23042026-LT-01.qxd 4/23/2026 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune OFFICIALS CAUTION LOCALS AS TEMP HOVERS AROUND 40°C Health Department officials have urged residents to take precautions against extreme heat. P3 » DESI GIRL PRIYA KANSARA IN HOLLYWOOD ORBIT JHA’S GINNY WEDSS SUNNY 2 A FAMILY ENTERTAINER Project Hail Mary actor Priya nurtured acting dreams while studying molecular biology. P4 Ginny Wedss Sunny 2, directed by Prasshant Jha, promises a vibrant mix of humour, drama and music. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 40°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 40°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.55 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:47 AM THURSDAY | 23 APRIL 2026 | LUDHIANA MC spends over ~2 cr on rent of poclain machines in three years CLEANING WORK AT BUDDHA NULLAH Civic body already owns three big, one small machine Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 22 In a striking example of financial mismanagement, the Municipal Corporation has spent over ~2 crore over the past three years solely on renting poclain machines for cleaning work at the Buddha Nullah, raising serious questions over its spending priorities. The amount, officials admitted, has been incurred only on rent, excluding additional expenses on diesel and maintenance. At present, the MC has hired two poclain machines for ongoing desilting operations, even as it already owns three big and one small machine. Despite owning the machinery, the civic body continues to depend on rented equipment, leading to recurring expenditure running into crores, and it has raised eyebrows. According to market estimates, a small poclain A poclain machine being used for cleaning the Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA machine costs around ~40 lakh while a big one costs approximately ~65 lakh. Experts say the amount spent on rent alone could have easily been utilised to purchase multiple new machines, ensuring longterm savings. Civic activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira, member of the Public Action Committee has termed the practice as a clear case of “avoidable financial burden” on the public exchequer. “Instead of creating assets, the MC is continuously spending on rent. It reflects poor planning and lack of accountability,” he said. The issue becomes even more concerning when seen in the backdrop of the larger Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project, on which crores of rupees have already been spent. Despite the massive investment, pollution continues to be visible in the nullah, with black water, sludge deposits and foul smell persisting in several stretches. The project, which includes setting up of sewage treatment plants, diverting untreated discharge and regular desilting, was aimed at restoring the earlier state of the heavily polluted drain. Residents have now demanded a detailed independent audit of expenditure, particularly on machinery and operational costs, and sought accountability for what they describe as “reckless use of public money.” Mayor Inderjit Kaur said: “In a recent meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee, I have cancelled a tender worth ~ 42 lakh for further hiring poclain machines. Now, we are going to purchase our own machines soon”. MLA East Daljit Singh Grewal said: “I will check amount details and direct MC officials that why such amount spent on rent and in future, MC will purchase their own more machines”. Old enmity leads to 2 held for robberies, snatching clash in Budhewal Tribune News Service Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 22 A long-standing rivalry took a violent turn in the Budhewal village near here late on Tuesday night as a clash between two groups left one person seriously injured and residents in a state of panic. The incident occurred in the jurisdiction of the Jamalpur police station. According to police sources, the confrontation began as a heated argument. However, the situation quickly escalated into a full-blown physical assault. During the melee, one person sustained a fracture in his leg. Gunfire further intensified the gravity of the situation. The police confirmed that one shot was fired during the clash, causing residents to retreat into their houses in fear. Dalvir Singh, SHO, Jamalpur police station, said the police acted swiftly and already apprehended Man fires shot from licensed weapon; one person suffers injury, suspect nabbed one individual in connection with the violence. “The suspect, identified as Balwinder Singh of Budhewal village, is being interrogated to ascertain the sequence of events. Balwinder’s licensed weapon has also been recovered, which he used to fire one shot. His brother Balwant is yet to be arrested. Attempt to murder case has been registered on the complaint of village sarpanch Inderjit Singh,” the SHO said. He added that in the wake of the incident, the police intensified patrolling in the locality to maintain law and order and prevent any further escalation. Ludhiana, April 22 In a major breakthrough against street crime, the Khanna police have arrested two individuals allegedly involved in robbery and snatching incidents across several districts. The police recovered a .315 bore countrymade pistol, two cartridges and a stolen motorcycle from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Deepak