05022026-LT-01.qxd 2/5/2026 12:38 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PAU CENTRE NAMED BEST IN NATION FARM TECH RESEARCH CIVIL HOSPITAL GETS LIQUID MEDICAL OXYGEN PLANT Outperforms 25 centres nationwide, rewarded for output in design, machinery development. P2 First such unit at a government hospital in district, will be operational through the day. P3 » » NETFLIX INDIA UNVEILS STAR-STUDDED SLATE FOR 2026 Netflix India unveiled its ambitious slate for 2026 with Sunny Deol and Madhuri Dixit set to lead its biggest projects. P4 » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 21°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.03 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:10 AM THURSDAY | 5 FEBRUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Carcass plant to be relocated at Balloke village after 5-yr stalemate Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 4 The carcass utilisation plant at Noorpur Bet which is lying non-operational for the past five years due to opposition from villagers will be finally shifted to a new place. On the one hand the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been mounting pressure on the authorities to make the plant operational and on the other, nearby villagers were protesting against it’s opening. According to sources, the plant will be shifted to Balloke village, near the sewerage treatment plant, and the tender for its civil work is also expected to be floated soon. The machinery will also be shifted and it is expected that the plant will be made operational by the end of the year. The sources further revealed that the old building would be given for rent as a godown so that the MC could earn some money from the same. Located at Noorpur Bet vil- Facility will likely to be made operational by year end The carcass utilisation plant at Noorpur Bet is lying non-operational for the past five years. INDERJEET VERMA THE TIMELINE ■ 2017: Proposal for the plant was introduced by civic body ■ 2019: Construction work commenced at Noorpur Bet ■ July 2021: Was inaugurated to address a issue of safe carcass disposal ■ Post-2021: Despite completion, it never became operational due to strong resistance by local residents lage, the carcass plant was constructed at a cost of Rs 7.98 crore. The facility was designed to process cattle carcasses into poultry feed supplements and fertilisers. It was expected to modernise carcass management in Lud- Four land in police net with 3 kg of heroin, ammunition Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, February 4 The Ludhiana (rural) police claimed to have busted a supply chain of drugs by arresting four members of a notorious gang of smugglers and peddlers, seizing huge quantities of drugs from their possession. As much as 3.034 kg of heroin worth crores in the international market, one .32 bore pistol, one magazine, two cartridges, Rs 30,000 drug money and a car were seized from the possession of the suspects, identified as Jaswinder Singh, alias Bobby, of Aitiana in the Sudhar area, Prince of Jagraon, Rahul of Jagraon and Harpreet of Attari in Amritsar district. Though the police are yet to compile the criminal records of the suspects, preliminary investigation has suggested that they were associated with highprofile smugglers involved in cross-border smuggling of contraband including drugs and weapons. SSP Ankur Gupta said police personnel, supervised by SP (D) Rajan Sharma, DSP (D) Kulwant Singh and DSP (D) Raikot Harjinder Singh, had apprehended the suspects when they were going to deliver a consignment of heroin to their clients near Grain Market, Talwandi Rai, under the Raikot Sadar area late on Tuesday evening. The operation was conducted on the basis of inputs received from some secret sources, the SSP said. “Having received concrete information regarding movement of four members of a gang of smugglers, we laid an organised cordon and our team succeeded in arresting all suspects from near the grain market at Talwandi Rai,” Gupta said, maintaining that a large quantity of contraband was recovered during the search conducted in the presence of the DSPs. The suspects have confessed that they had distributed large quantities of drugs earlier after having secured supplies from Pakistan. While more information is to be extracted, the suspects have been found involved in at least seven cases registered at various police stations of the region. The police have also identified some big players who had been providing supplies to the suspects after securing supplies from Pakistan through drones. Ferozepur man arrested with 1-kg opium The Samrala police claimed to have nabbed a notorious drug peddler of Ferozepur district involved in illicit trade of drugs for a long time. The past record of the suspect, Arashdeep Singh, of Lohgarh village in Ferozepur, is yet to be ascertained. Around 1 kg of opium was found concealed under the seat of the Toyota Innova Crysta vehicle in which he was travelling on the SamralaChandigarh highway. hiana and reduce environmental hazards caused by open dumping. The objective behind the plant was to shut down the illegal ‘hadda-rodi’ (carcass disposal point) that was functional on the banks of the Sutlej and was closed as it was polluting the river but it proved futile as it received criticism from the nearby 12 villages which did not let it operate fearing foul smell and health issues. The plant was scheduled for inauguration in July 2021 but faced immediate opposition from local residents concerned about odour, pollution and its proximity to their