05052026-CT-01.qxd 5/5/2026 1:18 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CITY MAYOR FOR RAISED WALKWAYS IN GREEN BELTS ADMN HIRES CONSULTANT FOR PU UNDERPASS PROJECT GUNSHOTS FIRED AT CANADA CAFE, KAPIL SAYS NOT SCARED Joshi studied the concept of elevated walkways and nature trails during his recent visit to Mumbai. P3 The underpass will connect the north campus in Sector 14 with the south campus in Sector 25. P3 Gunshots were fired at Kapil Sharma’s Canada café but the actor says he is focusing on Dadi Ki Shaadirelease. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 79 PANCHKULA 50 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Mohali: Sec 68, 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com 3 arrested for youth’s murder in Manimajra Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 4 Three persons have been arrested for killing an employee of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Krishna Kumar (31), a resident of Manimajra, was found murdered on May 2. The three accused have been identified as Munna Rajak, Shani Dev Kumar and Dhanik Kumar, all natives of Bihar. The investigation revealed that the accused, all labourers, resided in a jhuggi near the PWD store, where the deceased was posted as a watchman. “It came to light that one of the labourers, who were hired for laying paver blocks, lost his mobile phone about 10 days ago. They suspected the watchman had stolen the phone. The three confronted him after consuming alcohol on the night of May 2. A quarrel ensued around 10:30 pm. They strangled Krishna with his own belt and dragged the body to a secluded place away from their jhuggi,” said a police officer. The police recovered a mobile phone, a wooden stick and blood stained clothes of the victim from the accused. MAX 32°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 31.7°C | MIN 20.9°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.36 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Sec 35 woman hired Lucky Patial gang to eliminate property dealer 7 villages, Sec 63 to be covered under waste collection scheme Accused, her accomplice arrested | Cheeni was shot dead in Sector 9-C on March 18 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON PARTLY CLOUDY/RAIN SUNSET TUESDAY 7.02 PM » TUESDAY | 5 MAY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, May 4 In a dramatic twist to the broad daylight murder of property dealer Charanpreet Singh, alias Cheeni, outside a Sector 9-C gym on March 18, the Chandigarh Police on Monday arrested Amreen, a Sector 35 woman, who hired notorious gangster Lucky Patial to eliminate Cheeni over an alleged property fraud. A property dealer, who acted as a link between Amreen and the gang, has also been arrested. The breakthrough came when a team of the Crime Branch on naka duty near Satsang Bhawan, Maloya, intercepted Harshpreet Singh Bains (27), a property dealer from Kambala village in Mohali. An imported .45-bore pistol with two cartridges were recovered from him. The weapon was found to be registered in the name of Amreen. A case under Sections 25-54-59 of the Arms Act has been registered against Harshpreet. Harshpreet’s arrest led the investigators to Amreen. Interrogation of the accused CONSPIRACY CRACKED 1 2 3 Forensic experts inspect the spot in Sector 9, Chandigarh, where Charanpreet Singh was killed. FILE revealed that she nursed a grudge against Cheeni. She alleged that he had cheated her in a property transaction in New Chandigarh, selling it at inflated rates and withholding possession, causing her heavy financial losses. The conspiracy took shape in 2025, when Amreen, through her associates, began exploring ways to resolve the dispute, eventually opting for Cheeni’s elimination. She approached Harshpreet, who acted as a critical link, connecting Amreen with Lucky Patial through encrypted communication applications. In regular contact with Patial, Amreen offered a substantial amount of money for the assassination. Employee jumps to death from 8th floor of Secretariat Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 4 A 44-year-old employee of Haryana Power Corporation Limited (HPGCL) allegedly jumped from the eighth floor of the Haryana Secretariat building here on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Balwant Singh, a resident of Panchkula and native of Jhajjar in Haryana. He was reportedly under the radar of investigating agencies in the Rs 590-crore IDFC Bank fraud. He was working as an accounts officer in the HPGCL. According to sources, Balwant obtained a visitors’ pass to enter the building and jumped from the eighth floor in the afternoon. “He allegedly died by sui- CBI had called Balwant for questioning in the IDFC First Bank scam cide after jumping from the eighth floor of the Haryana Civil Secretariat. He had entered the Secretariat using a visitors’ pass at 10.30 am,” said a source. The onlookers informed the ambulance service and he was rushed to the nearby hospital. The doctor reportedly declared him dead on arrival. The body was shifted to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, for a post-mortem examination. In February, the secretary of an IAS officer had jumped from the seventh floor of the Haryana Secretariat build- ing. The victim, Ganesh Arora, served as Special Senior Secretary to IAS officer Hitesh Meena. The CBI had called Balwant for questioning on Monday in the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam. He reportedly met a few people in the secretariat before jumping to death. Former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said several senior officials and individuals linked to the government were involved in the alleged misappropriation of government funds deposited in three banks, yet no action was being taken against them. Owing to the lack of appropriate action, lower-level employees were under immense pressure and losing their lives, he added. Following the agreement, Lucky Patial managed the entire logistics chain, arranging weapons, a motorcycle and funds for his shooters, Rajan, alias Piyush Pahalwan; and Pritam Shah, through various modules. On March 18, the two shooters executed the killing exactly as directed. With the arrest of Amreen and Harshpreet, Chandigarh Girls cover their faces to protect themselves from the scorching sun in Zirakpur on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Chandigarh, May 4 A day after Sunday’s storm, which left a trail of destruction across the Tricity, Monday’s orange alert for thunderstorm, gusty winds, hailstorm and widespread rain passed off without any significant impact till the filing of this report. Clouds and sun played hide and seek through the day, keeping the weather comparatively pleasant, with only a trace of rainfall recorded in Chandigarh by afternoon. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has now issued a yellow alert for thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of 40 to 50 kmph with rainfall at isolated places for Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be free of any weather warning, the first consecu- MERCURY METER MAX MIN CHANDIGARH 31.7°C 20.9°C MOHALI 31.2°C 22°C tive dry days since the Western Disturbance struck on Saturday night, before the yellow alert returns for Sunday. Isolated rainfall through the week is expected to keep any return of intense heatwave conditions firmly at bay. Monday’s maximum temperature in Chandigarh settled at 31.7 degrees Celsius, a further dip of 1.5 degrees from Sunday and a sharp 5.8 degrees below normal, placing the city well into the below-normal zone for the second consecutive day. The minimum held at 20.9 degrees Celsius, 3.8 degrees above c m y b Police have now arrested all accused identified so far in the case. The five previously arrested accused — shooters Rajan and Pritam Shah, logistics providers Rahul Sharma, Kamalpreet and Mukul Rana, and gang operatives Deepak Kumar, alias Deepu, and Sahil — are already in custody. Continued on page 2 Chandigarh, May 4 The owners of over 46,279 residential units (as per available water connection data) in seven villages and Sector 63 in the city will be covered under the door-to-door garbage collection scheme. The owners will have to pay the user fee (garbage collection charges) in accordance with the rates as notified by the Chandigarh Administration vide notification dated December 28, 2022. The villages to be covered under the scheme are Attwa, Badheri, Burail, Maloya, including EWS colony; Palsora, Dadumajra and Kajhehri. The MC General House has given in-principle approval for the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with door-to-door waste collectors for these areas. The House has also approved one-time procurement of cycle carts by the MC, based on area-wise and need-based specifications, for the purpose. The proposal was tabled in the House meeting held on April 30. A preliminary survey conducted by the area health supervisor on April 2, COLOUR-CODED SYSTEM GREEN BLUE WET WASTE DRY WASTE RED BLACK SANITARY WASTE HAZARDOUS WASTE 2026, found that there were informal waste collectors engaged in door-to-door waste collection in these areas. The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, mandate the segregation of municipal solid waste at source into four categories — dry (no-biodegradable), wet (biodegradable), domestic hazardous (special care) and sanitary garbage. CELEBRATING SAFFRON SURGE BJP supporters celebrate the party’s landslide victory in West Bengal and Assam, at Sector 33 on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Wet spell to continue, yellow alert for two days Tribune News Service 4 5 6 Murder mastermind Amreen nursed a grudge against Cheeni for cheating her in a property deal The conspiracy took shape in 2025, when she decided to eliminate Cheeni She approached Harshpreet, who acted as a link between her and gangster Lucky Patial through encrypted communication applications Offered a substantial amount, Patial agreed to kill the property dealer The gangster arranged weapons, a motorcycle and funds for two shooters On March 18, the two shooters killed Cheeni in broad daylight. Ramkrishan Upadhyay Sunday night’s season-low of 17.1 degrees and 2.4 degrees below normal. Chandigarh received 4.8 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours up to 8:30 am on Monday. The city’s seasonal rainfall since March 1 stands at 100.6 mm, 205.8 per cent above the seasonal normal. FIVE-DAY FORECAST Tuesday will be partly cloudy with thunderstorm, lightning, gusty winds and rain, the maximum at 32 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 21 degrees, under the yellow alert. Wednesday continues with the same combination, maximum 32 degrees and minimum 20 degrees. Thursday turns partly cloudy and dry with the maximum edging up to 33 degrees and the minimum at 19 degrees, the first rainfree day. Friday and Saturday will be mainly clear. LA PINO’Z PIZZA FRANCHISEE ROW Senior IRS officer, wife booked for~4.6-crdisproportionateassets Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 4 Nearly a year after a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer at the centre of a La Pino’z Pizza franchisee dispute was arrested in a Rs 25-lakh bribery trap, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now booked him and his wife, herself a senior tax official, for accumulating assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Their assets worth Rs 4.57 crore are a staggering 139.15 per cent in excess of their legitimate earnings. A regular case has been registered in Mumbai against Amit Kumar Singhal (2007batch IRS), the then Addi- tional Director General, Directorate General of Tax Services, Central Board of Indirect Customs (CBIC), New Delhi, and his wife Anupama Singla, the then Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), New Delhi. THE FIR The fresh disproportionate assets (DA) case has been registered under Section 13(2), read with Section 13 (1) (e), and Sections 12 and 109 of the IPC. The corresponding provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, have also been invoked. While Singhal has been booked as the principal accused for illicit self- enrichment during his period of office, his wife Singla has been booked for abetting the offence. BRIBE AND A TRAP The fresh DA case flows from a bribery arrest that made headlines last June, when the Chandigarh CBI nabbed Singhal and his close associate Harsh Kotak from Delhi and Mohali, respectively, in a trap. The bribery allegation traced back to a business relationship turned bitter. Sanam Kapoor, a Zirakpurbased businessman and partner-director of M/s Copenhegen Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., the company that owns La Pino’z Pizza, had in 2019 Continued on page 2