02062026-CT-01.qxd 02-06-2026 00:45 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune 10 RESIDENTIAL SITES IN UT TO GO UNDER HAMMER KHELO CHD GAMES: SEC 22 SCHOOL WIN SOCCER EVENT Khelo Chandigarh Games held on the Panjab University campus grounds conclude. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 22.8°C VIKAS KHANNA FOCUSED ON HIS LATEST FILM, IMAGINARY RAIN Allottees to get these properties on a leasehold basis. Submission of documents begins on Tuesday. P3 FORECAST He calls the film ‘the best work of my life,’ and says directing Shabana Azmi is ‘one of the greatest privileges’ of his career.P4 » » /THETRIBUNECHD All points releasing waste into 3 choes of city sealed: Centre on Tewari’s query Tribune News Service ~70-cr proceeds of crime traced to realtor in IDFC Bank scam ED finds shell firms funnelled funds to jewellers for cash Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 1 Over Rs 70 crore in proceeds of crime has been traced directly to the personal account of Chandigarh-based real estate businessman Vikram Wadhwa — one of the main accused in the Rs 645-crore IDFC First Bank fraud. The investigators have also established that he acquired multiple immovable properties and invested in several business entities using funds siphoned from Haryana Government departments, the Chandigarh UT Administration and two private schools in Chandigarh and Panchkula. The findings have emerged from the ongoing money-laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate’s Chandigarh Zonal Office, which arrested Wadhwa under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on May 29. The Special Court (PMLA) has granted his fourday ED custody till June 2. Sources said the probe had established a sophisticated layering operation at the heart of the fraud. Intermediary shell entities — M/s Capco Fintech Services, M/s Swastik Desh Projects, RS Traders and M/s SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd DADUMAJRA RECKONING The Patiala Ki Rao seasonal stream in Chandigarh. FILE CHANDIGARH’S THREE DADUMAJRA DUMP SEASONAL STREAMS Legacy waste fully remediated 5.10 lakh MT Still to be processed 12,500 MT Land reclaimed 28 acres Land for waste plant 10 acres Land for sanitary landfill 8 acres Daily solid waste generation 500 MT City’s treatment capacity >100% of all waste categories (STATUS AS PER MINISTRY, MAY 2026) STREAM DISCHARGE POINTS Sukhna Choe N-Choe Patiala Ki Rao 13 15 5 STATUS All closed by MC All plugged by MC All closed; Punjab untreated inflow flagged DISCHARGE POINTS SEALED: YADAV Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said three discharge points releasing wastewater into Sukhna Choe were identified by the CPCC and have since been closed by the MC. Similarly, 15 discharge points into the N-Choe and five into Patiala Ki Rao have been sealed. NATURAL DRAINAGE STINKS: TEWARI Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari had told the Lok Sabha that the natural drainage system — comprising Sukhna Choe, N-Choe and Patiala Ki Rao — once integral to Le Corbusier’s original city plan, had degenerated to a point where “it has become difficult to even breathe around them.” REMEDIAL CLAIMS Sukhna Choe were identified by the CPCC and have since been tapped and closed by the MC. Similarly, 15 discharge points into the N-Choe and five into Patiala Ki Rao have been identified and sealed. On Patiala Ki Rao, the annexure acknowledged a cross-boundary challenge — the stream enters Chandigarh carrying untreated water from Punjab, a FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE ~645-CRORE FRAUD matter that Chandigarh has “repeatedly raised” with the Punjab Government. The letter also flagged structural vulnerability in the drainage system, noting that Chandigarh’s network, established in the 1950s, is particularly sensitive to damage during heavy rainfall and requires periodic maintenance and repair. Nitin Jain The detailed annexure attached to the minister’s letter states that 13 discharge points releasing wastewater into SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:22 AM » TUESDAY | 2 JUNE 2026 | CHANDIGARH Chandigarh, June 1 Five months after Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari sounded the alarm in the Lok Sabha over rampant pollution in three seasonal streams of the city, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has written to him, asserting that all identified wastewater discharge points into Sukhna Choe, Northern Choe and Patiala Ki Rao have been identified and closed. In a letter dated May 5, a copy of which was made available to The Tribune on Monday, Yadav informed Tewari that the matter was examined in consultation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC). A regular monitoring of the choes is now being carried out by the National Green Tribunal through the Engineering Wing of the Chandigarh Administration, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MCC) and the CPCB, said Yadav. SUNSET TUESDAY 7:20 PM On the festering legacy-waste issue at the Dadumajra dumpsite — which Tewari had flagged as a