homes. The facility was designed to handle the disposal of 150 dead animals per day, making it one of the largest and most modern carcass management plants in the region. Spread across several acres, it was expected to address a long-standing civic issue of safe animal carcass disposal. “If relocated successfully, the plant could finally begin functioning, offering Ludhiana a sustainable solution for carcass disposal,” said Amarpreet Singh, a social activist. “It is a modern plant and the entire operation is automated and covered. No work will be carried out in the open and no foul smell will be emitted,” said a MC official. Woman suffers miscarriage after assault by husband Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, February 4 A woman staying in Bank Colony, Noorwala Road, here, is fighting for her life at the Civil Hospital after she was allegedly subjected to extreme physical violence during pregnancy by her husband and in-laws. The woman, who was two months’ pregnant, suffered a miscarriage after she was kicked in the abdomen by her husband on January 23. The Jodhewal police have initiated a probe after arresting Tinku Tulli (husband) and Rakesh Tulli (brother-inlaw), the prime suspects. However, two sisters-in-law who were booked in the case are yet to be arrested. Perusal of records revealed that Anjali had got married to Tinku Tulli eight months ago and her in-laws allegedly started harassing her on the pretext of bringing less dowry, shortly after the marriage. On being Spouse among two arrested deserted by her husband, she started staying with her paternal family. On the intervention of friends and relatives of the two families, Anjali’s mother Devki and sister’s husband Vijay Duggal dropped her at her in-laws’ house on January 23. However, the suspects started subjecting her to extreme violence, including kicking in the abdomen, despite knowing that she was expecting a child. The suspects misbehaved with Vijay too, who had come to rescue Anjali. Anjali was later shifted to the Civil Hospital where she was shocked to learn that she had lost her baby. Investigating officer Kuldip Singh said Tinku and Rakesh had been arrested after a case against four members of the family was registered on Tuesday. Man gets life term forkilling sister-in-law in Samrala Rajneesh Lakhanpal Ludhiana, Feburary 4 The Court of Sessions Judge Harpreet Kaur Randhawa has sentenced Mohan Singh (56), a resident of Jallanpur village, Samrala, to rigorous life imprisonment for murdering his sister-in-law by repeatedly stabbing her with a knife. “The ocular version of prosecution witnesses also finds corroboration from the medical evidence. Moreso, there is nothing on file proved in defence on the basis of which it can be held that the accused has been falsely implicated in the case,” says the judgment. Public prosecutor Dinesh Verma apprised that the judgment was pronounced in a case registered on September 12, 2023, at the Samrala police station following the statement of Shamsher Singh, a carpenter and husband of the victim. The complainant had stated to the police that he lived in a joint family with his brothers Mohan Singh and Hardam Singh. The accused frequently quarrelled with the complainant’s wife Karamjit Kaur over household expenses and had on several occasions threatened to kill her. On the morning of September 12, 2023, when Karamjit Kaur was drying clothes at home, Mohan attacked her with a knife, inflicting multiple stab injuries on her abdomen, chest, arms and back. Shamsher Singh and his son Jaspreet Singh, who witnessed the incident, tried to intervene, but the accused fled the scene with the weapon. The victim was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Khanna, but she succumbed to her injuries near Malakpur village while on the way. During the trial, the prosecution examined 10 witnesses, including the complainant, who appeared as an eyewitness and fully supported the prosecution version. The court found the ocular evidence to be trustworthy and duly corroborated by medical and other documentary evidence. Holding the accused guilty of committing a brutal murder within the family, the Sessions Judge awarded rigorous life imprisonment, observing that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Two contract-killer brothers wanted in 3 cases nabbed Mahesh Sharma Khanna, February 4 The police claimed to have arrested two contract-killer brothers, possibly members of a gang of Achhewal village under the Ferozepur Sadar police station, who were wanted in three cases registered at in Khanna, Machhiwara and Chamkaur Sahib police stations during the past 10 months. While the elder brother was arrested during investigation of an extortion case in which a cloth merchant of Khanna got a call in the name of gangster Goldy Brar, the younger one was wanted in shooting incidents occurred on the premises of two brothers staying in the Machhiwara and Chamkaur Sahib areas. The suspects, identified as Vishal and his brother Gora, were nabbed during a two-day-long coordinated operation conducted in the Ferozepur area. Though the police are yet to ascertain details of the past criminal history of the notorious criminals, preliminary investigation revealed that they were involved in criminal activities, including firing, at the instance of some other persons in the country or abroad. Khanna SSP Darpan Police officials address the media in Khanna. Ahluwalia said special police teams, supervised by SP (D) Pawanjit Singh and DSP Samrala Tirlochan Singh, had identified and arrested Vishal and Gora with the help