25032026-LT-01.qxd 3/25/2026 12:53 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RLYS MAKES QR CODE-EQUIPPED ID CARDS MUST FOR VENDORS RAPPER BADSHAH & PUNJABI ACTOR ISHA RIKHI TIE THE KNOT ONE-STOP DESTINATION FOR WEDDING ITEMS AT NOVOTEL Move initiated to curb illegal vending, ensure delivery of safe and high-quality catering to passengers. P2 News surfaced after Isha’s mother shared glimpses from intimate ceremony on social media. P4 Over 50 designers and 10 jewellers to showcase bridal fashion at Novotel Hotel, Chandigarh, on March 28, 29. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.37 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:21 AM WEDNESDAY | 25 MARCH 2026 | LUDHIANA Chaos in MC House as ~1,258.8-cr Budget passed without discussion After stepson, second wife held for man’s murder Oppn councillors accuse AAP of ‘murdering democracy’; they only wanted to obstruct proceedings, says Mayor Nikhil Bhardwaj been slashed despite more liquor shops, horticulture spending is proposed to rise steeply despite underutilisation and the buildings and roads branch faces cuts even as city roads deteriorate. Most troubling is the health sector, where actual expenditure of Rs 1,250 lakh on cancer and drug treatment was made without prior allocation, only to be reduced to Rs 150 lakh in the new Budget. Mamta Ashu pointed out that this pattern suggests development remains confined to paper, not the ground, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability and the sincerity of financial planning. Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 What was meant to be a crucial session to chart the city’s development road map turned into chaos on Tuesday, as the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation’s General House meeting ended abruptly with the passage of a massive Rs 1,258.80-crore Budget in five minutes without any discussion. The meeting, held at Guru Nanak Bhawan, began with Municipal Secretary Vivek Verma presenting the budget agenda. Opposition councillors from the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and BJP demanded a detailed debate, arguing that such a large budget required clarity on allocations ward-wise. However, the Mayor, citing the majority of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), ignored the demand and declared the Budget passed through a voice vote. Within minutes, the session dissolved into uproar. Following which, the opposition councillors began protesting. They raised slogans against the AAP government but the Mayor, Commissioner and MLA walked out of the meeting. In response, the opposition councillors staged demonstrations. Amid the uproar, the Budget session ended within a few minutes. Congress Councillor Gaurav Bhatti tried to get on the stage, asking the Mayor to start a discussion on the Budget to which Councillors’ plight like refugees’: Mehta Congress councillors raise slogans during the MC General House meeting in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN all-party meeting. “Out of the total Budget, only Rs 518 crore has been earmarked for development, with Rs 200 crore allocated specifically for garbage management,” he said. Opposition leaders criticised that the overall allocation for development had been reduced, despite the fact that the Local Bodies Minister himself hails from Ludhiana. Bhatti said the city might qualify for the Limca Book of Records for the “shortest budget session ever,” as no councillor was allowed to speak. BJP members also sat on a dharna and mocked the proceedings, saying the meeting was a “waste of time” and sarcastically added that councillors were “called only to eat samosas,” which ironically were not even served before the meeting ended in less than five minutes. BJP councillor Rohit Sikka called the exercise “a joke in the name of a meeting.” Mayor Inderjeet Kaur defended the move, stating that the Opposition’s role was limited to creating disruption. “They had no constructive suggestions and only wanted to obstruct proceedings. Passing the Budget was necessary in Drug supply racket busted in Khanna; five in police net PESCO employee arrested for bid to smuggle tobacco into jail the police stepped in and he was stopped from moving further. Cong councillor holds symbolic protest In a symbolic protest, Congress councillor Arun Sharma sat outside the venue with a rattle in hand, saying: “This is what the ruling party has reduced the House to, now only the people will question them”. Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti criticised the Mayor’s decision to walk away without a debate, questioning why a Budget meeting was convened if everything had already been finalised in an Heroin, two countrymade pistols, cartridges, car seized Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 As part of the ongoing drive against gangsters and the ‘ War on Drugs’, the Khanna police busted a drugsupply gang with the arrest of five persons. The police recovered 150 gm of heroin, two .32 bore countrymade pistols and seven cartridges from them. Addressing the media, SSP , Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia, said under the supervision of SP (Investigation) Pawanjit and DSP (I) Mohit Kumar Singla, a special campaign was launched to nab antisocial elements. Dr Ahluwalia said a team led by Doraha SHO inspector Akash Dutt and CIA incharge Inspector Jashanpreet Singh intercepted a white Maruti Swift Dzire (bearing registration no. PB 10HT 2927) near Deep Nagar Gurthali on the Southern Bypass. Two occupants of the car, identified as Lovepreet Singh, alias Love, and Kuljinder Singh, alias Kamal, both residents of Ghalib Kalan village in Jagraon, were apprehended after 150 gm of heroin was found hidden in the vehicle’s dashboard. During interrogation, Lovepreet led the police to the recovery of a .32 bore pistol and five cartridges. The car was also seized. The SSP revealed that following his disclosure, the police conducted a raid in Kharar and arrested Kulwant Singh, alias Monu, who was residing as a tenant in Khuni Majra. Another .32 bore pistol and two cartridges were recovered from him. “Preliminary investigation revealed that the sus- pects had a rivalry in Jagraon and had procured the weapons for protection against rival faction. The police have also arrested two more associates, identified as Angrej Singh of Tarn Taran and Jaswant Singh of Ghalib Kala,” he said. The suspects are habitual offenders. Lovepreet is facing nine criminal cases, including those under the Arms Act and attempt to murder. Kulwant is named in 10 FIRs registered across Ludhiana, Sangrur and Moga while other accomplices also have prior criminal records involving drug smuggling and assault. A case was registered under the NDPS Act and the Arms Act at the Doraha police station. Further investigation was underway to trace links of the drug and weapon supply chain. Ludhiana, March 24 The Ludhiana police booked and arrested a Punjab ExServicemen Corporation (PESCO) employee deployed at the Central Jail here for allegedly attempting to supply tobacco to an inmate. According to the complaint filed by Assistant Superintendent of Jail, Surinder Singh, during a routine search on March 23, 100 gm of loose tobacco was recovered from the possession of the PESCO employee, identified as Buta Singh. On intensive questioning, the employee confessed that the prohibited substance was intended for an inmate, Buta Singh, who is currently lodged in the jail. Investigating officer Dinesh Kumar said acting on a complaint, the police arrested the suspect and registered a case under the Prisons Act. — TNS public interest,” she asserted. Budget reflects inflated projections: Mamta Ashu Former Congress councillor Mamta Ashu commenting on the Budget said the Municipal Corporation’s 2026–27 Budget reflects inflated projections and glaring inconsistencies that betray public trust. Despite failing to meet the income target of Rs 10,352 lakh in 2025–26, achieving only Rs 7,969 lakh till February, the corporation has set a higher target for the coming year, without offering a new road map or improving recovery. Excise duty allocations have Former councillor and senior leader Parminder Mehta launched a scathing attack, likening the plight of Ludhiana’s councillors to “refugees”. He pointed out that despite passing budgets worth thousands of crores, councillors lacked even basic facilities such as designated rooms at the zonal level. He lamented that the corporation’s headquarters lacked proper bathrooms, lifts and accessible infrastructure, leaving citizens especially the elderly and differently abled struggling. Mehta argued that before increasing the budget each year, the administration should ensure basic amenities for both public and its own councillors and staff. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 Five days after the arrest of a step son of the deceased, Harjinder Singh, of Jandi village in Sidhwan Bet, the Jagraon police have now arrested his second wife for conniving with her son in eliminating her husband. Notably on March 18, body of Harjinder was found lying in a pool of blood at his house. The key suspect, identified as Jaskaran Singh, victim’s stepson, was arrested within hours of the murder. The police had said Jaskaran was the son of the second wife of Harjinder Singh. Inspector Hamraj Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Jagraon police station, said the preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased had married another woman 22 years after his wife’s death and the second wife’s son had also started staying with the couple. After the deceased’s son from the first