IEP Chandigarh February 7

          The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, has registered a corruption case against revenue Patwari Sunny Sharma, posted at revenue halqua Ferozeshah, in Ferozepur district for accepting bribe of Rs 3,000 and demanding Rs 2,000 more money through Paytm app.

          Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said this case has been registered against the said accused on an online complaint lodged by Rachhpal Singh, a resident of village Saidoke, district Faridkot on the Chief Minister anti corruption action line.

          He further added that the complainant has alleged in his complaint that the above said Patwari has demanded bribe of Rs 5,000 to make amendments in the revenue records regarding ownership of agricultural land belonging to his brother-in-law which was fraudulently altered by his predecessor. He further alleged that the said Patwari had already obtained Rs 3,000 as a bribe from him and asking to pay the second instalment of Rs 2,000 on his Paytm account. The complainant has also made recordings of demand raised by the said Patwari to take bribe and submitted to the VB as an evidence.

          In this regard the VB range Ferozepur has investigated the complaint and found the allegations as true and correct. On the basis of this report, a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the above said accused at VB police station Ferozepur range. Further investigation into this case was under progress, he added.

IEP CHANDIGARH, February 7

          Amidst the ongoing drive to eradicate organised crime from the state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police has arrested three associates of a terrorists Harwinder Singh alias Rinda and Lakhbir Singh alias Landa Harike, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

          Those arrested have been identified as Jobanjit Singh alias Joban, Bikramjit Singh alias Bikka and Kulwinder Singh alias Kala. Police teams have also recovered two .32 caliber pistols along with 10 live cartridges, besides, impounding their Maruti Swift car, in which they were travelling.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav said that acting on reliable intel-inputs, Police teams from the AGTF Punjab headed by ADGP Promod Ban under the supervision of AIG Sandeep Goel and led by DSP AGTF Border Range Harminder Singh tracked their location, and nabbed them at T-Pont Near village Safipur Tarn-Taran road in Amritsar.

          He said that both the accused persons have criminal history as Joban was wanted in Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), attempt to murder case, Arms Act, NDPS Act and IT Act offences and remained absconding for long. While other accused Bikka was also wanted in two criminal cases pertaining to attempt to murder, he added.

          “Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were carrying out criminal activities on the directions of their foreign handlers to disturb the hard-earned peace and harmony of the border state,” said the DGP.

          Sharing more details, AIG AGTF Sandeep Goel said that further investigations are on and more arrests are expected in coming days.

          A case FIR No. 11 dated 05-02-2024 has been registered under sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at Police Station SSOC Amritsar.

IEP Chandigarh, February 7

          Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government is all set to inoculate as many as 25 lakhs bovines as a preventive measure against the Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), disclosed Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Punjab, while informing that the vaccination drive will be commenced from February 25.

          S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, along with Additional Chief Secretary Animal Husbandry Mr. Vikas Pratap, was reviewing ongoing projects and functioning of the department here at Punjab Bhawan.

          The Cabinet Minister said that now, the Goat Pox vaccine is being repeated for the third time as a booster dose to a preventive measure against the disease. Notably, following the outbreak of LSD across the country in last year, the vaccination drive against LSD was carried out for cattle in the state. He also asked the officials to ensure the smooth transportation of the vaccination, besides, maintaining cold chain efficiently.

          Emphasising on the need to make a foolproof mechanism to save livestock from diseases, S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian directed the department officials to make a comprehensive vaccination action plan within a month. He also directed the field staff of the department to sensitise the livestock farmers about the benefits of the different immunisation drives and involve the district administration and panchayats in this noble cause to prevent the livestock from different diseases.

          ACS Mr. Vikas Pratap apprised the cabinet minister that deworming drive is being carried out across the state at a cost of around Rs 6.37 crore. The drive will conclude on February 10. Apart from this, medicines worth Rs 1.56 crore have already been sent to Veterinary Hospitals and Dispensaries of the state. He also informed that the department has recently completed the mass immunisation drive against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

          Director Animal Husbandry Dr. Gursharanjit Singh Bedi, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University’s Director of Clinics Dr. S. S Randhawa, HOD Veterinary Medicine

          Dr Ashwani Kumar, Principal Scientist & Incharge Animal Diseases Research Centre Dr. M. S. Bal, Principal Scientist, Animal Diseases Research Centre Dr. Vishal Mahajan, Director Centre for One Health Dr. J S Bedi and districts officials of Animal Husbandry department were also present in the meeting.

