking to The Tribune here on Friday, CP Sidhu said the Ludhiana police would organise a 13-km mega cyclothon ‘Wheels of Hope’ & Ludhiana against drugs. The country’s biggest cycle rally will be organised on November 16, the anniversary of great revolutionary Sardar Kartar Singh Sarabha, the youngest Indian Freedom Fighter, who laid down his life at the age of 19 for the nation. CP Sidhu said the cycle rally will not be the end of police campaign against drugs, the Commissionerate has already planned back-toback campaigns to eliminate the menace of drugs completely. Police slogan ‘Nasheri kise nu kehan ni dena, nasha Punjab ch rehan ni dena (no one will be called drug addict in Punjab, drug will be completely eliminated in the state) is going viral. CP Sidhu says that rally will start from PAU Ludhiana and after covering 13-km, it will be culminated at the same point. Participants will get Tshirts, refreshment and certificates. Everyone should immediately register for their participation in the country’s biggest event. Car robbery solved in 12 hours, 4 nabbed No other option: Farmers justify stubble burning Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 27 The district police today claimed to have solved the car robbery case within 12 hours of the incident and arrested four persons in this connection. The police also recovered the looted car from the suspects. The arrested suspects have been identified as Ajay Kumar (31) of Mohali, Jagtar Singh (37) of Shimlapuri, Manjit Singh (35) of Shimlapuri and Simranjit Singh also from Shimlapuri. The police recovered the looted car, one motorcycle, .315 bore country-made pistol with two live cartridges, a toy pistol, sharp weapons and 16 mobile phones from the suspects. One of the suspects Chanpreet Singh, alias Bhatra, is still at large. Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu while addressing a press conference stated that SHO Shimlapuri Inspector Davinder Singh had yesterday received a secret information that the above said suspects were planning to commit a major robbery in Dugri area and they would use a looted car in the crime. The police party conducted a raid and nabbed the four suspects. CP Sidhu credited his team, including DCP Jaskiranjit Singh Teja, ADCP Suhail Qassim Mir, ACP Sandeep Wadhera, SHO Davinder Singh for cracking the case in minimum possible time and also the arrest of suspects has prevented another major robbery in the city. Notably on Wednesday, three armed assailants targeted a 22-year-old youth on the Dugri overbridge, robbing him of his car, mobile phone and wristwatch at gunpoint. They also assaulted the man with a rod before making their escape with the looted items and the vehicle. ~5 lakh robbery case cracked with arrest of 3 The district police today claimed to have cracked the Rs 5 lakh robbery case and arrested three persons in this connection. The police claimed that the looted amount was only Rs 2 lakh and the complainant seemed to have exaggerated the amount for reasons best known to him. The arrested accused have been identified as Mandeep Singh (36) of Deep Singh Nagar, Harwinder Singh, alias Gopi, of New Shimlapuri and Sunny Kumar, alias Laddu, of GGS Nagar. The police recovered a Tata Safari, Maruti Ritz, Rs 10,000, a burnt mobile phone and one laptop from the accused. Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu, while addressing a press conference, said that on October 21 when Sourav Aggarwal parked his Fortuner outside house in Kitchlu Nagar, two robbers cornered and attacked him with some heavy wooden sticks. They took away two bags from the continued on page 2 Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 27 It’s not that farmers are not aware of the harmful effects of stubble burning, the primary reason for burning stubble according to them is the lack of better options. The majority of them cite short window period between paddy and wheat, high cost of crop residue machines, technical issues in working of these machines, delaying of wheat sowing leading to less yield as major reasons which push them towards burning the stubble. Ludhiana district has witnessed 165 farm fires till now and the air quality index in Ludhiana at 7 pm today was 150. The Tribune team today Smoke billows out from a field in Ludhiana. PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN witnessed incidents of stubble burning around Jagraon and Pakhowal in Ludhiana district and also talked to the farmers about the reasons for adopting this method. Covering his face with cloth and water dripping from his eyes, a farmer from village Pamal near Laloton Kalan was busy burning stubble in his farm. “I do not have resources to buy costly machines and we have no other option but to burn the stubble,” he said before walking away into thick smog. At Agwar Rahlan village in Jagraon, another field was on fire. Migrant labour was hurriedly seen putting the stubble to fire. Gagandeep, a landlord, said his pocket does not allow him to buy costly machines. “I am ready for the ex-situ method and want the stubble to be lifted from my field but not even a single baler machine is available nearby for the same. I have only two acres of land and I cannot think about spending lakhs on crop residue management machine,” he said. Elaborating further he said, “Machines like happy seeder need tractor of at least 50 horsepower and since I have small land, my tractor is small.” Further asked about taking machine on rent another continued on page 2 Cable mess, pothole-riddled roads threaten lives of residents, authorities turn blind eye Dilapidated condition of bridge over Buddha Nullah major concern Women of Basti Jodhewal complain of contaminated water supply Ward Watch - Ward 86 WARD NO 86 WARD WATCH WARD NO 85 LUDHIANA LUDHIANA Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, October 27 In the narrow streets of Gandhi Nagar and Fatehgarh Mohalla markets, renowned for their hosiery products within Ward 85 (old), there exists a looming hazard in the form of dangling wires. But, the relevant authorities have chosen to turn a blind eye to this issue. Even the shopkeepers have lodged numerous complaints about the messy cables, but no substantial efforts have been put forth to rectify the problem. Adding to the predicament, temporary encroachments in front of shops and a lack of sufficient parking spaces result in regular traffic jams Cobweb of cables at the entrance to Gandhi Nagar market in Ward No. 85. INDERJEET VERMA in these markets, situated near Chand Cinema. Additionally, questions are raised against the Municipal Corporation for ignoring unauthorised constructions. Another significant concern revolves around the deteriorated state of a century-old bridge over Buddha Nullah. This unsafe declared bridge had been closed for cars and heavy vehicles in the past, but the Municipal Corporation has failed to initiate its reconstruction up to this date. In Surinder Nagar, the occurrence of waterlogging during rainy days plagues certain sections of the area. Instances of blocked sewer lines and road drains are a common sight. A resident named Vinod Kumar stressed the urgency of enhancing the sewerage system and ensuring the timely cleaning of road gullies. He further voiced his concerns about broken and dangling wires that pose a significant threat in his street. He urged the relevant authorities to address these issues promptly. In addition to these concerns, there are several roads riddled with potholes in the ward. The residents are calling for the timely repair or resurfacing of these roads. In Basant Nagar, some residents have also expressed distress over rainwater logging near their residences during the monsoon. A resident said, “At times, we receive contaminated water supply. Clogged sewers are a recurring problem, and on several occasions, water from Buddha Nullah has surged back through sewer lines, resulting in water accumulation in the streets during rainy days.” c m y b Ludhiana, October 27 Apart from the significant problem of traffic jams at Basti Jodhewal Chowk on NH-44, numerous other issues require immediate attention in different parts of Ward No. 86 (old). In Balmiki Nagar, residents have raised concerns about major problems, such as contaminated water supply and waterlogging during rainy days. Additionally, a cluster of low-lying electricity wires passing in front of houses poses a serious risk to residents. Usha, a Balmiki Nagar resident, shared concerns about frequent instances of receiving contaminated water supply. Sewer lines become clogged shortly after cleaning, and there have been no A man traverses beneath dangling wires at Balmiki Nagar in Ward No. 86. INDERJEET VERMA measures taken to address the waterlogging issue. These issues should be given top priority for resolution. Another resident has drawn attention to the issue of lowhanging electricity wires in the vicinity of houses. Certain parts of the ward are plagued by potholed roads as the municipal body has yet to undertake repair work. The main road that divides Sardar Nagar and Balmiki Nagar is in a deteriorated state. Residents in Bal Singh Nagar have urged that issues such as traffic congestion on the main roads and clogged sewers should be addressed on an urgent basis. They have also called for an increase in greenery in the area. In Basti Jodhewal, some women have pointed out occasional instances of receiving contaminated water supply. They have emphasised the need to repair a few streets in their locality where waterlogging occurs during rainy days. Additionally, they have requested proper cleanliness and fogging to control mosquito infestations in the area. Residents wanted the National Highway Authority of India and the Municipal Corporation should address the traffic-related issues at Basti Jodhewal Chowk seriously. “We encounter severe traffic congestion at this intersection regularly, but no substantial initiatives have been taken to address this issue,” said Rajwinder Singh, a commuter. In 2018, Ashwani Kumar of Congress won the election from Ward 86. — TNS