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Chandigarh, June 2 (IANS) Less than a week after the security cover for 434 VVIPs was either temporarily withdrawn or curtailed, the Punjab government on Thursday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the security will be restored from June 7.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the court had asked the government to bring relevant material in a sealed cover to explain the basis on which it had withdrawn or pruned the security of the protectees.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.
Amid the turmoil within the ruling Congress party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Punjab, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday announced to waive pending electricity bills of 55 lakh defaulters, covering 80 per cent of the total consumers.
Sidhu resigned much to the dismay of the Congress party and on the day when the party was going gaga over the joining of Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani.
He was accompanied by AAP Punjab President and MP Bhagwant Mann, Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh, co-in-charge Raghav Chadha, MLAs Aman Arora, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Baljinder Kaur, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, and Master Baldev Singh, among others.
On Tuesday, IANS had first ran the story -- "'Upset' Amarinder likely to meet Shah, his office denies". Since then, speculation was doing the rounds about a likely meeting between the two leaders. However, Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral had then denied the former meeting Shah and BJP chief J.P. Nadda, saying he's on a personal visit to Delhi to meet 'some friends'.
The petitioner contended that her daughter is a permanent resident of the US, while her son holds an American passport. Jauhar argued that children have been taken to an "undisclosed destination", as they are neither in Chennai nor at Tamil Nadu's Virudhnagar, and that his client suspects they have been taken to Maharashtra.
After failing to get any information about Gurdeep's whereabouts since he left Delhi a week ago, his uncle Shamsher Singh, who is also at Singhu, lodged the missing complaint at Kundli police station which falls under Sonepat district of Haryana and is very near the farmers' protest site.
