Ludhiana, October 21
Achieving a phenomenal hike of 151 per cent over the reserve price, the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) today raked in Rs 7.59 crore from sale of 14 HIG residential flats in Urban Estate, Sector 40, on Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road here. The flats went under the hammer had a floor price of Rs 3.02 crore.

According to GLADA estate officer RK Popli, who conducted the auction along with additional chief administrator Supreet Singh Gulati and superintending engineer RK Sharma, the sale of residential flats through an open auction evoked a huge response with more than 150 bidders, each one of them having paid an eligibility fee of Rs 50,000, taking part in the auction.

The highest successful bid of Rs 62 lakh, against the reserve price of Rs 20,97,500, was offered for flat no. 1016 whereas flat no, 1041 with the same reserve price was sold for Rs 45.70 lakh. While the reserve price of all the 14 flats, with a floor area of 161.33 square yards, was Rs 20,97,500, the bidders had to pay 10 per cent extra for 10 corner flats and 5 per cent extra for those facing parks.

As per the terms and conditions of the auction, the successful bidders were required to pay 10 percent of the cost of the flat and 2 per cent towards "Punjab State Cancer and Drug Addiction Treatment Infrastructure Fund". Of the balance amount, 15 per cent would be payable within 30 days of the auction and the remaining 75 per cent in six equated instalments, with the first payment becoming due after one year of the auction.

The flats were sold on "as is where is" basis to be used purely for residential purpose with any further division, subdivision or change of land use not permissible under any circumstances.

Upbeat over the resounding success of the auction of built-up residential properties, which yielded a significant premium over the reserve price, the GLADA authorities intend to keep up the good work. "We plan to sell built-up commercial properties and commercial sites in Dugri by the end of this month," said Popli.

Ludhiana, October 21
Five samples of "burfi" and "paneer" seized by the District Health Department from two places in the district have failed the purity test.

On October 1, a raid was conducted on the instructions of the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, under the leadership of District Health Officer Abnash Kumar at Muskan Sweet Shop in New Ashok Nagar, near Salim Tabri . It was being run by Vinod Kumar. The department seized 5.50 quintals of "burfi" after collecting four samples. The owner hails from Jharkhand. He used to sell these sweets in the peripheral areas of the city and supply them to his home state.

District Health Officer Abnash Kumar said all the four samples of "burfi" had been found unsafe for human consumption. In all the four samples, aluminium foil was found, which was used for decorating the sweets. Consumption of aluminium foil causes stomach problems, stone in kidneys and many other diseases.

He said the sample of "paneer" collected from Kahlon Dairy at Kotalan Bet village, 10 km from Machhiwara, on October 11 also failed the purity test. The sample has 44.67% milk fat of dry matter the required limit of 50%. Similarly, butyro refrectometer reading (BRR) was 39.2 against the required 40.0 or 43.0. This proves that milk fat was mixed with refined oil (foreign fat) to prepare the "paneer". The sample also had two dead worms.

The DHO said the owner used to sell "paneer" in the Ropar, Chamkaur Sahib and Vela areas.

Dr Subhash Batta said: "As the samples of 'burfi' and 'paneer' have failed the purity test, all the seized material will be destroyed under the Food Safety Act and action will be taken against the accused under the Food Safety and Standard Act by the judicial court."

Ludhiana, October 21
The poorly equipped fire brigade has failed to prevent loss to a local businessman once again after a three-storey hosiery unit in the Shivpuri area was gutted last evening. For the past many years, no steps have been taken by the MC to upgrade the fire brigade.

The firefighters don’t have the basic gear like masks to cover their faces, leave aside any other safety equipment. Only 13 fire tenders are in working condition while around six can not be fully relied upon.

The absence of a hydraulic ladder makes high-rise buildings vulnerable to fire incidents. “Several malls have come up in the city, and God forbids if there is a fire incident. With the kind of firefighting arrangements we have at present, it will be very difficult to douse flames at a building. It’s a serious matter and I will certainly take it up on a priority basis,” Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria said while speaking to Ludhiana Tribune.

The fire brigade of even a much smaller city like Mohali has one hydraulic ladder while Chandigarh has two.

In January, goods worth crores were destroyed after a fire broke out at Indra Hosiery in the Sunder Nagar area of the city. The fire, which started at around 9 pm, was put out at around 7 am the next day. It took the ill-equipped fire brigade 10 hours to control the fire. The delay in controlling the fire was attributed to the absence of a hydraulic ladder.

