Punjab: Two more killed ahead of panchayat polls Chandigarh: A day after one person was killed immediately after an election rally in Bhatinda district, two more were gunned down on Friday in a village in Amritsar in an exchange of fire between two groups, pushing the toll in the run up to the May 19 panchayat polls in Punjab to four. Tension was brewing between two groups in Chak Mishri Khan village over a consensus to elect the village panchayat, without polls.

The groups, each owing allegiance to ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and Opposition Congress were holding a meeting when tempers ran high and the agitated people pulled out guns and started shooting each other, sources said. Gurjidner Singh (42), a Congress supporter and Balkar Singh (22), an activist of ruling SAD were killed, a report from Amritsar quoting the police said in Chandigarh.

Amritsar (Rural) DSP Jagatpreet Singh said, situation took an ugly turn when two groups indulged in a heated argument and opened fire on each other. However, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amritsar (Rural) Manmohan Singh denied any political connection to the incident.

The killing took place due to some personal enmity and on-going grudge between the two groups, he said. Police patrolled the towns of Moga, Baghapurana, Nihal Singh Wala, Badhni Kalan, Dharamkot and Kotisekhan to instill confidence among people ahead of the elections, officials said....more    
05:43 PM, May 17, 2013

Punjab: 1 killed, 3 injured as Congress rally attacked Bathinda: Over a dozen armed men opened indiscriminate fire at a Congress-PPP election rally, killing one person and injuring at least three others in Rampura Phull area of the district. Around 15-16 armed men opened fire at the rally in Adampur village here organised ahead of May 19 panchayat polls. Congress activist Jasvir Singh was killed in the attack while Lakhbir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana, a prominent PPP leader and...  
09:59 PM, May 16, 2013

1984 anti-Sikh riots: SAD chief demands SIT probe New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press for a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases in the capital. "We want that a Special Investigation Team be formed and it should probe the cases under the supervision of the Supreme Court. There are so many cases on which no action has been taken like the Nangloi case...  
01:44 PM, May 08, 2013

1984 riots: SAD team to meet Pranab against Sajjan's acquittal New Delhi: A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will be meeting President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday to submit a memorandum on the 1984 Delhi riots verdict acquitting Congress leader Sajjan Kumar of all charges. The delegation will be headed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Massive protests resumed last week after Kumar was acquitted of all charges. The CBI will also challenge before Delhi High Court the...  
10:30 AM, May 08, 2013

Sukhbir slams Congress for 'shielding' 1984 culprits Bathinda: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday slammed the Congress for "shielding the culprits" of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and termed as "shameful" the "denial" of justice to the victim families. Sukhbir launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing the party of denying justice to people who were "burnt alive on streets of Delhi" by "shielding Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler." He said a delegation led by...  
03:12 AM, May 08, 2013

Anti-Sikh riots: Victim's fast against Sajjan enters 5th day
by IBN7
New Delhi: 1984 anti-Sikh riots victim Nirpreet Kaur's fast at Jantar Mantar against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a riots case entered the fifth day on Tuesday. Her blood pressure is down and her health has deteriorated, but Kaur has decided to carry on with her fast. Nirpreet said that her fast will be continue until the government fulfills her demand for a through investigation in the...  
01:26 PM, May 07, 2013

Sajjan's acquittal: Protests planned at Sonia's house on Thursday New Delhi: Many people from the Sikh community came together in New Delhi on Wednesday to protest against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in one of the cases of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. While many stormed a metro station in west Delhi in the afternoon disrupting services for sometime, the others marched to a police station blocking traffic in the area. The protesters entered Subhash Nagar Metro Station at...  
03:49 PM, May 01, 2013

1984 riots: Sajjan's acquittal shocking, probe needed, says SAD Chandigarh: Expressing shock and anguish at acquittal of Sajjan Kumar in an anti-Sikh riots case, Shiromani Akali Dal Chief and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday attacked the Congress saying it would not be allowed to put a lid on the issue. Stating that the verdict had dashed hopes of people who waited for nearly three decades for justice, he expressed hope that the Supreme Court would...  
05:17 PM, Apr 30, 2013

