Page 59 - Punjab

ED seizes cash after raids on Punjab AAP MLA, others in bank fraud case

The ED on Friday said it seized Rs 32 lakh cash, some mobile phones and hard drives after it raided the premises of AAP MLA in Punjab Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra and some others as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged bank loan fraud. The federal investigative agency said in a statement that the searches were carried out at the business and residential premises of "accused persons and their associates" including Tara Corporation Limited (renamed as Malaudh Agro Limited on September 24, 2018), its directors Jaswant Singh, Balwant Singh, Kulwant Singh, Tejinder Singh, their associates and other sister concerns at Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Khanna, Payal and Dhuri. Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra is a legislator from the Amargarh assembly constituency. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab unit had on Thursday called the raids a "political vendetta". The ED said "incriminating pieces of evidence were seized related to "bogus firms through which turnover of Tara Corporation Limited was

Mann to visit Germany from Sep 11-18 to push Punjab's industrial growth

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will visit Germany from September 11-18 to attract investments and strategic tie-ups. This will be Mann's first foreign visit after he took oath as the chief minister in March. "In order to give a major push to the industrial growth of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be undertaking a tour of Germany from September 11-18," an official statement said here on Friday evening. During the tour, the chief minister will be meeting business delegations and prominent companies to rope in investments and strategic tie-ups in key sectors like renewable energy, car manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and advanced agriculture practices, among others, it said. Mann will hold a meeting with companies like BMW, BayWa and others during his stay in Munich, Frankfort and Berlin. "This crucial visit of the Chief Minister is likely to immensely benefit the state in getting huge investments, technical know-how and expertise from German companies," said

Army, Air Force conduct joint exercise 'Gagan strike' in Punjab: Official

Army's Kharga Corps and the Air Force conducted joint exercise 'Gagan strike' in Punjab, a defence release said on Friday. The exercise comprised the deployment of attack helicopters as the aerial arm in support of ground forces carrying out drills, practising annihilation of enemy defences and deep penetration, it said. The exercise also showcased precision firepower of the attack helicopters in coordination with ground forces' mechanised columns. It validated the Apache 64E and Advanced Light Helicopter WSI as potent weapons delivery platforms. The force multiplier effect of combining these machines with ground operations has enhanced the forces' combat superiority, the release said. The joint exercise, spearheaded by General Officer Commanding, Khagra Corps, Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, was conducted over four days. Lt Gen Nav K Khanduri, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, witnessed the exercise. He exhorted the combat forces to continue to evolve such concepts and

BSF recovers 6.370 kgs of heroin from Pakistan-based smugglers in Punjab

The BSF foiled a cross-border smuggling bid by Pakistan-based smugglers and seized 370 kgs of heroin worth 38 crores and 190 gms of superior quality opium in the village Muhar Jamsher in Punjab

Punjab not cooperating in resolving SYL canal dispute, Centre tells SC

The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court the Punjab government is "not cooperating" in resolving the decades-old Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal dispute between the state and Haryana. The apex court, which observed that water is a natural resource and living beings must learn to share it, said the parties have to have a "broader outlook" and realise the ramifications and necessity of a negotiated settlement, more so in view of security concerns, apparently referring to the occasional violence over the project. The counsel for Punjab told a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul that the state government is very keen to resolve the issue amicably. At the outset, Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the apex court had in 2017 said that matter should be amicably settled and the Union of India, through the Water Resources Ministry, has been trying to bring together states of Haryana and Punjab for the purpose of an amicable settlement. "Unfortunate

SAD President Sukhbir Badal appears before SIT in 2015 police firing case

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) here for the first time in the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing case.

Punjab CM announces implementation of UGC pay scale for university teachers

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced to implement University Grant Commission's (UGC) pay scale as per seventh pay commission to the teachers of colleges and universities

Swing crashes down from 50 feet in Mohali fair, nearly 50 people injured

A swing broke mid-air in Punjab's Mohali during a fair on Sunday and crashed down from a height of 50 feet with nearly 50 people on board

2.5 mn households get zero electricity bills: Punjab Power minister

The AAP government in Punjab has fulfilled its promise of providing 300 units of free electricity per month and as such 25 lakh domestic consumers have received zero bills, state Power Minister Harbhajan Singh said Saturday. In a statement, he claimed this was the first time a government is fulfilling its election promises in the initial year itself. Otherwise, previous governments have been fulfilling election promises only in the last year of their tenure, Singh claimed. The minister said of the total 72 lakh domestic consumers, bills were sent to 42 lakh out of which, 25 lakh have received zero electricity bills, he stated. The bills are for the July-August bi-monthly billing cycle. The power minister also said that due to the two-month billing circle with the waiver, consumers are getting 600 units of free electricity, which is more than the requirement of every normal household. Before the 2022 Punjab assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party had promised 300 units of free electri

AAP govt failed to protect minorities in Punjab: SAD leader Majithia

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Saturday said the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government has allegedly failed to protect the minorities and maintain peace and law and order in Punjab. Referring to the incident of vandalism of a church in Tarn Taran district, Majithia said ensuring law and order is the prime responsibility of the government, but it has continuously failed on this front. He said such unfortunate incidents were occurring because the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government was being "remote-controlled from Delhi". Asserting that the Sikhism always accorded due respect to people of all faiths, Majithia said, "The teachings of 'Guru Sahiban' have always taught us love, respect and tolerance for everyone. It is our duty to keep every minority in Punjab safe and secure. Punjabis will never tolerate any harm coming to them." Four masked men had broken into the church in Tarn Taran, vandalised it and fled after setting the pastor's car on fire on ...

