Report on drugs to see light of day after over 2 yrs delay: Sidhu
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Oct, 2021 11:29 AM
Chandigarh, Oct 5 (IANS) With a new special bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to start hearing in the multi-crore drug racket case concerning Punjab on Tuesday, Congress leader Navjot Sidhu said a report by the Special Task Force (STF) on drugs will finally see light of day after two and a half years of delay.
"Today, STF Report on Drugs will finally see light of day after 2.5 yrs of delay in sealed covers, court naming main culprits behind drug trade will be first victory for youth & suffering mothers of Punjab," Sidhu tweeted.
"Hope they are given punishment that acts as a deterrent for generations!!"
The case was assigned to the division bench of Justices A.G. Masih and Ashok Kumar Verma. Earlier, the case was being heard by the bench of Justices Rajan Gupta and Ajay Tewari but the latter recused himself from hearing the case on September 1.
The new bench will take up an application seeking that the high court "may open" a report submitted in a sealed cover.
The application has been filed by advocate Navkiran Singh, pleading that the report contains the response of Punjab on a report submitted by then STF chief Harpreet Sidhu, who was asked by the high court to go through the report submitted by Enforcement Directorate Assistant Director Niranjan Singh.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday condemned the Congress government in Punjab for allegedly discriminating against teachers and forcing them to come to the streets, and asked state Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla not to behave in an 'arrogant' and 'dictatorial' manner and resolve the grievances of government school teachers immediately.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Thursday demanded a high court monitored probe into the manner in which the Congress government in Punjab was playing with the people's lives by creating an artificial shortage of vaccines by selling vaccine doses at a hefty profit to private hospitals.
The electronic conversation took place as US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that India will receive Covid vaccines directly from the US stockpile, the White House said.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General M.M. Naravane, reached Kashmir on Wednesday on a two-day visit to review the prevailing security situation in the Union Territory (UT), the army said in a statement.
"There have been several unfounded media reports that have peddled misinformation among the masses regarding this exercise of national importance," a ministry statement said, adding that the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far stand at 21,85,46,667.
The Congress said that it was "appropriate for our initial statement to note that the intrusion by Israeli forces into the Holy Al Aqsa mosque during Ramzan prayers had ruptured the delicate peace in the region".