Category Archives: Punjab

Chandigarh, Punjab

PUNJAB POLICE AVERT SEVEN POSSIBLE MURDERS WITH ARREST OF 11 OPERATIVES OF LAWRENCE-RINDA GANG

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH JULY 1, 2022

In an extensive and planned operation, the Punjab Police have busted an inter-state gang backed by Gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Harwinder Rinda, with the arrest of its 11 members after recovering nine weapons and five looted vehicles from their possession, said ADGP Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Promod Ban, while addressing a Press Conference here on Thursday. The operation was carried out by the Jalandhar Rural Police.

          Those arrested have been identified as Mohd. Yaseen Akhtar alias Jaisy Purewal of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Sagar Singh of Naya Shahar Badala in Mohali; Amar Malik of Samrala, Ludhiana; Navi of Lohian, Jalandhar; Ankush Sabharwal @ Paya of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Sumit Jaswal @ Kaku of Una (HP); Amandeep alias Shooter of Phillaur, Jalandhar; Shiv Kumar @ Shiva of Phillaur, Jalandhar; Vishal alias Fauji of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana of Una (HP) and Annu alias Pehalwan of Kapurthala. All the arrested persons are history-sheeters and have been facing cases of heinous crimes.

          ADGP Promod Ban, who was accompanied by SSP Jalandhar Rural Swapan Sharma, said that this group was active in several neighboring states and had been involved in crimes including murder, attempt to murder, armed dacoity, organized extortion, dacoity, robbery, and drug smuggling. “With their arrest, Punjab Police has thwarted at least seven murders, two police custody escapes, and four armed robberies,” he added.

          The ADGP said that, as per preliminary investigations, the gang was being operated by Vikram Brar, an associate of Goldy Brar on the directions of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda. Notably, Brar, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan currently residing abroad is wanted by the Police of six states. He is a classmate of Lawrence Bishnoi and is active on social media.

          Giving details about arrested persons, SSP Swapan Sharma said that Mohamad Yaseen Akhtar alias Jasse has been missing since a year. A prodigy of Brar and Lawrence, Jasse has been involved in at least 16 criminal activities, he said.

          He said that another arrested person identified as Ankush Sabarwal alias Paya, who has six criminal cases registered against him, was a student of Vikram Brar at an IELTS center in Nakodar in 2014 and had been providing shelter and safe house to Saurav Mahakal of Maharashtra, who was arrested by Pune Police. Along with Mahakal, he committed three crimes in Punjab, during Mahakal’s two-month stay in the state.

          The SSP said that Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana is a jailed gangster and is operating on the behest of the Lawrence-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group. The arrested gang had planned Mani Rana’s escape from Police custody during a court hearing in Una, Himachal Pradesh, he said, while adding that Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku has been arrested as he was actively involved in doing recce and organizing logistics for this escape attempt. “With the arrest of this gang, the backbone of organized criminal activities in the Doaba region in general and Jalandhar, in particular, has been broken,” he added.

          Pertinently, in the past two months, Jalandhar Rural Police has arrested 32 gang members across the state-affiliated with various jailed gangsters and recovered 38 weapons from their possession.

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Today, the Higher Education and Languages Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer presented a resolution opposing the Union Government’s attempt to change the character of the Panjab University, Chandigarh which was passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and now it would be sent for taking up with the Union Government. Speaking on the resolution, Higher Education Minister Meet Hayer said that Panjab University is our heritage and it is a matter of identity for us, Punjabis. State government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is firmly committed to safeguard the rights of Punjab. Alongwith Panjab University, Punjab has full rights on Punjabi speaking areas and waters.

Resolution tables by the Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer in the Vidhan Sabha:-

This House is concerned about the attempt being made by some vested interests to push the matter for change of status of Panjab University into a Central University on one pretext or the other.

The House acknowledges and recognizes that the Punjab University was re-commenced with an Act of the Punjab State namely the Panjab University Act 1947 after independence, and subsequently with the reorganization of the State of Punjab in 1966, it was declared as an Inter-State Body Corporate under Section 72(1) of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966 enacted by the Parliament. Since its inception, the Panjab University has been continuously and uninterruptedly functioning in the State of Punjab. It was shifted from Lahore, the then capital of Punjab, to Hoshiarpur and then to Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab. More than 175 colleges of Punjab, which are situated in the districts of Fazilka, Ferozpur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Moga, Sri Muktsar Sahib and S.B.S Nagar, are affiliated with the Panjab University at present. The entire territorial jurisdiction and the populace, which the Panjab University is catering to, falls majorly in the state of Punjab, in addition to the area under Union Territory of Chandigarh, which despite many resolutions of this august house has not been restored as the capital of Punjab state only and continues to be a Union Territory.

