Latest news with #Bajwa
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Lop Partap Singh slams AAP of sidelining Punjabis, calls Sugarfed recruitment policy deceitful
CHANDIGARH: Senior Congress leader and opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday slammed the AAP government in Punjab, accusing it of a 'deliberate and deceitful attempt' to sideline the Punjabi language and deprive local youth of job opportunities in the recruitment for 166 posts in Sugarfed Punjab. Bajwa claimed that the AAP government initially attempted to dilute the requirement of Punjabi language proficiency by allowing candidates who hadn't passed Punjabi in Matric to appear for the examination, on the condition that they clear a basic Punjabi test during their three-year probation. "It was a clear attempt to recruit non-Punjabis by stealth. Only after a massive public outcry and media backlash did the government take a panicked U-turn and declare Punjabi compulsory again. This is not governance, it's deceit,' Bajwa said. He accused the AAP government of trying to sneak in policies that betray Punjab's linguistic and cultural ethos, only to reverse course when caught red-handed. 'This pattern has become a hallmark of the AAP regime, quietly undermining Punjab's interests, then staging a course correction to save face,' Bajwa stated.
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
Prolific B.C. drunk driver could face deportation after dozens of driving bans over 30 years
A driver who has racked up 32 driving prohibitions or suspensions, as well as 16 24-hour driving bans, failed to convince a British Columbia judge he should get a lighter sentence than normal for drunk driving because more than six months in jail could get him deported to India. Vernon's Gurinder Pal Singh Bajwa, a permanent resident of Canada who escaped deportation in 2019 on an impaired driving conviction with a sentence of five months and 29 days, got a reduced sentence this time around because Mounties captured him on surveillance cameras using the toilet in a holding cell after he was arrested for impaired driving again on May 11, 2022, after rear-ending a white Hyundai Tucson with his Mercedes sport utility vehicle in the parking lot of a Wholesale Club. His blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. But the judge refused to lighten Bajwa's sentence on convictions for impaired and prohibited driving to a level that wouldn't have immigration consequences for the 57-year-old. Any sentence over six months can result in deportation from Canada. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'To accede to Mr. Bajwa's request for a (conditional sentence) or a reduction of the jail time on either count for the impact of the collateral immigration consequences to Mr. Bajwa and as a remedy (for breaching his Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure), would bring the administration of justice into disrepute and result in an inappropriate and artificial sentence; in other words, an unfit sentence,' Judge David Patterson of B.C.'s provincial court wrote in a recent decision. Bajwa immigrated to Canada from India's Punjab region over 34 years ago. 'He received his first British Columbia driving prohibition on March 19, 1993,' said the judge. 'He has also accumulated a substantial number of additional Criminal Code convictions and Motor Vehicle Act infractions.' The Crown recommended Bajwa get between nine and 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine and a five-year driving prohibition for the impaired driving charge, plus another four months behind bars for getting behind the wheel while he 'was subject to five separate driving prohibitions' or suspensions. 'I am flabbergasted that Crown counsel has only sought a four-month consecutive jail sentence (for driving while prohibited),' Patterson said in his decision dated June 2. 'Given the circumstances of the offence, it is hard to imagine a more suitable case for the two-year less-a-day maximum sentence allowed.' Bajwa's lawyer argued for a conditional sentence or no more jail time than he got in 2019 — five months and 29 days behind bars. He noted that would allow Bajwa to remain in Canada. The court heard Bajwa 'has no one in India' and that he's in the process of getting a divorce 'as his alcohol usage ruined his relationship with his estranged wife and his children,' said the judge, who noted they live in Canada. Eight days after he was caught drunk driving in May of 2022, Bajwa 'was very intoxicated at his daughter's wedding and smacked a plate of food out of her hand,' said the decision. 'He was subsequently convicted of assault … and handed a 60-day jail sentence followed by an 18-month probation order, which included having no contact with his estranged wife or children.' That was 'the last straw for the family, essentially,' said the decision. Bajwa 'claims that his problems with alcohol started when he was a roofer,' it said. 'He had a group of co-workers and they would often go drinking alcohol together. His alcohol consumption spiralled out of control.' After he was caught driving drunk in 2022, Bajwa 'began the process of getting his life together,' said the decision. 