11122025-LT-01.qxd 12/11/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune TRADE BODIES ASSURED OF PENDING GST REFUNDS FOOD DELIVERY APPLICATIONS TAKING TOLL ON HEALTH IT’S DREAM COME TRUE FOR AMRITSAR GIRL ANEET PADDA Taxation Commissioner has assured that the pending GST refunds will be cleared in the coming days. P2 Calorie-laden meals put one at risk of developing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems. P3 The World TV premiere of Amritsar girl Aneet Padda’s film Saiyaara on Sony MAX is on December 20. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 25°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.23 PM » SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:09 AM THURSDAY | 11 DECEMBER 2025 | LUDHIANA 32 polling booths, stations declared hypersensitive Taking illegal shortcuts on roads proving deadly for pedestrians Arrangements being made to conduct ZP poll in fair manner Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Despite mishaps occurring frequently at such spots, no action by authorities Ludhiana, December 10 The zila parishad elections are scheduled for December 14 for which arrangements are being made to conduct these in a free and fair manner. Since Ludhiana is the biggest district, adequate force is required on the election day, and the counting day on December 17. Going by previous records and the number of voters, the police have identified 32 polling booths and stations in the district as hypersensitive. Talking to The Tribune, SSP Ankur Gupta said sensitive and hypersensitive areas have been identified, where extra force would be deployed as per the norms. At the same time, he said the authorities could not disclose the names of sensitive or hypersensitive stations/booths simply as it would sensationalise the situation. “We have identified the spots and extra deployment of force as per norms will be done there. These are identified keeping in mind previous records, number of voters, etc,” he said. Besides, 333 polling booths and stations are declared sensitive in the district. One of the police officials said in Raikot, Jagraon, Mullanpur Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 10 Illegal passages and black spots on national highways and internal roads passing through the city have become a threat for pedestrians. People are resorting to the practice to save their time but oblivious to the fact that they are putting their lives at risk. Accidents occur frequently at such places but the worrying thing is that the authorities concerned only talks about improvements in meetings and give instructions to officials but shows no seriousness in eliminating the illegal passages and black spots. Chances of accidents increase at the illegal passages, especially during foggy days. Vehicles approaching towards such points during foggy nights may not be able to see people or vehicles crossing. On the Jalandhar-Panipat National Highway (NH 44) passing through the city, people are facing threats every day due to the illegal passages. People cross the highway every morning and evening through the illegal passages risking their lives. Basti Jodhewal and Kailash Nagar illegal passages are the most important among them. Accidents occur here frequently. Despite the same, no action is being taken by the district adminis- Murder case cracked within hours, seven land in police net Faridabad trans woman LIT chief claims record revenue of raped,3 suspects booked ~39.78 cr during three-year tenure Ludhiana, December 10 Taking swift action in a murder case, the Ludhiana police arrested seven suspects within a few hours of the crime. DCP Rupinder Singh, ADCP-1 Sameer Verma and Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Kikkar Singh addressed a press conference in this regard on Wednesday. Police officials said on December 10, SI Gurmeet Singh, SHO, Daresi, received a complaint from Varun Sahni, a city resident, that his brother, Arun Sahni (aged about 21 years), who worked at a printing press at Kaneja village, was brutally attacked on Tuesday night. The incident occurred when he was returning home from work. When he reached near Karabara Market, Aman, along with his accomplices Happy Bind, Manoj, Vinod Kumar, Anish Kumar, Sunny, alias Sony, Mohit, alias Aman, Anuj Kumar, Hemant, Gobind, alias Jhatka, and around three unidentified persons attacked him with sharp weapons and sticks. Arun sustained serious injuries and was later found unconscious in a street. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, where doctors declared him dead.| Officials said based on the statement of the deceased’s brother, Varun Sahni, the Daresi police registered a murder case and launched a probe. On Wednesday, Happy Bind (21), Manoj (23), Anish Kumar (18), a 17-year-old minor boy, Sunny (19), Mohit (18) and Anuj Kumar (18) were arrested by the police. Search operations are going on for the arrest of the remaining accused suspects. Manoj already has one case of theft registered against him at Daresi police station. — TNS Tribune News Service Commuters cross the road through an illegal passage in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN After registering zero FIR, F’bad cops referred case details to Ludhiana as Taranpal Singh Monga and two of his aides, identified as his brother Davinder Pal Singh Monga and friend Gurkaran Singh, all residents of Basant Avenue, Satjot Nagar. Later, the Faridabad police transferred the case to the Shimlapuri police station here for further action and a fresh case was registered against the suspects. In a complaint to the police, the victim, a resident of Faridabad, said she the police should conduct patrolling at such places where pedestrians and two-wheeler riders take shortcuts and make them aware about the risk involved. Several accidents occurred on a highway in Basti Jodhewal where factory work- had come in contact with Taranpal through social media over a year ago and despite knowing the fact that she became a female after undergoing the surgery, he developed friendship with her. On the request of the suspect, she came to meet him in Ludhiana a few months ago. He took her to a house, known as ‘Lal Kothi’ (Red Bungalow), located in Basant Avenue, Satjot Nagar. Afterwards, he sexually assaulted her repeatedly. He also severely thrashed the transgender woman. Investigating officer ASI Salwinder Pal said Taranpal had committed rape while the other two suspects were booked on the charges of hatching conspiracy and threatening the victim. Raids were being conducted to nab the suspects. ers cross the highway in the morning and evening hours. Even the authorities also need to develop underbridges and overbridges on roads and highways so that people make good use of them and avoid untoward incidents. Dakha, Samrala, there are a few areas where there could be tension as tempers run high during the elections. “In previous elections also, many of these areas witnessed brawls and scuffles. Hence, extra police force will be deployed there,” the official said. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said everything was under control and the entire polling staff were on duty and vigilant to conduct the poll in a fair manner. ADC (Rural) Amarjit Singh Bains, who is also the nodal officer, said in many zones, seats were reserved for women candidates. These zones were Khirniyan Zone 5, Mattewara Zone 6 and Chakk Sarwan Nath Zone 7, Zone 11 Narangwal (SC Women), Zone 12 Pakhowal, Zone 14, Hans Kalan, Zone 16 Manuke, Zone 17, Sidhwan Kalan (SC women), Zone 20 Hambran, Zone 21, Mohi, Zone 23 Dhandran (SC Women) and Zone 24 Alamgir. Bhinder says disposed of 80% plaints, terms stint non-controversial Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 10 Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) Chairman Tarsem Bhinder has completed his three-year term, describing his tenure as non-controversial. While addressing a press conference, Bhinder claimed that he personally heard all complainants and remained in touch till their issues were not solved. According to him, he had assured residents on his first day in office that they would no longer have to repeatedly visit the Trust office for routine issues. Over the past three years, he personally received around 815 complaints, of which around 650 were resolved. The remaining matters, he said, are still pending due to ongoing legal proceed- ASHWANI DHIMAN Ludhiana, December 10 A Faridabad-based transgender woman was raped in Ludhiana by a youth after developing a friendship with her. A case has been registered against the key suspect and two of his companions, including his brother. The victim was male by birth but he underwent a gender reassignment surgery recently and became a female. The victim was called to Ludhiana by the suspect on the pretext of marrying her but she faced sexual assault. She was badly distressed and returned to her native home in Faridabad where she also filed a complaint with the local police. The Faridabad police registered a Zero FIR against the key suspect, identified tration or the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). People commuting to work cross the highway every morning and evening due to lack of an overbridge in the area. Residents demanded that A candidate meets voters during a door-to-door campaign at a village near Ahmedgarh on Wednesday. LIT Chairman Tarsem Bhinder addresses mediapersons in Ludhiana. ings or technical hurdles. Bhinder claimed that during the three-year tenure, LIT recorded revenues of Rs 39.78 crore in three years (2022-25) from various channels — almost double the earlier figure of about Rs 22 crore (2019-2022). While sharing details about development projects he undertook in the tenure, he maintained that the Trust spent Rs 33.17 crore on public works. Even the road construction in five colonies was nearing completion, after which these areas would be handed over to the Municipal Corporation. These works alone account for Rs 13.34 crore. In addition, fresh development projects worth Rs 40–42 crore have received approval for different parts of the Ludhiana Assembly constituency, including Atam Nagar, as well as the South, West, North, Central and East zones. Bhinder admitted that he had made a lot of efforts to put the multi-storey building on Rani Jhansi Road to use. But when the time came for the same, some plans had already been finalised LIT’s legal wing reported that case monitoring had been weak in the past but after Bhinder took charge, the department was reorganised. As a result, the Trust has won 135 out of the 425 cases filed in local courts over the past three years. About the Atal Apartments scheme, Bhinder said draw of 100 plus flats were expected to be held in January next year. In the project, about 80 per cent construction was already completed and possession of the units was likely to begin by late next year or early 2027. Youngest candidate’s dream — To bail out rural youth from drugs Says residents want young ones to take over, bring change Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Youngest candidate Abhey Singh Bains campaigns for the zila parishad elections. c m y b Ludhiana, December 10 The youngest candidate contesting for the zila parishad poll, Abhey Singh Bains (22) wants to do something for the youth, who are being indulging in drug abuse. A second year LLB student from Punjabi University, Patiala, Abhey Singh is contesting on the AAP ticket from Khaddon (Payal). Talking to The Tribune, Abhey Singh said residents want younger generation to take over and bring a change. “Even vil- lagers want a new and fresh vision. At the same time, they wish to see a person with clean image, who can bring a change in society. Grants are issued to zila parishads, villages and blocks but these are never utilised in a proper manner, else the situation of villages in the state would have been different,” he said. When asked what would be his role for the youth in villages, he said he wishes to get funds to bring an ultramodern sports complex in the area that would cater to the youngsters. “The main focus would be on sports, health and education. If these are strong, we are bound to grow. There are 54 villages in the area, and if we are able to provide the best facilities, together we will grow,” Abhey added. There are around 70,000 voters in 54 villages. Arshdeep Singh, another 23-year-old youth contesting for the block samiti elections from Mattewara, feels that “youngsters are the backbone and we must provide support to them”. Youths should be saved from the drug menace, which was the need of the hour, he said. “Villages with unclean streets, small nullahs, ponds, etc, present a poor picture. I wish to change the same and make my area an example for others. We are getting all support as people want fresh faces to take over now. Grants should be utilised judicially for purposes they are meant for. Then, there would be growth and improvement in the situation,” he added.