Punjab: Akali Dal leader gets seven-year jail for graft
by IANS
Patiala: A CBI special court in Patiala on Saturday awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Akali Dal leader Mangat Rai Bansal in an embezzlement case related with the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Twenty-two other convicts were also sent to jail. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge Hemant Gopal sent the ruling party leader Bansal, 54, to jail for a fraud involving Rs.1.8 crore in the 1990s. Besides Bansal, the...  
05:15 AM, Apr 21, 2013

SAD leader, 21 others get 7 years imprisonment in fraud case Patiala: A special CBI court on Saturday awarded seven-year imprisonment to SAD leader and 21 others, including three FCI officials in a fraud case. The Special Judge Hemant Gopal held a former SAD MLA Mangat Rai Bansal and others guilty of making wrongful gains by supplying sub standard rice, resulting in loss to the Food Corporation of India to the tune of Rs 1.8 crore. The CBI had filed the...  
08:54 PM, Apr 20, 2013

Watch: Parties for and against Narendra Modi as PM

While most of the political parties are against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, only the AIADMK and the Shiromani Akali Dal support him. ...
03:30 PM, Apr 17, 2013

SAD to support prime ministerial candidate proposed by BJP Panaji: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will support the prime ministerial candidate proposed by BJP, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Tuesday. "BJP being the biggest constituent of the NDA should decide on the prime ministerial candidate. Akali Dal will accept it," the SAD president said. Badal is in Goa along with party colleagues to participate in the 'Chintan Shivir' being held here. The party leaders visited Goa...  
08:09 PM, Apr 09, 2013

Punjab CM bats for genuine federal structure In order to ensure the balanced growth of the rural areas in a holistic manner, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday said the Union government must implement the genuine federal structure in the country. The chief minister, who was in Moga to address a public gathering, said that knowing well the needs of the country, the framers of the Indian Constitution had envisaged true federal system for...  
02:55 AM, Mar 31, 2013

Parkash Singh Badal accuses UPA of centralising power Accusing the Congress-led UPA of excessive centralisation of power, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday said states have been reduced to the status of "dignified municipal committees." ...  
08:20 PM, Mar 27, 2013

Punjab Assembly passes 16 Bills in absence of Congress MLAs Punjab Assembly on Monday passed 16 bills, including Punjab Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill 2013 and Punjab Contract Farming Bill 2013 before the House was adjourned sine die. ...  
04:16 AM, Mar 26, 2013

Lowering age of consent will lead to teenage pregnancies: SAD

The new anti-rape Bill will be taken up by the Union Cabinet Monday evening after it failed to achieve consensus at two all-party meetings. Sources told CNN-IBN that the key sticking point of lowering the age of consent for sex may have been solved with the government agreeing to keep it at 18 years. However, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur said, "We don't want the age to be ...
05:37 PM, Mar 18, 2013

Bajwa replaces Amarinder as Congress' Punjab chief
by IANS
Bajwa, Congress MP from Gurdaspur, has replaced Amarinder Singh, Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said in New Delhi. The exit of Amarinder Singh, a former chief minister and scion of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, was imminent with the latest loss of the Congress in last month's by-election on the Moga assembly seat. ...  
11:29 PM, Mar 05, 2013

Haven't seen video of policemen beating woman: Punjab DGP Two days after several policemen were caught on camera beating up a woman and her father publicly by a roadside in Tarn Taran, the Punjab DGP has now made a even more shocking statement. He has claimed that he is yet to see the video of the policemen thrashing the woman. ...  
05:05 PM, Mar 05, 2013

Erring policemen will not be spared, says Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral

Policemen in Punjab's Tarn Taran beat up a young woman and her father after she went to them with a complaint of sexual harassment. While two policemen have been suspended, the state administration has come under a scathing attack from activists and politicians. ...
10:54 AM, Mar 05, 2013

Patiala: SAD leader resigns after murder charges Under pressure from the SAD leadership, Patiala Mayor Jaspal Pardhan, who has been booked by police in the murder case of a woman, has resigned. ...  
11:36 AM, Feb 26, 2013