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Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Strike halts 3,000 public buses in Punjab, commuters bear the brunt
1 2 3 Nearly 3,000 buses operated by PRTC, Punbus and Punjab Roadways remained off roads on Thursday due to a strike by contract employees, leaving commuters in the lurch. A week ago, contractual workers demanded the cancellation of the kilometre-scheme tenders being floated for private bus operators and pressing for overdue salary payments and other job-related demands. The protest was temporarily suspended after govt intervention. However, the workers issued a warning that they would resume their protest beginning Aug 14 if their demands were not met. The employees are also demanding regularisation and addition of new buses to the PRTC and Punbus fleet. The workers claimed that as per the state govt transport policy of 1986, govt and private buses need to be operated at a 70:30 ratio, a move not being followed. Around 400 govt buses completed their 15 years of life in the last three years and are non-operating. Nevertheless, the state govt failed to add any new buses to the govt fleet, with only around 800 new buses being added in 2021, they claimed. The strike caused inconvenience to a number of commuters, especially women who have been provided free travel access in govt buses. "I had planned to go back home to Rampura Phul due to the long weekend but only private buses are operating and that too are overcrowded. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo On the busy routes, it becomes very difficult for women to travel in the overcrowded bus," said Navjot Kaur, a student from the university in Patiala. A PRTC employee union leader said that on several routes there are no or very few private buses operating in the state and the suspension of buses on these routes leaves a greater impact. Many commuters found themselves stranded without any way to reach their destinations. Resham Singh, president, PRTC-Punbus Employee Union, said they have been called for a meeting with govt officials . "If the meeting doen not bring any fruitful results, we may extend our strike," he said. Members of contractual employees union said that Rs 2.64 crore constitutes PRTC's daily receipt, while Rs 3 crore is that of Punbus. MSID:: 123300491 413 | Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Independence Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Cross-border narco-smuggling module busted, four arrested
The counter intelligence (CI) wing of Amritsar police has busted a cross-border narcotics smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested four of its operatives after recovering 5kg heroin from their possession, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Saturday. A case under Sections 21, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act has been registered at the state special operation cell police station in Amritsar. (HT) Those arrested have been identified as Resham Singh, Gurpinder Singh of Dhanoe Kalan in Amritsar and Rooppreet Singh and Shubhkar Manjit Singh of Sehnewali, also in Amritsar. Apart from recovering 5kg heroin, police teams have also impounded their Mahindra Thar (PB08-FC-7002) and Hero Splendor motorcycle (PB02-DV-6761) being used for transporting the consignments. Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were acting under the directions of Pakistan-based smuggler identified as Kaka, a resident of Dyal in Pakistan, who has been using drones to drop narcotic consignments from across the border. The arrested accused persons were further delivering the narcotics consignments to other parties in the state, he said. Sharing operation details, the DGP said that teams from counter intelligence, Amritsar, received specific intelligence about retrieval of narcotics consignments by some individuals from near the Indo-Pak border area falling near village Dhanoe Kalan in Amritsar. Acting swiftly, police teams have intercepted above four persons from Attari to Pull Kanjari road, Amritsar, when they were going to deliver the consignment on their vehicles and recovered heroin consignment from their possession, he said, while adding that further investigations are underway to uncover the network's backward and forward linkages in this case. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days, he added. A case under Sections 21, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act has been registered at the state special operation cell police station in Amritsar.
