News / Author / Jatinder Mahal

Jatinder Mahal

Jatinder Mahal is a staff correspondent. He covers Jalandhar, Kapurthala and SBS Nagar district for Hindustan Times.

Articles by Jatinder Mahal

Uneasy calm in Phagwara, shops, educational institutes remain closed

Deputy commissioner Mohammad Tayyab said internet and SMS services will remain suspended till Monday night and will resume on Tuesday morning after reviewing the situation.

Police patrolling around Phagwara on Monday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Apr 16, 2018 08:16 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Phagwara | ByJatinder Mahal

5 hurt in clash over renaming roundabout after Ambedkar

Following the clash, mobile internet and SMS services have been suspended in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshehr (SBS Nagar) districts of Punjab for the next 24 hours.

Police personnel taking out a march in Phagwara after a clash between Dalit and right-wing Hindu groups, on Saturday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Apr 15, 2018 09:50 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Phagwara | ByJatinder Mahal

Probe unearths Rs 36-lakh salary scam in Punjab govt school, clerk booked

A first information report (FIR) was registered on Wednesday by the Shahkot police against clerk Sukhwinder Singh for creating ‘ghost’ teachers and withdrawing salaries worth Rs 36.6 lakh from the department during three financial years.

The inquiry report also found retired school principal Gurmail Singh and retired drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) Satnam negligent in performing their duties, as it was during their tenure that the scam occurred.(HT File/Representative image)

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Updated on Mar 23, 2018 03:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Iraq victims’ kin not getting ₹20,000 monthly aid for 6 months

The families’ financial condition is not good as most of them have lost their sole breadwinners.

Wife Amarjeet Kaur and other family members of Gobinder Singh, a native of Murar village of Kapurthala district, mourn his death following confirmation by Sushma Swaraj that he had been killed in Iraq, on Tuesday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Mar 21, 2018 10:07 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Indians killed in Iraq: Families say we feel betrayed, were kept in the dark

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament that 39 Indians, abducted by Islamic State terrorists in Iraq’s Mosul town three years ago, are dead and their bodies have been recovered.

Seema (left), her sons Karan (centre) and Arjun and her mother in-law Jeeto (right) react following confirmation by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj that her husband Sonu had been killed in Iraq. The family lives in Chawinda Devi village, some 22 kilometres from Amritsar.(Sameer Sehgal/HT)

india news

Updated on Mar 20, 2018 08:05 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar/Amritsar | ByJatinder Mahal and Surjit Singh

PRTC, roadways yet to get Rs 1 crore for student trips to science city

While the payment of Rs 88 lakh is pending to the PRTC, the department owes Rs 25 lakh to the Punjab Roadways for providing educational trips from August 2017 to January 31 this year.

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Updated on Mar 19, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Saraj Mintoo’s revelation: Gangster Bobby was running extortion, drug racket from Punjab jail

During interrogation, he confessed that he was operating Bobby Malhotra’s business after receiving instructions from him over phone.

‘A-category’ and hardcore gangster Mintoo was arrested by the organised crime control unit (OCCU) on March 6 and was in the seven-day police custody.(HT File)

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Updated on Mar 13, 2018 11:56 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Most child beggars pushed into ‘business’ by parents in Kapurthala, say rescue teams

Kids rescued are produced before the Child Welfare Commission. The city however does not have a child protection home for rehabilitation.

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Updated on Mar 11, 2018 02:30 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kapurthala | ByJatinder Mahal, Kapurthala

Drug in fish racket: Punjab Police arrest two smugglers with 10 quintal poppy husk

The accused have been identified as Gurjant Singh, 32, and his younger brother Nachhattar Singh, 30, of Dholewal village in Moga district.

The two alleged smugglers were also allegedly involved in the smuggling of synthetic drugs in dead fish.

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Updated on Mar 06, 2018 02:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Punjab Police grappling to tackle smuggling of contraband from Madhya Pradesh

Forty bags carrying 11 quintal of poppy husk were also recovered on November 15. This year, 4kg opium and 12 quintal of poppy husk has been recovered that was concealed in juice boxes by the smugglers.

The Rajasthan government had in April 2016 banned the open sale of poppy husk after the then SAD-BJP government took up the matter of rampant smuggling from the neighbouring state to Punjab, where the sale of poppy husk is completely prohibited.(Representative image)

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Updated on Feb 25, 2018 01:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Jalandhar civil surgeon office scam: 2 months on, no action on vigilance report

Vigilance SSP DS Dhillon and his team probed the matters and had sent the file to the headquarters to get approval from the higher authorities in mid-December to file a first information report (FIR) in this case.

The Hindustan Times had accessed some of the copies of invoices purportedly issued by the surgical firm, Dev Surgical Industries, but the firm owner had claimed that his company did not deal in such products.(HT File)

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Updated on Feb 19, 2018 04:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Six years on, NRI booked for deserting wife 15 days after marriage in Jalandhar

The case has been registered under Section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the IPC on the complaint of Ruby.

