B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Unlawful favour
Three police officials booked
Faridkot, March 23
Feigning illness by an accused in a bank robbery to delay judicial trial in the case and three jail officials allegedly helping this accused in procuring ‘fake’ medical grounds, landed cops in big trouble today when district and sessions judge of Faridkot accompanied by the SSP reached the Central Jail, Faridkot, to investigate into the matter and ordered a criminal case against three police officials today in the evening.

Passport scam: HC grants permission to accused NRIs to leave country
Faridkot, March 23
In the infamous fake passport scam that rocked Punjab in July 2008, the special court of additional district and sessions judge, Faridkot, allowed the three accused NRI in the case to leave India after they furnished surety bonds of Rs 50 lakh each, this week.

Mansa police arrest looters
Mansa, March 23
Mansa police today claimed to have arrested two miscreants involved in looting a petrol pump in Mansa. SSP Sukhdev Singh Chahal said the accused were involved in looting a city petrol pump on March 20.

Cong MLA greets CM
Ferozepur, March 23
To foster some bonhomie between the Congress and the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in the state, Parminder Singh Pinki, Congress MLA from Ferozepur Urban constituency today received CM Parkash Singh Badal along with other senior SAD-BJP leaders including Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and Bhagat Chunni Lal on their arrival at the Golden Arrow helipad here today in the morning.

 

Chief Minister Parkash Singh paying tributes to the martyrs at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

 

Two persons were killed when the roof of under-construction shops collapsed in Ballaram Nagar area of Bathinda on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Unlawful favour
Three police officials booked
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, March 23
Feigning illness by an accused in a bank robbery to delay judicial trial in the case and three jail officials allegedly helping this accused in procuring ‘fake’ medical grounds, landed cops in big trouble today when district and sessions judge of Faridkot accompanied by the SSP reached the Central Jail, Faridkot, to investigate into the matter and ordered a criminal case against three police officials today in the evening.

After the investigation, the Faridkot police have booked three jail officials, including a sub-inspector (SI), an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a constable for the offence of preparing false medical reports, interrupting judicial proceedings and giving unlawful favour to the accused.

The accused police officials are SI Jeevan Jyot Singh, ASI Harbans Singh and constable Amrik Singh.

Faridkot SSP Gurmit Singh Chauhan said the accused police officials have been arrested and a criminal case under sections 225B, 228, 219, 220 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against them. According to the police sources, some days back, the police had nabbed the three youth red-handed when they were trying to commit robbery in a bank in Kotkapura area of Faridkot.

Passport scam: HC grants permission to accused NRIs to leave country
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, March 23
In the infamous fake passport scam that rocked Punjab in July 2008, the special court of additional district and sessions judge, Faridkot, allowed the three accused NRI in the case to leave India after they furnished surety bonds of Rs 50 lakh each, this week.

About two month back, these NRIs were arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for the offence of procuring fake passports. Since their arrest, the passports of these accused were in judicial custody at Faridkot.

However, moving the court for the release of their passports so that they could go back to their families in Germany and the US, these NRIs, in a mercy petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, claimed that pending the trial in the passport scam, their families need their support.

While granting them permission to visit and stay with their families, for a maximum period of four months, the High Court directed each of these three accused NRIs to furnish two surety bonds of Rs 25 lakh in the court of additional district and sessions court Faridkot and return to India within four months of leaving the country. Each of these surety bonds is a promise to pay the court Rs 25 lakh if an accused NRI fails to meet his undertaking given to the court of returning to India within four months.

In the fake passport scam which was unearthed in Moga in July 2008, the police had so far arrested 83 people, including travel agents, three police officials, some employees in the passport and postal office as well as those who used these passports and NRIs. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the police to investigate this scam has so far detected 802 fake passports. The three NRIs who have been allowed by the court to visit their families after furnishing the bonds include Shamsher Singh of Bahmania village of Jalandhar, Amandip Singh of Nangal Buttran village of Gurdaspur and Manjinder Singh of Nathu Chahal village of Kapurthala.

Shamsher Singh, Amandeep Singh and Manjinder Singh were arrested by the Punjab police on January 6, January 31 and January 13, respectively, at the Delhi airport.

Mansa police arrest looters
Tribune News Service

Mansa, March 23
Mansa police today claimed to have arrested two miscreants involved in looting a petrol pump in Mansa. SSP Sukhdev Singh Chahal said the accused were involved in looting a city petrol pump on March 20.

He said that three people came over to refill their fuel tank but looted Rs 3,000 from one of the petrol pump workers, Raju.

The accused have been identified as Binder Singh, Kulwinder Singh, both residents of Bhadaur in Barnala and Jaspreet Singh Balianwali village in Bathinda.

The SSP said that a case was registered under section 382 of the IPC after the looting incident. The petrol pump employees managed to note down the registration number of the car.

However, it was found later that the accused have fixed a fake registration number plate on the car. Police later came to know that the accused had used the registration number of a motorbike.

The looted money has been recovered from the accused. He said they would seek police remand of the accused in court and many other incidents are likely to the solved after the interrogation.

Cong MLA greets CM

Ferozepur, March 23
To foster some bonhomie between the Congress and the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in the state, Parminder Singh Pinki, Congress MLA from Ferozepur Urban constituency today received CM Parkash Singh Badal along with other senior SAD-BJP leaders including Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and Bhagat Chunni Lal on their arrival at the Golden Arrow helipad here today in the morning.

Pinki said he wanted to accord a welcome to the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on his maiden visit to his constituency after his assuming charge for the fifth time as the chief minister. — OC