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City turning into den of bookies
Ludhiana, May 17 “The business runs on faith. A person who wants to bet on cricket matches is introduced to a bookie through a crony. In case the person backtracks after losing money on betting, it’s the job of the crony to recover it,” said a city-based businessman. “Gone are the days when people used to bet on cricket matches and the person who opted for the winning team used to get the prize money. Spot betting is a new trend. Now, betting is done on each ball bowled in an over and each run scored. The rates of the teams also changes accordingly. There are various categories. You can opt for your favourite batsman or a bowler, irrespective of the team,” said one of the bookies. Sources said the area falling in Division No 2 and 3, two community clubs, Bhadaur House, Daresi, and a few hotels located on Ferozepur Road have become a hub of bookies. The betting business is also thriving in farmhouses. It is learnt that the police was also tapping the phones of a few bookies. The bookies prefer high-end hotels and community clubs as there is a grim chance of a police raid here. "Nabbing bookies is not easy as they enjoy political patronage. Some of the officers in our department are also helping the bookies. They get to know about the raid in advance. They communicate with each other on phone and the money is transferred through hawala," said an officer expressing helplessness in curbing the menace. Last year, the police had arrested the personal assistant of a Congress councillor for spot betting. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Harsh Bansal said ADCP (crime wing) Harmohan Singh was on the job to crack a whip on the bookies. Youths falling victim to racket
Several youths have fallen prey to bookies and lost their hard-earned money. It is learnt that a youth from the Daresi area had lost
Rs 5 lakh during IPL matches. The youth's father, who is a scooter mechanic in the Daresi area, complained that his son left the house after losing the bet. The youth’s father is still getting threats from bookies. Loopholes in law
Senior criminal lawyer Dalip Batish said the loopholes in the gambling law were to be blamed for the betting menace. He said: “At the most, the accused are booked for gambling. For such an offence, the accused gets bail easily by furnishing a bond in the police station. In the court, too, the bookies are fined a minimal amount on confession or they have to undergo one-month imprisonment.”
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Daughter-in-law or imposter by law?
Samrala/Ludhiana, May 17 Sinhala, a sleepy village in Samrala, witnessed an emotional drama this week that seemed straight out of a Bollywood script. The woman, whose speech was peppered with some Hindi phrases, kept claiming that the man had deserted her after migrating to Austria. According to villagers, she kept harping on her emotional bond with the man, whom she claimed had been living with her in Italy. She also said that they had been in a relationship for four years, though in retrospect she felt that the man's interest in getting married to her was a ploy to legalise his stay in Italy. However, she claimed that she was still deeply in love with him. It's learnt that she even told the man's parents that she was ready to relocate to India if they accepted her as their daughter-in-law. She managed to stay with the man's family for a couple of days. She was keen on extending her stay, but the man's parents refused to extend their hospitality to the woman, who worked as a staff nurse at a hospital in Italy. They claimed that their son had warned them about a woman who was intent on blackmailing him. Confirming the incident, SHO, Samrala, Harjinder Singh said the man's parents had submitted a complaint to the police stating that the woman was creating trouble for their family. The woman was brought to the police station and later presented in the SDM's court from where she was directed to be kept at Nari Niketan. On the way to Nari Niketan in Jalandhar, she expressed her desire to go back to her country. The Italian Embassy was contacted for her repatriation. Later, the Samrala police, with the permission of the local SDM, handed her over to the Italian Embassy. It's learnt that the woman is of the Indian origin. As a child, she had been adopted by an Italian family. "We don't know the veracity of her claims. But she came to this small village, transcending the barriers of language and culture," said a villager, requesting anonymity.
