22062025-LT-01.qxd 6/22/2025 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RESIDENTS EMBRACE WELLNESS ON INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY MAN BOOKED FOR ATTACKING MINOR NEPHEW BRITISH SINGER ED SHEERAN DROPS NEW SONG City embraced spirit of wellness and unity as residents came together to celebrate International Day of Yoga.P2 Police have booked a resident of Model Town Extension for threatening and assaulting his nephew. P2 Ahead of opening of Brad Pitt’s Project F1: The Movie, Ed Sheeran has released a new song, Drive. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.27 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5:22 AM » SUNDAY | 22 JUNE 2025 | LUDHIANA Three children drowned, two missing in 2 incidents Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, June 21 Summer vacations turned out to be disastrous for five families of Ludhiana whose children faced tragedies while visiting water bodies passing through the city. The administration too remained on toes handling the situation due to the distress and resentment among parents of the victims and activists. Victims’ families believe that their children could not have visited the Ganda Nullah and Sidhwan Canal, had they not been at home due to the ongoing summer vacation. Mohammad Rafiq Ansari of Kundan Puri said when his wife had sent his eldest son Ashiq Ansari (10) to buy something from market on Friday, he had slipped into the Ganda Nullah while crossing a girder. All his hopes shattered when the body of his son was recovered from the drain about 11 pm Ashiq Ansari Golu One of deceased slipped into Ganda Nullah while crossing girder, others went to take bath in canal on the fateful night. Earlier on Thursday afternoon, eight children had gone take a bath in the Sidhwan Canal, passing through Lohara village on the outskirts of the city to beat the scorching heat. It seems that the children were aware of risks involved in entering deep water of the canal as they planned to take support of a metal wire tied outside the canal. However, the wire broke, leaving all children at the mercy of the water current. Four of the children were fortunate to swim safely to the bank and come out of the canal. Parkash (14), Molu, alias Sahil (10), Manish and Golu Molu were swayed with the water current and the bodies of Parkash and Molu were recovered from the stretch of the canal, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Model Town police. Model Town SHO Balwinder Singh said officials posted at the Sahnewal police station had started rescue operations on the fateful day, which were continued jointly by personnel at both police stations. Swimming in water bodies during summer vacations has been a common practice in this part of Malwa. Last year too, four youngsters had drowned while taking a dip in the Sutlej during June and the then Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney had issued an order prohibiting bathing in canals and other water bodies. Residents, including victims’ families have urged the administration to take steps to prevent recurrence of such tragedies. Parkash Manish Clash outside Civil Hospital leaves 4 injured Two die as MUV falls into Sidhwan Canal Ludhiana, June 21 Chaos erupted on a road outside the Civil Hospital here on Saturday as two rival groups engaged in a violent clash, leaving at least four individuals injured. The incident occurred outside the hospital when some young men were seen waving swords and a video of the incident has gone viral on social media. The violent clash broke out between two groups due to some family matter, leaving around four persons injured. Both groups were involved in some dispute and on Saturday, they came to the hospital for getting their medical done. Before entering the hospital, an argument started between them on the road, which quickly turned into a fight. Later, the police reached the scene. — TNS Lovleen Bains Doraha, June 21 Two of the four occupants of a Maruti Ertiga vehicle died when its driver lost control over the vehicle when they were returning after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Hoti Mardan, situated on the Canal road towards Janta Nagar, here, late on Saturday evening. The driver of the car, Rupinder Singh, has reportedly drowned and his body has been taken out while a woman, Palwinder Kaur, was admitted in a serious condition to a local hospital, where she too has breathed her last. The two daughters of the woman, Harleen and Hargun, are reportedly safe. A resident of a nearby village, Hardiyal Singh, told this correspondent that as the car skid- ded into the canal, he, along with others, reached the scene. “The woman was shouting for help. We lost no time and tied turbans and pulled her out from the canal. She was still breathing and we helped her reach a hospital. A young girl somehow came out of the car and sat on its rooftop. We threw our turbans towards her and pulled her out safely. Another girl opened the window panes and raised her arm. She too was taken out successfully. We did what best we could do otherwise the girls too would have met with the same fate,” he added. ASI Satpal Singh said occupants of the ill-fated vehicle were heading towards Ludhiana after paying obeisance at a gurdwara on the canal road. “The driver was pulled out dead while his sister-in-law died at a hospital,” he said. Passengers walk during the bus operators’ strike; and (right) contractual staff protest at the Ludhiana bus stand. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Bus operators’ strike leaves commuters stranded Public services suspended after a clash between conductor, pvt bus employee over trivial issue Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 21 In a sudden escalation of tensions between public and private transport operators, bus services of the PRTC, Punjab Roadways and PUNBUS across the city were suspended on Saturday afternoon following a scuffle between a PRTC conductor and an employee from a private bus company. The incident disrupted the daily routine of hundreds of passengers, many of whom were left stranded in the sweltering heat. On Friday night, when some passengers, who boarded a bus from Ferozepur and had to go to Bareilly, sat on a Punjab Roadways bus. When the bus stopped at the Ludhiana bus stand, the passengers asked the conductor to guide them to continue their journey to Bareilly. Since it was late, the conductor allegedly suggested the passengers to go via train instead of boarding a private bus due to high fares. The suggestion led to a heated argument with the private bus employee, which quickly turned physical. In solidarity, members of the PRTC, PUNBUS and Punjab Roadways staged a protest and demanded action against the culprit and his companions. They waited till the first half of the day during which no action was taken by the police. Afterwards, the bus operators halted the services, causing inconvenience to passengers in sweltering heat. “I had to reach Rajpura to meet someone for a business deal, but the delay cost me the dear,” said Parveen Kumar, a commuter waiting since noon. “There was no information, no alternative. We were just left in the lurch,” he said. Another daily passenger, 52year-old Meena Devi, who travels to Ludhiana for her medical treatment, said: “In this scorching heat, waiting without shelter felt like punishment. We didn’t know whom to ask or where to go. Left with no other option, I hired a taxi to reach my destination”. State general secretary, Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC Contractual Workers’ Union, Shamsher Singh, confirmed that the decision to halt the service was taken to protest harassment faced Woman found murdered at home Cops carry out a probe at the victim's house in Punjabi Bagh area; and (right) the CCTV grab shows the intruder. ASHWANI DHIMAN Ludhiana, June 21 The police have initiated a probe into an incident in which a woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her home when her husband had gone out for routine work. Though the exact reason behind the murder and sequence of events was yet to be ascertained, circumstantial evidence suggests an unknown intruder who remained at home for about half-an-hour had killed her. The deceased was identified as Sonam Jain (55), a resident of Punjabi Bagh Colony in the Salem Tabri area. Preliminary investigations by the Salem Tabri police revealed that some unidentified person, with a muffled face had entered the house about 11.15 am and he remained there for about 30 minutes. Though it is suspected that the intruder had entered the house with an intention of robbery, the police are yet to get any details about the same. Surinder Kumar informed the police that he had found his wife Sonam Jain lying in a pool of blood when he came home for lunch in the afternoon. The couple has two children and both of them are staying abroad. — OC by the conductor of the bus. “We cannot allow outsiders to intimidate our conductors. Today’s stand was necessary to show unity,” he said. “I was supposed to be in Chandigarh by 3 pm for my cousin’s engagement preparations,” said 27-year-old Amandeep Kaur, holding her bag tightly at the deserted bus stand. “Instead, I stood in the hot weather for over an hour, not knowing whether I’d even reach,” she said. Later, the police initiated legal proceedings in the matter in the evening. Bypoll: Counting of votes to begin at 7 am tomorrow Ludhiana, June 21 District Election Officer (DEO) Himanshu Jain announced on Saturday that comprehensive arrangements are in place for the smooth and secure counting of votes for the Ludhiana West bypoll, scheduled for June 23. Jain said the counting of votes and postal ballots will commence at 7 am in the presence of election observers, candidates and their authorised representatives. Robust security measures have been implemented, including the deployment of paramilitary forces at counting centres to safeguard EVMs and VVPAT machines. Continuous monitoring is ensured through closedcircuit television (CCTV) surveillance. — TNS Civic body gears up to tackle monsoon woes Youth, girlfriend booked for Directions issued to staff to ensure regular desilting of Buddha Dariya, cleaning of road gullies abducting, assaulting youth Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 21 For ensuring proper drainage of rainwater during the ensuing monsoon season, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has geared up and strict directions have been issued to ground staff regarding the same. A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Joint Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo wherein the staff had been directed to ensure regular cleaning/desilting of the ‘Buddha Dariya’. Officials said poclain machines had already been deployed and the desilting work was going on a regular basis. Chief Engineer Ravinder A worker cleans a drain near the Buddha Nullah. INDERJEET VERMA Garg, Executive Engineer Ekjot Singh, Executive Engineer Parshotam Singh, SDOs of the operations and maintenance (O&M) cell were among those present in the meeting. Besides the ‘Buddha Dariya’, directions have also issued to ensure cleaning of internal drains/nullahs in the city, including the nullah starting from Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib to the Shingar Cinema road, drains in Dhoka Mohalla, Dharampura, Books Market, Domoria Bridge, Barewal drain, among others. The field staff had further been directed that road gullies across the city should be cleaned before monsoon hits the city. The officials had been directed to submit certificates regarding the same with the higher authorities. Directions had also been issued to ensure that generator sets were installed at all pumping stations, so that there was no delay in draining out rainwater in case of power failure. Further, it was stated that prior arrangements should also be made to ensure that c m y b there would be no waterlogging at the railway under bridges (RUBs), including Pakhowal road RUBs, underpass near Lodhi Club and Domoria bridge. MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said a flood control room would also be established and the helpline number would be shared with the public in coming days. The ground staff had been directed to make all arrangements in advance. Zonal commissioners had also been directed to monitor the situation in their respective zones. He would also be conducting field inspections to take stock of the situation at the ground level in days to come, he said. Our Correspondent Raikot, June 21 The Ludhiana (rural) police have booked a woman and her boyfriend under Sections 115 (2), 140 (3), 3(5) of the BNS for allegedly assaulting a youth of Tungaheri village after kidnapping him from Jodhan village here on Wednesday. The suspects were identified as Balkaran Singh of Jattpura village and his girlfriend from Seeloani village. The victim, Harkirat Singh, of Tungaheri village alleged that his girlfriend from Seeloani village had invited him through Instagram, a social networking website, to spend Victim, who was also in a relationship with woman, was shocked to know about couple’s affair some time together on Wednesday. When Harkirat reached Jodhan, he was asked to sit in a Maruti Swift car after which the girl took his mobile on some pretext. Balkaran Singh, who was a class fellow of Harkirat, also joined them and he (Harkirat) was shocked to know that his girlfriend and Balkaran were having an affair for the past over nine months. The couple forced Harkirat to sit in the car and he was taken to a deserted place along a nearby canal where they beat him mercilessly. Had a passer-by not rescued the victim, the suspects could have thrown him in deep waters of the canal, alleged Harkirat, who lodged a complaint at the Jodhan police station on Friday. Police officials, led by investigating officer Kabul Singh, said a probe had been initiated to verify allegations levelled by the complainant.