B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Deported from UK, Moga youth held in Amritsar 
Moga, October 22
A special investigation team, probing the infamous Moga passport scandal, surfaced in the year 2008, had nabbed one more person from the international airport (Amritsar) on Friday after he was deported back by the immigration authorities of the UK on having been found guilty of making a fake Indian passport through fraudulent means.

Health Dept pharmacists to stage protest today
Fazilka, October 22
The Health Department pharmacists would organise a protest rally in Lambi, the home constituency of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, on October 23 to protest against the non-acceptance of their long-pending demands and misleading the employees.

Synthetic milk racket unearthed
Moga/Fazilka, October 22
A joint team of the Health Department and the police exposed a racket allegedly involved in making synthetic milk and seized 4.5 quintals adulterated milk besides six containers comprising a powdery substance from a milk dairy in Moga.

Five criminals flee from police custody
Faridkot, October 22
Five criminals involved in various crimes of loot and robbery in Punjab and Rajasthan escaped from the Faridkot police custody today after throwing sand in the eyes of the three cops.

Fake passport scam
Deported from UK, Moga youth held in Amritsar 
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, October 22
A special investigation team, probing the infamous Moga passport scandal, surfaced in the year 2008, had nabbed one more person from the international airport (Amritsar) on Friday after he was deported back by the immigration authorities of the UK on having been found guilty of making a fake Indian passport through fraudulent means.

A team member of the SIT, ASI Tejinder Singh, while talking to The Tribune, revealed that the immigration authorities of the UK arrested him a few weeks back.

“Three members of the UK immigration authority came along with the alleged accused to hand him over to the Punjab Police for initiating a criminal trial against him,” he said.

During the investigation, the deported youth has been identified as Jaspreet Singh, son of Balwinder Singh, hailing from Dharam Singh Wala village of the Dharamkot sub-division in Moga district. He went to the UK in the year 1993 from where he tried to go to Canada in 2005 on fake documents and was thus deported back to the UK where he landed in the jail for nine months.

He further revealed that in 2007 in the UK, he managed to get another passport in India on a fake address by fraudulent means through the local contacts by manipulating with the local police.

On this passport, he again tried to go to Canada in 2007 but was again deported back and arrested in the UK by the immigration authorities. A criminal case was registered by the UK police against him. After a few months, he got bail from the court.

Meanwhile, the immigration authorities of the UK sent a verification note to the Indian authorities for seeking his 'national status', which was verified and sent by the Intelligence authorities of Moga to the UK authorities. After his national status was established, he was deported back here, yesterday.

The ASI further said Jaspreet was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Rakesh Gupta on Saturday, who has sent him to police remand till Monday for further investigation.

It may be mentioned that hundreds of people, mostly NRIs, had got their passports made by submitting fake documents of addresses in the Moga district after manipulating with the local cops, passport office authorities and officials of the local administration through travel agents.

The cops 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.

Over 350 persons including NRIs, cops, officials of the passport office and travel agents, were already facing charges in the scam.

Three cops, Jaswinder Singh, Ranjit Singh and Gurdial Singh, an employee of the Municipal Council Ranjit Singh, a postman Om Prakash and former employee of the passport office Didar Singh were the kingpin of the scam. Many subsequent FIRs had been registered in the scam besides the main case.

As many as 100 persons were arrested so far while lookout certificates have been issued against 300 NRIs, who had made fake passports. 

Health Dept pharmacists to stage protest today

Fazilka, October 22
The Health Department pharmacists would organise a protest rally in Lambi, the home constituency of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, on October 23 to protest against the non-acceptance of their long-pending demands and misleading the employees.

A large number of pharmacists would participate in the protest rally, claimed Shashi Kant, District President, Punjab State Pharmacists Association, while presiding over the meeting held here, today.

Shashi Kant said the state government has been misleading the employees by propagating that it has increased their salaries instead 2,200 pharmacists in the state were not at all benefited. — OC

Synthetic milk racket unearthed
Tribune Reporters

Moga/Fazilka, October 22
A joint team of the Health Department and the police exposed a racket allegedly involved in making synthetic milk and seized 4.5 quintals adulterated milk besides six containers comprising a powdery substance from a milk dairy in Moga.

Drums containing the powder like substance, allegedly to make synthetic milk, seized at Moga on Friday night. A Tribune photograph

The owners of the milk dairy Ashwani Kumar and Amit Kumar have been arrested by the police. A criminal case under Sections 420, 272, 273 of the IPC and Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act has been registered against them.

In-charge of the local CIA staff Jaswinder Singh, investigating official, revealed that he received secret information in this regard. The samples of the milk and the powdery substance have been sent to a laboratory for chemical examination.

During the preliminary investigation, it came to light that the material to make the synthetic milk was supplied to the dairy owners from Ludhiana.

In Fazilka, the Health Department officials detected an unlicenced petha sweet manufacturing plant and seized five quintals low quality petha stocked in the unauthorised factory in the Badal Colony locality, last night.

On a tip-off, the Health Department sampling team led by District Health Officer (DHO) Dr YK Gupta accompanied by Food Safety Officer (FSO) Kanwalpreet Singh and others raided an unhygienic stinking petha manufacturing plant on Friday. It was found that commercial whitewash lime powder was being used for preparing petha sweet.

During the last five days, 19 samples of sweets and eatables have been taken in Ferozepur and Fazilka. Of these, five sweets samples have been taken in Fazilka, four each in Ferozepur and Jalalabad, three in Talwandi Bhai and two each in Guruharsahai, Zira and Makhu, respectively. All the samples have been sent to the state laboratory for analysis and the report would be available within fortnight.

Five criminals flee from police custody
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, October 22
Five criminals involved in various crimes of loot and robbery in Punjab and Rajasthan escaped from the Faridkot police custody today after throwing sand in the eyes of the three cops.

The accused were returning to Faridkot from Sangaria Mandi in Rajasthan after attending the court trial proceedings in a criminal case registered against them in the desert state.

They were arrested by the Sadiq police in Faridkot, this year. The accused Iqbal Singh, Nishan Singh, Davinder Singh, Satnam Singh and Satbir Singh, all belonging to Amritsar and Taran Taran area, were in the Faridkot Central Jail.

The police is searching for the absconding accused, said Faridkor SP Amrik Singh Warrach. The police have also registered a criminal case against the three cops, Binder Singh, Kewal Singh and Kaur Singh, for dereliction of duty.