29012026-LT-01.qxd 1/29/2026 12:36 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune KILA RAIPUR GAMES PUSHED BACK, TO START ON FEB 17 District administration cites adverse weather conditions as the reason for the delay. P2 » ‘VISIT DOC BEFORE, AFTER TRIPS TO HIGH ALTITUDES’ REVISITING ARIJIT SINGH'S ICONIC TRACKS AS HE RETIRES High hills are also among the most preferred tourist sites, including shrines and temples. P3 After success of Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2, he went on to deliver memorable tracks that demonstrated his vocal range.P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.57 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:14 AM THURSDAY | 29 JANUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA ~5-crore extortion, firing case cracked; five land in police net Hazy view Victim’s close aide among nabbed conspirators; raids on to arrest shooters: SSP Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 28 The Khanna police claimed to have solved a case involving a firing at the house of a garment showroom owner in Khanna and arrested five persons in the case. Miscreants had opened fire at the house of the victim as he had ignored the demand of Rs 5crore extortion raised by gangsters. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Darpan Ahluwalia, said under the ‘War Against Gangsters’, the Khanna police arrested five members of a gang involved in firing at the house of a garment showroom owner and demanding an extortion of ?5 crore. The nabbed suspects are the conspirators who had hired shooters for firing and the latter would also be nabbed soon. Dr Ahluwalia revealed that on December 25, the complainant, Ashu Vijan, a resident of Khatika Mohalla, Khanna, had submitted a complaint. It stated that he received a message from an unknown WhatsApp number, threatening to kill him and his family and demanding an extortion of Rs 5 crore. The sender posed himself as wanted gangster Police officials address mediapersons in Khanna on Wednesday. Goldy Brar and threatened that if the money was not paid, he would send his men to kill the complainant and his family members. Taking into account the seriousness of the complaint, the Khanna police had registered a case against the unidentified suspects and investigation was initiated. The SSP said on January 19, the complainant gave a supplementary statement, stating that on the intervening night of January 18 and 19, four unidentified persons riding two motorcycles fired shots at his house and both his cars. Another parked car was set on fire. Subsequently, a fresh case was registered against the unidentified suspects. “Under the supervision of SP (Detective), Khanna, Pawanjit, two special teams were constituted to trace the suspects. During investigation, with the help of technical means, human intelligence and extensive CCTV analysis, separate teams conducted a thorough probe. After tracking approximately 224 km through technical and field investigation, five suspects were arrested,” she said. The arrested suspects were identified as Ishwar Singh Randhawa (29), a resident of Randhawa Street Khanna; Amit Kumar, alias Laddi (40), of Gulmohar Nagar, Khanna, Vivek Watts, alias Vivo (31), a resident of SAS Nagar, Harpreet Singh, alias Peeta (29), of Umarpura, Raikot, and Paramvir Singh, alias Pamma (29), of Bhamipura, Hathur. Excluding Ishwar Singh, the four suspects had a criminal history as cases of attempt to murder, drug smuggling, etc, were registered against them at various places in the past. Amit runs a commission agent office in Khanna, Ishwar is a property dealer and Vivek runs a gym. To carry out the conspiracy, Amit Laddi, who has a good relationship with the victim and claimed himself as a cousin of the complainant, took the help of his partner, Ishwar, a property dealer. They then contacted Vicky, who runs a gym in Mohali, and is a weightlifting enthusiast. According to police records, Vicky already has three criminal cases registered against him. He used his connections to establish links with a gangster and arranged for calls to be made in the name of Goldy Brar to make threats appear to be from a real gangster. Later, Paramvir and Harpreet were roped in. When the extortion failed despite threats, the conspirators took the next step and hired shooters. According to the police, the suspects provided the shooters with weapons, motorcycles and full logistical support. Dr Ahluwalia said the police could not divulge details about the shooters as the search operation was still on and all of them would also be nabbed soon. Motorists commute on a road as fog engulfs the city on Wednesday morning. ASHWANI DHIMAN Jail Home Guard arrested for throwing mobiles inside prison Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 28 The Ludhiana Central Jail authorities have arrested a home guard on duty for allegedly throwing mobile phones inside the prison. Officials handed over the suspect to the Police Division 7. The police registered a case against the home guard under the Prisons Act. The suspect, Vishal Kumar, hails from Jammu and Kashmir and was posted at the prison tower. The police registered the case based on a complaint from Assistant Superintendent of Jail Surjeet Singh. He told the police that on the evening of January 27, a pack of mobiles was thrown from outside into Ward No 2 barrack. On search, three mobiles were recovered from the packet. A probe revealed that Home Guard jawan Vishal Kumar had thrown the mobile phones inside the jail. When questioned by officials, he initially refused but later admitted that he had thrown the three mobiles. Investigating officer in the case ASI Gurdayal Singh said there were towers built on prison’s security walls. Home Guard personnel were stationed on the towers. He said the suspect was also on duty at a tower. He was contacted by a person from outside and then given three mobiles. Vishal wrapped the phones in a cloth and threw them inside, which were seized by the jail administration. Investigation was currently underway in the matter. 