Tag: PUNJAB

Mukhtar Ansari Lawyers

Punjab Won’t Bear Mukhtar Ansari’s Lawyers Bill: CM Mann

By LokMarg

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that his government has returned the file of the expenses of the lawyers representing gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s case, adding that the government is planning to charge expenses from the minister of the previous government who had ordered him to be kept in the state.

“The UP gangster was kept in Ropar Jail with facilities. He did not appear despite the warrants issued 48 times. Expensive lawyers were hired with expenses of Rs 55 lakh. I returned the file for clearing the expenses from money collected through taxes paid by people. The minister who was responsible for the decision (on Ansari), he will be asked to pay,” Mann said in a tweet.

In the year 2019, Mukhtar Ansari, MLA from Mau, was lodged in Punjab’s Ropar jail where he was named in an extortion case. Ansari did not apply for bail in the FIR registered in Punjab and the police did not file any charge sheet against him.

In multiple cases, several production warrants were issued by Uttar Pradesh Police against Ansari but Punjab Police did not allow him to be shifted to Uttar Pradesh on the grounds of ill health.

Supreme Court in the year 2021 ordered the transfer of mafia don and BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail in Punjab to Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Yesterday Uttar Pradesh police declared a bounty of Rs 25,000 on gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s wife, Afsa Ansari.

A reward of Rs 25,000 has been declared on the arrest of Afsa Ansari, wife of Mukhtar Ansari, who is wanted in a case registered under the Gangsters Act at Police Station Dakshin Tola,” Mahesh Singh Attri, Additional Superintendent of Police, Mau said.

Earlier in January this year, the police registered a murder case against Mukhtar Ansari in connection to the 2001 ‘Usri Chatti’ gang war incident. A case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against Ansari at PS Mohammadabad in Ghazipur. (ANI)

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Pakistani drone Punjab

Pakistan Drone Spotted Near Intl Border In Punjab

By LokMarg

Border Security Force personnel intercepted a Pakistani drone near Bhariyal village of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, officials said on Thursday.

The drone spotted at the Bhariyal village post of the BSF, was observed flying inside Indian territory for five minutes before it was intercepted with illumination bombs.
“The drone kept flying inside the Indian border for 5 minutes, during which 3 rounds of firing were done by BSF, and an Ilu bomb was also fired, after which the drone flew back to Pakistan,” BSF said.

In a similar incident, BSF personnel intercepted a Pakistani drone near the Dhanoe Kalan in the Amritsar district of the State and recovered packets of narcotics, an official statement said on April 16.

The incident took place on April 15 at around 8.22 pm when the BSF troops heard the buzzing sound of the suspected flying object (drone) entering from Pakistan into Indian territory.

Earlier on Thursday, Security forces tracked and shot down a drone after it crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in the Beri Pattan area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri.

Five loaded AK magazines, some cash, and a sealed packet were recovered from the drone, added the PRO.

BSF is mandated to guard the 3,323 km India-Pakistan International Border.

On March 28, BSF shot down a Pakistani drone in Amritsar soon after it entered Indian territory carrying a consignment of contraband items, the paramilitary force said.

The drone was shot down in the Amritsar when the BSF troops heard the buzzing sound of the flying object. It was recovered the next day morning during a search operation conducted by the border guarding force. The drone entered Indian territory from Pakistan and it was detected in the area of Border Outpost Rajatal in the Amritsar Sector, said the BSF.

Earlier in February, the BSF troops also recovered six big packets of heroin weighing 6.275 kg, contained inside a bag in a wheat field of Toor village in the Amritsar district. (ANI)

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Randhawa Meets Kharge After Sachin Pilot’s Fast

By LokMarg

Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is party incharge of Rajasthan, on Wednesday held a meeting with party president Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the issues facing the party in Rajasthan and said the manner in which Sachin Pilot raised the issue of corruption was wrong.

Randhawa said he will prepare a report as to who is at fault and action will be taken.
The meeting came a day after Pilot held a day-long fast calling for action by Ashok Gehlot government against alleged corruption during the previous BJP rule under former chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

Rajasthan will go for polls later this year.

