Ludhiana, July 3
Four more patients have tested positive for dengue at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. The ‘Mac Eliza’ test was conducted at Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital here today. The samples of these patients were collected by the health department on Thursday.

Dr Puneet Juneja, district epidemiologist, said: “All four are from Ludhiana and are under treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. However, one of the patients has a travel history as he had gone out of state some days ago and fell sick after returning home.”

With this, a total of eight patients have tested positive for dengue in the city this season.

However, no samples of suspected patients of dengue were received today. The reports of two suspected patients of dengue, one from Jalandhar and the one from Jammu and Kashmir, are awaited.

Doctors said patients suffering from joint pain and fever were being admitted to hospitals and the numbers were increasing gradually. However, all these cannot be suspected cases of dengue, they clarified.

Meanwhile, Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta today called a meeting of all medical officers of 29 dispensaries and asked them to pull up their socks to check outbreak of waterborne diseases.

Dr Batta said: “I have instructed officials to act as a team with the staff and officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. I have instructed them to keep a check on water and sanitation conditions in their respective areas and if they come across any problem, they should contact MC officials and also keep in touch with area counsellor. I also asked them that if they come across garbage dumps or stagnant water anywhere, they should inform the MC officials.”

The Civil Surgeon said the health department had already completed its survey in "high risk fever area" in which slides of samples were prepared to rule out the possibility of malaria.

Ludhiana, July 3
To make sure that the city does not face a flood-like situation like the one witnessed in mid-August last year, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has started making preparations for the same.

MC Commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi today chaired a meeting of the MC officials and ordered that in the next three months, no MC employee will leave the station without prior approval.

The MC Joint Commissioner PS Ghuman has been made nodal officer for supervising all works related to flood control measures and a control room for the same would be set up in Daresi from July 5 onwards.

The MC operations and maintenance branch officials claimed during the meeting that all storm sewers had been cleaned and manhole covers had been installed across the city.

Regarding the cleaning of Budha Nullah, Kamlesh Bansal, the MC Additional Commissioner (Technical), claimed that 70 per cent work has been completed while the remaining work would be completed in a week.

Kamlesh Bansal and Manjit Singh, both the MC Additional Commissioners (Technical) claimed during the meeting that except the disposals on Tibba Road and Transport Nagar, steps have been taken so the water from all other disposals goes directly to the sewerage treatment plant.

The MC officials were also directed that all tubewells should be in working condition and generator sets should be kept on standby. These generator sets have been kept on standby so that the tubewells can remain in working condition even without power supply.

To make sure that Budha Nullah does not overflow from any point, 1,000 sand bags each have been kept ready for each zone. Senior Town Planner Hemant Batra has been directed to identify all unsafe buildings, issue notice to the building owner and get them vacated so that no person gets injured in case of any untoward incident during monsoon.

Ludhiana, July 3
Warning officials of strict action, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi today said FIRs would be registered against officials concerned in case of outbreak of waterborne diseases in the city.

Convening a meeting of officials of the health branch and operations and maintenance (O&M) wing of the MC for control and prevention of waterborne diseases, the Commissioner directed the field staff and other officials to check spread of diseases, including malaria, dengue and gastroenteritis during monsoon.

Senior officials of state health department, including Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta and District Health Officer Dr Kulwinder Singh, also attended the meeting.

“I have directed the MC staff to check spread of waterborne diseases during monsoon. An FIR will be registered against the official concerned if waterborne diseases spread,â€� warned Jaggi.

During the meeting, Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta gave a powerpoint presentation regarding causes and prevention of several diseases.

Amarjit Singh Sekhon, Joint Commissioner, MC, has been appointed as the nodal officer for supervising the ongoing works for the prevention of waterborne diseases. No MC employee can avail station leave without prior approval, said the Commissioner.

The MC health branch has been directed to make city free of garbage, check accumulation of water and regular fogging in all parts of the city. Officials were also directed to check wastage of potable water, besides carrying out a special cleanliness drive in the city. Kamlesh Bansal and Manjit Singh, Assistant Commissioners (Technical) of the O&M branch were directed to make sure that chlorination was done in all tubewells. The O&M officials have been directed to clean Budha Nullah before the arrival of monsoon.

