28082024-LT-01.qxd 8/28/2024 12:16 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MP MEETS INDUSTRIALISTS OVER DEVELOPMENT ISSUES MLA REVIEWS CONSTRUCTION OF HARIPURA WELLNESS CENTRE KANGANA RANAUT COURTS ANOTHER CONTROVERSY Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora met local industrialists on Avon Cycles campus in Ludhiana. P2 Abohar leader alleges substandard quality of raw material, demands probe against officers concerned P3 Sikh community across the globe is seeking a blanket ban on the actor’s upcoming film Emergency. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.49 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:58 AM » WEDNESDAY | 28 AUGUST 2024 | LUDHIANA Smugglers’ properties worth ~42.70 cr freezed by city police Holdings bought in name of kin, friends too attached Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 Cracking the whip against drug smugglers caught by the Ludhiana police in several instances in the recent past, their properties worth Rs 42.70 crore have been freezed by the police. The properties, 30 in Ludhiana district and 11 in other districts, were attached by the Police Commissionerate in the past. Not only this, a list of 20 cases has already been sent to the Competent Authority, New Delhi, and if the freezing orders come, the properties, the value of which is also in crores of rupees, will also be freezed. Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, Kuldeep Singh Chahal, while talking to The Tribune here on Tuesday said besides ensuring maximum punishment for the smugglers through law, freezing their properties, which were amassed by them from the proceeds of drug money, would serve as a deterrent for them. Police officials put attachment notice on the property of a drug smuggler in Ludhiana. 41 PROPERTIES ATTACHED The properties of smugglers, 30 in Ludhiana district and 11 in other districts, were attached by the Police Commissionerate in the recent past. “In the recent past, the Ludhiana police have freezed properties in 21 cases and their value was Rs 42.70 crore. In some cases, properties are owned by multiple smugglers. Among these cases, properties in 12 cases are located in Lud- hiana district and in nine, properties are located outside the district”. These are freezed under Section 68F(2) of the NDPS Act, 1985,” Chahal said. The CP said as many as 20 cases had already been sent for approval to the Compe- tent Authority, New Delhi, and once the approval comes, the police would put up freezing notices on properties. Action against woman A drug peddler, Raji, a resident of the Civil Lines, Haibowal Kalan, was nabbed by the city police in February 2024 with 250 gm of heroin. Her house worth Rs 35.86 lakh bought from drug money at Pritam Nagar was freezed by the police. Ludhiana, August 27 The Crime Branch-1 of the Ludhiana police claimed to have nabbed a man and seized 500 gm of heroin from his possession. The suspect was identified as Mukesh Yadav (35) of Green Enclave, Haibowal. ADCP (Crime) Amandeep Singh Brar in a statement issued stated that the Crime Branch in-charge had received a tip-off on Monday that the man was into heroin smuggling trade and he was on the way to deliver the drug to his An overcast sky makes for a beautiful view in Ludhiana on Tuesday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN PAU teachers continue protest talked about the negligent attitude towards genuine demands of the PAU faculty and teachers retired before January 1, 2016. He said the lackadaisical approach of the state government and PAU administra- CP Kuldeep Singh Chahal claimed that when the police started identifying the properties amassed by smugglers through illegal means, an interesting fact came to the fore that many of them have bought properties in the name of their family members, relatives and friends but after establishing the same, those were also freezed. The top cop said recently, the police freezed the property (house) worth Rs 2.84 crore of Babbar, alias Mack, a resident of Model Town Extension, which was bought by the suspect in the name of his relative Ashwani Kumar. Even a property worth Rs 5.60 crore of smuggler Paramvir Singh, alias Marshal, of BRS Nagar was also freezed. It was also bought in the name of his parents and wife. The CP asserted that even if the smuggler has bought a property in the name of his/her distant relative, the same would also be freezed. Drug control officials conduct a raid at a chemist shop in the BRS Nagar area. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 Two teams of drug control officials conducted a raid on chemists in the BRS Nagar area. The aim behind the raids was to ensure implementation of provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The teams comprised drug control officials Rupinder Kaur, Amarjit Singh, Gundeep Bansal and Rohit Kalra. Raids was supervised by Dinesh Gupta, Zonal Licensing Authority, Ludhiana. Six chemists were inspected. During inspection, five types of samples were taken for test and analysis. The samples will be sent to Government Analyst Punjab for testing to check the quality of medicines/cosmetics. During inspection, three firms were found violating provisions of law. Show- Peddler arrested with 500 gm heroin Nature’s hues Ludhiana, August 27 The protest of the Punjab Agricultural University Teachers Association (PAUTA) continued for the sixth day in front of Thapar Hall at the PAU. Dr Mandeep Singh Gill, president, PAUTA, Six medical shops raided tion was causing more resentment among the teachers. He appealed to the state government and the PAU to address their long-pending demands at the earliest, otherwise, they would be forced to intensify the protest. — TNS The suspect in police custody in Ludhiana. clients in the city. A police team conducted a raid and nabbed the suspect along with heroin. A case under the NDPS Act registered against him. Brar said now in the further questioning of the suspect, the police would identify other big smugglers involved in the racket so that more seizures could be made in coming days. The ADCP also hinted that the police would also inquire about properties amassed by him from the proceeds of illegal money and after verifying the properties, the same would be freezed. Even bank accounts of the suspect would also be checked. Sources said the police had already got some vital leads about links of the smuggler with some big drug suppliers and more arrests were likely in the case in future. — TNS Migrant labourer held for killing farmer Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 The Ludhiana rural police today claimed to have nabbed a migrant labourer who had killed a farmer at Kaonke Khosa village in Jagraon on Saturday. The suspect has been identified as Shambhu, a resident of Bihar. The deceased was identified as Charan Singh, a farmer. Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh in a statement issued stated that Shambhu had been employed by Charan Singh in his farms for the past several years. On the night of August 24, the farmer had taken along Shambhu in the fields where both had heated arguments on some issue. Later, in the wee hours of August 25, when Charan Singh was sleeping, the suspect hit his head with a heavy stick repeatedly and killed him. The son of the deceased woke up after listening to the cries of his father. He came out but the suspect fled the scene by then, leaving the farmer dead, he said The SSP said after getting a tip-off about the location of the Biharbased migrant, he was arrested by the police. cause notices will be issued to the firms. In future also, such raids will be conducted to eliminate the availability of substandard drugs and habitforming drugs in Ludhiana, said Dr Pardeep Mohindra, Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, and also instructed all chemists to comply with provisions of the Act and rules and also appealed customers to purchase medicines on bills. Two held with 6K intoxicants Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 The Khanna police yesterday arrested two persons and seized 6,000 intoxicating tablets from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Kamaljit Singh, alias Kala, a resident of Samrala, and Satnam Singh, alias Mithu, of Koom Kalan. Investigating officer Inspector Amandeep Singh said he, along with the police party, had laid a naka at Friends Colony to keep a check over smugglers. On suspicion, a truck (bearing registration number PB10HB4952) was stopped for checking. He said when the police officials searched the vehicle, a polythene was found behind the driver’s seat from which 6,000 intoxicating tablets were seized. As the suspects failed to justify the presence of the intoxicating tablets inside the truck, both suspects were arrested and a case under the NDPS Act was registered against them. State’s fruit basket getting exotic with dragon fruit Cyber crook dupes Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 Fruit crops can give a major push to crop diversification and bring out farmers entangled in the circle of wheat and paddy. Since the demand of exotic fruits is quite high in the market, it can not only help farmers fetch good returns but also combat challenges of the depleting water table and deteriorating soil health. A tropical fruit, dragon fruit has increasingly become popular in the recent years among consumers for its unique taste, health benefits and among farmers for its low maintenance and high profitability. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has approved and recommended two Dragon fruit has increasingly become popular in recent years. varieties of dragon fruit suitable for commercial cultivation after research and evaluation for six years. Two varieties that have been approved by the PAU are red dragon 1 and white dragon 1 of which red pulped fruit is the preferred one among the masses. Their average yield after fourth year of planting is 8.35 kg/pillar and 8.75 kg/pillar, respectively. Jaswinder Singh Brar, Principal Fruit Scientist, Department of Fruit Science, Punjab Agricultural University, said the PAU initiated research in 2016 and recommended two varieties for commercial cultivation in January last year and sale of plant cuttings started from July. “On the basis of pulp colour, primarily dragon fruit is categorised into two groups; white pulped and red pulped. Red pulped variety is more popular and is rich in antioxidants as it has high content of phytochemicals such as betacarotene, xanthophyll, phenols, flavanols etc. Dragon fruit is also rich in minerals such as calcium, zinc and magnesium and various vitamins, and dietary fibres,” added Dr Brar. The PAU has received unprecedented response for the fruit among the farmers and during the last Kisan Mela at Ludhiana where cuttings of dragon fruit were sold within two hours. It can be planted in July and August, bears fruit from July to November within three years and once planted, it may give fruits up to 20 years. c m y b Points to be kept in mind while planting, mgmt Growers should consider following points for establishment and management of dragon fruit farms. Trina Adhikary and Gagandeep Kaur from the PAU share tips: Due to high initial investment and distinctive production technology, avoid planting large area under the fruit crop. The area may be increased in a phased manner. The selection of variety is one of the most important points to be considered before commercial plantation of dragon fruit. The farmers should consult horticulture experts before planting in this regard. The quality planting material is pre-requisite for the success of the dragon fruit. Never go for the procurement of rooted cuttings or plants in polybags from other states as these may have nematode infestations. Though the dragon fruit can be grown on wide variety of soils, sandy-loam soils with good drainage and rich in organic matter are highly suitable for its cultivation.Dragon fruit is also hardy to climatic conditions; however, extreme heat and frost may cause damage. It is light loving plant. Planting of dragon fruit can be done in FebruaryMarch and July-September. Organic matter in the form of well-rotten farm yard manure or gobar gas slurry plays key role in growth of plant and its fruit. city doc of ~16 lakh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 The cyber police here yesterday registered a case against a Rajasthan-based man, who by posing himself as a CBI officer, duped a city-based doctor of Rs 16 lakh on the pretext of indicting him in a hawala case. The suspect was identified as Ravinder Sharma, a resident of Ajmer, Rajasthan. The complainant, Dr Sumit Pal Dhall in his complaint stated that on December 19, he received a phone call and the caller posed himself as an officer from the CBI. “The caller said a parcel sent by me to John Davis was confiscated by the CBI. The suspect Victim was cheated on pretext of indicting him in a hawala case said the CBI nabbed another person, Sanjay Patil, who had transferred Rs 3.5 crore in my bank account. The suspect threatened to implicate me in a money laundering case and to save myself, I sent Rs 16 lakh to him and later, I realised that I was duped. Following which, I lodged a police complaint,” he said. The victim said he never sent any parcel to anyone but he got trapped. ASI Ram Kumar said further investigation was launched in the case.