of the Ferozepur police during the ongoing campaign against gangsters. The suspects were arrested during investigation of the three cases registered at the City 2 police station in Khanna on December 26, 2025, at Machhiwara in July 2025 and at Chamkaur Sahib in May 2025. Preliminary probe in a case registered in Khanna revealed that Vishal, along with his accomplice, had travelled from Ferozepur to Mohali on a motorcycle bearing a fake number plate and then joined other accomplices in Kharar to open hiring at the house of Ashu Vijan in Khanna, besides setting his car on fire. Vishal and his accomplices were paid Rs 20,000 for the same. Investigation further revealed that Vishal was staying in Malaysia till March 2025. Afterwards, he started working as a delivery boy with a private company after returning to India. Gora was wanted in cases registered at Machhiwara and Chamkaur Sahib police stations for firing against two victims at the instance of Sarabjit Singh Sabba, who is staying in the US. Sarabjit had an old rivalry against Jaspreet Singh of Chakk Lohat and his brother staying in the Chamkaur Sahib area. “Identifying new shooters, collecting technical information about them and making them join investigation is a challenging task for the police,” the SSP said, adding that five suspects in the Khanna extortion case were arrested earlier. Govt schools adhere to SC guidelines on menstrual health Targets fixed to expedite THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Private institutions in Ludhiana yet to begin free distribution of sanitary napkins Shivani Bhakoo plying with the order. Talking to The Tribune, Charanjit Kaur, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road, said there was no shortage of sanitary napkins in government schools. “We receive sanitary napkins regularly from the government. Besides, NGOs also donate the same from time to time. We call mothers of girl students to collect the packets due to limited storage space in school almirahs, which are also used for books and other material. However, we also keep some stock on the school premises for emergencies,” she said. A Class X student of the PAU School, requesting Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 4 The Supreme Court has recognised menstrual health as a fundamental right under Article 21 and has directed all government and private schools to provide separate toilets, clean water, free biodegradable sanitary pads and safe disposal facilities. In Ludhiana, government schools are ensuring that girl students receive sanitary napkins free of cost, at least in case of emergencies. However, in most private schools, students are still being charged between Rs 2 and Rs 5 per napkin. Private school managements have said they would be com- In most private schools of Ludhiana, students are still being charged between ~2 and ~5 per sanitary pad. ASHWANI DHIMAN anonymity, said there was still stigma attached to menstruation and girls often felt hesitant to ask for sanitary napkins in coed schools. “Though the school authorities keep napkins for emergencies, we friends make sure that one or two napkins are always kept in our school bags,” she said. Daljit Samrala, a senior lecturer at Government Senior c m y b Secondary School, Samrala, and president of the Democratic Teachers Forum, said sanitary napkins had never been an issue in government schools. “We receive ample stocks periodically. Separate washrooms for girls and boys are available and proper disposal facilities are provided to girl students,” he said. The district nodal officer on the subject, Kamaljit Kaur, said there was no shortage of sanitary napkins in government schools. “Stocks are received in trucks and distributed among schools according to the strength of girl students. Through the e-portal, the number of girls in each school is assessed and supplies are sent accordingly,” she said. In private schools, sanitary napkins are generally available in sick rooms. Gunjan (name changed), a student at a reputed private school in Sarabha Nagar, said she was charged Rs 5 for a napkin when she was taken to the sick room after getting her periods. “I paid for it as it was urgently required,” she said. At present, most private schools continue to charge for sanitary napkins. However, Harmit Kaur Waraich, principal, Nankana Sahib Public School, said in compliance with the SC’s recent guidelines, the school would now start distributing sanitary napkins free of cost. property tax recovery Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 4 With an aim of expediting the recovery of pending property tax, Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta conducted a meeting with senior officials of the civic body at the MC Zone A office near Mata Rani Chowk on Wednesday. Strict directions have been issued to expedite recovery of dues and fortnightly targets have been fixed for the officials. MC Additional Commissioner Paramdeep Singh, Assistant Commissioner Neeraj Jain, Assistant Commissioner Jasdev Sekhon, Superintendents Vivek Verma, Abdul Sattar, Ashok Garg and Satish Kumar were among other officials present in the meeting. Against the annual recovery target of Rs 180 crore, the civic body has recovered Rs 138.58 crore till January 31. Appealing to residents to submit their dues in time to avoid penalties, the MC Commissioner stated that funds collected from residents were used for providing basic amenities to them and for taking up development works in the city. Dr Gupta said fortnightly review meetings would be held for expediting recovery of dues.