04092026-LT-01.qxd 9/4/2026 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MAN GETS 5-YEAR JAIL IN 2021 SNATCHING CASE Court of Sessions Judge Harpreet Kaur Randhawa sentences convict to five years in jail. P2 » STATE RUNNERS BAG GOLD IN 1,000M SPRINT MEDLEY The 21st National Youth Athletics Championship concludes at Guru Nanak Stadium. P3 » CELEBRATED JAZZ SINGER CASSANDRA WILSON DIES Two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson died at the age of 70 at Jackson, Mississippi. P4 » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6:41 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:01 AM FRIDAY | 4 SEPTEMBER 2026 | LUDHIANA 250 development-related agendas AI revises Halwara-Delhi afternoon flight timings to come up in F&CC meet tomorrow New schedule to come into effect from September 10 Committee to convene for first time after election of two new members amid political hype Sukhpreet Singh PROPOSED AGENDA Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 3 Around 250 developmentrelated agendas are likely to be tabled before the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) of the Municipal Corporation in its meeting on Saturday, making it one of the major meetings of the civic body in recent months. It will also be the first F&CC meeting after the election of the committee, which was held amid considerable political interest and hype. The election had drawn attention as councillors from different political parties were in the race for the key committee. AAP councillor Yuvraj Sidhu and Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti won the recent elections. The first meeting of the newly elected committee is now An F&CC meeting of the MC in progress in Ludhiana. FILE scheduled for Saturday, with a large number of development proposals expected to be placed before its members. The proposed agenda includes works related to roads, water supply, sewer- Lights of faith age, sanitation, street lighting, parks and other civic infrastructure. Several tender-related cases and proposals for approval of development works in different wards are also listed. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN The proposed agenda includes works related to roads, water supply, sewerage, sanitation, street lighting, parks and other civic infrastructure. Several tenderrelated cases and proposals for approval of development works in different wards are also listed. The Saturday meeting will, thus, provide the newly elected F&CC an opportunity to take up a sizeable backlog of development proposals,with the focus likely to remain on clearing pending works and moving projects from files to execution. The development push comes after the Mayor and Municipal Commissioner on Thursday held a meeting with MLAs from different constituencies, during which pending develop- Miscreants open fire at man, son Tribune News Service An illuminated temple on the eve of Janmashtami in Ludhiana on Thursday. P2 Police conduct special drive against eve-teasing Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 3 The Ludhiana police conducted a special drive against eveteasing around Khalsa College for Women, near Ghumar Mandi, and Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNE College), Gill Road. The initiative was aimed at preventing eve-teasing, harassment and nuisance around colleges and ensuring that female students are able to commute to and from their institutions in a safe, secure and stress-free environment. The drive outside the Khalsa College for Women was led by Arvind Meena, DCP Law & Order, accompanied by Rupinder Kaur Bhatti, ADCP (Investigation) & EO Wing, Roopdeep Kaur, ACP PBI Special Crime, and Harjinder Singh ACP PBI Economic Offences & Cyber Crime. The operation outside GNE College was led by Paramjit Singh, DCP Special Branch, accompanied by Karanveer Singh ADCP-2, and Guriqbal ment projects in their respective areas were discussed. The MLAs highlighted works awaiting execution and sought their early clearance. Several of these pending works are now expected to find their way into the proposals being placed before the F&CC. The agenda includes road repair and construction works in different wards, maintenance of tube wells, sewage treatment plant-related works, lighting projects and park development. The Saturday meeting will, thus, provide the newly elected F&CC an opportunity to take up a sizeable backlog of development proposals, with the focus likely to remain on clearing pending works and moving projects from files to execution. Ludhiana, September 3 A minor dispute turned into a scuffle in the Civil City, Haibowal. A youth roaming with a dog initially misbehaved with a girl. Later, when she called her father and brother, an argument ensued between them. Companions of the youth also reached the place. Later, one of them opened fire at the man and his son. A total of six rounds were reportedly fired by the suspects. Two of the gunshots were fired in the air while others were aimed at the man, Prince, and his son Vansh (22). A bullet grazed the youth. He suffered a serious injury in his arm. The injured youth said September 2 was his father’s birthday. His sister had gone to the Civil City area to buy a cake. A youth was walking with a dog there. When his sister asked the youngster if the dog bites, it angered him and he misbehaved with her. Later, Vansh and his father reached the place. When they questioned the youth about his misbehaviour, he started arguments. Afterwards, he called his companions. Later, one of the suspects opened fire at the victims. SHO, Haibowal, inspector Jasbir Singh, said he was looking into the matter and an investigation was underway but he had no information about any shots fired. Singer found dead at home Ludhiana, September 3 A 35-year-old Punjabi singer and songwriter was found dead in suspicious circumstances at his home in Patti Dhaliwal village near Jagraon on Thursday. The deceased, Baljit Singh, was found lying on a cot inside a room at his house. His body had decomposed, and the police suspected that he might have died a few days ago. The incident came to light after residents of the area noticed a foul smell emanating from the house. — TNS Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 3 The timings of the afternoon Air India flight from Delhi to Halwara and Halwara to Delhi have been changed with effect from September 10. Confirming the development, the Director of Halwara International Airport here Jagir Singh said from September 10, the flight coming from Delhi in the afternoon will arrive at the Halwara airport at 3:35 pm while the same flight would leave for Delhi at 4:05 pm from Halwara. The timings for the morning Air India flight would remain the same as of now. Jagir Singh, the director said keeping in mind the demand of regular travellers, the flight timings have been revised from September 10. Welcoming the new timings, Dr Gauhar Vatsayan, a regular traveller from Halwara said the time-window for passengers boarding the connecting flight from