26092025-LT-01.qxd 9/26/2025 12:29 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune STUDENTS BEGIN INDEFINITE STRIKES AHEAD OF FAIRS Students of GADVASU and PAU have declared indefinite strikes demanding action from the state government .P2 » NEW DATES FOR STATE GAMES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON MISS UNIVERSE INDIA MANIKA MAKES HER ACTING DEBUT Games were postponed due to the floods as authorities prioritised relief and rehabilitation work. P3 In Ayodhya’s Ramlila, Manika makes her acting debut as Maa Sita and Rahull Bhuchar as Lord Ram. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.14 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:13 AM FRIDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2025 | LUDHIANA Two held for planting ‘IED’ at bag shop Owner’s nephew had conspired to blow up shop due to business rivalry Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, September 25 The police claimed to have solved a case in which the nephew of a bag shop owner of Harbans Tower in the Jodhewal Basti locality had conspired to blow up his shop by planting an ‘improvised explosive device (IED)’ for paving the way for his (nephew’s) prosperity in the business. Two persons were nabbed. The suspects were identified as Sonu Kumar of Hardoi in UP at present , residing at Basti Jodhewal, and his accomplice Mohammad Amir of Chapur village in Saharanpur, UP now resid, ing on Jagirpur Road here. The police claimed that the suspects were arrested within hours of receipt of a formal complaint by the shop owner, Ajay Kumar, of Harbans Tower on Thursday. Commissioner of Police (CP), Ludhiana, Swapan Sharma, said Ajay had informed the police that the suspects had planted the explosive device at his shop on Saturday afternoon on the pretext of purchasing a suitcase. He left a blue bag there, saying that he would pick it Suvidha kendras to witness digital transformation Ludhiana, September 25 With the Municipal Corporation (MC) taking another initiative to boost transparency, improve efficiency and providing better services to residents, zonal suvidha kendras of the civic body would be witnessing digital transformation in days to come. UPI, card payments to make it easy for residents to pay dues MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal conducted a meeting in this regard and issued necessary directions to the officials concerned. Under the initiative, residents would soon be able to make UPI payments at the kendras and the civic body would also be installing advanced POS machines for enabling card payments to facilitate them. Further, LED panels would be installed in all zonal kendras, which will not only boost online payments but also help the residents to learn about making online payment while sitting at their homes. Employees would also be deployed in the kendras to help them in filing returns and paying taxes online. Screen monitors would also be installed, which will allow the residents to check details of their property tax returns filed by staff sitting on the other side. Dachalwal said till now, around 35 per cent of the property tax returns were filed online. Their target was to ensure that the maximum number of the returns were filed online. It would not only improves transparency but also saves the time of residents. — TNS HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN up after some time. He was wearing a mask and paid Rs 500 as token money for the selected suitcase. It was on Wednesday night that Ajay became suspicious about the bag on noticing the smell of petrol. He got the bag shifted to a deserted part of the road in the presence of residents of the area. Police officials, led by SHO, Daresi Ground police station, were deployed to investigate the matter, following which it was found that the bag was containing some packets of petrol and paraphernalia required for exploding the contents. A cardboard box, two battery cells, ?one small clock, ?one small electric motor, some conducting wires, seven packets of petrol (approx 6 litres) and?15-20 gms of some chemical powder were recovered from the bag. Investigation revealed that Sonu, who is the nephew of Ajay, used to work with him at his shop earlier. But for the past six months the suspect had set up his separate bag shop following a monetary dispute with the complainant. 156 vehicles checked during drive against drunken driving Cops during a drive against drunken drinking in Sarabha Nagar. Ludhiana, September 25 The Ludhiana Police Commissionerate, under the supervision of Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma, carried out a special drive to check drinking in the open and drunken driving on Wednesday night. The police checked vehicles for the presence of liquor and conducted breath analyser tests on drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. Those who failed the test were detained and their vehicles were challaned or impounded. Sarabha Nagar SHO Aditya Sharma said separate teams of police officials were deployed at vulnerable points of the region and suspected drivers were tested. “Having received instructions from our seniors, we prepared a draft programme to organise nakas at vulnerable points and checked vehicles for presence of liquor and conducted breath analyser tests on suspected drivers,” said Sharma, acknowledging that ADCP 3 Kamalpreet Singh Chahal had inspected the efficacy of police personnel deployed at various nakas. The CP said 156 vehicles were checked during a three-hour operation, conducted from 8 pm to 11 pm on Wednesday.