19122025-LT-01.qxd 12/19/2025 1:12 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune FARMERS SEEK RELEASE OF TN LEADERS PANDIAN, SELVARAJ JUDOKA RAKESH GILL BEATS POVERTY TO SHINE IN GAMES ACTRESS SREELEELA SLAMS DEEPFAKES, MISUSE OF AI Farmer unions organise protests under banner of SKM, seek release of TN farmer leaders. P2 Athletes like judoka Rakesh Gill overcome poverty through determination, discipline and dedication. P3 Actress Sreeleela has requested social media users not to support AI-generated nonsense. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 21°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 11°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5.26 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:14 AM » FRIDAY | 19 DECEMBER 2025 | LUDHIANA ZILA PARISHAD & BLOCK SAMITI ELECTIONS AAP dominates rural body poll, wins 11 of 25 ZP seats, Congress bags 8 In block samiti poll, of 235 seats, ruling party secures 83, followed by Cong with 73 Shivani Bhakoo ZILA PARISHAD Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 18 Candidates of the ruling AAP were able to secure 11 of total 25 seats in the zila parishad elections in Ludhiana district, the final results of which were declared on Thursday. Congress candidates were able to win eight seats while both SAD and Independent candidates were able to secure three seats each. Bija, Mutton, Khirnian, Mattewara, Kila Raipur, Narangwal, Manuke, Sidhwan Kalan, Hambran, Gill and Dhandra seats are won by the AAP candidates. Eight candidates of the Congress secured win from Kaddon, Ramgarh Sardaran, Pakhowal, Sudhar, Binjal, Galib Kalan, Alamgir and Mangat. The three seats won by the Akali candidates include Neelon Kalan, Chak Sarwan Nath and Lalheri. The three Independent candidates bagged the zila parishad seats from Purain, Mohi and Hans Kalan. In the zila parishad elections, the Congress came at the second spot while both SAD and Independent candidates secured three seats each. The three Independent candidates had put a dent in the SAD camp as these were Total seats AAP Congress SAD Independent 25 11 8 3 3 BLOCK SAMITI Total seats 235 AAP 83 Congress 73 SAD 44 Independent 27 BJP 3 Won unopposed by AAP 5 Winning AAP candidates during a victory procession at Dehlon in Ludhiana; and (below) supporters and workers of various candidates gather during the counting of votes in Ludhiana. pendent candidates only. Block samiti results fielded by none other than party rebel leader Manpreet Singh Ayali, who had claimed before the declaration of the results that the three seats would be bagged by his Inde- The poll results of 235 seats of the block samiti were also declared on Thursday. Of these, 83 seats are grabbed by candidates of AAP followed by 73 by Congress candidates, 44 by SAD candidates, 27 by Independents and three by BJP candidates. Five other candidates of AAP were declared unopposed. Three BJP candidates who won the poll were Paramjit Kaur from Shamaspur, Babli Rani from Hedon Dhaha and Chandni from Namdev Colony. The Deputy Commissioner-cum-Electoral Officer, Ludhiana, Himanshu Jain, thanked all polling staff deployed on polling duties, who made sure that the elections were conducted in a smooth manner. Nodal Officer Amarjit Singh Bains also expressed satisfaction over the conduct of the elections and declaration of the results in a transparent and fair manner. He said due to the dedication of the entire polling staff the elections were held in a peaceful manner. Two of the AAP activists who suffered bullet injuries undergo treatment at the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana. Cong activists accused of firing at AAP’s victory procession, 5 hurt Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, December 18 Five AAP activists from the Gill segment were injured after a group of Congress activists allegedly attacked a victory procession being taken out a day after the declaration of the results of the zila parishad and block samiti elections. Though the police are yet to confirm the sequence of events, the AAP leaders alleged that Congress activists, led by Jasvir Singh, had allegedly attacked their workers and fired a number of bullets at them, besides hurling bricks and stones. The assailants had gathered at a house before attacking the AAP activists. Gurmukh Singh, Ravinder Singh, Udamveer Singh and Mandeep Singh were injured seriously. Jaswinder Singh, PA to AAP MLA Jiwan Singh Sangowal, alleged that Congress activists, led by Jasvir Singh, had allegedly abused and clashed with activists of his party when they were taking out a thanksgiving and celebratory proces- sion in the Bachittar Nagar area from where party candidates Sonu Gill and Sumit Khanna had been declared winners on Wednesday. The AAP leaders showed videos of Congress activists firing bullets against them and hurling bricks and stones at a street. The injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. ACP Harjinder Singh said the police had already sent their teams to nab the suspects and an FIR was being registered in the matter. Meanwhile, a group of AAP activists blocked the vehicular traffic on the LudhianaMalerkotla highway in protest against Congress leaders. The protesters raised slogans against the Congress and its Ludhiana leadership. The police persuaded the protesters to lift dharna late on Thursday night. Khanna SAD in-charge lands in police BJP manages to win only three block net for disrupting counting process samiti seats, but party leaders still upbeat Mahesh Sharma Khanna, December 18 Halqa in-charge of the Shiromani Akali Dal Yadwinder Singh Yadu, who was arrested by the Khanna police for allegedly obstructing government personnel from performing their official duty during the counting of votes, had been sent in judicial custody for 14 days. Yadu was picked up from the counting centre when he, along with other activists of his party, was protesting against the delay in declaration of the results of a SAD Sent to judicial custody for 14 days candidate, who according to him was winning. The police had to use mild force to disperse a gathering of activists of the party who had been protesting against the alleged irregularities in counting of votes. Former deputy chief minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the alleged biased role of the administration during the zila parishad and block samiti elections in the region. “The action taken by the Punjab Police against Yadu on the instance of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann can’t stop workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal,” read a post uploaded