19042025-LT-01.qxd 18-04-2025 22:16 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MAHILA MORCHA HEAD MEETS CP OVER ATTACK ON ADVOCATE CHRISTIANS TAKE OUT GOOD FRIDAY PROCESSION ALL GLAMOUR AT KESARI 2 SCREENING Punjab BJP Mahila Morcha chief Jai Inder Kaur, along with advocate and aides who were attacked, met Commissioner. P2 A procession was taken out under the supervision of parish priest of Holy Cross Catholic Church, Sarabha Nagar. P2 Akshay Kumar urged his fans to not miss the initial 10 minutes of the film. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 39°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.57 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:53 AM » SATURDAY | 19 APRIL 2025 | LUDHIANA Ludhiana West byelection no cakewalk for any party BJP likely to take another week or more to decide candidate’s name Shivani Bhakoo Ludhiana, April 18 For the Ludhiana West bypoll all major parties have announced the candidates except for the BJP , which will take another week or even more to decide on their face for the election. Shri Nevasu, BJP general secretary, who met the party leaders in Ludhiana had recently told The Tribune that the meeting of the state election committee meeting would be held on April 22 and the list of shortlisted candidates would be sent to Delhi, where the final decision would be taken and the name announced. At the same time, sore over the delay in announcing name of the party candidate, one of the leaders of the BJP Amarjit Singh Tikka has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that there was an urgent need for a focussed BJP campaigning in the upcoming byelection. Tikka, in the letter written to the PM said that the upcoming Ludhiana West byelection held significant political importance, not just for the constituency, but as a precursor and testing ground for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. All major political parties have understood the importance of this byelection. The AAP leadership, Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 18 Even though the Ludhiana West Assembly byelection date is yet to be announced, the political scenario is already hotting up. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal have already announced their candidates. The byelection was necessitated after the death of the sitting AAP legislator Gurpreet Singh Gogi. The AAP was the first to announce its candidate, Sanjeev ‘Sunny’ Arora, sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. His nomination from Ludhiana West is understood to have been done for creating a Rajya Sabha vacancy for AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress has announced the name of state working president and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu from here, while the SAD has announced the name of Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a former president of the Ludhiana District Bar Association. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has high stakes in the constituency, is yet to announce its candidate. Ludhiana West Assembly segment has a mixed demographic composition between Hindus and Sikhs with a Political scene hots up with Congress and AAP candidates intensifying campaigning. FILE rough ratio of 55:45, respectively. Until 2022, when the AAP won this seat in the statewide sweeping wave, Ludhiana West seat had mostly been won by the Congress and occasionally by the SAD-BJP alliance when they were together. However, after parting ways, the BJP has emerged as a strong force in this segment, like in most of the Ludhiana urban constituencies. In 2022 Assembly elections, BJP candidate Bikramjit Singh Sidhu polled about 28,000 votes, while the winning candidate, Gogi of the AAP got slightly over 40,000 votes. 2 held for thrashing man, making video Mahesh Sharma Raikot, April 18 The Hathur police have claimed to have nabbed two persons, who had allegedly abducted, illegally detained and thrashed a resident of Manuke village, besides preparing a video clip of the incident a month ago. Had the police not initiated a probe to verify facts about the viral video on the beating of the victim after tying him to a pillar, the suspects could have gone scot free as he (victim) had chosen to keep silent due to social stigma. The Hathur police have now nabbed both suspects, one of whom beat the victim and other for making the video, after registering a case on Wednesday. The suspects identified as Surjit Singh of Manuke and Jaspreet Singh Jassa of Jattpura were arrested from different places on Thursday. Kuljinder Singh, SHO, said that the police had identified the victim of the viral video, who was being thrashed with a stick in illegal detention at some unknown place. Buta Singh of Manuke alleged that the duo had abducted him on a motorcycle when he was going to work on March 18. The main accused, Surjit, had allegedly demanded money from the victim for purchasing drugs. When the victim refused to oblige him and used some harsh words, Surjit felt offended and abducted him. He kept him at his residence at Manuke village and thrashed with a stick after tying him to a pillar in the courtyard on the fateful day before locking him in a room. Though the victim had later succeeded in getting himself free, he did not avail of any medical treatment from any hospital for fear of social stigma. It was after seeing the video that the Hathur police approached him for registration of a case. Surjit is already facing three drug cases. 69 cops transferred Ludhiana, April 18 In a move to improve efficiency within the police force, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma on Friday transferred 69 police personnel, ranging from inspectors to lower ranks, who were either stationed at the same place for over three years or were found to be underperforming. Sharma termed this reshuffle effective immediately, aligning with the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s commitment to maintain high standards of policing and accountability. He stated that these transfers aim to rejuvenate the workforce, enhance public engagement and address operational complacency. He emphasised that the aim was to deliver proactive and people-friendly policing. These transfers include personnel across ranks and cover various units, including police stations, traffic management and specialised cells. He added that their performance was assessed by senior officials. — TNS Ashu of the Congress got about 32,000 votes. In the 2024 General Election, BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu, who though lost the election, got a substantial lead of about 15,000 votes from Ludhiana West. He got about 45,424 votes from here, followed by Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who got about 30,889 votes, while the AAP candidate, Ashok Pappi Prashar, got about 22,461 votes. The SAD candidate Ranjit Singh Dhillon got 5,560 votes. So far, it is only Sanjeev Arora and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, both of whom are cam- paigning intensely in the segment. