The Tribune – Ponty Chadha killing; Arms Licence to Namdhari; No headway, Mohali police fails to trace relevant files

Akash Ghai, Tribune News Service

Mohali, November 27. There has been no headway in the inquiry into the issuing of an arms licence to Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, arrested in the Delhi farmhouse shootout in which liquor baron Ponty Chadha was killed.

The Mohali police has not been able to get the related files from the Deputy Commissioner’s offices in Ropar and Mohali. The Delhi police believes that Namdhari had used a mauser in the shootout for which he had obtained a licence on a Kurali address in 1995.

Mohali police personnel had visited the Ropar Deputy Commissioner’s office to procure the relevant file (No.276/Kurali/DM/Ropar) but in vain, reliable sources said. They said that the file relating to the renewal of the arms licence on March 30, 2010, by the then Mohali Additional Deputy Commissioner also could not be found.

It seems that Namdhari had given an incomplete address with no mention of the house number.

It simply stated: “Sukhdev Singh Namdhari s/o Roor Singh r/o Master Colony, Kurali-Chandigarh Road, Kurali.”

“We will be able to get the particulars, including the address of persons who verified the details, only after we get the relevant file from the Ropar DC’s office,” said the Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Darshan Singh Mann.

Significantly, during a re-verification drive of all licence-holders before the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections in January this year, the police had reported that no person with the name of Sukhdev Singh Namdhari was residing there.

Namdhari owned three weapons, a 12 bore pistol, a 315 bore rifle and a 7.62 mauser.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121128/punjab.htm#10

The Tribune – Babbar Khalsa ultra held in Mohali

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 2. The Mohali police has claimed to have arrested an extremist, Kulwant Singh, alias Guddu, belonging to the Babbar Khalsa International from Sahora village, near Kharar, here.

A .315-bore double-barrel pistol, 11 live cartridges, some letter pads of the Babbar Khalsa International and other some objectionable material has been seized from his possession.

Guddu, a resident of Mankheri village, near Morinda, is an active member of the group. He was trying to reestablish terror activities in the region by provoking youngsters, particularly unemployed ones, said the police.

Guddu, who is in his late forties, is said to have visited Pakistan several times and had also received arms training there.

The police said he was also involved in smuggling of arms from the neighbouring country.

DSP (Kharar) Raj Balwinder Singh Mrar said they had received a tip-off from the intelligence wing. “Guddu is very clever and used his mobile phone very rarely to conceal his location. He was trying to revive the group in the region by involving unemployed youth here,” said DSP Mrar.

Earlier, Guddu was lodged in the Patiala jail following the registration of a case against him at the Rajpura police station on similar charges. He was bailed out in February 2011. The police today produced him in a court that remanded him in police custody till September 4.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120903/main5.htm

The Tribune – Online visa racket busted

Rajmeet Singh, Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 7. An Amritsar-based couple, Sukhdev Singh (44) and Gurmeet Kaur (35), have been arrested by the crime branch of the Punjab Police for cheating a woman on the pretext of arranging work permit for her in the USA. To dupe the unsuspecting woman, Harjeet Kaur of Kot Khasla village, Amritsar, the couple created a fake email ID of a non-existing person George Fernandis (claming him to be an American citizen) and sent work permit visa from the same fake email ID. The couple was arrested and a case was registered under Sections 66A, 66D of the Information Technology Act and Section 420, 465, 468, 471 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

SSP Crime Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said the online visa racket came to light when the couple duped the woman from Amritsar. They took Rs 20 lakh from her and sent the fake visa of the USA through e-mail georgefernandis.2011@rediffmail.com.

The accused were remanded in police custody after being produced before a Mohali court today. The couple has duped many other innocent people. The SSP said the couple used to collect huge money in the name of George Fernandis.

They themselves sent e-mails on behalf of the said George Fernandis to deceive the people.

Modus Operandi

- The arrested couple would send US work permit from a fictitious email ID

- They would collect huge money in the name of George Fernandis, a non-existent US citizen, for the work permit

- One of the accused owns a cyber café in Amritsar from where the racket was being operated

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111008/punjab.htm#14

The Tribune – Prime Minister to open Khalsa Heritage Centre

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 7. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inaugurate the Khalsa Heritage Centre at Anandpur Sahib and lay the foundation stone of the new international airport terminal building at Chandigarh named after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

Badal called on the PM here today. He invited him to inaugurate the prestigious project in the first fortnight of November.The Chief Minster also urged Manmohan Singh to lay the foundation stone of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.

The new terminal building, located in the revenue district of Mohali, is jointly funded by Punjab, Haryana and the Centre. After some initial glitches, it was finally agreed by all the parties concerned that the building be named after the martyr. A spokesperson for the Punjab Government said that the Prime Minister had accepted the Chief Minister’s request and the PM’s office and the state government would work together to finalise the dates for the two events.

Badal thanked the Prime Minister for giving the nod to the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) in Ludhiana under the auspices of the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre.

He especially thanked Manmohan Singh for his role in ensuring that the SGPC elections were held in September. Badal requested the Prime Minister for expeditious clearance of the Rs 750 crore HUDCO loan. He also took up the issue of revision of norms regarding payment of relief to affected farmers under the State Disaster Relief Fund.

He said the existing norms were inadequate and a mere Rs 1,600 per acre could be paid to the farmer in case of cent per cent crop loss. This, he said, should be enhanced to Rs 10,000 per acre.

The CM also called on Defence Minister AK Antony and asked him to sanction two new NCC battalions in the state, one for boys in Ropar and another for girls in Malout (Muktsar). Antony reportedly appreciated the efforts of the Chief Minister in establishing Maharaja Ranjit Singh Preparatory Institute for military training at Mohali.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111008/punjab.htm#1