01022024-LT-01.qxd 2/1/2024 1:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MISSING RAILINGS ALONG SIDHWAN CANAL POSE THREAT NIKKHIL ADVANI STARTS FILMING HIS NEW SHOW Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani is currently working on a new series titled Freedom At Midnight (FAM). P3 GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 16°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 19.5°C | MIN 11.6°C NIA LONG TO PLAY MICHAEL JACKSON’S MOM IN HIS BIOPIC In absence of iron railings, speeding vehicles could easily skid towards and into the Sidhwan Canal. P2 FORECAST Actress Nia Long has been roped in to essay a crucial role in late pop singer Michael Jackson’s biopic. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.01 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:18 AM » THURSDAY | 1 FEBRUARY 2024 | LUDHIANA Man gets 20-yr RI for violating minor girl Legal Correspondent Ludhiana, January 31 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Amar Jeet Singh has convicted Amerika Kumar Chauhan, a resident of Chandan Da Vehra, Kanganwal village, here, under the POCSO Act on the charges of sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl. He was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for 20 years. The accused was also ordered to pay Rs 1,00,000 as fine for Accused was also ordered to pay ~1 lakh as fine for indulgence in such a heinous crime indulgence in such a heinous crime. Of the recovered fine amount, Rs 1,00,000 would be paid as compensation to the victim. Pronouncing the verdict, the court held that the prosecution has successfully proved the charges against the accused. The court declined the plea of leniency raised by him. Additional public prosecutor BD Gupta apprised that a case against the accused was registered on April 15, 2022, at the Sahnewal police station following the statement of the father of the girl. The complainant had stated to the police that on April 14, 2022, his children were sleeping in their room. Whereas, the complainant and his wife were sleeping upstairs. Around 2 am, they heard the shrieks of their daughter and when they reached downstairs, they saw the accused running outside from their children room. “When we went inside the room, our daughter was crying badly and she stated that the accused had sexually exploited her. The matter was reported to the police and the accused was arrested by the police later,” he said. However, during the trial, the accused pleaded innocence but convinced with prosecution evidence, the court found him guilty. Woman found murdered on Ladhowal bypass road Victim’s face ‘burnt’, possibly to hide identity Tribune News Service EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DECEASED ON Ludhiana, January 31 A lifeless body, appearing to be that of a woman around 25 years old, wrapped in a bed sheet, was found under mysterious circumstances near Bagga Kalan village on Ladhowal Bypass road on Wednesday morning. After noticing the body, bystanders informed the police. Preliminary investigation suggests that the woman was murdered and her body was subsequently dumped at the location. It appears that her face was burnt, possibly to hide her identity. Efforts by the police to identify the deceased proved unsuccessful by the evening, Police sources said following the recovery of the woman’s body, police officials made public announcements in the vicinity of the crime scene to help identify the deceased. CCTV footage from nearby areas are also being checked. and they suspect that the victim might had been murdered elsewhere and her body was discarded at the site. Station House Officer (SHO) at the Ladhowal police station Lovedeep Singh said the body was found at the roadside, prompting the police to launch an investigation to ascertain the woman’s identity. The circumstances surrounding the incident indicate foul play and the actual cause of death would be determined after the autopsy. Police sources said it appears that the woman’s face was deliberately burnt using some chemical. Following the recovery of the body, the police made public announcements in the vicinity to help identify the deceased. CCTV footage from nearby areas was also being checked. The body had been kept in the mortuary till the completion of the investigation. After city bus firm lost case in arbitration, opposition leaders raise questions Company, Municipal Corporation to challenge arbitration order in court Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 31 Following the arbitration ruling in favour of the private firm operating the city buses, opposition leaders are raising questions about the role of the officials concerned and ruling government leaders for allegedly not preparing a strong case and deliberately causing a loss to the public exchequer. Notably, the arbitration has directed Ludhiana City Bus Service Limited (LCBSL) to pay approximately Rs 5 crore for its failure to approve fare revision to the firm. On the other hand, LCBSL and Municipal Corporation (MC) officials are now planning to challenge the order. On Wednesday, former Congress