News / Author / Pawan Sharma

Pawan Sharma

Pawan Sharma, based in Chandigarh, is Assistant Editor in HT and presently writes on Haryana's politics and governance. During different stints over the past two decades, he covered Punjab extensively for 10 years and before that judiciary and Himachal Pradesh with focus on high-impact news breaking and investigative journalism.

Articles by Pawan Sharma

Sukhbir picks Goa for April 4-7 'chintan' conclave

Jathedars brainstorming on the beach! That's exactly what US-educated Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has decided for his salt-and-pepper-beard-sporting leaders, who will head for Goa in April a haven for honeymooners.

cities

Updated on Mar 23, 2013 02:02 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Old still stuck, SAD-BJP pops new promise pill

The SAD-BJP government may be struggling to pay salaries at times, but its populist pitch was apparent as Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa presented the budget for 2013-14 in the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday.

cities

Updated on Mar 21, 2013 12:08 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

SAD-BJP goes for speaker-versus-Cong twist

The Parkash Singh Badal government on Monday skillfully distanced itself from the current impasse in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha with a shrewd strategy. The government refused to climb down from its demand that the opposition must tender an apology "to the speaker, inside the House".

cities

Updated on Mar 19, 2013 12:04 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

9 Punjab Cong MLAs debarred from budget session

Nine Punjab Congress MLAs, who had captured the Vidhan Sabha speaker's podium after punching and pushing security marshals, were debarred from attending the rest of the budget session by speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal here on Thursday.

india news

Updated on Mar 15, 2013 12:08 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Ruckus rules in Punjab assembly as Congress MLAs go berserk

The Punjab assembly on Wednesday witnessed a lawless protest by Congress MLAs against "lawlessness" in the state. The House was adjourned four times as opposition legislators punched assembly marshals, threw legislative reports towards the speaker and even stood on the chair of the Vidhan Sabha secretary.

cities

Updated on Mar 14, 2013 12:08 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Drugs haul: Vijender refuses to give blood sample

Punjab police grilled Olympian boxer Vijender Singh on Monday for more than three hours in connection with the recent Rs. 130-crore drug haul. Pawan Sharma & Saurabh Duggal report. Vijender can’t be caught in drug test, says anti-doping body

cities

Updated on Mar 12, 2013 08:24 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma & Saurabh Duggal, Chandigarh/panchkula

Vijender in corner as fellow boxer says they ‘tried heroin for fun’

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh began using heroin "for fun" and obtained the drug free of cost -"two grams each, at least four times" - from Anoop Singh Kahlon since December. Pawan Sharma reports.

Vijender-Singh-who-won-bronze-at-2008-Bejing-Olympics-with--Ram-Singh-at-NIS-Patiala--Bharat-Bhushan-HT-file-photo

india news

Updated on Mar 10, 2013 01:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Olympian medallist Vijender took drugs five times: Police

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh, a national champion, began using heroin for “fun” and obtained the drug--two gram each free of cost--at least four times from the now-arrested drug peddler, Anoop Singh Kahlon since December 2012.

cities

Updated on Mar 10, 2013 12:46 AM IST

Hindustantimes.com | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Ram Singh says knows Kahlon since 2007, introduced Vijender a yr ago

It was the middle of December 2012 when Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh, a national champion, began experimenting with heroin, Punjab Police has claimed.

cities

Updated on Mar 09, 2013 08:21 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Ranike set to be back in cabinet today

Barely five months after being forced to resign as cabinet minister in view of the multi-crore embezzlement of central and state government grants in his constituency (Attari in Amritsar district), senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Gulzar Singh Ranike will be sworn in again as cabinet minister on Thursday.

cities

Updated on Mar 07, 2013 10:34 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma

60-plus militant operated on bike

Until his amazing arrest on Tuesday night by the Punjab Police, with which ended a major operation launched in June 2012, militant Narain Singh Chaura's safe hideout used to be in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

cities

Updated on Feb 28, 2013 12:04 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

11 private colleges reduce Punjab pre-medical test to a farce

Eleven private dental colleges of Punjab have admitted 456 students to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course even though they had "not qualified" the 2012 Pre-Medical Entrance Test (PMET), according to a "most urgent" communication of the Dental Council of India (DCI).

cities

Updated on Feb 23, 2013 09:45 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

MLA Babbehali's constituency got R1.7 cr on poll eve

When the 2012 Punjab assembly elections were nearing, cheques of at least Rs 15,000 each suddenly began reaching hundreds of 'poor' voters of Gurdaspur constituency for the repair of their apparently ramshackle houses.

cities

Updated on Jan 19, 2013 02:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

CLU-less: Cases pile up as Bhagat sits on files

The apparent inability of Punjab local government minister Chunni Lal Bhagat to grasp the intricacies of his high-profile portfolio has become a major stumbling block in expediting urban reforms and resolving the long-standing issue of change of land use (CLU).

cities

Updated on Jan 18, 2013 01:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Special police units in Punjab to tackle sexual assault cases

