A Mohali court has sentenced Jagir Singh to life imprisonment for the 2021 murder of goat farmer Sucha Singh, a case cracked with the crucial help of the victim's pet dog, Rocky, who led the family to the buried body.
Tension gripped Chabbewal, Hoshiarpur, as villagers blocked the Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh road for four hours, protesting a mining case and alleged police excesses. The protest stemmed from an FIR filed under the Mining and Minerals Act, leading to arrests and accusations of police brutality. Traffic was disrupted until authorities assured a fair inquiry.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) has launched its 'vision document' outlining its ideological direction and commitment to the rise of the 'Panth' and the progress of Punjab. The 'Akali Declaration 2026' addresses issues concerning youth, farmers, women, and other sections of society, with a focus on education, health, and internal party reforms.
The Shiromani Akali Dal also issued a two-day ultimatum to her to stop "anti-party" activities, failing which, it said, strict disciplinary action would be taken against her.
The action came after Jagir Kaur failed to appear before the party's disciplinary committee, which had asked to explain her decision of contesting the election.
A day after a court convicted and sentenced her to a five-year jail term in connection with her daughter's abduction, senior Punjab Minister Bibi Jagir Kaur resigned on Saturday citing "moral grounds". Kaur, 57, sent her resignation letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who forwarded it to the Punjab governor for its acceptance with immediate effect. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said Bibi Jagir Kaur resigned as cabinet Minister on moral grounds.
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
He was seen wearing a plaque around his neck while sitting in a wheelchair because of a fractured leg.
The home minister assured the family members of Kirpal Singh of all possible help from the government, official sources said.
Pronouncing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the 'mistakes' committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday directed the senior Akali leader to perform as a 'sewadar', and wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
Badal's resignation came days after he urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to pronounce his punishment for religious misconduct charges, saying more than two months have passed since he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct).
The Punjab government has declared a holiday on Thursday as a mark of respect to the former chief minister.
The body of Indian prisoner Kirpal Singh, who died under mysterious circumstances in a Pakistani jail, arrived in India on Tuesday.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has thrown his hat into the ring as an Independent.
India on Wednesday asked its acting high commissioner in Islamabad to seek a meeting with the Pakistan foreign office in connection with the death of an Indian under mysterious circumstances in a jail there.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Wreaths were laid on the body of SP (Detective) Baljit Singh by politicians, top police officers, besides family and common people.
For many of the bereaved families the agonising wait started on Tuesday evening when they were informed by senior Army officials about the sacrifice of the 20 soldiers in the clashes with the Chinese Army along the Line of Actual Control a day earlier.
Slogans of 'Shaheed Amar Rahe' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' rent the air as military vehicles carrying the mortal remains of the three soldiers reached their respective villages. Anti-Pakistan slogans were also raised.
In heart-wrenching scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, coffins of soldiers arrived in several states for the last rites with full military honours.
Punjab minister Jagir Kaur was on Friday convicted for conspiring in forcible abduction, kidnapping and wrongful confinement in connection with the killing of her daughter Harpreet Kaur 12 years ago, but was acquitted of the murder charge.
Makkar is a close confidant of SAD chief Prakash Singh Badal.
The Shiromani Akali Dal is protesting against booth capturing by Congress workers during the Ajnala bypoll.
Ill-fated Kirpal from Gurdaspur has reportedly been acquitted of bomb blast charges by the Lahore high court but his death sentence could not be commuted because of unknown reasons.
Pakistan on Wednesday informed India that Indian inmate Kirpal Singh died of a heart attack at a jail in Lahore two days back after the issue of his mysterious death was taken up with the Pakistani authorities even as the government said it was awaiting further details in the case.
The Akali Dal-BJP alliance won on four seats and the AAP bagged one.
Behind the movement are shock-workers functioning quietly to ensure that a seemingly spontaneous, apolitical, grassroots mobilisation sustains itself without dribbling into chaos or violence. Sai Manish lists some of them.
Lloyd and Sussane Rudolph -- two University of Chicago professors who started studying Indian politics in the 1950s, have been named the winners of the Padma Bhushan Award.
The manner in which assembly seats were distirbuted among Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh so far, has ensured that residents of the Valley rule the state forever, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