councillor Mamta Ashu raised questions about the alleged involvement of an AAP MLA, accusing him of favouring the private firm operating the city buses. She posted on a social media account that Ludhiana City Bus Service Limited had lost the case in arbitration and now, has to pay Rs 5 crore to LCBSL TOLD TO PAY ~5 CRORE Notably, the arbitration has directed Ludhiana City Bus Service Limited to pay approximately Rs 5 crore for its failure to approve fare revision to the the private firm operating the city buses. the private company. Former BJP councillor Inder Aggarwal said earlier, the Congress used to support the private firm (city bus operator), and then AAP supported the firm instead of improving the city bus services. Now, the LCBSL has lost the case in arbitration. He demanded that officials responsible for fixing conditions in favour of the pri- vate firm in the agreement with the LCBSL nine years ago should be held accountable. Aggarwal said he had raised questions about the agreement conditions at that time. Meanwhile, MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said they would challenge the arbitration decision. He mentioned that the arbitration accepted the claim of the contractor who had not paid VB arrests PHG jawan for accepting ~10,000 bribe A biker commutes amid dense fog in Ludhiana on Wednesday morning. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Rain lashes city, AQI moderate Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 31 Following rainfall measuring 4 mm in the wee hours, sun shone bright on Wednesday, providing some relief to residents from the cold weather conditions and a rise in temperature was recorded. The minimum temperature was recorded at 11.6°C and the maximum was 19.5°C on Wednesday. There is a forecast indicating chances of a thunderstorm. According to the weather report released by the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the weather is expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of thunderstorms/hail over Ludhi- ana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours. At 11 am, the AQI was recorded at 177 (moderate), and it dropped to 140 (moderate) at 8 pm on Wednesday. An AQI between 101200 is classified as moderate, and its potential health impacts include breathing discomfort for individuals with lung, asthma and heart diseases. Ludhiana, January 31 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday, arrested Punjab Home Guard (PHG) volunteer Harjinder Singh, posted at the Police Post, Lalton Kalan village, Ludhiana district, for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. An official spokesperson for the state VB said the case had been registered against the suspect on the basis of an online complaint lodged by Mandeep Kaur of Bhai Bala Colony, Pakhowal Road on the Chief Minister Anti-Corruption Action Line. He said the complainant had alleged in her complaint that PHG Harjinder Singh and ASI Ravinder Kumar, both posted at the Police Post, Lalton Kalan, Ludhiana, had been demanding bribe of Rs 30,000 to get The suspects in custody of VB sleuths. TRIBUNE PHOTO favour in a police case registered against her brothers. She alleged that on behalf of the ASI, the PHG had already obtained a bribe of Rs 10,000 from her for the purpose. The complainant had also made a recording of demands raised by the PHG and submitted to the VB as evidence. The VB range, Ludhiana, has probed the complaint and found the allegations made by the complainant as true. On the basis of the report, a case has been registered against the PHG, and he had also been arrested. He would be produced in the competent court tomorrow. He said role of ASI Ravinder Kumar and other police officials would also be examined. — TNS pending dues to the LCBSL. Now, the arbitration’s order would be challenged in the court of a sessions judge. He clarified that the private firm had not returned the buses as the agreement had expired after nine years. A legal advice would be sought for further action, he added. It is important to note that when the LCBSL signed the agreement with the private firm in 2015, many questions were raised about agreement conditions but the then MC officials allegedly did not take the matter seriously. Even around five years ago, the forensic audit report (prepared by auditing firm Grant Thornton) raised questions about the working of the LCBSL and the Municipal Corporation. The audit revealed outstanding payments and balance bank guarantees that were to be recovered from the private firm with whom the agreement was signed in 2015. Of the 120 buses purchased under the JNNURM, around 37 are badly damaged and stationed at a site on Tajpur Road, here. Man held for bid to rape 4-yr-old Ludhiana, January 31 A man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a four-year-old girl in the Vijay Nagar area of the city. The victim’s 28-year-old mother said the suspect had lured her four-year-old and three-year-old daughters to his room with the promise of giving them toffees and then closed the door from inside. She alleged that the suspect sexually assaulted her elder