IEP Chandigarh, February 6

          With an aim to enhance the investigating capabilities of the police officials dealing in Cyber Crimes as desired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Cyber Crime Division of the Punjab Police in association with NGO Prajwala organised a one-day offline/online workshop on Cyber-Enabled Human Trafficking at office of Punjab State Cyber Crime Division in Mohali. The Workshop was organised on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.

          NGO Prajwala, a pioneering Anti-Trafficking organization working on the issue of sex trafficking and sex crimes, has assisted the police in rescuing over 27,500 women and girls from sex slavery in the last 27 years and facilitated their journey for recovery.

          The three-hours session on the topic Cyber-Enabled Human Trafficking was physically attended by 50 officials working in Cyber Crime Units of Punjab, while over 100 officials of Punjab Police joined this workshop via Video Conference.

          The session started with an introduction to the issue of Human Trafficking in India and discussion on section 370 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), followed by a presentation on how various technologies are being exploited by traffickers in recruiting and exploiting victims.

          During the workshop, demonstration of platforms and applications used by Law Enforcement Agencies to counter Cyber Crime and Cyber enabled Human Trafficking was given to the participants. Case studies where technology was used to traffic victims, and some International case studies related to Cyber enabled Human Trafficking were also presented during the workshop. The presentations were followed by Focus Group Discussion with the participants at State Cyber Crime Division, who are already working on these crimes.

          Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Cyber Crime V Neeraja, who joined the workshop virtually, said that the Cyber crime prevention against women & children (CCPWC) working at the  State Cyber Crime Division has been dealing with cases related to cyber crimes against women & children on top priority.

          State Cyber Crime Division will also be enhancing their capacity by setting up Cyber Patrolling Unit to monitor crimes in the cyberspace, especially against women and children, she said, while adding that Cyber Crime & Technical Investigation Units operational in districts were already  dealing with Cyber Crime including Cyber Tiplines.

          The ADGP said that such crimes can be reported anonymously on the portal of National Cyber Crime (NCRP) at www.cybercrime.gov.in.

          Meanwhile, during the workshop, case studies and the legal practices prevalent in other countries were discussed and methods to track human trafficking in Cyber Space were provided with case studies.

IEP Chandigarh, February 5

          The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing investigations into the 2008-09 recruitment scam of Medical Officers (MO) conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), has requested the State Government to take appropriate action against the erring candidates through the Police Department as recommended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the High Court. Subsequently, on December 19, 2023, the Secretary of Health and Family Welfare has asked the Police to take necessary steps in this case. Meanwhile, the VB, having filed two cases at its Patiala range police station, is actively pursuing further investigations.

          Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the High Court had appointed a SIT comprising MS Bali, IPS (Retd), Joint Director, CBI and Suresh Arora, the then Chief Director of VB, to examine this scam. The SIT had recommended filing cases under sections 120-B, 420, 468, and 471 of the IPC against candidates who utilized forged certificates for claiming social work weightage in the medical field. The VB, on December 15, 2023, has urged the State Government to initiate cases against such MOs through the Police department.

          Providing additional details, the spokesperson stated that in compliance with the directives received from the Punjab Government on December 14, 2023, the VB registered two cases related to this recruitment scam. An FIR No. 45 dated December 18, 2023, at the VB Police Station, Patiala, has been filed under sections 13(i)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 409 and 120B of IPC against the then members of PPSC for conspiracy and criminal misconduct during the MOs selection process.

          Furthermore, another FIR No. 46 dated December 18, 2023, at the VB Police Station, Patiala, under sections 13(i)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, has been registered against Dr. Satwant Singh Mohi, the then member of PPSC, for accumulating disproportionate assets, as reported by the SIT to the High Court.

          The spokesperson revealed that the SIT, supervised by the Senior Superintendent of Police, VB, Range Patiala, is actively conducting further investigations in both the cases. In FIR No. 45/2023, Dr. Satwant Singh Mohi was arrested by the VB on December 19, 2023. The other three accused in this case, namely D.S. Mahal, Ravinder Kaur, and Anil Sarin, have received interim protection from arrest from the HC, with a directive to join the investigation. Consequently, all the above mentioned accused have complied and joined the ongoing investigation.