Historically, the people of Punjab have been very intimately associated and have identified themselves with this university right from its inception. The Panjab University occupies an emotional place in the minds of Punjabis on account of historical, regional and cultural reasons. The University has emerged as an educational and cultural symbol of Punjab’s legacy and inheritance to the extent that it has almost become synonymous with the State of Punjab,

Despite the fact that the States of Haryana and Himachal stopped contributing their share of the maintenance deficit grants to the University, the State of Punjab has increased its share from 20 percent to 40 percent and has continuously been paying it since 1976. The Government of Haryana unilaterally withdrew the affiliation of its colleges from the University and transferred the same to the other Universities within Haryana State, which has reduced the revenue of the university. The Government of India vide its notification dated 27-10-1997 ceased the representation of Haryana in various governing bodies of the University.

This House has observed that the University has been managing and conducting its financial affairs unilaterally. The State of Punjab has however increased the Grant-in-Aid from Rs. 20 crores to Rs. 45.30 crores during the financial year 2020-21, which amounts to an increase of more than 75 %. Besides, nearly Rs 100 crore is collected annually by the University from the affiliated Colleges located in Punjab. This substantial increase may not be commensurate with the needs of the Panjab University, but this is due to the reason that there is no bilateral consultative process in place.

This House strongly and unanimously feels that any decision to change the character of the Panjab University won’t be acceptable to the people of Punjab and therefore, strongly recommends that no change in the nature and character of this University should be considered by the Government of India. Any proposal in case it is being considered should be dropped with immediate effect.

Therefore, this House strongly recommends to the State Government to take up the matter with the Central Government so as not to alter the nature and character of the Panjab University in any way keeping in view the sentiments of the people of Punjab.”

Chandigarh, Punjab

CM ANNOUNCES TO CONSTITUTE A THREE MEMBER CABINET COMMITTEE FOR REGULARISING SERVICES OF ALL THE ELIGIBLE CONTRACTUAL EMPLOYEES

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH, JUNE 30, 2022

Reiterating firm commitment of the state government to regularise the services of all the eligible contractual employees, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today announced to constitute a three member Cabinet committee comprising Cabinet Ministers Harpal cheema, Gurmeet singh Meet Hayer and Harjot Singh Bains to remove all the legal hurdles for passing a new bill in this regard.

          Announcing this at the floor of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the Chief Minister said that the state government is fully sensitive towards the need for regularising the services of the employees working on contract, ad-hoc, daily wages, work charge and temporary basis. However, he said that a law framed for this purpose in 2016 is subjudice and another one drafted in 2021 is still waiting for the nod of Punjab Governor. But, Bhagwant Mann said that the state government is committed for giving relief to the thousands of such employees due to which this Cabinet committee has been formed which will explore ways and means to regularise the services of these employees after due consultation with the legal experts.

          The Chief Minister said that the government has set its wheels in motion for which Cabinet in its meeting held today has given nod to a draft of new bill in this regard. Bhagwant Mann said that the Cabinet committee will examine the legal feasibility of this draft in due consultation with Advocate General of Punjab. He said that foolproof fresh bill will be drafted to provide succour to these employees.

          The Chief Minister said that the state government will not hesitate to convene a special session of the state assembly for introducing this new bill. Bhagwant Mann said that this was on the top priority of the state government and no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause. He said that state government is duty bound to give relief to these employees for which all the legal hurdles will be cleared before implementing the new draft bill so that it doesn’t hang in fire like the previous bills.

Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab

Union Minister for PowerR K Singh inaugurates NHRC-IGNCA Conference, says respect for human rights is in DNA of Indians

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IEP Chandigarh

The Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, Mr. R.K. Singh has said that respecting human rights has been inherent in Indian way of life since time immemorial, and much before these were defined by the West. He said that Indians are different because they have always come across as evolved human beings having respect for human rights in their genes. Nevertheless, in order to protect the rights of the people, sometimes tough laws are also needed like Unlawful Activities Protection Act to deal those who indulge in heinous crimes against fellow human beings.

Mr. Singh was addressing, as the Chief Guest, the inaugural session of the two day ‘National Conference on Human Rights in Indian Culture and Philosophy’, organized jointly by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India and Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, IGNCA in New Delhi today on 30th June, 2022.

