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Mayor dissolves 8 sub-panels
The BJP councillors said after two years, the mayor is “worried about public interests”. What has he really done in public interest in the city to date? asked the councillors. The bodies, which stand dissolved, include the Health and Sanitation Committee with GS Neetu as its chairman, Water and Sewerage Committee with Swaran Singh Mohali as its chairman, Advertising Committee with Inder Aggarwal its chairman, Vigilance Sub-Committee headed by Hem Raj Aggarwal, Transportation Sub-Committee with Manvinder Singh Makkar as its chairman, Purchase Sub-Committee headed by Tanveer Dhaliwal, Tehbazari Committee under the leadership of Kamaljit Singh Karwal and the Street Light Sub-Committee headed by Narinder Singh Mallhi. Reacting to the development, the chairman of the Advertisement Committee, Inder Aggarwal, said it was perhaps the most active committee that had continuously been making efforts to generate maximum revenue. In fact, because of the Advertisement Sub-Committee, the “advertisement scam” could be unearthed in the civic body. Everybody came to know that the MC was losing several crores in advertisement deals because of political pressure. “The step has not been taken in public interest but in the interest of a politician,” alleged Aggarwal. Another BJP councilor, GS Neetu asked why just eight sub-committees were dissolved. “Today, the mayor is talking about public interest, where was the public interest when houses of residents were demolished even though they had valid documents? Ganda Nullah is taking a toll on the health of lakhs of residents. In fact, the mayor should resign as he has failed to serve the residents of the city,” said Neetu. MAYORSPEAK
The committees have been dissolved with the consent of both the senior deputy mayor and the deputy mayor, who represent the BJP. “Since these committees were not contributing much and were not active, we decided to dissolve them in the interest of the public,” said Mayor HS Gohalwaria.
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Unions block highway after youth’s death in accident
Jagraon, July 9 A large number of people held a protest outside the Mullanpur Dakha police station and later blocked the traffic on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway yesterday following the death of a villager in a road accident near the town. The protesters were demanding the arrest of the driver of the vehicle involved in the road accident. According to sources, the victim, Jaswinder Singh (35), was killed when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by a speeding car near Mullanpur Dakha yesterday morning. As the police failed to trace the car driver, the members of different labourers and farmers’ unions staged a protest outside the Mullanpur Dakha police station. The protesters also raised slogans against the police and the state government and sought the arrest of the accused. The protesters alleged that the police were trying to shield the accused who is an influential person and close to certain leaders in the ruling party. Alleging inaction on the part of the police, the protesters had blocked the highway for hours. The police registered a case under section 283 of the IPC against 60 persons, including Parkash, Sukhwant Singh, Surinder Singh, Tara Singh, Teja Singh, Charanjit Singh and some unidentified persons, for obstructing traffic on the highway. The case was registered on a complaint of Mullanpur Dakha SHO Harbhajan Singh. Meanwhile, the SHO refuted the allegation of police inaction in the accident case. “After the accident, the police immediately registered a case of negligent driving against an unidentified driver and launched investigation. Efforts are on to trace the accused driver. Nobody is above the law and appropriate action would be taken against the guilty following investigation,” said the SHO. He said the traffic blockade was illegal therefore the police booked 60 persons. |
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Student’s rape: Victim’s parents, kin stage dharna
Ludhiana, July 9 The residents claimed the school authorities washed their hands of the matter by informing the parents about the incident. “The parents were complaining the school authorities did not inform the police about the rape case and deliberately tried to suppress the issue, which led to the delay in registering the FIR. However, the police have nabbed the accused boy. We will investigate and take action,” said the Assistant Commissioner of Police-West. The residents accused the women teachers of the school of ill-treating students. They said one of the teachers was aware of the incident but she remained silent. The dharna, which began at 8am, continued for two hours. The District Education Officer (DEO), Gurjot Singh, arrived at the spot and assured the agitating residents that he would look into the matter and take appropriate action. Yesterday, the DEO had visited Government High School, Sunet, and raised doubts over the veracity of the victim’s statement. A 12-year-old girl had told the police that her 13-year-old classmate forcibly took her to a washroom on the school campus and raped her. The incident took place during the school hours on July 5 while the matter was brought to the notice of the police the next
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MC officer alleges political interference