wife had shifted to a foreign country, the second wife and her son started harassing him for dividing the property. “The deceased owned several acres of land and the value of the property is said to be in crores. His stepson and the second wife had been forcing the victim to transfer his VICTIM WAS FOUND MURDERED ON MAR 18 On March 18, body of Harjinder Singh of Jandi Village in Sidhwan Bet, was found lying in a pool of blood at his house. The key suspect, identified as Jaskaran Singh, victim’s stepson, was arrested within hours of the murder. The police had said Jaskaran was the son of the second wife of the victim. After the deceased’s son from the first wife had shifted to a foreign country, the second wife and her son started harassing him for dividing the property. property in their names. The duo had also been threatening him and when the deceased refused to transfer the property, his wife and stepson hatched a murder conspiracy,” the SHO said. He said initially the role of deceased’s stepson was found in the murder but during investigation, the role of his second wife also came to the fore. The woman was aware that his son along with two accomplices had gone to kill her husband. After the murder, she remained present near the body, expressing sorrow on the death of her husband. UNCLAIMED BODIES AT CIVIL HOSPITAL MORTUARY Submit reports week prior to next hearing: Rights panel to Civil Surgeon, CP, MC chief Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 The Punjab State and Chandigarh (UT) Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a disturbing situation at the Ludhiana Civil Hospital, where the disposal of unclaimed bodies has become a persistent challenge for the authorities. A recent news report by The Tribune highlighted that 20 corpses were lying in the hospital’s mortuary, which has a capacity of 35. At least 10 of these bodies have remained unclaimed for 10 to 40 days. The deceased include accident victims, unidentified persons found in deserted areas and patients who died during At the Ludhiana Civil Hospital mortuary, disposal of unclaimed bodies has become a persistent challenge. FILE treatment. Despite the legal mandate requiring disposal within 72 hours, many of these cases remain unresolved. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Inderjit Singh Boparai said beat officers had been advised to coordinate with the Municipal Corporation or engage NGOs for the final rites. However, Senior Medical Officer Akhil Sareen revealed that repeated requests to the department concerned have gone unanswered. Municipal Commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta clarified that while funds were allocated to the police for such purposes, no formal intimation had been received. Justice Sant Parkash, Chairman, and Justice Gurbir Singh, member, Human Rights Commission, Punjab, respectively, have directed the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana; Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab; Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana; and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, to submit detailed reports a week prior to the next hearing, scheduled for April 21. Man booked for duping Assembly poll candidate of ~80K Tribune News Service Three of the suspects in Khanna police custody on Tuesday. Ludhiana, March 25 A candidate for the Legislative Assembly elections in the city was cheated in the name of supplying election campaign material. The supplier of election material allegedly took his money but failed to deliver posters and other items. He recently filed a police c m y b complaint and following an investigation, a case has been registered. The case was filed based on a complaint by Navneet Kumar, a former Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) candidate. In his complaint to the Dugri police, the complainant said he was a candidate for the post of MLA from the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency in the 2025 byelection. The suspect had taken money from him in the name of preparing posters and materials for his poll campaign but neither he delivered the material nor provided proper bills. Navneet Kumar said during the election, he had set up his office in the E-Block market of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. The suspect, Inderjit Singh, visited his office on June 2, 2025 and said the total cost of preparing election materials and posters was Rs 3 lakh. As per the agreement, he gave the suspect Rs 80,000 as advance. When he, citing Election Commission guidelines, demanded proper bills detailing the expenses, he began to evade. The posters and election materials were not delivered and the money was also returned. Now, the Dugri police have registered a case against the suspect and launched investigation in the matter.