04042024-LT-01.qxd 4/4/2024 1:06 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune FARMERS FROM 10 VILLAGES PROTEST BIOGAS PLANT EXPIRED DRUGS THROWN ALONG ABOHAR ROAD PRIYANKA JOINS DOCU BORN HUNGRY AS A PRODUCER Residents from 10 villages have pitched tents to stage an indefinite dharna near Samrala. P2 Hundreds of expired medicines found by roadside near a private college on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road. P3 Priyanka Jonas’ production company Purple Pebble Pictures has announced her new film as a producer. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.48 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:10 AM » THURSDAY | 4 APRIL 2024 | LUDHIANA CP acts tough against poll code violators, 77 nabbed with drugs, illicit liquor, cash Getting a facelift 59 FIRs lodged since MCC implementation, 66 per cent licensed arms deposited INDIA VOTES 2024 Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 3 The Commissionerate Police (CP) here has cracked the whip against violators of the model code of conduct (MCC), which was in force since March 16 when the General Election to the 18th Lok Sabha were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Under the special campaign to ensure implementation of the MCC in letter and in spirit and maintain the law and order situation across Ludhiana CP which was spread , across eight Assembly segments, including seven under Ludhiana and one under the Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, the police have so far arrested 77 criminals for various offences punishable under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Excise Act. A huge cache of drugs, illicit liquor and unaccounted cash has been recovered from the arrested persons. Besides, almost 66 per cent of the total over 19,000 licensed arms had so far been deposited with the local police and registered gun houses, as mandated by the prohibitory order issued by District Magistrate (DM) Sakshi Sawhney last month. Commissioner of Police (CP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal told The Tribune here on Wednesday that a strict vigil was being maintained across the limits of eight police sub-divisions and 28 police stations falling under the CP jurisdic- Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal (second from left) leads a flag march in Ludhiana. CRIMINALS Troublemakers, history-sheeters Bound Pending POs, absconders Arrested Deleted Pending NBWs Executed RECOVERY, ARRESTS 102 82 20 4,136 78 567 3,491 4 4 (SOURCE: COMMISSIONERATE POLICE, DRUGS IN KG, LIQUOR IN LITRES, CASH IN RUPEES, FIGURES FROM JANUARY 1 TO APRIL 3) tion to ensure proper enforcement of the poll code and check activities of anti-social elements and criminals. He said 17 special nakas (checkpoints) had been set up across the city, of which eight nakas were being monitored through CCTV cameras. “Regular coordination meetings are being held with counterparts at the district, subdivision and police station level,” Chahal said while NDPS Act FIRs 95 Excise Act FIRs 73 Arrests under NDPS Act 124 Arrests under Excise Act 97 Poppy husk 1,142.45 Heroin 3.864 Opium 13.007 Ganja 18.892 Intoxicant powder 0.15 ICE 0.023 Intoxicant pills, capsules 5,0,095 Illicit liquor 23.250 Licit Liquor 48,650 Lahan 64,185 Beer 63.6 Cash 30,53,400 revealing that special control rooms and a separate WhatsApp group had been created for sharing the real time information on the poll code violations. The Ludhiana top cop said a company of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) had arrived here so far, which was being used for monitoring inter-district nakas. Issuing stern warning to the arms licence holders, who have CP LIMITS Assembly segments 8 Police sub-divisions 8 Police stations 28 Polling locations 666 Vulnerable polling locations 164 Special city nakas 17 CCTV monitored nakas 8 CAPF 1 company LICENSED ARMS License holders Licensed arms Arms deposited Pending arms Gun houses 16,239 19,447 12,800 6,647 16 not yet deposited their licenced weapons even after the lapse of the March 31 deadline, the CP said as many as 12,800 licensed arms, which accounted for 65.81 per cent of the total 19,447, had so far been deposited in compliance with the DM’s prohibitory order. There were a total of 16,239 arms licence holders in Ludhiana. “A special screening committee has been formed and is fully functional to scruti- nise the arms licenses and gun houses,” he said, adding that there were 16 gun houses in Ludhiana, which had already been inspected by DSP-rank officials and their security-related audit had also been conducted. Divulging details of action taken against drugs and illicit liquor smuggling, Chahal said 31 drug peddlers had been arrested in 24 cases registered under the NDPS Act since March 16 while 46 liquor