Ludhiana, July 9 While Assistant Town Planner, Zone D, Kamaljit Kaur maintained Dang came to her office and asked her to spare one of the defaulters at BRS Nagar, Dang said he had no such intention. The ATP served notices to defaulters two days ago. The said owner of the building at BRS Nagar has converted his drawing room into a shop. Dang reportedly went to the ATP in favour of the owner but the official refused to oblige. There were heated arguments between the two and the official was allegedly “threatened” with dire consequences. Dang said he had not asked the official to do some illegal work but had gone to make her understand that the shutters put up on the drawing room would be removed by the said owner. “But the official started arguing with me and later felt sorry for being rude,” said Dang. On being asked he had heated arguments with MC Commissioner Pradeep Aggarwal over another such issue, Dang said he had gone to meet Aggarwal as the ATP of Zone D had complained against him. “I told the commissioner that I would complain to the higher-ups,” said Dang. Sources said Dang had met the Commissioner with regard to some construction at Rarewala Market, Model Town. The Commissioner reportedly said he had to study the case as the High Court was involved. Dang reportedly asked the official to issue orders to compound the building immediately. When the commissioner refused, Dang spoke “rudely” with the official. |
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Man robbed of bike; purse snatched
Ludhiana, July 9 He told the police that three persons accosted him on Street No. 5 of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. Before he could react, one of them pulled out a sharp weapon and threatened him. Another robber took his bike and they all fled the scene. Bhupinder Kaur said on July 3 she, along with her sister-in-law, was going for shopping. When she reached near at bridge at BRS Nagar, two youngsters, on a bike, came from behind and snatched her bag containing cash and valuables.
— TNS |
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Power cuts sap residents’ energy
Ludhiana, July 9 According to senior officials of the power utility, in the wake of the tripping of the No. 5 unit of the Ropar thermal power plant and the No. 1 unit at the Lehra Mohabbat thermal power plant last evening, some restrictions have to be imposed on domestic and other categories of consumers from Tuesday night. Power supply to agricultural consumers for running tubewells has also been affected, it was officially stated. Highly placed sources at the PSPCL Headquarters in Patiala told The Tribune that the state was facing a gap of about 400 or 500 MW of power during daytime when the load is at its peak due to the prevailing hot and humid weather conditions. “Owing to the tripping of two units, one each at Roapr and Lehra Mohabbat, we have to impose power cuts of short durations (from 30 minutes to 45 minutes) in cities. Power supply to tubewells during daytime has also been curtailed to some extent,” said sources, adding that the non-functional units at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat were expected to resume generation in a day or so. The second unit, with a capacity of 700 MW, at Rajpura Thermal Power Project, which is undergoing a check, is also expected to start generation in the next couple of days. The PSPCL officials say while tripping of one or more units of thermal projects is a routine matter, what has really affected the power scenario is the monsoon failure. “If the state had its normal quota of monsoon during this particular period, there would not have been any problem with the power situation, as demand from the farm sector would have gone down tremendously,” said an official. Meanwhile, most parts of the city faced power cuts ranging between half an hour and an hour at regular intervals during daytime and even during the night, making the lives of residents miserable in this oppressive heat and humidity. Residents of the areas where cuts were imposed between 6 am to 9.30 am or in the afternoon from 12.30pm to 2 pm had to go without water as well. Deficit rains to blame
If the state had its normal quota of monsoon during this particular period, there would not have been any problem with the power situation, as demand from the farm sector would have gone down
tremendously — An official Thermal plant units trip
Owing to the tripping of two units, one each at Roapr and Lehra Mohabbat, we have to impose power cuts of short durations (from 30 minutes to 45 minutes) in cities. Power supply to tubewells during daytime has also been curtailed to some
extent. — sources |
Union Budget Manav Mander Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 9 While the expectations from the government are running high, investors are trying to understand how the government intends to revive the country’s economy. It shall be critical to see whether presentation of the budget acts as a morale booster to the sagging business confidence. Industry’s wish list
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is expecting a progressive budget aimed at reviving growth momentum and encouraging savings. The CII hopes that the pro-reform approach of the new government will work to revive the country’s growth. Some bold reform measures as outlined in the Economic Survey 2013-14 presented in Parliament today need to be implemented on the ground to reenergise investment and revive demand in the economy. “Various measures that find mention in the survey raises expectations that the budget will be the most progressive one,” said members of the CII. Zubin Irani, chairman, CII, and president, Building and Industrial Systems (India), United Technologies Corporation, said, “In order to boost investments in the country, the CII strongly recommends that there should be a mechanism for fast track clearance of stalled/stuck projects with incentives like bringing down the general rate of excise duty from 12 per cent to 10 per cent across the board.”