A fire brigade official said the life of a fire tender was 10 years and the fire department is still working with the vehicles of 1980 model. Only 10 new models have been inducted into the fleet since 2002, and these have outlived their lifespan too. “Besides, we are working overtime and sometimes we have to skip our holidays,” said the official.

The MC general house had cleared a proposal for the recruitment of 38 firemen and 14 leading firemen. Last recruitment was made in 1981.

Mayor Gohalwaria admitted that it was high time the city needed better firefighting infrastructure. “I was present at the spot yesterday and could see that our staff was struggling to put out the fire with the kind of equipment they have,” he said.

Ludhiana, October 21
As many as 23 patients from Ludhiana were diagnosed with dengue at the DMCH, CMCH, SPS Apollo Hospital, Mohandai Oswal Hospital. Of them 16 are from the city and seven from the periphery areas.

Ludhiana, October 21
With increasing number of dengue patients, the demand of blood platelets for different blood groups is also on increase. Different NGOs, who keep holding blood donation camps, are getting demand for blood platelets on daily basis.

Balram Mehta, president of the Zindagi Live Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation, said: “We have been receiving calls for platelets for more than 15 days. Not only from Ludhiana but also from other cities like Jalandhar and Phagwara, etc also. We are helping patients with out best efforts.”

Similarly, NGO Salam Zindagi is also helping the dengue patients by arranging for the platelets. Manjit Saini, president of the NGO, said, “We daily get four to five calls for platelets required for dengue patients in different hospitals. Some demand for Single Donor Platelets (SDP) while others demand for Rapid Donor Platelets (RDP).”

Dr Rupinder Kaur, Head of Blood Transfusion Unit, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, said, “In one unit of the RDP, one gets 5,000 to 10,000 platelets while in one unit of the SDP one gets 40,000 to 50,000 platelets. Due to more dengue cases, demand of platelets has increased. We daily prepare 50 to 60 units of platelets and these are used on daily basis."

Khamano, October 21
Fed up with non-purchase of paddy, several workers of the BKU groups labourers and some commission agents of Khamano blocked traffic on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road in the main chowk, Khamano, for about one hour.

The protesters alleged that they were forced to sit in grain market, Khamano, for several days. But the purchasing agencies had failed to purchase discoloured paddy. They said paddy had discoloured due to climate and not because of their fault.

Due to traffic blockade, the commuters had to face difficulties to cross over to their destinations and they were seen roaming here and there to pass over Khamano.

Meanwhile, the BKU workers allowed two cars with patients to pass on towards Chandigarh during traffic blockade.

The protesters led by the BKU Rajewal district president, Kashmira Singh Jatana, and Block president of Lakhowal Union, Bahadar Singh Ranwan, raised slogans against the Punjab government as well as Centre government for failing to readdress their issue and warned of struggle if their demands are not conceded immediately.

The protesters later presented a memorandum to Naib Tehsildar Khamano, Harpreet Kaur, along with Deputy Superintendent of Police, Khamano, Ramandeep Singh, who reached on the site after information. After presenting a memorandum, the protesters opened traffic blockade and the traffic was restored.

After the traffic blockade, MLA of the area, Nirmal Singh called a meeting of purchase officers along with other concerned and directed them to purchase the discoloured paddy at the earliest.

Ludhiana, October 21
A protest was staged by some people who blocked Chandigarh road and demanded an action against those who were involved in the October firing incident.

Ludhiana, October 21
United Forum of Bank Unions (Ludhiana unit) today held a protest demonstration in front of State Bank of Patiala, zonal office, Miller Ganj, demanding expeditious wage settlement. Since there is no satisfactory progress towards revision of wages and it is unduly delayed, the constituents of UFBU decided to exhibit their dissatisfaction.

Sudesh Kumar, chairman of the Punjab Bank Employees Federation, and others addressed the bank employees. More than 200 bank employees/officials participated in the demonstration.

While addressing the employees, leaders of the United Forum of Bank Unions said they had impressed upon the need on compassionated appointments issue. "We sought to know the developments in regard to compassionate appointments, since long time has elapsed after sending recommendations of IBA on the scheme to the ministry of finance and the matter is still pending with the government," said Sudesh Kumar.

