07012026-LT-01.qxd 1/7/2026 12:43 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DC ASSURES FRESH PROBE INTO ORISON BODY SWAP CASE DEVOTEES THRONG HISTORIC SAHNEWAL GURDWARA PUNJABI SONGS DOMINATE MAMDANI’S INAUGURATION IMA delegation submits memo raising concern over case against docs, hospital directors. P2 They paid obeisance at gurdwara to mark birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh. P3 New NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani danced to songs of Canada-based Punjabi artiste Babbulicious. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 14°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.38 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:20 AM » WEDNESDAY | 7 JANUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Man’s charred body found in fields in Meharban, probe on Was mauled by dogs; cops say victim killed somewhere else, body dumped at spot Tribune News Service NO CASE FILED AS BODY YET TO BE IDENTIFIED: SHO Ludhiana, January 6 A man’s charred body was found in a fields in the Meharban area on Tuesday. The body was torn apart by dogs. Passers-by noticed the incident and alerted the police. Upon seeing the charred body, the police called the forensic team. The body was taken into police custody and kept in the Civil Hospital mortuary for identification and post-mortem examination. There was no burn marks around the body in the SHO, Meharban, inspector Kulbir Singh, said it can be a murder but so far no case is registered as the body is yet to be identified and further legal action will be taken. Efforts are on to identify the suspects, if any. fields, due to which it is suspected that someone committed the crime at some other place and threw the body in the fields of the Meharban area. Assistant sub-inspector Radhey, the investigating officer, told mediapersons that a passer-by called the police control number and reported that a body was lying in the fields. When our team reached the scene, the body was found lying in two parts and no one was present. The investigation is underway from multiple angles. Several CCTV cameras were checked, but no clues were found. The ASI said: “We suspect the man was mur- Colourful start to National School Games dered elsewhere and body was later cut into two pieces and thrown here in the fields in Meharban. A wireless message has been sent throughout the city regarding the body of the unidentified person. Some body parts will also be colleced and sent for DNA testing.” The residential area is HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Students perform during the opening eeremony of the 69th National School Games at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana. P2 800 m away from the scene where the body was found. There are fields on the right side of the road leading to Kakk village. Despite the proximity, no one was aware of the incident. The police launched a search operation in surrounding fields. SHO, Meharban, inspector Kulbir Singh, said it could be a murder case but so far no case was registered as the body was yet to be identified and further legal action would be taken. Efforts were on to identify the suspects, if any. Woman strangled to death, spouse among 3 booked Ludhiana, January 6 A woman was allegedly strangled to death by her husband and two others in Mundian Kalan. Complainant Parminder Singh of Haryana village, Hoshiarpur, in a statement to the police stated that his daughter Bhavna (25), was married to Rahul Godara in March 2025. His daughter had a love marriage. Her daughter’s in-laws often used to mentally and physically harass her for more dowry. On January 5, Rahul, his brothers Rinku Godara and Rohit Godara together strangled Bhavana and killed her. Now, the police should take strict action against the suspects and put them behind bars. ASI Harmeet Singh said after registering a case further probe was launched in the matter. — TNS 25-yr-old lawyer found dead, suicide suspected Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 6 A 25-year-old lawyer was found dead under mysterious circumstances. She suspected to have died by suicide. According to her friend, a suicide note was found in her closet and nobody was held responsible in it. However, the deceased’s mother levelled allegation against a female friend and a male friend of the deceased for killing the victim. The police, however, said they would take further action after receiving the autopsy report. The deceased has been Suicide note found, kin level allegations against her friends identified as Diljot Sharma, a resident of Mansa. She was staying with her friend Ravinder Kaur in a rented house in the EWS Colony. The victim died at the DMCH. The police took her body into custody and kept it in the Civil Hospital mortuary for the post-mortem examination. Diljot Sharma’s friend, Ravinder Kaur, said: “I’m a teacher. Children from Diljot Sharma, the