by Sukhbir on social media. Meanwhile, senior SAD leader advocate Arashdeep Singh Kaler, who was deployed by Sukhbir to take remedial action in connection with action against Yadu, said the party would seek intervention of Punjab and Haryana High Court for seeking action against the erring civil and police administration at Khanna. Kaler alleged that the Khanna administration had implemented Sisodia’s agenda of ‘Sam Dam Dand Bhed’ by first preventing SAD candidates from filing nominations and then in the form of ‘irregularities’ during polling and counting of votes. A delegation of SAD activists, led by Kaler met Khanna SSP Jyoti Yadav later in the day, who assured a fair probe to verify allegations levelled by the party. BOOST FOR PARTY, WORKERS Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 18 BJP candidates were able to secure only three seats as block samiti members during the zila parishad and block samiti polls, the results of which were declared late on Wednesday. On being asked if the rural masses in the state or district had rejected the party and its candidates, BJP leaders maintained that it was their first attempt and the party was able to reach every household in rural areas. Talking to The Tribune, ❝ “Even as first-timers, we were able to get a few seats. It has given confidence to the party and workers at the grassroots level. — Anil Sarin, STATE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE BJP ❞ state general secretary of the BJP Anil Sarin said it was the first attempt of the BJP without the alliance of any other party to reach the rural masses in the state. He said the idea behind the same was to reach every household in the rural Punjab. “Even as first-timers, we were able to get a few seats. Our motto was to reach vil- lages and we got warm welcome from residents. It has given a confidence to the party and workers at grassroots level,” he said. The spokesperson for the BJP Pritpal Singh Baliawal, , said the performance of the BJP could not be compared with other political parties in these elections as the BJP had fought the same on its own. He said the party had started from zero this time and getting a few seats is certainly an achievement. It has boosted the morale for the upcoming 2027 Vidhan Sabha elections. He said the party was able to come up with booth-level workers in villagers, he said. Another seasoned BJP leader, Parveen Bansal, said the BJP had gained momentum in the state as a single party. “ the confidence level of workers, leaders, supporters has increased and the party was well prepared to fight the upcoming 2027 elections,” he said. Bridge on Buddha Nullah to ease traffic near Chand Cinema Student’s body found from canal passage.” The bridge is expected to significantly reduce traffic pressure on the GT Road and improve connectivity for thousands of daily commuters. Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 18 A new bridge is coming up on the Buddha Nullah near Chand Cinema to ease traffic snarls and provide direct service lane connectivity to vehicles heading towards the city. The project, being executed by the Municipal Corporation’s Building & Roads (B&R) Department at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore, is expected to be completed by May 31, before the onset of the rainy season. Mayor Inderjit Kaur said: “Every effort is being made to make the city free of traffic bottlenecks, and this bridge is one such step in that direction.” Explaining the project, SDO (B&R) Akshay Bansal said: “People going towards the city will now not be required to go on the GT ‘Design lapses’ in under-construction bridge The new bridge that is coming up on the Buddha Nullah near Chand Cinema. INDERJEET VERMA Road. They will be given direct service lane connectivity through the bridge. There was a missing link, which will now be covered.” Residents welcomed the move, saying it would save time and reduce congestion. Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeep- er near Chand Cinema, said: “Traffic jams here are a headache. The bridge will divert vehicles directly to the service lane, making it easier for customers to reach us.” Harpreet Kaur, a commuter from Shivpuri added: “Currently, we are forced to take the GT Road, which is always crowded. With this bridge, I will save at least 15 minutes every day.” Baldev Singh, a resident of Civil Lines, said: “The bridge will be a big relief. Vehicles often get stuck here, now they will have a smoother c m y b The Irrigation Department has flagged serious design lapses in the under-construction Buddha Nullah bridge noting that work began before the general arrangement drawing (GAD) was approved and the bridge raft level doesn’t match the drain’s bed level, posing a risk to water flow. The department has now been asked to inspect the site and take corrective action to safeguard the drainage system before the monsoon season. Our Correspondent Ludhiana, December 18 Four days after a Rajasthan native second year student of BDS at CMC Medical College went missing under mysterious circumstances, his body was found floating in the canal near a petrol station in the South City area. Parents of the deceased, Anugreh Marker (21), suspect foul play behind his death and have sought a probe into the sequence of events leading to the recovery of his body from a canal situated at a large distance from the college hostel. Sarabha Nagar SHO Aditya Sharma said officials at Division Number 3 police station were investigating the case as a report regarding disappearance of Anugreh Marker, the victim, was missing for four days. the victim had already been filed by the deceased’s father Shailesh Marker. Investigating officer Navin Kumar assured the aggrieved family of strict action against those responsible for the youth’s death. He said further action would be initiated on the basis of circumstantial evidence and postmortem report of the body, which would be conducted by a board of doctors at the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. “It will be premature to say anything as we have to study autopsy reports and circumstantial evidence,” said Navin Kumar, while interacting with the media at the Civil Hospital. The youth’s family had received information about his disappearance on a call from his college hostel staff on Saturday evening. The caller had informed that Marker had been missing from the hostel for three hours. He was last seen near a church about 8 pm on the fateful day. Shailesh informed the police that his son had talked with him on phone on Friday in routine and nothing unusual was noticed during conversation with him.