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PAU expects special agri package
Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service
Head of the Department of Economics at Punjab Agricultural University, Dr Sukhpal Singh, said, “Punjab needs a special package to recover from the agrarian crisis. The UPA-led government had announced a special package for Vidarbha, Maharashtra. On the same pattern, funds should be allocated to provide relief to the families of suicide victims. The debit ridden farmers should be exempted from the debt. Small farmers have been turning into labourers as farming is not viable due to the increased cost of production. A support system for small farmers is needed.” Senior economist at PAU, Dr Mann Singh Toor, said, “The Central government should allocate funds for conservation of renewable energy resources in the General Budget. The depletion of water and degradation of soil are major issues that need immediate attention. We are working on diversification from the last several years but the farmers don’t want to quit paddy-wheat circle. The government should implement MSP on all alternative crops under diversification. Marketing of crops should be assured. Crop insurance is also needed.”
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Reduction in grant perturbs teachers
Doraha, July 9 Reacting against the ‘arbitrary’ move of the Punjab government, the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union along with the Management Federation and Principals Federation of Guru Nanak Dev University have planned a complete education bandh on July 17 and to proceed to the Vidhan Sabha and court arrest. It has been more than a year that the Punjab Government has not given any fund to the aided colleges. The teachers of these colleges are facing acute financial problems. The recent announcement of reducing grants from 95 per cent to 80 per cent and another 5 per cent reduction after three years has shook the very basis on which the grants-in-aid scheme was introduced in the year 1978. The government has directed that fresh appointments be made on contractual basis for three years and the same will be reviewed after the stipulated time period. General secretary, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union, Dr Kuldip Singh, who was one of the members of the high-powered review committee, said it seemed as if the Punjab Government had ousted the issue of higher education from its agenda completely. “Instead of filling 50 per cent posts with immediate effect and 50 per cent in the ensuing session, as recommended by the committee, the government has agreed to fill just 25 per cent and that too on contractual basis.” “The government is legalising under-payment through contractual appointments for which there is no provision in the Panjab University calendar. Further, the reduction in grants cannot be made without amending the executive order. The government is acting arbitrarily,” Dr Singh added. “We have planned to hold a complete education bandh on july 17 of and the Management Federation and Principals Federation of GNDU will extend their support. Further, the Principals Federation of Panjab University and Punjabi University along with the Non-Teaching Association too is being asked to extend their support,” he said. President, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union, Dr PS Gill, said, “This is the most unfortunate thing a government could do for the cause of higher education. At a time when more than 50 per cent posts are lying vacant in the colleges, the government is playing its crooked politics by working against the cause of education. The condition of teachers is such that they are finding it difficult to make their both ends meet since they have not got salaries for the past one year. Ironically, out of a total of Rs 306 crore earmarked for release of grants, Rs 43 crore has been disbursed while the rest amount has been spent by the government on its own personal preoccupations.” Even the court has asked the government to clarify its stance on the issue. The court has directed the secretary, Higher Education, to look into the matter in an urgent perspective and ensure that in a year or so, at least the existing vacancies are filled, apart from a cadre review as to how many teachers and teaching personnel should actually be there keeping in mind the number of students being taught. Bandh call
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Parents express resentment over admission process
Ludhiana, July 9 They alleged that the college authorities were accepting the admission forms even after five days of the last date of submission of forms. The last date for submission of forms was July 4 and the cut off list was released on July 6. Ravinder Kumar, one of the parents, said the college authorities had been facilitating candidates who were rejected by other colleges of the city but have enough percentage to be in the cut off list of Kamla Lohtia Sanatan Dharam College. He said if the college gave admission to other students who did not even submit the admission forms then other students who are in the merit list would suffer. College principal said, “We are following the merit and do not deny admission to anyone. There was some confusion regarding the cut off list among some parents. The matter has been sorted out. We have 280 seats in the B Com course. We will not ignore anyone in the merit list.”
