19062025-LT-01.qxd 6/19/2025 12:49 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DORAHA-NEELON ROAD IN A SHAMBLES, OUTCRY GROWS DARSHEEL MAKES HIS OTT DEBUT WITH GAMERLOG TAKING ALL FANS BACK TO DANGEROUS DINOSAUR REALM Stretch is no longer fit for vehicles to ply, thanks to indifferent attitude of successive governments. P3 Every story has been told before, it’s how you tell it makes all difference, believes Darsheel Safary. P4 Jurassic World: Rebirthfollows a team of specialists that embarks on an expedition to a forbidden island. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.27 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:22 AM THURSDAY | 19 JUNE 2025 | LUDHIANA Admn all set to conduct free & fair poll today 194 polling parties comprising 776 personnel dispatched for crucial byelection BJP alleges malpractices by AAP, seeks EC action Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service LUDHIANA (W) BYPOLL Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 18 Finally, the stage is set to hold the bypoll of the Ludhiana West Assembly segment on Thursday. The election has turned out to be a prestige for all major parties and their candidates. For conducting the election in a free and fair manner, elaborate arrangements have been made by the district administration. Polling parties with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were dispatched for the crucial Ludhiana West bypoll from the Khalsa College for Women, Ghumar Mandi, on Wednesday. As many as 194 polling parties comprising 776 personnel were dispatched from the college, carrying EVMs and VVPAT units for the highstakes byelection. The deployment marks the final operational phase before the polling, to be scheduled on June 19 from 7 am to 6 pm. Highlights of preparedness Each polling party includes one Presiding Officer, one Assistant Presiding Officer, and two polling officers, rigor- Officials leave for polling stations on the eve of the Ludhiana West bypoll; and (right) an Army jawan stands guard at an EVM distribution centre in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN ously trained in EVM handling and voter protocol. Special welfare measures (transport, communication, family support) are implemented for officials to ensure seamless operations. The machines underwent mock voting drills with manual cross-verification against VVPAT slips. No discrepancies were found, affirming system integrity. All EVMs will be stored in double-lock strongrooms under 24x7 armed guard surveillance. Besides, 194 polling stations are established across the constituency, which are equipped with ramps for differently abled or weak persons, drinking water and shade facilities due to the sultry weather. On Thursday, the fate of 14 candidates in the fray will be sealed by 1.74 lakh voters in the constituency. June 19, the election day, would be a paid holiday for all voters. Third eye to monitor polling process There will be 100 per cent live webcasting for Thursday’s polling through a total of 235 HD CCTV cameras linked to a central command control room. The live footage can be viewed by Election Observers and officials anytime till the cameras are on. 1K cops from state deployed in segment Five companies of Central forces and 1,000 police personnel from the state are deployed to conduct the polling. Sixty checkpoints have been activated and the sale and purchase of liquor is banned till the polling ends in the constituency. Litmus test for state politics The bypoll was necessitated after the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January 2025. It has evolved into a litmus test for the state’s political future. Fourteen candidates are contesting, with major four parties fielding their candidates. The outcome, to be declared on June 23, will shape Punjab’s trajectory ahead of the 2027 Assembly poll. Booths decorated The administration has made elaborated efforts to make polling booths look attractive. Beautiful and colourful images and posters are put up, which say ‘Mera vote meri taqat’, ‘Matdaan zarur karein’, ‘Jago voter’, ‘Be smart - do your part… vote’, ‘Election-shaping our future’, etc. These are put up to encourage voters to cast their franchise. Ensure max participation: DC DC-cum-DEO Himanshu Jain said: “Every protocol has been enforced to guarantee transparency in the byelection. Our integrated command centre will enable real-time monitoring and citizens can report anomalies via the C-Vigil app. We urge voters to participate in maximum numbers.” Ludhiana, June 18 With the Ludhiana West byelection just a day away, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) levelled serious allegations against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging that they were desperate to win the seat to secure a Rajya Sabha spot for their party supremo Arvind Kejriwal. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Anil Sarin, BJP’s state general secretary, emphasised that the Election Commission was responsible for ensuring a free and fair election and no party or candidate should be allowed to entice or intimidate voters. He expressed dismay at the state government’s alleged attempts to lure voters, claiming that the ruling party was sensing an impending defeat. According to Sarin, this desperation has led to a widespread distribution of ration, school bags, stationery, suits, sarees, electronics, liquor and cash among voters. Questioning the need for such tactics, Sarin challenged the government’s previous claims of hard work over the past three-and-a-half years. Taking a jab at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, he remarked that Mann, aware of the likely defeat, had already “left the ground”. Furthermore, the BJP leader highlighted numerous instances where antisocial elements had allegedly been inducted into the ruling party and undesirable individuals provided with police protection. He questioned motives behind such actions, stressing that while the administration was accountable for fair election, it appears officials were also being threatened and forced into illegal activities. Sarin asserted that AAP was conducting such activities on a large scale and called upon the administration to intervene. He also advised police personnel to perform their duties judiciously, focusing on controlling illegal activities rather than acting as agents of AAP. The BJP leader urged the EC to take strict action against the reported illegalities and the party employing such tactics. He confirmed that the BJP had already brought these issues to the attention of the EC and remains hopeful that action would be taken against those found culpable. Rajnish Dhiman, Dr Kamaljit Soi, Pritpal Singh Baliyewal, Narinder Malhi and Dr Satish Kumar were among those others present. Video of SAD leader close to High drama as cops try to arrest Cong worker Sukhbir opening fire goes viral Party candidate Ashu had minor clash with police officials as he tried to save worker Old video circulated during bypoll to defame me: Deol Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 18 While the byelection in the West constituency is heating up with all parties busy with their campaigns, a video has gone viral allegedly showing a senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Jaskaran Singh Deol from Ayali Kalan opening fire. The video, circulated during the poll code, shows him firing with two pistols. The person is a senior Akali Dal worker and is considered close to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. Jaskaran also organised party meetings in favour of the SAD candidate for the bypoll. He also raised the issue of land pooling and announced to hold camps to make farmers aware of the issue. Sources said after Sukhbir’s rift with Dakha MLA Manpreet Ayali, Jaskaran was reportedly being considered as an alternative to replace him A video grab of the SAD leader Jaskaran Deol opening fire. from the Dakha segement and the Shiromani Akali Dal was also keeping him in the forefront in party activities in Dakha. The video clearly shows Jaskaran holding two pistols, firing one after the other. It’s unclear whether the pistols belong to him or someone else or if he possesses a valid arms license. If the pistols belong to him, questions arise as to why these haven’t been deposited with the police. It is a matter for police investigation but such open firing certainly points to a lapse on the part of the police. After the video went viral, Jaskaran cleared the air about the same. He said he had an arms licence on which two weapons are registered. These two weapons were lying deposited with Dashmesh Gun House from February 8 this year. That video is about two years old when he was testing the weapons at his private property. It seemed that someone shot the video and to defame him now, the video was circulated on social media, he said. “I will cooperate in the police probe and will come out clean,” Deol added. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 18 High drama witnessed at Jawahar Nagar Camp on Wednesday where Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu had a minor clash with police officials as the latter came to arrest a Congress worker. Ashu did not let police officials to pick the worker. The Congress leader said when one of the Congress workers spotted a AAP volunteer distributing ration and other freebies to seek votes for AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora and called the police, the latter instead of registering a complaint, tried to arrest him (the Congress worker). “I got to know about the development as the party worker’s father called me. Afterwards, I reached the place where I noticed the police manhandling the Congress worker and trying to put him in the police vehicle. I stopped the police officials, who also misbehaved with me, and saved him from being picked up in a false case,” Ashu said. Cong candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu and party workers gather in Jawahar Nagar Camp in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN He said instead of taking action against the AAP worker who was caught with ration on a Honda Activa scooter, the police officials came to arrest the complainant. “The Congress worker had lodged a police complaint regarding distribution of ration but instead of taking action against the AAP worker, the police came to arrest the Congress worker from his house. The Congress will not tolerate it,” he said while warning such police officials and telling them that these days everything was recorded on cameras. “You cannot escape the law of the land and we will hold you to account,” he told them. The senior Congress leader said each and every polling booth would have regular monitoring on Thursday by people. “I have urged everyone that wherever they notice anything going wrong, record it and share the video with me,” he said. While