01032026-LT-01.qxd 3/1/2026 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CONCERNS OVER DILAPIDATED ROADS IN SARABHA NAGAR ILLEGAL ENTRY OF HEAVY VEHICLES CONTINUES Residents and commuters say they approached authorities multiple times, but no action was taken. P2 Sahnewal residents say heavy vehicles causing severe traffic snarls and accidents in town. P3 » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C ITSA 2026 CELEBRATES STREAMING STARS SUNSET SUNDAY 6.21 PM The 4th edition of the Indian Telly Streaming Awards was held on February 27 in Mumbai. P4 » SUNRISE MONDAY 6:48 AM » SUNDAY | 1 MARCH 2026 | LUDHIANA Int’l narcotics racket busted with Nine pairs of Holi special trains to ease festive rush massive MDMA haul, 6 arrested Nikhil Bhardwaj One of the largest recoveries across country, says Punjab DGP Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 28 In a major blow to an organised international drug trafficking network, the AntiNarcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the Punjab Police has busted an international narcotics network operating across the Chandigarh Tricity region and Ludhiana, with the arrest of six key operatives involved in the supply of highly potent, foreign-origin party drugs targeting urban youth, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday. Those arrested have been identified as Rishav, Mukesh Kumar, Lakhwinder Singh, Ravi Kumar, Baljinder Singh and Talwinder Singh. The DGP stated that the scale of the seizure was unprecedented, marking one of the largest MDMA tablet recoveries in the country. The seized contraband SEIZED CONTRABAND The seized contraband includes 1,215 MDMA tablets, 263 gm of cocaine, 82 gm of methamphetamine (ICE), 1.2 kg of various THC variants, 16 gm of magic mushrooms and 400 gm of opium. The ANTF also seized Rs 9 lakh drug money from the suspects. includes 1,215 MDMA tablets, 263 gm of cocaine, 82 gm of methamphetamine (ICE), 1.2 kg of various THC variants, 16 gm of magic mushrooms and 400 gm of opium, he said, adding that drug proceeds amounting to ?9 lakh were also recovered from the possession of the suspects. Yadav said preliminary investigation had revealed that the syndicate sourced narcotics from abroad through air courier channels and used encrypted social media platforms to coordinate distribution and evade detection. ANTF AIG Ashwini Gotyal said the action was initiated following specific human intelligence inputs indicating that a drug supplier, identified as Rishav, was operating from an apartment in Kharar and distributing narcotics within club and party circuits, primarily targeting youth in the Tricity area. Acting swiftly on the information, police teams conducted a well-planned raid on identified premises, leading to the arrest of Rishav with 1,215 MDMA tablets, 155 gm of cocaine, 82 gm of ICE, 10 variants of THC weighing 973 gm, 16 gm of magic mushrooms, 400 gm of opium and ?3 lakh drug money from his possession. The AIG said further investigation uncovered a broader distribution module Speeding two-wheeler hits child riding bicycle Victim suffers head bone fracture, in critical state Ludhiana, February 28 A major accident occurred on Friday evening in Guru Nanak Nagar on 33-ft road here. A boy returning home on his bicycle was struck by a speeding electric scooter. The impact was so severe that the child, along with his bicycle, was flung nearly 5 ft into the air and landed on the road. The victim reportedly suffered a head bone fracture and his condition was stated to be critical. The boy is a student of Class V. A 13year-old minor boy was riding the electric scooter. The CCTV footage circulating on social media showed the impact of the collision. Following the mishap, people raised concerns over rash driving and involvement of minors in such incidents. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Rishabh. His father works with a private company and his mother is a A CCTV grab of the boy who was hit by a speeding electric scooter at Guru Nanak Nagar in Ludhiana on Friday evening. homemaker. His family members said Rishabh had gone to a shop in the evening to get his bicycle repaired and he had to pick up his bag to go to tuition. However, while reaching the street leading to his home, he was hit by a white electric scooter coming from the opposite direction. The CCTV footage shows him riding his red bicycle at a normal speed and another child coming from the front on the electric scooter, ramming his vehicle into the bicycle. Rishabh was thrown 5 feet into the air and landed on the road. The scooter rider also lost balance over it and fell forward. The impact of the collision was so severe that the front wheel of the bicycle was bent. After the incident, people rushed Rishabh to a nearby hospital. His father said he received information about the accident over phone. Rishabh is currently in a critical condition at the hospital. Police have launched a probe into the incident. — TNS based in Ludhiana, which was functioning as a key supply and redistribution hub for the Tricity region. Subsequent coordinated raids resulted in the arrest of key operatives — Mukesh Kumar, Lakhwinder Singh, Ravi Kumar, Baljinder Singh and Talwinder Singh and 108 gm of cocaine, 278 gm of THC, and ?6 lakh drug money was recovered from their possession, she said. Gotyal said several of the seized substances were recognised globally as highly potent and dangerous, and had been subject to public health advisories and enforcement warnings in their countries of origin owing to their severe psychological and physiological effects. A case was registered under Sections 18, 20, 21, 22, 22 (C), 27 and 29 of the NDPS Act at the ANTF police station in SAS Nagar. Factory owner dies by suicide Ludhiana, February 28 To ensure convenient movement of rail passengers during the Holi festival, the Ferozepur Division has been operating nine pairs of festival special trains in addition to regular scheduled trains. Rail passengers are requested to take full advantage of the special services. Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Sanjeev Kumar has appealed to passengers to maintain restraint and patience, assuring them that adequate arrangements had been made for their convenience. Passengers were also strictly advised not to travel with inflammable substances. Furthermore, RPF and GRP personnel have been briefed and counselled to assist unreserved passengers in boarding trains safely and systematically. Paramdeep Singh Saini, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Northern Railway, Ferozepur, said there would be additional halt for Holi special trains at the Ludhiana railway station. “In view of the Holi festival and to ensure the convenient movement of rail passengers, the Northern Railway has decided to provide an additional 5minute halt at the Ludhiana ASHWANI DHIMAN Tribune News Service Passengers wait for their trains at the Ludhiana railway station. railway station for two festival special trains departing from Amritsar on February 28. For the convenience of passengers, information regarding the halts is being widely disseminated through the public address system at stations. Passengers are requested to plan their journeys according to the updated schedule, he said. The special trains that will be operational include Holi Special Train 04614 (Amritsar to Katihar, Bihar): Departing from Amritsar at 14:15 hrs on March 1. Key halts: Beas, Jalandhar City, Dhandari Kalan, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Siwan, Chhapra, Sonpur, Hajipur, Shahpur Patori, Bachhwara, Barauni, Khagaria, Mansi and Naugachia. Holi Special Train 04616 (Fer- ozpur Cantt to Danapur): Departing from Ferozpur Cantt at 12:00 hrs on March 2. Key halts: Moga, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Yamunanagar Jagadhri, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow, Rae Barelli, Maa Belha Devi Dham (Pratapgarh), Varanasi, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Buxar, Raghunathpur and Ara. Holi Special Train 04664 (Amritsar to Patna): Departing from Amritsar at 09:45 hrs on March 2. Key halts: Beas, Jalandhar City, Dhandari Kalan, Sirhind, Ambala Cantt, Yamunanagar Jagadhri, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Hardoi, Lucknow, Sultanpur, Varanasi, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Buxar, Ara and Danapur. Special arrangements To ensure migrant workers continued on page 3 Ludhiana, February 28 A 32-year-old factory owner, Amitabh Yadav, allegedly died by suicide after hanging him- Amitabh Yadav, self in the Kunj the deceased Vihar area of the city. The deceased was engaged in the work of ladies’ suit embroidery and had been working in Ludhiana for the past three years. According to information, the deceased was under severe financial crisis due to debt, which forced him to take the extreme step. It is reported that he had returned to the city just a day ago after meeting his family at their native place in UP . On receiving information, Haibowal police station SHO Kishan Lal, along with his team, reached the spot and took the body into their custody. The deceased’s mobile phone was also seized by the police. The SHO Kishan Lal said the deceased had not left behind any suicide note and his family was informed. — TNS Underage drivers back on roads after brief pause due to police crackdown Man nabbed with illegal weapon Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 28 The Ludhiana police claimed to have nabbed a man and recovered illegal weapon from his possession. ADCP (Crime) Amandeep Singh Brar in a statement issued stated that a police team, led by inspector Navdeep Singh, in-charge, Crime Branch, Ludhiana, was conducting checks on suspicious persons and vehicles. During the checking, ASI Amrik Singh, who was present at Sundar Nagar Chowk, 33 Feet Road, Jamalpur, received a tip-off that Rohit Kumar, alias Kaka, a resident of Surjit Colony, was possessing an illegal weapon and was present in a vacant plot near street 7 of the colony. Taking action, the police team registered a case under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act at the Jamalpur police station and arrested the suspect. Brar said the police seized one illegal .32 bore countrymade pistol with a magazine and two live rounds. The suspect already had one case registered against him under the Arms Act by the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate. The suspect will be produced in a court to seek police remand. Further interrogation regarding the source of the recovered illegal weapon is underway. Turn your skills into a powerful portfolio - master real projects through hands-on modules! 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Now, the situation has again turned worse as students can be seen heading to their schools without any checks by the police on roads. During a visit outside schools by The Tribune team Data, Automation & Real-World Use Cases AI Education by Certified & Experienced Faculty No coding experience required SCAN TO REGISTER While others wait, smart students are already building apps, games & tools. Equip yourself with the #1 skill of the 21st century! Inaugural Offer: ₹ 9,999 Students ride a two-wheeler in violation of the traffic rules in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN on Saturday, students were seen coming on two-wheelers. Since most of the schools did not allow minor students to park vehicles inside their parking areas, the pupils park the same outside. Even some of them park vehicles continued on page 3 Register Online at For more information c m y b [Full Fees: ₹ 15 000] 15,000] learning.tribuneindia.com learnaiwithtribune@tribunemail.com