15062026-LT-01.qxd 6/15/2026 1:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SPICE OF LIFE: HOW MAJHA HALDI BRAND TOOK ROOT Originally set on a teaching career, Yadwinder Singh returned to agriculture & built a thriving farm business. P2 » SUPERSTAR SALMAN KHAN FLAUNTS BUZZ CUT SHARVARI ON SUCCESS, STARDOM & STAYING GROUNDED The actor makes a cool entry at the 25th anniversary celebrations of Aamir Khan Productions. P4 From Bunty Aur Babli 2to Main Vaapas Aaunga— actress’ journey takes a big step with Imtiaz Ali directorial.P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.25 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:21 AM MONDAY | 15 JUNE 2026 | LUDHIANA Model Town Extension sinks deeper in mess as rain piles up woes for locals Roads were dug up to replace sewerage pipelines but work not complete so far Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 Recent rainfall has made the lives of residents of Model Town Extension, near New Krishna Mandir, more difficult, leaving roads slippery with water and mud. Area residents are going through a hard time for the past around three months due to incomplete civic work. Roads were dug up for the replacement of sewerage pipelines but the project remains unfinished, leaving the locality in disrepair. Recent rainfall has worsened the situation, spreading mud and filth across the area. Vehicles are getting stuck, movement has become difficult and dust and dirt are entering homes, raising health concerns. Locals allege that the work is progressing at a slow pace and with rainy season round the corner they fear things are only going to become worse. “It seems the authorities are waiting for any serious accident to occur, which is worrisome,” said a resident. Social activist Arvind Sharma said if the pending work A road in a pathetic state in Model Town Extension after the recent rain. was not completed immediately and roads were not repaired, residents would be compelled to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission to safe- 3 Japanese nationals among five booked on fraud charge Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 The Ludhiana police registered a case against three Japanese nationals and two other persons for committing a fraud with a city-based agricultural equipment manufacturing firm. They were charged for not returning machinery worth Rs 61.60 lakh to the firm, which was taken for field trials about two years ago. As per details mentioned in the FIR registered at the Dehlon police station, the booked persons are the representatives of Maruyama Mfg India Private Limited, a Japan-based company working in the agriculture machinery sector with its local office in Gurgaon. They are charged under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The suspects were identified as company’s managing director Munenori Ohta; deputy director Takayuki Saito, company functionary Toshio Kondo, and two managers — Harmeet Singh and Ritwique Das. The complainant in the case, Jagjit Singh, owner of Ludhiana-based Jagatsukh Industries Private Limited which deals in manufacturing of agricultural, garden sprayers and implements, alleged that the officials of the Japanese firm had contacted their company and expressed desire to build a business part- nership to work together for agricultural advancement in Punjab and Haryana. “As the representatives of the Japanese firm wanted to test our high-value boom spray machines in the field, we, in good faith, provided them machinery along with office space in our manufacturing facility. In 2023, machines were delivered to them with prior conditions that the same had to be returned after trials. Around three years have passed but the firm had failed to return the machines and they are using them for their tasks,” he alleged. Meanwhile, Munenori Ohta, managing director of the Japanese firm, was sent a message for their version but he did not reply. guard their rights. Another area resident, Bavneet Kaur, a teacher by Money changer booked for duping people Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 The Ludhiana police registered a case against a money changer on the charge of duping residents on the pretext of providing air tickets and exchanging currency. The suspect was identified as Amit Malhotra, a resident of Atam Nagar. Investigating officer ASI Harbhajan Singh said he, along with the a police team, was present at Dholewal Chowk, here, on June 13 for patrolling when a tip-off was received that Amit, who runs a firm, Amit Forex, at Gill Chowk, provides services of currency exchange and air ticket booking. As per information, the suspect used to illegally deduct a huge continued on page 2 profession who daily commutes from the main road in Model Town Extension to reach her school, said it had become difficult to go on a two-wheeler, due to which my family members were dropping me at my workplace. Another student, Jaiveer, who had a narrow escape on the main road in the area said he daily goes to his tuition classes through the stretch near Krishna Mandir. The condition of the road has become worse since the recent rainfall. “Now, I prefer taking another route to my institute as commuting on the road is really impossible,” he said. Students and office-goers and local residents are facing difficulty due to the ongoing work and the rain has turned the condition of the road from bad to worse. Sunita, a homemaker, said: “it had become difficult to go out. Earlier, I used to go on foot to buy grocery and other household items but now, I prefer going out in car only due to the poor condition of roads in the area,” she said. Drive targets roadways depots to eliminate mosquito breeding Ludhiana, June 14 Intensifying its efforts to prevent and control dengue, the District Health Department conducted a special antidengue campaign focusing on Punjab Roadways workshops, PRTC bus depots and adjoining junk yards, which are considered potential breeding sites for denguecarrying mosquitoes due to the presence of discarded tyres, scrap material and water-holding containers. Special teams carried out extensive surveillance and preventive activities to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding sources in the highrisk locations. Information, education and communication (IEC) activities were also undertaken to create awareness among employees, workers and the public regarding dengue symptoms, preventive measures and the importance of maintaining a clean and dry environment. During the drive, field teams conducted meticulous inspections