Latest news with #Ludhiana-based
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
On radar in Sidhu Moosewala murder case, gangster Ravi Rajgarh, close aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, arrested
The Khanna Police has arrested Ravi Rajgarh, a Category-A gangster and a key member of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's gang, a senior officer confirmed on Friday. According to sources, Rajgarh was apprehended on the way to his village where he was supposed to meet his father Jagtar Singh Dhillon, who is a sarpanch. A weapon has also been seized from his possession, they added. Police, however, have not revealed further details about the arrest of Rajgarh. Rajgarh — who faces at least 12 FIRs, including 'murder' and 'attempt to murder', across different police stations — had allegedly supplied weapons for the murder of singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala and been on the National Investigation Agency (NIA) radar. He also allegedly got involved in clashes inside prisons, including Ludhiana and Ropar, where he allegedly attacked jail officials and rival gang members. Rajgarh had also allegedly helped several aides of Bishnoi, including his brother Anmol Bishnoi, in fleeing India by arranging fake passports for them. He had given Rs 25 lakh to Ludhiana-based transporter Baldev Chaudhary to send Anmol to Dubai on a fake passport; Chaudhary is already arrested for allegedly providing weapons to shooters involved in Moosewala's murder, police said. On January 27, 2023, Rajgarh was arrested by the state Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) from Mohali and a China-made pistol was seized from his possession, Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav had said in a statement. 'The accused (Ravi Rajgarh), who had been in touch with Lawrence Bishnoi and Canada-based terrorist Goldy Brar for the past 13-14 years, carried out criminal activities at their behest. He has a criminal history with cases pertaining to murder, attempt to murder, and Arms Act among others… Preliminary investigations revealed Ravi Rajgarh was providing hideouts, logistic support, arms, and vehicles to members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, as well as facilitated their associates to procure passports on fake particulars to escape abroad.' Rajgarh was later released on bail. In September 2024, the NIA had raided Rajgarh's residence in connection with Moosewala's murder, and other gangster-terror nexus activities. In October 2024, Rajgarh — out on bail — 'campaigned' for his father, who had contested the panchayat elections from their native village Rajgarh, Khanna; Dhillon had won.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
RSS-affiliated farmers' body calls for cancellation of permission to test GM maize at Punjab Agricultural University
Terming it a 'cancer-causing farming', Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the farmer's wing of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), on Friday (July 18, 2025) demanded the cancellation of the permission granted to test Genetically Modified (GM) maize in Punjab Agricultural University's fields. Earlier this week, The Hindu had published that the field trials of two kinds of GM maize are expected to begin in the ongoing kharif (summer) season at Punjab Agricultural University, days after the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the country's top regulator for the sector, gave the approval for the trials upon receiving consent from the Punjab government. The decision was taken last month by the committee, which recommended a proposal by Bayer Crop Science Limited for the conduct of confined field trials on herbicide-tolerant transgenic maize, and insect-resistant transgenic maize at the Ludhiana-based university for this year's kharif season. Objecting to the plan, a delegation headed by BKS Punjab chief Ravinder Singh Dhillon submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University. Possibility of adulteration The organisation said that the largest producer of GM corn is the U.S., which uses about 80% of this crop for animal feed and uses 20% to make ethanol, plastic, etc. 'But in India, less amount of ethanol is produced from corn and maximum is used as human food. There is a strong possibility of adulteration at all places from farming to purchasing, processing, market, food, etc. We want organic, not GM,' the BKS delegation said in the memorandum. The farmers' body also warned that the GM corn is being promoted as pest-resistant and weed-resistant. 