10022025-LT-01.qxd 2/9/2025 11:25 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune HEALTH DEPT TO SCREEN KIDS OF TB-AFFECTED FAMILIES MARCH TO SEEK JUSTICE FOR DECEASED GANGSTER JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ WALKS THE RAMP WITH ELAN The Health Dept has decided to screen children belonging to those families which have existing patients. P2 Family of a gangster, who died at the PGI, held a candlelight march on Sunday, demanding justice for him. P2 It was an evening in Chandigarh where she got to showcase not only her style but also her evolution.. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.09 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:10 AM » MONDAY | 10 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Smart City Mission nears end, work on ‘Close aide’ of minister held in ~30 lakh extortion case Nehru Rose Garden uplift yet to start Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service from scratch. In addition to this, there is a plan to set up an open a gym, a kids play area, installation of fancy lights and building of toilets. Setting up of a mini zoo in the garden was what city people were looking forward to. The old fountain, which is the main attraction of the garden, will also be upgraded under the project. It was late MLA (West) Gurpreet Gogi who took keen interest and was eager to get it renovated and give a place to the city people to breathe some fresh air. Presently, a group of people can be seen doing yoga in the morning and evening every day, pointing to the fact that Rose Garden, which was once a favourite spot among the city people, had lost its sheen over the years. Families use to visit it during weekends. For children, apart from the swings, a boating club and a mini zoo were the main attractions. With passage of time, both attractions at the garden were closed in the 1990s as the MC faced problems in maintaining the lake, while the mini zoo was shut after an order from the Central Zoo Authority order in 2001 to ensure ethical treatment of wildlife in captivity. “I heard about the Rose Garden getting an uplift, so I recently went for a stroll there, but saw that it was in the same condition,” said Harkesh Kaur, a senior citizen. Ludhiana, February 9 What could be termed as a major development in an extortion case in which some unknown callers had demanded Rs 30 lakh from a city businessman, Rajiv Raja, former Youth Congress, city unit, president was arrested today by Police Division No. 8 in the case on the charge of hatching the conspiracy. Rajiv Raja was once a very active leader in the Congress and was said to be a close aide of Ravneet Bittu, Minister of State for Railways. He would often post photographs with the minister on his social media accounts and even during parliamentary poll, he was actively took part in the political campaign .His arrest in the case may bring turmoil in the political circle in Ludhiana. On February 7, the Ludhiana police had registered a case on the complaint of a businessman and resident Body found near Ladhowal toll plaza Miscreants push woman, attack husband, associate Man, aides barge intowoman’s house, open fire Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 9 With the Smart City Mission nearing its end in March, many projects will miss their deadline. Among others, the project that will not even get initiated is the uplift of Nehru Rose Garden. Tenders for the Rs 8.80 crore project to renovate the garden were floated in November 2024, but amid accusations of favouring of particular contractors, now fresh tenders had been floated for the project. The technical bid for the tender was opened during the election code period after which one of the contractors raised the issue and objected and also shot a complaint to the state government. Adopting a safe side, the MC started the re-tendering process and according to the fresh process, one can apply for tenders till February 17. Uplift of the Rose Garden was a move welcomed by the The project on the uplift of Nehru Rose Garden is likely to miss its deadline. FILE PHOTO city people as it was being renovated after nearly a decade. The proposal for the same include planting 90 types of different flowers and fruitbearing trees and landscaping of the garden will also be done After Gogi’s death, wife, son become ‘politically’ active Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 9 The seat of MLA (West) has fallen vacant after the demise of Gurpreet Gogi, but the people of the constituency continue to visit Gogi’s house to get their problems resolved as his wife Sukhchain Kaur and son Savraj Singh have become politically active and are all ears to the grievances of the people. “We have taken over from where my husband left. We hold meetings with the public as my husband used to do,” Sukhchain said. When asked if she would contest the byelection or she would like her son to contest, she said that they were with the party in whatever decision it took. “Whether I am given the responsibility or my son or someone else is give the ticket, we are with the party high command. The party has giv- Ludhiana, February 9 A woman