Security cover for 434 VVIPs to be restored, Punjab HC informed
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Jun, 2022 10:42 AM
Chandigarh, June 2 (IANS) Less than a week after the security cover for 434 VVIPs was either temporarily withdrawn or curtailed, the Punjab government on Thursday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the security will be restored from June 7.
In less than 24 hours after his security was curtailed, singer-turned-actor-politician Sidhu Moosewala was shot dead by gangsters close to his ancestral village in Mansa in broad daylight.
The government decision on restoration of the security came to light during the resumed hearing before the bench of Justice Raj Mohan Singh.
In a previous hearing, the court had asked the government to bring relevant material in a sealed cover to explain the basis on which it had withdrawn or pruned the security of the protectees.
The court was hearing a petition filed by former Deputy Chief Minister O.P. Soni through counsel Madhu Dayal. Soni sought the quashing of order of de-categorising his security from "Z" and the withdrawal of security personnel.
After the government withdrew half of his security cover, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh last week said he asked his office to send the remaining security personnel to the government as he "does not need" them.
At the same time, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) deployed its armed men in the security of the jathedar, who had asked Sikhs to keep a licensed weapon in view of the "uncertain times".
In an order, the government withdrew or curtailed the security of 434 VIPs in the state. They largely include former legislators, heads of various "deras" and police officers.
The head of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, is among them.
The ED on late Thursday arrested him after over eight hours of questioning. He was summoned for the second time. Honey was earlier summoned by the ED to join the investigation on January 23, but he skipped the first summon on health issues and did not join the investigation.
Leaving behind his celebrated tag of a top Punjabi rap singer with fans across the globe, singer-turned-actor-politician Sidhu Moosewala, who was booked for allegedly promoting gun culture and violence, takes pride in crediting his mother Charan Kaur, sarpanch of his native Moosa village, for making his electoral debut as a Congress candidate from Mansa for the February 20 Assembly polls.
With his assurance a power struggle is on between party state President Navjot Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi, the first Dalit Chief Minister of a state that is home to 32 per cent Scheduled Caste population, the country's largest, to be the chief ministerial candidate.
On checking their purses, polythenes containing off-white substance weighing 400 gms was recovered from the possession of Shivani, 424 gms was recovered from Kiran and polythene containing white substance weighing 439 gms was found with Preeti, said the police.
As a part of the tracker, a snap poll simply asked the respondents across all 117 seats in Punjab, if they feel that PLC-BJP-SADs alliance candidate is in "serious contest" in their own area. The results show that every third voter in Punjab believes that Captain is still very much in serious contest along with his new alliance partners.
According to officials at Force's Headquarters here, on Wednesday's evening, the troops deployed on the BoP observed some suspicious movement ahead of Border fencing from the Pakistan side in the area of KS Wala under Ferozepur sector. The intruder crossed IB and entered into Indian Territory.
