10022026-CT-01.qxd 2/10/2026 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune MAYOR JOSHI ROLLS OUT CLEANLINESS CAMPAIGN MINERVA LADS LOG WIN IN AIFF JUNIOR LEAGUE CHANDIGARH TO WITNESS A PLAY-FULL WEEK Joshi launches ‘Har Ghar, Har Dawar Swachhta Ki Dastak’ awareness campaign in Chandigarh. P3 Mohali team extend their dream run in the league with a commanding 7-1 victory over Namdhari FC. P3 Bharat Rang Mahotsav opens in Chandigarh with Khamosh! Adaalat Jaari Hai, directed by Avtar Sahni. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH PANCHKULA 37 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH THEATRE FESTIVAL: ‘Samay Chakra’, a play in French by Mauritius Group under fiveday 25 Bharat Rang Mahotsav, international theatre festival by National School of Drama; Tagore Theatre, Sector 18; 6:30 pm SURYA GHAR SCHEME: Solar awareness & facilitation camps under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana; Sector 17 market near fountains, Elante Mall near front gate parking, Shastri Market in Sector 22, Mauli Jagran near junction point, Kishangarh near old Govt Middle School; daily till Feb 14 MOHALI CARNIVAL: Concluding day of “Mohali Carnival – Punjab Sakhi Shakti Mela”; Saras Mela Ground, Sector 88; 11 am to 10 pm APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sectors 68 and 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com No treated water supply in UT from Feb 10 to 14 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 9 The tertiary treated water supply to the city will remain suspended from February 10 to 14. According to MC officials, the suspension has been implemented due to the urgent replacement of a damaged system at the Sewage Treatment Plant, Phase 11, Diggian, Mohali. MAX 23°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 22.1°C | MIN 9.1°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:06 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE One child goes missing every two days in Chandigarh 120 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 MOSTLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET TUESDAY 6:07 PM » TUESDAY | 10 FEBRUARY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 9 As the issue of missing children grabs national attention amid controversies in Delhi and renewed public focus following the release of the Bollywood film Mardani 3, official figures reveal both the gravity of the problem in Chandigarh and the speed with which the police have responded to it. According to official data reviewed by the UT Administration, as many as 722 children were reported missing in Chandigarh over four years between 2022 and 2025 — about 181 children every year or one child every two days. However, the actual numbers could be higher, as several cases are believed to go unreported due to fear, stigma or delayed complaints. Despite the worrying trend, the data also highlights the effectiveness of police action. Of the 722 missing children, 690 (over 96.5 per cent) were traced and reunited with their families, leaving 32 cases currently unresolved. Calculated over four years, this means the Chandigarh Police traced around 173 children every year, or roughly one missing child every alternate day, underlining sustained and swift intervention. Year-wise figures show a steady rise in missing children cases — from 155 in 2022 to a peak of 195 in 2024, before a marginal dip to 187 in 2025. Over 96% children traced swiftly in four years; data flags rising cases TELLING NUMBERS WILL ENSURE SAFETY YEAR MISSING TRACED UNTRACED 2022 155 151 4 2023 185 181 4 2024 195 184 11 2025 187 174 13 Total 722 690 32 TOTAL KIDS TRACED: 96.5% Anyone found exploiting children will face strict legal action. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in tracing missing children and ensuring their safety (SOURCE: UT POLICE) Even as numbers increased, the tracing rate remained consistently high, never falling below 93 per cent in any year. In 2022, the police traced 151 of 155 missing children; in 2023, 181 of 185 were located; in 2024, 184 of 195 were traced; and in 2025, 174 of 187 children were found. The data also points to age- Zirakpur man awarded life term for killing two sisters in Sector 22 Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 9 The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sonika, today awarded rigorous imprisonment for life to Kuldeep Singh for the murder of two sisters at their rented accommodation in Sector 22 in 2019. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on the convict. In case of payment default, the convict will undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months. The defence counsel had pleaded that the convict’s siblings are married and father had died. There is no one else at home to take care of his mother in his absence. He has no criminal record. Keeping in view these circumstances, a lenient view be taken while awarding sentence. The Public Prosecutor argued that the convict had murdered Manpreet Kaur and her sister Rajwant Kaur. So, he be punished severely so as to set up an example in society. After hearing the arguments, the court observed that the convict had taken the life of two persons after inflicting injuries on them with a sharp weapon and strangulation. He is liable to be punished severely and Victims were stabbed, strangled at their residence in 2019 calling of lenient view in the matter of sentence is not possible, said the judge. “At the same time, this case does not fall within the category of the ‘rarest of rare’ case. Hence, convict Kuldeep Singh is hereby awarded rigorous