Further leaders of the federation said that regarding wage revision and increase in wages, they want to know the response of IBA on wage increase.

Leaders of the federation called upon the members to be in readiness for further agitation, strike if needed. UFBU has given a call to join the Parliament morcha on December 12 as per the call of the national trade union convention. 

Ludhiana, October 21
First of its kind symposium and workshop on spectral imaging organised by Betty Cowan Research and Innovation Centre (BCRIC), Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), Ludhiana, concluded here today. The international event highlighted the usefulness of this emerging technology in many disciplines including grain/cereal identification, nanobio interactions, marine camouflage, fingerprinting ‘healthy’ and abnormal blood cells, cytogenetics using spectral karyotyping to detect mutations on human chromosomes in cancer research, to name a few.

Dr James Burger (Director of SIA BurgerMetrics) delivered his talk from Riga, Latvia via Skype on October 19. He covered chemometrics (which is a very important part in hyperspectral imaging as a good algorithm is essential in the development of a good software and accurate classification of samples) and hyperspectral chemical imaging. He also conducted a workshop via Skype with his equipment which covered wavelengths of about 800 to 2,600 nm on October 20. This is essentially the infrared wavelengths. Prof T Pradeep (DST Unit of Nanoscience and Thematic Unit of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras) covered imaging nanobio interactions. Prasanth Perugupalli (Director R&D, IMEC-India) talked about hyperspectral imaging for human skin and ocular applications. Asher Srigiri (Director-sales, Amigo Optima Software Solutions Pvt Ltd) covered the global perspective and roadmap to India’s future for hyperspectral imaging.

Nir Katzir, CTO of Applied Spectral Imaging, Israel, conducted a workshop using the SpectraView Hyperspectral Imaging system, which was acquired by the BCRIC with a grant support by Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust. Dr Neeta D Kang (Head and Senior Scientist, BCRIC, CMCH) taught on fingerprinting blood smears using hyperspectral imaging and are in the process of R&D for its applications in cancer research.

The event concluded with an increased awareness of this technology among the participants from across India and increased interest in using this technology for their research purposes.

Ludhiana, October 21
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Superintendent, Rajiv Bharadwaj, failed to appear before the three-member committee for recording his statements in the slapping incident that took place on September 24.

Bharadwaj, who was slapped by two MC sweepers in his office, intimated the committee that he was out of station and could not come for recording his statement.

So now, he is likely to be called again for recording his statement before the three-member committee on Friday. While speaking to The Tribune, Rajiv Bharadwaj said he was out of station today as well as tomorrow. “That is why I had intimated the enquiry committee to give me some other date for recording my statement.”

It was on September 24 that an MC Superintendent, Rajiv Bharadwaj, was slapped in his office by the two MC sweepers. Initially, Bharadwaj had claimed that he has entered into a compromise with the sweepers, but later he claimed that he was made to sign compromise papers under pressure. So, it was then that he filed a formal complaint with MC Commissioner as well as the Commissioner of Police.

But even after passing of almost a month, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation officers have not been able to complete this inquiry, which was initially expected to get complete within a week.

MC Additional Commissioner, Davinder Singh, who is member of the committee, said “As Rajiv was out of station we could not record his statement. So now, we are likely to call him on Friday and once he records his statement, we would prepare the inquiry report and would submit it with the MC Commissioner,” informed Davinder Singh. 

Khanna October 21
Congress party organised a protest rally and peace march in protest against levying of the Property Tax in municipal areas as well as regarding regularisation charges of unauthorised colonies levied upon the plot/building owners under the leadership of Gurkirat Singh Kotli MLA Khanna at Khanna.

In the protest, Tej Parkash Singh Kotli, Ex-Minister Punjab, Sukhdev Singh Libra MP, Amrik Singh MLA Samrala, Malkiat Singh Dakha, Lakhvir Singh Lakha were present along with other workers and leaders of the Congress party.

Gurkirat Singh Kotli said that the levying of property tax within the Municipal area is not only against public policy but is also a sharp sword cutting the throats of residents of Punjab in such era of inflation of prices of essential commodities. That the circumstances and situations existing in Punjab are that a medium-class family is finding it difficult to even make their both ends meet and their dreams of getting good education for their children and getting good civic life have been shattered. That the extra burden of payment of property tax shall prove to be a nail in the death coffin of social status and budget of the medium class families, what to talk about the lower medium class.

