12032026-LT-01.qxd 3/12/2026 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune COPS RAID COURIER FIRM, RECOVER 56KG MARIJUANA Earlier, Crime Branch seized over a qunital of narcotics from the same company in Focal Point. P2 » BJP DELEGATION MEETS MC CHIEF, FLAGS LOCAL ISSUES ALANKRITA COLLABORATES WITH KARAN AUJLA FOR SONG Delegation alleges a contractor had stopped work in Ward 70 after getting instructions from local MLA. P2 Actress Alankrita Sahai will be seen opposite Punjabi singer Karan Aujla in his new song 5-7. P4 » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.28 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:35 AM » THURSDAY | 12 MARCH 2026 | LUDHIANA Employee dies at factory, kin block road alleging foul play Cause of her death will be known only after arrival of autopsy report: Police Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 Three days after an employee died under mysterious circumstances inside a factory, her family alleging foul play behind the death and police inaction, blocked the road outside the Civil Hospital here on Wednesday. The family alleged that the deceased, Roshni, did not die by suicide and the police should probe the matter to identify circumstances under which she died. The deceased’s brother, Mohammad Usman, said his sister, Roshni, was working at a biscuit factory. Since it was Ramadan, Roshni was happy and she could not take any extreme step. “My sister was overburdened with work and she had also been returning home late due to the heavy workload. She was facing some other pressure which could have became the cause of her death. We want a fair probe, else we will block the road in protest again,” he said. Usman said their family Kin of the deceased, Roshni (inset), hold a protest on a road in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN FACTORY OWNER SAID SHE DIED BY SUICIDE: KIN Deceased’s brother Mohammad Usman said their family had received information from the factory owner that Roshni died by suicide and she was taken to a hospital. When they reached the hospital, doctors already declared her dead. Even the factory owner fled on his bike from the hospital on seeing them. had received information from the factory owner that Roshni died by suicide and she was taken to a hospital. When they reached the hospital, doctors already declared her dead. Even the factory owner fled on his bike from the hospital on seeing them. “Why the factory owner himself took the body down from the noose and Three booked for poisoning plumber to death in Jagraon Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 After a plumber died under mysterious circumstances in the Jagraon area, the police registered a case on the charge of murder against three persons, including a woman. The suspects were accused of administering poison to the deceased over past rivalry. As per information, Gurpreet Singh, a plumber from Beed Gagda village, Jagraon, gave a statement to the police before his death and accused the three suspects of forcibly poisoning him. “They took me to the Civil Road and forcibly poisoned Victim in a statement to police before death accused suspects of poisoning him me,” he told the police. He died shortly after giving statement to the police. The suspects were identified as Happy, Geeta and Geeta’s wife. At present, all three suspects are absconding and the police are conducting raids to arrest them. Station House Officer, Sadar police station, inspector Surjeet Singh, said the deceased in his statement to the police before his death stated that he was a plumber by profession and the suspects were continuously threatening him for the past few days. The victim also stated that his work was progressing well but the suspect, Happy, was preventing him from working. He repeatedly threatened to stop his work. In his last statement, Gurpreet said Happy, Geeta and Geeta’s wife forcibly made him drink some poisonous substance. Meanwhile, police sources said the deceased was also having a dispute of Rs 10,000 with the suspects, which also became one of the reasons behind his murder. took it to the hospital without informing the police. The factory owner claims that the CCTV cameras were not working during the incident. However, the family has got a mobile video that makes the case suspicious,” he said. The victim’s brother alleged that the police had been sitting idle for four days. They want justice and would continue the protest till the accused are prosecuted. Seeing the situation escalate, a police team reached the spot. The police officials attempted to pacify the protesting family members. They said the incident occurred on the night of March 9. Meanwhile, the police said the factory owner was not absconding. Instead, he was already involved in the investigation and was not present at the factory during the incident. The exact cause of death will be known only after the arrival of the post-mortem examination report. If the report confirms murder or any foul play, an FIR would be filed and suspects will be arrested. Inspector Gurjit Singh said the DVR of the factory was taken into custody by the police for analysis. The police would proceed