imprisonment for life,” the judge said in the order. The court had convicted Kuldeep under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code on February 5 and the quantum of punishment was pronounced today. Kuldeep had worked at a call centre in Mohali and resided at Shivalik Vihar in Zirakpur. On August 15, 2019, he murdered Manpreet (28) and Rajwant (27), both residents of Baluana village in Fazilka district of Punjab, in their rented accommodation at Sector 22 here. The prosecution stated that Kuldeep and Manpreet had been in a relationship since 2010. When Manpreet started avoiding the accused, he suspected that she was involved with another person. On the night of August Crackdown on criminals 14, 2019, he reached the victims’ house in Sector 22 with a motive to check her mobile phone so that he could confront her regarding her relationship with someone else. He climbed the roof from where he jumped onto the rear balcony of the house on the second floor. Both victims were fast asleep at that time. Kuldeep managed to open the rear door and entered the room where both sisters were sleeping. He tried to unlock Manpreet’s mobile phone but failed. In the meantime, Rajwant woke up and went to the washroom. Soon, Manpreet also woke up. She saw the accused and an altercation ensued. He stabbed Manpreet with a pair of scissors. When Rajwant came out of the washroom, Kuldeep strangled her. He locked the room from outside and left the place on his motorcycle. In the CCTV footage of the area outside the house, the accused was seen leaving with a bag. A few hours later, he took a bus for Ambala and then boarded a train to Delhi. The accused, son of a retired UT police inspector, was later arrested from New Delhi railway station. Kharar ASI nabbed taking ~15,000 bribe Tribune News Service Police personnel deployed at a society in Sector 88, Mohali, during a search drive as part of Operation Prahar 2.0 on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Mohali, February 9 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested ASI Jasvir Singh, posted at the Kharar police station (Sadar), while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000. A spokesperson for the state VB said today that the accused had been arrested after a complaint was lodged by a resident of Sector 127, Mohali. The complainant had got registered an assault case against Suman Lata at the Kharar police station. The investigating officer in the case was accused ASI Jasvir Continued on page 2 c m y b ❝ ❞ — Kanwardeep Kaur, CHANDIGARH SSP specific vulnerability. Of the 32 children still missing, half are in the 16-18 age group, followed by those aged 14-15 years. Only four cases involve children aged below 13, indicating that adolescents are the most at risk — often due to factors such as peer influence, online exposure and exploitation. The seriousness of the issue was recently discussed at a meeting of the UT Administrator’s Advisory Council Standing Committee on Law and Order, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu. The meeting was attended by committee members, senior UT officials and police officers, with Chandi- garh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur as convener. The panel reviewed the status of missing and traced children and examined emerging threats requiring urgent attention. Raising a red flag, Sandhu expressed concern over the presence of beggars across the city, questioning their credentials and pointing to reports of organised gangs allegedly kidnapping vulnerable children and pushing them into begging, forced labour and other forms of exploitation. He called for intensified verification drives and coordinated action to dismantle such networks. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, who recently reviewed the status of missing and traced children with the police top brass, reiterat- ed a zero-tolerance approach. “Chandigarh will not allow any gang or individual to exploit children. Every report of a missing child must be treated as an emergency. Our goal is clear — to trace each and every missing minor and reunite them with their families at the earliest,” Kataria said. Echoing the resolve, the SSP said the Chandigarh Police acted immediately on every missing child report and maintained a close coordination with neighbouring states, as the city bordered Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. “Anyone found exploiting children will face strict legal action. We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in tracing missing children and ensuring their safety,” she said. 2 BMW occupants held with heroin, cash Tribune News Service The BMW car impounded by the police from the Nijjer chowk. Mohali, February 9 The police have recovered drugs from two persons travelling in a BMW car during a routine checking at the Nijjer chowk here. The cops signalled the car to stop for bearing tinted glasses and a Punjab Police sticker. Kharar police officials said they were on a routine checking when the luxury sedan approached the checkpoint. The car driver was signalled to stop as the vehicle bore tinted windows and a Punjab Police sticker on the front windshield. The cops asked the two youths to come out of the vehicle for checking. Their suspicion grew when they found a weighing scale in the car and the two occupants travelling in the car started arguing with them. The police found 5.20 gram of heroin/intoxicating powder, Rs 10,000 drug money on Amandeep Singh, a resident of Gillco Valley, Kharar. His co-passenger Harmanjeet Singh’s frisking yielded 5 gram drug powder. Continued on page 2