— OC With ulterior motive of expanding his business, Sonu decided to destroy Ajay’s shop and conspired with his friend Amir to commit the crime. They learnt to prepare a crude bomb by following instructions on YouTube and collected materials required for preparing the IED at Amir’s house. The probe further revealed that the device failed to explode as conductors were not connected and the watch too was not functioning. The CP appreciated that prompt and coordinated action by police officials deployed for investigating the case had led to identification and arrest of the suspects. Meanwhile, empty plots and deserted buildings situated in various parts of the city are also being exploited for dumping suspicious materials. In a similar incident, some miscreants dumped a bag in a plot near the treasury branch of the State Bank of India in the Civil Lines area, that started emanating a foul smell on Thursday. Some miscreants, instead of informing the Municipal Corporation about the death of a dog, had dumped its body in a vacant police station, thus spreading panic in the region. Led by Nitin Batra, husband of the ward councillor, residents, who gathered at Basti Jodhewal, alleged that some anti-social elements were bent upon spreading panic in the city during the festival season. He called upon the administration to take serious notice of such incidents and take the investigation of the abandoned bag case to a conclusive end and expose other accomplices, if any, also in the case. Murdered US citizen’s kin seek intervention of CM, DGP in case Accuse investigating team of trying to shield suspects Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, September 25 Family members of the Indian-origin US woman, Rupinder Kaur Pandher, aka Rupy, who was murdered at Kilaraipur around 2.5 months ago, have sought intervention of the higher authorities in the state administration and Punjab Police in expediting action against the suspects, including those who were yet to be arrested. They have accused the investigating team of trying to shield the suspects and alleged that the inaction against absconding suspects might result in damage of evidence, including the deceased’s jewellery, valuables and documents. Denying charges levelled against the police, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Harjinder Singh Gill claimed that the police were trying its best to nab absconding suspects and recover all evidence, including belongings of the deceased, Rupinder Kaur. “We have already booked Manvir Singh Mani, brother of the main suspect, Sukhjeet Singh Sonu, on the basis of information extracted durRupinder Kaur, ing the interthe victim. rogation of the latter, and also provided by the deceased’s family,” said Gill, claiming that the investigation was focusing on the recovery of belongings of the deceased. Kamaldeep Kaur Khairah, deceased’s US-based sister, alleged that undue delay in responding to requests made by her regarding the disappearance of her sister had facilitated the suspects in destroying evidence against them and fleeing the area. She alleged that all her pleas made to senior functionaries in the state government and the Punjab Police had fallen on deaf ears and the investigating police had been trying to shield the prime conspirator, who claims to have clout in the government. “We have again sent emails to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, DGP Gaurav Yadav, ADGP Parveen Sinha and Chairperson of the Punjab State Commission for Women Raj Gill to seek intervention in the matter but to no avail,” said Khairah, alleging that the suspects had threatened the victim’s family of dire consequences if the case was pursued further. She regretted that none of the social, political or human rights organisations had come forward to show solidarity with the victim’s kin and demand justice for the deceased. Though Khairah had planned to visit Ludhiana to pursue the case, she is unable to comprehend whom she should meet to demand action against all culprits in the murder case of her sister. The woman was allegedly killed by Sukhjeet, who was a resident of Kilaraipur village, Ludhiana, on the behest of her would-be groom 75-year-old UK-based NRI Charanjit Singh Grewal, from Mehma Singh Wala village in Ludhiana. A murder case has been registered against Sukhjeet, his brother Manvir and Charanjit. However, only Sonu has been arrested so far in the case. Slow start to paddy procurement in district Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 25 Paddy procurement in the state began earlier than usual this year, kicking off on September 16. However, the season has seen a sluggish start, especially in the district, where only 850 metric tonnes (MT) of paddy had arrived in grain markets till Wednesday. Of this, 398 MT has been procured by government agencies while private buyers are yet to make any purchases. No lifting of the procured stock has taken place so far. The delay in arrivals has been attributed to incessant rains and flooding across the region, which disrupted harvesting schedules and affected crop quality. Only early-maturing varieties were expected to reach mandis initially but even those have been delayed due to adverse weather conditions. Farmer Jagroop Singh, who arrived at the market with his produce, expressed concern over moisture levels. “I’ve come with the hope that my grains will be dry enough for procurement. It rained heavily this time, so the final word will come Only 850 MT of paddy arrived in grain markets till September 24 days. However, farmers and officials alike agree that flood aftermath and moisture management would play a decisive role in how the season unfolds. Every grain of farmers will be procured: Minister Workers clean paddy at a grain market in Ludhiana. