15052026-LT-01.qxd 5/15/2026 12:27 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune 2 DAYS ON, NO NOMINATIONS IN AHMEDGARH, AMARGARH 18 candidates file papers for 33 wards in Malerkotla Municipal Council, last date tomorrow. P2 » LEGACY OF TEST CRICKETER MOHD JAHANGIR KHAN A MUST VISIT PLACE FOR MOMO LOVERS IN SHIMLA Part of pre-Independence India’s first Test team, he served as principal of Govt College, Ludhiana. P3 Cafe Quick Tandoori Momos in Shimla offers 200 varieties of delicacies like tandoori and matka momos. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 39°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 40°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7.06 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:32 AM FRIDAY | 15 MAY 2026 | LUDHIANA Historic first flight to land at Halwara int’l airport today Minister Sanjeev Arora had purchased 40 tickets for his near & dear ones Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 14 The historic maiden flight, which the people of the region had been waiting for, will land on Friday at the Halwara International Airport. The maiden flight of Air India from Delhi, will touch the grounds at Halwara around 7 am. Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu along with three-four MPs, who had left AAP and joined the BJP recently, will be travelling in the first flight from Delhi. Besides, AAP MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney is also expected to be coming in the same flight. For the flight, there is not only excitement all over but necessary preparations have also been made. Instructions have been given to the administrative officials concerned to be present at the Halwara airport to receive passengers. It will mark a memorable moment for the region and state’s air connectivity. FILE AIRCRAFT TO GET ‘WATER CANNON SALUTE’ Air India’s A320 aircraft, with a capacity of 160 passengers, will be given a “water cannon salute”. It is a ceremonial aviation tradition where fire tenders spray water to form an arch over the aircraft to welcome a new flight. DC Himanshu Jain has given standing instructions to the Transport Department to arrange a vehicle there so that passengers face no problem in reaching their destinations in Ludhiana, if their own vehicles were not available. At the same time, to wel- Shielding from blazing heat come passengers travelling by the Air India flight, eating joints on the RaikotHalwara airport road are offering discounts. Vikram Kanwar, one of the owners of Barista on the Halwara road, said they were offering 20 per cent discount to all passengers. “They need to show us air tickets to avail the discount,” he said. Well-placed sources said the flight coming from Delhi might witness less number of passengers as compared to the total bookings. “Minister Sanjeev Arora has made a lot of efforts to get the Halwara airport operational. To make it a memorable flight, he had purchased around 40 tickets for his near and dear ones from his own pocket. But since he has been arrested in a money laundering case, not many are interested in travelling in the first flight without him. We are all waiting for his early release,” said an industrialist and Arora’s friend. Air India’s A320 aircraft, with a capacity of 160 passengers, will be given a “water cannon salute”. It is a ceremonial aviation tradition where fire tenders spray water to form an arch over the aircraft to welcome a new flight. No byelection announced in Ward 8, Mayor claims otherwise Seat vacant since demise of Congress councillor in Jan 2025 Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 14 The elections for the Municipal Councils are being held across the state. The claim made by Mayor Inderjit Kaur that elections will also be held in Ward 8 along with the council elections fall flat as no announcement has been made to hold elections in the ward where the sitting Congress Councillor had passed away on January 29, 2025. Since then, there has been no permanent councillor in the ward. Reacting to the failure of the AAP government to announce the byelection for Ward 8 of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation alongside the municipal elections, Punjab Congress secretary Dhruv Agarwal stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the MLA from the Ludhiana North constituency were not interested in holding the elections in Ward 8. Agarwal said AAP fears defeat as the ward was dominated by the Congress. “The MLA concerned or the AAP leaders will not take any risk Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Parents protect their kids from the scorching sun on a road in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN 2 illegal call centres busted the Ferozepur road. The suspects, many of whom had come from across Punjab and other states after being lured by high salaries, were allegedly targeting residents and foreign nationals, threatening and deceiving them to siphon off lakhs of rupees from their bank accounts. Police sources confirmed that a major racket was being run from Ludhiana to dupe people. The police reportedly recovered mobiles, hi-tech laptops and other equipment. The detained persons are being interrogated and the police are likely to hold a press conference on Friday. — TNS Ludhiana, May 14 A clinic operator in Katani Kalan village, Ludhiana, received calls from a foreign number and the caller threatened to kill him and demanded a huge sum of extortion. The Koom Kalan police have registered a case against an unidentified person and launched a probe. In a complaint filed with the police, Gurjeet Singh, a resident of Raian village, here, stated that he runs a clinic, Gyan Ayurveda, at Katani Kalan village. In the morning on May 11, he received a call from an unknown number (+923142510426). The caller said in a stern tone: “We know everything about you and will teach you a lesson soon.” The complainant stated that he had been receiving threatening calls regularly seeking money. The caller also threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case