The Print
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Who is Resham Singh, Pannun's man arrested for ‘defacing public properties, Ambedkar statue'
At Pannun's directions, Resham Singh has allegedly orchestrated four such incidents in Punjab so far this year, including the defacement of Ambedkar's statue in Jalandhar's Nangal village this month. The suspect, identified as Resham Singh from Barnala district's Hamidi village, is a long-time aide of SFJ founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has listed as an 'individual terrorist'. New Delhi: The Punjab Police arrested an operative of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) on Wednesday for promoting anti-national sentiments by defacing public properties and statues of prominent leaders, such as B.R. Ambedkar. The accused, the police said, worked as a security guard in his home district before he came in contact with Pannun and his network. Resham Singh was previously arrested by Karnal police in Haryana and Sangrur police in Punjab for his role in similar cases, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said. 'During the Indo-Pak escalation in May, he painted inflammatory slogans such as 'Pakistan Zindabad' and 'Khalistan Zindabad' to incite public unrest and promote anti-national sentiments,' Yadav said in a statement Wednesday. Punjab Police's State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) unit took Singh into custody from Kharar on the outskirts of Mohali. Investigation has so far revealed that Resham Singh was working on the instructions of Pannun and Surinder Singh Thikriwal, originally from Barnala district and currently based in the US, the Punjab DGP said. Thikriwal allegedly fled India in 2022. Pannun, a dual citizen of the US originally from Punjab, was declared an 'individual terrorist' in July 2020, a year after his organisation was declared a terrorist outfit by the MHA in July 2019. Authorities have registered more than 100 cases against the SFJ and Pannun, with around 60 in Punjab alone. Also Read: Sikh separatists engaging in violent extremism a 'threat to national security'—Canada intel report 'Pannun's aide since 2019, funding of Rs 8-10 lakh' According to the Punjab Police FIR, the SSOC's Mohali unit received a tip-off around 7.45 a.m. Wednesday that Resham Singh was hiding somewhere in their jurisdiction. The SSOC booked Singh and Thikriwal under Sections 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. In a statement to the media, SSOC Mohali in-charge Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Ravjot Grewal said that Resham Singh was taken into custody from a hideout arranged by Thikriwal. Grewal said Resham Singh revealed his six-year-long association with Pannun and the overall network of the SFJ during interrogation. He allegedly confessed to having been introduced to the SFJ network in 2019 through Harpreet Singh alias Rana, who at the time used to host the media channel, Politics Punjab. 'Harpreet Rana was instrumental in connecting Resham to key SFJ members, including Bikramjit Singh (USA), J.S. Dhaliwal and Pannu himself,' Grewal said. She further said that Resham has received at least Rs 8 lakh from Pannun and his network for promoting their secessionist propaganda, such as painting anti-India graffiti on important structures and public spaces. Resham Singh came out of Sangrur jail in May 2024 after serving nearly two years in Sangrur and Karnal for involvement in similar offences in the respective districts. According to records of cases submitted by the MHA before the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act tribunal constituted to vet the ban on SFJ, Resham Singh's name first appeared in cases related to the outfit in 2022 when he and his nephew, Manpreet Singh, were arrested by Punjab Police for two incidents of painting secessionist graffiti. The Sangrur police had filed an FIR under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, as well as relevant sections of the UAPA and the Punjab Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act after the June 2022 incident of writing pro-Khalistan graffiti on the walls of a temple came to light. Around the same time, the Karnal police booked Pannun under Sections 153A, 120B of the erstwhile IPC and 13 of the UAPA that deals with punishment for unlawful activities in connection with writing pro-Khalistan graffiti on the walls of Dyal Singh College and DAV Public School in the district. Around a week later, similar graffiti was found on the boundary wall of Sangrur's Water Testing Regional Laboratory and the Ranbir Club in Sangrur. The Punjab Police arrested both Resham and Manpreet Singh in July 2022. However, as Manpreet was only 18 years old at the time of the offence, he revealed that Resham Singh was the main culprit behind the plot. After spending considerable time in police custody, Resham Singh was granted bail in the Karnal case by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April, while he secured bail in the Sangrur cases from the trial court in May last year. However, Grewal said that as soon as he walked out of the Sangrur jail in May last year, he resumed his activities under the direction of Pannun and the SFJ network. The defacement of Ambedkar's statue in Jalandhar was his last offence before arrest on Wednesday. 'The probe has revealed that after each act, accused Resham used to record videos and send them to his handlers abroad, who used them to fuel secessionist propaganda. Till now, the accused has received around Rs 8 to 10 lakh from his foreign-based handlers,' the AIG added. (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: Born out of 'desperation', DRG is first line against Maoists in Bastar. Tech is giving them an edge
