26082026-LT-01.qxd 8/26/2026 12:54 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SAHNEWAL REELS UNDER HEAVY-VEHICLE TRAFFIC CRITICS UNDERSTAND MY CINEMA BETTER, SAYS GURVINDER KANGANA TAKES A DIG AT KRITI SANON’S RAKHI AD Long queues of vehicles, honking, jostling and chaos have become the order of the day in Sahnewal. P3 Gurvinder, whose film Rehmat was only Indian entry at Locarno Film Fest, says Indians can relate to cultural context better. P4 Kangana has questioned Kriti’s choice of outfit in a recently released Raksha Bandhan jewellery ad. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6:52 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:57 AM » WEDNESDAY | 26 AUGUST 2026 | LUDHIANA Clash in MC House meet over F&CC poll procedure, voting fixed for Aug 29 Jalandhar couple booked in ~16.81-cr property fraud 85 councillors take part as meeting begins on stormy note, five candidates file nominations Ludhiana, August 25 A case of alleged fraud involving over Rs 16.81 crore in the name of real estate investment has come to light. The Model Town police on Monday registered a case against a man and his wife on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. According to the complaint lodged with the police, Satpal Singh, a resident of Gurdev Nagar, said the suspects, in collusion with each other, won his confidence and induced him to invest money in real estate. They had assured him of providing valuable land and good returns on the investment. Falling for the alleged lure, he handed over Rs exercise both.” She further questioned the participation of MLAs in the elections and said the MC Commissioner, being an IAS officer, was well aware of provisions governing the poll. Kaur said: “MLAs are not allowed to vote for the F&CC elections. Even if they are doing so, it is a violation of the Municipal Corporation Act. Section 42(4) is being violated.” She also asked Verma to read out relevant provisions of the Act before the House so that councillors could understand the exact procedure to be followed. Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 25 The elections of the two councillors to the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) will be held through secret ballot on August 29. Five candidates filed their nominations during Tuesday’s General House meeting. The meeting, however, began on a stormy note, as councillors from the ruling AAP and opposition parties clashed over the election procedure. The opposition councillors insisted that the voting be conducted through ballot papers and questioned the Municipal Corporation’s interpretation of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act. The meeting began around 11.02 am when stage secretary Vivek Verma announced that the nomination process for the two F&CC posts would be taken up. The announcement drew objections from the opposition members. Leader of Opposition Shyam Sunder Malhotra, BJP councillor Gauravjit Singh Gora and Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti questioned why the General House had been called if the election was not to be held on Tuesday. The disagreement soon turned into a heated exchange between ruling and opposition members. BJP councillor Mukesh Atri clashed with AAP councillors Sukhmail Singh and Ashwini Sharma, leading to repeated interruptions and an uproar in the House as councillors argued over the election procedure. Pappi challenges Oppn to approach court Councillors indulge in a verbal spat during the MC General House meet in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Opposition demands election on Tuesday The Opposition maintained that the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions required the elections to be held on Tuesday and insisted that the corporation should not delay the process. Afterwards, AAP councillor Tanveer Dhaliwal said if the Opposition wanted the election to be conducted on Tuesday, the ruling party was ready for it. He raised his hand in the House and said the election could be held that day. Mayor Inderjit Kaur asked the councillors to give the demand in writing. She said if the demand was submitted in writing, the corporation could proceed with the elections after the tea break. The issue, however, remained linked to the nomination process. The Mayor said, “We have been waiting for the councillors to submit nomination beforehand but on Tuesday we have asked for nominations and according to the Act, we can conduct the election after 72 hours of nominations.” The Mayor also maintained that the corporation was following the procedure prescribed under the Act. Bhatti questions delay, MLA voting rights Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti questioned the delay in holding the poll and blamed internal differences among AAP councillors for the same. He also questioned the participation of MLAs in the election process, stating that MLAs could not vote in the House for the elections of F&CC members under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. Bhatti said the corporation should follow the provisions of the Act