Faridkot/Moga, June 4
Moga police had submitted a charge sheet in the district and sessions court at Faridkot against 56 alleged accused including three cops, an employee of the Regional Passport Office (Chandigarh), 14 travel agents and many others including NRIs in the infamous Moga passport scandal that rocked the state in July 2008.

Out of the 56 alleged accused, as many as 51 of them were present in the courtroom when the police filed chargesheet in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumari on Friday. The court has issued notices to those who were not present in the court and fixed July 16 as the next date of hearing.

An FIR under Sections 420, 465, 468, 471 of the IPC, Section 2/8 of the Passport Act and Sections 13 (2), 88 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered in the scam in July 2008. Three policemen, Jaswinder Singh, Ranjit Singh and Gurdial Singh, Ranjit Singh an employee of the Municipal Council, Om Prakash, a postman and Didar Singh, former employee of the RPO, Chandigarh, were the kingpin of the scam.

The scam first highlighted by The Tribune on July 22, 2008, is big with the involvement of hundreds of individuals and employees of various departments. The police have prepared a list of over 700 witnesses in the case, so far.

Many subsequent FIRs had also been registered by the police besides the main case. Over 100 people had been arrested so far and look out certificates issued against 300 NRIs, who made fake passports to go abroad but in the main FIR 56 persons had been found guilty with over two dozen people given a clean chit during the investigation.

The scrutiny of records for the year 2006-07 revealed that as many as 387 passports issued by the RPO (Chandigarh) were made fake by tampering with the official records, forging the documents of age, education, address proofs, marriage certificates and others.

The modus operandi was that the police employees posted between the years 1995 to 2008 in the passport branch here prepared fake documents of police verifications and then by manipulating with the travel agents or employees of the RPO office tampered with the original forms. 

Fazilka, June 4
The demand for getting district status for Fazilka has been raised again after a gap of five months as a deputation of the Sanjha Morcha, that carried out an agitation a few months back, met Fazilka BJP MLA and Transport Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani today and reminded him of his promise.

As per the sources, the issue of getting district headquarters status at both government as well as morcha level had to be kept in abeyance following the reshuffling of the BJP ministers and later, the demise of Surinder Kaur Badal.

A deputation of the Sanjha Morcha led by its president Sushil Gumber and members Raj Kishore Kalra, Satish Kumar Dhingra, Baljinder Singh and Shakti Singh met Jyani and reiterated their demand.

Jyani assured the deputation that it has been principally decided by the government to raise the status of Fazilka to district headquarters and now it is a matter of time only. He said he would raise the issue at the meeting of Punjab cabinet scheduled to be held on June 7 to announce the decision without any delay.

He told the members that he always raised only one-point agenda during the meetings at government level and with the BJP stalwarts including Shanta Kumar, in-charge of political affairs of Punjab state, for getting district headquarters status for Fazilka.

Gumber, while talking to this correspondent, said Jyani has sought some time to get the demand fulfilled. If Fazilka is not accorded the district status, the morcha would chalk out the next course of action after conducting the meeting of the general house.

Bathinda, June 4
In support of a ‘satyagraha’ against corruption and black money being led by yoga guru Swami Ramdev from New Delhi, local units of the Patanjali Yog Samiti and the Bharat Swabhiman Trust along with several social, religious and other organisations of the city started a similar agitation near the Fire Brigade Station on the Mall Road here today.

The ‘satyagraha’ here was also attended by members of NGOs and other organisations, including the Bathinda Vikas Manch, the Sewa Bharti, the Vishav Hindu Parishad, the Yog Sewa Samiti, the Beopar Mandal, the Inner Wheel Club, the Parivar Welfare Society and the All India Anti-corruption Association, Punjab.

Some persons also observed fast while participating in the agitation for eradicating corruption from the country and bringing back black money from the foreign banks to India.

President of the local unit of the Patanjali Yog Samiti Ravinder Kumar thanked the leaders and members of the organisations for participating in the ‘satyagraha’.

Bathinda, June 4
Cambridge International School, Kotkapura Road, Moga, has secured 100 per cent CBSE result of matriculation examination.On the occasion S Devinderpal Singh, Director, Managing Committee of the school, S. Kuldeep Singh Sehgal, Dr Gurcharan Singh, Parmjit Kaur, administrator, Radha Mehrotra, principal, congratulated all.

Dr Zora Singh, chairman of the organisation congratulated principal, staff and students on their success. — TNS