24032026-CT-01.qxd 24-03-2026 01:17 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune COMMITTED TO CITIZEN-CENTRIC, GOVERNANCE, SAYS KATARIA PLAYING IPL HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON MY BUCKET LIST: HARNOOR THE CURTAIN FALLS ON LAKME FASHION WEEK UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria holds camp to address grievances of residents of Hallomajra. P3 After a good domestic season for Punjab, opener Harnoor Pannu looks to make an impact in the upcoming IPL. P3 Gen Z face Aneet Padda’s ensemble, designed by Aneeth Arora, captured a refined yet playful narrative. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.7°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.36 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.20 AM » TUESDAY | 24 MARCH 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE ~200-CRORE IDFC FIRST BANK FRAUD 77 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD 3 accused bankers paid crores to top Smart City, CREST officials, court told Shell firms opened to siphon off funds, claim police citing disclosure by accused Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH FELICITATION:12 Indian modernists to be felicitated for contribution in Chandigarh’s founding; Govt Museum & Art Gallery, Sector 10; 5 pm CELEBRATION: Cultural event to celebrate 150 years of national song Vande Mataram; Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Bhavan, Sec 38; 12 noon WALKATHON: Walkathon to promote cardiovascular health awareness; PGI; 6 am WORKSHOP: Workshop on media-academia engagement in research; PU; 11 am APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sec 68, 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Chandigarh, March 23 The police have claimed before a local court that Ribhav Rishi, Abhay Kumar and Seema Dhiman, the IDFC First Bank officials arrested in two fraud cases in the city, paid crores to officials of Smart City Project and Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Three shell firms were opened to siphon off MC and CREST funds. The police claimed that Ribhav Rishi created the shell firms with the connivance of Nalini Malik, Chief Accounts Officer, Smart City Project, Narender Pal Sharma, Chief Executive Manager of Smart City Project and MC official, and Sukhwinder Singh, Project Director, CREST. The police made the claims while seeking remand of the three bank officials in two FIRs registered on the complaints of MC and CREST officers. The police told the Honey trap bid foiled, couple among 3 held Tribune News Service Panchkula, March 23 The local police have busted an organised blackmail and extortion racket, arresting three persons, including a man and his wife, for allegedly plotting a honey trap to extort Rs 50 lakh. The suspects have been identified as Sana Amreen, her husband Dilpreet Singh and their associate Manmohan Singh, all residents of Fatehgarh district in Punjab. A case was registered at the Chandimandir police station on March 20 following a complaint by a Kaithal resident. The police said Sana Amreen called the complainant, who was known to her, to Panchkula. She then took him to a hotel in Morni where she allegedly recorded an objectionable video using a hidden camera during a consensual meeting. She later sent the video to the victim via WhatsApp and demanded Rs 50 lakh, threatening to make the video public if the money was not paid. Acting swiftly on receiving the complaint, the police laid a trap and arrested the suspects from the Sirhind and Zirakpur areas the same day. During police remand, the car used in the crime, hidden camera, mobile phones and SIM cards were recovered. The police said the suspects were now in judicial custody. Accused Ribhav Rishi at the District Courts in Chandigarh. court that during the course of interrogation, Ribhav Rishi disclosed that while he was working as the branch manager of the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank People take part in a torch rally organised to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on Martyrs’ Day at Sector 17 in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI Residents during an event to mark Shaheedi Diwas in Mohali on Monday. “Inquilab Zindabad” still ignites passion and patriotism in the hearts of young people, he said. The sacrifice he made for the country’s freedom at such a young age would always be remembered, he said. Punjab State Commission for Women Chairperson Raj custodial interrogation of Ribhav Rishi was required to recover the bank computer system on which the forged FDRs were created, verify the role of bank employees and MC officials, arrest other coaccused, know the modus operandi and conduct his cross-examination with Vikram Wadhwa. The police further claimed that the bank accounts of CREST were also opened in the Sector 32 branch by the accused with the connivance of society officials. The funds to the tune of Rs 75 crore were lying in these bank accounts. The bank statement of CREST, the accused persons and several firms involved in the crime were being examined to ascertain the trail of money and identify the places, securities and properties where the siphoned amount was invested/kept, the police said, adding that the custodial interrogation of Ribhav Rishi, Abhay Kumar and Seema Dhiman was thus Continued on page 3 Tribute to heroes Residents gather outside international airport in Mohali to pay tributes to martyr Mohali, March 23 Mohali resonated with the spirit of revolution today as the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh was observed as Inquilab Diwas with devotion and enthusiasm. More than thousand residents of Mohali gathered at the statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, located in front of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, to pay their respects to the martyrs. Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, general secretary, Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab, and Chairman, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said the event took the form of a mass movement, witnessing significant participation from the youth. Ahluwalia said Bhagat Singh was not just a freedom fighter, but an ideology, a revolution and a voice that continues to inspire the youth to stand against injustice. His slogan from 2023-25, he opened the MC accounts and with the connivance of civic body officials created fake/forged FDRs to the tune of Rs 116 crore. He also created three shell firms — CAPCO Fintech in the name of Bhupinder Singh and Sapna, the wife of Hemraj, who worked as driver of Ribhav Rishi and Bhupinder Singh; RS Traders in the name of Hemraj; and Swastik Desh Project in the name of Swati Singla, wife of accused Abhay Kumar, and her brother. Abhay Kumar was a relationship manager in the Sector 32 branch and was also involved in the fraud/crime, the police said. The scammed amount was invested in real estate business with the help of coaccused Vikram Wadhwa. The police said Ribhav transferred/paid crores to Nalini Malik, Narender Pal Sharma, MC officials and Sukhwinder Singh and his family members through the accounts of the shell firms, other accounts and also in cash. The police claimed that the Lali Gill, District Planning Board Chairperson and AAP district president Prabhjot Kaur, PESCO Chairman Gurcharanjit Singh, AAP’s Mohali in-charge Govinder Kumar Mittal, Punjab Trade Commission Mohali Chairman Ranjit Pal Singh, along with many other leaders and village sarpanches, were also present. A blood donation camp, a free health check-up camp, a health card camp under the Mukhmantri Sehat Bima Yojana and a dental check-up camp were also organised. — TNS c m y b Firefighters battle the blaze at a shop in the Industrial Area, Phase 2, Chandigarh, on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Major fire breaks out at shop in Ind’l Area Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 23 A major fire broke out at a shop housing electrical equipment and crockery in the Industrial Area, Phase 2, today. It took firemen over three hours to control the blaze. Station Fire Officer Amarjit Singh of the Fire Station, Industrial Area, Phase 2, said they received an emergency call around 10.20 am following which fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. Firemen had tough time battling the flames due to huge plastic and electrical items inside the shop. He said preliminary reports suggested that the fire was caused in shop number 406 A due to a short circuit. Traders said they immediately alerted the Fire Department on seeing smoke emanating from the shop. The shop was divided into electrical items and crockery sections using a wooden partition. They said initially, the fire broke out in the crockery section and later engulfed the adjacent section. This is the second instance of a fire in the city within a week, raising questions over Brought under control after over 3-hour op fire safety arrangements in commercial establishments. On March 18, a major fire had engulfed a shop in the Sector 22 mobile market. Two floors of the building were totally damaged in the incident. The fire had intensified due to a chemical stored in a photo lab. The Industrial Area shop too had electrical items stored in huge quantities. Sources in the Fire Department said the shop had no ventilation. Traders said the incident caused panic in the market, one of the city's biggest electrical appliances markets. Mayor Saurabh Joshi also reached the spot and oversaw the firefighting operation. He issued directions to officials concerned to hold a drive in markets to raise awareness on fire safety. The shop owners suffered huge loss as all items were burnt. Inderjeet, Chief Fire Officer of MC, said he had given instructions to fire officers to issue an advisory to all traders to follow fire safety norms. 75 years on, 12 Indians who shaped Chandigarh to be felicitated today Chandigarh, March 23 When the world talks of Chandigarh, it invariably invokes the names of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. The Indians who actually rolled up their sleeves and built the city — brick by brick, sector by sector — have largely remained unsung. This will change on Tuesday. In what is being described as a first-of-its-kind recognition in 75 years of the city’s existence, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will felicitate 12 legendary Indian architects, engineers and administrators whose vision and labour gave shape to independent India’s first planned city. The felicitation ceremony, organised by the Chandigarh Administration in association with the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation, will be held at the Auditorium of the Government Art Museum, Sector 10, here on March 24. Officials say the event is a conscious effort to correct a long-standing anomaly — the disproportionate global recognition of foreign professionals over the equally significant, if not greater, contributions of Indian architects, engineers and civic planners who executed the city’s founding vision on the ground. The ceremony is being held as part of an exhibition titled ‘Chandigarh’s Indian Modernists’, being organised by the foundation. Open at the Exhibition Hall of the Government Art Museum on February 28, it will continue till March 29. A city born out of tragedy Chandigarh’s story is rooted in one of history’s most traumatic displacements. When Partition severed Lahore from India in 1947, Punjab was left without a capital. In the shadow of mass violence, forced migration and acute resource shortage, the country’s leadership took a bold and audacious call — to build an entirely new city from scratch rather than retrofit an existing one. Construction began in 1951. What emerged over the decades is a globally admired model of urban planning — a city defined by its grid-like sector layout, a clear road hierarchy, abundant open spaces and parks, distinctive modern architecture and a robust civic infrastructure. Seventy-five years on, Chandigarh continues to be ranked among India’s most liveable cities. A three-year celebration The felicitation marks the launch of a series of events planned by the Chandigarh Administration to commemorate 75 years of the city’s making through 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Administration is preparing a detailed proposal to involve institutions, professional bodies, resident welfare associations, schools and colleges in these celebrations — with the aim of turning the commemoration into a citywide movement. Chandigarh, officials note, is the finest living example of India’s vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ — a harmonious, wellplanned urban habitat where citizens live in close proximity to nature. Tuesday’s ceremony is described as only the first batch of such felicitations, with more legends expected to be honoured in subsequent events through the three-year commemoration. — TNS