doctor riding an Activa was pushed by miscreants who were in a car on a road at Gagan Nagar, Giaspura, last night. The woman fell on the ground and her leg got stuck under the scooter. Instead of lifting her from the ground, the car borne miscreants attempted to molest her and passed lewd remarks. Somehow, two youths came and helped her. Later, when the miscreants had an argument with the woman, she called up her husband. On the other hand, the miscreants also called 8 to 10 youths, who attacked the couple and one of their companion with sharp-edged weapons. The female doctor, Jyoti Singh, said that she was a resident of Gagan Nagar and was returning home from work. On the way, two-three boys came, who pulled her City to get all-weather swimming pool soon Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 9 With the days getting warmer and summer not far away, city’s swimming enthusiasts are looking forward to beating the heat in the swimming pool. The municipal corporation is coming up with an allweather swimming pool at Rakh Bagh and city residents are eagerly waiting for it to get functional. It is expected to be completed by March and the project is estimated to cost around Rs 6 crore. Finally, after a long wait, the city people will be enjoying the all-weather swimming pool. It has been on the wish list of the swimming enthusiasts for quite some time, but the project could not be started due to paucity of funds. Presently, the municipal corporation has one swimming pool, that too at Rakh Bagh. This Olympic-size swimming pool (50m x 25m) is the biggest pool in the city, of Mall Enclave Ravish Gupta. As per the complainant, he had been getting extortion calls from some foreign numbers and the callers were demanding Rs 30 lakh or else they would kill him and his family. Gupta had also alleged that the callers were aware about his daily routine, his Delivery boy falls off bridge after being hit bycar, dies An all-weather swimming pool will soon come up at Rakh Bagh. FOR REPRESENTATION PURPOSE and the depth of the pool ranges from 6ft to 20ft. The all-weather swimming pool can be used in both summer and winter season. Since the depth of the pool is up to 5 feet, children will also be able to use it. “Finally, there will be an allweather swimming pool in the city. It was the long-pending demand of the city people, which will finally turn into reality,” said Harman, a city resident. c m y b hand and she fell down, and the attackers instead of helping her started harassing her. She added that since her leg got stuck under the scooter, she managed to pull it out from under the scooter with help from some passersby. She immediately called up her husband, but the carborne youths also called their friends to the spot. All accused then mercilessly beat up her and her husband. The victim woman’s husband, Deepak, said that he was an accountant. He got married two years ago. Late night when his wife was returning from work some miscreants started harassing her. When he went to the spot with his friend, those people did not listen to him and started beating him up in the middle of the road. The couple have filed a police complaint. — TNS Ludhiana, February 9 A man along with his aides barged into a house on Pakhowal road and attacked a woman. The accused also fired in the air to intimidate the family. He has been identified as Simar, a resident of Punjab Mata Nagar. Complainant Rano, a resident of Vishal Nagar on Pakhowal road, stated that on February 6, when she was inside her house, the accused came outside her house and started abusing her daughter-in-law Sapna. When the latter went out to inquire, Simar hit her with a stick. The woman said when she also objected to it, the latter called his aides and they all barged into her house and beat her up. Accused Simar even fired in the air. The woman alleged that when she raised an alarm, people from nearby houses gathered, which made the accused to flee the spot. A case has been registered. — TNS Thieves strike at transporter’s house, steal cash, valuables Stray dog menace annoys residents of Gurdev Nagar Tribune News Service en us so much and everyone was there with us in our time of need,” she said. Nowadays, she is seen at every political function and continues to hold meetings at her place. During the swearingin ceremony of the Mayor too, she was present and recently during the meeting with dairy farmers regarding the Buddha Nullah issue, she was present. “Whether I contest the election or not is a separate thing, but I will continue doing work for the city. It was my husband’s dream to see Ludhiana progressing and developing and I will make sure to contribute my part in fulfilling that dream,” she said. “Today also, people come to his office with their problems and I and my son make sure to address these and solve the same. Nobody will go back disappointed from here,” she maintained. Ludhiana, February 9 A decomposed body was found near the Ludhiana Ladhowal toll plaza along the Sutlej on Sunday. The body was severely mutilated, with an injury on the neck. The police were informed by some passersby and the body was taken to the Civil