Pilot went ahead with his protest even as the central leadership has said that his fast was “against the party interests and is anti-party activity”.

Randhawa, a former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, said he had spoken to Pilot.

He said Pilot should have raised the issue in the state assembly.

“I agree with the issue of corruption that Sachin Pilot has raised, but his method is wrong. He should have raised it during the Assembly session… Today (discussion with Sachin Pilot) happened for half an hour and we will talk tomorrow also. I will analyze all things and prepare a report as to who is at fault. The press conference that he did, I did not feel that it was pro-party… I will submit a detailed report,” he said.

Asked about allegations of inaction against loyalists of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over not holding Congress Legislative Party meeting despite the presence of central observers in the run-up party’s presidential election, Randhawa said he was not AICC incharge of Rajasthan at that time.

“Action should have been taken in the past but was not done but this time action will be taken,” Randhawa said.

The ruling Congress in Rajasthan is grappling with a fresh crisis in view of Pilot’s fast with the move seen as an accusation against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of “sitting on corruption cases”.

The Congress took a serious view of party leader Sachin Pilot’s daylong fast over his demand for “action on corruption” during the BJP government’s rule, saying it is against party interests and an “anti-party activity”.

Randhawa had issued a statement on Monday saying Pilot, a former state Deputy Chief Minister, had never spoken to him on the issue.

“Sachin Pilot’s day-long fast is against the party interests and is anti-party activity. If there is any issue with his own government, it can be discussed in the party forums instead of in the media and public,” Randhawa had said.

“I have been an AICC in-charge for the last five months and Pilot has never discussed this issue with me. I am in touch with him and still appeal for calm dialogue since he is an indisputable asset to the Congress party,” he added.

The fresh crisis has emerged months before the assembly polls in the state due late this year.

Pilot is seen as a chief ministerial aspirant but Gehlot, who did not contest the Congress presidential election, is apparently keen not to hand over the reins of the state to him.

The differences between the two had come out sharply in 2020 with Pilot leading a “rebellion” against Gehlot.

The two leaders have taken potshots at each other on several occasions in the past. (ANI)

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Akali Dal Leader Atwal BJP

Akali Dal Leader Atwal, Several Others, Join BJP

By LokMarg

Prominent Akali Dal leaders Sardar Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal and Sardar Jasjeet Singh Atwal, along with several others from Punjab, joined the Bharatiya Janta party (BJP) in New Delhi on Sunday.

They were formally inducted into the saffron camp in the presence of senior BJP leaders at the party’s national headquarters in the Capital on Sunday.
Further, according to sources in the BJP, AIADMK leader and former Rajya Sabha member, Dr Maitreyan, will also join the saffron party on Sunday.

Earlier, on Saturday, CR Kesavan, the great-grandson of India’s first Indian Governor-General, C Rajagopalachari, joined the BJP.

Kesavan resigned from Congress on February 23, saying that he has not even seen vestiges of the values that made him work for the party with dedication for over two decades.

Kesavan shared his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Twitter saying he could no longer concur with “what the party symbolises, stands for or seeks to propagate”.

His resignation came within a month of the desertion by former Union minister AK Antony’s son, Anil Antony, who parted ways with the party after coming out in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial BBC documentary series.

Anil Antony joined the BJP on April 6, in the presence of Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan. Kerala BJP chief K Surendran and senior party leaders Tarun Chugh and Anil Baluni were also present on the occasion.

Earlier on Friday, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, joined the BJP here in the national capital.

Reddy, who served as the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Prahlad Joshi, general secretary Arun Singh and MP K Laxman, at a function organised at the party headquarters.

Reddy became Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister on November 11, 2010, but resigned on March 10, 2014, to protest against the Congress party’s decision to bifurcate the state.

The developments come ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)

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Elections In Pakistan

Elections In Pak Less Likely After Anti-Terror Ops Announced

By LokMarg

Amid a debate in political circles over the conduct of elections in Punjab in mid-May, the top civil and military leadership on Friday vowed to re-launch the National Action Plan (NAP) within 15 days to crush militants, Dawn reported.