Ludhiana, July 3
Massage parlours seem to be eyeing the money power of Ludhiana’s rich and famous. They have become the latest target of this well-organised racket that ensures to keep their identity a secret.

Indecent SMSes are being circulated among a group of socialites from ‘respectable’ families of the city by these massage parlours. Not bothered about such messages, a majority of the women prefer ignoring them while certain others refused to believe in the same.

A woman from an upper-middle-class family, who had received such an SMS recently, said she was shocked to learn that it was the latest trend in the city.

"Initially I did not believe in the SMS. But when I dialled the particular number out of curiosity today, the person on the other side offered me with several packages, which were quite disturbing. When I asked him if my secrecy will be maintained, the person said I could get a room booked in any leading hotel in the city as many clients called masseurs at hotels only to maintain privacy," said the woman, adding that he asked her to pay just Rs 1,000 for an initial sitting.

"Not only this, the person on the other end also claimed that elite women in the city were their clients and their secrecy was maintained," said the woman.

One such SMS, which is being circulated in the city, reads: "Relaxonise-for all personalised and cross gender services for males and females in all cities. Only high end guests text back for further details."

Another SMS reads: "Hi, how are you? I am freelancer massager, having all types of massages in Ludhiana. Full secrecy provided."

A socialite in the city, who did not wish to be quoted, said there was nothing wrong with such massages provided there was no racket going on under the garb of massage.

Pappoabnash Singh, an NGO activist, said such massages were damaging as both the females and males could be blackmailed by senders. "Certain people had started misusing the technology for vested interests. This is not our culture. What moral values are we giving to our future generations? The authorities must take action against such persons who were corrupting the minds of people by sending indecent messages," said Singh.

Ludhiana, July 3
The allegations of corruption by former CAT commando Gurmeet Singh, alias Pinki, on former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Jora Singh for demanding bribe has rattled Avtar Singh Gola's parents.

Gola was brutally killed by Pinki on January 7, 2001. His parents were shocked to see their son's killer making lofty statements against the judge.

Amrik Singh, Gola’s father, retaliated strongly on Pinki's allegation that ex- judge had sought bribe. He said: "Pinki himself had tried to bribe the then Sessions Judge of Kurukshetra in 2006 and deal was struck at Rs 45 lakh. We got hold of the mobile call details and the matter reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Taking note of the evidence, the case was shifted to Jagadhari and on October 18, 2006, Pinki was convicted. I am sure that Pinki might be trying to grease the palm of the judge, but the latter denied and now he is levelling baseless allegations."

"This man (Pinki) has made the law dance to his tunes. First he got the case transferred from the city to Chandigarh, from there it was transferred to four judges. The case was further transferred to Kurukshetra and from there it was further shifted to Jagadhari. Even after being convicted for killing, Pinki stays out of jail on parole. What is the logic of sentencing him to jail?" questioned Amrik Singh.

Amrik said seeking justice was not easy for the family. They had to sell off all the valuables to arrange money for contesting the case. “We had to spend around Rs 9 lakh for the case even though the advocates contested the case free of cost,”� he said.

The septuagenarian couple Amrik Singh and Charanjit Kaur, who run a grocery shop in New Prem Nagar in the Civil Lines area, still shudder with fear on recollecting the dark day when their son was murdered.

"Look at my plight. Pinki shot my son from a point-blank range in front of my eyes. I was also shot at by Pinki's accomplices, but I survived. Pinki offered me Rs 2 crore to settle the matter, but I refused to accept the money as it cannot bring back my son," said Amrik

It was on the fateful day on January 7, 2007, that Avtar Singh Gola (21), along with his two friends was visiting Ram Sharnam after purchasing flowers.

As the street in Maya Nagar was dug up, he decided to take an alternative route which went through the house of Gurmeet Singh Pinki.

The road was blocked by Pinki and his friends as they were consuming liquor in the open. Gola asked them to get aside, but Pinki started thrashing Gola. In the meantime, Gola's father Amrik Singh also reached the spot and literally begged for the life of his son, but Pinki showed no mercy and killed Gola by shooting him from a point-blank range.

Ludhiana, July 3
A senior citizen has accused the parking contractor of Feroze Gandhi Market of misbehaviour.

