Chandigarh Apr 25 PTI The Punjab Police on Monday launched a multifunctional web portal for the people of the state to report cyber frauds and crimes with ease officials saidIt also gives users the option to report a complaint anonymously Director General of Police V K Bhawra said after launching the portal of the cyber crime divisionBesides lodging of all kinds of cyber crime or cyber financial fraud a user can also track the status of their complaint using the portal he saidIt also has an informational video in Punjabi which informs a user about the salient features of the portal -- cybercrimepunjabpolicegovin -- and guides them on how to lodge a complaint an official release saidThe video pops-up whenever the user enters the site it saidBhawra said the portal also gives an option to directly call 1930 to report financial frauds committed using cyber meansFIRs registered in state cyber crime police stations can also be downloaded using the portal he saidDeputy Inspector General Cyber Crime Nilambari Jagdale said users can also access Cyber Dost a Twitter service handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs which provides information updates and alerts regarding cyber crimesThe portal also has a feature called cyber safe through which users can verify account numbers before making any kind of transactions to prevent financial frauds the DIG saidJagdale said that the portal is also linked with the cyber crime prevention against women and children CCPWC scheme of the central governmentUsing this feature on the portal anyone can report offences against women and children she added PTI CHS VSD NB ANB ANB

Chandigarh Apr 23 PTI Facing a backlash from the opposition political parties for banning the use of jugad rehris the Punjab police on Saturday evening suspended its drive against the innovative carts made up of old motorbikes In a fresh direction the additional director general of police traffic asked district police chiefs to take no actions against jugad rehri owners till further order They were asked to rather spread awareness among drivers about their innovative vehicles accidental nature and their illegality The development came after the opposition parties strongly condemned the polices earlier order banning the use of jugad rehris In a letter dated April 18 to district police chiefs the Punjab ADGP Traffic had asked them to launch a special drive against such carts citing that they could become a cause of accidents The opposition parties earlier in the day had slammed the AAP-led government in the state saying the ban would render thousands of people jobless Those who run jugad rehris also condemned the state governments decision and questioned how they would earn their livelihood Several people across the state run jugad rehris for selling fruit and vegetables transporting materials such as cement sand electronic goods and sometimes and often passengers too Senior vice president of Shiromani Akali Dal Daljit Singh Cheema in a statement earlier on Saturday said the ban has come as a shock for thousands of people Such people were selling vegetables carrying waste in cities and were using such facilities created by themselves for transporting various things from one place to another he said Merely issuing an order without studying the ground reality is not a sign of healthy governance Cheema said He added that while ordering the ban the Mann government should have devised some alternative means for jugad rehris owners to earn their livelihood Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring too had earlier condemned the state governments ban on the innovative carts Since this government has nothing constructive to do it has been resorting to destructive actions only he had said Expressing solidarity with tens of thousands of modified cart operators Warring had said this will adversely impact their livelihood and his party will not let that happen Congress leader and MLA Sukhpal Khaira too had earlier called it a bad decision and said the AAP which claims to represent ordinary and poor people has inflicted havoc on the poorest of the poor and the move will affect the lives of one lakh families The argument given by BhagwantMann govt to ban these Engine Rehras of poor vendors that they cause road accidents is illogical as most accidents are caused as theres neither rule or fear of law nor policing on roads besides stray animals drunken driving etc Bad decision said Khaira in a tweet PTI CHS VSD RAX RAX

Chandigarh Apr 23 PTI In a relief to Punjabs transporters whose business suffered during the Covid lockdown Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday allowed them to pay their motor vehicle tax without any penalty in the next three months Today we are fulfilling our promise to transporters Those transporters who could not pay motor vehicle tax due to the Covid lockdown can pay it now without any penalty or arrears in the next three months Mann said in a tweet in Hindi Transporters are the backbone of our economy and we stand by them in every need he added Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang later said the Mann governments amnesty scheme will provide relief to the states small transporters and give them another opportunity to pay taxes without any penalty The state revenue too will increase from this scheme and this will be used for more public welfare schemes he further said Through this scheme the transporters will get three months time from April 25 till July 24 The transporters who were unable to pay taxes due to the Covid lockdown will be given one more chance to pay taxes without any penalty he stated PTI CHS VSD RAX RAX