IEP Chamrod Pattan (Pathankot), February 3

To launch In order to give further impetus to the tourism sector in the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday announced to launch Jet Ski, Motor Paragliding and Hot air Balloon activities at Chamrod Pattan.

The Chief Minister, who witnessed the trial of these activities here today, said that Water spots/ Adventure activities and Speed Boating is already going on at this scenic place. He said that two speed boats are already operating at the place which is major source of attraction for the tourists coming at this picturesque location. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this area has huge potential of tourism for which state government is already exploring this sector.

The Chief Minister further said that trial/Demonstrations of Jet Ski, Motor Paragliding and Hot air Balloon had been done here today and soon it will be formally launched. He said that this area has huge potential for water sports/ Adventure activities adding that the state government has already notified water adventure sports policy to boost tourism in the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in the coming days all these activities will be operational commercially thereby giving a major boost to tourism sector.

The Chief Minister said that this area is blessed with bounty of natural resources which can attract the tourists from across the globe adding that this is the need of hour for promotion of economic activity in the region thereby transforming the lives of people. He bemoaned that due to negligence of the successive state governments the area has been hitherto ignored in the lace of development. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the untapped potential of tourism in this area will harnessed for attracting the tourists to this land with immense natural beauty.

IEP SAS Nagar/Chandigarh, February 2

Punjab Chief Secretary Mr Anurag Verma on Friday conducted a surprise inspection of Civil Hospital Mohali. After the inspection, while talking to media persons, he said that the purpose of this inspection was to check and ensure that the announcement by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann regarding providing free medicines to the patients at Government hospitals was being properly implemented.

Mr. Verma also spoke to patients coming out of the Civil Hospital and inquired from them as to whether they had been provided all the medicines prescribed by the doctors free of cost. All the patients confirmed that they had got free medicines and appreciated this public welfare initiative of the Government.

 Mr. Verma said that in consultation with the doctors, an Essential Drug List (EDL) comprising of 276 drugs has been prepared by the Health Department. Out of these, rate contracts have been done for 90% of the drugs. For the remaining drugs and drug prescribed by Government doctors, the Senior Medical Officers (SMO) will purchase the medicines from the market and provide them to the patients so that patients do not have to spend anything from their pocket for purchase of prescribed medicines. For this purpose, Rs. 25 Cr has been approved by the Chief Minister. The Financial powers of SMOs have been increased from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2.50 Lakhs to enable them to purchase these medicines.

The Chief Secretary said that there are 23 District Hospitals, 41 Sub Divisional Hospitals and 161 Community Health Centres in the State. The above system has been put in place in all these hospitals. He further said that yesterday on his directions all the Deputy Commissioners in the State had conducted an inspection of their District Hospitals to ensure implementation of above decision. In addition, all the Deputy Commissioners held detailed meeting with Civil Surgeons and SMOs to resolve any teething problems.

Mr. Verma said that if any patient coming to any of the above Government Hospitals does not get the medicine prescribed by the Government doctor, he/she should immediately get in touch with the SMO or the DC concerned. In addition, the matter may be reported at Helpline No. 1100. He also directed the Health Department to ensure that this public welfare decision of the Government is implemented in letter and spirit.

The Chief Secretary was accompanied by Principal Secretary, Health Mr. Ajoy Sharma and MD, Punjab Health System Corporation Mr. Varinder Kumar Sharma.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          The Punjab Government has taken strict actions to stop the illegal mining in the state with the intervention of the latest technical mechanism.

          Giving further details, the official spokesperson of the Mining and Geology department said that all the mines are geo-tagged and geo-fenced by the department before the starting of the mining operations. Currently, geotagging or geofencing of mines located in the state of Punjab has already been completed are also available in the public domain through department portal.

          The spokesperson said that pre mining survey has been done with the help of drones on all the mining sites, allotted by the department,  so that illegal mining can be stopped.

          A provision for online complaints has also been made in the Mining Portal (Mineral Sale Management and Monitoring System) https://minesandgeology.punjab.gov.in. An ‘android application (Punjab Sand)’, has been available on the Google Play Store which can be downloaded by any person, for the purpose of making complaints about the illegal mining along with the coordinates and pictures in any area in the State.

          It is worth bringing to the notice that up till October 31, 2023, a total 5366 cases have been registered by Police Department against illegal mining in the State.

