Sangrur (Punjab) [India], January 23 (ANI): Aam Aadmi party Punjab Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday challenged Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to contest against him from Dhuri.

Chandigarh Oct 17 PTI Three people allegedly involved in the lynching of a labourer at a farmers protest site near Singhu border were remanded to six days in police custody as the Haryana Police set up two Special Investigation Teams to probe the incidentNarain Singh a key member of the Sikhs Nihang order who was arrested on Saturday from near Amritsar besides two more Nihangs -- Govindpreet Singh and Bhagwant Singh -- from Fatehgarh Sahib who had surrendered before the Sonipat Police in connection with the lynching were produced before a court in Sonipat which remanded them to six days in police custodyThe police sought remand of the accused on the ground that they have to reconstruct the scene of the crime recover clothes which the accused wore at the time of incident besides interrogating them in depth about the entire incidentOne of the SITs headed by IPS officer Mayank Gupta who is Assistant Superintendent of Police Kharkhoda Sonipat will investigate the videos of the incident which were circulating on various social media platforms while the other led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sonipat Virender Singh will carry out the overall probe into the incident The victims family had earlier questioned the attackers claim that he committed sacrilege and demanded a high-level probeThe mortal remains of Lakhbir Singh were cremated at his native village in Punjabs Tarn Taran amid tight security in the presence of his family members on Saturday evening PTI SUN VSD RHL

Sonipat (Haryana) [India], October 17 (ANI): Three accused in the Singhu Border incident, where the mutilated body of a man was found hanging at the site of farmer's protest, have been sent to six-day police custody by the Sonipat court on Sunday.

Chandigarh Sep 28 PTI Nearly five years ago when he joined the Congress ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu had said he is a born Congressman now coming back to his roots But on Tuesday he bowled a googly at his party by resigning as its Punjab unit chief The maverick-triggered political developments saw one of the partys tallest leaders Amarinder Singh forced to quit as chief minister just over a week ago Barely days after Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the Punjab CM and on a day portfolios were given to members of the new state Cabinet 57-year-old Sidhus resignation came as a jolt to the party with the Assembly elections just less than five months away At the time he switched over to the Congress from the BJP before the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls Sidhu had said he is a born Congressman who came back to his roots Sidhu had said he would be ready to work under anybody appointed by the high command and contest from where the party wants him to It is premature to talk about the issue Sidhu had then said when asked whether he would like to be the chief ministerial candidate of the party Four-and-a-half years later the rift between Sidhu and party leader Amarinder Singh escalated to such a level resulting in 79-year-old Congress veteran stepping down as chief minister who said he felt humiliated over the way the party handled the protracted crisis Amarinder Singh who had called Sidhu dangerous and anti-national while reacting over his resignation again took a dig at him and said I told you so he is not a stable man not fit for the border state of Punjab Donning many hats from cricketer commentator TV show host Sidhu who also remained a four-time MP has always maintained that for him Punjab comes first Sidhus father Bhagwant Singh was the district president of the Congress in Patiala and it was his wish to see him play cricket at the international level Sidhu made his debut in first class cricket in 1981-82 and later went on to earn the sobriquet of sixer Sidhu for his powerful stroke play In 2004 Sidhu began his political innings contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Amritsar where he shifted his base from Patiala and in his first election defeated Congress heavyweight R L Bhatia When he was in the BJP Sidhu had sour relations with the Badal family despite the SAD then being an ally of the BJP Later his ties with BJP also turned cold when the party fielded senior leader Arun Jaitley from Amritsar in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls Though he was accommodated in the Rajya Sabha later he quit the party to join the Congress Sidhus wife Navjot Kaur who was sitting MLA from Amritsar East made way for him to contest the seat in 2017 Just before his joining the Congress Sidhu had floated a front Awaaz-e-Punjab but it was soon shelved When the Congress returned to power with an overwhelming majority in 2017 it was being speculated that Sidhu would be made the deputy chief minister but he was made a cabinet minister As Sidhu and Amarinder Singhs relations never remained cordial the latter changed his portfolio from the local bodies to Power but the cricketer-turned-politician resigned in protest From the time he quit his Cabinet in 2019 till early 2021 Sidhu maintained a low profile However once he was back in thick of things a few months ago he not only took on the opposition but repeatedly kept on making veiled attacks on the chief minister over host of issues In July Sidhu was appointed as the new president of the partys Punjab unit notwithstanding the strong opposition from Amarinder Singh The appointment of Sidhu and four other leaders as working presidents of the state unit came after days of internal squabbling and public bickering that divided the state unit between two factions owing allegiance to Singh and Sidhu With his elevation as the state Congress chief the party leadership clearly signalled to put its weight behind Sidhu while ignoring Amarinder Singhs opposition The support of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also helped in Sidhu clinching the post despite strong resistance Sidhus ability to pull crowd and launch a vigorous campaign appeared to have worked in his favour Sidhu can win an election even in Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had once said when the Congress leader went to that country to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Khan Sidhu was later criticised for hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the high-profile event Though Sidhu earned the wrath for his visit to Pakistan the Amritsar legislator was hailed by many for his role in the opening of the Kartarpur corridor enabling devotees especially Sikhs to offer prayers at the historic gurdwara in the neighbouring nation The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjabs Gurdaspur district PTI SUN CHS VSD RDK RDK