Chandigarh, June 21:

          The International Day of Yoga 2025, was celebrated at the premises of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh under the aegis of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. The theme of this event was “Yoga for One Earth One Health” and this day was celebrated as per the guidelines received from Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, New Delhi. Hon’ble Judges, Members of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, officers and officials of the High Court participated in the event and showed huge enthusiasm while performing different Yoga Asanas and meditation.

          On this occasion, the participants were apprised by Yoga Trainer about the benefits of Yoga being an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition and that Yoga helps in physical development and mental relaxation as well as development of strength, flexibility and immunity. This is especially important in the present scenario when the mental and physical health of the people has come under dire stress. Yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and nature.

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, June 21:

          In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a Pakistan-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module being operated by UK-based handler Dharam Singh alias Dharma Sandhu with the arrest of a local operative and recovered six sophisticated foreign-made pistols from his possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

          The arrested accused has been identified as Onkar Singh alias Nawab, a resident of Village Jalalusma in Amritsar. The weapons, smuggled via drones from across the Indo-Pak border, includes four 9MM Glock pistols and two .30 bore PX5 pistols.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the foreign-based handler Dharam Singh alias Dharma Sandhu, who has been operating the terror module, is a close associate of Pak-based terrorist Harvinder Singh alias Rinda. Further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case and unearth the broader network, he said.

          Sharing operation details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the arrest followed precise intelligence and coordination. “The accused disclosed during interrogation that the weapons were delivered via drones and were meant for disruptive activities,” he added.

          He said that preliminary investigations revealed the accused was part of a sleeper cell activated by foreign-based handlers to destabilise the state. “The weapons were to be distributed among local operatives to execute targeted killings and terror activities in state. We are working to uncover the entire network and its international linkages,” said the CP, while adding that further investigations are underway to identify other accomplices and handlers.

          A case FIR No. 121 dated 21-06-2025 has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Maqboolpura in Amritsar.

Chandigarh, June 21

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, the state of Punjab created a new history this year and set an example for the whole of India. On the 11th International Yoga Day held on June 21, mass yoga sessions were organized simultaneously in all the blocks, villages and urban areas of 23 districts of Punjab. With this grand event, Punjab became the first state in the country where Yoga Day was celebrated on such a grand scale.

The participation of citizens in this state-level event was very encouraging. Thousands of people from different age groups participated in the yoga sessions and not only demonstrated their awareness towards health but also resolved to make yoga a part of their lifestyle. The program saw active participation from every section of the society including administrative officers, public representatives, senior citizens and students.

The role of ‘CM’s Yogashala’ was very important in this event.  The district coordinators and trainers of the organization conducted the programs organized across the state and contributed significantly in connecting the public with Yoga. The program was successfully completed due to the dedicated efforts and effective coordination by the trainers at the district level.

CM’s Yogashala not only provided technical support but also conducted a comprehensive awareness campaign in all the districts, so that a large number of people could join this campaign.

It is worth mentioning that 4,709 yoga classes are being actively conducted in Punjab daily and more than 2,15,000 people are participating in these free yoga classes daily.

Since the inception of the scheme, more than 5 lakh citizens have benefited from this initiative.

CM’s Yogashala has so far reached 1,196 villages, due to which awareness about Yoga is increasing in rural areas as well.

Chandigarh, June 21:

The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, is firmly committed to the protection of children and is adopting a sensitive yet stringent approach to eliminate the grave social evil of child begging. In a major step in this direction, Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur announced that amendments will be made to the Punjab Prevention of Beggary Act (1971). These amendments will introduce stricter punishments and heavy penalties against racketeers, guardians, or parents found forcing children to beg at traffic lights and public intersections.

Sharing further details, Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that the Punjab Government, in coordination with the police and district administrations, has decided to form special teams to identify and act against those operating child begging rackets in cities and towns across the state. These teams will rescue children and provide them with proper medical care, education, and shelter under various government schemes aimed at their rehabilitation.

The Cabinet Minister has directed officials that if any person, parent, or guardian is caught forcing a child to beg, strict legal action will be taken against them under the Juvenile Justice Act, and such individuals will face severe punishment.

Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that since July 2024, ‘Project Jeevanjot’ has been running under the Juvenile Justice Act across all districts of the state, under which 286 children have been rescued so far. These rescued children are being provided with comprehensive care, safety, and welfare services.

Further elaborating, the Minister said that within this year, a pilot project titled ‘Project Smile’ will be launched in five major cities of Punjab — Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, SAS Nagar, and Bathinda. Under this initiative, street and market-dwelling child beggars will be identified, and their DNA tests will be conducted to ascertain their family ties, enabling authorities to check incidents of child trafficking and human trade.

The Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister has also issued directions to all Deputy Commissioners to declare their respective districts as ‘Beggar-Free’ and ensure regular monitoring in this regard.

Concluding her remarks, Dr. Baljit Kaur reiterated the Punjab Government’s commitment that “every child’s future must be safe and secure, and creating a child beggar-free Punjab is our foremost priority.” She also appealed to the public to actively cooperate with the government in eradicating the social evil of begging and help build a bright, secure future for the children of the state.

Chandigarh, June 21 2025:

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing drive against corruption, has arrested Jatinder Pal Piplani, a recovery agent attached with the Punjab Gramin Bank, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 50000 as a second instalment.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the arrest has been made following a complaint lodged by a resident of Chheharta in Amritsar.

He further added that the complainant has approached the VB and informed that the Punjab Gramin Bank had declared his property a non-performing asset due to default in payment of house loan and recovery file was assigned to the accused recovery agent for recovery of the pending loan amount. The accused had threatened the complainant that he along with police party would forcefully took possession of his house and demanded a bribe of Rs 2,00,000 on behalf of Bank Manager for settling the case in his favour. The complainant added that the said agent had already taken Rs 50,000 as a first instalment and now pressurising him to pay the remaining amount of Rs 1,50,000 for the Bank Manager.

The spokesperson further informed that after a preliminary verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the said Recovery Agent was arrested red handed while he was accepting Rs 50000 as a second instalment of bribe from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. In this regard, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the aforementioned accused at the VB Police Station, Amritsar Range. The accused would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and the role of Bank Manager would be verified during further investigation of this case, he said.

CHANDIGARH, June 21:

          With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state completed 112 days, Punjab Police on Saturday arrested 117 drug smugglers and recovered 7.5 kg heroin, 500 grams opium and Rs 39,640 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 18,524 in just 112 days.

          The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

          Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1300 police personnel, under the supervision of 87 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 481 locations across the state leading to the registration of 84 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 501 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

          The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 74 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.