Without directly blaming the previous PTI government for the resurgence of terrorism in tribal districts along the border with Afghanistan, top civil and military leadership agreed to initiate new multi-pronged and comprehensive operations and combined efforts on the diplomatic, security, economic and social fronts for the elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
A committee formed for the purpose would present its recommendations within two weeks to implement the policy and draw its parameters, Dawn reported.

The decisions were made at the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Baber, Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, chief ministers of four provinces and federal cabinet members attended the meeting.

The NSC’s decision to launch a massive operation may further shrink the chances of elections in Punjab, two days after the government had categorically refused to implement the court order regarding May 14 polls, Dawn reported.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, while talking to Dawn, said that holding elections in Punjab was not on the agenda of the NSC meeting and that’s why the issue was not discussed in the civil and military leadership’s huddle. She, however, confirmed that a fresh NAP-like operation against militancy would start within 15 days.

Earlier, two similar plans had been launched in the country, one in 2002 and the second in 2014, Dawn reported.

An official press release issued by the PM Office said, “NSC approved a multi-pronged comprehensive operation with the support of the government and the nation to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country with a new resolve, determination and valor”.

“The committee proclaimed that the recent wave of terrorism was the result of the soft corner and the absence of a well-thought-out policy against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which was declared a terrorist organization but against the public expectations and wishes, under the previous policy terrorists were allowed to return without any hindrance. In the name of confidence building, dangerous terrorists of the TTP were released from jails,” Dawn reported.

“It was noted that due to the return of the dangerous terrorists and support of different terrorist organisations to them from Afghanistan, peace and stability, which was the result of innumerable sacrifices and continuous efforts, was affected,” the official announcement said. (ANI)

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Ashok Gehlot

Amritpal Dares To Demand Khalistan Due To ‘Hindu Rashtra’ Talk By BJP, RSS: Gehlot

By LokMarg

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday claimed that the Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh dared to speak about Khalistan because of the frequent refrain by the BJP and RSS of ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

“A new name has emerged in Punjab, Amritpal. Amritpal Singh says that if Mohan Bhagwat and Narendra Modi could talk about Hindu Rashtra, then why should I not talk about Khalistan? Look at his audacity. He got the courage to because you talk about Hindu Rashtra?” Gehlot said addressing the divisional-level workers’ conference here.
“It is easy to start a fire but it takes time to extinguish it. This is not happening for the first time in the country. Indira Gandhi was killed because of this. She did not let Khalistan be created What should I say today?” Gehlot said.

The Chief Minister alleged that the politics of religion is being done in the country.

“Politics is being done in the name of religion in the country. But if you take along the people belonging to every religion and caste for the country’s good, this country will remain united,” he said.

Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh surfaced in a new video and said he was not “a fugitive” and will soon “appear in front of the world”.

In the unverified video, Amritpal Singh sought to address some comments about the video that surfaced on March 29.

“I uploaded a video yesterday. It was addressed to people. Public thinks that maybe the video was made in police custody because I was looking here and there in that video while talking. You can see other earlier video, I don’t talk too much looking at the camera,” he said.

Amritpal Singh also said that people should not think that that he has run away or left his friends.

The pro-KhaIistan leader, who has been declared fugitive by Punjab Police, said no one should have an apprehension that he had not run away from his people.

“Soon I will appear in front of the world. I’m not the kind of person who will go abroad and put videos,” he said.

Amritpal has been on the run since March 18, the day Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt for him.

The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal’s supporters stormed Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan. (ANI)

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Punjab Gun Culture Licences

Punjab Govt Crackdown On Gun Culture, Cancels 813 Licences

By LokMarg

In a major action against the ‘gun culture’ in the state, the Punjab government has cancelled the licenses of 813 guns, Punjab Minister Aman Arora informed on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference, the Urban Housing and Urban Development Minister Aman Arora said that 813 arms licenses have been cancelled across different regions in the state.