10 booked for murder bid Man held for cheating bank official by posing as client Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 28 After a feud between two groups of transgenders over the jurisdiction took a ghastly turn, in a fit of rage, members of the one group had severed private parts of a man belonging to the other group, the police registered an FIR against Rabina Mahant and nine of her disciples under serious charges of attempted murder and conspiracy. The injured in a critical condition was initially taken to the Civil Hospital but later he was referred to the PGI in Chandigarh for further treatment. Based on the statements of Vidyarthi Rao, the police registered a case against Rabina Mahant (prime suspect), Suhana, Mona, Simmi, Kanika, Rehmat, Shiv Kumar, Dilawar, Hifazat, Pooja, all residents of Ludhiana. Sources said the dispute had been going on for a long time, an FIR was registered earlier also. According to the victim, Manpreet, in the recent past, he had gone with the mahants to a wedding in Khanpur village to collect money. There, Rabina Mahant’s group started a dispute, claiming that it was their area. It escalated to an attack with scissors and knives. A complaint was also filed at the Dehlon police station. The police had registered an FIR after the fight but did not take any action afterwards. The suspects attacked Manpreet due to the same. Manpreet while revealing about the latest case shared that on January 24, after preparing breakfast, he went for a walk towards the Rose Garden. Near the nearby hospital, the suspects drugged him and took him in a car. They kept him hostage for two days and during that time, on the night of January 26, the suspects severed his private parts with a sharp weapon and threw him on a road in critical condition before fleeing the scene. Passers-by rushed him to the Civil Hospital. Doctors finding his condition serious, referred him to the PGI, Chandigarh. ASI Amarjeet said based on the victim’s statement and preliminary evidence, a case was registered. The victim was in a critical condition. Police teams were raiding hideouts of the suspects and they would be nabbed soon. Sent fake documents to victim, asked him to transfer ~4.2L from his account to another Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 28 Under the special campaign being run by the Ludhiana police to crack down on cyber fraudsters in the city, the police arrested a suspect who cheated a bank manager by impersonating as a client and withdrawing lakhs of rupees. Station House Officer (SHO), Cyber Crime police station, inspector Satbir Singh, said the team of the cyber police, Ludhiana, arrested the suspect, who was wanted in a previously registered case. The man, along with an accomplice, sent fake documents to the bank manager by impersonating as one of the clients of the bank and asked the manager to transfer Rs 4.20 lakh from his bank The suspect in custody of Cyber Crime officials in Ludhiana. account to some other account. The manager believing the suspect transferred the money. Later, when the real account holder saw a message of money transfer from his account, he raised the alarm and informed the manager about the fraud. The inspector said during investigation, SI Harinderpal arrested the suspect, Vishal Verma, from Pilibhit district in Uttar Pradesh. The police produced him in court and Sigh of relief for commuters, residents as Doraha ROB gets final nod Lovleen Bains Doraha, January 28 With Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu finally announcing the approval of the railway overbridge here, commuters and residents have heaved a sigh of relief. Overbridge crucial for addressing traffic woes at level crossing The project has already cleared the tendering process and the work has been initiated at the site. It has finally been cleared after years of wrangling between the Centre, state government and local leaders over the no objection certificate (NOC) and credit claims. The ROB had become a critical need of the hour for addressing traffic congestion and safety concerns at the level crossing. It took around seven years to get approval. Residents of surrounding villages and commuters were literally fed up with level crossing, which used to remain closed for hours together. To make things worse, frequent technical snags in the crossing made the situation even worse. Moreover, the authorities never spared a thought to convey the same to the commuters when they take the stretch. After reaching the The construction work on the Doraha railway overbridge was started seven years ago but faced several delays. crossing, they come to know that it was shut for the day or even days together. Joginder Oberoi and his local associates, who had tirelessly demanded the c m y b construction of the ROB, were thrilled that their long-pending demand had finally been heard. “We are grateful that the railway minister had listened to our pleas and made efforts to get the final nod. The construction of the ROB would not only reduce time but also make travel safer and easier,” he said. “The overbridge will save precious time of students, who used to get stranded for hours and reach their schools late. Many times we were not allowed to enter the class and our attendance for the first period usually fell short. Starting early from our places too helped us the least as the level crossing was seldom open,” said Sukhwinder, a student of a local college. “The construction work of the ROB was started seven years ago but was left in the lurch. Now that the project has restarted, let us hope that it nears completion in time and does not meet with a similar fate. The commuters have been facing trouble for years. Hence, it is demanded that the work be started and completed in the stipulated time period for the convenience of thousands of commuters who take to this road as a matter of routine,” said Jandeep Kauhsal, a resident of the area. Payal MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura while expressing gratitude to the Central Government, especially Minister of Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, said the construction of the ROB would bring relief to commuters who were facing tough times due to frequent closure of the level crossing. “I too wrote at least 10 times to the government, highlighting the issue. Now that the approval has been given by the Northern Railway, I wish to thank everyone, including previous governments, who raised the demand at one time or the other. It is a joint success, which we should celebrate,” he said. obtained police remand till January 27. During the remand, the suspect made important revelations, based on which the police were now searching for other individuals involved in the case. He said in view of the increasing cases of cyber fraud, strict action would be taken against such criminals and the public also need to be aware so that they did not fall prey to any kind of online fraud. While releasing an awareness message for the public regarding the modus operandi of cyber criminals, Satbir said fraudsters had devised many ways to commit cyber frauds and people should not share OTP passwords of their , payment apps and also avoid sharing credentials of credit or debit cards. Man nabbed for rapingfriend’s wife Ludhiana, January 28 A man raped his friend’s wife. He used to speak to the woman against her husband and promised to marry her. Later, he assaulted and threatened her. Following which, she approached the police and the man was arrested. ASI Gurmeet Singh said the victim was married in 2023. Gurvinder Singh, was a close friend of her husband. Despite being married, he promised to marry her. As per the victim, he lured her into divorcing her husband and marrying him and forcibly had physical relations with her for months. When she asked him to divorce his wife and marry her, the man refused and brutally assaulted her. — TNS