Chandigarh Apr 23 PTI The ruling AAP in Punjab on Saturday slammed the Congress over warrants issued against farmers who defaulted on loans in Ferozepur and accused it of trying to defame the Bhagwant Mann-led government in the stateAAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said the warrants were issued in December 2021 under the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government in PunjabAfter the formation of the AAP government some officers of the department concerned renewed those warrants but as soon as the state government came to know about it the arrest warrants were withdrawn Kang told reporters hereAround 930 farmers of Ferozepur district were issued warrants by the state land mortgage bank following non-payment of loans Farmer unions had threatened to launch a stir against the moveKang said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has directed officials not to issue any summons or warrants against farmers stating that the government was formulating a new policy to bring farmers out of the mire of debt and make farming a profitable professionLater Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema directed the cooperative banks not to issue warrants against farmers for non-payment of debts PTI CHS VSD IJT IJT

Chandigarh Apr 22 PTIPunjab Director General of Police DGP V K Bhawra was among 149 police personnel who were administered the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine during a special camp here on FridayTwo additional DGPs -- Arpit Shukla and Sharad Satya Chauhan -- and assistant inspector general Sukhwant Singh Gill also got the booster jabThe Punjab police in association with the health department has been organising special camps for administering COVID-19 vaccination booster dose for its personnel at a dispensary at the Punjab police headquarters hereThis was the third such camp organised here A total of 363 police personnel have got the booster dose according to an official releaseDGP Bhawra said keeping the health of the police personnel a top priority the welfare wing of Punjab Police keeps organising such camps PTI CHS VSD TIR TIR

Chandigarh Apr 20 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said Rs 1 crore ex-gratia will be given to the family of the police personnel who are killed in the line of duty He made the announcement while virtually addressing over 23000 officers and personnel of the Punjab Police here The chief minister directed them to adopt zero tolerance against drugs terrorism illegal mining corruption as well as gangsters an official release said He also asked the police to ensure the safety and security of people in the state and take action against lawbreakers without any bias In another decision for the welfare of the Punjab Police Mann announced to increase the police welfare fund from Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore from this financial year He encouraged the police officers and the personnel to put in their best efforts to make the Punjab Police the best in the country the release said Mann also asked the police to treat people with dignity Acknowledging the fact that the job of the police is challenging and it is open to criticism despite the force putting efforts Mann lauded the role of the Punjab Police the release said Police personnel of all ranks joined the meeting from as many as 933 video-conferencing VC locations established by Punjab Police at state police headquarters district police offices police stations training centres special task force STF offices intelligence offices various armed battalions and railway police centres it said This is for the first time in Punjab that the chief minister addressed such a large number of police personnel the release said Meanwhile as many as 5650 birthday greetings have been handed over to the police personnel since Mann launched an initiative to felicitate police personnel on their birthdays PTI CHS VSD AQS AQS

Chandigarh Mar 27 PTI Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated several projects including the state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre here Shah also laid foundation stones of a hostel block of commerce college a project for constructing 240 houses for police personnel and a bus depot-cum-workshopThe Union minister was accompanied by Punjab Governor Banwarlilal Purohit on this occasion Under the ICCC project more than 2000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the city to keep a check on traffic violations The ICCC centre is also integrated with major citizen services including water electricity sewage solid waste management transport e-governance parking and public-bike sharing for an effective monitoring of services and data analysis The other projects which the Union Minister inaugurated included a new office building of Chandigarh Housing Board two government schools and an urban park PTI CHS VSD TDS TDS TDS

