CHANDIGARH, March 5:

          With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered fifth day, Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested 75 drug smugglers and recovered 27.7 kg heroin and Rs 3.06 lakh drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 547 in just five 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. Apart from recovering heroin and drug money, police teams have also recovered 400 grams opium and 2060 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections from their possession.

          Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1300 police personnel, under the supervision of 80 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 356 locations across the state leading to the registration of 48 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 416 suspicious persons during the day long operation, he added.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state in coming three months. 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.

          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 six persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment, while, organised 165 awareness events across the state on Wednesday as part of Prevention.

Chandigarh, March 5:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday said that the leaders from opposition parties are desperate to occupy CM residence for which they are indulging in various tantrums.

Addressing the gathering after handing appointment letters to youth, the Chief Minister quipped that the opposition leaders are hungry to occupy the official residence of the CM for which they are indulging in various theatricals. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this house belongs to 3.5 crore people of the Punjab and only the person elected by them has a privilege of serving them and living in this house. He said that as a matter of fact people do not elect such power hungry leaders with dubious character, who have never bothered about the people.

Citing an example, the Chief Minister said that Union Minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu thinks that he has ancestral right on this property of people as his grandfather had once remained CM. He said that these rejected leaders will never be accepted by people and their dream to occupy the official residence of the Chief Minister with all these tantrums will be of no use. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is the house of the masses, who elect and send the leaders here, but people will never elect these politicians who have no concern for people.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the traditional parties are envious of him because he hails from a common family adding that these leaders who had always believed that they have divine right to rule the state are not able to digest that a common man is running the state efficiently. He said that these leaders have befooled the people since independence by depriving them of even the basic necessities due to which people had ousted them. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is a fact that these convent educated political leaders are not even aware of the basic ground realities of the state.

Chandigarh, March 5:

Buoyed over getting jobs from the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government purely on the basis of merit, the newly inducted candidates on Wednesday hailed the Chief Minister for this noble initiative.

Interacting with the Chief Minister here a candidate Jasmeet Kaur from Barnala who had been selected in the Health department profusely thanked the Chief Minister. She said that it is a dream come true as regular appointments have been given to them purely on the basis of merit. She also thanked the Chief Minister for giving a major push to the development of the state.

Sharing his views, Dr Harmeet Singh who has been selected in the Health department also said that giving jobs in a transparent manner is a big achievement for all of us. He assured the Chief Minister that they will discharge his duty with utmost commitment and integrity.

In her views, Shelly Rani from Samana who has been selected in Cooperative bank said that she was indebted to the Chief Minister for giving these jobs. She said that it is unprecedented that government jobs have been given to youth on this scale.

Inderpreet Singh from SAS Nagar Mohali who has been selected in Cooperative bank said that he is thankful to the Chief Minister for giving the jobs to youth. He said that the Punjab Model of giving jobs to youth will be replicated across the country as it is the best one. He said that he wanted to settle abroad but the jobs offered by the state government have given them an opportunity to serve the masses while remaining here.

Sandeep Kaur from Satauj, the native village of the Chief Minister, said that it is a dream come true for her as the job has been completely given to her on the basis of merit. She said that she had lost hope of getting a job but as they were given completely on the basis of merit, she had got this opportunity.

Gurpreet Kaur from Sangrur said that since day one of formation of the state government, the youth are getting jobs completely on the basis of merit. She said that none of the previous governments had ever bothered about this noble cause.

Chandigarh March 5

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its drive against corruption in the state, has arrested a Panchayat Secretary, Avneet Singh Bajwa, posted in block Kurda, in SAS Nagar for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20000. In this bribery case Block Development and Panchayats Officer (BDPO) SAS Nagar Dhanwant Singh has been booked as co-accused.

          Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the aforementioned accused has been booked based on a complaint filed by a Sarpanch against both the officials.

          He further informed that the complainant has informed in his complaint to the VB that the BDPO and Panchayat Secretary had demanded a bribe of Rs 20000 for issuing utilisation certificates (UC) of grants used for the development works executed in the gram panchayat from the year 2018-2023.

          The spokesperson further added that after preliminary verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the said accused has been arrested red handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 20000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

          In this regard a case under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act and under section 61(2) of BNS has been registered against both the above said accused at VB police station, flying squad-1, Punjab at SAS Nagar. Further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.

Chandigarh, March 5

Continuing its drive against corruption in the state, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Vipan Kumar, a Patwari posted at Revenue Halqa Nawanshahr-1, who had been absconding for three weeks in a bribery case. His accomplice, Rampal, was earlier caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 on his behalf.

