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P4 » FORECAST SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:00 AM » THURSDAY | 3 SEPTEMBER 2026 | LUDHIANA Industrial units condemn 5-hour night power outage Say factories will suffer production losses; theft, robbery incidents may rise Fraudsters posing as cops dupe Khanna woman of ~2.5 lakh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 2 Unidentified fraudsters posing as policemen cheated a Khanna resident of Rs 2.5 lakh by claiming that her son had been arrested and that money was needed to secure his release. As per the FIR registered by the cyber cell of the Ludhiana rural police, the complainant stated that on August 29, she was at her house when she received a WhatsApp call, which she attended. The unidentified caller informed her that her son had been caught at a police checkpoint and asked her to talk to her son. “Considering the caller’s information true, when I asked the caller to give the phone to my son, I was shocked to hear the cries of my son, who said please free me, they have covered my eyes with a cloth. I got scared and believed that my son was in their custody,” the woman told the police. A police official said the unidentified person then told the woman that if she wanted to get her son released, she should deposit Rs 5 lakh in their account. Scared, the woman took her cheque book, went to the State Bank of India branch at Kaunke Kalan and deposited Rs 2.50 lakh in the account number given by the caller. It was only when the complainant’s son returned home that she realised that she had been cheated. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 2 Dismissed about seven years ago for misappropriating over Rs 22 lakh preserved as a case property at the Police Division 3 malkhana, the policeman has again landed in trouble for embezzlement of Rs 1.66 lakh cash kept at the police station malkhana during recovery in a gambling case of 2023. The suspect, a head constable, was identified as Malkit Singh. A fresh case under Section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC was registered against him. The case was registered on the complaint of the police station in-charge. The FIR, copy of which is with The Tribune, states that an application was filed in the court in 2023 for the recovery of Rs 1.66 lakh and the next date of hearing in the court was on September 1, 2026. The FIR states that in January 2018, ASI Surinder Singh (now retired) of the Dharampura police station was present near the Kashmir Nagar chowk for routine patrolling when he got a tipoff that Saurav Arora of Gobind Nagar mohalla, Vijay Kumar of Kashmir Nagar, Ludhiana, Narinder Kumar of Preet Nagar mohalla and Vijay Kumar of Gurmel Park had opened lottery shops without licence/permit and were selling lotteries. The ASI with a police team raided and arrested the suspects and recovered Rs 1.66 lakh from them. After registering a case under the Gambling Act, he handed over the recovered money to the then chief clerk (munshi) Dilbag Singh to be kept as a case property in the police station malkhana. The FIR further states that when Dilbagh was relieved from the charge of clerk, he gave charge of case properties and malkhana to head constable Malkit Singh (now a suspect in the embezzlement of case properties). During the course of the case, the four suspects in the case had been acquitted in September 2019 and they started the process to recover the seized money from the police. As per the previous FIR filed in October 2018, the Income Tax Department deposited a suspicious amount of Rs 51 lakh at the Police Division 3. Regarding the release of the amount, the department issued a release order to the owner of the amount, Tejas Patel, but the munshi, Malkit Singh, has released only Rs 29 lakh and did not return remaining Rs 22 lakh to the applicant which he had embezzled that money. Tejas accordingly filed a police complaint against Malkit. After the Ludhiana police registered a case against the munshi, he had fled fearing his arrest and the Police Department dismissed him from service. The FIR states that since the keys of the malkhana was with Malkit, the malkhana functioning came to a halt. After bringing the whole matter in the notice of the senior officials, a committee was formed under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central) Ludhiana in October 2020. The committee recommended the posting of ASI Ravinder Singh as the head munshi at the police station. However, when ASI Ravinder was tallying the record of the malkhana, Rs 1.66 lakh recovered under the Gambling Act were found missing in 2023. When Malkit was asked to visit police stations and submit a clarification on the missing cash, he did not appear to present his side. Now, a fresh case was registered against him for embezzlement of the case property and further investigation was launched. In another incident, in 2025, the Ludhiana rural police arrested the malkhana munshi of the Sidhwan Bet police station, head constable Gurdas Singh, on the charge of stealing Rs 1.25 crore in cash, lying as a case property in the malkhana of the station. Two booked for attacking man Teacher dies during classroom rounds Sahnewal, September 2 A case was registered on Tuesday on the complaint of Gagandeep Singh of Model Town Extension here against Gurpreet Singh and Telu Singh of Jaspal Bangar village, Ludhiana. The victim had taken 1.5 bighas of land on lease from Ranjit Singh at Jaspal Bangar. On August 26, he