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Education Dept’s drive against drugs
Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 9 Responding to the call made by the Director General of School Education, GK Singh Grewal, office-bearers and activists of social, educational and religious organisations have started coming forward to associate themselves with the drive. As per sources, heads of all government, private and aided schools have been directed to organise camps and seminars on the first four days of the last week of September. All district education officers, circle education officers and block education officers have been asked to sensitise students and their parents about causes and consequences of drug addition. To ensure that routine study is not affected, heads have been asked to utilise the morning assembly time for the purpose wherein office-bearers of social organisations and prominent personalities can be invited for delivering motivational lectures. Parents and guardians of students and other members of society will be invited to attend the functions so that maximum numbers of people are involved in the movement. GK Singh and office-bearers of organisations of the region led by Lalit Kaura and Dr Vikas Hind have announced to associate themselves with the crusade.
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Stink emitting from mortuary engulfs Civil Hospital
Ludhiana, July 9 “One has to think twice before passing the area. I wonder what the hospital authorities are doing,” said Umang Gupta, a visitor to the Civil Hospital. Senior Medical Officer RK Karkara said the mortuary had the capacity to store 10 bodies, but 25 to 30 bodies are being kept there. Unidentified bodies have to be stored for three days. Sometimes, decomposed bodies are brought to the mortuary. “We have written to the higher authorities asking them to set up a new mortuary at the hospital with the storage capacity of 25-30 bodies,” said Dr Karkara. Harnek Singh, a visitor, said: “The way the bodies are kept is appalling. Such things can only upset a person who is already facing testing times. The authorities need to do something about it,” he said.
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Bittu seeks sewage treatment plant
Ludhiana, July 9 Bittu, in his communiqué, wrote: “Buddha Nullah is a seasonal water stream which runs through the Malwa region of Punjab and after passing through the highly-populated Ludhiana city it drains into the Sutlej. The water of the stream is polluted after it enters Ludhiana. Buddha Nullah used to be a fresh water channel with about 56 types of fish species. Now, it has no fish because of the high level of toxicity in the water. It is now an open sewer rather than a stream. Once an asset to the city, the Nullah is now a source of public nuisance and poses a serious health hazard.” Calling for a sewage treatment plant, Bittu said Ludhiana, a megacity, had no sewage treatment plant. “Untreated domestic and industrial sewage of the city is emptied into the Buddha NulIah. The nullah, in turn, empties into the mighty Sutlej flowing nearby. Hundreds of tonnes of sewage from Ludhiana flows into the Sutlej every day and is distributed all over the state through irrigation canals. This polluted water is, in turn, used for growing food crops, vegetables and fruits
and is a known carrier of diseases.” According to Punjab Pollution Control Board, the nullah water requires a sewage treatment capacity of at least 150 million imperial gallons (680.000 m3) per day for treatment. In 2010, water samples taken from the Nullah showed heavy metal content such as manganese, nickel, lead. Presence of uranium in high quantities in the water is reported to be the main cause of cancer in the region.
