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Vishal Rambani

Vishal Rambani is an assistant editor covering Punjab. A journalist with over a decade of experience, he writes on politics, crime, power sector, environment and socio-economic issues. He has several investigative stories to his credit.

Articles by Vishal Rambani

PPSC chairman, 2 members opt out of PCS exam

The chairman and two members of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) have recused themselves from conducting this year's Punjab Civil Services Combined Examination on the ground that their children will be appearing in the exam.

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Updated on Oct 29, 2012 09:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Probe on against ex-minister

On the directions of the Punjab chief minister’s office, an inquiry has been initiated against former cabinet minister Sucha Singh Langah. The CM’s office marked the inquiry after Hindustan Times (‘College on paper, Rs 38-lakh grants in kitty’, October 23) reported that Langah had got the grants in the name of the non-existent Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Kalanaur (Gurdaspur). As per sources, the grant cheques were encashed and utilised in the Dhariwal block.

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Updated on Oct 27, 2012 10:15 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Gurdaspur/patiala

In poll year, Langah gave Rs 37 lakh to associates

An unnamed epidemic seemed to have gripped associates of Sucha Singh Langah in his segment Dera Baba Nanak just before the polls held in January, and it cost the state exchequer Rs 37 lakh. Before he ended up losing, in the months before imposition of the poll code of conduct in December, the then minister gave the money - Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per 'patient' - from his discretionary grant to nearly 500 close associates and workers of his party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

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Updated on Oct 26, 2012 12:34 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Punjab ministers exchanged favours

As Sucha Singh Langah, agriculture minister in the 2007-12 SAD-BJP cabinet, got grants from his colleagues for a non-existent college and another institute run by his educational society, he did not let the favours go unreturned. Vishal Rambani reports.

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Updated on Oct 24, 2012 03:40 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Gurdaspur/amritsar

College on paper, R38-lakh grants in kitty

This historical town, which witnessed Emperor Akbar’s coronation, has room for fiction too — in the form of Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College. No institution by this name exists there, yet certain colleagues of then agriculture minister Sucha Singh Langah in the previous Punjab cabinet (2007-12) gave grants to the tune of Rs 38 lakh to the ‘college’ run by his educational society, as per details obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

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Updated on Oct 23, 2012 03:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Kalanaur (gurdaspur)

Increase in number of PCS aspirants this time

There has been a substantial increase in the number of aspirants to Punjab Civil Service Combined Examination this year. Around 45,500 applicants have applied for the preliminary examination for recruitment to 160 posts in the State Civil and Police Services examination to be conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

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Updated on Oct 21, 2012 11:12 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Rahul should apologise to Punjabis: Majithia

With Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi set to visit Punjab on October 19 - his second trip to the state in less than 10 days - the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded that before coming to the state, Rahul should apologise to Punjabis for dubbing them drug addicts.

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Updated on Oct 17, 2012 11:32 AM IST
None | By, Patran (patiala)

Police busts fake arms licences racket

The Patiala police have busted a fake arms licence racket operating from Amritsar, in which dealers in league with district administration officials were offering a number of weapons and fake licences to customers from New Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

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Updated on Oct 14, 2012 09:20 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Rajpura (patiala)

Before Sukhbir, Badal donated Rs 1 cr to Rajasthan

Even as the controversy over Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal's Rs 1-crore donation to The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is yet to die down, another grant of an equal amount from Punjab Nirman funds has come to light. It is learnt that Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal donated Rs 1 crore to the Rajasthan government for the development of Khachariawas, ancestral village of former Vice-President and BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Updated on Oct 14, 2012 12:26 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

As power bill software collapses, questions over project to Spanco

The faulty billing software made by a private information technology (IT) company has not only meant trouble for consumers but also raised questions over the very awarding of the project by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

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Updated on Oct 03, 2012 12:23 PM IST
None | By, Patiala

Miffed at new paddy milling policy, purchase staff takes boycott route

A day after the Punjab government announced its new Paddy Milling Policy - making the miller and procurement agency staff jointly responsible for paddy stock stored in mills - employees of all state procurement agencies have started protesting against it, and announced a boycott of the paddy purchase process that is scheduled to begin on October 1.

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Updated on Sep 28, 2012 07:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Power in Punjab gets dearer by 10p/unit

Barely two months after a 12% hike in tariff, the cost of electricity in Punjab has gone up by another 10 paise more per unit, with effect from September 1. While it would put a collective burden of Rs 100 crore a year on the consumers, it would also increase the subsidy burden of the cash-strapped Punjab government, which pays for the free power supplied to farmers and the poor.

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Updated on Sep 28, 2012 12:49 AM IST
None | By, Patiala

Part ways with BJP to support FDI: Dhillon to SAD

Punjab Congress has slammed the Akali-BJP government for opposing the Foreign Direct investment in the retail sector in Punjab. Even the Congress has suggested the Shiromani Akali Dal to part ways with the BJP over the FDI issue for better future of Punjab.

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Updated on Sep 27, 2012 09:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Barnala

Mining mafia digging up SYL canal despite ban

Even as Punjab and Haryana are fighting a legal battle over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in the Supreme Court, the mining mafia has been digging up parts of the canal at Bathunia village in Patiala district for the past month.