He said that respecting rights of women has been a very old tradition of Indian society much before the West realized these in the 60s. We come from a culture where a common man can question the king. Indian history and culture is very vast, and there is a need to study it more with Indian perspective. These have been studied and researched by the western academia interpreting Indian history with their perspective. That is an aspect which needs remedy and it should be useful to compile the research papers part of such an important conference into a book.

Mr. Singh said that the inherent values of leading a life with principles are in the nature of Indians, which are not taught to them. Nevertheless, we also have enabling laws to protect rights. He said that it is our country that has expanded the concept of human rights by ensuring houses, piped water connection, electricity, gas connection for all; health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh to every family below the poverty line and right to food that ensured 80 crore people got free food: that is the concept of our human rights and let no one preach us. India had a treasure house of books kept in the library of Nalanda signifying the literacy level of the country.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, the NHRC, Chairperson, Mr. Justice Arun Mishra said that India has given a new philosophy to the world. He said that Dharma has been recognized as a way of life in India and not as a narrow understanding of religion. Therefore, the conduct, as a set principle of life, has become a strong pillar for respecting human rights.

He said that the concept of global village being talked about now has been a very ancient philosophy as reflected in the ethos of vasudhaiv kutumbakam. Referring to several scriptures of different religious faiths, he said that in Indian culture, there has never been a monopoly of any religious faith or ideology, because there has been acceptance for all beliefs, and that is why the concept of religious conversion never met the approval, as its need was never felt.

Justice Mishra said that much in line with the old Indian way of life and beliefs, the Emperor Akbar also started Deen-e-illahi to bring all the people of different faiths on one platform. Justice Mishra said that it is not understood why and due to which reason there is an effort to divide different religions: when there is no difference in human beings, why should they be differentiated in the name of religion. He emphasized that there is a need to implement again the concept of Deen-e-illahi. Justice Mishra said that Indians give importance to human values and respect everyone as in Indian culture there is equal respect for all the religions and nobody should take it as our weakness.

Mr. Ram Bahadur Rai, IGNCA Board of Trustee President, said that this is a new initiative to hold a much needed discussion on India’s contribution to the world in terms of culture and philosophy. He said that Indian culture and philosophy are not an intellectual process; humanity is embedded in them like heart beating.

Dr. D.M. Mulay, Member, NHRC said that in the 75 years of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is time to put forward the contribution of India to the global civilization. He said that the struggle for independence, principles non-violence of Gandhiji, and much before in the history, the denouncement of war by the Emperor Ashoka after victory to spread peace,  have been the actions that all have in their basis the concept of respect for human rights.

He said that in the welfare of the world, lies the well being of human beings is the Indian concept of human rights. This has reflected all through in its ancient traditions, scriptures, the words of poet saints and social reformers, which are a collection of immeasurable values of life that translate into respect for human rights as basic principles of leading life.

Earlier, during the day, in the two thematic sessions, leading into the culmination of this inaugural session, chaired by the NHRC Chairperson, Mr. Justice Arun Mishra and Member, Mr. Justice M.M. Kumar, several thought provoking interventions were made by the leading academicians on the various facets of ancient Indian culture and philosophy embedded in the values for human rights as these are being understood and defined today.

The two day conference will conclude on 1st July, 2022.

Chandigarh, Punjab

PUNJAB GOVT KICK STARTS PETRO CARD/ FLEET CARD FACILITY FOR VEHICLES OF CABINET MINISTERS

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH, JUNE 30, 2022

Punjab Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led state government has introduced Petro Card/Fleet Card facility for the vehicles allotted to the Cabinet Ministers of the state. The State Transport Commissioner’s Office has commenced this facility after getting the nod from Finance Department in this regard.

Drivers deputed at the vehicles alloted to the ministers have been instructed to refuel the vehicles only at those petrol pumps where Petro Card facility will be available, besides making it mandatory to put the vehicle number on the computerized slip received from the pump and submit the duly filled logbook along with both the receipts -computerized and manual- after getting verify the bills by the 5th of every month and mention accurate amount on the summary sheet, failing which the Petro Card will be blocked and in case of loss of the Petro Card, the driver will be charged.

Drivers have also been directed to abide by the fuel limit and they will be solely responsible for violating the prescribed fuel limit. Drivers have been asked to fill in all the details on the duly signed summary sheet such as their name, mobile number, vehicle number and the name of the minister whom the vehicle has been alloted and mention open/closing meter reading accurately.