and not allow any procedure that was contrary to the law. The issue of voting rights of MLAs became another point of heated discussion, with the ruling party maintaining that the process would be conducted according to the law. BJP councillor seeks clarity on provisions of Act BJP councillor Bhavneet Kaur from Ward 79 questioned the legal procedure being followed by the corporation. She asked the officials to clarify relevant provisions of the Act and sought an explanation from stage secretary Vivek Verma on the rules governing the elections. She said: “Either the Mayor can exercise her voting power or she can be the deciding officer. She has one of the two options, either to vote or to address the chair. She cannot AAP MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi openly challenged the Opposition during the heated proceedings. He said if the ruling party was violating any rule or statutory provisions, the opposition was free to approach the court and file a case. His remarks further heated up the House, with opposition councillors continuing to question the legality of the proposed process. The Mayor repeatedly maintained that the nomination process had been started and asked councillors to submit nomination forms by 5 pm. Tea break amid uproar As the arguments continued, the Mayor and Commissioner announced a 15-minute tea break. The House was temporarily adjourned amid the disagreement over the election procedure. The Opposition continued to insist that the elections should be held through bal- Rain woes lot papers while the ruling party initially discussed conducting the same if the Opposition submitted its demand in writing. After the tea break, the issue of ballot voting again came up for discussion, with the opposition making it clear that it would not accept a hand-raising process and wanted the elections to be conducted through ballot papers. The meeting resumed around 12.44 pm and ended at around 12.47 pm, with the election process remaining the main point of contention. After discussions, leaders of all political parties agreed that the two F&CC members would be elected through secret ballot on August 29. The election will be conducted in accordance with the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The process will also be videographed. With 85 councillors present, the attendance at the General House meeting was also notable. Of the 48 AAP councillors, 47 attended the meeting. The BJP has 18 councillors, of whom 16 were present while 22 of the 24 Congress councillors attended it. Both SAD councillors were absent. The MC had kept 5 pm as the deadline for filing nominations and received five nomination papers. AAP councillors Aman Bagga, Yuvraj Sidhu and Maninder Kaur Ghumman, BJP councillor Ruchi Vishal Gulati and Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti filed nominations. DBA poll: Candidates file nomination papers Ludhiana, August 25 Candidates for various posts in the annual elections of the District Bar Association, Ludhiana, filed their nomination papers before returning officer Virinder Khara on Tuesday. The last date for filing nominations is August 26 while the polling will be held on September 11. In view of the elections, the association has declared August 25 and 26 as ‘no work days’ and has appealed to the courts concerned for cooperation. As per the papers filed so far, Vijay Sharma, Harsimrat Kaur and Kavita are in the fray for the post of vice-president (reserved for women). Maninder Heer has filed NATIONAL EYE DONATION FORTNIGHT Former cop’s lifelong resolve inspires 200 to donate eyes Manav Mander Tribune News Service A two-wheeler rider moves on a waterlogged road after rain in Ludhiana on Tuesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Upset over ‘harassment’ by in-laws, woman jumps into Dugri canal with two children Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 25 A woman, distressed by the alleged harassment of her inlaws, jumped into a canal with her two children in Dugri here. Seeing the three drowning, bystanders pulled them out of the canal. The people rushed them to a nearby hospital, where Ananya, the five-year-old daughter of the woman was declared brought dead Five-year-old daughter dies; woman, 3-yr-old son rescued by passers-by while the woman, Anmol, and her three-year-old son were admitted in a critical condition. According to information, the woman had allegedly been upset with her in-laws for some time. She had also lodged a complaint against her in-laws at the Dugri police station but no action was taken on the same. She had been staying at her parents’ house in the Dugri area of Ludhiana due to the dispute. SHO, Model Town, subinspector Gurshinder Kaur, said on Tuesday, the woman’s brother-in-law reportedly threatened her. Following which, the woman took her children to the Dugri canal and jumped into it with them. The passers-by saw them and came to their rescue. After a lot of efforts, they pulled the woman and the two children out. They rushed the victims to a nearby private hospital. Doctors declared the girl child