28022026-LT-01.qxd 2/28/2026 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MC, POLICE CLEAR OVER A DOZEN ENCROACHMENTS DANCE PERFORMANCES STEAL THE SHOW AT SWADESHI EXPO ACTOR JIM CARREY RECEIVES HONORARY AWARD Anti-encroachment drive was aimed at de-congesting road leading to DMCH and streamlining traffic flow. P2 Performances by young dancers were a breakaway hit during cultural programme ‘Hunar Punjab Da’. P3 At the 51st edition of Cesar Award ceremony, the actor delivered a speech entirely in French. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.20 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.49 AM » SATURDAY | 28 FEBRUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Farmers make Ladhowal toll plaza free for commuters Demand law mandating stringent punishment in sacrilege cases Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 27 Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) made the state’s expensive Ladhowal toll barrier free for commuters on Friday. They expressed anger against the state government for adopting a dilly-dallying attitude in bringing a law mandating stringent punishment for suspects involved in sacrilege cases. They announced that toll barriers across the state have been made free for commuters and the toll company would not be allowed to collect any fee from the commuters. To maintain the law and order situation, police personnel from the Ladhowal police station were also deployed in large numbers. Initially, the police tried to convince the farmers that they should not make the barrier free for commuters as the firm will incur huge losses but farmers did not listen to them. The farmers started the Members of the BKU (Sidhupur) hold a protest at the Ladhowal toll plaza in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN protest at 12.10 pm. They removed barriers from the toll plaza, allowing vehicles to pass without paying toll tax. Karamjit Singh, member of the BKU (Sidhupur), said the protest was being held under the banner of Dharam Yudhh Morcha. The morcha had been supporting the agitation of Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who has been sitting atop the 400-ft water tank at Samana, Patiala, since October 13, 2024. As Khalsa had been demanding strict law to seek stringent punishment in incidents of sacrilege of religious symbols and scriptures of all religions, the BKU also stood by the demand and would continue the agitation in the state. “The state government had also promised that a committee to draft a law mandating stringent punishment against suspects involved in sacrilege cases was also made but over seven months have passed and the panel has not made any report public. It is the right time that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann should speak about the report of the committee, else farmer organisations would not step back and intensify their agitation against the government,” he said. Gurinder Singh, a member of the BKU (Sidhupur), said when AAP came to power in the state, CM Mann had assured that people involved in sacrilege cases would not be spared and strict law would be enacted for the same but nothing was happened on the ground.” “The government should not take our movement lightly and our brother Gurjeet Singh Khalsa had been holding a protest for over 16 months now. The BKU (Sidhupur) had already annouced support for him. The government should step up and fulfill our demands, else farmer organisations would intensify the agitation,” he said. SHO, Ladhowal police station, inspector Amritpal Singh, said the protest was started at noon and lifted at 4 pm. The toll barrier was made functional after the protest. Terrorist Rinda promised ~2L for grenade attack at bakery Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 27 Almost six months after the Ludhiana rural police had arrested five youths following an exchange of fire at Sidhwan Bet near Jagraon on August 23, 2025, and seized a hand grenade and a .32 bore pistol from their possession, the questioning of the suspect, Ajaypal Singh, alias Ajay (22), a resident of Kanka Kandia, Tarn Taran, had led to startling disclosures about the entire conspiracy of the planned grenade attack at Kapania Bakery in Nakodar, Jalandhar district. Ajay is also suspected to be the key person who was in touch with Harwinder Rinda, a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist. Ajay, who was arrested in the grenade recovery case after bringing him on production warrant from Goindwal Central Jail, confessed that he, along with six others, had been given the task to throw grenade at a bakery in Nakodar by Rinda, a designated terrorist associated with the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), now hiding in Pakistan. In lieu of the task, Rs 2 lakh was to be given to seven Info was revealed by inmate from Goindwal jail brought on production warrant Cops at the crime scene after five persons were nabbed with grenade in Sidhwan Bet, near Jagraon, in August 2025. FILE suspects. Rinda had reportedly demanded Rs 30-lakh extortion from the bakery owner and when his demand was not met, he hatched the conspiracy of grenade attack. “Ajay confessed that at the behest of Rinda, he had done recce of the bakery where grenade was to be thrown to terrorise the owner. Ajay and six other persons were part of the larger conspiracy but before the execution of the attack, the rural police had busted the network and nabbed five of the suspects after exchange of fire,” said a senior police official. Ludhiana rural police CIA incharge inspector Amritpal Singh said Ajay was brought on Class XII student dies by suicide Clean chit to AAP leaders Lovleen Bains As AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders get a clean chit in the excise policy case, party leaders and supporters celebrate the victory at Bachat Bhawan in Ludhiana on Friday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA Sahnewal, February 27 A Class XII student died by suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his room while the victim’s mother was away for work on Tuesday. The Sahnewal police have registered a case under Section 108 of the BNS on the statement of the mother of the deceased against the daughter of their landlord, in whose rental accommodation they were residing. As per sources, Aryan Yadav (19), a resident of Makkar Colony, Giaspura, and student of a private school, had an affair with Was upset over affair with landlord’s daughter the daughter of his landlord. It is learnt that Jyoti, the daughter of the landlord, had completed her studies and at present doing a job. Sunita, the mother of the deceased, alleged that her son and the daughter of the landowner were in a relationship. The boy