26022025-LT-01.qxd 2/26/2025 1:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SANJANA, JASMEEN SHINE AT COLLEGE ATHLETICS MEET RAVEENA, HER DAUGHTER OFFER PRAYERS AT PRAYAGRAJ MAHASHIVRATRI IS A TIME FOR SPIRITUAL REFLECTION Sanjana Yadav and Jasmeen stole the limelight at the 55th Annual Athletics Meet of SDP College. P2 On Feb 24, Rasha and her mother Raveena attended Ganga Aarti, where actress Katrina was seen too. P4 Sherleen Dutt says Mahashivratri is a time for reflection, devotion and connecting with Shiva’s energy. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 25°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.19 PM » SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:51 AM WEDNESDAY | 26 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Police act against illegal travel agents, raid offices; 4 nabbed Day after, in-laws’ family members term allegations as fabricated Tribune Reporters Nikhil Bhardwaj Say woman at fault, lived a luxurious life after marriage Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 To deter illegal travel agents from misguiding foreign aspirants, the Ludhiana police on Monday conducted raids at offices of several travel agents. They registered five cases against the agents and arrested four of them. Separate raids were conducted by different police stations in their jurisdictions. Assistant sub-inspector, Police Division 5, Gurmej Lal, said acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at Garv Holiday Tours near Feroze Gandhi Market and this office was being run by Karan Kumar without having the required licence. During the raid, he was arrested and a case under the Immigration Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the suspect. The police also arrested Sukhwinder Singh of Acme Visa Solutions. The suspect opened a sub-branch at Kips Market against the norms, where he was cheating visa aspirants on the pretext of sending them abroad. A case was also registered. Sub-inspector Bibal Pal Kaur of Police Division 8 said Gau- Of 64 government colleges of state, 24 sans librarians Police officials inspect an IELTS centre at Amargarh near Ahmedgarh. tam Handa had opened a office, Holiday Quest, near Bhai Bala Chowk and he was not having any valid licence to run the firm. The suspect had been committing fraud with the people on the pretext of sending them abroad. After registering a case, a raid was being conducted to nab the man. In another case, investigating officer ASI Sita Ram of the Model Town police station said Jasvir Singh was running SMR immigration office near Ishmeet Chowk without any valid licence. He had been committing fraud with the people on the pretext of sending them abroad. The firm owner was arrested. Meanwhile, the Model Town police arrested Mandeep Singh Batra, owner of MS Immigration Consultancy, for running the firm’s office without valid licence at Tuition Market. A case was also registered against him on Monday. During the drive, the police also registered a case against an IELTS and PTE centre for running the same without obtaining a valid licence from the Deputy Commissioner. The owner of the centre is yet to be identified. Mandi Ahmedgarh: The administration claimed to have launched a coordinated movement to check unauthorised functioning of ‘immigration centres’ under the guise of IELTS centres of the region falling under Malerkotla and Ludhiana districts. Officials from the Police Department and other departments conducted a surprise checking at the centres and other establishments being run from residential premises or other private offices. “Initially we have launched a coordinated movement to ensure that all IELTS centres and coaching centres should not undertake any activity related with illegal immigration of youths to any of foreign country,” said Ahmedgarh SDM Harbans Singh maintaining that special teams of designated personnel in civil and police administration had conducted surprise checking on premises of such centres of the region. Ludhiana, February 25 A day after serious allegations were levelled against Pankaj Kapoor (Tiku), owner of the famous PN Kapoor Hosiery, his wife Archana and son Piyush Kapoor of dowry harassment and torture by daughter-in-law Palak Malhotra, her in-laws’ family on Tuesday came forward and termed the allegations as fabricated. While holding a press conference on Tuesday, Piyush’s grandfather Surinder Kapoor alleged that false allegations were made against them to spoil their image and strike a compromise in a case got filed by them against Palak’s father Sunil Malhotra. They said the fabricated story was made by their daughter-in-law Palak Malhotra, her father Sunil Malhotra, mother and brother. “To hide her mistakes, Palak is putting the blame on Piyush so that she can prove her lies. Palak, along with her maternal family, has stolen all jewellery of her husband Piyush. Since his grandson was getting married, we organised all functions with great pomp and show. Every ritual was completed. Perhaps Sea of faith ALLEGATIONS RAISED TO STRIKE COMPROMISE IN FIR “On October 25, Palak Malhotra’s father and other family members barged into our house and beat Piyush’s mother Archana Kapoor badly. An FIR was also lodged at the Sarabha Nagar police station against Sunil Malhotra in this regard and now, the woman’s family raised fake allegations to pressure us to strike a compromise in the case,” said Surinder Kapoor, grandfather of Piyush Kapoor. seeing the same, her family got greedy and hatched this conspiracy to usurp our money,” Surinder Kapoor alleged. He said ever since their marriage, Palak lived a luxurious life. She would often put forth new demands to Piyush everyday and the latter kept fulfilling her every demand. Piyush had savings of nearly Rs 30-35 lakhs and she spent all savings on herself. He also mortgaged his gold bracelet and chain and bought his wife an iPhone. He alleged that Palak was saying that all her jewellery was taken by her in-laws but she was outrightly lying. In fact, she had taken all jewellery with her while leaving their house. “She has also taken away all her valuables in three bags and even the Mercedes car, which she accused us of keeping, was also taken by her father and brother and they also have the CCTV footage of the same. “On October 25, Palak’s father and other family members barged into our house and beat Piyush’s mother Archana Kapoor badly. An FIR was also lodged at the Sarabha Nagar police station against Sunil in this regard and now, the girl’s family raised fake allegations to pressure us to strike a compromise in the case,” Surinder added. State govt committed to combating drug menace via treatment, police action: DC Shivani Bhakoo Visits drug de-addiction, OOAT centres to evaluate facilities Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 Of total 64 government colleges of the state, there are 24 colleges, where libraries do not have librarians and stopgap arrangements are done by the college authorities. Otherwise, there are 85 sanctioned posts of librarians