Category: Chandigarh

At least five people were killed and 34 injured on Friday in a blast at a double-storey illegal firecracker factory located on the outskirts of a village in Punjab’s Muktsar district, police said. 

After eight hours of intensive questioning at his residence, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Friday arrested AAP legislator from Jalandhar Central, Raman Arora, the third AAP lawmaker to face action for corruption, over charges of fake municipal corporation notices and extortion for the past three years. 

The Haryana Police have arrested six people, including a Hisar-based YouTuber and travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra, on charges of spying and passing sensitive information to Pakistani operatives, officials said on Saturday.

Multiple enemy-armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab and they were instantly engaged and destroyed by air defence units, the Indian Army said on Saturday. 

The highly revered Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev, in Pakistan's Punjab province is safe, the Indian government said.

Police officials told the media that the blast took place owing to drone that was later intercepted and which got destroyed by the Army's air defence system, but it landed at a house in Khai Pheme Ke village.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be meeting farmers again in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday as part of the Government of India’s outreach with them over their long-pending demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Congress legislator and ex-AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Sunday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Central government to take cognizance of gross misuse of official accommodation in Chandigarh meant for ministers of the Punjab government being used as Aam Aadmi Party office for political activities. 

In a major crackdown on drug networks, Amritsar Rural Police apprehended two hawala operators -- Sukhjit Singh and Ranbir Singh, who were facilitating illegal financial transactions linked to drug trafficking with seizure of Rs 17,60,000 cash and $4,000, Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday.

The second round of meeting between a three-member Central government delegation, led by Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and protesting farmer unions ended here after three hours on Saturday night with a positive approach and cordial manner. 

Leaving the AAP government in Punjab red-faced, its NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal had been heading a department that existed only on paper without allocation of staff for nearly 20 months.

In the resumed talks, the Union government representatives are expected to be led by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was not present in the last meeting on February 14, along with Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi.

A 28-member delegation of farmers, including fasting leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, attended the meeting with the Centre to resolve their issues, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday convicted Himachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police Z.H. Zaidi and seven others for the infamous custodial death of an accused in gangrape-murder of a minor in 2017.

“Operation is underway. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and fire teams are at the spot. The reason behind this mishap will be investigated," Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Pareek told the media.

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and five-time Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, whose family ruled the state’s dusty and defection-ridden politics for decades largely in rural areas with predominant Jat voters, died in Gurugram after a cardiac arrest on Friday.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has said that the Bhagavad Gita, a cornerstone of India's cultural heritage, is a scripture for the welfare of humanity.

In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police apprehended two key operatives of Canada-based gangster Arsh Dalla who is involved in the murder of Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau in Faridkot, DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of people will participate on Friday in the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected 10,031 sarpanches of 19 districts of Punjab in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Ludhiana.

In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police’s Counter Intelligence and Ludhiana Police jointly dismantled a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) module operated by two foreign-based individuals, DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.

In an intelligence-led operation, Punjab Police on Sunday busted a cross-border cartel using water route to transport drugs by seizing 105 kg heroin from two associates of foreign-based drug smuggler Navpreet Singh alias Nav Bhullar.

The Haryana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Saini, in its first meeting on Friday, decided to formally accept the Supreme Court's decision regarding the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe reservations and implement it immediately.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is committed to furthering national progress and empowering the poor and downtrodden.

Farmers on Sunday squatted on railway tracks and national highways at several places in Punjab as part of a protest called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha over the "tardy" procurement of paddy.

The new BJP government in Haryana will be sworn in soon as the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers will take oath on October 17 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.