Shah, a resident of Mohalla Dharmpura, and Prem Nath, who stays in the area near Bhuta Wala Gurdwara in Khanna. According to Darpan Ahluwalia, SSP Khanna, the , arrests were made following a special campaign against anti-social elements. Acting on a tip-off, a police team, led by inspector Sandeep Kumar, SHO, Sadar Khanna, under the supervision of SP (I) Pawanjit and DSP Mohit Kumar Singla, set up a checkpoint at the Sua Pulli The suspects in Khanna police custody on Wednesday. Majri (Rasulra) bridge. “The duo was intercepted while commuting on a motorcycle from the Issru side. On searching, the police recovered the pistol and the cartridges,” the SSP said. During preliminary probe, it was revealed that the suspects were habitual offenders who targeted shopkeepers and elderly citizens. They reportedly used the firearm to intimidate victims before robbing them of cash and mobile phones. The police stated that the duo recently robbed a shopkeeper of Rs 1,000 at gunpoint. The investigation further disclosed that the seized motorcycle was looted from its owner from the Sahnewal area. The suspects have several FIRs already registered against them at City-1, City-2 and Sadar police stations in Khanna. They confessed to committing similar crimes in Fatehgarh Sahib, Amloh and Ludhiana district, Dr Ahluwalia said. The police have obtained remand of the suspects for further interrogation. 2 held for making extortion call to Malerkotla MLA Mahesh Sharma Malerkotla, April 22 The police claimed to have solved a case in which two unidentified criminals had made an extortion call to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mohammad Jamil Ur Rahman about a month ago. The suspects have been arrested and identified as Mohammad Subhan, alias Mann, of Saddewal, Malerkotla, and Jagdeep Singh Shainti, a resident of Officer Colony, Sangrur, They had demanded an extortion of ~20 lakh from the legislator on March 25. The call was made from a foreign number, +66955038622, on the MLA’s personal number but it was attended by his personal assistant Gurmukh Singh. The police had registered an FIR against unidentified suspects under Sections 308 (4), 351 (4) and 62 of the BNS at the Malerkotla City 2 police station on March 26. SSP Gagan Ajit Singh said police officials, supervised by SP (D) Sat Pal Sharma, DSP (D) Deepinder Singh Jeji, DSP Manavjit Singh Sidhu, CIA in-charge Harjinder Singh and SHO, Cyber Crime, Manjot Singh, had solved the high-profile blind extortion case by persistent efforts resulting in the arrest of two suspects who made a threat call to the MLA and demand ~20 lakh extortion. Though the investigating team is yet to ascertain complete past criminal record and modus operandi of the suspects, preliminary investigations revealed that Subhan had provided personal phone number of the MLA to Shainty who made the threatening call through a foreign number. As the legislator’s number is handled by his staff during busy hours, his PA Gurmukh Singh received the call and reported the matter to the MLA and later to the police. Both suspects were identified and arrested in separate incidents recently and gadgets used in the crime were seized by the police. The suspects, nabbed in the extortion case, in police custody in Malerkotla. Pizza shop raided, owner held with 400-gm heroin Ludhiana, April 22 The Ludhiana police conducted a major operation on Wednesday and conducted a surprise raid on a shop, Pizza Express, located in the city’s busy Civil City area. They recovered 400 gm of heroin from the owner’s possession. Some accomplices of the shop owner are also on the radar of the police who went underground after the raid. The police team remained present inside the shop for around three hours, till 8.30 pm. Thepolicereceivedatip-offthat the outlet was operating under the guise of an illegal drug trade. “Shop owner had been selling heroin in the garb of pizza shop for a long time. We have recovered drugs from the shop and even the owner confessed to having involvement in the drug trade,” said a police official. Owner’s kin alleged that the police should probe the matter thoroughly as their son could not indulge in drug trade. — TNS City bizman deposited ~19.84 cr into 76 mule accounts in 8 months Mohit Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 22 The Cyber Crime Division of the Punjab Police has initiated a probe into Rs 20-crore cryptocurrency fraud involving a Ludhiana-based industrialist. As per the FIR, industrialist Jagdeep Singal was duped of Rs 19,84,30,000 and the money was deposited in 76 forged accounts in 15 banks between May 15, 2025, and November 20. Between November 17 and 20, Jagdeep deposited over Rs 5 crore in these bank accounts. Probe revealed that the fraudsters routed money through 76 mule bank accounts across Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Bengaluru. These accounts were opened at IDFC, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank and other banks. The police said the suspects used multiple fake SIM cards to execute the fraud and later CRYPTO FRAUD demanded additional payments under various pretexts, including tax liabilities and “green channel” charges, extracting crores more from the victim. The authorities described it as one of the biggest cyber scam reported in the state so far. A woman identifying herself as “Anamika Roy” established contact