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, along with the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, have already visited the constituency twice and on both occasions spent a few days here. Ludhiana West is promising to be a closely contested triangular battle between the AAP Congress and BJP , , with each party having high stakes, making it difficult for each one of them. At the same time, SAD members and supporters feel that the Sikh vote could turn the tables and the party has a strong vote bank in the constituency. Tribune News Service BJP leaders come out of their party office after a meeting in Ludhiana on Friday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA including Arvind Kejriwal, camped in Ludhiana, micro-managing the campaign. Similarly, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and top Congress leaders were active on the ground, mobilising cadres and reaching out to voters. The high-voltage campaigning from their side reflects their seriousness in securing this seat and gaining psychological momentum for 2027. “However, the BJP’s presence on the ground is currently limited and this is a cause for concern. This is a crucial opportunity for the BJP to assert its grow- Mesmerising ing relevance in Punjab’s political space, especially in urban areas like Ludhiana. It is high time that senior BJP leaders, especially those who are Sikhs or have deep roots and affiliations in Punjab, take charge and lead the campaign from the front. Their visibility and connection with the local populace can help in galvanising support and energising the party cadre,” said Tikka. He added that with increasing disillusionment among the public toward traditional parties and a rising yearning for a strong and stable alterna- Complaints pour in against realtor, more FIRs likely Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Beautiful hues of grey in the sky make it a picturesque view as Ludhiana witnessed pleasant weather in the evening on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Cordon and search operations carried out at drug hotspots Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 18 The Ludhiana police today carried out cordon and search operation in various city areas falling under the jurisdiction of police zone-1. Additional DCP-1 Sameer Verma, who led the team to various city areas, said the police conducted checking at some hotspots, where people were suspected to be involved in drug-related activities. The police party also put up notices on houses of drug smugglers, which have been constructed illegally and the same would be demolished tive, the BJP stood a genuine chance, “but only if we act now with full force and presence”. He has urged the PM to direct top BJP leadership comprising Hardeep Singh Puri, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Iqbal Singh Lalpura and Meenakshi Lekhi and other BJP leaders who have affiliations to Punjab to prioritise this byelection and ensure a robust and visible campaign in Ludhiana West. The political message and momentum built here will echo well in the 2027 elections, Tikka added. ADCP Sameer Verma looks on as a cop pastes a demolition notice outside the house of a drug peddler in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN by following the due procedure. The purpose of putting c m y b notices is to give opportunity to house owners to present their side. “A police team also conducted checking in the houses of some suspects, during which some drugs were also seized. Some persons were also arrested. Details of the complete operation would be compiled,” added Verma. He said SHOs of all police stations were strictly told to keep a tab on drug peddlers and take immediate action. People can also inform the police about drug peddlers and their names would be kept secret. “The police will continue such operations against drugs in the coming days,” revealed Verma. Ludhiana, April 18 A day after the Ludhiana police arrested a realtor wanted by the police in seven land fraud cases, more complaints have started pouring in against the accused. In the coming days, if the allegations levelled in those complaints are found true, more FIRs are likely to get registered. So far, seven cases have been registered against the accused at PAU, Haibowal and division number 8 police stations, of which four of the cases were registered in a single day, i.e. April 14. The Ludhiana police crime wing had yesterday arrested Karan Arora, a resident of Mahavir Enclave, Barewal Road. After his arrest, the police had also seized a Land Rover Defender owned by the accused. The cops took action after they received information that the accused was planning to flee abroad. It even claimed that the accused had gone to Delhi to arrange for his foreign trip and the moment he returned to Ludhiana on Thursday, he was arrested. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP detective 2) Rajesh Sharma said after getting information that the accused was returning to Ludhiana, the police had set up a checkpoint at Sherpur Chowk and after intercepting him, he was arrested. ACP Sharma further revealed that the accused had committed frauds with people through fraudulent land deals. The accused with his partner would buy land, where he would develop plots to sell. He used to sell the plots in installments under long-term agreements. After collecting some instalments from the initial buyers, the accused used to sell the same plots to new buyers and would repeat the same modus operandi to collect huge amounts of money. When the first buyer would ask for his plot or money, the accused would make hollow promises. “After the police arrested the accused, more complaints have started pouring in at police stations. Some complainants even called up police stations to lodge verbal complaints, but they were told to lodge written complaints and then the police would take action on merit. Colonisers selling plots in unapproved colonies According to information, some colonisers have also been selling plots to buyers in unapproved colonies (without NOC) on the pretext that these will be approved in the course of time and they will also execute property registration in connivance with revenue officials. But when buyers face legal issues after buying plots in unapproved colonies, colonisers prefer to remain elusive.