as per law in the case. Notably, due to the protest, traffic movement had been affected near the Civil Hospital. NIA team meets anti-terrorist front chief, probes threats to him Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited the residence of Gursimran Singh Mand on the Pakhowal road, who is the president of the International Anti-Khalistani Terrorist Front (IAKTF). The team spoke with Mand for about 90 minutes and gathered information and evidence related to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and his associates active in Punjab and other states. Mand said he received a call from the NIA team on Wednesday afternoon. The team said they were coming to his house to meet him. The officials reached his house and questioned him extensively. Mand said he had received threats on his mobile phone on October 7, 8 and 9 in 2025. The caller introduced him as Dheeraj, alias Dhiru, a close associate of Pakistan terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, and said he was planning to blow up Ram Temple in Ayodhya and attack an ancient temple in Jalandhar. There was also a threat of throwing a hand grenade at his house in Ludhiana. The threats continued till fourth week of October. “In November 2025, a women police station in Sirsa was attacked with explosives and gangster Dhiru, who issued threats to him, was arrested by the Haryana Police. Though I had raised the alarm and informed the Haryana Police that Dhiru issued threats and he might be possessing explosives but they then didn’t take action, citing it a matter of Punjab. Investigations revealed that the suspect had obtained the hand grenade from Amritsar,” Mand said. He said the NIA team collected all evidence and data related to the accused from him. The team had assured that the network of these criminals would be disman- tled. Their links and associates are also being probed. Mand said he was also summoned to the NIA office for further questioning. Notably, Mand is having Y plus security cover of the CRPF . The NIA team, who came in a private vehicle, didn’t entertain any media queries. Filed petition in SC to declare Pak gangster as terrorist According to Mand, he had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court on October 5, seeking to declare Pakistani gangster Shehbaz Bhatti a terrorist for allegedly provoking youth in Punjab and Haryana. After wards, he began receiving repeated calls from Dheeraj who tried to pressure him into withdrawing the petition and not to hold protests against Bhatti. Mand said Dheeraj later sent voice messages, threats and claimed he had access to weapons, including rocket launchers. BOMB THREATS TO SCHOOLS Police initiate probe to trace source of emails Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 A day after 10 schools in the city received bomb threats through emails, the Ludhiana police have initiated an investigation to trace the source of email. The cyber wing has been entrusted the investigation. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said though schools which received threatening emails fall in the jurisdiction of different police stations, the entire investigation was being conducted by the cyber crime police station. “The cyber wing has already initiated the probe. The technical probe will identify the source of email and then investigation will reach out to the culprit,” Chahal said. Police sources said statements of representatives of the schools would also be recorded by the police and first information reports (FIRs) be registered accordingly. Besides schools, emails also mentioned that the Ludhiana railway station would also be targeted. NIA officials meet Gursimran Singh Mand, president, IAKTF, in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN Mayor conducts surprise inspection at Zone A office Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 For ensuring hassle-free services for residents and to ensure punctuality at civic body offices, Mayor Inderjit Kaur conducted a surprise inspection at the Zone A office of the Municipal Corporation (MC) near Mata Rani Chowk here on Wednesday morning. During the inspection, strict warning was issued to employees reaching late to MC offices, including staff of suvidha kendras and other branches of the civic body. The Mayor said it was their priority that residents visiting civic body offices for various works should not face any harassment. The officials/employees had been directed to check files and mark objections, if any, in one go and residents should not be forced to make rounds of civic body offices. Teens playing online games Can’t create delay, then seek bail; High Court falling prey to cybercrime rejects bail in dist courts complex blast case Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 With teenagers spending ample time playing online games, they are also falling prey to cybercrime. The fraudsters pretending to be online gamers, on the pretext of offering free gaming rewards, sneak into mobile phones to steal personal data. Since most of the teenagers and even children use mobiles of their parents, risk of losing personal information, including of financial apps, increases. With