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Industrialist Gaba held in
synthetic drugs case
Drugs in jail: 4 cops suspended
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4,000 stuck, says Mann
Lucrative jobs beckon youth to middle-east countries
5 more youths abducted, says NRI Sabha
Batala youth back, his debt up by Rs 2 lakh
Nawanshahr family rejoices
In difficult times
Former Punjabi University V-C passes away
Eight IPS officers
transferred
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Industrialist Gaba held in
synthetic drugs case
Jalandhar, June 21 On Thursday,
Gaba’s son Gurjit Singh Gaba alias Monu was nabbed by the police in the case.
Since the arrest of drug lord Jagdish Bhola, the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
has been probing his assets. Chunni Lal and his other son Gurmej Singh Gaba,
who had joined the investigations, went missing four days ago. The police
had conducted raids at many places in Goraya but the duo could not be found.
After Monu’s arrest, the police authorities were confident of arresting
Chunni Lal. Chunni Lal was admitted to Hero DMC Heart Institute in Ludhiana as he complained of deteriorating health. In court, his counsel pleaded that Chunni Lal was a heart patient and be provided treatment at Government Rajindra Hospital. The
court ordered the police to allow Chunni Lal to get his examination conducted
at Government Rajindra Hospital. The court also said Chunni Lal’s treatment
be continued in jail.
About the case
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Drugs in jail: 4 cops suspended
Faridkot, June 21 The quartet, head constables Kewal Singh and Balwinder Singh and constables Kuldip Singh and Gurdial Singh, had accompanied notorious drug smuggler Surjit Singh, lodged in Faridkot jail in three NDPS cases, to a court in Amritsar on June 18. On Surjit’s return, the jail officials found heroin worth Rs 30 lakh hidden in his turban, said Kuldip Singh Thiyada, Jail Superintendent, Faridkot. The jail authorities have also asked the SGPC to allow manual turban checks in the jail to stop the inflow of drugs. HPS Parmar, DSP, confirmed the development.
— TNS
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Iraq
crisis
Raniwala (Muktsar), June 21 “Union
Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj telephonically informed me this
morning that all Punjabis stuck in Iraq are safe,” said Badal while
interacting with mediapersons at a Sangat Darshan in Lambi. About the “growing
differences” between the SAD and the Punjab BJP, he said the SAD-BJP alliance
was firm and both the parties enjoyed a cordial relationship. “As a head of
the state, every Chief Minister can meet the Prime Minister and Union Ministers
at any time,” he replied.
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4,000 stuck, says Mann
Chandigarh, June 21 "They tell me their location and condition and how many Punjabis are with them," Bhagwant claimed. The MP did not appear to be in good health. He also complained of breathlessness even as his phone kept ringing with calls from youths in Iraq.
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Lucrative jobs beckon youth to middle-east countries
Chandigarh, June 21 Sheer economics of survival and not a pursuit of a high life in developed countries drive them towards such countries. They claim to have gone there because of availability of jobs and higher pay. They insist that they should not be compared with Punjabis seeking emigration to developed countries for a better quality of life. Hailing from middle to lower-middle class families and having matric or higher secondary certificates, these youths almost work and live in Iraq like migrant labourers from eastern states do in Punjab. They are mainly employed in construction sector as masons, electricians, plumbers, fitters and drivers. Women are mostly employed as nurses. Enquiries made from those stuck in Iraq or their families reveal that they spent Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh to reach Iraq. Companies like AKG, Tariq Noor Al Huda and INTACH and others hire these youths through agents. Families do not reveal how much they paid to the agents but say the cost of getting a job in Iraq and Middle-East countries was not more than Rs 2 lakh. Dharmabir Singh, another youth working with Bhupinder at a hospital construction site, near Karbala, said he earned about Rs 20,000 per month in Iraq as a mason whereas back home he could earn a maximum of Rs 8,000. "I save almost half of my wages here. We pay a price of living away from family and suffer alienation, but we would have starved to death had we not come here." Gurmeet Singh works in a medical store in Batala. He earns Rs 3,000 per month whereas his elder brother Surjit who works as a waiter in a hotel in Arbil in Iraq earns about Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month. "We don't have much land and are dependent on the earnings of our father, an ex-serviceman. We tried doing several jobs here after passing Class XII but were hardly able to make both ends meet. We then learnt about job opportunities in Iraq." Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Arbil, Surjit said he did not want to return. "I will try to stay here as long as I can. What will I do in India? Back home, such work is considered menial. The Indian Government is now in trouble, trying to evacuate the trapped citizens in Iraq but it should also introspect why youths choose to work thousands of kms away from home."