The senior citizen, 75-year-old Gulzar Singh Brar, is a resident of Model Town Extension, and is a retired Excise and Taxation Officer.

Brar had gone to Feroze Gandhi Market today morning. Gulzar Singh Brar said when he was walking towards a bank in the market, his foot got stuck into a rope, which the parking contractor had tied on the footpath for the parking vehicles.

“I fell down on the footpath and my turban also came off. Thankfully, I was not hurt and when I got up, I untied that rope so that no other person gets injured. Within seconds, a person appeared on the spot and identified himself as the parking contractor. He started abusing me for untying the rope. When I said that I had fallen down after my foot got stuck in the rope, he did not listen to me and kept on misbehaving,”€� claimed Brar.

Brar said that it’s sad that the contractor having political links is using the footpaths of Feroze Gandhi Market for the parking vehicles.

“I had to call the police. Later, the contractor apologised in public. It’s sad that despite tall claims of the MC, the parking contractor is indulging in such wrong tactics. The MC has literally turned a blind eye towards such menace for reasons best known to them,”€� alleged Gulzar Singh.

Naveen Malhotra, superintendent, tehbazaari wing of the MC, said he would send his staff to Feroze Gandhi Market tomorrow. “We will check the parking and will make sure that the contractor does not use the footpaths for parking vehicles. If he is found indulging in such tactics, we would take strict action against him. I will speak to the contractor and will ask him to direct his staff to behave properly with residents,”€� claimed Naveen Malhotra.

Ludhiana, July 3
Fraudsters are eyeing heard-earned money of retired government employees and duping the elderly by investigating their money in bogus investment firms.

In the latest incident, several residents, including retired government employees, have been duped by a Mohali-based fraudster on the pretext of assured turnover on a small investment.

Krishan Lal Sharma, a resident Model Gram Extension, who retired from the Department of Telecommunication, laments the day when he invested Rs 2.4 lakh through an agent in an investment firm based in Kashipur in Uttarakhand.

"One of my retired colleagues introduced me to investment company agent Tarun Kumar, a resident of Sector 70, Mohali. Tarun told me about the company policy and said if I invest Rs 6,500 in the company, I would be paid Rs 3,000 for 10 months as interest. The offer was lucrative and I agreed. I invested nearly Rs 2.4 lakh. My friends and relatives also invested their hard-earned money in the company," said Krishan Lal Sharma.

Tarun Kumar had guaranteed that their investment was safe. "For the first month, I was paid nearly Rs 70,000 for my investment of Rs 2.4 lakh. I was elated at the fag end of my life that I was not dependent on anyone for money. But the next month, I did not receive the money. The mobile number of Tarun Kumar was switched off. It did not take much time to realise that I was duped," said Krishan Lal.

Ludhiana, July 3
An NGO, Active Anti-Corruption Group, has demanded that a vigilance probe should be conducted to check corruption in the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA). Members of the NGO alleged that several officials from GLADA are patronising illegal colonies and minting lakhs in the process.

While addressing a press conference here today, Ramesh Bangar, president of Active Anti-Corruption Group, alleged that due to the ongoing corruption in GLADA, either a probe by the vigilance bureau or by CBI should be carried out.

Hundreds of illegal colonies are present in and around the city and it’s clear that these colonies have not come up overnight. This clearly shows that these colonies have not come up without the connivance or patronisation of officials of GLADA. The main sufferers are the people living in these colonies and the state government should make efforts, so that people get facilities like roads, sewerage, streetlights and water, alleged Bangar.

When contacted, Rahul Tewari, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Administrator, GLADA, said ever since he got the charge of GLADA, he had been carrying a comprehensive drive against the illegal colonies in the city.

“I have strictly told GLADA staff that if any illegal colony comes up in or around the city, I will take strict action against them. Besides, to make sure no such colony comes up, I am taking a written affidavit from all junior engineers (JEs) concerned in every 15 days. In these affidavits, the JEs give it in writing that no illegal colony has come up in their respective areas in the last 15 days. Besides if any person has any information against corruption in GLADA, he is free to contact me anytime in my office. Instead of making such claims, people should meet me, so that an action should be taken against the guilty officials,” stated Rahul Tewari.

