Jalandhar, December 2
The Jalandhar (Rural) police finally got notorious drug smuggler Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukhi Kahlon, who is an aide of Raja Kandola, the prime accused in the Rs 200-crore (ICE a party drug) haul case, on production warrant.

The dreaded terrorist is said to be a member of the Khalistan Commando Force and was arrested by the Delhi Police along with Raja Kandola.

The Jalandhar (Rural) Police has took him in police custody for his involvement in two murder cases registered against him by the Nakodar police almost near two decades ago.

Highly placed sources revealed that Sukhi was shown "killed" in a police encounter, but the ground reality was that he turned into a police informer and started his travel agency, registered in the name of a police head constable Tarwinder Singh in the city.

Superintendent of Police (Detective) Rajinder Singh said the Delhi Police had brought Sukhi to the city for producing him before a court. Since he was wanted in the murder of VK Khurana in 1986 and involved in another murder case registered by the Nakodar police, the police has taken him in police custody.

Sukhi is also considered to be a "cat" of former DGP SS Virk and the top cop already had claimed to have rehabilitated him, besides 300 such other informers.

The police has already recovered a US-made bulletproof jacket, two mobile phones, a number of credit cards and certain other goods from him.

The SP claimed that during interrogation, Sukhi revealed certain vital information.

Jalandhar, December 2
Punjab farmers living on the Indo-Pak border will get a sigh of relief as the Border Security Force (BSF) is planning to push the border fencing to the actual border line to enable it to have a free access to their over 30, 000 acres now situated across the barbed wire fencing.

Now, farmers having their farms across the fencing have a limited access to their lands during the daytime. Pushing the fencing to the border line would virtually reclaim over 30000 acres of farmers, as they would not have any restrictions to go to their fields once fencing was shifted.

Meanwhile, the Central Government has already sanctioned a huge grant of Rs 600 crore for putting up a network of good roads, bridges and culverts on nullahs in place in border areas. This initiative was expected to change the economic conditions of the farmers based in backward border areas of Punjab, as they will be connected to main roads. The road-laying process was expected to be completed within the next five years.

“We have got a go ahead for pushing a stretch of 25 kilometer-long barbed wire towards Pakistan border in Gurdaspur sector after a similar excercise being undertaken in the Abohar sector. Nearly 550-km-long border fencing is likely to be shifted within the next five years,” said Aditya Mishra, BSF IG (Punjab Frontier).

The BSF was also planning to replace the entire 20-22-year-old rusted barbed wire used in the fencing at the border in a phased manner.

“Initially, we are planning to replace a stretch of 130 km of the wire towards which an amount of Rs 72 crore has been sanctioned. In fact, rusted stretches of the wire have become vulnerable points for smugglers and anti-national elements. We are stepping up surveillance on the border and phased modernisation is the key to it. Since, the night vision devices and other surveillance equipment do not work at optimum level during foggy days, the force is planning to acquire radars for 
this purpose,” said IG Aditya Mishra and DIG RPS Jaswal.

Referring to other projects of the BSF, Mishra said the stadium at the Attari border post where more than 25,000 visitors throng daily to watch the retreat ceremony, was being beautified at a cost of Rs 33 crore.

“International-level seating arrangement and a new sound system is being added to it within the next one and a half years. Beautification was the need of the hour, particularly when the number of visitors is swelling and when India has relaxed visa norms. Not only this, we are laying a wooden floor at the place so as to avoid any possibility of our soldiers hurting their feet and legs due to rigorous stomping of feet at the retreat ceremony,” said Mishra.

Talking about the ICP, Mishra said a rail and road connectivity was being mulled at the ICP so as to ensure transportation of people and goods through a single point. 

Jalandhar, December 2
Kuldip Singh Bedi, a city-based writer, producer and journalist, needs no formal introduction in the realm of literature and creativity as he has been contributing as a literary editor and columnist for a number of newspapers and magazines for the past 35 years.

That he is a prolific writer could be gauged from the fact that he has highlighted social problems and suggested reforms and remedies for social evils through his more than 1,500 articles. If this was not enough, he has translated a large number of articles and short stories published in various Indian non-Punjabi magazines and newspapers.

Diversity has been Bedi's forte for he has simultaneously been dabbling in Punjabi film industry as a dialogue writer and contributing as an anchor on literary affairs for the Jalandhar Doordarshan. Bedi has written dialogues of famous Punjabi film "Pagri sambhal Jatta" and feature film on Punjab tragedy "Quatal-e-Aaam". "I have a passion for literature and writing since my childhood. Even in school, I used to write poems and short stories," said Bedi, who was a member of the Motion Picture and TV Programme Producers and Film Writers' Association.

Quite well-travelled, Bedi says he always enjoyed diversity in life - be it in writing or cultures. "I have seen different cultures as I have travelled to the USA, South Korea, Spain, France, UK and Canada. In fact, travelling always educates you. I have learnt a lot from my journeys and it reflects in my writings also," said Bedi.