victim. FILE Classes III to XII study tuitionat my place. Diljot stayed with me as a tenant. She had been ill for a long time. She had prob- lems in her digestive system. On Monday night, she collapsed and started vomiting. She was first taken to Max Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, she was referred to the DMCH, where doctors declared her dead. She said on Tuesday, when the hospital called for Diljot’s IDs, she was looking for them at the room. Diljot and she shared closets. While she was searching for her Aadhaar card, she found a suicide note in which she wrote, “I am fed up with myself, mentally and physically troubled. I am ill. That’s why I took this step. Nobody should be harassed”. Meanwhile, Birpal Kaur, the mother of the deceased, said the suicide note given by Ravinder should be investigated. It’s handwriting not belongs to her daughter. She worked hard to get her a lawyer. SHO inspector Gagandeep Singh said a police probe was launched and all allegations levelled would verified and action would be taken accordingly. Cyber thugs using SHO’s profile pic try to extort money from man Callers tell victim his son arrested in gang-rape case Nikhil Bhardwaj PAST CASES WHEN CYBERCRIMINALS TARGETED COPS Tribune News Service ■ Imposters created a fake WhatsApp profile of SSP, Khanna, Dayama Ludhiana, January 6 In a shocking incident, cybercriminals attempted to extort money from a city-based person by using the photo of the SHO of the PAU police station on a WhatsApp profile. The suspects called a man from a Pakistani phone number, claiming that his son was involved in a gang rape case and demanded Rs 70,000 for his release. The fraud came to light when the man shared a call recording of the suspects on social media. Within hours, the audio clip went viral, bringing the matter to the attention of the police. The SHO also became aware of the scam when he saw the clip on social media. He doesn’t even know the person who received the call. According to reports, the fraudsters used the photo of SHO Vijay Kumar to make the victim believe that the caller is genuine and credible. According to the viral video, the caller claimed that the Harish Kumar Om Parkash and sent messages to several junior police officials and asked for money. ■ Cybercriminals had also targeted former Commissioner of Police Kaustubh Sharma by creating a fake WhatsApp account and put his photo in uniform as its display picture. ■ Cyber criminals created a fake Facebook account in the name of AAP MLA from Khanna Tarunpreet Singh Sondh and demanded money from a person. ■ Fake profile of the then Joint CP Ludhiana J Elanchezhian was created on Facebook and the imposters had also demanded money from police officials and FB friends. victim’s son was involved with the suspects in a gang rape case and had been arrested and demanded Rs 70,000 to “release” the boy. Confirming the incident, inspector Vijay Kumar said he learnt that his photo in uniform was being used by fraudsters to extort money. He said the call was made from a Pakistan number. When he came to know about it, he issued a public appeal on social media, urging people not to fall prey to such fake calls and verify any such claims with the police. The SHO said the matter had been brought to the attention of the cyber crime ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS Take strict action or face music, MC chief tells officials Ludhiana, January 6 Taking a tough stance against unauthorised constructions, Municipal Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal has fixed direct responsibility on building inspectors for violations occurring in their respective areas. He warned that officials failing to act against such activities would face strict disciplinary action. The issue of illegal buildings was raised during a recent Municipal House meeting, after which the Commissioner directed the Building Branch to conduct a citywide survey of ongoing constructions. Officials have been instructed to halt work on structures being built without approved maps. Dachalwal stressed that constructions eligible for regularisation should be charged at fixed rates while those that could not be legalised must face strict enforcement. He further ordered all four zonalATPs to submit certificates confirming that no illegal construction was currently underway in their jurisdictions. The directive effectively shifts the burden of proof onto inspec- tors and ATPs. Lists submitted by these officials will be crossverified to ensure that no unauthorised work is overlooked. In addition to enforcement, the Commissioner emphasised revenue recovery. He instructed the Building Branch to expedite collection of previously assessed challan amounts that remain unpaid. “The objective is twofold, to bring order to the city’s urban development and maximise recovery of dues. Buildings constructed without sanctioned plans bypass essential safety and