Ludhiana, July 3
The Rotary Club Ludhiana Greater joined hands with CAPE India (Care for Animals and Protection of Environment) in launching the yearlong campaign to promote the concept of protection of wildlife and preservation of environment.

The project was launched at the Tiger Safari on the Jalandhar bypass. It was inaugurated by divisional forest officer Naresh Mahajan. Signboards were also installed for the promotion of the Tiger Safari, so that more and more people visit it.

Rotary Club president, Dr Arvinder S Nagpal, said people had begun to pay less importance to the welfare of the wildlife these days that also inhabits earth. There are millions of species and sub-species with whom we coexist. However, some species are on the verge of extinction, since their natural habitats have come under threats due to various human-related activities such as deforestation, pollution, chemical poisoning and oil spills.

The Project Tiger, started in 1972, is a major effort to conserve tigers and their habitats. India is home to the world’s largest population of tigers in the world, said Naresh Mahajan.

Dr Sandeep Jain, chairperson of CAPE India, enumerated major threats to wildlife like habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and toxic chemical, unregulated hunting and poaching, natural phenomena like floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning and forest fires. Pollution and accidental deaths viz car collisions, air collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales), etc, are another threats to the wildlife.

Dr Rajinder Mittal, secretary of Rotary Club Ludhiana Greater, said talks regarding wildlife and environment would be held at school and college level, besides awareness marches and sticker campaign.

Ludhiana, July 3
Students and visitors to the Punjab Agricultural University campus would soon be able to travel and walk on re-carpeted roads. Days after Ludhiana Tribune highlighted the pathetic condition of roads on the PAU campus, Punjab Mandi Board has sanctioned funds for re-carpeting of the roads in the university. University officials said roads would be re-carpeted soon after receiving the funds.

According to the PAU employees, campus roads were carpeted six years back by Punjab Mandi Board. Some of the roads on the PAU campus are in a very poor condition, especially the road that leads to the Government Senior Secondary School, PAU.

Jaskarn Singh, Estate Officer PAU, said, "We had sent the proposal of re-carpeting of the roads to Punjab Mandi Board some months back. We hope that we will receive the funds soon. We hope to receive Rs 2 crore for this purpose."

"It is good to know that the board is going to re-carpet the roads. Otherwise, most of the people who reside in the campus and vote for the municipal council want the council to mantle the roads," said a PAU employee.

Sahnewal, July 3
Kulwant Singh Kanti was unanimously chosen as the president, while Manju Bala as the vice-president of Sahnewal nagar panchayat yesterday.

PWD minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon made an announcement to this effect in the committee office yesterday. Kanti was the councillor in the last tenure as well.

The newly elected president thanked the councillors for bestowing faith in him and electing him. He said he would try to come up to their expectations and be at their beck-and-call as and when the need arises.

Kanti said he would work primarily for the development of the town. “Although much has already been accomplished for the town, for instance clean water supply, sewer installation is going on at its pace, the town has been converted into a sub-tehsil and it has its model police station. With the assistance of co-councillors, we shall try to work with dedication and listen to the problems of the residents of the town and resolve them at the earliest,” he said.

The installation of sewer at the earliest, repair of roads, lighting facility, thorough upkeep of low-lying areas, clearance of dirt and waste around the town would form an integral part of his duties as the president of the town and his sole consideration would be providing clean drinking water, he said. “Sanitation and hygiene shall be looked into as a matter of routine,” he added.

Ludhiana, July 3
Ajaib Chitarkar was paid rich tributes by his admirers and people from the literary fraternity during his last rites at the Model Town Extension cremation ground today.

Padam Shri Surjit Patar said he was a much-accomplished poet and kept writing poetry in Urdu and Punjabi till the end. A noted artist for his revolutionary poetry and classic paintings, Ajaib Chitarkar was known for being the sole friend of Sahir Ludhianvi. He had also translated literary masterpieces into Punjabi, including Geetanjali by Rabindra Nath Tagore, Meghdoot by Kalidas and Sikh History by Macauliffe. He wrote an epic on Guru Tegh Bahadur. He depicted rural life vividly through his paintings in Gurdit Singh’s book Mera Pind.

He also designed the logos of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Punjabi University and Punjabi Sahit Akademi.