Stunned by the "shameful" conduct of the police which drove a gangrape victim to suicide in Patiala district, the Punjab police have decided to set up specialised units to deal with serious cases of sexual assaults on women.

cities

Updated on Jan 01, 2013 09:07 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Akali MLA okayed Rs 50 lakh on election eve

Barely nine days before the Punjab assembly election code of conduct came into force in December 2011, Rs 50 lakh were hastily sanctioned at the behest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Gurbachan Singh Babehali for the repair of poor voters' houses.

cities

Updated on Dec 19, 2012 02:54 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Amritsar transport officer suspended for laxity

The Punjab government on Wednesday suspended Amritsar district transport officer (DTO) Vimal Setia, a Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer, for alleged dereliction of duty during the ongoing hot chase launched by the transport department to catch tax-evading private bus operators.

cities

Updated on Dec 06, 2012 12:44 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

PWD imposes Rs 11-cr fine on 3 concessionaires

Punjab's public works department (PWD) has slapped the maximum penalty of more than Rs 11 crore on three companies for not maintaining five important roads having a combined length of 277 km and violating the agreement with impunity despite being cautioned repeatedly.

cities

Updated on Dec 04, 2012 10:30 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Badal’s officer faces action

The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has received the go-ahead from the Centre for initiating action against Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s special principal secretary KJS Cheema, who has remained absent from his parent cadre.

cities

Updated on Nov 21, 2012 11:08 AM IST

None | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Battlelines drawn, it's over to voters

Neither the ruling BJP nor the Congress is surefooted in the no-wave Himachal Pradesh assembly elections as 46 lakh voters are set to seal the fate of 459 candidates in the fray on Sunday.

cities

Updated on Nov 04, 2012 11:13 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma & Gaurav Bisht, Shimla

At 84, Vidya Stokes floors rural folks, eyes last victory

"Himachal ki shaan," scream women Congress supporters, dressed in traditional pahari outfits such as rezta and dhattu. And the crowd roars "zindabad", adding to the campaign fervour whipped up by bronze trumpets and drums. Pawan Sharma reports.

india news

Updated on Oct 29, 2012 11:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Kumarsain

Tainted Gadkari, Virbhadra now take on corruption

Corruption was the watchword on Saturday as BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh — both facing allegations — addressed election rallies in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh. Pawan Sharma & Roop Upadhyay report.

india news

Updated on Oct 28, 2012 12:14 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma & Roop Upadhyay, Nerwa/mandi

Gadkari slams 'corrupt' Cong, but mum on charges against him

While slamming the Congress-led UPA government for indulging in rampant corruption, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is facing a barrage of charges, including dubious sources of investment in his companies, maintained a stoic silence on Saturday over the controversies surrounding him.

cities

Updated on Oct 28, 2012 11:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Nerwa (shimla)

BJP poll campaign to intensify in final days

The crucial last six days of campaigning would see intense activity from BJP to woo the 45 lakh voters of the hill state for the November 4 election, Pawan Sharma reports.

india news

Updated on Oct 26, 2012 01:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Shimla

BJP faces siege from within in its Kangra citadel

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a siege within in Kangra district, the nerve centre of Himachal Pradesh's politics, following a rebellion over ticket allotment for the November 4 assembly elections.

cities

Updated on Oct 25, 2012 11:05 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Shimla

Virbhadra signed two pacts in 3 days

Himachal Congress president Virbhadra Singh's Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) agent-cum-business partner Anand Chauhan has admitted before the income tax (IT) department that he had been investing money of the former chief minister in LIC policies.

cities

Updated on Oct 24, 2012 12:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Shimla

Ispat payoffs: Shimla insurance agent got multi-crore deposits

Do cash payments allegedly made by Ispat Industries to a certain ‘VBS’ have any link with multi-crore deposits in the bank account of a nondescript LIC agent in Shimla?

cities

Updated on Oct 23, 2012 12:54 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByShishir Gupta, Rajesh Ahuja and Pawan Sharma, New Delhi/mandi

Ispat payoffs, megabuck insurance linked to VBS?

Quizzed about the payoffs and his revised I-T returns for last 3 years that show a quantum jump in his income, Virbhadra Singh, who has denied being the 'VBS', charged HT with asking uncomfortable questions. Shishir Gupta, Rajesh Ahuja and Pawan Sharma report.

cities

Updated on Oct 23, 2012 06:39 PM IST

None | ByShishir Gupta, Rajesh Ahuja and Pawan Sharma, New Delhi/mandi

Dressing the part, cops on Mission Goa to trail Shruti

Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh.

cities

Updated on Oct 21, 2012 03:15 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

Punjab CM's home district got R40 crore funds in election year

Underprivileged people of Muktsar district, the home turf of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, received a lion’s share for construction of houses in 2011 in the run-up to the assembly elections, it has emerged.

cities

Updated on Oct 19, 2012 01:31 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByPawan Sharma, Chandigarh

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Pawan Sharma

Jathedars brainstorming on the beach! That's exactly what US-educated Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has decided for his salt-and-pepper-beard-sporting leaders, who will head for Goa in April a haven for honeymooners.