Lure of earning big
Government’s tally: 514 stranded in Iraq Chandigarh: The number of youths from the state stranded in Iraq on Saturday swelled to 514 with the control room set up by the government receiving more calls from relatives of such youths. Tota Singh, NRI Affairs Minister, said he had submitted a detailed report of the persons stuck in Iraq to the Ministry of External Affairs. He called upon the Central Government to arrange for their safe return as soon as possible. The minister said many from Iraq who had contacted the control room informed that they were safe, but wanted to return home. The district-wise list of the stranded persons: 36 from Gurdaspur, 15 SBS Nagar, 40 Jalandhar, 35 Patiala, 224 Hoshiarpur, 35 Kapurthala, 10 Ludhiana, seven Barnala, 37 Ropar, five Pathankot, 13 Fatehgarh Sahib, 39 Amritsar, three Bathinda, one Moga, eight SAS Nagar, three Tarn Taran, two from Faridkot and one Sangrur district.
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5 more youths abducted, says NRI Sabha
Jalandhar, June 21 Jasvir Singh Gill, president, NRI Sabha of Punjab, informed Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav, who alerted the Punjab control room. “I received information from the NRI Sabha of Punjab about the expected abduction of five more Punjabi youths working at Ajmer Steel in Iraq. I have informed the Punjab control room and we are trying to get in touch with other members of the group,” said Yadav. In Delhi, official sources said the government had received no information in this regard. In any case, Kurdistan had remained unaffected by the ongoing conflict in Iraq, they added. Gill said a youth named Sunny, hailing from Fatehgarh in
Hoshiarpur, had called from Iraq and informed him about militants entering their area.
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Batala youth back, his debt up by Rs 2 lakh
Balewal (Batala), June 21 When he landed in Baghdad things turned out to be gloomy. He found out that a person coming to a foreign country on a visitor’s visa was not allowed to work. The travel agent stopped taking his calls, following which Jaswant slipped into depression. Days after he landed, he got in touch with a construction company —Almita construction limited — which offered him work as a carpenter in an under-construction stadium. Since he was illegally there, he was given a job on a measly amount of 350 US dollars, which was increased to 450 dollars six months ago against the normal wages of 1,400 US dollars. “The conditions are appalling in Baghdad city where I worked. Twenty-four more boys, all belonging to Punjab, trapped there. The company is neither paying them salary nor giving them their air tickets. When I told my officials that my brother had died in Batala a fortnight ago, only then did they relent. They paid for my ticket but refused to pay me my wages. I went to Iraq neck deep in debt and have returned to my family in debt,” said he. “The rebels have taken over two of the main cities of Iraq. They are nearing Baghdad and once the capital city is captured, there will be chaos and bloodshed everywhere. The boys are afraid of US air strikes. The government should do something to bring them back,” said Jaswant, who is married and has two daughters and a son.
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Nawanshahr family rejoices
Nawanshahr, June 21 Gagandeep said two of his friends were still untraceable. “Tension prevails in Iraq and most of the Punjabi youths want to return home. As we worked at the US Embassy, we felt quite safe. The office is guarded by a large number of personnel,” he said. He also talked about how a Nawanshahr-based travel agent had tricked him by not facilitating the job he had assured.