'BT cotton, a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton, was brought to India and insects started eating it soon after its introduction. Later, more toxic BT-2 was introduced which witnessed the same fate as white flies and sucking insects started destroying the cotton crop. It is clear from this that the use of pest-resistant GM cotton turned out to be uncertain, unsafe and full of adverse effects. Hence, the way of giving permission to test GM corn is also an attempt to bring the failed experiment back on the farmers,' it added. Weed-resistant experiments BKS stated that after the failure of GM cotton in the name of pest-resistance, now weed-resistant experiments are being secretly spread among the farmers. They added that there is a danger due to this of destruction of crops and biodiversity, as well as a vicious cycle of spreading cancer in farmers' families for free through the chemicals used in it. 'On one hand, entire Punjab is suffering from cancer due to the ill effects of chemical farming, and is struggling to get rid of addiction. In such a situation, why is Punjab Agricultural University trying to promote the cause of cancer on the same land? This is beyond comprehension. When the people of Punjab have immersed themselves in the anti-drug movement, then the attempt to make the soil, water and air of Punjab more poisonous and addictive through GM is highly condemnable,' the organisation stated.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Illegal sale of deaddiction drugs: ED raids in Punjab, Chandigarh, Mumbai
The Enforcement Directorate said on Friday that it has been conducting raids at four locations in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Barnala and Mumbai in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked with the illegal sale of Buprenorphine/Naloxone by 22 private de-addiction centres in Punjab. The Enforcement Directorate has raided four locations in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Barnala and Mumbai in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked with the illegal sale of Buprenorphine/Naloxone by private de-addiction centres in Punjab. (Representational photo) These centres are owned by Dr Amit Bansal, who was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in January and faces multiple cases registered by Punjab Police for illegally selling these medicines crucial for managing withdrawal symptoms. He was arrested following complaints of the illegal sale of drugs by these deaddiction centres in the open market. 'During investigation, it was found that Dr Bansal misused his de-addiction centres in Punjab and was involved in the illegal sale of de-addiction drugs. A Ludhiana-based government drug inspector, Roopinder Kaur, who assisted him by forwarding fudged inspection reports related to pilferage of medicines from his hospitals, has also been covered in the search operations,' a senior ED official said. The raids are also being carried out at a Mumbai-based pharma company, Rusan Pharma Limited, which a prime manufacturer of BNX (Buprenorphine/Naloxone) used for treating addiction. Following his arrest by VB, the state health department suspended the licences of all 22 centres of Dr Bansal on January 13. The ED said these de-addiction centres were to provide the medicine to patients admitted. 'This medication, meant for rehabilitation of drug addicts, were being misused for new kind of drug abuse when taken in excess quantity,' the official said. The VB FIR said that drug inspector Roopinder Kaur from Ludhiana had colluded with Dr Bansal. During an inspection of one of his centres, a discrepancy of 4,610 missing tablets was found, but her report to the directorate of health and family welfare mentioned 4,000 missing tablets, ostensibly to protect Dr Bansal from legal repercussions. In 2023, then Jalandhar deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh initiated an inquiry against Dr Bansal for misappropriation of BNX from his Nakodar-based drug-de-addiction centre. A case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and other Sections, including 465 (for making forged documents), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged), 201 (tampering of evidence) and 381 (theft) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. In a report submitted by the inquiry committee, it was found that there is no proof of the return of 1.44 lakh narcotic tablets, Addnok, to Rusan Pharma Limited, while there was a difference of 1,000 such tablets in the stock register, 1,000 tablets of buprenorphine tablets 'Buprisan-N' and 96 other narcotic tablets were missing from the centre records. The committee found suspected signatures on 102 files that don't appear to be of the same person to whom the tablets were issued. Moreover, there are no signatures on 154 files created for 'non-opioid users'. In April, police registered a case in Patiala against Dr Bansal under the NDPS Act, and Sections 336 (endangering human life) and 340(2) (forget of documents and electronic records) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for the illegal sale of 31,000 narcotic pills.