and built trust through friendly interactions before introducing investment opportunities in cryptocurrency. Jagdeep said being a senior citizen, he failed to recognise that the website was fake. “It later became evident that the figures displayed were fictitious and fabricated to mislead me into believing that my funds were secure and invested. This deceptive display created a false sense of legitimacy and induced me into making further transfers,” he told the police. Visitors a harassed lot as RTO remains unavailable Sunet man staying CM Mann, AAP supremo Kejriwal had last year symbolically locked office to roll out ‘faceless’ services for public Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 22 On October 29, 2025, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had symbolically locked the Ludhiana Regional Transport Office to roll out “faceless” transport services for the public. However, the initiative now appears to have backfired, with locked doors and absent officials, causing daily harassment to hundreds of visitors. The primary reason cited by visitors is the unavailability of the “sahab” — the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) — or even the section officer. On Wednesday, several visitors had been waiting since 10.30 am for the RTO, section officer or the accountant but none were present to attend to the Visitors wait outside as the RTO office remains locked. ASHWANI DHIMAN public, many of whom had travelled from far-off places in the scorching heat. They had to return disappointed. Meanwhile, an attendant at the office when asked about availability of the officials, replied: “When I myself don’t know when they will come, how can I answer your query?” Visitors while talking to The Tribune alleged they had been making repeated rounds of the office for the past three days but since the RTO was unavailable, signatures could not be done on documents. Surinder Singh Shinda, who operates mini-buses on several routes, said he had been trying to get his documents signed but to no avail. “No one speaks properly here. They don’t even listen to your query, forget about showing concern. On Wednesday, the RTO, section officer or accountant were not present. I came around 11 am, waited till 12:45 pm, and now, returning back disappointed,” he said. He said operating buses without valid documents invites penalties from the police. “If we drive vehicles without papers, we are fined. Are we at fault?” he questioned. Another visitor, requesting anonymity, said: “I agree with what others are saying, but I won’t disclose my identity as it may create trouble for me later. I will wait till 1.30 pm and then leave,” he said. Jasbinder Singh Grewal, president of the Small Scale Bus Operators’ Welfare Associ- c m y b ation, Ludhiana (West), said transporters were required to deposit Motor Vehicle Tax, passing fee and other charges at the RTA/RTO office for which an ID has to be provided. “However, we have failed to meet the RTO. Since last Thursday, we are trying but to no avail. People like me are forced to make repeated rounds. I can challenge that I am not getting any personal favours in an illegal manner, everything is on record. Even if our works cannot be done, someone has to tell us about it”, rued Grewal. He alleged that middlemen rule here. ‘Strict action soon’ Administrative Secretary of Punjab Transport Department, Varun Rujam, said visitors must not be harassed and such negligence would not be tolerated. He said strict action would be taken against erring officials. False allegations being levelled against me: RTO Regional Transport Officer Ludhiana Mankanwal Singh Chahal said if visitors start coming to him for works, the very aim of the government of faceless services get defeated. He said a mail ID was put on the notice board for any query to check online. “Persons, who are raising hue and cry want their illegitimate works done, so unnecessarily, allegations were being levelled against me”, said Chahal, adding that he had many other duties to perform and was busy in those. The next in hierarchy was present in the office, visitors could meet him, the RTO said. in Saudi Arabia gets ~5 lakh extortion call Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 22 A man staying in Saudi Arabia was threatened with the death of his nine-year-old son if he failed to pay Rs 5 lakh extortion. The suspects also broke into his house in Sunet village, committed theft and while leaving the scene locked the gate and sent a photo to the man. The complainant, Zeenat Begum, wife of Iqbal Singh of Sunet village, told the police that her husband had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past four years. On April 18, he received a call from Mani Kumar, demanding an extortion of Rs 5 lakh. He threatened to kill their nineyear-old son, Sukhjot Singh, if they failed to pay the money. The woman said on April 20, she was visiting relatives with her son. During that time, the suspect and his three unidentified accomplices entered her house. They stole one mobile phone, two cylinders, important documents and arund Rs 20,000 rupees in cash. They locked the main gate and took photographs of it before leaving. Mani Kumar is also a resident of Sunet. The Sarabha Nagar police on Tuesday registered a case and began further probe. The victim’s family has been in a state of panic since the incident occurred.