smugglers had been caught in 35 cases lodged under the Excise Act since the poll code implementation. The recovery from the arrested persons included 21 kg of poppy husk, 16 kg of ganja, 1.389 kg of heroin, 2 kg of opium, 20 gm of party drug, popularly known as ICE, 13 gm of intoxicant powder, 1,265.25 litres of licit liquor, 3.75 litres of illicit liquor, 63.6 litres of beer, 64,000 litres of lahan and Rs 30,53,400 unaccounted cash. Similar action taken since January 1 led to the registration of 168 FIRs, including 95 under the NDPS Act and 73 under the Excise Act, arrest of 221 criminals, and recovery of 1,142.45 kg of poppy husk, 3.864 kg of heroin, 13.007 kg of opium, 18.892 kg of ganja, 150 gm of intoxicant powder, 23 gm of ICE, 5,00,095 intoxicant pills/ capsules, 23.250 litres of illicit liquor, 48,650 litres of licit liquor, 64,185 litres of lahan, and 63.6 litres of beer. Acting tough against the criminals, especially troublemakers and history-sheeters, the police have so far arrested 78 proclaimed offenders (POs)/absconders and have deleted 567 such elements from the records following the legal process. Besides, 82 of continued on page 2 With the Navratras starting from April 9, the renovation of the Durga Mata temple building is in full swing in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Two held for committing ~58-lakh property fraud Woman, one of duo, used to impersonate as CHB member Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 3 A woman, resident of Chandigarh, along with a local property dealer, has been arrested for allegedly committing a property-related fraud. The suspects have been identified as Manjeet Kaur of Sector 51, Chandigarh, and Amrik Singh of Aman Nagar, here. According to the police, Manjit Kaur used to impersonate a member of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB). She, along with her daughter-in-law Malika and property dealers, allegedly used to commit frauds related to properties. Malika and Gurpal Singh of Jalandhar, another property dealer, are yet to be arrested in the case. DCP Jaskaran Singh Teja said Varun Jain, a resident of Maharaja Ranjit Singh REALTOR, WOMAN’S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AT LARGE Malika, daughter-in-law of Chandigarh resident Manjit Kaur, who was nabbed by the police, and Gurpal Singh of Jalandhar, another property dealer, are yet to be arrested in the case. Nagar, here, had complained that he had to purchase a house in Chandigarh. For the purpose, a property dealer, Rishi, from Haibowal arranged his meeting with property dealers Amrik Singh of Ludhiana and Gurpal Singh of Jalandhar. Jain alleged that Amrik and Gurpal further arranged his meeting with Manjit Kaur, who was introduced to him as a senior official of the CHB. They told him that Manjit Kaur could arrange a house at a lower price. The complainant alleged that the deal was finalised at Rs 82 lakh for a house at Sector 38 in Chandigarh. Woman nabbed with heroin, ~1.3L drug money Admn holds camps, contests to create awareness among voters Our Correspondent Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 3 The Ludhiana (rural) police claimed to have nabbed a woman of Latala village in Ludhiana district who had been involved in drug peddling for a long time. The police also seized 65 gm of heroin and Rs 1.31 lakh drug money from the suspect, Amanpreet Kaur. As per information obtained from the Jodhan police station, police officials, led by incharge, Chhapar Chowki, Kewal Krishan, had nabbed the suspect when she was going on foot on the Latala Bhaini Rora road on Tuesday. They became suspicious when the woman tried to run away after throwing an envelope The suspect in custody of the Jodhan police in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO after seeing them. When one of the police personnel, Manjit Kaur, overpowered the woman and searched the envelope, 65 gm of heroin and Rs 1.31 lakh drug money were seized. The suspect was booked under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. Ludhiana, April 3 In a bid to spread awareness among youngsters, especially first-time voters, the district administration has been organising poster-making, rangoli and ‘mehndi’ competitions at educational institutes across the district. The aim is to ensure maximum participation of voters during the Lok Sabha elections and to achieve the target of over 70 per cent voter turnout during the elections. On Wednesday too, postermaking, rangoli and mehndi competitions were held in different educational institutions, including Lord Mahavira Homeopathic College, Haibowal Road, Kamalpura in Jagraon, Government Senior Secondary School, Bhaini Darera (Raikot), etc. During the awareness activities, an oath was also administered to students to ensure active participation of voters