24082024-LT-01.qxd 8/23/2024 11:58 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RESIDENTS START REPAIRING ROAD AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE ABHISHEK HAS ONCE AGAIN IMPRESSED WITH STREE 2 MANOJ TALKS ABOUT SYSTEM OF LOBBYING FOR AWARDS Pothole-riddled main market road has commuters frequently complain about inconvenience, injuries. P2 Abhishek Banerjee doesn’t mind if it’s commercial or parallel cinema as long as the role interests him. P4 Bagging 4 National Awards isn’t an easy feat to achieve, but Manoj managed to bag his 4th National Award recently. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.54 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:56 AM SATURDAY | 24 AUGUST 2024 | LUDHIANA Fake call centre duping American citizens busted, nine arrested have suspicion that they might had been running similar call centres in other cities or states with the help of their other accomplices. A case under Sections 319(2), 318(4) and 61(2) of the BNS and Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act was registered against the suspects at the Sadar police station on Thursday. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 The Ludhiana Police Commissionerate claimed to have busted a fake call centre and arrested nine persons. According to the police, the fake call centre, Success Solutions Care, was being run in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar on Dhandra Road here. The suspects used to target only US citizens. Since the suspects had data of US citizens, they would call them and would pose as America-based software engineers and then on the pretext of resolving their issues in laptops and computers, they used to send virus to their computer systems and afterwards take huge money from them to remove the same. The police recovered four laptops, 24 CPUs and six headphones from the call centre during a raid conducted yesterday by SHO, Sadar police station, Inspector Harshveer Singh, and his team. Encroachments razed in Barewal, Haibowal areas Ludhiana, August 23 Taking action against illegal constructions, the Municipal Corporation (MC) foiled two encroachments bids and razed illegal structures being established on government land in the Barewal and Haibowal areas on Friday. Civic body teams had received complaints against the encroachments, following which action was taken on the directions of MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi. ATP Zone D, , Jagdeep Singh, said in the Barewal area, a resident was building a boundary wall around a government land and in Haibowal, another person was constructing pillars on a road portion, adding thatboth encroachments had been razed and the owners have been warned of strict legal action, if they try to encroach upon the government land again. — TNS Int’l call centre busted, 29 nabbed in 2023 The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Friday. MODUS OPERANDI Since the suspects had data of US citizens, they would call them and would pose as America-based software engineers and then on the pretext of resolving their issues in laptops and computers, they used to send virus to their computer systems and afterwards take huge money from the victims to remove the same. The suspects have been identified as Ratinder Singh, alias Rikk, alias Tinu, of Model House, Bebe Nanaki Dugri Road, Sukhpreet Singh of New Hargobind Nagar, Sumant Mahajan of Janakpuri, Mayank Joshi of Durgapuri, Haibowal, Aditya Chauhan of Pratap Singh Wala, Ishant Singh Rana of Daba Lohara Road, Dilpreet Singh of New Janta Nagar, Sandeep Kumar of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar and Sameer Beri of Golf Link, Hambran Road. The suspects are highly professional and they speak English fluently with good accent. Ratinder is the kingpin of the racket. Sources said now, the police had launched further probe in the case to inquire about number of US citizens duped and money collected from them. The police suspected that the gang had connection with some other suspects staying in other states and the US as well and they would be identified. The police also The Ludhiana police had busted a fake international call centre in July 2023 and arrested 29 persons, including two women, who used to allegedly dupe US citizens by introducing themselves as “technical service providers from tech giants, including Microsoft and Apple.” The call centre was being operated from Daad village of Ludhiana. The nabbed suspects were from various states, including Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Delhi and Punjab. High drama at Bhadaur House parking lot Ludhiana, August 23 High drama was witnessed today in the Bhadaur House parking area when a person parked his car there and went to his office without taking the parking slip. As the car driver went to his office without taking the slip, Worker moves car to road after owner leaves place without taking slip, which leads to traffic jam Police officials talk to workers at the Bhadaur House parking lot in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA it irked the person employed at the parking lot. Instead of asking for parking fees when the person returns to the lot, the worker moved the car out from the parking area and got it stationed on the road. It led to a huge traffic jam in the already congested Bhadaur House area. The police were called to the spot by shopkeepers of the nearby market and they called the person from the office and got the vehicle parked in a proper manner. One of the shopkeepers said parking contractor’s employees generally behave in a rude manner and today, their behaviour was uncalled for. “It caused inconvenience to the people who were commuting on roads,” he said. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said the contractor of the parking lot was given extension and soon, they would be floating tenders for the allotment of the lots. “In the past also, I have received complaints regarding the rude behaviour of staff at parking lots. Once new tenders are allotted, instructions will be issued to the contractor regarding the behaviour of the staff,” he said. — TNS Civil Hospital authorities wake up from slumber KOLKATA AFTERMATH Defunct CCTVs to be repaired, more security guards to be deployed Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 The Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, has finally woken up from a deep slumber as it will be repairing its non-functional CCTV cameras keeping in view security arrangements of the hospital. The development came after the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) asked the Health Department to ensure safety measures 24x7 and if their demand was not met till September 9, it would go for an indefinite suspension of services. The Health Department swung into action in the aftermath of the murderrape incident occurred at the Kolkata hospital and it will be making adequate security arrangements at the Civil Hospital. Flood lights will be installed, which will light up the entire campus. Talks are also on to increase number of security For the 200-bed Ludhiana Civil Hospital, there are only three security guards. INDERJEET VERMA ‘SERVICES TO BE SUSPENDED IF DEMANDS NOT MET’ The development came after the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) asked the Health Department to ensure safety measures 24x7 and if their demand was not met till September 9, it would go for an indefinite suspension of services. personnel at the hospital. For the 200-bed hospital, at present there are only three security guards. One is stationed at the main gate of the mother and child hospital, one at the emergency ward and the third one outside the labour room. Two policemen are also deployed at the hospital. A staff nurse said most of the CCTV cameras were lying defunct and floodlights were also non-functional. “People often enter labour room without permission due to which one guard is permanently deployed outside the room. We need better security arrangements at the hospital,” she said. A doctor said as incidents of clash were often reported here, the authorities need to make proper security arrange- c m y b ments at the hospital, which caters to the entire district. Dr Pardeep Mohindra, who recently assumed the office of the Civil Surgeon, said they would lighten up every nook and corner of the hospital. The present number of security guards are not proving enough for the 200-bed hospital. Hence, more guards will be employed in days to come. “The SMO, Civil Hospital, Dr Harpreet Singh, joined recently. I have given him weeks’ time to prepare a detailed report and chalk out a plan for strengthening security arrangements at the hospital. A review meeting will be held in a week and everything will be finalised,” Dr Mohindra said. Cycles, Xrays, stamps of doctors, mobile phones, benches, taps and even newborn babies have been reported stolen from the hospital in the past due to lack of security arrangements. A video grab shows MLA Gurpreet Gogi demolishing the stone of the Buddha Nullah project in Ludhiana. MLA Gogi demolishes stone of Buddha Dariya project Was laid by CM Mann, Gogi in 2022; project failed to yield results Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 In an unlikely event, MLA Gurpreet Singh Gogi today demolished the foundation stone of the Buddha Dariya rejuvenation project. The 650-crore project has failed to yield desired results, which stimulated Gogi to demolish the stone which was laid by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with the MLA, and bore the names of both leaders. Gogi is also demanding a CBI probe into the project to inquire where all funds of the project gone. The Buddha Nullah is a seasonal water stream, which runs through the Malwa region of the state and after passing through the Ludhiana district, it drains into the Sutlej, a tributary of the Indus. “The city is highly polluted by industrial and domestic waste, which is dumped into the nullah, causing a major threat to public health and environment. It Miscreants open fire at NRI’s house Ludhiana, August 23 Car-borne miscreants opened fire at the house of an NRI at BRS Nagar here on Thursday night. The