          The Department of Mines and Geology has also constituted a ‘District Level Task Force’ to curb illegal mining in the State as per NGT orders.

          In compliance with NGT orders, a total of 110 FIRs have been filed, and 156 vehicles have been seized in Ropar District. Additionally, in instances of illegal mining in Ropar District, the Department has cancelled the registration of 13 crushers.

          He said that the mining and geology department is in the process of signing MoU with the IIT Ropar with the objective of sustainable management and monitoring of riverbeds and other mining sites using satellite data.

          Refuting the misleading statement of the leader of opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa, the spokesperson of the Mining and Geology department clarified that the allegations regarding mining activities in Punjab are categorically incorrect and contrary to the claims of LoP as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF) issued comprehensive guidelines in 2020, emphasizing the use of geo-fencing and geo-tagging for mining sites.

          The spokesperson further added that the Punjab government has diligently implemented these guidelines by creating Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files for all mining sites, utilizing GPS coordinates. These files serve as robust tools for geofencing and geotagging, enabling anyone to easily identify mining areas on platforms like Google Earth. It’s worth noting that every Mine Plan is accompanied by a mandatory KML file, and each Environmental Clearance (EC) application includes this essential documentation.

          He said that the department is currently at the final stage of obtaining 40 Environmental Clearances (ECs).

          He said that a few years ago, mining activities were conducted without the necessary ECs and permissions. However, under the present government, strict adherence to legal protocols is maintained, ensuring that mining operations are only permitted in areas where ECs or permissions from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) have been obtained. The state government is committed to upholding the law and safeguarding the environmental integrity of our region, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          The Punjab government has released an amount of Rs. 46.89 crore for the payment of honorarium to Anganwadi workers and helpers.

          Divulging in this regard,  Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said that the state government will continue its efforts for the welfare of needy women and children of Punjab.

          The Cabinet Minister stated that an amount of Rs 46.89 crores has been released for the payment of honorarium to Anganwadi workers and helpers from November 2023 to January 2024 under the ICDS scheme. She said that under this scheme, services like supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, nutrition and health education and pre-school are being provided to children aged 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

          The Social Security Minister said that  Rs. 1.83 crore to Pathankot, Rs. 1.94 crore to Tarn Taran,  Rs. 1.61 croreto Sri Muktsar Sahib,  Rs. 1.54 crore to SBS Nagar,  Rs. 1.62 crore to Moga,  Rs. 1.64 crore to Mansa,  Rs. 3.70 crore to Patiala,  Rs. 36.96 lakh to Sangrur,  Rs. 1.63 crore to Kapurthala, Rs. 3.08 crore to Jalandhar, Rs. 4.01 crore to Hoshiarpur, Rs. 2.18 crore to Ferozepur, Rs. 1.71 crore to Fazilka, Rs. 1.32 crore to Fatehgarh Sahib, Rs. 97.32 lakh to Faridkot, Rs. 1.73 crore to Bathinda, Rs. 1.33 crore to Barnala, Rs. 3.31 crore to Amritsar,  Rs. 4.71 crore to Ludhiana,  Rs. 1.76 crore to Rupnagar, Rs. 1.22 crore to SAS Nagar and Rs. 3.58 crore to Gurdaspur have been allocated.

          Dr. Baljit Kaur further added that while the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is committed to the welfare of women and children of the state, it is also taking care of the demands and issues of Anganwadi workers and helpers.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

The Punjab government will organize a NRI Milni program of NRIs at Chamrour (mini Goa) in Pathankot district on February 3. In this meet, the issues of the NRIs of Pathankot, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur districts will be redressed.

Giving this information, NRI Affairs Minister Punjab S. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the milni program will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Punjab S. Bhagwant Singh Mann on February 3.

Dhaliwal said that this NRI Milni is being organised by the Punjab government and arrangements for the milni program are being made by the district administration, Pathankot for which the NRI affairs department is in constant touch with the district administration.

The Minister further said that this milni program is not just being organised to redress the issues of NRIs but also to showcase the natural beautiful tourism destination of Punjab to attract the NRI tourists.

Dhaliwal has appealed to the NRIs belonging to the state to reach Chamrour (mini Goa) in district Pathankot on February 3 and join the NRI meet. He said that the Punjab government is always present at the service of the Punjabi diaspora.