“Of the 813 arms licenses cancelled by the Punjab government, 87 are in Ludhiana Rural, 48 in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, 10 in Gurdaspur, 84 in Faridkot, 199 in Pathankot, 47 in Hoshiarpur, six in Kapurthala, 235 in S.A.S. Kasba, 16 in Sangrur, 27 in Amritsar commissionerate, 11 in Jalandhar commissionerate and from several other districts have also been cancelled,” Aman Arora said.

The Punjab Minister said that so far Punjab government has cancelled more than 2000 arms license

“Rules have to be followed for keeping a gun. Now there is a ban on carrying and displaying of weapons in public functions, religious places, marriage ceremonies or any other events in Punjab. Random checking will be done in different areas in the coming days,” he said.

The AAP leader also said that there are a total of 3,73,053 arms licenses in Punjab.

“There will be a complete ban on those glorifying violence and weapons. Punjab government is continuously taking action to end gun culture,” he added. (ANI)

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I Don’t Consider Myself Citizen Of India: Amritpal Singh

I Don’t Consider Myself Citizen Of India: Amritpal Singh

By LokMarg

‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh on Saturday denounced that he does “not” consider himself a citizen of India calling the passport merely a “travel document” and said that it does not make him an Indian.

He said that his remarks against Amit Shah were “not a threat” to the Union Home Minister, but rather a threat to them.
“Amit Shah had said that he won’t let the Khalistan movement rise. I had said that the same was done by Indira Gandhi and if you do the same then you’d have to face consequences. If the Home Minister says the same to those demanding ‘Hindu Rashtra’, then I’ll see if he remains Home Minister,” Amritpal had said on February 23.

His remarks had come after his supporters allegedly clashed with the Ajnala Police demanding the release of his associate Lovepreet Singh Toofan.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Amritpal dubbed militancy as a “very natural phenomenon” and said that violence will not be under his control if the police try to stop their non-violent protest.

“Militancy is not something that I am able to start. Nobody can start or end militancy. Militancy is a very natural phenomenon. It happens after a long period of suppression anywhere. Is militancy a constructive thing to start? I can order someone to start militancy, it does not happen like that. There is a peaceful protest. When Amit Shah said that he will suppress things, I said there will be consequences. It’s not just about Indira Gandhi’s murder as consequence. It’s not a threat to Home Minister. I would say is a threat to us. What options do we have when there are legal binaries in India? I don’t consider myself a citizen of India. I just have a passport, which does not make me Indian. It’s a travel document,” he said.

“But there are laws. What they do, they give some rights to the people who are fighting against the establishment. There are some rights for those also who rebel. There is a line until it becomes violent, until I am harming somebody, or I am trying to implicate by force, it could be illegal. When they try to stop us way before it’s not even close to violence, it will reach to violence. It will not be in my control. For example, if they arrest me, if something happens to Punjab, who is responsible for that? I am trying to get the youth out of drugs. How can I motivate them? We are a warrior race. When they say militancy, it is a very complex thing,” the ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief said.

When asked about the Khalistan slogans being reported in his addresses, he said that Khalistan is a “very normal discussion” in Punjab.

He drew a parallel between the idea of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and ‘Khalistan’ and said that the former is exclusive while the latter is “pure”.

“That’s what the problem is. When you are not Punjabi and do not visit the state very frequently, and when you see everything through media, it looks very scary. But it is not. Khalistan is a very normal discussion here. When Supreme Court says anybody can say Khalistan Zindabad, it’s not a crime. An MP got elected saying ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ from Sangrur,” he said.