revenue protocols,” Dachalwal said. Clear expectations have been set for the building branch, with ATPs and inspectors required to meet weekly recovery targets under strict monitoring. Daily recovery reports are to be submitted and both employees and officers will be held accountable for meeting targets. The House meeting also saw MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi raise the issue of encroachments along the Shivaji Nagar drain. Responding to this, the the MC chief sought a report from the Building Branch and directed that notices be issued to encroachers. — TNS cell for further investigation and necessary action against those involved. This incident has again highlighted the increasing misuse of digital platforms and official identities by cybercriminals. It is worth noting that it was not an isolated case. On October 25, 2025, the mobile phone of Sumit Sood, ACP (East) of the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate, was allegedly hacked. The suspects allegedly accessed their contact list and sent fraudulent messages with suspicious attachments to several people, including police officials and media personnel. Two booked for abetting Sangrur man’s suicide Mahesh Sharma Malerkotla, January 6 The police have booked two persons, including a woman principal of a nursing college and a journalist of the Barnala region, for allegedly abetting a Sangrur resident to commit suicide. The deceased, identified as Jatinder Kumar Ricky of Sangrur, had died by suicide in his car after paying obeisance at Baba Haider Sheikh Dargah on Friday. Earlier, the Malerkotla City 2 police had initiated inquest proceedings on the statement of the victim’s father and handed over the body for cremation after autopsy. The deceased’s wife, Simi Rani, has produced a video recorded by her husband Jatinder Kumar Ricky, accusing the principal of a nursing college in Barnala and a journalist of Bakhatgarh in Barnala district. SHO City 2 Gurpreet Kaur said Simi had approached the police for registration of an FIR against the suspects for abetting her husband to commit suicide. She substantiated her claim with a video recorded by the victim in his mobile, which she noticed three days after his demise, adding that they would be nabbed soon. — TNS Parked vehicle catches fire Firing at Haibowal trader’s shop after ‘gangster’s extortion call’ Ludhiana, January 6 A car caught fire in Manna Singh Nagar on Tuesday. Reason of the fire was yet to be ascertained as residents claimed that the car was parked on the road and it suddenly caught fire. The fire brigade was called by residents and the blaze was doused. Fire personnel suspected that some local residents might have left bonfire unattended on the road and the car owner seemed to have parked the vehicle without noticing the bonfire. The car that caught fire in Manna Singh Nagar. ASHWANI DHIMAN The fire officials said they had received information about the incident at 12.15 pm from some local resident and one fire tender was rushed to the scene. Follow- ing which, they controlled the fire within 30 minutes but the vehicle was charred in the fire. The incident had created a panic among residents of the area. — TNS Ludhiana, January 6 Three bike-borne miscreants fired four to five rounds at a readymade garment store in the Civil City area under the jurisdiction of the Haibowal police station late on Monday night. The store was closed at the time of the incident due to which there were no casualties. The owner became aware of the incident this morning when he found bullet shells outside the shop. After receiving information, officials from the Hai- c m y b Cops inspect the crime scene in Haibowal. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN bowal police station reached the scene. They seized empty bullet cartridges and launched an investigation. The victim, Himanshu, said he owns a shop, Dusty Look. Two days ago, he received a call from an overseas number. The caller, claiming to be gangster Mahinder Dhilana demanded extortion of Rs 50 lakh. He ignored it by considering the call as a prank and did not inform the police. The criminals sent a voice message on his phone on Saturday night, warning him that he had only two hours left. He did not take the matter seriously, resulting in the firing on Monday night. Himanshu alleged that late on Monday night, three assailants on a motorcycle fired five rounds at the shop’s shutter. He came o know about it on Tuesday morning. He was shocked to see bullet marks on the shutter and empty shells lying outside. ACP (West) Jatinderpal Singh said bullet shells were also found from outside the shop. After recovering the CCTV footage of the suspects, further investigation was launched to identify the shooters. When asked if this case is related to extortion, he said he could not say anything concrete at this time, though the shopkeeper was claiming an extortion threat. — TNS