Punjab

13 Apr 2019; DW: Dominic Asquith, the British High Commissioner to India, joined scores of Indian politicians and public figures on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Amritsar massacre.

Tarn Taran, Apr 10 (PTI) Pages of a holy Sikh book (Gutka Sahib) were allegedly found torn from a non-functional drain in Panjwar village here, the police said.

An FIR was registered against unknown persons under Section 295 of the IPC for hurting religious sentiments at the Chabbal Police Station, SHO Baljit Singh said.

A probe has been initiated and some locals have been questioned, Singh added.

Panjwar was a hotbed of terror activities in the late nineties when insurgency was at its peak in Punjab.

Gurdaspur (Punjab), Apr 9 (PTI) A Punjab court sentenced three men to 20 years of imprisonment on Tuesday for raping a 25-year-old woman in Gurdaspur district five years ago and repeating the offence for over four months by blackmailing her with a video.

The sessions court sentenced Lovepreet Singh, Harvinder Singh and Prabhjot Singh to jail after they were found guilty. Two others, Gurpinder Singh and Balwinder Singh, were declared proclaimed offenders.

Chandigarh, Apr 2 (PTI) Politicians are lining up for armoured vehicles this election season, with the major demand for bulletproof cars coming from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, according to a firm in the business.

A leading Punjab-based firm engaged in "up-armouring" or retrofitting vehicles to make them bulletproof and mine-protected has seen a spike in the orders over the past several months.

Fatehgarh Sahib, Mar 31 (PTI) Ahead of polls, police have seized 25 kg of gold worth Rs 8.50 crore from a car during checking near the GT Road here, police said Sunday.

The gold was recovered from a van which was coming from Delhi on Saturday night, they said.

The gold was to be delivered to a shop in Ludhiana. However, the registration number of the vehicle on the bill was different from that of the vehicle in which the gold was being transported, police said.

The gold has been handed over to the Income Tax department for further investigation, police said.

Bathinda, Mar 16 (PTI) A local court here has sentenced a former Indian Air Force sergeant to death for the murder of a 27-year old corporal in February 2017.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Kanwaljeet Singh Bajwa sentenced Sailesh Kumar to death for the murder of Vipin Shukla of Uttar Pradesh when both were posted at Bhisiana Air Force Station. The verdict was pronounced on Friday, officials said.

The court also sentenced Kumar's wife to five years rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence.

Amritsar, Mar 13 (PTI) Russian Army General and current Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov visited the Golden Temple here on Wednesday.

Before entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, Salyukov walked bare foot on the marbled periphery around the pond (pool of nectar) accompanied by senior SGPC officials, including Chief Secretary Roop Singh who briefed the general about the history of Sikhism.

Moga, Mar 7 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving "mere assurances" on resolving the food legacy debt of Rs 31,000 crore that has put a massive burden on the state exchequer.

Chandigarh, Mar 6 (PTI) Farmers squatting on the Amritsar-Delhi rail tracks Wednesday called off their agitation following the intervention of the high court, which asked the state government to look into their demands.

During resumed hearing on a PIL filed by Patiala resident Mohit Kapoor, the court of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli asked the farmers' leaders to submit their demands within 24 hours to the Advocate General, Punjab, and posted the matter for March 19.

Congress leaders Navjot Singh Sidhu and Kapil Sibal on Monday joined the growing chorus of Opposition leaders expressing skepticism over the impact of the February 26 IAF airstrikes in Pakistan’s Balakot.

Sibal wants PM Modi to respond to international reports claiming there were hardly any casualties in the IAF’s Balakot airstrike, while Sidhu asked the Centre to come clear if indeed 300 terrorists were killed.