Hospital mortuary. The deceased’s identity remains unknown as no identification document was found. The police started investigation, reviewing CCTV footage from the area and awaiting the postmortem report to determine the cause of death. According to police officials, the body appears to have been there for several days, given its decomposed state. The police have initiated an inquiry into the matter. “Whether it is a murder or natural death, it is too early to comment. Only the postmortem report will confirm,” added the SHO. — TNS Rajiv Raja, who was arrested in an extortion case in Ludhiana on Sunday. family members and all his social activities. He had even suspected that some local person who knew him well could be involved in the conspiracy. A senior police official requesting anonymity while confirming the development to Ludhiana Tribune said after the registration of the case, the police had arrested three accused. During their questioning, they took the name of Raja as the key conspirator. They admitted that, “We had made extortion calls to the businessman Ravish Gupta at the behest of Rajiv Raja.” On this basis of the statement, the police arrested Raja in the case. He would be produced in the court tomorrow. Police officials said questioning of Raja would be conducted after procuring his police remand. The police would also verify if he had any old enmity with the businessman. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 9 Thieves broke into the house of a transporter in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar here and made off with Rs 2.8 lakh and gold jewellery worth several lakhs. The thieves jumped over the wall to gain entry into the house, which is owned by a transporter, Balbir Singh, and his family at the time of the incident. According to the house owner, Balbir Singh, he noticed the theft when he woke up at 5 am on February 7 to find his bedroom almirah open. Upon further investigation, he and his wife Rajvinder Kaur found that Rs 2.80 lakh and gold and silver jewellery were missing. The Daba police station have registered a case against unknown thieves. The CCTV cameras are being scanned to get clues. Ludhiana, February 9 Residents of Gurdev Nagar are irked over the increasing number of stray dogs in their area. People are facing trouble and going through a difficult situation. Area residents have also written a complaint to the municipal corporation in this regard. “It seems that all stray dogs of the city have come over to Gurdev Nagar and surrounding areas. The residents are unable to move on the streets freely, especially during morning and evening time. Be it be children or adults, everyone is in a state of terror,” said Ravinder Pal Singh Ghai, a resident of Gurdev Nagar. In his complaint he has requested the authorities concerned to look into the matter and resolve the problem on priority basis. He said that the Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 9 A delivery boy fell off a bridge at Basti Jodhewal on the night of February 7, got seriously injured and later succumbed to his injuries. The deceased youth has been identified as Akash Malhotra and used to work for Swiggy. The height of the bridge is about 70 feet. He was going home at night after delivering food, when suddenly his bike broke down. When he started fixing it on the bridge, a speeding car coming from behind hit him, threw him air and over the bridge. The speed of the car was so high that one of its tyre burst. Giving information to the police, Gurvinder Singh said that his brother-in-law Akash got married in 2021. After four years, he had a son. Akash used to work as delivery boy along with his partner Harvinder Singh. He was returning home after delivering some goods. As soon as he reached the Basti Jodhewal bridge, his motorcycle suddenly stopped. Akash was trying to start the motorcycle when the car hit him. Such was the impact that the victim along with his bike fell over the bridge. He was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment, where the doctors declared him dead. He died due to severe head injury. The Tibba police station have registered a case against the accused Sunil Kumar, resident of Guru Arjun Dev Nagar, yesterday. The accused is yet to be arrested. Gurdev Nagar residents fear stray dogs, especially during morning and evening hours. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN municipal officials concerned should be issued guidelines to handle this public concern immediately. He also raised questions about the sterilisation drive of the department and stated that had it been carried out in a proper manner, then it would not have led to increase in the dog population. He said that he would also bring this issue to the notice of the newly elected Mayor of Ludhiana soon. Another area resident of Gurdev Nagar said that the population of stray dogs was seeing an upward trend and steps needed to be taken to tackle this menace. “Not only kids, but even elders fear stepping out of house due to the stray dogs,” he said. Meanwhile, Ludhiana Mayor Inderjit Kaur said that directions had been issued to carry out sterilisation drive.