was ploughing the land on his tractor at the village when the suspects came and attacked him with a kirpan and spade. The victim said the suspects did not want him to take the land on lease at the village. — OC Sukhpreet Singh Many units operate during night shifts to meet production schedules and export commitments. FILE Kular on behalf of FICO has urged the state government and the Power Department to review and withdraw the night power restrictions for the industries. The organisation appealed that uninterrupted power supply was essential for sustaining industrial growth, boosting exports and maintaining state’s industrial competitiveness. The dyeing industry has already raised its concern over the “unjustified “ announcement made by the PSPCL. Nikhil Bhardwaj “The state government claims to be having surplus power and free power is given to the domestic consumers, who consume less than 300 units a month. How far it is justified that to some, free power is given while we are deprived of it?” asked Bobby Jindal from the Punjab Dyers Association. President of the World MSME Forum Badish Jindal also condemned the state government for imposing autocratic instructions on the industry. Many industries Tribune News Service chances of theft and robbery during the fixed blackout hours, which is a serious safety concern for the industry. Since miscreants would know about the blackout timings, industries can be easy targets. Many manufacturing units operate during night shifts to meet production schedules and export commitments. Such power restrictions will disrupt production, increase manufacturing costs, delay deliveries and adversely affect competitiveness of the state industries,” Kular said. Was dismissed for ~22-lakh malkhana theft 7 yrs ago operate on continuous manufacturing processes, where machinery and equipment cannot simply be switched off and restarted without major consequences. Industries operating furnaces, heat-treatment plants, continuous production lines and other temperature-sensitive processes will be particularly affected. “The PSPCL and the state government must reconsider the decision and ensure an uninterrupted power supply to industries which are operating round-the-clock. If power management is unavoidable, a suitable alternative arrangement should be made for the units where shutting down machinery and furnaces can cause technical, financial and qualityrelated losses. State’s industrial growth and employment cannot afford repeated disruptions in the power supply. The government must protect industry and ensure reliable and uninterrupted electricity for manufacturing,” he said. The Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) has also condemned the decision of the forced power cuts imposed by the PSPCL. Shivani Bhakoo Ludhiana, September 2 The alleged forced ‘blackout’ by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on the industry in the city has put a dent on the industry. To curtail power supply to the industry between 7 pm-12 midnight hours in the interest of grid security, the PSPCL has imposed power cuts, which have come as a big jolt to the industry. Industrial houses said not only factories would suffer production losses in the absence of power but cases of theft and robbery would also witness a sharp increase during the “blackout” hours. Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO) president Gurmeet Singh Kular has opposed the PSPCL’s decision to impose power cuts on the industries by 7pm to 12 midnight till further instructions. Sore over the development, industrialists met Punjab Power Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and submitted a memorandum that power cuts were not the solution. “There are the high Former cop booked for embezzlement of ~1.66L Tribune news Service Ludhiana, September 2 A routine classroom visit turned tragic for a 49-year-old government school head teacher, who died after collapsing in a classroom at a government primary school in Haibowal Khurd here on Wednesday. Harjit Singh Grewal had been carrying out his regular duties at the school and had interacted with students in two classes after attending the morning prayer. He later completed some administrative work before going to the classrooms, according to his colleague Harjinder Singh. Grewal was interacting with a pre-primary teacher and students about their studies during the afternoon when he complained of chest pain. A teacher offered him water but while taking the glass of water, he collapsed on the floor. Seeing him fall, the school staff rushed to his aid and attempted CPR. The teachers rushed him to a nearby mohalla clinic. Later, an ambulance reached the area, following which Grewal was taken to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Doctors at the hospital declared him dead. His colleagues were informed by the doctors that he appeared to have died before reaching the hospital. Ramanjeet Singh Sandhu, Block Primary Education Officer, Mangat 1, said Grewal was suspected to have suffered a heart attack. “He was taken to the hospital within around 10 to 15 minutes of collapsing but he had died on the spot,” Sandhu said. Grewal was serving as a centre head teacher and was also entrusted with several official responsibilities. He had worked as a booth-level officer and had recently been deputed for drug census-related duties. According to Sandhu, Grewal’s colleagues said he had complained of feeling uneasy earlier in the day. He also had a history of blood pressure-related problems and occasionally took medication, he said. Crores spent, pollution persists as 6 illegal outlets continue to contaminate Buddha Nullah also estimated that around 500 tonnes of cow dung a day was entering the water body from the Tajpur Road and Haibowal dairy clusters. The lifting of cow dung has also remained a concern despite tenders having been allotted for the work at both dairy complexes. At the Barewal drain, dairy wastewater becomes another problem when the drain fills up. The accumulated water is subsequently released and reaches the nullah. Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 2 At least six illegal discharge points continue to pour untreated sewage and dairy waste into the Buddha Nullah, exposing gaps in enforcement even more than five years after the launch of the Rs 650crore rejuvenation project. The discharge points have been identified around Jamalpur, Shivpuri, the Gaushala area and dairy clusters along Tajpur Road and Haibowal. Untreated wastewater from dairies, sewage and other waste continues to find its way into the watercourse through these routes. The development comes despite repeated directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and identification of pollution sources by various government agencies. It also raises questions over the monitoring of illegal connections by the Municipal Corporation and other agencies involved in the rejuvenation of the nullah. The Buddha Nullah rejuve- Illegal discharge points not the only concern Waste being discharged by an illegal outlet near a dairy complex into the Buddha Nullah. ASHWANI DHIMAN nation project was launched in January 2021 and was initially given a two-year completion target. The government had announced the Rs 650-crore project to stop untreated domestic and industrial wastewater from entering the watercourse. Dairy waste remains a major concern Three discharge locations along Tajpur Road have emerged as major concerns. These are located in block C of the dairy complex, near the Vijay Nagar pulley and near the last pulley close to the Radha Soami Satsang Ghar. Wastewater from the dairy area is finding its way towards the nullah through these points. The problem is not limited to the formal dairy complex- es. Around 21 scattered dairies in Tajpur have also been flagged for disposal of cow dung and dairy waste through the drainage system. Haibowal Dairy Complex is another major source of concern. Official information submitted before the NGT has stated that the discharge from the complex was entering the nullah daily. It had c m y b The illegal discharge points are not the only concern. Untreated sewage was found being bypassed at Balloke on August 26, 28 and 29 and diverted towards the nullah without treatment. The bypass is particularly worrying as Balloke has major sewage treatment infrastructure. Official records show that Ludhiana has six sewage treatment plants, including plants with capacities of 152 MLD, 60 MLD and 105 MLD at Balloke. The city also has the 225 MLD Jamalpur STP and plants at Bhattian. Despite the availability of the infrastructure, untreated sewage continues to reach the nullah. NGT had set deadline in 2020 The problem has been flagged for several years. The NGT monitoring committee had directed the MC to plug 16 outlets carrying untreated domestic sewage directly into the nullah and divert the discharge to nearby sewage treatment plants. The committee had fixed June 30, 2020, as the deadline for closing the outlets. The continued reporting of illegal discharge points years after the deadline indicates that the problem of unauthorised sewage routes has not been permanently resolved. Pollution levels show a mixed picture Recent monitoring shows that pollution levels have improved at some locations but the results remain mixed. Downstream of the Balloke STP the biochemical oxygen , demand (BOD) level improved between January 2025 and April 2026. However, total coliform levels rose during the period. At the Haibowal Dairy Complex too, BOD declined while total coliform increased. The issue was also discussed at the review meeting of the Buddha Dariya Rejuvenation Project held in August in the city. Officials were directed to monitor discharge points and take action against those polluting the watercourse. What officials say MC Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar said the matter had not come to his notice earlier and that he had directed the PPCB to issue challans and take strict action. “I am also directing my team to shut these points, which are directly throwing waste into the nullah,” he said. Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, who has been involved in the Buddha Nullah rejuvenation work, said the situation was disappointing. “It is a sad state of affairs that even after putting untiring efforts by my team, the authorities are least interested in the Budhha Nullah rejuvenation project. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had recently visited the city and told officials to speed up the work and not allow any pollution into the nullah. But on the ground, the authorities of the MC, Sewerage Board and PPCB are least interested in the project,” he said. Seechewal said he had attended 42 meetings related to the Buddha Nullah project and that his team had regularly shared information about illegal outlets and other shortcomings. “We have been regularly giving updates about illegal outlets and other shortcomings but nothing has been done on the ground,” he said.