04022025-LT-01.qxd 03-02-2025 23:29 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SPEED UP PROPERTY TAX RECOVERY:MC CHIEF TO OFFICIALS CAR TAKEN ON TEST DRIVE, CATCHES FIRE LAMAR, BEYONCE AND CHARLI XCX WIN BIG AT GRAMMYS MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar held a meeting on recovery of property tax.P2 A BMW car suddenly caught fire when two mechanics were on its test-drive after repairs . P2 Beyonce takes lead with 11 Grammy nominations, a career-high, for her country album Cowboy Carter. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 22°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.04 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:15 AM » TUESDAY | 4 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA One drowns, 2 rescued during Saraswaticementedbanks,absenceofcops&divers puja at Doraha Onlookers blame it on Lovleen Bains Doraha, February 3 A migrant reportedly drowned while two others were rescued during the holding of Saraswati immersion puja at the Sirhind canal in Doraha today. The deceased has been identified as Sudhir Yadav (24) of Jugiana village. He was married and working in a company near his village. The deceased was taking a bath during the ‘murti visarjan’ when the incident took place. Others at the time of the incident were engaged in their own prayers. Two others who were close to Sudhir also lost control as they saw the latter drowning, but this was luckily noticed by some onlookers and the duo also shouted for help. Acting immediately, the onlookers immediately tied some dupattas together and manage to pull them out. The onlookers rued that the administration had made no preparations, what- Victim Sudhir Yadav soever, to control the huge rush of devotees, as there was an inadequate number of security personnel. “The divers too were nowhere to be seen,” they said. Some onlookers complained that as they went to arrange for divers, the latter asked for Rs 15,000 for bringing out the body of Sudhir. Dinesh Ram, a resident of Jugiana village, shared with this correspondent that a total of three youngsters went into the canal to take holy bath, and Sudhir got drowned while the other two were rescued. “No help came to us and we found no diver on the spot to bring out the body,” he added. “The concretisation of the banks of the Sirhind canal is to be blamed. Earlier, if someone slipped he was able to hold on to some plants or bushes on the banks or got stuck in them. But now with the cemented banks, the rescuing of a drowning person has become next to impossible. Only experts, if available, can save a drowning person,” shared Barjinder Jandu, a social worker of Doraha. Samita Kaur Mangat, an environmentalist, shared that, “On one hand, the administration has played havoc with environment, and on the other they are not prepared to assist anyone in hour of need. The drowning could have been stopped had it not been for the cemented edges,” she said. “It is foolish on the part of the department to erect such steep banks from where no one cannot be saved if he slips. To make matters worse, there are no barricades, wire meshes, bar handles to help people,” Samiat added. Kuldeep Khaira, member, Public Action Committee, too complained that the government had taken no stakeholders into confidence before taking such a crucial decision which pertains to the safety, security and wellness of people. “The precious life could have been saved if the canal had been in its original form. Many more may follow if the administration fails to make prior security arrangements, especially on such occasions when the convergence of thousands can result in any mishap,” he added. Doraha SHO Rao Varinder shared that he had come to know about the incident but was waiting for a formal complaint to act. Youth kidnapped, friend shot at; police cite rivalry Anonymous letter brings school principal under scanner Nikhil Bhardwaj Ludhiana, February 3 It seems that the controversies in Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Jawahar Nagar Camp, refuse to die down. After suspension of the school principal Kuldeep Singh following accusations of “child labour” being carried out on the school premises, an anonymous letter is doing the rounds, which says “media is our last hope”. Though it is bearing no names, but at the end of the letter it is written ‘by the school staff’. The letter brings the already suspended principal into limelight by stating that already many complaints were pending with the District Education Department (Secondary) and with the Education Minister Harjot Singh. The school staff had approached the higher-ups many times with the complaints, but to no avail. The letter asks the authorities concerned to terminate the services of the principal as he had allegedly threatened staff members and misused his power and clout. District Education Officer Dimple Madan said that the department too had got the letter and a probe was conducted twice in this regard. “But till the time someone comes up openly and gets the statements recorded or provide us with ample proof, we cannot take any action against the principal?” she said. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 3 A friend of a youth who was kidnapped by three bikeborne persons and repeatedly hit on his head with bricks was shot at by the assailants when he went to meet them over the issue. After being shot in the thigh, he was taken to the DMC Hospital for treatment. The incident occured on Monday afternoon when the three miscreants kidnapped a 22-year-old youth who was walking towards Beri Colony from Guru Teg Bahadur Chowk and severely injured him by hitting him on the head with bricks. After getting to know about the fight, when a friend of the victim reached the spot, the miscreants opened fire at him. Following the incident the attackers fled the spot, while the injured was admitted to a hospital. The injured youth has been identified as Abhijeet Singh, a college student at Narangwal. Giving information, Ankush (22), a resident of Bhai Himmat Singh Nagar, said that he was walking in Kin of the victim who suffered bullet injury at the DMC Hospital in Ludhiana on Monday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN the afternoon when three miscreants came on a bike, stopped him and attacked him with bricks, kidnapped him and took him towards Chauhan Nagar, where one of their gang members was already present. The four then ook him towards Bhai Jaitaji Chowk, where they beat him up and asked him to call his friends. Somehow, he managed to escape from there on the miscreants’ bike and told everything to his friend Mand. Following this, when Abhijeet along with his friends came to see the assailants, the miscreants opened fire at him. ACP (South) Harjinder Singh said the fight took place due to some old rivalry as most of them were college students. He added that it was being investigated whether the bullet was fired from a licensed weapon or an illegal one. A case has been registered, but no one has been arrested. Temple committee members block Ferozepur road over police ‘inaction’ Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 