01062026-CT-01.qxd 01-06-2026 01:12 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CGL TO GET BIGGER, CLUB AUCTIONS NEW FRANCHISES AYAAN GARG WINS UT CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP MADHURI BACKS AISH IN BODY SHAMING ROW With the addition of three new teams, as many as 24 teams will compete in the UT league. P3 Ayaan Garg plays a round of 6.5 points to win the Chandigarh State Chess Championship. P3 You cannot reduce her to a number on a scale: Madhuri defends Aishwarya against trolls. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 20.4°C SUNSET MONDAY 7:18 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:22 AM » MONDAY | 1 JUNE 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE UT firm loses ~82L in SIM-swipe fraud, 2 held from West Bengal Accused gave bank accounts, SIM cards to cybercriminals Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 31 A day after two men were arrested for running mule accounts, which were used to siphon cyber fraud proceeds across six states, the Chandigarh Police have arrested two youths of West Bengal for allegedly stealing Rs 81.89 lakh from a Chandigarh-based corporate bank account through SIM-swap fraud. The accused, Rajdeep Ghosh (22) and Tanay Das (26), both from North 24 Parganas, were arrested in a raid in West Bengal by a team of the Chandigarh Police. The case was registered on April 7 at the cybercrime police station here under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The fraud came to light when an employee of Alpha Forex Pvt Ltd, Sector 17, reported that the mobile number registered to the company’s bank account had suddenly lost network connectivity. Investigation revealed it AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 96 PANCHKULA 60 THE FRAUD ~81.89 lakh was stolen from corporate account of Alpha Forex Pvt Ltd, Sector 17 ■ Both registered mobile numbers of the company’s bank account were fraudulently swapped, blocking OTPs to the real owner and rerouting them to the fraudsters ■ had been fraudulently swapped — a technique where criminals illicitly obtain a new SIM card on the victim’s number, cutting off the legitimate user and redirecting all OTPs and bank alerts to themselves. In this case, both the primary and the alternative mobile numbers linked to the corporate account were compromised, giving the accused access to the SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43 & 45 Mohali: Sectors 70, 78 & Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com and SIM cards to organised cyber fraud networks ■ Advisory Never rent your SIM card or bank account to anyone — it is a criminal offence. Report suspicious activity on Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 or lock your Aadhaar biometrics via UIDAI to prevent misuse account. Rs 81.89 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn. Technical analysis and fieldwork traced the accused to North 24 Parganas, from where they were arrested. During interrogation, they admitted to facilitating the fraud by supplying bank accounts and SIM cards to organised cybercriminals. A portion of the defrauded amount was found credited in Das’s account. The Mystery shrouds woman Delhi youth dies lawyer’s death in Kharar in car crash on Tribune News Service 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 ■ Accused supplied bank accounts SIM card used in the crime was also traced and linked to Ghosh, who allegedly received a commission for lending his account to the network. The accused also disclosed the involvement of other associates, who are absconding. The police have recovered mobile phones, ATM cards and banking instruments from them. Speaking to The Tribune, Chandigarh DGP Dr Sagar Preet Hooda said: “Cyber criminals may operate from any corner of the country, but they cannot escape the long arm of the Chandigarh Police. We have zero tolerance for those who exploit digital infrastructure to defraud innocent citizens and businesses. Whether you lend your SIM, rent your bank account or actively participate in a fraud, you will be traced, arrested and prosecuted. I urge residents to stay alert, never share banking credentials with anyone and report any suspicious activity immediately on the Cyber Crime helpline 1930.” Mohali, May 31 A woman lawyer died under mysterious circumstances at her flat in the Deep Homes-2 society, Kharar, yesterday. On a statement given by the deceased’s father, Ajmer Singh, a resident of Rajpura, the police have registered a case against her husband Amit Rana and started investigation. According to the complainant, Neha got married to Amit on December 4, 2015. He would often get drunk and quarrel with Neha over trivial matters, and even assault her. His family and relatives repeatedly counselled him but the domestic disputes continued. At the time of the incident, Neha’s eight-year-old son was with his maternal uncle, Ayush, in Rajpura. Amit expressway Husband ‘absconding’, his phone remains switched off called Ayush around 5:45 pm on May 30 and informed him that Neha had hanged herself and her body had been shifted to the Kharar subdivisional hospital. Upon receiving this information, Ajmer Singh, along with his family and relatives, reached the