warning erring cops, he said: “Don’t create evidence against yourself”. Meanwhile, SHO, Police Division 5, Bikramjit Singh, who came to arrest the Congress worker, said: “The police had received a complaint that a man who was taking ration for his home was cornered by a person acting as a Congress worker and the latter claimed that the man was distributing ration at the behest of a political party. The person had fled the scene after abandoning his scooter fearing threat to his life and later, he lodged a police complaint. The police party had come to investigate the complaint. Ashu files complaint against police Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu lodged a complaint against the Commissioner of Police (CP) with the Election Commission for compromising the integrity of the electoral process in the constituency. He alleged that there was an orchestrated and brazen misuse of official position, state machinery and local administration — all seemingly working in tandem to favour Aam Aadmi Party candidate Sanjeev Arora. Ashu stated in the complaint that the CP along with , his subordinates, including the DCP ADCP SHOs, and , , CID units, has been actively engaged in intimidating and threatening Congress workers and local councillors. It includes registration of false FIRs, illegal detentions and preventive actions, even in cases where courts have already granted bail — amounting to contempt of court and grave violations of fundamental rights. He alleged that local police officers, sitting MLAs, councillors and other government officials were openly aiding in the distribution of cash, liquor, gifts and various inducements to influence voters in favour of the AAP candidate. These acts are in clear and repeated violation of the poll code and provisions under the Representation of the People Act. Ashu alleged that the CP was previously transferred from his posting in Jalandhar for similar allegations of misconduct and bias. Mistaken for a mobile snatcher, youth beaten to death by residents Youth found hanging Ludhiana, June 18 A shocking incident has come to light in the city in which local residents mistook a youth for a mobile phone snatcher and brutally attacked him. During the assault, the victim called his brother and asked him to reach for help. The victim’s family searched for him till late at night on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, they received information from the Civil Hospital mortuary that the boy had died and his body was in the morgue. The victim’s brother stated in his complaint that Lovepreet (19) had called him, saying his life was in danger. According to family members, Lovepreet left home late on Tuesday night with an acquaintance, Dev, saying he was going to work in night shift at a factory. Sources indicate that Lovepreet had a love marriage two weeks ago and he had been staying with his maternal aunt, Baljeet Kaur, since childhood. Providing information to the police, Baljeet Kaur said Dev called Lovepreet and took him on a motorcycle. Soon after, Lovepreet called his brother Manpreet and said his life was in danger and to save him. After the phone call, Manpreet could not speak to Lovepreet again. Family members informed the police that Lovepreet died after being severely beaten by local residents who suspected him of mobile phone snatching. Meanwhile, the police stated that some people had informed them about a mobile phone snatching incident. During this time, Dev and Lovepreet were roaming in the area. The enraged mob attacked the youths, believing them to be the culprits. Lovepreet succumbed to his injuries due to c m y b the brutal assault. Inspector Kulwant Kaur, incharge of the Police Division 6, confirmed the incident and stated that the deceased’s friend, Dev, had a suspicious criminal background. He is currently in police custody for questioning. She stated that Dev and Lovepreet were riding a motorcycle when some residents mistook them for mobile phone snatchers and apprehended the duo. During the altercation, Lovepreet was severely beat- en and died later. According to the SHO, the police are thoroughly investigating the incident. CCTV camera footage from nearby areas was being checked to identify the people involved in the attack. Lovepreet’s body has been taken in custody and sent for autopsy and it will be handed over to his family soon. The police also clarified that the exact number of people involved in the attack has not yet been confirmed. — TNS Ludhiana, June 18 A youth was found hanging from an iron angle of a bus shelter at Sherpur Chowk here on Wednesday morning. Passersby raised the alarm on seeing the body and informed the police. The police reached the scene and brought down the body. The deceased had a rope tied around his neck, his belt was open and he was not wearing any shoes. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue pants. At present, the police are trying to identify the youth. Residents of the area are also being questioned to get any clue in the case. Police sources said the case was being considered suspicious and investigation was being carried out. ASI Preetpal Singh said the deceased was yet to be identified. The body of the victim was taken into custody and would be kept in the mortuary of the Civil Hospital for 72 hours for identification purpose. The actual cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem examination. At present, it seems to be a suicide case. — TNS