“When you say saying ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ is bad, you are trying to challenge the Supreme Court. When somebody says ‘Hindu Rashtra’ zindabad, what is ‘Hindu Rashtra’? Where is it established? People don’t feel threatened with it. Then why if 80 per cent people are advocating it, sometimes they are doing it very violently, that we will not let anyone live, and will make everyone Hindu. The idea of Hindu Rashtra is totally opposite to the idea of Khalistan. Hindu Rashtra does not include other identities, either you are a Hindu or dead. They don’t give you options. The idea of Khalistan is so pure, it’s idea is the raj of Khalistan,” Amritpal added. (ANI)

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Drugs, Arms Airdropped In Punjab’s Tarn Taran

Drugs, Arms Airdropped In Punjab’s Tarn Taran

By LokMarg

The Punjab Police on Friday busted a significant drug consignment airdropped by Pakistan-based smugglers in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab, police said.

According to an official statement by the Information and Public Relations Department, Punjab, the police along with Border Security Force (BSF) recovered a parcel containing three packets of Heroin, weighing 3Kg, and 0.30 bore pistol along with magazine and five live cartridges from the border area of village Mianwal in Tarn Taran.
The consignment was airdropped by Pakistan-based smugglers using a drone from across the border, the statement read.

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that the police teams from Tarn Taran shared the pin-pointed inputs with the BSF right after hearing drone movement near the Indo-Pakistan border in the Khemkaran area on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Later, the officials jointly launched a combing operation within the 1-kilometre area of the border.

“On deep checking of the surrounding fields, Police and BSF teams have successfully recovered the consignment of 3Kg heroin and a pistol along with ammunition from the area of Mianwal,” DGP Gaurav Yadav said.

Sharing more details about the Tarn Taran incident, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tarn Taran Gurmeet Chauhan said that investigations are on to ascertain the identity of the Pakistani smugglers, who sent the consignment via drone, and also their Indian associates, who were to receive this air-dropped consignment.

Meanwhile, the police also registered a case under sections 21 C, 23, 27A, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) act and sections 10, 11, and 12 of the Aircraft Act at Khemkaran Police Station in Tarn Taran.

The investigation in the matter is underway.

Notably, the development came a day after the police arrested a juvenile after recovering 15 packets of heroin, weighing 15 Kg, and Rs 8.40 lakh drug money from his possession during a special naka at the Ram Tirath Road in Amritsar.

This consignment was also airdropped by Pakistan-based smugglers using a drone and the accused was going to deliver after retrieving the parcel from the border area of village Kakkar in Amritsar, police said. (ANI)

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North India: Severe Cold Spell This Week, Temp Between 0 &-4°C | Lokmarg

North India: Severe Cold Spell This Week, Temp Between 0 &-4°C

By LokMarg

Already in the grip of a severe cold spell, there’s more bad news in the offing for North India as vast swathes of the region are likely to experience a drop in temperatures to a minimum of -4 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius in the plains, according to a weather expert.

According to a tweet by the weather expert, the icy, severe chill would be experienced between January 14 and 19 and is likely to be at its peak from January 16 to 18.
Jammu and Kashmir, which has literally been snowed under in what has been an unforgiving winter, would have no respite from the cold spell with the mercury predicted to drop to a minimum of -6 degrees Celsius.

Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Norther Madhya Pradesh will be in the grip of a severe cold wave over the week, with the minimum temperature hovering between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius.

“Don’t know how to put this up but upcoming spell of #Coldwave in #India look really extreme during 14-19th January 2023 with peak on 16-18th, Never seen temperature ensemble going this low in a prediction model so far in my career. Freezing -4°c to +2°c in plains, Wow!” the weather expert tweeted, tagging his post with a graphical representation of how the cold wave will play out in the northern plains over the week.

While there has been a significant improvement in the fog situation in North India over the last few days, owing to strong winds blowing in because of a Western Disturbance, the relief, according to the Met expert, won’t be for long as the chill and fog will be back soon.

The fog situation has improved slightly Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and West UP over the last few days.

Visibility in Amritsar increased from 25 metres on January 11 to 450 metres on January 12. Similarly, in Bathinda, the visibility improved from 0 to 200 metres on January 12. In Chandigarh, visibility rose to 400 metres from a low of 25 metres.

In Hissar and Ambala, visibility rose to as much as 1000 metres while in Palam and Safdarjung, in the national capital, the visibility improved to as high as 800 metres. (ANI)

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