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MC keeps LIT building as collateral security
Ludhiana, May 17 An RTI activist, Kuldeep Singh Khaira, had filed an application under RTI Act in 2011 seeking information about the plot number, popular name of the building, name of the owner, date on which the site plan was sanctioned,
total area covered, number of basements, permissible height of the building, minimum parking area, name, address and class of the registered architect. But the MC failed to provide information regarding the construction of its Zone D building and claimed that the file related to it had gone missing. On July 11, 2011, the then MC Commissioner, AK Sinha, ordered an inquiry, but the file was never located. On May 2, 2012, MC's Additional Commissioner (Technical) Dharam Singh stated before the state information commission that the MC had written to the SHO of the Sarabha Nagar police station on April 19, 2012, to register an FIR against unknown persons. But neither the file was traced no the FIR was registered. There is no documentary proof that the Zone D building belongs to the civic body. On Tuesday, a loan of Rs 100 crore was sanctioned to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation at the rate of 10.25 per cent per annum. As per the agreement, MC would have to repay the loan in three years. The MC had to keep two of its offices, Zone B office near Shingar Cinema and Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar, as collateral securities. MC property, says Commissioner
MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma said the Zone D building was a property of the MC. "When the building was constructed, its ownership was also transferred. Moreover, the bank officials would have also checked the details before clearing the loan," he claimed. The MC got the first instalment of
Rs 25 from Canara Bank on Friday. |
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Rape victim’s parents protest
Ludhiana, May 17 On May 3, a Class IX student of the school was allegedly kidnapped and raped by the former schoolteacher. The police rescued the girl and registered a kidnapping and rape case against the teacher, identified as
Sandeep. The accused is on the run. The victim's parents visited the school today held a protest against the authorities. "How the school authorities recruited a rapist as a teacher?" asked a girl's relative. On the other hand, Kiran
Gautam, the principal of the school said the school authorities had informed the family about the girl's disappearance. "We had contacted the girl's father and asked him why his daughter did not turn up. The girl's father was shocked and told me that his daughter had left for the school in the morning. We did not waste time and informed the police. The police booked the accused and rescued the girl. “It is disheartening that even after doing so much, the girl's parents are still blaming us," said
Kiran. She said the accused teacher was fired nearly three months ago. |
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Goods worth crores gutted
Ludhiana, May 17 However, by the time the fire brigade reached the spot, the fire had spread in the godown. It took 10 fire tenders more than five hours to douse the flames. Assistant divisional fire officer Bhupinder Singh Sandhu said: “We suspect that the fire broke out due to short circuit. The fire not only damaged the goods lying in the godown, but even the office building.” |
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Returning officers busy making last-minute arrangements
Ludhiana, May 17 The district administration has prepared a list of polling parties to be dispatched to the respective polling stations on the day of elections. An official, working on the preparation of lists, said 1,436 polling parties would be sent to different villages and blocks on the day of elections. "The lists will be sealed by the evening. No one knows which party will be sent to which polling station. ADC (D) Rishipal Singh, under whose supervision the lists are being made, will make the announcement regarding it tomorrow. Apart from that, the election material will be sent to all the concerned returning officers by tomorrow,” said the official. JP Singh, returning officer, Jagraon, said he had conducted the rehearsals for the counting staff today. "Around 80 employees attended the rehearsals. We have nearly completed all the preparations, and are waiting for the material to be made available by tomorrow,” he said. District Transport Officer Anil Garg said nearly 350 buses had been arranged as per the requirements forwarded by the returning officers. "The buses will be sent by 1 pm to respective polling stations tomorrow,” he said.
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ADC’s appointment major step towards development of Khanna: Akali leader
Khanna, May 17 Talwandi said several other demands of the area residents were also met by the Punjab government. Youth Akali Dal president of the district (rural) Yadvinder Singh Yadu, SGPC member Devinder Singh Khattra and nagar council president Iqbal Singh are also campaigning for the Akali candidate. Congress leader accuses govt of misleading people
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Gurkirat Singh Kotli, while addressing an election rally in support of Congress candidate Dr Gurmukh Singh Chahal at Khatra village, accused the Akali Dal of not fulfilling any promises made during elections, and misleading the people of
the state. He said the government was making false claims about sufficient power supply. Long power cuts were bringing out the real picture, he said. Chahal said the Akali Dal had failed on all fronts and was now targeting the Congress candidates in the state. He said most of development in the area was done during the Congress rule. Other Congress leaders, including Rupinder Singh Raja, were accompanying the MLA.
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Emotions, spirituality, femininity on display at city galleries
Ludhiana, May 17 Aarti Sehgal, through her work, tried to show how women spread happiness despite several social constraints. Working mostly with murals, she used more than 36 mediums to create her art. Harminder Boparai, who specialises in scrap art, used home utensils like kadhai and spoons for his collection of turtles. Paintings by Paramjot Walia depicted various facets of femininity. Photographs by Sandeep Sharma printed on canvass captured both nature and culture. Another painting exhibition was organised at Artistry Art Studio. A painting of young monks learning mantras on display at the event was created by Gunjan. A graphic designer, her passion for art got left behind when she got married. Now, she is happy with the work she is churning out. In the case of Sonal Vohra, the interest in art remained dormant since the school days. For the exhibition, she created textured oil painting showing different facets of a woman. Sonal finds painting a relaxing exercise. Aanchal Gupta and Sakshi Goyal, too, had similar tales to tell. Self-taught artist Kanika Dhanda, who specialises in oils and textures, also displayed her works.
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Prikshit, Diksha top Class X
Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 17 The second position was secured by Vani Saggar by scoring 96.4 per cent marks. “I owe my success to my parents and teachers. Concentration and dedication can bring good results,” said an elated Vani. The third place was shared by Vasu Bansal and Sachinmeet Singh Gill, both of Sat Paul Mittal School, They got 94.6 per cent marks. Kashish Goel of Sacred Heart Convent School, Jamalpur, scored 94.5 per cent marks. Mankirat shines in
Class XII exams
In the Indian School Certificate Class XII exams, Mankirat Singh, a non-medical student of Sacred Heart Convent School, Jamalpur, bagged the top position in the district by scoring 94 per cent marks. Jassimran Kaur Saluja, a commerce stream student of Sat Paul Mittal School, bagged the second position by scoring 93.5 per cent marks, while Akshita Sethi, an arts student of the same school got 92 per cent marks. Jasmine Sobti (commerce) of Sacred Heart Convent School scored 91.5 per cent marks. Before the results were declared, students and their parents spent some anxious moments. However, as soon as the meritorious students got to see their marks on the website, their happiness knew
no bounds. The toppers attributed their success to consistent hard work and concentration. They said without proper guidance of their teachers and parents, they could not have achieved the good results.