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Congress announces helpline for victims Chandigarh: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa has announced a 24-hour helpline for Indian youths trapped or abducted in Iraq. He said the party was willing to offer any kind of assistance to the families of the workers. Affected families could call 0172-2781408, fax 0172-5039762 and send email to
PPCC helpdesk@gmail.com for assistance. SGPC to hold Akhand Path Amritsar: The SGPC will hold Akhand Path in all its gurdwaras to pray for the safe return of Punjabi youth stranded in strife-torn Iraq. SGPC secretary Manjeet Singh, in a statement, said the Akhand Path will begin in various gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Jhanda Bunga at the Golden Temple Complex, on June 22 while the ‘Bhog’ ceremony will take place on June 24. AAP blames Badal government Amritsar: Manish Sisodia, a senior Aam Aadmi Party leader, on Saturday alleged it was a failure of the state government that Punjabis were doing menial jobs even in troubled countries such as Iraq. He alleged the government had failed to generate enough job opportunities due to which many youths migrate to other countries. He alleged the government had failed to rein in fake travel agents. SIMs with int’l call facility given to kin Fatehgarh Sahib: Deputy Commissioner Arun Sekhri on Saturday handed over mobile phone SIM cards with international calling facility to the family members of the 12 persons stuck in Iraq. Sekhri said among those stuck are Jasvir Singh and Balwinder Singh (of Maheshpura village in Khamano), Mann Singh, Jasvir Singh and Gurmukh Singh (Sidhupur Kalan), Devinder Singh (Ladpur Turan), Gurdeep Singh, Kulwant Singh, Surinder Singh and Satnam Singh (Kotla Dadheri) and Gurpreet Singh (Bidhi Chand Colony in Mandi
Gobindgarh). Stuck youths’ families offer prayers Amritsar: The family members of the six youths from Amritsar on Saturday paid obeisance at Gurdwara Janam Asthan Baba Budha Sahib, Kathunangal, to pray for the early release and safe return of their dear ones from Iraq. The family members of these youth seemed anxious as they had received no further update about them from the government officials.
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Former Punjabi University V-C passes away
Patiala, June 21 Renowned economist Sucha Singh Gill said Bhagat was a popular Vice-Chancellor, considering that he would listen patiently to teachers and students and find the "best possible" solution to any problem. He joined as lecturer in Government Mohindra College in 1945. He studied at Cornell University, USA, and did his PhD in Agricultural Economics. He served as principal in various government colleges. He was then promoted as DPI (Colleges), Punjab. Thereafter, he served as the Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor for two terms — 1980-1983 and 1986-1989. Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University Dr Jaspal Singh said Dr Bhagat Singh’s contribution in the growth and development of the university and other institutions was
memorable.
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Eight IPS officers
transferred
Chandigarh, June 21 The other postings are: Ishwar Singh, IGP-cum-Director, State Narcotics Bureau (camped at Jalandhar); and IGP, Training, PPA (Phillaur) and Internal Vigilance Cell. Jitendra Kumar Jain, IGP, Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, Bathinda, and IGP, Vigilance; Parvesh Kumar Sinha, IGP-cum-Director, SSG, CM Security; Mohnish Chawla, DIG, Ferozepur range; AS Chahal, DIG, Bathinda range; and Yurinder Singh, DIG, Ludhiana range.
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In another breakthrough, the Patiala police have arrested Goraya-based
businessman Chunni Lal Gaba in the synthetic drugs case. Duty Magistrate
Gagandeep Singh Garg sent Gaba to judicial custody till
Chandigarh, June 21
When Jaswant Singh boarded the Iraqi Airways flight to Baghdad 18 months ago from New Delhi, he had stars in his eyes and aimed at wiping out the massive debt his family had accumulated over the years. However, not much has changed for Jaswant (40) as he arrived from strife-torn Iraq yesterday. The debt has increased with Rs 2 lakh being added to it. This is the amount he paid to a fraudulent Batala-based travel agent who sold him the dream that “once he lands in Iraq, he will become prosperous and all his family’s debts will be wiped out”.
The family of Gagandeep Singh (22) of Mehandpur village in Nawanshahr has heaved a sigh of relief as he has returned home from the strife-torn Iraq. He had been working as an ironsmith at the US Embassy in Baghdad for the past three and a half years.
His father Makhan Singh said, "God has listened to our prayers. Until our son left Baghdad, we were having sleepless nights here. We will never send our son back to Iraq as it is his second birth."
Patiala, June 21