cyber wing receiving complaints from parents that their mobile phones used by their wards are compromised, the cyber police station of the Ludhiana police have issued an advisory to residents urging them to be watchful about online activi- CYBER CRIMINALS JOIN GAMING GROUPS TO TARGET YOUTH Saurabh Malik Cyber officials said cyber criminals join online gaming groups to target teenagers and small children. The miscreants even hide their age to give an impression that they were teenagers spending time on gaming platforms. Chandigarh, March 11 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the bail plea of an accused in the Ludhiana district courts complex blast case after making it clear that artificially created delay in a trial was not a ground for granting relief. The ruling came as the Bench observed that the case record itself indicated deliberate attempts to stall the trial. “The fact is that the trial is pending not due to the delay totally attributed to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the court but on 27 occasions, the counsel for the accused was absent,” a Division Bench of the High Court observed. The court made it clear that some accused in cases involving ties of their wards. The advisory was shared on the official social media accounts of the Ludhiana police. The advisory states: “Be careful while playing online games, stay safe. Do not chat with strangers in game apps while playing. Do not click on suspicious links. Do not share your personal information such as mobile number, OTP and address with anyone. It futher states: “Avoid fake offers such as ‘free diamonds and free coins. Online friends are not always true friends. Report any cyber fraud immediately to the Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930.” Police sources said a few complaints were already recieved from parents that mobiles of their children were hacked after their wards clicked on links shared by strangers on the pretext of gifting rewards in games. “The district has received over 10 complaints in the recent past in which after hacking mobiles, cyber criminals stole money from financial apps installed in phones. Clicking on suspicious links to claim game rewards transfers control of phones to strangers,” said a cyber police official. Tribune News Service c m y b multiple persons might attempt to create delay in ongoing proceedings but could not benefit from it. The court observed: “We are not oblivious of the consideration that in a case involving multiple accused, one or other such accused, who has a weaker case, tried to delay the matter by artificially creating the right of delay in trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, and the present matter is one such instance.” It further noted that the accused had not taken any step to seek legal aid or change counsel despite the repeated absence. “The accused, Rajan Preet Singh, did not file any application to give him a legal aid counsel, or to change the counsel. Thus, on the face of it, it shows a conspiracy and pur- poseful absence of the counsel on behalf of Rajan Preet to delay the trial and now, he has come up before the court contending that the trial is delayed and one such ground for bail is the delay in trial.” Blast killed one The case has its genesis in an explosion that rocked the Ludhiana district courts complex on December 23, 2021. According to the prosecution, the blast occurred around noon in a bathroom near a courtroom, killing a person and injuring five. The man, who died in the explosion, was later identified as Gagandeep Singh, a dismissed head constable of the Punjab Police. Investigators alleged he himself was the handler of the bomb that detonated. Initially, the case registered by the Punjab Police, the investigation was subsequently transferred by the Central Government to the NIA. The agency alleged the involvement of Pakistanbased smugglers, who allegedly supplied the explosive device. Investigators also claimed the plot was part of a larger conspiracy. “The investigation also revealed that Lakhbir Singh Rode, head of the Khalistan Liberation Force and International Sikh Youth Federation, had planned to execute IED blasts at various places in Punjab and the explosion was part of the conspiracy,” it was alleged. Rajan Preet was arraigned as an accused during investigation following alleged disclosure by another suspect. “The allegations against him are that he was the main person, who had handed over the bomb to the handler and he was also doing a recce of the location and fully involved in the conspiracy,” it added. What the Bench says The Bench concluded: “There is evidence of the appellant’s involvement with Pakistan-based smugglers and the recovery of large amounts of ammunition from them. Thus, in the entirety of facts and circumstances, the appellant is neither entitled to bail on merits nor on delay in custody.” At the same time, the court clarified that its observations were confined to the bail proceedings and would not influence the trial. “Any observation made here is neither an expression of opinion on the case’s merits nor shall the trial court advert to these comments.”