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MC union members meet commissioner, press demands
Ludhiana, July 9 Danav said the main demand of workers was regularisation of services of safai-sewaks and sewermen. The delegation said they asked that the educated class IV employees should be adjusted at better posts. The commissioner had assured that he would do the needful as per demand and seniority of supervisors, Danav said. The employees said as in the case of junior engineers, the work of sanitary inspectors was mainly in the field so they should also be given petrol as it is done to JEs. The JEs get 30 lt of petrol every month. Besides, the delegation demanded that cases of providing jobs on compassionate grounds were pending for long, which should be addressed at the earliest.
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Industrialists meet Deputy CM
Ludhiana, July 9 Protest
Workers of the Youth Congress today laid siege to the Civil Hospital after the government announced to increase consultation and other charges from July 1. Kamaljit Brar, general secretary, Youth Congress, said it was the second hike. Earlier, the fee was increased from Rs 2 to Rs 5 and now it is Rs 10. The activists also met SMO Dr RK Karkara and submitted a memorandum to him.
— TNS
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Delegation meets MLA, SDM
Jagraon, July 9 The delegation, led by president Master Avtar Singh and secretary Kanwaljit Khanna urged the MLA to make sure that various development works are carried out in a time-bound manner. The delegation raised the issue of illegal encroachments on roadsides by the shopkeepers and demanded their removal. Besides this, the members complaint against exorbitant sewerage and water supply bills and demanded relief. Later, the members MET SDM Apneet Rayat. They asked the SDM to open the Community Centre at Raikot Road and recruit staff for fire brigade service.
— OC
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Going the green way, city inches closer to aim
Gurvinder Singh Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 9 Shobhan Soi from Sambhav, an NGO, said a number of organisations were joining the campaign and expressing their support and participation to set the record. “We want residents to plant saplings during that one hour,” he said. The district administration, Army personnel, NCC cadets, forest department and institutions will participate in the event. The saplings will be provided by the forest department. Jaswant Zafar, another member of the NGO, said a number of NGOs from Dhuri, Sangrur and other places would also take part in the event. Soi said a team of 100 ‘eco-guards’ would look after the plants in public places. Baljit Kaur from VMad, another NGO, said the saplings would preferably be planted at places where people would take the responsibility of the survival and growth of the plants. “We have imported auger, a machine from Germany, that bores a hole in the ground within a minute,” she said. Kaur said given the response and enthusiasm for the campaign, crossing the 1 lakh mark would not be difficult. Soi said at least 30,000 participants during the campaign would ensure that the target was achieved. He said saplings of peepal, neem and kikar would be planted. Soi said video recordings, videos of the involvement of people and headcount of volunteers would be sent to Guinness World Records for verification.
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3 minor fire incidents reported in district
Ludhiana, July 9 Another fire was reported from Arora Industries. A chimney of the industry caught fire. A fire tender doused the flames in about half an hour. Another fire broke out in the Sundar Nagar area when a generator caught fire placed on the terrace of a bank. Two fire tenders put out the fire in half an hour. No major loss was reported. Despite reeling under staff shortage, the fire department worked efficiently.
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MC Commissioner meets officials
Ludhiana, July 9 He asked officials to complete the work by tomorrow. In Zone A, three building maps, in Zone B, change of land use, in Zone C, three building plans and three CLUs while in Zone D, seven building plans and seven CLUs were pending. He gave 10 days’ time to officials, inspectors and draftsmen to streamline their work. He told them to meet the deadline.
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31 fined for smoking at public places
Ludhiana, July 9 Residents were told about the ills of smoking. Vendors selling tobacco products were asked to put up warning boards outside their vends and shops, failing which they would be dealt with sternly.