of workshops, junk yards and surrounding areas to detect stagnant water accumulation and check for the presence of mosquito larvae. Wherever larvae were found, it was removed, followed by anti-larval meas- A health team checks for mosquito larvae at a depot. ures and spray activities to prevent the spread of vectorborne diseases. The campaign was carried out by MPHWs, swasth sahayaks, and breeding checkers with active support from nursing students. The activities were supervised by the District Epidemiologist, AMO, and MPHS to ensure effective implementation and close monitoring of all preventive measures. As part of the day’s intensive campaign, teams visited Punjab Roadways workshops and 177 junk yards, covered 238 areas, inspected 9,422 houses and checked 21,843 containers for mosquito breeding. Civil Surgeon Ramandeep Kaur said: “Bus depots, workshops, junk yards and discarded tyres can become major breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes if proper precautions are not taken. The fight against dengue cannot be won by the Health Department alone, it requires active participation from every resident and institution.” — TNS Speeding vehicle kills 18-yr-old youth Three others injured, victims were travelling in e-rickshaw Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 In the wee hours on Sunday, a speeding Toyota vehicle rammed into an e-rickshaw near the Jalandhar bypass. In the accident, an 18-yearold youth, Navjot Singh, travelling in the e-rickshaw died on the spot while three others sustained serious injuries. According to information, the victims had reached the Ludhiana railway station by train early in the morning after completing their pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi. They hired an e-rickshaw from the station to reach their destination towards Jassian. The e-rickshaw driver, Himanshu, said he had picked up five passengers from the railway station — two girls and three boys. Fortunately, the two girls had alighted from the vehicle a short while before the mishap. At the time of the crash, the three boys were seated in the rear part of the e-rickshaw. The impact of the collision was so severe that one of the youths died on the spot while the others were rushed to a hospital. One of the injured was taken to the PGI, Chandigarh. The Toyota vehicle that caused the tragedy was being driven by Rahul Kumar Mishra, who is a soldier in the Indian Army. Investigations revealed that he was travelling from Uttar Pradesh to continued on page 2 The car rammed into the e-rickshaw near Jalandhar Bypass. Seized grenades, arms were dropped near border by Pak drones: Cops Eight booked for raping minor girl Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 The probe into the recovery of two hand grenades and three sophisticated weapons from four suspects — two from Amritsar district and two from Phillaur — revealed that the explosives were suspected to have been dropped by drones flown in from Pakistan. Handlers in foreign countries facilitated deliveries by coordinating with counterparts in Pak Handlers sitting in foreign countries facilitated the deliveries by coordinating with their counterparts in Pakistan. The investigation into the international terrorgangster nexus by the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate and Cops address mediapersons regarding the arrest of suspects with live grenades in Ludhiana. FILE Counter Intelligence also found that explosives and weapons were made in China. They were suspected to have reached Pakistan before being diverted to Punjab. Notably, on May 17, a targeted shooting conspiracy c m y b was averted with the arrest of two operatives — Anuraj and Ankush — along with the recovery of three sophisticated pistols and 11 cartridges. Later, on May 23, police teams traced the explosives wing of the module, leading to the arrest of Karandeep Singh and Baljeet Singh. Two military level hand grenades were seized. A senior police official privy to the investigation said the four arrested suspects had been entrusted with the task of collecting weapons and explosives from specific locations in lieu of a few thousand bucks. “Questioning revealed that they were not even aware of who had dropped the hand grenades or weapons. They were just told to extract them from specific spots. Further instructions were yet to be received for delivery to another module, which would have been tasked with carrying out targeted shootings and lobbing of hand grenades at targets in Punjab,” the official added. The police official said the entire operation was being managed by foreign-based handlers — Zorawar Singh (Germany), Sahil Sondhi, alias Chunj (Dubai), Lakha (Germany), and Akashdeep, alias Golden (Malaysia), a resident of Khaira village, Tarn Taran. The handlers usually connect with youths on social media and convince them to join the module in exchange for money. The police probe has also found that a youth lodged in Karnal (Haryana) jail was also part of the nexus. He will be brought on production warrant for questioning. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 14 A minor girl was raped. The victim got registered FIR against eight persons. The complainant told the police that her father Manoj Dau passed away on May 20, 2024. He was addicted to drugs, due to which her mother Rani left him and started staying at her maternal house. Later, her father sold her to Hariram and Rekha at the age of two. They used to torture her badly. “When I turned 16, the suspects sold me to Sahil and Meena of Haryana. They would often beat me and misbehave with me and Sahil even made physical relations with me without my consent. Later, I became pregnant and gave birth to a child. Now, I am staying with my mother Rani and Sahil and other suspects are threatening to kill me and my mother. On my complaint, a case has been registered against the suspects,” she alleged. Furthermore, the victim stated that she remained at the home of Sahil and Meena till May 22, 2025. She managed to escape from their clutches and reached her mother’s place. Later, she gave birth to a child. She further alleged that the suspects forced her to return to their house. When she refused, they began threatening her. The ASI said the case was filed based on a ‘zero FIR’ sent by the Haryana Police. They will begin the investigation and arrest the suspects soon. The booked suspects were identified as Sahil, Phulawati, Shubhash, Meena, Hariram, Darshana, wife of Hariram, Vikas and Rekha. All suspects are residents of Haryana.