hospital. Amit was not present there. He did not answer calls made by the family. Later, his phone went switched off. The family said Neha’s phone was also switched off. The actual cause of death will be known after the receipt of the post-mortem report, the police said. The investigation into the case is under way. Tribune News Service Mohali, May 31 A Delhi youth died and his three friends were injured as an unidentified vehicle hit the car they were travelling in near Machchli Kalan village on the IT City–Kurali Expressway near Kharar late last night. Tushar Soni was seriously injured in the accident and was rushed to a hospital, but died on the way. According to the police, five friends from Delhi were travelling to Manali for a vacation but when they reached near Kharar their car was hit by an unidentified vehicle on the sixlane Greenfield corridor near Kharar. The Majat police have registered a case of death by negligence against the unidentified driver. The police handed over the deceased’s body to the family after post-mortem. Cops use mild force on protesting Punjab staff Stir turns ugly as employees march towards CM Bhagwant Mann’s residence Tribune News Service Mohali, May 31 Hundreds of government employees staged a protest in Mohali today under the banner of the “Purane Scale, Purani Pension ate Bhatte Bahali Morcha”, demanding restoration of old pay scales, old pension scheme and pending allowances. The police resorted to mild lathicharge as the protesters marched towards Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Chandigarh. After assembling in large numbers in front of Gurdwara Amb Sahib, the protesters started a march towards the CM’s house. They were stopped by police personnel deployed in large numbers. When the protesters tried to continued their march despite police action, Employees of Punjab stage a protest against the state government in Mohali on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY the latter used water cannons and resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse them. Several employees were reportedly injured in police action. The protesters alleged that AAP which, before coming to , power, had promised that it would address employees’ grievances, has failed to fulfil any major demand in the past four-and-a-half years. They accused the government of exploiting employees through the new pay scales, denial of pending dearness allowance (DA) at 18 per cent and the scrapping of 37 types of allowances, including rural and border area allowances. The speakers pointed out the alleged contradiction in the AAP government’s stand — it had opposed the Centre’s new pay pattern for Chandigarh employees earlier, but was now imposing even lower pay scales (Rs 31,000) on new recruits in Punjab, resulting in nearly 40 per cent less salary. Strong exception was also taken to the delay in implementing the old pension scheme despite the partial notification issued on November 18, 2022. The employees demanded implementation of the 1972 rules for GPF-based Continued on page 3 c m y b Visitors enjoy boat ride at Sukhna Lake on Sunday as weather turns pleasant following recent rain. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI May sees excess rain, wet spell to continue Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 31 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has extended a yellow alert for thunderstorm with isolated rain across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula till Thursday — ensuring the welcome wet spell continues in a milder form through much of the coming week. The IMD’s monthly weather report for May 2026 confirms the month closed with excess rainfall of 50.1 mm — more than double the normal of 22.8 mm — in contrast to May 2024 when UT receives 50.1 mm rain against nil last year Chandigarh received zero rainfall and logged an alltime record high of 46°C maximum temperature. Sunday brought no fresh rain to the Tricity, but delivered a full day of pleasantly cool, overcast weather that drew residents out in large numbers to Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Rose Garden, Leisure Valley, Geri Route, Sector 17 Plaza, Elante Mall and other public spaces. After Saturday saw mercury dipping to 25.3°C — a staggering 14.8°C below nor- mal and almost certainly the city’s lowest May maximum in years — Sunday saw an equally sharp rebound. Chandigarh’s maximum temperature rose 6.7 degrees to 32°C, the sharpest single-day rise among the primary Punjab reporting stations and joint highest alongside Amritsar. Yet the city remained 7.2 notches below normal and the afternoon felt nothing like the scorching conditions of the previous week. The minimum temperature rose 2.4°C to 20.4°C, still 5.9°C below normal. The mercury will build through the week but in manageable steps. SEVEN-DAY OUTLOOK Yellow alert for thunderstorm at isolated places till Thursday for Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Rainfall will be isolated daily through Wednesday before turning scattered on Thursday. The alert clears from Friday and Saturday. Isolated showers may still occur on those days but no formal warning is in force. The extreme heatwave is not expected to return immediately.