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Investors gain big appetite for small consumer brands
About a dozen small, regional consumer brands are either in the process of raising private equity funding or are being pursued by investors keen to acquire minority stakes, executives said. These include Ahmedabad-based frozen food maker Iscon Balaji, skincare brand Dermabay, condiment and noodle brand Moi Soi, Raipur-based Zoff Spices, and soft drink maker Bindu Jeera. The intense activity in small and mid-sized companies comes at a time when their larger rivals are trailing in finalising acquisitions and broader growth plans as they battle with sluggish demand in India's major mid-sized funding deals were finalised in recent weeks including snacking brand Khari Foods, desserts chain FES Café, and moss-based supplement maker CosMoss. Chandigarh-based Lahori Zeera and dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight too have raised more than ₹200 crore each. 'We plan to raise ₹5-7 crore over the next two quarters from a clutch of angel investors and family offices to scale our presence and accelerate innovation,' said Divneet Kaur, co-founder of Dermabay. The Ludhiana-based maker of clinically-created skincare products started operations in Foods, which sells noodles, ready-to-cook meals, and condiments under the Moi Soi range, is raising its first institutional round of Rs 30 crore, said its director Deb Mukherjee. 'The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of growth and scale Moi Soi into a Rs 500 crore brand over the next three years… as a bootstrapped venture, we've gone up against legacy players with limited resources, reaching profitability along the way,' said attribute the surge in investor interest to a combination of factors.'We thought premium was about affluent metros but it's very much visible in smaller towns. Also, quick commerce and e-commerce have reduced the advantage of legacy brands on distribution and availability,' said Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has invested in Jaipur-based dairy firm Frubon, teen-care beauty brand Sammmm, and Chennai-based Sweet Karam Coffee, among others. 'It is this opportunity that investors including us are looking at—to build brands based on regional foundations.'Industry trackers said while the bigger consumer transactions have become rare with large companies grappling with slowing sales, especially in cities, it is the smaller ticket deals that have deal volumes rose 26% year-on-year in Q2 of the current calendar, though values dropped to the lowest since Q4 2022, reflecting a shift toward smaller-ticket transactions, consulting and audit firm Grant Thornton Bharat noted in its 'Consumer & Retail Dealtracker' report for the June quarter. The report added that it recorded 120 deals valued at $884 million in the quarter, including IPO and QIP activity. While palm oil-free snacking company Khari Foods raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Meri Punji IMF last month, Gurugram-based dessert cafe brand FES Café too raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding from serial entrepreneur Aakash Anand and his venture Wolfpack a wellness brand focused on sea moss-based supplements, also raised undisclosed seed funding. Executives at legacy companies, including Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Tata Consumer Products, have called out the threat from smaller brands in recent interviews and earnings calls. 'Smaller companies are turning more noticeable than the big giants, they are broad-basing consumption and also keeping larger companies from getting complacent. I think it's good for the industry,' said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing managing director at Nestle India. The instant noodles category itself has been exploding with dozens of regional brands, many of which are competing on price.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Indian Express
‘Extortion calls made from Bathinda jail's landline': Gangster Goru Bacha booked
Ludhiana Police booked notorious gangster Gaurav Sharma alias Goru Bacha, currently lodged in Bathinda Jail, for allegedly making extortion calls to a Ludhiana-based financier, allegedly using the jail's landline facility provided to inmates. The victim, Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Basant Avenue in Dugri, Ludhiana, filed a complaint alleging receiving repeated threats and extortion demands over the past few weeks. He also submitted audio recordings of the calls in which Goru is allegedly demanding amounts ranging from Rs 10 to 50 lakh. He also allegedly threatened to kill the victim if he failed to pay. An FIR under has been registered under the sections 380(5) (extortion) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS at Dugri police station against the jailed gangster. ADCP Karanveer Singh said, 'Gaurav Sharma alias Goru Bacha has made repeated extortion calls to the complainant from the landline of Bathinda jail. The victim has submitted multiple call recordings as evidence.' According to the police, earlier Gagandeep had monetary dealings with Goru, and had once sought the gangster's 'assistance' to settle a financial dispute. However, relations soured later. Police said that a production warrant will be sought to bring Goru to Ludhiana for questioning. Meanwhile, Bathinda Jail authorities have been alerted about the misuse of the landline phone facility, said police.
