08022026-LT-01.qxd 2/8/2026 1:13 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SARPANCH ASSAULTS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER, BOOKED CONG PROTESTS, CALLS HEALTH SCHEME POLITICAL STUNT MARGOT ROBBIE WASN’T INITIALLY CAST TO PLAY CATHY Sarpanch while denying allegations levelled against him has sought inquiry into the matter. P2 District Congress Committee (Urban) protested against govt by burning an effigy of CM Bhagwant Mann P3 Margot Robbie revealed that she was not always set to play lead role of Catherine in Wuthering Heights. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 21°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.05 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7:08 AM SUNDAY | 8 FEBRUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Tenant turns out to be killer of 81-yr-old NRI woman, nabbed Committed crime to get money to repay ~20,000 debt Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 7 The Khanna police claimed to have solved the blind murder case of 81-year-old NRI woman Jagpal Kaur with the arrest of her tenant. He killed the landlord as he wanted money to repay his debt of Rs 20,000, taken froma UP-based person. The suspect had been identified as Rahul, a native of Aligarh, UP who , was staying in Nawi Abadi, Khanna, at a nearby house, owned by the deceased. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia, while addressing a press conference stated that on February 1, a complaint was received on the 112 helpline number of the police control room that an elderly woman was murdered in a house in Khanna. Following which, a police team reached the scene. Investigation into the murder was started by forensic and technical cell teams. Taking the case as a challenge, two separate teams were formed under The suspect in the murder of Jagpal Kaur (inset) in Khanna police custody. the supervision of SP (Detective) Pawanjit and a search was started for unidentified person who committed the murder. During the probe, the police found the role of tenant Rahul in the case and accordingly, registered the case against the suspect. Dr Ahluwalia said on February 6, Rahul was detained and during preliminary questioning, he confessed to the crime. He admitted that he had to repay Rs 20,000 to someone, which he borrowed for the treatment of his father. He had been staying in the house of the deceased with wife and two children for three years. He was also aware that the woman had rental income from various other properties. He scaled the outer wall of the house and went inside it on the intervening night of January 31 and February 1. He was hiding there and when Jag- Lawyer attacked by assailants, car taken away, one arrested Six police teams formed to nab other suspects: DSP Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 7 A lawyer was attacked and his car was forcibly taken away in Samrala on Friday morning. Masked youths stopped him on a road and then attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint but the lawyer managed to escape from the scene. Later, one person was arrested by the Khanna police and the Swift Dzire car was also recovered. The victim, Kamaljit Singh, is the joint secretary of the Samrala Bar Association. The incident occurred on Friday morning when he was going from his village, Gurugarh, near Machhiwara, to the Samrala court. The victim has identified one of the suspects, Avtar Singh, a resident of Dhindsa village, who previously worked as a clerk in the court. KEY SUSPECT HAD A GRUDGE AGAINST VICTIM Sources said Avtar Singh had recently misbehaved with lawyer Kamaljit Singh. In response, the executive committee of the Samrala Bar Association directed the lawyer to suspend his clerk, Avtar. The lawyer had dismissed him from the job. Holding a grudge against the lawyer, Avtar along with his associates, attacked him. “As usual, I left my Gurugarh village for court in Samrala on Friday morning around 8:45 am. As I reached Rajgarh village, three masked miscreants on a white scooter waylaid me by parking their scooter in front of my car. I identified one of the suspects as Avtar Singh. I had just gotten out of the car when one of the men took out vehicle key and grabbed me. Afterwards, they pointed a weapon at me. I pushed them away and ran from the place. They were threatening to take me in the vehicle and kill me some- where far away. Somehow, mustering up courage, I entered a nearby house and headed towards the fields. Following which, they fled with my car,” he said. DSP, Samrala, Tarlochan Singh, said the police acted on the complaint and registered a case against the suspect and his two accomplices, namely Harjot Singh, alias Akash, of Alaur village and Gurpreet Singh of Dhindsa village. Gurpreet was arrested by the police and the victim’s car was also recovered. Six police teams were formed to nab the remaining suspects. pal Kaur came out of the room, he went from the rear and strangled her. Afterwards, he tied her legs and arms and locked her in the bathroom. He took cash kept in her purse from a cupboard and escaped from the scene. The SSP said the suspect took away a dupatta which he used to strangle the victim. He went inside the house without mobile phone and bare feet to commit the crime. 17-year-old dies by suicide Ludhiana, February 7 A 17-year-old youth died by suicide at his home in Kaunke Kalan village, Jagraon, on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as Jaskaran Singh. As per sources, Jaskaran reached home from somewhere with his sister and went straight to his room. When his family returned some time later, they found the youth hanging from a ceiling fan. On receiving information about the incident, officials from the Kaunke Kalan outpost of the Sadar police station reached the spot. The police took the body in their custody and began a probe. The body was taken to a government hospital for a autopsy. Sadar SHO Surjeet Singh said the deceased’s father stays abroad and a probe was launched in the case. Preliminary probe have revealed that the youth had been experiencing mental stress for the past few days, which might have forced him to take the extreme step. — TNS FIR against Cong councillor for accusing AAP leader of seeking money for making health cards Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 7 Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti and his aide from Ward 26 were accused by the Aam Aadmi Party’s ward incharge for sharing a fake video on the social media platform in which the councillor levelled allegations against the AAP leader, claiming that the latter demanded money for making health cards of the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna (MMSY). Based on a complaint from AAP leader Inderpal Singh Minku, the Moti Nagar police registered a case against both persons on the charge of criminal intimidation and under the IT Act. Giving informaGaurav Bhatti tion to the police, AAP leader Minku said the state government was running a campaign to provide health insurance scheme of Rs 10 lakh to residents of the state by making health cards for them. As part of the campaign, the state government had been issu- ing machines to all wards. He alleged that on February 2, councillor Gaurav Bhatti and Sahib Rajput shared a video on their Facebook accounts. In it the councillor was saying that the AAP leader had told them to collect money from area residents to whom they would issue slips for making health cards and they would have to give him 90 per cent of the collected money. Minku said the suspects, with the intention of tarnishing his image, misused the social media networking site to make false allegations against him and share the video, causing him and his family immense mental distress. Meanwhile, after the registration of the FIR, the Congress leader shared a post on his Facebook page which states: “An FIR was filed against me to suppress voices of residents of Ward 26. Many congratulations to AAP Ludhiana East MLA. Forget one, even if the police will file 20 more FIRs, I will continue to raise the voice of my residents. Those who filed the fake FIR will have to face defeat soon. Wait and watch”. c m y b Toe, bite marks help police crack blind murder case Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 7 The murder of 81-year-old Jagpal Kaur, the NRI woman staying in Nawi Abadi in Khanna, had sent shock waves among residents. With no CCTV footage, a ‘blind spot’ location, and a ‘clean’ digital trail, the case initially looked like a dead end for the police. However, the investigation personally led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia, set a precedent. Talking to The Tribune on Saturday, Ahluwalia said usually the police solve most heinous crimes such as murder with the help of technology and human intelligence but when technology fails, the police believe that the human body always leaves a ‘signature’. The crime scene of the blind murder was a masterpiece of old-school forensic patience. “When our probe team exhausted all options of digital and technical probe, then came the ‘Old school police investigation’ which helped the police in reaching out to the killer. In a faint layer of dust on the outer wall of the deceased’s house, police officials found it: Faint footprint impressions which were meticulously lifted from the With no CCTV footage, ‘clean’ digital trail, it initially looked like a dead end for cops dust. The killer had been careful. He was barefoot to muffle his steps. He hadn’t touched the main gate and also left his phone at his place to avoid a “tower dump” trail. He was a ghost in the machine but a physical entity in the house,” the SSP said. Ahluwalia explained that while the footprints were faint, they revealed a distinct anatomical feature: the Morton’s Toe. In the dusty impressions, the second toe was significantly longer than the big toe. This became the “red flag” that narrowed the field. Of around 12 suspects, including tenants of the deceased, only one man — a quiet tenant from the adjacent building — matched the specific skeletal structure. The SSP revealed that the suspect thought that he had not left behind a digital footprint and the police would never reach him. The Khanna police proved that while technology is a tool, meticulous observation is a craft. By combining the ancient art of tracking with forensic podia- try, they silenced the negative sentiment in the NRI community and brought justice to the elderly woman who had fought till her last breath. “A deep bite marks of the deceased on the hands of the suspect and scratch marks on his body hinted towards the final act of resistance by the victim. Further matching the DNA found under the victim’s fingernails caught the suspect,” she said. The SSP said officials, including SP Investigation, Pawanjit; , Mohit Singla, DSP Investiga, tion; DSP Samrala, Tarlochan , Singh; DSP Khanna, Vinod , Kumar; Akash Datr, in-charge CIA, Khanna, inspector Jagjivan Ram and inspector Hardeep Singh deserved appreciation for cracking the case. Suspect kept waiting for two hours in cold The suspect, Rahul, entered the house by climbing the wall barefoot at 2.30 am on the intervening night of January 31 and February 1. He kept waiting in the verandah during the cold night for two hours. At 4.40 am when the woman woke up and went to the washroom, he barged into the bathroom and strangled her. After finding around Rs 4,000 in the woman ‘s purse, the suspect fled the scene with the money. Youth found dead, kin block road in protest Ludhiana, February 7 After a youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Mullanpur Dakha, his family members alleging murder held a protest on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road on Saturday. The kin alleged that some friends of the deceased had beaten the victim to death. The victim was identified as Jagjit Singh Joban. They also placed the body on the highway and blocked traffic for several hours. Commuters faced huge inconvenience as serpentine queues of vehicles witnessed on the road. The deceased’s father had recently faced a case after some dispute in the village and his son was also ready to surrender. On Friday night, Jagjit had gone to meet his friends but he did not return home for the whole night. On Saturday morning, they received a phone call and the caller informed that the youth was lying unconscious. They took Jagjit to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The kin alleged that they had informed the police about the mysterious death of Jagjit but they did not reach the place. To express resentment, the placed the body on the highway and blocked the road. They lifted the protest when the police assured them that a fair probe would be conducted. — TNS