That at the time when the last assembly elections were conducted in Punjab in the year 2012, the ruling party in the State showed a rosy painted picture to the residents of Punjab and promised to work for their welfare as well as of their families. That nothing sort of this has been suggested in the amendments made in Punjab Municipal Act as well as in the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act. He further stated that in the assembly he along with all other party MLAs will raise this issue and will press the government to withdraw the property tax as well regularisation charges of unauthorised colonies levied upon the plot/ building owners.

Sukhdev Singh Libra MP said that the enactment has directly affected the common man which cannot be said for the benefit of the common man, rather has proved itself as extra burden. — TNS

Amloh, October 21
The internationally renowned spiritual guru and the founder of the Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was conferred on DLitt (Honoris Causa) degree by Desh Bhagat University during a convocation held on its campus here today.

Referring to the drug abuse in Punjab, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said the education institutions should take it upon themselves to nurture students who are physically strong, mentally alert, emotionally stable and spiritually sublime.

As many 600 pass outs of the group, belonging to different streams, participated in the convocation.

Students of department of art and craft of the university presented a portrait to the spiritual guru.

Ludhiana, October 21
The Police Commemoration day was observed at the Central Police lines here this morning.

Names of as many as 700 officers and men were read over during the commemoration parade. Over 53 personnel, who laid down their lives for the safety of the city residents during the dark days of militancy, were remembered by the officers.

Policemen support their colleague who fainted during the Police Commemoration Day parade in Ludhiana on Monday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

A parade was held in which contingents of the Punjab police took salute to the martyrs. A police band also performed on this occasion.

Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Gill read out the names of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Gill also addressed the grievances of the families of the martyrs.

Khanna: Police Commemoration day was observed at the District police office, Khanna, under the chairmanship of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna.

Families affected by terrorist violence participated in the function. SSP, Khanna, along with other senior civil and police officials paid tributes to the police Martyrs of the region. The officials appreciated the role played by police personnel during such difficult situation.

“There are as many as 36 affected families in the police district and three youths of these families have been recruited in the Punjab police recently,” said the SSP.

He assured that the district police will look after all the affected families of the area and will stand by them in need.

Additional Deputy Commissioner, Khanna, Gurmeet Singh, Civil Judge, Khanna, Mahesh Kumar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Khanna, Anand Sagar Sharma, Superintendent of Police (D), Rajwinder Singh Sohal, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), City, Pirthipal Singh, DSP Ranbir Singh were present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, October 21
Market places in the city seemed to have turned into a place for Karva Chauth celebration as canopies and tents were installed in almost all corners of the city.

Women and girls were seen getting the mehandi applied. They made beeline at the shops and showrooms to shop for attires and sarees, cosmetics and other traditional things for the celebration of the festival.

The festival was also celebrated at Gayatri Ladies Club today. A skit was also performed on the theme of Karwa Chauth and a Karva queen was also chosen on the occasion.

Marketing agencies were also making the most of the festival.

A mobile phone company had placed canopies in brand colours where free mehandi was being applied to women as an indirect way of brand promotion.

Fatehgarh Sahib, October 21
A campus recruitment drive was held at RIMT Institutes, following which eight RIMT students got jobs at two recognised companies, Rikken Instrumentation Ltd and Yerik International.

The process started with a technical aptitude test of students followed by a machine test and interpersonal interview, conducted between the candidate the company officials.

Company officials applauded the intellect level of mechanical and electrical students and wished to visit the campus every year for recruitments.

Such drives will be conducted to ensure that our students get the best, said a faculty.

While applauding the efforts of the team-corporate relations, the RIMT group chairman, Vijayant Bansal, congratulated the students and motivated others to work hard and sincerely for future achievements. 

Ludhiana, October 21
Non-teaching employees of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA)/Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyaan (SSA) went on an indefinite pen-down strike from today.

As many as 90 employees, working under SSA and RMSA, flayed the anti-employee policies of the state government.

The protesters alleged the state government are giving regular pay scale to teachers working under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA)/Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyaan (SSA) from April 1 onwards but the same was not given to non-teaching employees.