symbol of repeated broken promises before the NGT, Punjab and Haryana High Court, and a Parliamentary committee — the minister’s response presented a mixed picture. The letter claims that 5.10 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste identified at the site has been completely remediated and approximately 28 acres reclaimed. Of this, a piece of 10 acres has been earmarked for an Integrated Waste Processing Plant by the IOCL for wet waste and eight acres for a sanitary landfill. However, the annexure acknowledged that approximately 12,500 metric tonnes of legacy waste remains to be processed. It attributed the delay to constraints in capping Continued on page 2 MONEY ROUTED THROUGH SHELL ENTITIES ■ Realtor Wadhwa was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on May 29 ■ Intermediary shell entities received embezzled government funds, which were then routed through multiple bank accounts to accused. ■ Crores were transferred from these shell entities to jewellers, who provided cash against the banking transactions ■ Former IDFC First Bank branch manager Ribhav Rishi and his associates allegedly used this cash pipeline to distribute funds to government officials and businessmen — directly received embezzled government funds, which were then routed through multiple bank accounts of accused persons and their associated entities to obscure the money trail. In a particularly significant finding, investigators have established that hundreds of crores were transferred from these shell entities to various jewellers, who provided cash against the banking transactions. Former IDFC First Bank branch manager Ribhav Rishi and his associates allegedly used this cash pipeline to distribute funds to government officials and businessmen — including Wadhwa, who received his share both through direct bank transfers and in cash. Efforts are ongoing to trace the complete money trail, identify remaining beneficiaries and detect all properties acquired from the proceeds of crime, officials said. Wadhwa is accused of acting in connivance with Rishi, exbank official Abhay Kumar, and serving bank and government officials in what investigators describe as a coordinated embezzlement operation. Rishi had earlier floated shell entities — M/s Capco Fintech Services and M/s RS Traders — in the names of his personal assistant and driver, while Kumar allegedly floated M/s Swastik Desh Projects in the names of his wife and brother-in-law. Rishi and Kumar were arrested by the ED on May 11, 2026. After 11 days in ED remand, both were sent to judicial custody. Wadhwa’s arrest brings the number of key accused in ED custody to three. Continued on page 2 ALERT CALENDAR FOR WEEK TUESDAY ■ Yellow alert — thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph at isolated places WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Mohali: Sec 68, 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com AIR 21 ■ Orange alert — thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds of 50-60 kmph at isolated places. Rainfall will be scattered, at a few places FRIDAY ■ Alert steps back to yellow — thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph at isolated places, with rain at isolated places Mayor office receives bomb threat e-mail SATURDAY & SUNDAY No warning Blooming amaltas trees on both sides of a road at Sector 29 in Chandigarh form a natural canopy. Tribune News Service TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Orange alert issued for Wednesday, Thursday Chandigarh, June 1 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded the weather alert from yellow to orange for Wednesday and Thursday across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula — reinstating the threat of thunderstorm and gusty winds of 5060 kmph at isolated places. However, yellow alert is in place for Tuesday. Monday’s maximum temperature in Chandigarh jumped 4°C from Sunday’s 32°C to 36°C — still 3.2°C below normal for June 1. This follows Sunday’s even steeper 6.7°C bounce from Saturday’s storm-devastated 25.3°C to 32°C. The city’s 4°C single-day rise was the highest among all Punjab reporting stations on Monday. The minimum temperature also continued its upward recovery, rising 2.4°C from Sunday’s 20.4°C to 22.8°C — still 3.5°C below normal for the date. NEXT 5 DAYS FOR TRICITY Tuesday: Partly cloudy with thunderstorm and rain possible, max 37°C, min 25°C. Wednesday: Partly cloudy with thunderstorm and rain, max 38°C, min 23°C. Thursday: Partly cloudy with thunderstorm and rain, max 37°C, min 25°C. Friday: Partly cloudy, max 35°C, min 24°C — the coolest day of the coming week. Saturday: partly cloudy with thunderstorm and rain possible, max 37°C, min 25°C. The IMD has forecast southwest monsoon seasonal rainfall for June-September 2026 at 90 per cent of the long period average (LPA) for the country as a whole, with a model error of ±4 per cent. — TNS ‘0003’ of CH01-DE series gets top bid of ~37.63 lakh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 1 Not the most sought-after fancy registration number “0001”, but ‘0003’ of the CH01-DE series has received the highest bid of Rs 37.63 lakh at an e-auction of the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) that concluded today. The reserve price of the number was Rs 50,000. Registration number “0001” fetched the second highest bid Rs 23.55 lakh. The RLA conducted the eauction of the new series’ numbers from “0001” to “9999” along with the leftover fancy/special numbers of the previous series from May 30 to June 1. With the auction of a total of 681 registration numbers, the RLA earned the total revenue of Rs 4.13 crore. Meanwhile, “0009” received the third highest bid of Rs CRAZE FOR FANCY NUMBERS Number 0003 0001 0009 0002 0005 Highest bid Number Highest bid ~37.63 lakh 0007 ~9.48 lakh ~23.55 lakh 0077 ~8.54 lakh ~12.30 lakh 0008 ~8.14 lakh ~10.22 lakh 0010 ~7.92 lakh ~9.86 lakh 0004 ~6.69 lakh 12.30 lakh, followed by “0002”, which was sold for Rs 10.22 lakh. The other numbers, “0005” (Rs 9.86 lakh), c m y b “0007” (Rs 9.48 lakh), “0077” (Rs 8.54 lakh), “0008” (Rs 8.14 lakh), “0010” (Rs 7.92 lakh) and “0004” (Rs 6.69 lakh) also FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY Chandigarh, June 1 In a fresh ‘threat e-mail’, miscreants have threatened to carry out blasts at the railway station, Municipal Corporation office and District Courts Complex between June 3 and 6. Earlier, various schools, government buildings and courts complex had received such threat mails. The fresh threat was received by the Chandigarh Mayor office. The mail, reportedly sent by Kahlistan National Army, carried controversial messages. “I have been informed about the threat email received by my office. Such cowardly threats neither intimidate me nor deter me from doing my duty. I do not care about threats. I have always worked for the people of Chandigarh and will continue to serve the city with the same dedication, commitment and courage. I have requested the Chandigarh Police to thoroughly investigate the matter,” said Mayor Saurabh Joshi. Last month, prominent schools, including Delhi Public School in Sector 40; St Stephen’s School, Sector 45; and Chitkara International School had received bomb threat emails. Yajat Shinghal WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY got a good response. The registration number, “0001”, of the CH01-DD series had fetched the highest-ever bid of Rs 53.88 lakh in March this year. In this auction, the RLA had fetched the highest-ever revenue of Rs 4.48 crore. The third highest-ever bid of Rs 36.43 lakh had been received for “0001” of CH01DA series. In the auction of this series, the RLA had earned the revenue of Rs 4.08 crore. Yajat Shinghal with his parents. Yajat tops Tricity in JEE (Advanced) Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 1 Yajat Shinghal has secured All-India Rank (AIR) 21 to emerge as the Haryana and Tricity topper in the JEEAdvanced results, which were announced today. A two-year classroom student of Sri Chaitanya and student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, Shinghal has been passionate about mathematics from an early age. He had secured AIR 100 in JEE-Main. Having completed his schooling till Class X from DPS, Bathinda, Yajat dedicated nearly eight hours to selfstudy every day and focused on conceptual understanding. “My parents have consistently encouraged and supported me, providing the right environment to nurture my curiosity and understanding of the subject,” said Shinghal. Arnav Gandhi, who secured AIR 36, also a two-year classroom student of Sri Chaitanya and student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, had earlier secured AIR 22 in JEEMain to emerge as a Haryana topper. Following a disciplined study routine of six to eight hours daily, he focused on analysing tests and learning from mistakes. “Every test became an opportunity to learn and improve. I focused on clarity of concepts and regular practice. Mock tests Aarush with AIR 45 is Chandigarh topper played a crucial role. I treated each test seriously and analysed my mistakes thoroughly. Maintaining a calm mindset during preparation made a big difference,” he said. Chandigarh’s Aarush Singhal, a six-year classroom student associated with Sri Chaitanya, secured AIR 45 and emerged as the Chandigarh topper. A student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27, Singhal earlier secured AIR 8 in JEEMain to top in Chandigarh. “Understanding concepts and staying consistent over a long period of time made a difference,” said Aarush. “Both my parents are doctors. They have always supported my academic goals and motivated me to give my best,” he added. Director Education-cumSenior Principal, Bhavan Vidyalaya, Vineeta Arora congratulated Aarush on his achievement. Chandigarh’s Aditya Gupta secured AIR 71.”I dedicated nine hours on self-study and also focused on utilising my free time by playing football and tennis,” said Aditya, who wishes to get inducted into the country’s top IIT. He is a student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School. Aryan, a student of ALLEN Career Institute Pvt Ltd, Continued on page 2