during the elections. District Election Officer (DEO)-cum-Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sakshi Sawhney said voter registration camps were also being organised in educational institutes to enrol first-time voters. These activities are being organised to encourage voters under the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. The eligible first-time voters are being apprised of the ‘ Voter Helpline’ mobile application and National Voter Services Portal (NVSP), which can be used for enrolling themselves as voters. The residents can also visit www.nvsp.in to register themselves as voters. Sawhney reiterated the commitment of the administration and the police to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. She urged the residents to exercise their ‘right to vote’ without any fear and without coming under anyone’s influence. — TNS He said Rs 58.17 lakh was paid to Manjit Kaur but she did not provide any document related to the house. Later, she started avoiding his calls. Police officials said during investigation, it came to light that Manjit Kaur, along with Malika and property dealers, used to commit fraud with people by impersonating as a housing board member. They said the woman was already facing 11 FIRs related to frauds. Further investigation was underway. A case under Sections 406, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC was registered at the Sadar police station. 2 builders booked for developing illegal colonies Ludhiana, April 3 The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has registered FIRs against developers of two illegal colonies. One FIR has been registered at the Dehlon police station against a builder for developing an illegal colony on one acre of land in Rania village. The suspect has yet to be identified. Another FIR has been lodged at the Sahnewal police station against an unidentified individual for establishing an illegal colony in Umedpur village. Both FIRs have been registered under Section 36 of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA), 1995. — TNS Submit compliance report on NGT order on trees, MC chief told Industrial body moves SC against NGT had ordered that implementation of Section 43-B signboards, ads, boards Ludhiana, April 3 The Chief Engineer of the Department of Local Government has issued directions to all commissioners of municipal corporations, including MC, Ludhiana, related to taking requisite measures for the protection of trees to comply with an NGT order dated January 30. Notably, the NGT had issued an order on January 30, stating that all signboards, names, or signages, wires, etc, on trees be removed advertisements, any kind of boards or signages, electric wires and high-tension insulated cables, etc, placed on trees be removed within one month from the date of issuance of the instructions. The NGT also ordered that trees which were already concretised be de-concretised manually, without the use of JCB machines, etc, so that roots and trunks are not damaged, by leaving soil-filled space of one-m radius to allow percolation of water to the roots thereof within two months from the date of issuance of the instructions. The Tribunal also directed that during the fresh construction of roads/pavements, etc, a fresh clause was added in tender documents that one-m area around the trees should be left de-concretised/soilfilled to allow percolation of water to the roots. Furthermore, concretisation of road berms beyond footpath and central verge of the roads/pathways be avoided and appropri- c m y b ate landscaping with plantation of grass, shrubs, flowering plants may be done, as may be viable. The Chief Engineer has given directions to the commissioners to ensure compliance with the NGT orders and submit a full compliance report by April 15. It is learnt that an environmental activist had earlier moved the NGT, raising the matter related to trees. — TNS Ludhiana, April 3 The Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organsation (FICO) has filed an application with the Supreme Court against the implementation of Section 43-B of the Income Tax Act. The federation is waiting for the application to be accepted by the Supreme Court, in case it is not, FICO will move the High Court. Rajiv Jain, general secretary, said the federation had filed the application three days back and are waiting for its acceptance. Gurmeet Singh Kular, president, said the Central Government must defer the imple- mentation of the amendment to April 1, 2025 as the notification of the amendment came at the eleventh hour and the payment system cannot be transformed over night. Many traders and industrialists feel there should be a ‘rationalisation of payment’ period of at least 15 to 30 days. — TNS
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