“In our meeting with Chief Minister and Education Minister, just assurances were given to us by political leaders. No action has been taken yet. They are in no mood to listen to our genuine demands. There are over 1,400 non-teaching employees working under Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyaan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan and as a result of the impartiality, all are on strike from today,” said Raman, office-bearer of the Union.

Ludhiana, October 21
The week-long youth festival started with collage making, creative writing and cartoon making on the first day at Punjab Agricultural University today.

Students made cartoons on the topic, reality shows. Ajay Barman, a student from agricultural economics department at PAU, depicted different politicians performing different roles.

Another student took a dig at a famous political leader as the big boss in the reality show, and other ministers as the inmates of the Big Boss's house. Harman Singh Sangha, from agricultural engineering, PAU, portrayed that the constant 'breaking news' on news channels give an idea about what’s happening in reality shows rather than showing real news. Another student showed that seeing the reality shows, parents of the rich pressurise their kids into participating in the talent hunt television shows.

In cartoon-making, Harman Singh Sangha stood first while Kripa Seth from College of Home Science bagged the second prize. Atama Singh from the same college got the third prize.

In creative writing, Amandeep Vashisht from College of Agricultural Engineering stood first, Kritka Gupta from College of Home Science stood second and Ajit Kaur from College of Basic Science and Humanities bagged the third prize.

In collage making, Gurvinder from College of Basic Science and Humanities stood first. Vani Jain from College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology bagged the second position and Suman Kumari from College of Basic Science and Humanities secured the third spot.

Amritsar, October 21
Mystery shrouds the death of a Ludhiana resident, whose body was found hanging in a room of a hotel located in the Katra Ahluwalia area in the walled city, which is just a stone's throw from the Golden Temple here.

The deceased, identified as Jaswinder Singh, alias Jassi (24), a resident of Kot Mangal Singh, Ludhiana, had checked in the guest house around a couple of days ago and since then the doors of his room were bolted from inside.

The police suspects that he had apparently committed suicide on the same day he arrived in the guest house. However, the police found no suicide note from the place.

Surprisingly, the guest house owner did not inquire about him till today morning even as Jaswinder had not come out of the room since he checked in.

As per the information, Jaswinder along with his mother had come to Amritsar on October 17 as her sister had delivered a child. On the very next day, he went missing and today his body was found hanging in a room of Agarwal Guest House, located in Dharek Street in Katra Ahluwalia.

“Since October 18 we have been searching for him in every hospital, police station and even footpaths, but failed to locate him. The very next day we went to Ludhiana to look for him but could not find him,” said Gursewak Singh, a relative of the deceased.

Another relative Prabhjot Singh said in Ludhiana when they were looking for him, the family came to know that he had been kidnapped by several persons in a car just a day before he came to Amritsar, ie October 16. A passerby informed the Police Control Room, which immediately swung into action, rescued him and arrested a person having criminal background. Surprisingly, Jaswinder refused to lodge any police complaint. It came to light that he had some monetary dispute with the accused, who had kidnapped and thrashed him, said the relatives. A well-built youth, Jaswinder, used to work with a prominent private bank in Ludhiana, they added.

Surinder Mohan, SHO, Kotwali police station, said the hotel owner informed the police when he found blood coming out of the room. He said unbearable smell was emanating from the room, which pointed out that he had committed suicide about a couple of days ago.

“At present proceedings under the Criminal Procedure Code has been initiated and the body will be sent for postmortem after completing the formalities after family members of the deceased arrive,” he said, while adding that further action would be taken after receiving the postmortem report.

Ludhiana, October 21
With the arrest of six persons, including two women, the city police has claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of swindlers, who posed as treasure hunters in order to dupe innocent residents by selling them fake gold ornaments.

The accused have been identified Ishwar, alias Rakesh, Lalit Kumar, Ramesh Solanki and Babbli, all residents of New Delhi; Suresh Kumar and his mother Devi, both residents of Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

The accused were nabbed by a team of the CIA staff from the Jalandhar Bypass area last night.

Giving details about the modus operandi of the gang, DCP Harsh Bansal said all the six accused were illiterates. They stayed in slum areas located on the outskirts of big cities. The gang members would pose as poor construction workers and lure people by telling them concocted stories of finding a hidden treasure while carrying out digging. They told their victims that wanted to sell the gold found while digging at throwaway prices.

By the time the victim would get to know that the gold ornaments sold to them were fake, the swindlers used to fled the city.