dead after examination, she said. The woman and her son, who are in a critical condition, were undergoing treatment, the SHO added. c m y b Ludhiana, August 25 At 70, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Balwinder Singh Bhattal (retd) has only one mission in life, to spread the sight. As National Eye Donation Fortnight begins on Tuesday, his lifelong resolve to ensure people help others see, even after death, becomes more meaningful today. Through his relentless efforts, Bhattal has already facilitated the donation of nearly 400 eyes, giving several individuals the gift of sight and a renewed chance at life. “The body dies but one thing that remains alive is the eyes,” he says, as he motivates grieving families to donate the eyes of their loved ones after death, if they had not pledged them during their lifetime. “It was in 1998 when he took his mother to get her eyes checked and met Dr Ramesh, who was serving the cause of the blind and got associated with him,” he said. Bhattal used to accompany him and had seen him doing eye retrieval. Sharing an incident, he said it was a bitter winter morning. He was at a gurdwara where a family ASI Balwinder Singh Bhattal (retd) motivates people for eye donation in Ludhiana. came and when he enquired, he came to know that Hardeep Singh from the neighbourhood had died. “I remember he had filled the form to donate his eyes and I asked the family to do the needful. They asked me to come after some time. When I contacted Dr Ramesh, he was out of town but I still asked the attendant to get the kit ready. I mustered the courage and did the eye retrieval myself and the process took me half an hour,” he said. One eye was given to the head granthi of a gurdwara while the other was given to a 16.81 crore to the couple. After receiving the money, the suspects cheated him in the name of investment and failed to return the amount. Acting on the complaint and following the investigation, the Model Town police registered a case against Atul Mehta and his wife Saloni Mehta, residents of Cool Road, Jalandhar. ASI Sukhdev Sharma said the police initiated further probe into the matter. During the investigation, the police would examine financial transactions, property-related documents and the alleged deal with the suspects. The probe would also ascertain where and how the crores of rupees collected from the complainant were utilised. — TNS pujari from Ambala. “I met the family at the gurdwara and the eyes also went to those serving Him,” he said. From that day till today, he had been doing the eye retrieval himself. He motivates the people through Gurbani and tell people how they can see the world even when their body is gone. “Whenever I get a chance, I address the gathering during bhog ceremonies and other social gatherings and try convincing the people to donate eyes. From my own village, 35 persons have donated their eyes. My conversation is always around helping the needful, be it blood donation or eye donation,” he said. Bhattal is currently associated with Sankara Eye Hospital, which holds 1,500 free eye surgery camps every year. Sharing about his police service days, he said he was once managing 100 helpline number and saved the lives of many who were on the verge of suicide through online counselling. Bhattal has already pledged to donate his body for research purposes to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. Besides, he is a regular blood donor and holds blood and eye camps. nomination for secretary while Konark Sharma, Parminder Singh Kuki and Himakar are contesting for finance secretary. For the post of joint secretary (reserved for women), Daisy Singla, Manpreet Kaur and Anita have entered the contest. For executive member (general), Sameer Joshi, Amardeep Sekhon, Anil Kashyap, Ankush Dubey, Birjot Singh and Ankit Ratra have filed their nominations. Madhu Gupta and Harjit Kaur are contesting for executive member (reserved for women). More nominations are expected to be filed on the last day on August 26. —OC 15-year-old girl held captive, raped; two boys booked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 25 A 15-year-old girl was held captive by two boys and sexually assaulted at a village near Meharban. The two youths, aged about 18, have been booked in the case. According to the statement given to the police by the victim’s family, the girl went missing from outside their house around 5 pm on August 23. The family searched for her throughout the night but could get no information about her. Early the next morning, she was seen coming on foot from the direction of Jagirpur village. She told her family members that two boys threatened her and took her to a house in Jagirpur. She was held captive there. Afterwards, one of the boys raped her. Later, the suspects fled after leaving the victim on the way. The Meharban police on Monday registered a case against both suspects under Sections 351(3) and 65(1) of the BNS and Section 4 of the POCSO Act. ASI Radhey Sham said the victim was a student of Class X. Raids were being conducted to nab the suspects.