'He gave up drinking alcohol and took a few counselling sessions. He now lives with a close friend … and he is an active participant in the Vernon Sikh community.' Bajwa's 'moral blameworthiness is at the highest end of the spectrum,' said the judge. Patterson said he had 'considered the potential impact of a jail sentence of six months or more on him, including the possibility that he may be removed from Canada, his home for more than 34 years.' Bajwa got a letter from the Canada Border Services Agency in February of 2024 'alleging he may be inadmissible to Canada' for serious criminality. 'Removal from Canada would lead to dire consequences for Mr. Bajwa,' said the judge. 'He would be forced to leave the country he has called home for more than 34 years. He would face the prospect of returning to India, which has changed since he last resided there. A country that now may be as foreign to him as Canada was when Mr. Bajwa immigrated to Canada.' After considering the Charter breach, Patterson sentenced Bajwa to 198 days (just over six months) in jail for the impaired driving conviction, fined him $2,000 and banned him from driving for three years. For driving while prohibited, the judge handed Bajwa another 120 days behind bars (about four months) to be served consecutively, for a total of about 10 months in jail. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
Sanitary inspector, junior engineer caught red-handed in separate cases of bribery
Two public servants were arrested by the state and central agencies for accepting bribes in the city on Thursday. In the first case, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested a sanitary inspector with the H/East Ward of the BMC after he was allegedly caught red-handed taking a bribe of Rs 2 lakh. The accused, identified as Sarabjit Bajwa, along with another BMC official from the H/East Ward, had sought a bribe of Rs 3 lakh, as per the complainant. An ACB official said the complainant has a consultancy firm where he arranged for licenses, permits and other permissions needed by businessmen from various government departments. In this case, a restaurant owner had approached him to get a health license for his establishment. The complainant then went to the H/East Ward to get the necessary process started. As per the complainant, there he met the sanitary inspector Sarabjit Singh Bajwa who asked him to pay a bribe of Rs 2 lakh and upload some documents online. Accordingly, the complainant said he paid Rs 2 lakh and completed the process following which the license was issued. The complainant added that some time later, another BMC employee, Pramod Patil, came to the establishment and said the license that had been obtained was incorrect. As per the complaint, Patil then asked him to come to the ward office, the ACB said. The complainant added that when he visited the H/East ward office, he met Patil and Bajwa. Patil allegedly told him that he would have to pay a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. 'The duo said that since he had already paid Rs 2 lakh, he would have to pay another Rs lakh,' an official said. The complainant, who did not want to make any further payments, then approached the ACB on May 14 and gave a complaint. Based on the ACB probe, it was established that the accused Bajwa had demanded Rs 3 lakh bribe and had agreed to accept Rs 2.5 lakh. Accordingly, the ACB team asked the complainant to meet Bajwa with the money on Thursday and as he was accepting Rs 2 lakh, the ACB officials nabbed him red-handed and placed him under arrest. An official said they will be interrogating him to find out the role of the other public servants allegedly involved in asking for bribes. In the second case, the CBI on Thursday arrested Dinesh Chandra Pandey, a junior engineer with Naval Officers Family Residential Area (NOFRA) in Navy Nagar, Mumbai, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4.5 lakh. The accused asked the complainant who had secured the contract of special repair work at a building in Navy Nagar to pay the bribe if he wanted his bills of Rs 40 lakh to be cleared. The accused was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe and was taken into custody by the CBI. Special public prosecutor Sandeep Singh said the accused was produced before the court and remanded to CBI custody till June 9.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Witness' credibility: PMLAcourt issues notice to ED
Jaipur: A PMLA court in Jaipur issued a notice to ED on Thursday after the defence counsel challenged the credibility of the witness' statement against former Congress minister Mahesh Joshi, currently in jail in connection with Jal Jeevan Mission scam, for want of video proof of the deposition. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The court, hearing Joshi's bail plea, posted the matter for June 13. Senior counsel Vivek Bajwa, representing Joshi, invoked a Supreme Court ruling that mandates videography of the witness' statement in PMLA cases. "ED claims that this (PHED) engineer is the main witness, based on which Joshi was arrested. Then why was it not videographed? If this engineer claims that he took a bribe and passed it on to others, then why was he not made an accused in this case?" Bajwa asked. Bajwa also questioned ED's delayed action. "He (Joshi) was served the notice in March 2024. Then ED kept quiet for one year. Suddenly, on March 24, 2025, he was called for interrogation and later arrested. Why did ED keep quiet for one year? These things indicate that he has been falsely implicated in this case," Bajwa added. When the ED investigating officer claimed that videography could not be done because most of the rooms were occupied, the court asked ED to explain how many rooms are available at the zonal office in Jaipur, the crime spot.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Imported flower posing $5 billion threat to Australia: 'Massive problems'