The SAD-BJP government may be struggling to pay salaries at times, but its populist pitch was apparent as Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa presented the budget for 2013-14 in the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday.

The Parkash Singh Badal government on Monday skillfully distanced itself from the current impasse in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha with a shrewd strategy. The government refused to climb down from its demand that the opposition must tender an apology "to the speaker, inside the House".

Nine Punjab Congress MLAs, who had captured the Vidhan Sabha speaker's podium after punching and pushing security marshals, were debarred from attending the rest of the budget session by speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal here on Thursday.

Punjab police grilled Olympian boxer Vijender Singh on Monday for more than three hours in connection with the recent Rs. 130-crore drug haul. Pawan Sharma & Saurabh Duggal report. Vijender can’t be caught in drug test, says anti-doping body

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh began using heroin "for fun" and obtained the drug free of cost -"two grams each, at least four times" - from Anoop Singh Kahlon since December. Pawan Sharma reports.

Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh, a national champion, began using heroin for “fun” and obtained the drug--two gram each free of cost--at least four times from the now-arrested drug peddler, Anoop Singh Kahlon since December 2012.

It was the middle of December 2012 when Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh and his fellow boxer Ram Singh, a national champion, began experimenting with heroin, Punjab Police has claimed.

Until his amazing arrest on Tuesday night by the Punjab Police, with which ended a major operation launched in June 2012, militant Narain Singh Chaura's safe hideout used to be in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Eleven private dental colleges of Punjab have admitted 456 students to the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course even though they had "not qualified" the 2012 Pre-Medical Entrance Test (PMET), according to a "most urgent" communication of the Dental Council of India (DCI).

When the 2012 Punjab assembly elections were nearing, cheques of at least Rs 15,000 each suddenly began reaching hundreds of 'poor' voters of Gurdaspur constituency for the repair of their apparently ramshackle houses.

The apparent inability of Punjab local government minister Chunni Lal Bhagat to grasp the intricacies of his high-profile portfolio has become a major stumbling block in expediting urban reforms and resolving the long-standing issue of change of land use (CLU).

Stunned by the "shameful" conduct of the police which drove a gangrape victim to suicide in Patiala district, the Punjab police have decided to set up specialised units to deal with serious cases of sexual assaults on women.

Barely nine days before the Punjab assembly election code of conduct came into force in December 2011, Rs 50 lakh were hastily sanctioned at the behest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Gurbachan Singh Babehali for the repair of poor voters' houses.

The Punjab government on Wednesday suspended Amritsar district transport officer (DTO) Vimal Setia, a Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer, for alleged dereliction of duty during the ongoing hot chase launched by the transport department to catch tax-evading private bus operators.

Punjab's public works department (PWD) has slapped the maximum penalty of more than Rs 11 crore on three companies for not maintaining five important roads having a combined length of 277 km and violating the agreement with impunity despite being cautioned repeatedly.

The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has received the go-ahead from the Centre for initiating action against Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s special principal secretary KJS Cheema, who has remained absent from his parent cadre.

Neither the ruling BJP nor the Congress is surefooted in the no-wave Himachal Pradesh assembly elections as 46 lakh voters are set to seal the fate of 459 candidates in the fray on Sunday.

"Himachal ki shaan," scream women Congress supporters, dressed in traditional pahari outfits such as rezta and dhattu. And the crowd roars "zindabad", adding to the campaign fervour whipped up by bronze trumpets and drums. Pawan Sharma reports.

Corruption was the watchword on Saturday as BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh — both facing allegations — addressed election rallies in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh. Pawan Sharma & Roop Upadhyay report.

While slamming the Congress-led UPA government for indulging in rampant corruption, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is facing a barrage of charges, including dubious sources of investment in his companies, maintained a stoic silence on Saturday over the controversies surrounding him.

The crucial last six days of campaigning would see intense activity from BJP to woo the 45 lakh voters of the hill state for the November 4 election, Pawan Sharma reports.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a siege within in Kangra district, the nerve centre of Himachal Pradesh's politics, following a rebellion over ticket allotment for the November 4 assembly elections.

Himachal Congress president Virbhadra Singh's Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) agent-cum-business partner Anand Chauhan has admitted before the income tax (IT) department that he had been investing money of the former chief minister in LIC policies.

Do cash payments allegedly made by Ispat Industries to a certain ‘VBS’ have any link with multi-crore deposits in the bank account of a nondescript LIC agent in Shimla?

Quizzed about the payoffs and his revised I-T returns for last 3 years that show a quantum jump in his income, Virbhadra Singh, who has denied being the 'VBS', charged HT with asking uncomfortable questions. Shishir Gupta, Rajesh Ahuja and Pawan Sharma report.

Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh.

Underprivileged people of Muktsar district, the home turf of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, received a lion’s share for construction of houses in 2011 in the run-up to the assembly elections, it has emerged.

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