Chandigarh Mar 26 PTI Tales of valour and sacrifices made by the people of Rohnat village in the first war of Independence will be made a part of the school curriculum from the upcoming academic session Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on SaturdayRohnat is known as the village of martyrs In 1857 several residents had sacrificed their lives in the First War of IndependenceThe village was punished by the British Raj which stripped the entire population of their land-holdings besides unleashing the tyranny on men who were crushed under road-rollersKhattar made the announcement after watching a play Dastan-e-Rohnat performed at the Indira Gandhi Auditorium of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University HisarHe also announced to set up an academy in RohnatWe will build a big academy in Rohnat to preserve the heritage and story of this place People from the army and martial arts backgrounds will also come here he said Today we are enjoying freedom because of Rohnat martyrs he addedMartyrs of Rohnat sacrificed their lives for freedom As the British committed atrocities on the people of Rohnat village they came forward and confronted them said KhattarIt is our duty to remember the martyrs who contributed to the freedom of our country said the chief ministerThe chief minister called upon the people to take a pledge to preserve this freedom by eradicating the evils of society PTI CHS VSD RHL

Chandigarh Mar 26 PTI Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday requested Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take up with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal the issue of allowing state-owned buses to travel up to the Delhi airport Bajwa the MLA from Qadian said the state-owned transport undertakings -- Pepsu Road Transport Corporation PRTC and Punbus -- were not allowed to ply their buses all the way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport He said the only beneficiary of this ban on the state-owned transport undertakings is the transport mafia PRTC and PUNBUS services are still not allowed to ply their services to IGI Airport New Delhi I urge BhagwantMann ji to take this issue up with Delhi CM ArvindKejriwal ji immediately Bajwa tweeted Delay in restarting this service has harmed PunjabGovtIndia interests and the common man of the state and especially our NRIs The only beneficiaries of this continued ban on PRTCPUNBUS is the transport mafia the former Punjab Congress chief said in another tweet Notably Congress legislator Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who was the transport minister in the previous Charanjit Singh Channi-led state government had even asked Kejriwal in Amritsar in December last year why his government was not letting Punjabs state-owned buses travel up to the Delhi international airport Warring had then said that private buses that charge almost thrice the fare were being allowed to ply all the way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport but Volvo buses of the state transport undertaking had been barred from plying to the terminal PTI CHS VSD SMN

Chandigarh Mar 23 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday launched an anti-corruption helpline that will allow people to upload videos of officials asking for a bribe or indulging in other malpracticesPunjabs Vigilance Bureau will examine the complaints received-- in recorded video or audio formats -- on the anti-corruption helpline and take actionA dedicated team of police officials has also been set up for this purpose said official sources here adding that the helpline would work round-the-clockMann launched the number -- 9501200200 -- on the martyrdom day of legendary freedom fighters Bhagat Singh Rajguru and Sukhdev and called it an anti-corruption action lineMann who was sworn-in as chief minister on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan sought support of the people in order to root out corruption within a monthI had promised to you that I will launch a phone number on March 23 which will be called as an anti-corruption action line said Mann in a video messageThe number is 9501200200 said Mann asking people to send videos of those who demand bribe or commission for any workMann said the staff will inquire into the complaints and whosoever is found guilty be it an officer minister or an MLA will face strict actionHe also urged people to share only corruption-related videos on the numberIn this campaign I need the support of three crore Punjabis If you support we will make Punjab a corruption-free state within a month said MannMann said his government was committed to ensure clean and transparent governanceOur government will take the message of martyrs to each and every house so that the dreams of martyrs could be realised he addedMann had announced to launch the anti-corruption helpline on March 23 the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh Rajguru and SukhdevAt that time Mann had said it would be his personal WhatsApp numberEarlier on Wednesday Mann paid tributes to the three freedom fighters at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur and at Khatkar Kalan in SBS Nagar districtIn his tweet Mann said Lets make Punjab a corruption-free and prosperous state by realising the dreams of the great martyrs who laid down their precious lives for the countrys freedom The Punjab government has also declared a holiday on March 23 on the martyrdom day of the freedom fighters PTI CHS VSD RHL