Invasive species experts are sounding the alarm over a nasty weed continuing to sting the Australian economy, that outcompetes native vegetation, is extremely difficult to remove and is even still being sold at nurseries. The South African native flower gazania has proven far more adaptable than once believed, emerging as a serious invasive threat to Australia's native grasslands and grain-growing regions, a recent La Trobe University study has found. Dr Ali Bajwa's Weed Science group at La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) collected thousands of seeds from environments across the country and studied how they grew under various conditions. He spoke to Yahoo News and said that what makes the gazania problem particularly urgent is the fact it has very few weaknesses. Invasive plants like gazania are already a major burden on Australian agriculture, contributing to over $5 billion in losses each year. Although popular as a drought-tolerant ornamental plant, gazania is highly invasive and thrives in disturbed soils and coastal habitats, where it spreads quickly by seeds. This aggressive growth allows it to outcompete native groundcovers and wildflowers, leading to a loss of native plant diversity. The dense mats it forms also alter soil composition and prevent the regeneration of indigenous species. Additionally, it provides limited habitat or food value for native insects and animals, further disrupting local ecosystems. Gazania, also known as treasure flowers, has now spread extensively across South Australia and parts of Western Australia, and it can be found colonising everything from coastal dunes and creek banks to wastelands, open grasslands, roadsides, and even cultivated and irrigated farmland. "We know they are quite widespread, but what we wanted to understand was if there are certain climatic conditions or soil types that are more favourable to gazanias compared to others," Bajwa said. Bunnings under fire for selling $5.50 item considered 'massive problem' Alarm sounded over toxic plant assisting in $4.3 billion issue Aussies told to hunt for invasive threat 'lurking' in gardens "And what we found is it has quite flexible germination potential across different temperatures, soil types, moisture gradients, and there aren't many limiting factors, unfortunately, in terms of its early establishment and germination. "One of the things we noticed was that if you bury them beyond a certain depth, they can't emerge from those deeper soil layers. Other than that, unfortunately, there aren't many weaknesses to exploit." Although gazania has long been recognised as an environmental weed, it has recently begun to invade grain cropping zones in South Australia's lower rainfall areas. Farmers are now struggling to manage its spread, as standard herbicides are proving largely ineffective. Initially introduced to Australia in the 1950s and '70s as a decorative garden plant, two varieties of gazania made their way here through discarded garden waste, including lawn clippings, seeds, and other plant material, enabling them to establish along roadsides and to take over native ecosystems. In regions with sandy, marginal soils, gazania infestations are rendering the land unproductive. Its hardy, drought-tolerant nature allows it to outcompete young crops, leading to widespread agricultural losses. "They've now started jumping the fence and getting into those really high-value conservation areas, but also into grain production systems, where they're causing massive problems and yield losses — and revenue losses in terms of the money spent to manage them," Bajwa said. "Restricting the sale and also declaring them a weed of some importance would go a long way — because then it all of a sudden raises more awareness among the public, and also gives weed management authorities a bit more focus to manage this. "We have a lot of other invasive species, and resources are quite limited, so further legislation on restricting their sale, propagation and planting would help. But we also need funding to do some of the research — the sort of work we're doing — to actually get ahead of the invasion curve and try to figure out what the potential management strategies could be. Bajwa encouraged the public to be aware of its dangers and the negative impacts the species can have. "Further planting, propagation and dispersal should also be discouraged," he said. The study, led by PhD student Muhammad Adnan from Dr Bajwa's Weed Science group at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) and the Department of Ecological, Plant and Animal Sciences, was published in Frontiers in Agronomy. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
