01052026-LT-01.qxd 5/1/2026 12:57 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PAU PRODUCTS TO BE AVAILABLE AT ONE STOP HOSHIARPUR PLAYERS SHINE AT STATE KARATE C’SHIP Aarti Kumari emerges as the star performer, bagging gold medals in the under-21 girls’ category. P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 21°C ‘ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS’: NEETU REMEMBERS RISHI KAPOOR Punjab Agricultural University will soon open a store where products of all departments will be available. P2 FORECAST Neetu Kapoor paid emotional tribute to her late husband Rishi Kapoor on his sixth death anniversary. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 7:00 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:39 AM » FRIDAY | 1 MAY 2026 | LUDHIANA COUNCIL FOR THE INDIAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS Gurleen tops dist in ISC; Namya is ICSE topper Sukhpreet Singh ISC CLASS XII Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 30 Students brought laurels with an exceptional performance in the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) examinations, conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the results of which were declared on Thursday. Several achievers secured above 99 per cent in the district, setting new benchmarks in scholastic excellence. In the Class XII results, Gurleen Kaur Bath of Sacred Heart Convent School, Machhiwara Sahib, emerged as the district topper by securing an outstanding 99.5 per cent marks in the medical stream. In Class X, Namya Kapoor of Sat Paul Mittal School topped with a remarkable 99.6% in the district. Hailing from Udhowal village, near Machhiwara Sahib, Gurleen’s achievement stands as a testament to the potential of rural students. Her father Lakhwinder Singh is an arhtiya while mother Gurmit Kaur is a homemaker. A well-rounded student, Gurleen actively participates in sports and extracurricular activities, besides being fond of music and badminton. Sharing her preparation strategy, she said she maintained a regular study routine throughout the year and increased her study hours to 14-15 hours daily during the examinations. “I focused on understanding questions clearly and answering accordingly,” she said. Gurleen aspires to become a doctor and serve the underprivileged. She credited her suc- MEDICAL GURLEEN KAUR 99.5% ICSE students celebrate after the declaration of the results at Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN cess to God, followed by her teachers, parents and friends for their constant support. At Sat Paul Mittal School, students delivered a stellar performance across streams. Rayansh Gupta emerged as the topper in the Class XII non-medical stream with 99.25%, while Kian Beri led the commerce stream with an identical 99.25 per cent. Namya Kapoor’s 99.6 per cent in Class X placed her among the top achievers in the region. What stood out among these achievers was their emphasis on self-study and conceptual clarity. Rayansh, who has also secured admission to Stanford University, credited his disciplined routine and strong fundamentals for his success. “My mantra is self-study. I focused Several achievers secured above 99% in dist, setting new benchmarks in scholastic excellence on strengthening concepts and resolving doubts with teachers,” he said. His mother, Shefalli Gupta, highlighted that he did not rely on private tuitions. Namya attributed her performance to consistency and perseverance, saying she aims to pursue higher studies in psychology and behavioural economics in the UK. Kian Beri, who scored 100 out of 100 in accounts and physical education, stressed the importance of thorough understanding over rote learning. The school authorities said the results reflect a blend of academic rigour and effective classroom teaching. Meanwhile, Sacred Heart School, Jamalpur, also recorded a commendable success. In the ICSE results, Simran and Ritika Garg jointly secured the first position in the school with 99.2 per cent each. In the ISC (Class XII) results, Bhujasvi Ghai topped the humanities stream with 99%, further enhancing the institution’s academic reputation. Guru Nanak Public School, Model Town Extension, Ludhiana, too reported an impressive performance, achieving a 100 per cent pass percentage in the ICSE and ISC examinations. A total of 28 students in Class X and 22 students in Class XII secured 90% and above, reflecting the school’s consistent academic standards. Among the Class XII toppers, Japmann Kaur stood first in the school in the medical stream with 96 per cent, while Hargeet Kaur secured the top position in commerce with 97.2 per cent. In humanities, Harshbir Singh and Pariyanshu jointly bagged the first position with 95.2% each. In the Class X results, Gurkirpa Kaur topped the science stream with 96.6 per cent while Trishanpreet Kaur and Paramjot Kaur jointly secured the first position in commerce with 93.6%. HUMANITIES NON-MEDICAL COMMERCE BHUJASVI GHAI RAYANSH GUPTA KIAN BERI 99% 99.25% 99.25% ICSE CLASS X NAMYA KAPOOR 99.6% SIMRAN RITIKA GARG 99.2% 99.2% 3 thieves nabbed, Deported Samrala man faces 11 bikes seized theft, drug cases in Australia Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service SAD members stage a protest against unscheduled power cuts in BRS Nagar. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN SAD leaders protest power cuts Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 30 In all six constituencies of the city, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders staged protests against the AAP government, opposing the prolonged power cuts imposed in the severe heat wave conditions due to which the common man was suffering. These protests were held under the leadership of halqa in-charges and SAD leaders of the area. Paropkar Singh Ghuman, vice-president, SAD, Punjab, said Punjab was a power surplus state during the regime of the SAD-BJP government and today, the people are suffering due to unscheduled power cuts for long hours in all sectors — domestic, industrial and agricultural. “The power cuts should be stopped to provide a respite to the people as temperatures are touching 42-43°C and the outages were adding to the residents’ woes. I want to say that those who have not been released DA instalments, as an advocate, I will fight their cases free of cost,” said Ghuman. The SAD staged districtwise protests to protest against the ongoing power cuts throughout the state. As part of the initiative, another protest was organised outside the electricity office at Cheema Chowk on RK Road, under the leadership of Amit Gosai, the halqa in-charge for the Central constituency. Addressing the gathering during the protest, senior SAD leaders Ravinder Pal Singh Khalsa and Harpal Singh Kohli asserted that the current government shows absolutely no concern — nei- ther for the persistent power cuts nor for the plight of the business community. They noted that cases of extortion, robbery and murder make headlines in newspapers every single day, while local MLAs are busy seeking kickbacks in construction of houses and commercial buildings. Maheshinder Grewal, another senior SAD leader, said the AAP government had miserably failed to deliver in the state, may be its campaign against drugs, education drive or power surplus claims, everything was mere a whitewash. And people have come to know about the actual situation in the state. Ranjit Singh Dhillon also held a protest along with his workers and raised slogans against the AAP government in the state. Ludhiana, April 30 The Salem Tabri police arrested three persons involved in a motorcycle theft racket and recovered 11 stolen two-wheelers, including five Bullet motorcycles, from their possession. The arrests were made under the supervision of inspector Harshvir Singh Sandhu, SHO, Salem Tabri police station, following directions from Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma. The police said a police team, led by sub-inspector Jinder Lal and SI Jatinder Kumar, was patrolling the area near Malhotra Palace, Hussainpura, when they get a tip-off about three suspects going towards Kadian village on the Jalandhar bypass with three stolen Bullet motorcycles to sell them to buyers. Following which, the team set up a naka near the Kadian point and intercepted the suspects, who were riding stolen motorcycles. They failed to produce any docu- ments of the vehicles. The suspects have been identified as Krishan Kumar, alias Dhillon, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar; Vikas Kumar, alias Vicky, of Ashok Nagar, Salem Tabri; and Lavish Aggarwal of Basti Jodhewal, Ludhiana. During preliminary interrogation, the suspects confessed to stealing Bullet and other motorcycles from Ludhiana, Chandigarh and other places and selling them in the grey market. Later, two more Bullet motorcycles and six other bikes were recovered from different locations. A case was registered against the suspects and further investigation was launched to nab more members of the gang. All three suspects have criminal cases registered against them in the past. They will be produced in a court, where police remand will be sought for further interrogation to ascertain the total number of thefts committed by the gang and details of buyers of stolen vehicles. The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Thursday. c m y b Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 30 A Samrala-based man, Ranjit Singh (35), who was deported from Australia, along with other Punjabis, had been facing criminal cases, including drug and theft. Ranjit, a native of Mushkabad, had reached his village on Thursday night. A team of the Khanna police accompanied him safely to his house. According to information shared by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, as many as 11 youngsters from Punjab are among the group of 15 Indians being deported from Australia. Sources confirmed to The Tribune that Ranjit faced convictions in 2026 for possessing heroin and methylamphetamine and on charges of theft and breach of bail. A document shows that the Australian Government also attempted to deport him through a charter flight. “Previous attempts to remove Ranjit from Australia via commercial airlines have been unsuccessful due to his non-compliant and disruptive behaviour. He remained uncooperative to his removal from Australia and any further attempt to utilise commercial airlines would expose staff and the general public to unnecessary risk,” states the deportation document of the Samrala resident. Ranjit had gone to Australia many years ago and in 2022, he Ranjit Singh with Khanna police officials in Ludhiana on Thursday. also reportedly returned to India for getting married. Later, he returned to Australia. His wife, and parents stay at Mushkabad village in Samrala. When asked if the deportee would also undergo any investigation, here, a senior police official in Khanna said the Khanna police would only drop the deportee safely at his home and no investigation would be conducted here. Even case of drugs and others were registered against Ranjit in Australia and there was no point to interrogate the deportee here. Ranjit’s parents told mediapersons that they had spent around Rs 16 lakh in 2014 to send their son to Australia on a study visa, hoping for a bright future. “We incurred a huge expense and pinned high hopes on him so that the family’s financial condition could improve,” they said. His father Jasbir Singh recounted that Ranjit worked extremely hard in Australia and was employed as a truck driver. After nearly eight years of hard work, he returned to India in 2022, got married and returned to Australia later. He had also been supporting the family financially. According to the family, everything was going smoothly till Ranjit faced some issues as his visa was not extended, leading to his deportation. After spending Rs 16 lakh and years of hard work, his return has come as a severe mental and financial blow to the family. A visibly emotional Jasbir Singh said his son had not committed any wrongdoing and the situation arose solely because his visa period could not be extended.