Eight booked for kidnapping tea vendor, relative after over two-month probe Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 14 Accusing a man of stealing gold, eight persons introducing themselves as CIA employees, brutally beat up a tea vendor, tied his hands and feet and threw him into the boot of a car. They also bundled a student, who had come to rescue his relative, into another car and took him away. The youth managed to escape from the clutches of the miscreants and lodged a complaint at the Sarabha Nagar police station. On the complaint of Mohammad Sabar Khan, a resident of Posing as CIA staff, suspects had accused vendor of stealing gold Basant City, Pakhowal Road, the police registered a case against the eight unidentified suspects. Khan said his maternal uncle, Tajuddin, a resident of Ranchi Colony, runs a tea shop in the Rajguru Nagar area. On February 21, when Tajuddin was present at his shop, eight persons came in two cars. The suspects started beating Tajuddin, claiming that they were CIA employees as they fear defeat in the ward, which will cast impact over the upcoming Assembly elections,” he alleged. Replying to the accusations made by the Congress leader, MLA Madan Lal Bagga said he was not the authority to decide whether the elections would be held or not. “The Election Commission has to take the call on the same. However, the representation to hold the poll in the ward has been sent to higher-ups. We have four-five AAP leaders, who can give a tough fight to any candidate,” he said. According to the norms, the election for a councillor in the ward must be held within six months of the vacancy arising. However, despite the passage of one year and four months, the Election Commission is yet to conduct the poll in the ward. Agarwal asserted that if the poll for the ward was not announced concurrently with the municipal elections, the case would be taken up to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “The State Election Commission must announce the date for the Ward 8 byelection so that residents of the area may exercise their right to elect their representative,” he said. Clinic operator gets Municipal Council poll: Congress extortion calls, threats announces candidates for Jagraon Nikhil Bhardwaj Ludhiana, May 14 The Commissionerate Police reportedly raided and busted two illegal call centres operating on the Ferozepur road and detained many employees. Acting on specific intelligence, teams of the Cyber Cell conducted raids on fake call centres located on Despite passage of 16 months, the EC is yet to conduct poll in Ward 8. and that he had stolen a large quantity of gold. “My uncle managed to inform me about the incident over phone. When I reached the scene, I saw the suspects were tying my uncle’s hands and feet. Afterwards, they put him into the car’s boot. When I stepped forward to rescue him, they put me in the second car,” the complainant said. Sabar said: “Following which, they took us to a farmhouse in Kheri Chameri, where they began torturing us.” He said while sitting in the car, he had already sent his location to another uncle. The latter and other people followed them to the farmhouse and started recording a video. The suspects got into an argument with them and fled the scene. Later, both of them escaped from their clutches and brought the entire matter to the notice of the Sarabha Nagar police. After over two months of investigation, the police registered a case against the eight unidentified suspects. The police said they were searching for the culprits and they would be arrested soon. The motive of the kidnapping would be known after their arrest. c m y b against an unidentified person and launched further investigation. The police are now trying to track the mobile number from which the threats were made. A few days ago, a senior citizen and edible oil businessman from Ludhiana has alleged that he received death threats and an extortion demand of ?1 crore from Mahavir Parshad, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, and his son Sanjay. Punjab has witnessed a steady increase in extortion threats in recent days. Numerous cases have been reported in various districts where businessmen, politicians, celebrities and ordinary citizens have been receiving threats via phone calls, messages and social media. DGP Gaurav Yadav during his recent visit to Ludhiana had claimed that 80 to 90 per cent extortion calls were being made by local criminals or other miscreants by posing as notorious gangsters with a clear motive to extort money. Enumerators not coming for Census duty to face FIRs Ludhiana, May 14 With the field survey under the first phase of Digital Census2027 (house listing and housing Census) to commence from May 15, MC officials said enumerators and supervisors not coming for Census duties will face FIRs. They said kits had been distributed to the enumerators and those not showing up to collect these and perform their duties would have to face FIRs. MC Commissioner-cumPrincipal Census Officer Neeru Katyal Gupta said residents could do self-enumeration till May 14 and the field survey will be held from May 15 to June 13. If they have completed selfenumeration, they would only have to share the SE-ID with the enumerators. — TNS Ludhiana, May 14 The Congress has announced its candidates for the Jagraon Municipal Council elections. Party observer Pawan Dewan announced the names during a press conference held in Jagraon on Thursday in the presence of former MLA Jagtar Singh Jagga, senior leader Rajeshwar Sidhu, Block (Urban) president Harpreet Singh and Block (rural) president Navdeep Singh Grewal. He said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee has finalised the candidates for the Jagraon Municipal Council poll. The candidate for Ward 12 would be announced later. Dewan said every section of society was troubled by poor policies of the government. He expressed confidence that Congress candidates would perform well in the elections and secure victory with a huge margin.