PUNJAB POLICE BUSTS INTER-STATE ILLEGAL PHARMA SUPPLY AND MANUFACTURING NETWORK RUNNING FROM PHARMA FACTORY IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

— KINGPIN AMONG SEVEN HELD WITH 70.42 LAKH INTOXICANT PILLS, 725KG TRAMADOL POWDER AND RS 2.37 LAKH DRUG MONEY, SAYS DGP GAURAV YADAV

— THREE-MONTH LONG OPERATION WAS SPREAD ACROSS FIVE STATES

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, May 11:In a major intelligence-based operation against Pharma Opioids, Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police has busted an interstate network of manufacturing illegal psychotropic substances and supply units running from a pharma factory based in Baddi of Himachal Pradesh, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

The development came after the three-month-long meticulous investigations of backward and forward linkages carried out by the Special Task Force, Border Range, Amritsar into the arrest of two drug smugglers identified as Sukhwinder Singh alias Dhami of village Kot Muhammad Khan in Tarn Taran and Jaspreet Singh alias Jass of Govind Nagar in Amritsar, who were arrested after the recovery of 4.24 lakh narcotic tablets/capsules and Rs 1 lakh drug money from Beas in February this year.

During this entire operation spread across five states, the Police have arrested a total of seven drug smugglers/suppliers and made an effective recovery of 70.42 lakh Intoxicant Tablets/Capsules, 725.5 kg Intoxicant Tramadol Powder and Rs 2.37 lakh drug money. Five states include Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Divulging details, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following the trail after the arrest of these two drug smugglers, Police teams led by SP STF Vishaljit Singh and DSP STF Vavinder Kumar have managed to trace and arrest the main kingpin of the racket identified as Alex Paliwal from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh after recovering 9.04 lakh Intoxicant Tablets/capsules and Rs 1.37 lakh drug money from his possession.

He said that following the revelations of accused Alex Paliwal, the operation was then extended to Himachal Pradesh, where Police teams in the presence of Drug Control Officers Sukhdeep Singh and Ramneek Singh have scrutinised Biogenetic Drug Private Limited and seized records showing that the company has manufactured over 20 crore Alprazolam tablets in just eight months. The records have also traced the supply chain to M/s Aster Pharma in Maharashtra, where further investigative measures led to the exposing Biogenetic Drug Private Limited’s sister pharma manufacturing company Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries based in Baddi, he added.

The DGP said that the subsequent operation targeting Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries yielded a substantial seizure of 47.32 lahks intoxicant capsules and 725.5 kg of Intoxicant Tramadol Powder— sufficient to manufacture 1.5 crore capsules. The records revealed that Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industries purchased 6500 Kg of intoxicant tramadol powder within a year.

He said that the concurrent investigations into transportation and distribution led to the apprehension of individuals including Intezar Salmani, Prince Salmani, Baljinder Singh, and Suba Singh unravelling the intricate web of interstate drug trafficking. Police teams have recovered another chunk of 9.80 lakh intoxicant tablets/capsules from a transportation vehicle near the Chandigarh Railway Station. Further investigations are on and more arrests are expected, he said.

A case FIR No 31 dated 20.02.2024 had been registered under sections 22-C, 25, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station STF, SAS Nagar.

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PVS SPEAKER KULTAR SINGH SANDHWAN CONDOLES DEMISE OF EMINENT PUNJABI POET SURJIT PATAR

Chandigarh, May 11:The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker, S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan, expressed deep sorrow over the unfortunate demise of Padma Shri recipient Punjabi poet and eminent writer S. Surjit Singh Patar, who passed away on May 11 morning at his residence in Ludhiana’s Ashapuri area.

In a press communique issued here, Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that S. Patar made a significant contribution to spreading the promotion of the Punjabi language across the globe. His notable achievement includes receiving top honors like Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work of writing in a regional language.

He said that S. Patar hailed from Patar Kalan village in Jalandhar and retired as a professor of Punjabi from Punjab Agricultural University. He received the Padma Shri in 2012 and served as the president of the Punjab Arts Council.

S. Sandhwan said that the passing of S. Patar is a significant loss to the Punjabi community and a great loss for society. He added that S. Patar will always be remembered with respect for his notable contributions to the mother language.

The speaker recalled that S. Patar played a crucial role in raising the issue of the Punjabi language not being included on Google's Gemini iApp (Artificial Intelligence) platform, even though the platform included many other regional languages, including Gujarati.

He said that recently, along with S. Patar and others took the initiative of preparing the data of Punjabi quickly and uploading it online on Google's Gemini iApp. He said that the real tribute to S. Patar will be to complete that mission.

The Speaker prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear this loss.

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LANGUAGE MINISTER HARJOT SINGH BAINS CONDOLES DEMISE OF EMINENT PUNJABI POET SURJIT PATAR

Chandigarh, May 11: Language Minister Punjab, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains, expressed deep sorrow over the unfortunate and sad demise of Padma Shri S. Surjit Patar.

In a press statement issued here, Language Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that S. Patar made significant contributions to spreading and promoting the Punjabi language across the globe. He said that his passing is an irreparable personal loss.

Mr. Bains said that he has been greatly influenced by S. Patar's humble, meek, and soft-spoken personality since his childhood days and said that S. Patar played an important role in shaping his life.

He added that S. Patar will always be remembered with respect for his notable contributions to the mother language.

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THE NATIONAL LOK ADALAT WAS ORGANIZED ACROSS THE STATE OF PUNJAB

IN THIS LOK ADALAT, APPROXIMATELY 2.87 LAKH CASES WERE TAKEN UP ACROSS A TOTAL OF 371 BENCHES

Chandigarh, May 11:Under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Mr. Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court, and Executive Chairman of Punjab State Legal Services Authority, the National Lok Adalat was organized on May 11, 2024, throughout the State of Punjab.

Approximately 2.87 lakh cases were addressed across 371 Benches during this Lok Adalat. Various long-pending matters, including civil cases, domestic disputes, property disputes, cheque bounce cases, labour matters, criminal compoundable cases, and cancellation/untraced reports of various FIRs, were taken up.

On this occasion, Sh. Manjinder Singh, District and Sessions Judge and Member Secretary, Punjab State Legal Services Authority and Ms. Smriti Dhir, Additional District & Sessions Judge and additional member Secretary have especially visited the court complexes of Ludhiana and inspected Lok Adalat benches

The member secretary highlighted that the main purpose of this National Lok Adalat is to settle disputes through mutual agreement, encouraging people to seek resolution through alternative dispute resolution centers as it saves valuable time and money.

Additionally, the Member Secretary informed that the National Legal Services Authority, New Delhi, has launched a free legal aid helpline number 15100 across the state, providing information on various legal aid services at home.

Emphasizing the commitment of the Punjab State Legal Services Authority to facilitating decisions for the people, the Member Secretary appealed to individuals to maximize benefits by getting their cases decided in the lok adalat

Mr. Bains prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and for strength for the bereaved family, friends, and well-wishers to bear this loss.

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