He wrote 15 books on poetry and 50 child literature. His first book was published in 1947. He also served as the editor of noted Punjabi magazine, Sahit Sabha. Initially, he served as a schoolteacher and retired from the PAU as the senior artist.

According to Gurbhajan Singh Gill, president, Punjabi Sahit Akademi, Ajaib Chitarkar was the last stalwarts of Punjabi literature from the contemporaries of Prof Mohan Singh.

Balbir Kaur, director, language department, said she would pass a resolution to the Punjabi language committee that a prize should be instituted by the name, Ajaib Chitarkar, to honour him. — TNS

Ludhiana, July 3
The Civil City Welfare Society organised a function to honour Narinder Singh Malhi, newly elected councillor of ward number 31, here today.

Society president Sanjeev Kumar Sharma expressed his hope that the area will get a new look and would undergo all-round development under Malhi’s leadership.

During the function, residents apprised the councillor of their woes. They expressed poor condition of internal roads, water supply, parks and sanitation problems of the locality. The newly elected councillor assured the residents to solve all these problems on priority basis.

Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation director Shivtar Singh Bajwa, Varinder Sharma, Prof SP Singh, Yogesh Puri, Rakesh Singla, Vinod Suri, Davinder Rajpal, Jaswant Thamman, Naresh Gupta and Rajiv Gupta were among other speakers who expressed their views.

Ludhiana, July 3
Though the state government directed all schools to extend the summer vacation for primary classes till Sunday, parents of students studying in higher classes feel that the vacation should be extended for all students.

The delayed monsoon has made these worried parents ask school authorities in the city to extend the summer break for higher classes too to protect their children from the scorching heat. The parents said that in such a hot weather condition, it was becoming difficult to send their children to schools as they may fall sick.

Tina Singh, a homemaker and mother of two girls who are studying in a leading school of the city, said, "In hot weather, my daughters often fall sick. The temperature is hovering around 40 to 42 degrees Celsius these days. In such weather conditions, children fall unconscious and their nose bleeds. It is torturous for the kids to return home these days. Keeping everything in mind, the school authorities should extend their vacations by at least a week till the arrival of monsoons," she said.

Rajinder Singh, a bank employee whose daughter is studying in class XI, said that his daughter could not bear the extreme hot weather.

"Her nose often starts bleeding and doctor has advised her to avoid direct exposure to sunlight. Since she goes to school on a two wheeler, the exposure to sun can not be avoided. Schools should extend the summer break till it is slightly comfortable. A leading school in the city has already extended it till July 10," he said.

Mona, a school teacher, however, felt that demands of these parents were not justified.

"If we keep extending the vacations, the syllabus of higher classes will not get completed. The same parents will then blame school authorities for the poor result of their wards. We are not even sure when the weather will improve, so for how long we can extend the vacations?" she said.

Ludhiana, July 3
Director General of School Education (DGSE) has imposed ban on sanctioning leave to computer teachers for foreign trips. According to the Information Communication Tecniology Educatuion Society (ICT) officials, the decision was taken due to shortage of computer teachers in education department.

The Director General of School Education has instructed to all the District Education Officers of the state to not sanction the leave to computer teachers for foreign visits.

There are only 7,172 computer teachers serving in the schools of state. According to the educationalist government schools required more computer teachers to rune the Information Communication Tecniologyproject properly.

Brg. Jagtar Singh, general manager, Information Communication Technology Education Society said, "We cannot afford to give long leaves to computer teachers as they are less in number. In their absence it is tough to manage the school. We cannot arrange any alternative teacher in the absence of computer teacher otherwise it is not an issue for the general subject teachers."

"We have noted that computer teachers start demanding for foreign leave without any concrete reason. Most of them want leave to just enjoy the foreign locations," he added.

"It is true that the strength of computer teachers in the education department is not meeting with the requirement. Government should recruit more teachers," said a computer teacher.

Rupinder Singh, a member of the Computer Teacher Union said, "We are not able to react on this decision of department. Not a single teacher from Ludhiana district has applied for leave. We will discuses in meeting of the union.”

Ludhiana, July 3
The government of India has released Rs 18.10 crores as additional central assistance for providing sewerage and sewage treatment plant in Ludhiana under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Disclosing this here today, Ludhiana Member Parliament and the National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress Manish Tewari said that he had received a communication from the Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, wherein he had conveyed to him about the release of the additional central assistance.

