IEP Chandigarh, July 19

          Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan today met exceptional weightlifter Amarjeet Guru, who won Silver Medal in weightlifting in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship-2023 held at Noida, recently.

          Amarjeet Guru, son of Raj Kumar from village Gunachaur (SBS Nagar), has exhibited remarkable dedication and skill in the field of weightlifting for the past 13 years. His hard work and relentless pursuit of excellence have earned him a well-deserved place among the top weightlifters in the nation.

          During the meeting at the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat here, S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan commended Amarjeet Guru on his extraordinary achievement at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship. He lauded Amarjeet Guru’s commitment to the sport and expressed his pride in witnessing a young athlete from Punjab shine on the national stage.

          During the interaction, S. Sandhwan assured Amarjeet Guru of full support and encouragement for his future endeavours. He said that the Punjab government is committed to promoting and uplifting talented athletes like Amarjeet Guru and providing them with the necessary resources to excel on international platforms.

          Sh. Nachhattar Pal, MLA Nawanshahar was also present on this occasion. He conveyed his heartfelt congratulations to Amarjeet Guru. He said that the outstanding accomplishment of the player not only brings glory to his family and hometown but also serves as an inspiration for aspiring athletes across the state.

IEP Nakodar (Jalandhar), July 19

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday paid obeisance at Darbar Almast Bapu Lal Badshah ji and sought blessings from Darbar to further achieve the goals for unprecedented development and progress of the state and prosperity of its people. On the occasion, the Chief Minister congratulated the huge rush of devotees (sangat) converging at the darbar and committee on the annual congregation to mark Almast Bapu Lal Badshah Ji’s mela. Bhagwant Mann also prayed for the welfare of all sections of the society besides seeking blessings to serve the people of Punjab for more zealously. He said all of us should celebrate such historic and religious occasions together by rising above petty politics, caste, colour and creed.  The Chief Minister further said that as Punjabis are blessed with indomitable spirit to face colossal challenges and successfully emerge from them, so the present flood situation will also normalize shortly with joint efforts of all, who were putting their efforts round the clock in flood hit areas.  Bhagwant Mann said Punjab is a land of saint, seers, prophets and great martyrs adding that Punjabis are sons of soil, who have learned a lot from teachings of great Gurus and sacrifices of our patriots. He said that the current crisis amid floods in several parts of the state will be over soon as Punjabis had joined hands to help out people facing distress due to natural calamity. The Chief Minister said Punjabis were well-known to help others in trying circumstances across the globe so the current tough time will also be overcome in a short span of time. He said this is not the first time, when Punjab is facing such a situation as the state has a glorious history of combating such adversaries. However, Bhagwant Mann with the blessings of almighty all these problems will be definitely contained. Pointing out further, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said people of Punjab had given opportunity to them for taking wise and pro-people decisions. He assured that his Government is taking all decisions in the larger interests of Punjab and its people besides putting the state on a high growth trajectory. Bhagwant Mann also emphasized that all of us should be always connected with our roots as the trees having deep roots in soil never fell in any situation. The Chief Minister said his Government is working sincerely with utmost transparency and commitment to make Punjab a frontrunner state in all sectors. He said that the pristine glory of the state will be restored at all costs and the state government has already started getting results on this count. Bhagwant Mann said that strenuous efforts of the state government will give further impetus to development and prosperity of the state. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister and others also partook the langar. He also interacted with the sangat from different parts of the state. From the Darbar committee, Hans Raj Hans also presented a shawl to the Chief Minister and other dignitaries. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Balkar Singh, Head of Dera and renowned singer Hans Raj Hans, MLAs Inderjit Kaur Mann and Jasvir Singh Raja besides others