was upset over their relationship for quite some time. “He was forced to end his life due to the girl,” the mother alleged. Official sources, however, said the parents of the girl had fixed her marriage due to which the boy might be upset and took the extreme step. “The post-mortem examination of the deceased has been conducted and the report is awaited. On the basis of the report, further investigation will be carried out,” said investigating officer Iqbal Singh. “However, no suicide note was found from the spot,” he said. Shopkeeper attacked over Traders block road over assault by old rivalry in Kirpal Nagar miscreants in Jiwan Nagar, traffic hit Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 27 A shopkeeper was attacked by an acquaintance in broad daylight due to an old rivalry in Kirpal Nagar here on Friday. An assailant, claiming to be an old acquaintance, barged into a shop and attacked the youth with a blade. While defending himself, the victim suffered a severe cut on his arm. Ludhiana, February 27 After some assailants carrying sharp weapons attacked shopkeepers in Jiwan Nagar, community members blocked the Chandigarh road alleging police inaction. The blockade caused inconvenience to commuters. The police also reached the spot to pacify the protesters. The protest was lifted about two hours after police officials recorded their statement for registering a case in the matter. Afterwards, Rizwan, Giani, Bhanga, Karan, Shiva alias Fukra, Bakri, Kaku and 10 unidentified persons were booked. The complainant, Ankur Goyal, a resident of Moti Nagar, told the police that on February 25, he was present at his shop, Goyal Telecom, in Jiwan Nagar. Around 9 pm, the suspects along with several unidentified persons came to his shop in their vehicles and threatened to kill him. They abused him and left the scene. People chase down assailant, hand him over to police The suspect fled the shop brandishing his weapon. Shopkeepers at the market caught him after a chase and thrashed him severely. The attacker was handed over to the Daresi police. The injured victim, Sunny, was rushed to the Civil Hospital, from where he was referred to a private hospital due to his critical condition. Dr Lal Singh Sidhu, a resi- Victim’s kin at the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN dent of the area, said he was the head of the garment market. This morning, a man entered the shop of Sunny and attacked him with a blade. He then surrounded him outside and beat him. When the attacker fled the scene, locals apprehended him at Daulat Colony. He tried to attack them. The suspect had been a frequent visitor to Sunny’s shop in the past. It is being suspected that they had a longstanding rivalry. Another resident of the area, Balram, said Sunny was sitting at the shop. A man entered the shop with a blade, used to cut wood. Meanwhile, a crowd gathered outside the shop and told him that an unidentified person had stabbed the victim with the blade. “I informed the area councillor and others and they chased the assailant. A youth, Paras, a resident of the area, caught the assailant by hitting him on the head with a milk can lid,” he said. The police said the assailant was under the influence of drugs and his questioning was on to know the reason of the attack. c m y b Shopkeepers hold a protest on the Chandigarh road in Ludhiana on Thursday night. “On February 26, when I along with my brother Rohit Goyal were standing outside our shop, over 15 unidentified persons armed with sharp weapons came and attacked us. When other shopkeepers came to rescue us, they also beat them up. The suspects also vandalised my shop and took away mobile phones kept inside,” he said. After the incident, the shopkeepers got enraged and they demanded strict action against the suspects by the police. They blocked the Veer Palace chowk on the Chandigarh road. The traffic situation turned worse due to the protest as serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on the road. The protest was called off after two hours by them after getting assurance from the police. The shopkeepers while holding the protest said when the police did not listen to them when they went to the police station with a complaint, the traders staged a protest on the road. Meanwhile, heated arguments broke out between a policeman and shopkeepers. Personnel from other police stations were also called to the spot who controlled the situation. The traffic blockade caused inconvenience to pedestrians and motorists. ASI Manjit Singh said after registering a case against the suspects, further probe was launched and raids were being conducted to nab the assailants. production warrant and after the two-day questioning, he was sent back to the the Goindwal jail in judicial custody. In August last year, the five suspects were arrested with live grenade. They were identified as Arjun Singh (18), Amjid Masih (22), Sajan (18), Balraj Singh (22) and Manpreet Singh (20). Recently the sixth suspect, Gurdarshan Rambo, was also arrested. Ajay, who was recently arrested by the Tarn Taran police with illegal weapons, was lodged at the Goindwal jail and since his role was confirmed in the case, he was officialy arrested by bringing him to the city from the prison. Armed assailants barge into house, attack man with knife Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 27 The Sarabha Nagar police have registered a case against two suspects in an incident where two armed men barged into a house in BRS Nagar here and attacked the owner with a knife. The suspects were also carrying a weapon, which they pointed at the house owner. The incident occurred on February 21. Gagandeep Singh, a resident of BRS Nagar, told the police that on February 21, two men came to his house. His mother and wife were present. His wife called him and told him that two unidentified persons had come to the house, one of whom introduced himself as Avdesh. On receiving information, he returned home. He said upon reaching home, he sent his mother and wife to a room and talked to the two men. Afterwards, the two suspects got enraged and grabbed his collar. The victim, Gagandeep, alleged that one of the suspects, took out a pistol from his bag and pointed at him while the other took out a knife from his bag and attacked his neck. He bent over to defend himself and the sharp weapon struck his shoulder, injuring him. The attackers threatened to kill him, broke the DVR of the CCTV camera installed in the house and fled the scene. On receiving information, the police registered a case on Thursday and began investigation. The footage from nearby CCTV cameras is also being examined and efforts are underway to identify the suspects. The police said they would be arrested soon.