SJVN eyeing to develop 5,000 MW renewable energy projects in Punjab

After signing a pact for developing 10,000 MW solar projects and parks in Rajasthan, public sector SJVN is now eyeing to tap renewable energy in Punjab

Punjab govt giving top priority to education, says CM Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said his government is giving top priority to the education sector, asserting that it is the bedrock for building a progressive society. Mann visited a local government senior secondary school and interacted with the students and teachers. "My visit is not aimed at fault finding but the real purpose is to assess the situation at grassroot level to introduce comprehensive reforms in the education sector," an official statement quoting Mann said. Education is the bedrock for building a new and progressive society due to which the state government is according top priority to it, said Mann. He said the state government is already working on introducing multi-pronged improvements in the education sector to benefit students especially from the needy and underprivileged sections of the society. He further said the state government is committed to transforming the government schools of the state into "Schools of eminence" The CM emphasised

Punjab taps agricultural residues to speed up lean energy transition

Punjab's agriculture holds a huge potential for energy generation from agro-residues, an alternative model of diversification, besides clean energy transition by tapping solar power

Viral disease behind stunting of paddy plants in many parts of Punjab: PAU

The Punjab Agricultural University has found southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a viral disease, behind the stunting of paddy plants in many parts of Punjab. This is the first time that SRBSDV, which was first reported in 2001 from Southern China, has been detected in Punjab. Ludhiana-based PAU vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal said that SRBSDV is the real cause behind stunting of rice. The PAU scientists had received complaints of stunted rice plants from farmers. Preliminary reports about the occurrence of these symptoms started coming from the districts of Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Pathankot, SAS Nagar, and Gurdaspur. Within one month, stunted rice plants were observed in almost the whole of Punjab and its adjoining states, said the PAU in a statement here. "The infected plants were stunted with narrow erect leaves, with both roots and shoots of the plants severely affected. In severely infected rice fields, the infected plants showed

Terrorism rearing its head again in AAP-ruled Punjab: Cong's Raghu Sharma

Terrorism is rearing its head again in Punjab after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in the northern state in March, Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma alleged on Friday. Seeking to downplay the AAP's entry is Gujarat, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end, Sharma claimed the real fight will be between his party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit does not have any mass base in the western state. "They (AAP) now want to do politics in Gujarat, the land of Mahatma Gandhi. This is the same party which had removed Gandhiji's photos from offices after forming government in Punjab. People are also raising questions over some of the activities of the AAP," he said at a press conference here. "They formed government in Punjab by making attractive promises. But, their government is failing in handling the situation in the state. Terrorism is also rearing its head in Punjab under the AAP government. They only know how to manage ...

PM security lapse: SC panel finds Ferozepur SSP failed to discharge duty

A Supreme Court-appointed committee to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab in January has found that the Ferozepur SSP failed to discharge his duty though sufficient force was available. The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will send the report of the five-member committee headed by former apex court judge Indu Malhotra to the Centre for appropriate action. "The Ferozepur SSP failed to discharge his duty to maintain law and order. He failed to do this even though sufficient force was available and even though he was informed two hours before that PM will enter that route," the bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana and also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said while reading from the committee's report. On January 5, Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after which he returned from Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.

'Sycophancy eating into party like termites': Jaiveer Shergill quits Cong

Have resigned from Congress, severed all ties with party, says Shergill

HC orders fresh assessment of security threat to protectees in Punjab

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered fresh assessment of security threat of protectees after several protected individuals in Punjab had approached it against the withdrawal and de-categorization of their security cover. While hearing a batch of 45 petitions filed among others by former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister O P Soni, the court said it cannot lose sight of the fact that decategorisation of security may sometimes prompt inimical anti-social elements to take drastic step to overcome the decategorised security in order to attack the protectee. "In order to ward off the continued apprehension of the protectees in view of bringing the issue of withdrawal of security under public domain, this Court is of the opinion that the competent authority should make fresh assessment in respect of security threats of protectees after considering the available inputs from different agencies including State and Central," the HC ordered. The competent authority should also consider the

Punjab native held for forging fake degree certificate for Swapna Suresh

A man has been arrested for allegedly forging fake degree certificate for Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the controversial gold smuggling case. Sachin Das from Punjab, was arrested on Tuesday morning by a police team from Kerala and will be brought to the state tomorrow, police said on Wednesday. "A four-member police team nabbed the accused in Punjab. He will be brought to the state tomorrow. The team had reached Punjab on August 18 and apprehended him yesterday," police told PTI. Earlier, it was alleged that Suresh's appointment as a consultant to Space Park, promoted by the state government, was based on her fake degree certificate. A case has been registered in this connection.

PM Modi to unveil 2 health initiatives in Haryana and Punjab today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Haryana and Punjab on Wednesday as he is slated to inaugurate and dedicate to the nation two important health initiatives.Prime Minister will inaugurate Amrita Hospital at Faridabad in Haryana after which he will travel to Mohal and dedicate the 'Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre' to the nation at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar District in Mohali at around 02:15 PM, read a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.The availability of modern medical infrastructure in the National Capital Region (NCR) will get a boost with the inauguration of Amrita Hospital at Faridabad.Managed by Mata Amritanandamayi Math, the super-speciality hospital will be equipped with 2600 beds. The hospital, which is being constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs. 6000 crore, will provide state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to the people of Faridabad and the entire NCR region.In an endeavour to provide world-class cancer