Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has announced the Punjab government will buy Goindwal thermal plant. He said the government has coal stored only for 45 more days.

Mann said the remaining coal will be used in Goindwal thermal plant which will lead to cheaper source of electricity. Makind a veiled attack on the BJP, Mann said some governments sell state assets but the AAP government buys private assets.

Earlier Mann had said there was a requirement of 1000 mega-watt electricity for cultivation of paddy. The Indian Meteorogical Department (IMD) has stated there will be less rainfall this year in Punjab, hence, there will be greater dependency on electricity for agriculture.

Mann had even written a letter to Union Power Minister R K Singh stating about the shortage of electricity in the state. If there is less rainfall then the cultivation of paddy will get affected.   Although, the Union government has not responded to the problem of Punjab yet.

Mann said Goindwal Power plant is being bought on a private basis hence tender will be floated among the bidders for the plant. The Goindwal Power plant is on the verge of bankruptcy. He said the plant will be bought and will be made operational again. The power plant has a capacity of 540 mega-watt. Reports said, this will not have any impact on the present electricity production in the state.

An agreement will be made between the Punjab State Power Corporation and the bidder who wins the tender.

A cabinet panel will be called for the bidding to take place. According to reports, about 12 parties have come forward to buy the Thermal Power Plant. PSPCL is one of the twelve parties bidding for the Goindwal thermal power plant.

Punjab Power Minister Harbajan Singh ETO, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian will part of the Cabinet to carry out the bidding process.

A second year BA LLB student from the Dalit community alleged that he was assaulted by police in Greater Noida and was also forced to drink urine by the policemen. The student further alleged that he was thrashed inside the Sector Beta 2 police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar district’s Greater Noida Area.

Furthermore, the student alleged that he was falsely implicated in an extortion case after he tipped off the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police about a sex racket being run from a spa and massage centre. He narrated that a woman who was running the sex racket was sent to jail from Sector 49 police station in Noida. Later, the woman and her husband, who was his friend implicated him in a false case of extortion.

Giving an account of his assault by the Noida police, the LLB student said that he was held in a room on the upper deck of the building and was thrashed to an extent where he started bleeding. He mentioned that he urged the policemen that he had undergone a fistula operation. Later, when he asked for water to drink, he was given urine in a pot from the bathroom and was forced to drink it.

He added, he was picked up by the police on November 18, last year from outside the SNG Plaza in Greater Noida. He was picked up by the police around 1:30 pm but was put into custody after 5 pm.

The student further asserted that he has met several officers with his requests, however his case is being delayed. He urged that the matter should be probed impartially adding that if he have done anything wrong, then he should be charged. Nevertheless, he said that he have proof and evidence to prove his case and he will seek for justice.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced state’s first ever high security digital jail will be constructed in Gorasia village in Ludhiana.

The central government will provide a funding of Rs 100 crore for this project. The main feature of this jail would be, no telephone or mobile will be operational inside it, also the prisoners trials will be done inside the jail complex itself. The Courtroom trials will take place  at the ground floor of the jail.

Hence, the prisoners will not have to be taken to the Court for trials. This will help in saving time and energy of the police in transporting the prisoner’s from the jail to the Court.

A modern jail office will be constructed in Mohali. It will be constructed in Sector 68 in an area of 50 acres of land. Mann made new appointment letters to the newly appointed Jail wardens near Ludhiana for hearing of cases of criminals in the jail complex, so that they should not be moved out of jail for this purpose.

The CM said all efforts are being made and the government is leaving no stone unturned in the modernisation of the police force. He said new reforms are being introduced to tackle cyber crime in Punjab. Mann said, high tech jammers and other equipment are being installed installed in jails to stop any usage of mobile phones and telephones from inside the prison.

He added, anti-drone technology is introduced in Punjab Police to check drone infiltration from across the border. He said, it is a matter of great pride that Punjab Police is considered the best police force in the country. He said great efforts are being made to transform the police stations. Further added, a number of infrastructural developments and resources are being added to the police department like weapons and vehicles.

Mann said 351 new posts will be created in the jail department. A special women’s jail will also be constructed in Punjab.