daughter, who was crying. On hearing her cries, she went to the place and brought the children out of the room with the support of local residents after breaking open the door. The man was apprehended by people and then handed over to the police. A case under the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered on Tuesday. — TNS Activist Teetu, supporters demand BSNL revenue rises in current fiscal, expenses cut down probe into ghost employees scam From ~37.56 crore in 2022-23, income up ~39.45 crore till December last Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 31 Activist Jai Parkash Jain, also known as Teetu Baniya, along with his supporters, staged a protest at the MC’s Zone D office here against the ghost employees scam. He brought a bouquet of flowers to present to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) authorities, emphasising the gravity of the scam. Teetu said they visited the MC to commend the officials for uncovering a new form of scam. He highlighted that it was one of the most significant scams. Previously, scams were heard of in road construction and bridge projects, grants and bribe from street vendors. However, a new type of scam involving ghost employees (bogus employees who were receiving payments from the MC) Ludhiana, January 31 State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has registered an increase in revenue in Ludhiana telecom district during the current financial year as compared to the previous fiscal, officials have said. While the income has gone up, expenses have also been cut down in 2023-24, the BSNL has revealed. It was disclosed by Ludhiana General Manager (GM) Telecom AA Tazir during the meeting of the Telecom Advisory Committee (TAC) here recently. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, who attended the meeting as a TAC member, told The Tribune on Wednesday that the comparative statement of two years in terms of revenue verticals presented by the BSNL, Lud- TELLING FIGURES Tribune News Service Teetu Baniya and supporters protest in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN has come to light. “We appeal to the civic body to stop indulging in scams and address issues faced by people. There is a possibility of politicians being involved in the ghost employees scam and it should be thoroughly investigated at a high level. Details about the scam should be made public. We urge the Chief Minister to order a high-level probe into the case,” he said. Regarding the transfer of step-up payments (arrears) to bank accounts of the 44 bogus employees, seven Ludhiana MC employees had previously been booked for ‘embezzlement’ due to tampering with government records. The activist emphasised the need for exemplary action in the scam. c m y b Fiscal income 2022-23 37.56 2023-24 39.45 Expenses EBITDA 67.2 -13.92 50.63 -3.92 VERTICAL-WISE REVENUE FISCAL CFA 2022-23 19.03 2023-24 19.93 The BSNL office in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN hiana district, has showed that the PSU has earned Rs 39.45 crore income in the first three quarters of the current fiscal till December 31, 2023, which was much higher than the total income of Rs 37.56 crore logged by the BSNL Ludhiana telecom district during the entire financial year 2022-23. The vertical-wise income figures revealed that the maximum of Rs 19.93 crore was earned from con- CM 7.82 9.91 EB 10.71 9.61 TOTAL 37.56 39.45 (SOURCE: BSNL, FIGURES OF 2022-23 FOR ENTIRE FISCAL, 2023-24 TILL DEC 2023, AMOUNT IN RUPEES CRORE) sumer fixed access (CFA), which comprised wire line and broadband business, in the first nine months of current fiscal as compared to Rs 19.03 crore income generated from this segment during 2022-23. Revenue of Rs 9.91 crore was earned from consumer mobility (CM) between April and December 2023 as compared to Rs 7.82 crore income generated from this vertical during 2022-23. Under the enterprise business (EB) category, the BSNL, Ludhiana, earned Rs 9.61 crore in the first three quarters of this fiscal as compared to Rs 10.71 crore revenue generated from this segment during 2022-23. Besides logging the increase in the income, the PSU’s local district also brought down the expenses from Rs 67.2 crore during the previous financial year 202223 to Rs 50.63 crore between April and December 2023. With this, the negative growth of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of the Ludhiana BSNL district also registered a decline from Rs 13.92 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 3.92 crore during the first three quarters of the current fiscal. The major component of the expenses was consumed in salary bill of Rs 21.54 crore between April and December 2023, followed by Rs 9.92 crore paid as commission to franchises, Rs 7.8 crore financial/ depreciation cost, Rs 5.63 crore paid as electricity and fuel bills, Rs 2.02 crore building rent, Rs 1.33 crore was spent on repair and maintenance, Rs 14 lakh on vehicle expenses and Rs 55 lakh were spent on other expenses during the current financial year’s first three quarters.
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