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College, students standoff continues
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 17 While the students accused the management of charging a fee higher than that prescribed by the authorities and forcing them to pay fines on various pretexts, the authorities maintained the dues were charged according to the norms. Maintaining that the fine of Rs 200 imposed on around 80 students for not attending a function in Ludhiana on Sunday had already been remitted, Iqbal Singh Walia, secretary of the Trust that runs the institute, said, "We have already advised the principal and staff of the college to ensure that none of the students was discriminated with. Although we are yet to receive the final report, we have advised the principal to pacify the agitating students." Mandeep Singh and Ricky Sood, who are leading the agitating students, said: "Even now when we were busy in preparations for the practical exams, we were asked to attend a private function at a religious place in Ludhiana. When we could not attend it, they asked us to pay a fine.” They alleged the principal and some other officials had threatened them, especially female students, of dire consequences in case the agitation was not withdrawn.
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Health dept starts drive against seasonal diseases
Ludhiana, May 17 Meanwhile, keeping in view the increased risk of water-borne diseases such as gastroenteritis and
diarrhoe, the health department issued preventive tips for residents. The department has instructed people to always wash their hands before eating and drinking plenty of water, which should be boiled first and stored in a narrow mouthed container. The directive further stated that the eatables should be covered to avoid being infected by flies. People should never consume overripe or stale fruits and vegetables, or any thing sold in an unhygienic environment, especially cut fruits and sugarcane juice, it stated.
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Deputy Mayor’s car challaned
Ludhiana, May 17 He alerted the traffic personnel, and the car was stopped at some distance. "A man claiming to be the Deputy Mayor's brother was driving the car. He was challaned for jumping the red light. The Deputy Mayor was not in the vehicle," said Nimbale. While speaking to The Tribune, Deputy Mayor RD Sharma said the car was being driven by Rahul Chopra, a youth living near his house. "I spoke to the police officer concerned and asked him to take necessary action. No one is above law," he said. He said Rahul had jumped the light as he was in urgency to meet his relatives, who had met with
an accident.
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World Hypertension Day observed in city
Ludhiana, May 17 IMA, in association with Kulwant Heart and Vascular Centre, organized a free camp on the occasion. Dr Manoj Sobti, president, IMA, Punjab, the purpose of observing the day was to encourage people to prevent and control this silent killer. Over 100 patients were examined during the camp.
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Blind murder case
cracked
Ludhiana, May 17 The body of 35-year-old Hukum, of Maharaj Gunj in Uttar Pradesh, was found lying in a pool of blood in the basement of a building near Mata Rani Chowk yesterday. Rajesh, who also hails from Maharaj Gunj, was nabbed from the railway station while he was trying to flee. During the investigation, it was found that the victim was a close friend of Rajesh. Rajesh had been missing since the previous night, which made the police suspicious. Later during the interrogation, Rajesh said Hukum took him to a secluded place to establish physical relationship with him. In a fit of rage, Rajesh allegedly attacked Hukum with a sharp-edged weapon. The police has booked the accused under Section 302 of the IPC. Husband, in-laws booked for murder bid
The city police has booked the husband and in-laws of woman for attempting to kill her by making her consume a poisonous substance. The victim, Rajni, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The police booked her husband, Dheera; father-in-law, Mulakh Raj; mother-in-law, Sunita Rani; and sister-in-law, Rinki. Victim’s brother, Prince Arora, said his sister's in-laws were torturing her. Man lands in police net
for kidnapping girl
The city police has booked a man for kidnapping a minor girl on the pretext of marrying her. The accused, identified as Ajay Kumar of Mundian Kalan, allegedly kidnapped a 16-year-old girl who lived in the same locality.
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City police busts gang of thieves
Ludhiana, May 17 Ajay Kumar, alias
Sonu, was brought from the Jalandhar jail on a production warrant. With the arrest of the trio, the police has claimed to have busted the gang of thieves. ACP Dhruman Nimbale said the trio was involved in several cases of thefts and snatchings, including a theft at a house in Joshi Nagar near Haibowal on April 7. The police has recovered two LCD televisions, three laptops, music system, camera, two motorcycles, 8.5 tola gold ornaments and Rs 1.5 lakh from their
possession. Satnam Singh Satta already faces charges of murder, forming a gang, assault, robbery and snatching.
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