Tewari said, the total cost of the project approved by the ministry is Rs 241.39 crores. He said about 50 per cent share is being provided by the government of India and the half of it by the state government.

The MP stated, against a demand of Rs 30.17 crores made by the state government, the ministry had sanctioned Rs 18.10 crores right now. He pointed out, the central assistance is released from time to time depending on the completion of various stages of the project.

Phillaur, July 3
Baljit Kaur of Shromani Akali Dal was unanimously elected as president of newly elected Nagar Panchayat Goraya in a special meeting conducted by Tehsildar Phillaur Jaswinder Singh and specially attended by Chief Parliamentry Secretary-cum-Phillaur MLA Avinash Chander in Nagar Panchayat office at Goraya here on Tuesday.

Ludhiana, July 3
The suspended District Depot Manager of Punjab School Education Board, Anil Sharma, has raised questions on the functioning of the board. Sharma alleged that lobbying within PSEB had lead to his suspension.

"The board authorities suspended my services due to delay in the submission of some bills; however, everyone knows that lobbies exist within the board," said Anil Sharma. The board officials, however, denied such claims and said that 'mismanagement' was the reason behind the suspension of the depot manager.

Jagraon, July 3
Following the death of two youths after their car fell into canal two days ago the rumours are rife among the area residents that the car the that the youths were traveling in fell into the canal when some robbers tried to attack them with the attempt of robbing them.

According to sources, there are some robbers active in this area that had targeted some other commuters also recently and the incident during which both the youths of Dakha village died might was also the result of the attack by the robbers gang, which is active in the area, feel residents.

The rumours were rife among the area residents that the robbers’ gang might have tried to attack their vehicle with the aim of robbing them. The youth, driving the car might have lost control over the vehicle while trying to escape from the robbers and then their car fell into the Sidhwan canal which ultimately led to the death of both the youths.

Though the Mullanpur Dakha (SHO) Prem Singh rebuffed the theory saying that the case was registered following the statement of the family members of the victim youths and there was no proof of any kind of robbery attempt during the initial investigation.

However, he assured that the police will investigate the case with an open mind.

He added that if any wrongdoing comes to fore during the course of investigation then an appropriate action will be taken against whoever is found guilty in this incident.

Notably, two youths of Dakha village identified as Amarveer Singh and his friend Harjap Singh of the same village had died when the Hundai i 10 car they were travelling in, fell into Sidhwan Canal which is outside Isewal village near Mullanpur Dakha on Saturday late night.

The incident took place when Amarveer Singh and his friend Harjap Singh were coming back after visiting the fields of Amarveer Singh.

The Mullanpur Dakha police has registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC on the statement of Gurdev Singh, father of Amaeveer Singh. The police has started the investigation.

Jagraon, July 3
The Jagraon police has arrested one person and recovered a huge quantity of poppy husk from his possession. The accused was trafficking the poppy husk in a car, which has also been impounded. The accused has been identified as Raju Singh of Kannian Hussainupur village near Sidhwan Bet.

As per the information given by SHO Jagraon Sadar police station Rachpal Singh, the accused drug smuggler was arrested by a police party lead by Gidarwindi police post in charge office Amarjit Singh past late evening from the drain bridge 
on the outskirts of Gidarwindi village following a tip off. — OC

Mandi Gobindgarh, July 3
The Mandi Gobindgarh police booked 5 persons allegedly involved in a looting case of Rs 16,32,000 from a steel trader of Azad Market in Motia Khan Bazar. As stated by Azad Kaushal,a resident of Adarsh Nagar, Mandi Gobindgarh, he had taken Rs 16,32,000 from his house and reached in his office at Universal Steel Tubes in Motia Khan on Monday, when around four to five persons allegedly entered forcibly into his office, tied him with the chair and allegedly snatched the bag containing cash from Azad Kaushal.

Thereafter, the accused locked the office from outside. The matter came into limelight when the victim’s brother Rohit Kaushal brought mid-day meal for Azad. — OC

Ludhiana, July 3
Fine performance by skipper Gokul Tiwari (46 runs and one for 29) went in vain, as Mahajan Juniors XI went down fighting against Prof FC Chopra XI by three wickets in the final of the 17th Chaman Lal Malhotra Cup Cricket Tournament (U-14), organised at Arya College ground.

