Teacher dies as roof of Ludhiana school collapses
Ludhiana, Aug 23: A 45-year-old woman teacher died while three others were injured after the roof of a government school collapsed in Baddowal on Ferozepur road here on Wednesday, police said.
Taking cognizance of the matter, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a magisterial probe and registration of an FIR against the contractor who was carrying out renovation work on the school premises.
The incident took place when four teachers were sitting in the staff room of the government senior secondary school.
They were rushed to a private hospital where teacher Ravinder Kaur was declared brought dead, Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepkaran Singh Toor said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the roof collapse, police said.
Three injured teachers -- Narinderjeet Kaur, Sukhjeet Kaur and Indu Rani -- are undergoing treatment and they were stated to be out of danger, they said.
After meeting the injured, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner (DC) Surabhi Malik said the FIR was being registered against the contractor by the Ludhiana Rural Police.
She said CM Mann took serious cognizance of the accident and ordered strict action in the matter.
A safety assessment of the school building has been ordered and the building has also been sealed, Malik said while appealing to the people residing near the school not to go near the building till completion of assessment.
The DC said as soon as information regarding the accident was received, several teams of the administration were sent to the site and the Indo-Tibetan Police Force (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were called in to rescue the four teachers trapped under debris.
She said the teachers were pulled out by the teams and immediately rushed to hospital.
Malik also said that all treatment expenditures of the teachers would be borne by the Punjab government.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