3 Members of the temple committee of Pracheen Mata Sheetla Temple in BRS Nagar blocked the busy Ferozepur road near the Circuit House on Monday. They were outraged over the police’s inability to solve the casew of theft of approximately 40 kg of silver from the temple, which took place on January 7. The thieves allegedly stole gold ornaments in addition to silver and also desecrated the Shivling and idols of other Gods, Goddesses as well. The CCTV cameras had also captured the thieves’ faces. Temple committee president Ashok Sachhar stated that the community gathered to protest alleged police inaction in the case. Despite giving the police a month to apprehend the thieves, they appeared uncommitted to solving the case. Protesters blocked the road for half an hour, which affected the traffic also as commuters had to use the service lane. After police officials convinced the protesters, the protest was ended and traffic resumed normally. ADCP Ramandeep Singh Bhullar, ACP Gurdev. Singh, SHO Sarabha Nagar police station Neeraj Chaudhary met the protesters at the Circuit House to address their concerns. Police officers refuted allegations of inaction, stating that every effort was being made to arrest the thieves. The protesters vowed to continue their struggle until the Police Commissioner assured them that the thieves would be caught. A few days ago, Hindu leaders had also held a protest outside the Police Commissioner office and blamed the police for not being able to crack the case. Meanwhile, temple committee members have arned the police that if it will not arrest the accused in the coming days, then they will lay siege to the highway for an indefinite period. MC razes an illegal building in Shimlapuri area on Monday. Civic body razes three illegal buildings in Shimlapuri Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 3 The building branch of the Municipal Corporation (MC) razed three under-construction residential and commercial buildings in Shimlapuri area on Monday. Building branch officials of the MC Zone C stated that action had been taken as the owners had failed to get the building plans approved from the civic body and continued with the illegal constructions despite warnings. The officials stated that in the last week too, the building branch had taken action against nine illegal buildings in Giaspura, Dhandari and Kanganwal among other areas falling under zone C of the civic body. Meanwhile, MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal appealed to the residents that they should commence the construction works only after getting the building plans approved from the civic body, otherwise strict action would be taken against such illegal constructions. Prachin Mata Sheetla Temple committee members stage a sit-in on Ferozepur road in Ludhiana on Monday against the failure of the police in solving the theft case; and (right) cops round up a protester. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Thieves target AAP clinic, steal tablets Ludhiana, February 3 The Ludhiana (Rural) police yesterday registered a case against unidentified thieves for stealing 600 de-addiction tablets from an Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OAAT) Clinic at Swaddi Kalan village. According to Dr Vishavpreet Kaur, medical officer at the Aam Aadmi Clinic, who is a complainant in the case, said that the thieves broke into the clinic on January 29 and stole the tablets. The police registered a case on January 30 after receiving the complaint. Investigation revealed that the theft occurred on the night of January 29. The Sidhwan Bet police are investigating the matter and efforts are underway to identify and arrest the accused. — TNS Mandi Ahmedgarh admn initiates drive to protect statues Man gets life imprisonment for murdering colleague Mahesh Sharma Mandi Ahmedgarh, Feb 3 The administration here has launched a move to undertake proactive measures to prevent desecration of memorials and statues installed in open places. The authorities at institutes being run in names of great personalities or particular communities have been advised to take adequate measures to check any kind of disrespect to memorials installed on their premises. The initiative was taken following an uproar over the recent incident of vandalism of a statue of Dr B R DSP Ranjit Singh Bains and others at the inauguration of the metallic enclosure around a statue in Mandi Ahmedgarh. Ambedkar in Amritsar. The initiative was kicked off by starting the process for constructing a metallic cage for protection of a statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh here on Monday. Ranjit Singh Bains, DSP (Special) ,who inspected various statues and memorials installed in the area, said the movement had been launched to ensure that anti-social elements and miscreants were not able to succeed in disrupting peace and harmony in the region by disfiguring or desecrating memorials vulnerable to vandalism. “Having received instructions from Malerkotla SSP Gagan Ajit Singh, we conducted a survey of vulnerable memorials and statues c m y b and roped in government and non-government organisations for taking necessary steps to prevent any kind of desecration,” said Bains, adding that City SHO Aditya Sharma had been advised to enhance security near the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh till it gets the protection of an iron cage to be prepared by Municipal Council, Ahmedgarh. Bains said the authorities at institutes housing memorials of great personalities had been advised to take adequate measures to protect the memorials installed at their respective premises. Legal Correspondent Ludhiana, Feburary 3 The court of Additional Sessions Judge, Shiv Mohan Garg, has sentenced Ajay Kumar Paswan, also known as Nanka, a resident of Changiyan village, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, to rigorous life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his colleague in a factory. The case dates back to the night of July 7, 2020, during the time of nationwide lockdown. According to the prosecution, the convict, Ajay Kumar Paswan, was employed at Nee- tu Medical Works, a factory run by Tarwinder Singh. Due to the lockdown, most workers had returned to their villages, leaving only seven employees, two of whom — Davinder, also known as Bachan Singh, and Ajay Kumar Paswan — stayed in the factory at night. On the fateful night, around 11.40 pm, Paswan called Tarwinder Singh, informing him that Davinder was lying dead on his bed, bleeding from the head. Singh and his son Ishrat Mann rushed to the factory, where they found Davinder’s lifeless body in the servant quarters. Singh immediately suspected Paswan involvement, recalling that the two had been involved in a heated argument a few days ago, during which Paswan had allegedly threatened Davinder. The police registered an FIR and during the investigation, Singh identified Paswan as the prime suspect. Based on Paswan’s disclosure statement, the police recovered the murder weapons, an iron rod and an interlocking tile, from the roof of the factory quarters, where he had hidden them after the crime.