in the government colleges of Punjab. Tribune News Service There are 85 sanctioned posts of librarians in Punjab colleges This information was sought by one of the alumni of SCD Government College, Brij Bhushan Goyal, from the Directorate of Higher Education. Though Goyal had filed an RTI about a month ago, asking the department to provide details about government colleges in state without principals, the reason for not appointing them where needed and residential premises of the principals in government colleges, number of librarians in government colleges of state, etc. In a reply given to Goyal recently, the Superintendent Coordination Cell, Director Higher Education, said there were 24 government colleges in the state where there were no librarians. And in the absence of librarians, the affairs were managed by other staff, teachers, etc. “On the one hand, the government wants to uplift the education system while on the other, there are institutes where there are no sufficient teachers, principals and librarians. How the education system will get a boost in such a scenario? A good librarian actually encourages students towards reading. But when there will be none to guide about available books, how can we witness any change,” Goyal asked. A student, Taranpreet Kaur, said: “As a student, we read as per our best knowledge but a librarian can guide us in a better way in searching for right books,” she said. Kin of Piyush Kapoor address mediapersons in Ludhiana on Tuesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN Devotees take part in a shobha yatra on the eve of Mahashivratri in Ludhiana on Tuesday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Bar assn poll: Nomination of presidential candidate rejected, lawyers express outrage Legal Correspondent Ludhiana, February 25 A major controversy has erupted ahead of the annual elections of the Ludhiana District Bar Association, state’s largest bar association, scheduled for February 28. The nomination of Vipin Saggar, a candidate for the president’s post, was rejected by returning officer Lokesh Batta, triggering widespread resentment among lawyers. In protest, lawyers staged a sit-in outside the Bar Association office and raised slogans against the returning officer. The lawyers alleged that the decision was part of a pre-planned conspiracy to oust Vipin Saggar from the electoral race. Following the decision, taken just three days before the elections, an emergency General House meeting was RO accused of bias, matter reaches HC, hearing scheduled for Feb 27 called under the chairmanship of Bar Association secretary outgoing Parminder Singh Laddi. Former presidents and senior lawyers present at the meeting accused the returning officer and his team of biased conduct and announced their removal from the office. It was also decided that former presidents and secretaries of the association would now oversee the election process. According to sources, some other candidates for the president’s post had filed a complaint with the RO, alleging that Saggar has violated the Bar Council rules by depositing annual fee of several lawyers to get votes. They claimed it was an attempt to influence the election process. As per the RO, initially, a mutual agreement was reached between candidates, under which Saggar agreed in writing to exclude 180 votes from the counting process. However, the Bar Council rejected the settlement and directed RO to decide on complaints as per the rules. Following this, he summoned all candidates, heard their objections and on Tuesday announced the rejection of Saggar’s nomination. As the news spread, lawyers staged a demonstration outside the association office. After the development, former presidents Harish Rai Dhanda, Paropkar Singh Ghuman, Kamaljit Sharma, Naval Kishore Chhibber, and other senior c m y b lawyers condemned the decision and termed it as autocratic and unjust. They stated that conducting free and fair elections in such an environment was impossible. Additionally, another meeting of lawyers was held at 4 pm, in which it was decided that a fresh General House meeting would be convened on February 27. The newly appointed returning officers and assistant officers would also meet to devise the next election strategy. Meanwhile, Saggar has challenged the rejection of his nomination in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The hearing on his petition is scheduled for February 27. Now, the entire legal fraternity is closely watching the High Court’s decision and the lawyers’ meeting on February 27. Ludhiana, February 25 Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal on Tuesday visited drug de-addiction and OOAT centres at the local Civil Hospital to evaluate the treatment and counselling facilities available to drug dependants. During the visit, he inspected various sections of both facilities, including the OPD registration area, the psychiatrist and psychologist wings and patient wards. The DC received a comprehensive briefing from the incharge of the drug deaddiction centre about the treatment and counselling services offered to drugdependent individuals. Jorwal stressed that the centres serve as an integrated facility where affected persons receive treatment, counselling and assistance in reintegrating into society. He engaged in a detailed discussion with staff, emphasising the importance of viewing their work as a noble endeavour. He encouraged doctors and other paramedical staff to approach their roles with patience and dedication. Highlighting that youth are invaluable assets, he highlighted the need to harness their energy positively. He assured that the district administration would provide all necessary support to strengthen treatment, counselling and rehabilitation efforts. He stated that a multi-faceted approach to rehabilitation, counselling and guidance is essential for effective monitoring and tracking of registered OPD cases, along with implementing remedial measures to eliminate drug abuse. He also asked the in-charge of the de-addiction centre to submit a comprehensive plan aimed at enhancing treatment, counselling and reha- bilitation services while also addressing the need to disrupt the drug supply chain. He added that the state government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, was dedicated to address the drug menace through effective treatment, diagnosis of addicts and strong police action. Earlier, Jorwal interacted with individuals admitted to the de-addiction centre, enquiring about their experiences with the treatment and counselling services. The patients reported that they were receiving satisfactory care at the centre and expressed their intention to spread awareness about detrimental effects of drug abuse to prevent others from becoming addicted. SDM (East) Jasleen Kaur Bhullar, Civil Surgeon Pardeep Kumar Mohindra and other officials from the Health Department among those others present. DC Jitendra Jorwal during a visit to the de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana.