17072025-CT-01.qxd 7/17/2025 12:28 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune TWO ARRESTED FOR DUPING PANCHKULA MAYOR OF ~42L COMMAND HOSPITAL'S FIRST LIVE KIDNEY TRANSPLANT ANUPAM KHER RETURNS TO DIRECTION AFTER 23 YEARS The accused had used fake letter head to fraudulently withdraw money over multiple transactions. P2 This procedure marks the Command Hospital’s formal recognition as a transplant-performing unit. P3 His upcoming film Tanvi The Great, with which he turns to direction after 23 years, is ready for release. P4 » » /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Seeks report from varsity, student council, police on lapses during the concert on campus Nitin Jain WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com WATER SUPPLY ALERT MANIMAJRA In view of the pipeline work, the water supply to the town will be affected on July 18 and 19. The supply timings are as follows: FRIDAY Morning: 5 am to 8 am (Normal pressure) Evening: 6 pm to 8 pm (Low pressure) SATURDAY Morning: No Water Supply Evening: 6 pm to 8 pm (Low pressure) INBRIEF HABITUAL OFFENDERS NABBED IN SEC 11 Chandigarh: The police arrested two habitual offenders at a naka near the PGI here on Tuesday night. They were riding a stolen motorcycle bearing a fake number plate. The police found a knife on one of them. The investigation revealed the bike was stolen in 2024. Both were produced before the court. One of the accused was remanded in police custody and the other in judicial custody. Both have criminal record. A case has been registered at the Sector 11 police station. TNS RESIDENT DUPED OF ~30L IN CAR DEAL Chandigarh: The police registered a case against a Delhi resident for allegedly duping a man of Rs 30 lakh under the pretext of selling a car. The complainant, a resident of Sector 37, transferred the amount as part of the deal, but the car was never delivered to him. A case has been registered at the Sector 17 police station. TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 16 District Magistrate (DM) Nishant Kumar Yadav has sought a report from the Panjab University (PU) Student Council, PU administration and the Chandigarh Police on the lapses found on their part that led to the murder of a 21-year-old varsity student during a concert on the campus in March. The DM has also called for the action taken by them to avoid such lapses in future. Besides, he has issued the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for holding such events on the PU campus in future. Yadav had ordered a magisterial probe into the murder of Aditya Thakur, hailing from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, a second-year computer science student at the University Institute of Engineering & Technology (UIET), who was stabbed to death during a concert by Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma. It was organised by the PU Student Council on the UIET campus in Sector 25 here on March 28. Three other students had sustained injuries in the incident. The probe conducted by SDM (Central) Naveen Kumar had found lapses on the part of the organisers, PU REPORT SOUGHT: DM HOSHIARPUR BOY WAS STABBED TO DEATH ❝ On the basis of the magisterial probe report, we have sought a report from the PU administration, organisers (student council) and the local police on the lapses found on their part and steps taken by them to avoid such incidents. Further action, if needed, shall be taken after their replies. ■ March 28: Student stabbed to death on campus ■ Murder case registered against unidentified assailants ■ March 31: Four college students arrested in the murder case ■ April 1: DM ordered magisterial probe ■ May 27: Probe report submitted ■ July 3: Police filed chargesheet against seven college students ❞ << Students stage a dharna on — NISHANT KUMAR YADAV, the Panjab University campus seeking justice for Aditya Thakur (inset) who was stabbed during a concert. FILE PHOTO DISTRICT MAGISTRATE administration and the UT Police in the organisation of the concert during which Thakur was stabbed to death. The SDM had recently submitted his inquiry report to the DM for further action. Confirming that lapses have been found on the part of the PU administration, police and the organisers (students’ body), the DM told The Tribune that acting on the findings and recommendations of the probe report, he has sought comments from them on the lapses and the details of action taken to avoid such Chandigarh, July 16 The state of-the-art gyms at community centres are lying defunct in the absence of a proper policy. The Municipal Corporation (MC) had purchased advanced equipment worth crores for the facilities, but most of them are not in use. The civic body, however, is now considering handing over the gyms to private firms or individuals to generate revenue. The city has around 50 community centres and nearly have of them are equipped with the gym facilities. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu said the lack of policy has resulted in the equipment worth in crores Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 16 Two policemen have been suspended following the seizure of a large consignment of illicit liquor in Daria village recently. Head Constable Amarjeet and Constable Nikesh were taken off duty after 2,500 boxes of illicit liquor were recovered from a warehouse in a raid by the Excise Department on Saturday. The authorities concerned said the barcodes were deliberately removed from the bottles of liquor. The officials believe this indicates a wellorganised racket designed to bypass regulatory systems and avoid detection. The warehouse, located in a hidden part of the village, is now the focus of the ongoing investigation. The police are trying to find for how long the racket was being run from the godown as well as the liquor trader behind it. The Daria police post incharge confirmed the suspension of the two personnel. Both suspended policemen were posted in separate beats within the village, which raises questions how both could be connected to the same illegal activity. for any ambulance, let alone one with ICU facilities. On the role of the PU administration, the inquiry report mentioned that the varsity authorities faced significant pressure due to the prior cancellation of events and the protest march announced by the student unions. “This pressure may have influenced their decision-making, leading them to prioritise the continuation of events over the safety of students and attendees,” the probe found, while stating that they cannot refute the shared responsibilities for this security failure. Regarding the PU’s internal security arrangements, the magisterial probe observed that the deployment of security personnel was insufficient to manage the size of the crowd effectively. “Additionally, they were unprepared for potential medical emergencies, which are critical in large gatherings where the risk of incidents increases,” it reported. On the local police’s action, the inquiry officer said the eyewitnesses reported that No let-up in road cave-ins, traffic chaos after rain in UT Heavy rain spell likely today UK-based No. used to threaten Chautala kin, plaint lodged Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 16 The early morning rain on Wednesday left roads waterlogged, which led to traffic chaos at key roundabouts here. A portion of the Sector 31 slip road caved in due to the rain. The cave-in left a 10-footdeep pit on the slip road posing a threat to commuters. There were massive snarl-ups at the Sector 34 roundabout, which is one of the busiest chowks of the city, as the traffic lights were switched off. The cops had a tough time managing the traffic. Surendra Kumar, a local resident, said he got late for the office because of traffic chaos at the Sector 34 roundabout. Manjeet Singh, another A cave-in caused by the rain on a slip road at Sector 31 in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY resident, said travelling in the city during the rainy season had become a nightmare. Most roads are in bad shape. Waterlogging was also reported in the low-lying areas such as the underbridges of Sector 15 and Industrial Area. The other areas which witnessed severe waterlogging included the Sector 26 mandi. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 16 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on Thursday. The weatherman has also predicted thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places tomorrow. Chandigarh received 19 mm rainfall during the past 24 hours, which brought down the mercury by over 3 degrees. The downpour brought respite from the hot and humid weather conditions but again poured misery in the city. While Chandigarh got 19 mm rainfall, Mohali and Panchkula received 3.5 mm and 4 mm showers during the day. However, the relative humidity shot up to 92%. The moderate rain once again led to waterlogging in the low-lying areas, roads, streets and roundabouts. the police response time was longer than desired. “Specifically, there were delays in transporting the injured individual to the PGI, which could have jeopardised his access to timely medical treatment,” the report added. SIX-POINT SOPs PRE-EVENT RISK ASSESSMENT: Conduct thorough risk assessments for all events, considering factors such as expected crowd size, nature of the event and past incidents. This should be done continued on page 2 Tribune News Service LINK TO PAST INCIDENT Chandigarh, July 15 A threat call from an international number was made to the family of senior politician Abhay Singh Chautala. His son Karan Singh Chautala lodged a complaint with the Sector 3 police station here late Monday night. According to the complaint, Karan, a resident of Sector 9, here received a WhatsApp call around 11 pm from an unknown UKbased number (+44 7746606167). The caller allegedly hurled abuses and issued a threat referencing Karan’s father, stating that “32 Aane chal raha hai... tere ghar ke saamne utar ke maar denge” (a slang indicating a physical attack in gangster parlance). The call was followed by four back-to-back abusive Karan Singh Chautala, who resides in Sector 9 here and received the call, has linked the threat to past incident where his father was allegedly targeted during a political rally on June 18, 2003, in Haryana. The complaint names UK-based numbers and other suspects, and requests immediate investigation to ensure the family's safety. messages, which, Karan believes, are part of a deliberate intimidation attempt due to his family’s political affiliations. He mentioned that the same caller also tried to contact him multiple times later in the night. Karan has further linked the threat to past incidents where his father was allegedly targeted during a MC mulls handing over defunct community centre facilities to private firms Tribune News Service Two policemen suspended after liquor haul in Daria village incidents in future. According to the probe report, the event organisers proceeded with planning large-scale events despite lacking adequate technical knowledge and experience. They pressurised PU to grant permission, even after previous Holi events were abruptly cancelled over safety concerns. “This disregard for past failures raises questions about their commitments to ensuring a safe environment for attendees,” the inquiry officer observed, while noting that there was no provision Crores spent but gym equipment rusts away amid policy vacuum Ramkrishan Upadhyay MAX 30°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 31.8°C | MIN 24.4°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.33 AM DM issues SOPs for holding events at PU STUDENT’S MURDER MOSTLY CLOUDY, RAIN SUNSET THURSDAY 7.25 PM » THURSDAY | 17 JULY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST being rendered useless. “When the new community centres were set up, the MC made provisions for the gyms facility for the public. But it has failed to come up with a viable policy under which they can run smoothly,” he added. Yogesh Dhingra, fellow councillor from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councilor alleged that the MC has not had a policy for running the gyms for a long time. He said that a committee in Sector 37 community centre ran the gym for over one-and-a-half years but it was closed after not receiving financial support from the civic body. “The facility was provided to the members of the gym for an annual fee of only Rs 3,000. The committee received no support from the MC, even in cases when the equipment required any repair,” he added, calling for clarity on the finances needed to run the gyms. There have also been calls for the constitution of a panel to formulate a policy for running the gyms, with BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi saying accountability should be fixed in order to stop wastage of public money. He also called for an audit of all the purchases made for the facilities. Damanpreet Singh , another councilor, said the equipment at the Sector 22 community centre gym has been lying unused for more many years. He added that he took the matter up with MC authorities on multiple occasions, but no action has been taken. Request for proposal to be tabled in next House meet When contacted, a civic body official said they are working on a policy to hand over the gyms to private firms or individuals for operation and maintenance. The official said the process for making the request for proposal (RFP) has begun and it will be presented before the next House meeting. The new model is also aimed at generating more revenue for the cash-strapped civic body. BaljinderSinghBittu,president Federation of Sectors Welfare Association, said a policy must be formulated in consultation of the residents’ associations to make the facility free. “The community centres are not meant to generate revenue. They are made to benefit public,” he added. c m y b political rally on June 18, 2003, in Haryana. The complaint names UK-based numbers and other suspects, and requests immediate investigation to ensure the family’s safety. The police have acknowledged the receipt of the complaint and assured him that the matter is being taken seriously. Cybercrime officials are expected to trace the origin of the number and verify if it has any links to organised gangs or political vendetta. In his complaint, Karan has urged the authorities to trace the sender, examine call records and take swift action to prevent any untoward incident. The threat has raised fresh questions over political security and the increasing use of international numbers for intimidation. Woman loses ~77L in ‘digital arrest’ scam Tribune News Service A closed gym at the Community Centre in Sector 37, Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Chandigarh, July 16 A woman of Sector 34 here fell victim to the “digital arrest” cyber fraud and lost Rs 77.4 lakh. The fraudsters posing as law enforcement officials intimidated her into transferring money in the accounts given by them. An FIR has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Sector 17. The police said an investigation is underway to identify the criminals behind the cyber fraud. In view of the rising incidents of cyber frauds in the region, the police have urged the public to remain vigilant and report such fraudulent attempts immediately.