          A VB spokesperson stated that the case was registered based on a complaint from a resident of New Abadi, Nawanshahr in SBS Nagar district. The complainant alleged to the VB that Patwari Vipan Kumar had demanded a Rs 5,000 bribe to process the mutation of his ancestral house. Acting on the Patwari’s instructions, he had already paid Rs 2,000 in advance to Rampal, a middleman of Patwari. When further pressured for the remaining amount, the complainant approached the VB for help.

          The spokesperson added that following a preliminary verification of the complaint, the VB laid a trap on February 14, 2025, and apprehended Rampal red-handed while accepting Rs 3,000 bribe from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. Meanwhile, Patwari Vipan Kumar managed to flee the scene, evading arrest. Since then, the VB had been conducting raids at his residence and other locations, leading to his eventual arrest.

          In this regard a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against both accused at the VB Police Station, Jalandhar Range. The court has allowed one day police remand of the accused and further investigations into this case was under progress, he added.

Chandigarh, March 5

The Yudh Nashian Virudh Cabinet Sub-Committee Chairman Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday said that Punjab’s crusade against the drug menace is yielding significant results, with the Yudh Nashian Virudh Campaign launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann gaining massive traction across the state. He said that the drug smugglers are either fleeing Punjab or being apprehended by the police, paving the way for a drug-free Punjab.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, during his tour of the three districts of Tarn Taran, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur, held meetings with civil and police administration alongside local leadership. He emphasized the importance of public participation, enhancing drug de-addiction efforts, intensifying police crackdowns on drug traders, and promoting activities such as educational competitions, sports, and cultural events to engage the youth in adopting healthier lifestyles.

At the Tarntaran meeting, Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar emphasized the need to create a public movement against drugs, citing initiatives from his constituency, Patti. Adding to this, MLA Khadoor Sahib Manjinder Singh Lalpura mentioned that 80 villages in his constituency have passed resolutions to prevent the sale of drugs in their areas. He also stated that 87 villages will be provided with volleyball kits to divert the youth’s attention from drugs to sports. During the meeting, MLA Tarn Taran Dr. Kashmir Singh Sohal and MLA Khemkaran Sarwan Singh Dhun also shared their views.

Apprising the Finance Minister about police action taken against drug traffickers, SSP Tarn Taran Abhimanyu Rana said  that property worth Rs. 26 crore was attached last year, over Rs. 2 crore this year, and action is underway to attach property in six additional cases. He also reported that 80 individuals have been taken into custody under NDPS act in the district, and 13 kg of heroin has been seized as part of this campaign.

During the Yudh Nashian Virudh meeting in Pathankot, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema was accompanied by Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, Vice President of Aam Aadmi Party Punjab Swaran Salaria, and other prominent district figures. The Finance Minister emphasized that the Pathankot Police would launch a joint operation with the Himachal Police to curb the drug trade in the Pathankot district, which borders the Himachal region. He expressed confidence that nearly 500 ward-level and village-level committees formed in the Pathankot district would be instrumental in ending the drug trade.

The Gurdaspur meeting was held late in the evening where Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, Dera Baba Nanak MLA Gurdeep Singh Randhawa, and a number of other dignitaries accompanied the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister directed health department officials to conduct special checks at all medical stores in the district to ensure no banned medicines are sold.  He called for stringent action against individuals spreading drugs through illegal medical practices and instructed the Civil Surgeon to submit a report on these activities within 10 days. The status of OOAT centers and drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centers was also reviewed during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Gurdaspur Aditya Uppal detailed the efforts of the district administration under the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, including the launch of the ‘Umeed’ campaign to protect the youth from drugs and the formation of anti-drug committees in hotspot areas. DIG Border Range Satinder Singh, SSP Gurdaspur Aditya, and SSP Batala Sohail Qasim Mir presented reports on police actions against drug smugglers.

Chandigarh 02 March 2025:

An official spokesperson of the Punjab State Election Commission informed that the General Elections to three Municipal Councils of Tarn Taran (District Tarn Taran), Dera Baba Nanak (District Gurdaspur) and Talwara (District Hoshiarpur) were conducted today in a peaceful manner.

The voter turnout for three Municipal Councils of Tarn Taran (District Tarn Taran), Dera Baba Nanak (District Gurdaspur) and Talwara (District Hoshiarpur) are 54.06 %, 73.50 % and 61.31 % respectively, as reported by respective District Election Officers.

He further informed that a re-poll for Ward No.3 of Municipal Council, Tarn Taran has been ordered to be held on 04.03.2025 from 07:00 am to 04:00 pm followed by counting of votes on the same day.  In this regard, Deputy Commissioner-cum-DEO, Tarn Taran has been directed to make all the necessary arrangements.