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Terror group Sikhs for Justice operative arrested for vandalising B R Ambedkar's statue near Phillaur, writing ‘Pakistan Zindabad' during conflict
1 2 Mohali: The state special operation cell (SSOC), Mohali, has arrested a key operative of banned separatist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for vandalism and inciting communal unrest across Punjab, according to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav in a post on X on Wednesday. Resham Singh, a resident of Hamidi village in Barnala, was apprehended in an intelligence-led operation by SSOC officials. According to sources, he was absconding since early June after allegedly vandalising the statue of B R Ambedkar in Nangal village near Phillaur (Jalandhar), on the instructions of Surinder Singh Thikriwal, a US-based fugitive, and SFJ legal counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (in pic), a designated terrorist. Investigators revealed that Resham Singh was actively involved in spreading pro-Khalistan and pro-SFJ graffiti across several Punjab districts, including Patiala, Faridkot, and Jalandhar. During the Indo-Pak border tensions in May 2025, he painted inflammatory slogans such as "Pakistan Zindabad" and "Khalistan Zindabad" on public walls, allegedly to provoke unrest and stoke separatist sentiments. Officials said there is evidence that the accused received foreign funding to carry out these anti-national activities. He has a history of similar offences and was previously booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in Karnal (Haryana) and Sangrur (Punjab). A fresh FIR was registered at SSOC, Mohali, and further investigations are ongoing to identify other operatives and funding channels linked to the SFJ network.
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Haryana: ‘Rented' brides: Bathinda man who duped 13 grooms across 3 states held
A 59-year-old man from Punjab, identified as Resham Singh, has been arrested for masterminding a series of fraudulent marriages across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The accused had allegedly solemnised fake marriages by taking money from grooms, ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh, and renting out brides for a short period before they fled with gold and cash. Singh was arrested following a joint raid by Haryana and Rajasthan police at a wedding function in Dabwali, Haryana, on June 1. At the time of his arrest, Singh was performing the role of a bride's father during the ceremony of a disabled groom from Moga district, Punjab. The bride, however, failed to provide any details about her father when questioned, leading to the immediate arrest of the accused. According to police, Resham Singh, originally from a village in Bathinda, Punjab, had been operating the scam for over nine year. He had been absconding since March 2024, when Rajasthan police had booked him in Bikaner for a similar fraud. In that case, Singh had duped two grooms by solemnising their marriages with fake brides. When the grooms attempted to register the marriages, they discovered that the documents for both brides were forged, and the brides had already fled. Singh's modus operandi involved targeting families that were struggling to find brides due to financial constraints or the advanced age of the grooms. He would set up fake weddings, where he or his accomplices would perform the role of the bride's family. After the marriage was completed, the bride would stay with the groom's family for a few days or months before disappearing with valuable gold ornaments and cash. In the course of his investigation, it was revealed that Singh had orchestrated at least 13 fraudulent marriages across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The police said Singh had planned three marriages each in Bhiwani and Sonepat districts of Haryana, one each in Hisar and Ambala, two marriages in Punjab and three marriages in Rajasthan's Bikaner. A spokesperson for the Dabwali police said that in the recent case, Singh's accomplice, a woman, had taken ₹1 lakh from the groom's family, with the total marriage contract being finalised for ₹2 lakh. The woman involved has also been taken into custody. Lakhvir Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Kolayat police station in Bikaner, Rajasthan, told reporters that the breakthrough came after receiving a tip-off that Resham Singh was organising yet another fraudulent marriage in Haryana. The police acted swiftly with the help of Haryana's law enforcement agencies and arrested Singh from the wedding venue in Dabwali. Resham Singh was previously booked in 2016 for a fake marriage case in *Rajasthan. Additionally, he is also facing ten cases of vehicle theft and three cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Singh's troubled financial situation, after his father sold their land in Punjab, led him to a life of crime. Initially working as a factory worker in Punjab, Singh eventually turned to criminal activities, starting with vehicle theft and later progressing to the fraudulent marriage racket. The police have now formed a special team to investigate further into Singh's criminal activities. Police said that Resham Singh has no contact with his wife and children, who are living in a village in Punjab.