"Recently, the gang had duped a woman doctor by claiming that they had found a treasure while digging," said Harsh Bansal.

Two members, Lalit and Babbli, were earlier booked by the Faridkot and Kadian police.

The gang has so far duped 20 persons and pocketed a huge amount of money. The police has recovered over 7 kg of fake gold ornaments from them. The Deputy Commissioner of Police said the gang members procured fake ornaments from Delhi. The accused have been booked under section 420 of the IPC for fraud.

Khanna, October 21
In a big catch, the Khanna police claimed to have nabbed a shootout gang leader and two of his companions which were involved in several shootouts at Khanna, Ludhiana and some other places in other districts also. The arrested accused were identifies as Gurpreet singh, alias Laddi, Dheeraj Batta and Davinder Singh, all resident of Khanna, and recovered one revolver of .32 bore and one Webley Scot pistol along with a dagger from their possession.

These members are of a notorious gang who were wanted in several criminal cases and were known as Laddi gang. The gang came in headlines when its members attacked with firearms on the house of Sukhbir Singh, alias Sukha, a resident of Basant Nagar, Khana, and injured him after opening fire on him. While a day ago, the gang members allegedly resorted to indiscriminate firing in the Court Complex of Ludhiana and injured one person.

Sushil Kumar, Khanna SSP, stated during a press conference that the members of the gang attacked the house of Sukhbir on the night of October 15 and injured the victim after opening fire after which they fled away from the spot.

After the incident the same gang opened fire at Ludhiana the next day. SSP said that the police swung into action and raided the possible hide outs of the gang. SSP said during a night policing operation, the police party became suspicious when they found three persons from an i-20 car started running after seeing the police post but were chased by the police. SP (D) Khanna, Rajwinder Singh, who was also present in the press conference, claimed that the gang was wanted in other firing incidents at several places and about 15 cases of different type including attempt to murder are pending against them. As per information, it is the same gang that was booked on attack on the policemen near Bhadson and had freed some of their companion after injuring police personal and they are enquiring their pending cases. About 10 persons were booked in firing incident at Khanna out of which these three were arrested by the police while seven are still on run. The SSP assured that the remaining alleged culprits will be arrested soon. DSP Khanna, DSP (D) Khanna and other police officials of police Dist. were also present at the occasion.

Khanna, October 21
The Khanna police has claimed to have arrested two persons and solved a one-week old blind murder case in which an identified semi-naked body of a person was found in Dushehra ground of Khanna.

During a press conference, SSP, Khanna, Sushil Kumar said after recovering the unclaimed body of an unidentified person, who was later identified as Ram Niwas, a resident of Badaun of Uttar Pradesh, on the night of October 14, the police launched a hunt for culprits. Different police parties visited the different locations of Khanna with a picture of the deceased and managed to establish his identity.

SSP, claimed that during the enquiry they found that the deceased consumed liquor before he was killed. SSP, further revealed that during a check point, the police party got a tip off and they nabbed two persons identified as Dharminder Kumar, alias Kala, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Khanna, and Mukesh kumar, alias Noni, a resident of Krishna Nagar of Khanna, and they confessed their crime 
during the interrogation, SSP claimed.

SSP further said that the duo have confessed that they first strangulated the deceased and later attacked him with a slugger. The reason behind the murder was reportedly a minor issue and in a fit of anger the alleged culprits beat him to death. SPD Khanna, Rajwinder Singh Sohal, DSP City, Pirthipal Singh, DSP (D), Ranbir Singh, and other concerned officials were present during the press conference. 

Ludhiana, October 21
The city police has arrested a thief who was committing theft in a vacant houses. The accused has been identified as Rakesh Gupta, a resident of Anand Vihar Phoolanwal.

Anand was arrested from Dhandra road last night.

Giving details about the incident, Amandeep Singh SHO, Sadar, said, "The accused used to carry out recce and identify the vacant houses during the day and at night he used to enter the house by breaking the grills, commit theft and escape."

SHO further added that Rakesh was wanted in nine cases of thefts. The police has recovered two stolen motorcycles, a passport, gold ornaments, $1510 and Rs 88,500 cash.