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Updated on Sep 28, 2012 12:26 AM IST
None | By, Ghanaur (patiala)

400-year-old rabab pulls visitors at Gurmat Sangeet Utsav

A 400-year-old 'rabab', traditional stringed musical instrument, and a painting exhibition based on the ragas used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib remained the attraction on the concluding day of the three-day Gurmat Sangeet Utsav organised by the department of gurmat sangeet, Punjabi University, here on Thursday.

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Updated on Sep 20, 2012 08:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Shinde tells home secretary to probe border grant scam

Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has ordered an audit into utilisation of Border Area Development Programme (BADP) funds in Punjab after a meeting with a delegation of Congress leaders from the state. A senior leader of Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), resigned after HT presented damning evidence of the scam in a series of reports. The Bajwa-led delegation shared the HT reports with Shinde.

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Updated on Sep 20, 2012 11:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Chandigarh/patiala

Rip-off exposed in Punjab, SAD minister Gulzar Ranike resigns

After sustained pressure over embezzlement of central and state government grants in his constituency, Attari, Punjab minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Gulzar Singh Ranike resigned from the state cabinet on "moral grounds" on Sunday.

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Updated on Sep 16, 2012 11:19 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala/chandigarh

Rip-off exposed, Punjab cabinet minister Ranike resigns

After sustained pressure over embezzlement of government grants in his constituency Attari, Punjab's SC/BC welfare minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Gulzar Singh Ranike on Sunday resigned from the cabinet citing "moral grounds". HT had exposed the scam - dubbed the "Ranike rip-off" -- first in a three-part series of reports from August 25 to 27, and then followed it up from September 11 to 13 with another series that laid bare the ramifications and possible extent of the scam, which is so far believed to be worth at least Rs 2.6 crore.

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Updated on Sep 16, 2012 11:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala/chandigarh

Petro price hike: win-win situation for Punjab govt

The Akali-BJP alliance might be holding protests against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre over frequent petroleum price hikes, but the irony is that the Punjab government's value-added tax (VAT) collection has doubled in the past five years due to the dozen-odd hikes.

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Updated on Sep 14, 2012 08:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Ranike Rip-off: Punjab government shifts probe to vigilance bureau

The Punjab government on Thursday handed over the entire investigations into the embezzlement of fake rural grants and border area development grants worth over Rs 2.5 crore to the state vigilance bureau.

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Updated on Sep 14, 2012 11:34 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

District admn sounded govt, but plunder continued

The Punjab government claims zero tolerance for corruption, but despite recommendations by the Amritsar district administration to probe embezzlement of rural grants and Border Area Development Programme (BADP) funds, it's been 16 months and cabinet minister Gulzar Singh Ranike and his personal staff have not even been questioned.

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Updated on Sep 11, 2012 10:36 PM IST
None | By, Amritsar

Ranike Rip-off: Border area funds pocketed too

Punjab cabinet minister Gulzar Singh Ranike has repeatedly passed the blame onto his staff for embezzlement of rural grants issued from his discretionary funds in 2011. But the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) veteran - and, in fact, the state government - is squarely under the scanner now, as the first scam of the six-month-old re-elected Akali-BJP regime unravels layer by layer.

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Updated on Sep 10, 2012 11:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Attari

PSPCL to install prepaid meters to tackle bill defaulters

Recovering pending bills is perhaps one of the major challenges for power companies, particularly when the dues are from government offices. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has revived its plans to install prepaid electricity meters to tackle this problem.

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Updated on Sep 05, 2012 07:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Ahluwalia 'misused' Rs 16 crore, report in court today

The auditors looking into the financials of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee-run Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University (SGGSWU) have indicted suspended vice-chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia for misuse of nearly Rs 16 crore.

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Updated on Sep 04, 2012 09:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Have no faith in police, shift inquiry to CBI: Patwari Mohan Singh

Saying that he had no faith in the Punjab police, patwari Mohan Singh demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be entrusted the probe against the police officials booked for abuse of power in the patwari frame-up case.

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Updated on Sep 03, 2012 09:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

TIE goes on offensive against past unions

With the Punjabi University Teachers' Association (PUTA) polls scheduled on September 14, wooing faculty members for votes is in full swing and in this, Teachers for Intervention in Education (TIE) is seeking to take the lead.

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Updated on Sep 02, 2012 11:38 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala

Man loses life in attempt to save brother

In a shocking incident, a clash of schoolmates led to the death of a youngster, who had come to rescue his brother from the group of students. The deceased identified as Daljit Singh, died in a bid to save his brother Gurjant Singh.

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Updated on Aug 31, 2012 08:59 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Devigarh (patiala)

No chance of compromise with Ahluwalia: Makkar

Armed with the auditors' interim report, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president and Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University chancellor Avtar Singh Makkar has ruled out a compromise with suspended vice-chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia.

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Updated on Aug 31, 2012 07:28 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Fatehgarh Sahib

Miffed Mittal clashes with media

Miffed over the questions posed by media for poor health services in Rajpura, health and family welfare minister Madan Mohan Mittal on Wednesday clashed with reporters here during a press conference.

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Updated on Aug 30, 2012 11:50 AM IST
None | By, Rajpura

Gymnasium kept militants fighting fit in Nabha jail

Sikh militants lodged in the Nabha "maximum security" jail were not only busy working out in an illegal gymnasium, but were also in touch on the mobile phone with fugitive terrorists living abroad.

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Updated on Aug 30, 2012 10:55 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Patiala
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