IEP CHANDIGARH, July 19    

      Amidst the ongoing anti-corruption drive, Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sushil Kumar for taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakhs for re-nominating a person— who was given a clean chit, in a 2019 murder case of Mahant Dayal Das. The latter was shot dead by two unknown persons at Dera Baba Harka Das in village Kotsukhia in Kotkapura on November 7, 2019.          Following this, the murder case was registered at Police Station Sadar Kotkapura against two unknown persons and Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale and others on the complaint of Sant Gagan Das, who is a disciple of Sant Baba Haridas. Later, accused Sant Jarnail Das was given a clean chit by DSP HQs Moga Ravinder Singh.          Divulging details, a official Spokesperson of the VB said that Punjab and Haryana High Court summoned IGP Faridkot Range Pardeep Kumar Yadav to file affidavit in this case. Thereafter, the IGP had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by SP (D) Faridkot Gagnesh Kumar comprising members including DSP Faridkot Sushil Kumar, DSP Baghapurana Jasjot Singh and SI Khem Chand.          He said that in November 2022, SP Gagnesh Kumar, DSP Sushil Kumar and SI Khem Chand had demanded Rs 50 lakh as a bribe from Sant Gagan Das to re-nominate and arrest Sant Jarnail Das Kapurewale and to help him (Gagan Das) in this case. The deal was settled at Rs 35 lakh and the said officers had already taken Rs 20 lakh in two instalments— Rs 15 lakh and Rs 5 lakh on November 9, 2022 and November 22, 2022.          The spokesperson said that following the investigations, the Police teams from Vigilance Bureau Ferozepur Range have arrested DSP Sushil Kumar, who is presently posted at 3 IRB, Ludhiana. The accused DSP will be produced before the Court on Thursday, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, July 19     

     In less than two months after the Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Mr Aman Arora inaugurated the ‘Center of Excellence’ (CoE) in Phagwara, as many as 140 candidates, including 32 girls have already enrolled themselves at the centre and undergoing training in different job roles.          President World Bank Mr Ajay Banga along with officials of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on Wednesday reviewed the functioning of the CoE. Punjab was among the four states, which were chosen to showcase the functioning of COE before the World Bank President. Other three states were Karnataka, Orissa and Maharashtra.          This CoE was established under the World Bank funded SANKALP scheme to provide skill training to the youth of Punjab. Punjab Skill Development Mission (PSDM) had inked an MoU with Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) for setting up of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Phagwara on February 9, 2023 and the Centre was inaugurated on May 26.          During the meeting, Mr Ajay Banga also interacted with the female candidates undergoing training at the CoE.          The CoE was set up with an aim to make the youth of Punjab skilful and employable as desired by Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann.          Pertinently, the Centre of Excellence has been running successfully with a total of 140 candidates, including 32 girls, have been undergoing training in job roles including Automotive Machine Operator, Fitter Electrical and Electronic Assembly. A Total of 2000 candidates will be provided training in the Centre of Excellence.           Meanwhile, the CoE is focused on women empowerment and aims to provide skill training to female candidates in Non-Traditional sectors. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 19      

    Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday nabbed an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Sukhdev Singh   posted at Police Station Bhawanigarh while taking a bribe of Rs 8000.          The accused Police Official has been arrested on the complaint of Hardam Singh resident of Village Rampura in district Sangrur.          An official spokesperson of the VB said that the complainant lodged a complaint that the above mentioned ASI was demanding bribe of Rs. 10,000 for taking action on the complaint filed by him at Police Station Bhawanigarh against Malkit Singh resident of the same village, who had beaten the complainant. The accused ASI demanded bribe of Rs 10000 and took Rs 2000 as bribe on Monday. Today he demanded the remaining amount of Rs. 8000.           After preliminary investigation of the complaint, a team of VB laid a trap and arrested the accused ASI while accepting the bribe of Rs 8000 from the complainant in the presence of official witnesses. In this regard, FIR has been registered against ASI Sukhdev Singh at PS Vigilance  Bureau, Patiala Range and further investigation is in progress.

IEP CHANDIGARH, July 19     

     As part of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday arrested a Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Killiawali in District Sri Muktsar Sahib while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. The arrested SHO has been identified as Iqbal Singh.          Divulging details, the official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said that the accused SHO has been arrested on the complaint lodged by Bhim Singh, a resident of village in Sirsa, Haryana.          He said that the complainant Bhim Singh approached the VB, alleging that the accused SHO had demanded Rs 20,000 as a bribe to abolish the false complaint against his son. The deal was settled at Rs 15,000, he said.          The spokesperson said that following the preliminary investigation, the VB Bathinda Unit laid a trap and arrested the accused SHO red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10000 in the presence of two official witnesses.          In this regard, a case under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused SHO at Bathinda Range Police Station of the Vigilance Bureau and further investigations are on.