Meanwhile, Punjab Transport Minister Mr. Laljit Singh Bhullar urged all the Cabinet Ministers to ensure strict adherence to the instructions by the concerned drivers deputed on their vehicles so that the facility of Petro Card could be run smoothly.

Chandigarh, Punjab

PUNJAB POLICE AVERT SEVEN POSSIBLE MURDERS WITH ARREST OF 11 OPERATIVES OF LAWRENCE-RINDA GANG

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH, JUNE 30, 2022

 In an extensive and planned operation, the Punjab Police have busted an inter-state gang backed by Gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Harwinder Rinda, with the arrest of its 11 members after recovering nine weapons and five looted vehicles from their possession, said ADGP Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Promod Ban, while addressing a Press Conference here on Thursday. The operation was carried out by the Jalandhar Rural Police.

          Those arrested have been identified as Mohd. Yaseen Akhtar alias Jaisy Purewal of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Sagar Singh of Naya Shahar Badala in Mohali; Amar Malik of Samrala, Ludhiana; Navi of Lohian, Jalandhar; Ankush Sabharwal @ Paya of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Sumit Jaswal @ Kaku of Una (HP); Amandeep alias Shooter of Phillaur, Jalandhar; Shiv Kumar @ Shiva of Phillaur, Jalandhar; Vishal alias Fauji of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana of Una (HP) and Annu alias Pehalwan of Kapurthala. All the arrested persons are history-sheeters and have been facing cases of heinous crimes.

          ADGP Promod Ban, who was accompanied by SSP Jalandhar Rural Swapan Sharma, said that this group was active in several neighboring states and had been involved in crimes including murder, attempt to murder, armed dacoity, organized extortion, dacoity, robbery, and drug smuggling. “With their arrest, Punjab Police has thwarted at least seven murders, two police custody escapes, and four armed robberies,” he added.

          The ADGP said that, as per preliminary investigations, the gang was being operated by Vikram Brar, an associate of Goldy Brar on the directions of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda. Notably, Brar, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan currently residing abroad is wanted by the Police of six states. He is a classmate of Lawrence Bishnoi and is active on social media.

          Giving details about arrested persons, SSP Swapan Sharma said that Mohamad Yaseen Akhtar alias Jasse has been missing since a year. A prodigy of Brar and Lawrence, Jasse has been involved in at least 16 criminal activities, he said.

          He said that another arrested person identified as Ankush Sabarwal alias Paya, who has six criminal cases registered against him, was a student of Vikram Brar at an IELTS center in Nakodar in 2014 and had been providing shelter and safe house to Saurav Mahakal of Maharashtra, who was arrested by Pune Police. Along with Mahakal, he committed three crimes in Punjab, during Mahakal’s two-month stay in the state.

          The SSP said that Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana is a jailed gangster and is operating on the behest of the Lawrence-Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group. The arrested gang had planned Mani Rana’s escape from Police custody during a court hearing in Una, Himachal Pradesh, he said, while adding that Sumit Jaswal alias Kaku has been arrested as he was actively involved in doing recce and organizing logistics for this escape attempt. “With the arrest of this gang, the backbone of organized criminal activities in the Doaba region in general and Jalandhar, in particular, has been broken,” he added.

          Pertinently, in the past two months, Jalandhar Rural Police has arrested 32 gang members across the state-affiliated with various jailed gangsters and recovered 38 weapons from their possession.

Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab

FRANCHISE INDIA’S EDTECH X INDIAN EDUCATION CONGRESS & AWARDS FOCUSSED ON RETHINKING EDUCATION IN INDIA

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INDIA E POST CHANDIGARH, JUNE 30

Franchise India on Wednesday organized the Edtech X Indian Education Congress & Awards at the JW Marriott, Chandigarh. On this occasion, honorary guest Shri Kanwar Pal Gujjar Ji, Education Minister for Haryana, virtually commented, “We aim to implement the New Education Policy impactfully by 2025. In times to come it will bring a lot of good change for the people of the country – opening new employment opportunities and technical skills to the youth of India. It will bring meaningful changes in vocational education as we earlier knew and would now be implemented from middle school. Once the student leaves school, the student would have enough skills with them and instead of seeking employment – he could become an employer We have factored changes for the same in the state budget also and have laid out Rs. 20,000 crores for the education sector.”