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Medical camp
A round the clock medical camp is going on at Dharamshala in Sihora village after the diarrhea outbreak. 37 patients were examined till 5 pm, out of which 2 new cases of diarrhea were reported on Wednesday. The remaining were old cases of diarrhea or pain in abdomen and other ailments. 697 houses were surveyed and it was found that only 20 old patients of diarrhoea were taking treatment at home. Chlorine tablets, ORS solution and pamphlets were distributed. Free eye operation
A free eye operation camp was organised on Wednesday by Punarjot Eye Bank Society in association with Talwinder Singh at Jawaddi village. Eye surgeon Dr Ramesh said it was a very noble work to hold free eye operation camps. Free eye check up was done and 50 patients were
operated upon and 180 spectacles were given to the needy. Forum meet
The Citizens Forum for Justice in its meeting expressed strong concern at the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, particularly in context of the rising drug menace, which has been claiming the lives of youth every day. The forum decided to build public opinion against drugs. Expressing anguish at the police apathy in such cases, the forum demanded that all such cases where drugs are a cause of death should be investigated in a highly professional manner without any pressure from any quarter. It is ironical that the recent cases of death by drugs, specifically in the case of Abhishek Banerjee, Sukhdeep Bhatia and Abhinav, the approach of the police was casual. The police started its action on the presumption that the deaths occurred due to over dosing whereas it was well known that many such cases occur due to foul play, said Convener Dr Arun Mitra. Dy CM’s birthday
Chairman of Milk Plant, Ajmer Singh Baghpura, along with senior Akali leader, Jatinderpal Singh Saluja, today celebrated the birthday of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal by cutting a cake. They prayed for his health and long life. Cremation
Surjit Singh Grewal (82), ex-armyman and father of Kanwaljit Singh Grewal, protocol officer to Sessions Judge Ludhiana, today died after a short span of illness at Deepak Hospital. His cremation at Gujarwal village was largely attended by Sessions Judge KS Kang, Additional Sessions Judges SS Dhaliwal and CJM Ranjiv Vashisht among others.
— TNS
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Man booked for kidnapping son
The incident took place this morning when Mayank Jain, son of Mona Jain, was standing outside the house and waiting for his school bus. Karan Aggarwal, Mayank’s maternal uncle, said as the bus was late, Mayank went to a shop for purchasing stationary items. While he was returning, a person alighted from a Swift car around 6.45 am, dragged him inside the vehicle and fled the scene. The family members raised the alarm and tried to give the kidnappers a chase, but the latter managed to flee. They informed the police about the incident. Later, it was discovered that the boy was kidnapped by his father Sunil Jain, a Malerkotla-based businessman. Sources said Mona and Sunil had a matrimonial dispute and were living separately. “We are registering a kidnapping case against the father and his accomplice as they have forcibly taken the boy,””said ADCP- III Satvir Attwal. Police parties are conducting raids to rescue Mayank. Two robbers held Mandi Ahmedgarh: The Dehlon police have arrested two persons for robbing an employee of a fuel station on Kalakh Majri Road three days ago. The accused have been identified as Aman Deep Singh Amni and his brother Prit Pal Singh Peeta of Barundi village. The police is yet to recover cash and valuables snatched from the victim on the evening of July 6. Assistant Commissioner of Police Gill Gurpreet Singh Sikand said the accused were nabbed from Pohir Chowk. The accused had fled with Rs 14,000 after assaulting cashier Mohinder Ram. Although the police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the assault, it is being suspected that the duo planned to rob the employee after their employer refused to increase their salaries. Theft at rice mill Jagraon: Thieves broke into Grover Rice Mill near Mullanpur Dakha last night and decamped with 20 quintals of rice after locking up a security guard and two workers in a room. In his statement to the police, security guard Makhan Singh said six persons attacked him with sharp-edged weapons around 2 am. They also bashed up two workers. Owner of the mill said the thieves had taken away 20 bags of rice. A case has been registered.
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Man commits suicide
Ludhiana, July 9 On opening the door, she was shocked to find her husband hanging from a ceiling fan. She reportedly told the police that at midnight, Krishan, who appeared to have been under the influence of liquor, threatened to kill her and the children. Soon after receiving the call, she got scared and left for Ludhiana. In the morning, she along with her father, reached here to discuss the issue with Krishan. The body was sent to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem.
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Ludhiana, July 9
Ludhiana, July 9
Ludhiana, July 9