Delhi has been increased with the change in the afternoon flight timings. “I generally go to Bengaluru, Mumbai, etc, and now, I will get enough time to catch my connecting flights. We appreciate the move of Air India,” said Dr Vatsayan. Timings for morning Air India flights will remain the same. FILE It is learnt that requests have been made by the local administration to the airport authorities to extend the restricted timings from the Halwara airport, if the request is met, more flights can be added in coming months, giving relief to passengers, who fly abroad from Delhi during night hours. Many frequent passengers flying from the Halwara airport believe that in the next few months, more flights should be added so that Halwara becomes the easy and favourite destination for travellers. Taxi operators charging exorbitant fares Regular flyers from Halwara have expressed concern over the way taxi operators were duping passengers by charg- Nine illegal colonies razed in Dhandra, Manakwal villages Ludhiana, September 3 The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has demolished nine unauthorised colonies in Dhandra and Manakwal villages as part of its drive against illegal development in the district. The demolition drive was carried out on Thursday following orders issued by the Additional Chief Administrator, GLADA. A team comprising a Duty Magistrate, police personnel and the GLADA regulatory wing dismantled roads, ongoing illegal constructions and other structures at the sites. The drive was carried out without any resistance from developers. The action followed notices issued to the developers but the construction works continued despite the warnings. GLADA said it had launched a special drive against people developing unauthorised colonies and allegedly attracting buyers by offering cheaper plots without required government approvals. GLADA Chief Administrator Vikas Hira said the authority had adopted a strict approach towards unauthorised and unplanned development. He said more such demolition drives were planned in coming weeks to check the spread of illegal colonies at an early stage. TNS ing exorbitant fares. While the cost of the air ticket is anywhere around Rs 4,000 (varies depending on days and festival rush), the taxi operators outside the Halwara airport are dictating their own terms and conditions. Ankur Mahajan, a chartered accountant, said he had recently travelled to Indore. “I took a taxi from Ludhiana to reach Halwara and it cost me around Rs 600 and the fare was reasonable. On returning to Halwara, when I tried to book a taxi from Halwara, the booking was not accepted and taxi drivers standing outside the airport asked for Rs 1,2001,300, which was double the earlier fare. Having no option, I took a taxi. But in the future, I will make sure to drive my car to the Halwara airport from Ludhiana,” he said. Verka GM robbed of cash, assaulted Ludhiana, September 3 A case was registered against three unidentified persons for assaulting and robbing Surjit Singh, general manager of the Verka Milk Plant in Ferozepur, on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road near Nanaksar bridge on Wednesday night. Wife of the victim, Surjeet, a resident of Barewal here, said when her husband was returning home after duty, some miscreants rammed their vehicle into his car near Jagraon. The suspects then forcibly entered his car and assaulted him. They snatched the cash he was carrying and also forced him to transfer Rs 2 lakh into two different accounts through Google Pay. The assailants also snatched his mobile and purse. She said due to his condition, he was admitted to the DMCH. He suffered around four fractures. — TNS Beware, cyber criminals trying to dupe locals under garb of helping Nepal flood victims: Police If cheated, victims should dial toll-free helpline number 1930 to file complaints Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service A policeman stops a biker during the drive near a college near Ghumar Mandi in Ludhiana on Thursday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Singh ACP Licensing & Security, along with dedicated teams from local police stations and the traffic police. Police personnel actively monitored vulnerable spots surrounding the colleges. As part of the comprehensive checking drive, police also took action against traffic and vehicle-related violations around the educational institutions. A total of 73 challans were issued against the miscreant loitering in the vicinity of the educational institutions on the spot, including 43 for riding without helmets, 15 for triple riding, seven for motorcycles fitted with modified silencers and eight for illegally modified vehicles Inspections were also conducted against motorcycles fitted with modified silencers. Ludhiana, September 3 Cyber criminals have devised a new way of extorting money from people under the garb of helping Nepal flood victims. They are reportedly sending messages to random people and urging them to donate money for the rehabilitation of flood victims. The Ludhiana police have uploaded a video message for the public on social media, urging people to not to fall prey to such fraudsters as they might steal money from c m y b your bank accounts. A policeman, Amarinder Singh, posted in the Police Commissionerate, Ludhiana, while sharing a video message states that since Nepal floods had devastated houses and other properties of families there, the Indian Government and many social organisations are collecting funds for the rehabilitation of the vic- tims. Meanwhile, cyber criminals are trying to exploit the situation. “Fraudsters are sending text messages to random people and asking them to deposit only Rs 150 to help flood-hit families in Nepal. They also share a link to deposit the amount. When people click on the link, the control of mobile phone will go into hands of criminals and the latter will access banking apps and obtain OTP for approving money transfers or online shopping. They may empty your bank accounts within a minute,” he stated in the message. A police official said since the amount mentioned in the link was only Rs 150, it might convince any person to deposit the amount and make him to click on the link. However, the victim would face big consequences as he or she could lose all their money lying in bank accounts. The police said cyber fraudsters keep on devising new methods to steal hardearned money of people. To make the people aware of new kinds of tactics being adopted by the cyber crimi- nals, the Ludhiana police continue to share timely updates to prevent residents from falling prey to online scams of fraudsters. Still, if anyone gets cheated by such thugs, they should dial toll free helpline 1930 to register complaints. With the implementation of the e-challan system by the Ludhiana police, the cyber fraudsters had also become active. Under the garb of the new system, they had been sending fake e-challan messages to people and tricking them into downloading malicious apps on their mobiles.