The Indian Education Congress was organized in Chandigarh for the first time following the grand successes of the New Delhi and Bengaluru editions. The objective of bringing the Edtech x Indian Education Congress to Chandigarh is to take stock of the trends, policies, practices, and research in the education sector promising new innovations, allies, and increased attention on the field of global education. Edtech X Indian Education Congress, Chandigarh is a stepping stone to bring out the flavor of digital learning that brings along virtues such as access, availability, and affordability.


India has over 250 million school-going students, more than any other country. One of the objectives of the Indian Education Congress is to bring forward tools and practices to bring quality education for all. The future of education must make it possible for learning to be personalized on a large scale and to be tailored to the information and skills that are actually needed by students to be adept for tomorrow’s jobs and industry needs, all while lowering costs and accelerating completion times.


Notable education leaders, industry experts, and professionals such as Hari Krishna Nair of Great Learning, AkshayMunjal of Hero Vired, Prof. Amarendra P. Behera, Joint Director, CIET (NCERT), Pulkit Jain, Co-founder, Vedantu, Dr.Ritesh Malik, Founder, Plaksha University, and Raj Singhal, CEO, Footprints, among others, who are driving change in education, gathered at the event for insightful sessions and panel discussions centered on forecasting and addressing future digital technologies in education as well as the proliferation of edtech in India to address the challenges faced by educationists right from early education to K12, higher learning, and life-long learning.
Preetima Bhardwaj, CEO of Franchise India said “Bringing the education industry from prestigious organizations to a gathering is always a challenge and a pleasure but the learning outcomes always weigh out the challenges. Edtech X Indian Education congress gives an opportunity to reexamine how we can prioritize learning and healthy development beyond the four walls of educational institutions. How to promote a “whole child” approach to education that will encourage the learning of skills that are better to align the education sector with needs from the business sector.”


Important education players in India including VALUABLE EDUTAINMENT, AGILITY, CANAM OPTIONS ABROAD, Iapply, and NCERT, were part of the event to offer new skills, new solutions, and tools for the industry to adopt the new ways of teaching youth. The event was supported by ISFA (Indian Small Business & Franchise Association), Easy Shiksha, PW, Crossword PR, Francorp–The Franchising Leader, Burlington ENGLISH, NEWS 18, Mercer|Imettl, Francorp–The Franchising Leader.


In addition, education awards were given out to resilient and pathbreakingedutech startups like Class plus, Embibe, Extramarks, and educational institutions including – Strawberry Fields, Narayana Schools, Lovely Professional University, ManavRachna University, Amity university Mohali to recognize the successes of the sector and to spotlight the trailblazing organizations that are altering it for the benefit of future generations. The most promising EdTech companies from around the country doing pathbreaking work in the north region of India were recognized, highlighted, and honored at this award ceremony.

Chandigarh, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Punjab

PSPCL SUPPLIED HIGHEST EVER POWER IN SINGLE DAY OF 3265 LACS UNITS SURPASSING PREVIOUS YEAR RECORD OF 3066 LACS UNITS

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Complying with the strict instructions of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann to provide uninterrupted power supply for agriculture and domestic sector, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had supplied highest ever power in a single day of 3265 lacs units which surpassed the previous year record of 3066 lacs units supplied on July 1, 2021 that is an increase of 6.49%.

This year PSPCL has also successfully met highest ever peak demand of 14207 MW on 29-06-2022 at 12.15 PM by surpassing the previous year record of 13431 MW on 01-07-2021. This summer due to increased temperature, demand of power is persistently high but despite this PSPCL is providing daily 8 hour power supply to its agriculture consumers and 24 hour power supply to all other categories of consumers in the Punjab  without imposing any power cuts on any category of consumers.

Divulging further, Punjab Power Minister Sh. Harbhajan Singh informed, in view of the continuous high demand, PSPCL developed the strategy to adopt various deviation settlement mechanism measures for the reactive power management to optimize resources. He said that in order to compensate the reactive power requirement of the system, condenser mode of unit no 3 of Ranjit Sagar Dam plant, which was not being used for many  years, has now been made operational to compensate the 60 Mega Volt Amps Reactive (MVAR) requirement of reactive power in the system.

Besides this, Mega Volt Amps Reactive MVAR capacity of the system has also been increased through a special drive by the addition of 341.61 Mega Volt Amps Reactive MVAR capacity with 251 units of capacitor banks at the grid sub stations and addition of shunt capacitors of required capacity at 11 KV feeders to improve the voltage profile of the system, he added.