Batting first, Mahajan Juniors XI posted a respectable total of 179 runs in 29 overs. Gokul led from the front and contributed 46 runs. Only one other batsman, Rajat, could reach the double figure. He chipped in with 12 runs, while Abhinav and Ravi scored nine and eight runs, respectively.

For Prof FC Chopra XI, Rupan was the pick of bowlers, who captured four wickets for 13 runs. Pursharth claimed two wickets for 21 runs, while Lovish Dhir accounted for one wicket for 46 runs.

Bowlers of Mahajan Juniors XI failed to put on brakes, as Prof FC Chopra XI lads achieved the target with just two balls to spare. They made the required runs after losing seven wickets.

Bhuvnesh top scored with 55 runs, followed by Lovish Dhir, who made 48 runs and played the pivot role in their teams’ successful chase. Akash, too, played a valuable innings of 29 runs.

For the losing side, Abhinav and Harman scalped two victims each after conceding 16 and 23 runs, respectively. Gokul Tiwari, Kartik and Anmol Danny grabbed one wicket each.

Lovish Dhir and Akash Chowgan, both from Prof FC Chopra XI, were declared the best batsman and best bowler, respectively, while Anmol Danny of Mahajan Juniors XI was declared the best all-rounder.

Gokul Tiwari, Shaurya Jaggi, Nihal Singh and Vaibhav were given prizes for scoring over 100 score in the tournament, in which six teams took part, while Akshit Bhardwaj of Kanish XI was adjudged the most obedient and disciplined player.

SDM, Ludhiana, Kuljeet Pal Singh Mahi distributed the prizes. All players representing six teams were honoured on this occasion. Former captain of Punjab Ranji team, Chaman Lal Malhotra, along with Rajinder Mahajan, president of the Ludhiana District Cricket Association, was present at the prize distribution function.

Ludhiana, July 3
Ludhiana skipper Geetansh Khera’s gamble to declare the second innings early and set a victory target of 362 runs for Patiala proved costly, as the visitors romped home by three wickets in the four-day match of the Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Tournament (U-22) organised by the Punjab Cricket Association at the Punjab Agricultural University campus ground here today.

Resuming at the overnight score of 19 without loss, Patiala raced to 363 runs after losing seven wickets with just eight balls to go on the fourth and final day.

Vicky, who was dropped behind the stumps at his individual score of five, went on to make 75 runs, which turned the tables on the hosts, Ludhiana. Himanshu Chawla played a patient knock of 74 runs, while Prabhjot and Amrinder contributed 58 and 46 runs, respectively.

Ludhiana’s Anil Siag and Sukhjinder Singh who performed with the ball consistently throughout the tournament failed to deliver today.

Brief scores:

Ludhiana (I innings): 323 all out in 93 overs (Akhil Aggarwal 127, Himanshu 71, Devinder Sidhu 48 not out, Nikhil Chowdhary 18; Amrinder Singh 5 for 75, Sukhwinder Singh 2 for 80, Beant Singh 1 for 35).

Patiala (I innings): 278 all out in 101.4 overs (Amrinder Singh 64, Prabhjot 31, Mohit Mahindra 39, Vikrant 21, Jivanjot 20, Robin 17, Babish 35; Sukhjinder Singh 4 for 69, Anil Siag 4 for 65, Sandeep Singh 1 for 40, Ashish 1 for 33).

Ludhiana (II innings): 316 for 7 in 78 declared (Nikhil Chowdhary 100, Anil Siag 72, Sunny Pandey 30, Akhil Aggarwal 72, Geetansh Khera 13; Bhavish Goel 1 for 45, Himanshu Chawla 1 for 53, Beant Singh 5 for 40).

Patiala (II innings): 363 for 7 in 98.4 overs (Jeevanjot 29, Prabhjot 58, Vicky 75, Mohit Mahindra 33, Himanshu Chawla 74, Amrinder Singh 46, Vikram 29 not out, Bavish Goel 11 not out; Anil Siag 4 for 117, Sukhjinder Singh 2 for 125).