Ludhiana, October 21
Sukhram Memorial School, Hisar, prevailed over their city mates Maharaja Aggarsain Public School, Hissar, 1-0 to lay their hands of the winners' trophy in football in the three-day CBSE North Zone II Handball and Football Tournaments which concluded at Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, here today. Amity International School, Gurgaon, secured third position. In handball (boys U-19), Shah Satnam Ji School, Sirsa, which dominated throughout the tournament, today fumbled at the last hurdle as they lost their last league encounter narrlowly 17-20 against Police DAV Public School, Patiala, that also cost them the title.

Earlier in the day, hosts Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, waged a spirited battle against Shah Satnam Ji School, Sirsa, 11-15 and had to content at third place. In the girls’ section (U-19), Shah Satnam Ji School, Sirsa, overwhelmed Guru Nanak Public School, Ludhiana, 10-2 to clinch the title while Arya Girls School, Panipat, finished at third place.

In handball (girls U-14), MDN School, Rohtak, went down against Shree Krishan Pranani Public School, Bhiwani, by a whisker (4-5) but on the basis of better goal average the former were declared champions while Guru Nanak Public School, Ludhiana, and Shree Krishan Pranani School, Bhiwani, finished at second and third positions, respectively.

In the boys’ (U-14) handball final, Guru Nanak Public School, Ludhiana, managed to squeeze past Shiksa Bharti Vidya Niketan, Kalayat, 12-11 to romp home champions and YS Public School, Barnala, secured third position.

Ludhiana, October 21
Students of Green Land Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar bypass branch, Ludhiana, bagged titles in the boys’ U-19 and girls’ U-14 sections in the CBSE North Zone II Chess Championship held at National Public School, Yamuna Nagar, recently.

According to a release, issued by Green Land School, here today, Divyanshu Jain, a student from this school gave an excellent performance and won board prize besides winning the individual title in the U-19 category.

In the boys’ U-19 section, Green Land School players scored 19 out of 24 points to bag the top honours. Green Land School defeated DAV School, Yamuna Nagar, 4-0; scored an identical victory against Blue Bells School, Sector 10, Gurgaon; beat Cambridge International School, Jalandhar, 3.5-0.5; outclassed MGN Public School, Jalandhar, 2.5-1.5; drew 2-2 with Seth Hukum Chand School, Jalandhar, and overpowered SL Bawan Vidalya, Amritsar, 3-1.

In the girls’ U-14 group, students from Green Land School accumulated 17.5 out of 24 points to lift the winners' cup.

Green Land School, Ludhiana, outplayed Model School, Rohtak, 3-1; blanked Janki Dass Kapur Public School, Yamuna Nagar, 4-0; drew 2-2 with Cambridge International School, Jalandhar, edged out DAV Multipurpose School, Sonepat, 4-0; pipped Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, Dhuri, 2.5-1.5 and played 2-2 draw against Cambridge International Girls School, Jalandhar.

Performance by the following boys and girls of Green Land School, Ludhiana, was taken into consideration while selecting the North Zone Chess team for the CBSE National Chess Championship to be held in Varanasi from December 19 to 22. The names of the players are Priyanka Vashisht, Shenam Judge, Amarliess, Sukhman, Nancy Khanna, Shubham Shukla, Jashanpreet Singh, Divyanshu Jain, Samyak Jain and Dilbagh Singh.

Rajesh Rudra and Baldeep Pandher, chairman-cum-director of Green Land Schools chain and principal, respectively, congratulated the students and their coach, PK Ahmed on this outstanding achievement. 

Ludhiana, October 21
BCM Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, Delhi Public School and DAV, Pakhowal, road branch scripted easy victories on the first day of the Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex Badminton Tournament being played at BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, here today.

More than 100 shuttlers comprising of about 25 CBSE schools in Ludhiana are taking part in the boys and girls U-14 and U-19 categories in the three-day tournament.

First day's results: Girls (U-19): BCM School, Shastri Nagar beat BVM, Kitchlu Nagar, 2-0; Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, beat BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh road, 2-0; Delhi Public School beat Shamrock Public School 2-0; DAV School, Pakhowal road, beat Don Bosco Global School 2-0; Guru Hargobind School beat Green Land School, Dugri, 2-0; Spring Dale School beat Anand Ishar Public School 2-0; DAV School, Pakhowal road, beat HVM Convent School 2-0; Shiwalik Wala Doon Public School beat Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, 2-0 and Harkrishan Public School beat DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, 2-0.