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA after an arhtiya checks the condition of the paddy,” he said. He said many farmers in his village were facing quality issues due to the recent downpours. Another farmer from Maachiwara, waiting at the market with his harvest, shared his apprehensions. “I’m hoping to get a fair price but worried about the moisture content. We’ve had to delay harvesting. Now, we’re racing against time to dry the grains,” he said. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain has urged farmers to bring only dry paddy with moisture levels not exceeding 17 per cent to the mandis. “We understand challenges farmers are facing but to ensure smooth procurement and storage, it is essential that paddy meets moisture norms,” Jain said. To regulate harvesting practices, Jain also announced strict timings for the use of combine harvesters, limiting their opera- tion between 10 am and 6 pm. “Violators will face stringent action, including seizure of equipment,” he warned. To ensure transparency and efficiency, Jain has directed all SDMs and heads of procurement agencies to monitor procurement activities across Ludhiana’s grain markets. With an estimated 16.55 lakh MT of paddy expected to arrive in markets this season, stakeholders are hopeful that the pace will pick up in coming Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond on Thursday initiated paddy procurement at the Asia’s largest grain market, assuring farmers that every grain of their crop would be procured. Sond said the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy has been set at Rs 2,389 per quintal. The state has been assigned a target of procuring 172 lakh metric tonnes of paddy but arrangements have been made to handle up to 190 lakh metric tonnes to accommodate higher yields. The minister assured the farmers that crop lifting and payments would be done concurrently, with direct transfers to farmers’ bank accounts processed immediately. He also held a meeting with officials and commission agents at the Khanna Market Committee office to discuss arrangements for smooth paddy procurement. 3K mosques across North India extend help to flood-hit state villages Haryana, Uttarakhand and other states, Muslims are coming forward to help Punjab stand tall again.” Parminder Singh, a granthi from Dasuya, said: “In the present times when your own relatives refuse to extend help, the Muslim Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 25 Responding to an appeal made by the Shahi Imam of Punjab, Maulana Mohammad Usman Rehmani Ludhianvi, nearly 3,000 mosques across North India have come forward to support floodaffected villages in the state. The Shahi Imam said in the testing times, the Muslim community has distributed around Rs 80 lakh in cash and kind to families who lost their homes and livestock in Amritsar, Ajnala, Fazilka, Pathankot and Jalandhar. Cheques worth Rs 50 lakh were given to residents after verifying their credentials Shahi Imam of Punjab, Maulana Mohammad Usman Rehmani Ludhianvi, along with MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, during a visit to a flood-affected village. Community distributes around ~80L in cash and kind among affected residents through Aadhaar cards while ration, an ambulance and medical kits worth Rs 30 lakh were given to hundreds of affected villagers, he said. Around Rs 50 lakh will be community had provided us a cheque of Rs 2 lakh. “I am thankful to them as we will be able to reconstruct our house which was damaged in the floods,” he said. distributed among needy families in Ludhiana on September 27. Expressing solidarity with Punjab, the Shahi Imam further told The Tribune: “Pun- c m y b jab has given us immense love and now it is time to give back. We are not doing any favour, this is out of pure love and affection. From Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Another villager from Dharampura in Dera Baba Nanak Harmeshpal Singh said he was a daily wager and he was given a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to build the house again as it was collapsed due to the floods. “I had lost hope that I would be able to build rooms again but they provided hope and help, which is enough”, said Singh. Alongside the financial aid, nearly 150–200 volunteers, supported by NGOs, are serving in flood-hit villages round the clock. An ambulance has been donated while medical kits, ration, mosquito repellents, nets and other essentials are being provided to affected families. Cheques have already been handed over to help villagers rebuild their homes. “Our volunteers conducted surveys, verified Aadhaar cards and credentials and then called the needy families to hand over the cheques. More families will be provided help on September 27,” the Shahi Imam said. He said the initiative had also highlighted the spirit of communal harmony in the state. Many local donors contributing to the cause are members of the Ahrar Foundation, established in memory of late Shahi Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman Saani Ludhianvi about five years ago.