assailants fired about four to five rounds. Fortunately, no one was injured in the firing as the NRI, Rajdeep, did not come out from the house. The Sarabha Nagar police launched an investigation in the matter. The incident created a panic in the area. It was also captured in CCTV cameras. As per information, on Thursday night, the miscreants came in a Maruti Baleno car. They reportedly first called someone, afterwards they opened fire at the house. Hearing the sound of the firing, residents of the area gathered at the scene and informed the police control room. Sources said NRI Rajdeep had come to India from Australia about two weeks ago. The miscreants committed the crime around 2 am on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The NRI’s family refused to talk to mediapersons. Meanwhile, the police got the CCTV footage and started a probe. The NRI had told the police that they did not have any enmity with the suspects and his family was also shocked why he was targeted. Sarabha Nagar police station SHO Pawan Kumar said the reason behind the attack was yet to be ascertained. The CCTV footage was being examined and soon, the case would be cracked. — TNS is sad to see that people staying around the nullah continue to suffer. They are facing various health problems such as cancer, hepatitis C, skin diseases, etc, and though crores of rupees have been spent, it has failed to deliver any positive result,” he said. He said the government had zero tolerance towards corruption and need a concrete answer regarding the usage of money under the project. The project was started under the Congress government in 2020 and Gogi was the Chairman of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation that time. When the foundation stone was laid in 2022 at Haibowal under the main project, Gogi was the AAP MLA. “Once completed, the project was aimed at shedding the infamous tag of “nullah” but nothing of this sort happened. The water of the stream remained black and the people and the environment have been suffering due to the same,” Gogi said. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said the project was designed by the civic body but executed by the Water Supply and Sewerage Board Department. Hence, he could not comment much on the matter. Missed several deadlines The 650-crore Buddha Dariya rejuvenation project was initiated to clean the polluted water body. It was approved by the state government in 2020 and was scheduled to be completed by March 2024 but missed several deadlines due to Covid-19. It included construction of two sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Jamalpur and Balloke, with capacities of 225 MLD and 60 MLD, respectively, building of six pumping stations, laying of an 11-km pipeline, rehabilitating existing STPs at Bhattian and Balloke and setting up of a separate 66 kV plant to supply power to the STP. Drug smugglers’ properties worth ~8.45 cr freezed Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 The Ludhiana police today freezed properties worth Rs 8.45 crore of drug smugglers. ACP Jatin Bansal along with other police officials put up notices on their properties. As per the police, in January last year the Police Division 8 had arrested Babbar, alias Mack, and seized 25 gm of cocaine, other drugs, three cars and Rs 1.14 lakh drug money from him. The smuggler had bought a house in the name of his relative Ashwani Kumar, which was now freezed by the police. The value of the house is Rs 2.84 crore. The Sarabha Nagar police had arrested a smuggler, identified as Paramvir Singh, alias Marshal, of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar in 2022 and recovered 300 gm of heroin and Rs 40,000 drug money from his possession. With the proceeds of the drug money, they had bought a house worth Rs 5.60 crore, a Hyundai Creta vehicle worth Rs 6.89 lakh and these assets were now freezed by the police. Meanwhile, the Ludhiana police on Thursday freezed properties worth Rs 80.93 lakh of three drug smugglers. Police officials put property attachment notices on the suspects’ properties. Commissioner of Police (CP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal in a statement issued stated that in February this year, the Haibowal police had arrested a woman, Raji, a resident of Deep Nagar, and Prem Kumar of Haibowal Kalan with heroin. They had amassed properties from the illegal drug money. A house worth Rs 35.86 lakh of Raji at Pritam Nagar was freezed and another house worth Rs 18 lakh of Prem at Pritam Nagar was also attached. Jaswant Singh of Bhai Himmat Singh Nagar was arrested by the Model Town police with opium. On Thursday, his property worth Rs 26.97 lakh was attached by the police and a notice regarding the same was put up on it, the CP said. Earlier also, the police had attached properties of other drug smugglers worth crores of rupees. Notably in recent weeks the Ludhiana police have freezed property of smugglers worth several crores and several cases are also under process and upon approval of these cases, the police would initiate proceedings of property attachment.