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Updated on Feb 06, 2018 02:56 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Kenyan ran drug racket from Nabha jail in nexus with Nigerian smuggler: Cops

Kenyan inmate Ushta Ugvona was the link between smugglers in the jail and drug suppliers in Delhi.

The accused was arrested with drugs concealed inside the dead fish on the Jagraon-Moga highway.(HT File)

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Updated on Jan 30, 2018 12:37 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Huge losses: Area under kinnow in Punjab dips 16% on lower prices for growers

Of 50,000-odd hectare that is on average under kinnow cultivation, 30,000 hectare is in the Abohar-Fazilka belt, 5,500 hectare in Hoshiarpur, 5,000 hectares in Bathinda and the rest scattered in other districts.

Workers plucking kinnows in an orchard in Hoshiarpur.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 27, 2018 01:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Gangster Lahoriya: College-mate who became Gounder’s most trusted aide

Lahoriya earlier belonged to the Sukha Kahlwan gang before switching sides and joining Vicky Gounder, Kahlwan’s rival. Gounder and Lahoria were both killed in a police encounter on Friday.

Gangster Prema Lahoria.(Photo courtesy: Facebook)

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Updated on Jan 27, 2018 09:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

50% dip in sales: GST blues hit sports goods makers in Jalandhar

Traders said their businesses were hit hard because of the confusion over the new tax regime.

Traders say their businesses were hit due to the confusion over the new tax regime and the spike in prices of sports equipment.(HT File)

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Updated on Jan 25, 2018 02:41 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Fishy business: Ugandan woman’s arrest blows lid off drug racket

New conduits: Nigerian lodged in Nabha jail accused of masterminding new mode of smuggling drugs; woman arrested with 1.5-kg heroin was making her third Delhi-Ludhiana trip as a courier

The accused was arrested with drugs concealed inside the dead fish on the Jagraon-Moga highway on Monday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 23, 2018 12:16 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

Tanneries, STPs continue to release polluted water in drains

The NGT had recently ordered the closure of 19 tanneries for discharging pollutants, including heavy metals, into drains in Jalandhar and the matter is pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court.

The water treatment plant at leather complex in Jalandhar.(Pardeep Pandit/HT)

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Updated on Jan 21, 2018 12:44 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Former PTU V-C’s arrest: Vigilance bureau seizes five-year record from varsity

The previous SAD-BJP government appointed Arora, who is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), as the V-C in 2008 for three years and his tenure was extended by another three years.

Vigilance bureau officials coming out after conducting a search at former V-C Rajneesh Arora’s house in Amritsar on Tuesday.(Sameer Sehgal/HT)

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Updated on Jan 10, 2018 10:15 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Kapurthala | ByJatinder Mahal

Ex-PTU V-C Rajneesh Arora arrested for irregularities, financial bungling

Sources said the probe looked into complaints that the Delhi campus of PTU incurred an expenditure of Rs 1.65 crore and candidates with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were made faculty members.

Punjab Vigilance Bureau officials escorting former PTU V-C Dr Rajneesh Arora to a court in Kapurthala on Monday.(Pardeep Pandit/HT)

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Updated on Jan 09, 2018 09:35 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Punjab Agricultural Development Bank plans to auction land of loan defaulters

Officials said as many as 2,675 farmers out of the 4,262, who had taken farm loans from the PADB, have been termed ‘defaulters’ by the bank, as they have failed to repay their loan instalments on time.

During the recovery drive conducted last year, the bank recovered Rs 7.7 crore from farmers.(Pardeep Pandit/HT)

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Updated on Jan 04, 2018 02:04 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Living with the dead, ‘because no money for coffins’

“We have been sleeping with bodies of our relatives for the last three days so that stray animals do not harm them. We are very poor and cannot afford expenses to perform the last rites of the bodies.”

Palam, whose leg is fractured, sleeps next to her husband’s body as she does not have the money to carry out the last rites.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Jan 02, 2018 09:12 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Winter woes: Schools shut in SBS Nagar; Jalandhar, Kapurthala admn changes timings

The Jalandhar and Kapurthala administration has directed the school authorities to change the morning timings of the schools, 10am for schools in Kapurthala and 10.30am for schools in Jalandhar.

SBS Nagar will remain shut till January 8 due to dense fog in the region. Fog decreases the visibility on roads, leading to road mishaps.(Pardeep Pandit/HT)

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Updated on Jan 02, 2018 03:42 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Closure of 19 tanneries in Jalandhar: Owners to move court against NGT order

Owners claim that the industry employs over 20,000 people directly or indirectly and if the state government failed to find way out, hundreds of workers will lose jobs.

Workers spreading processed leather for drying at Boota Mandi in Jalandhar. Locals have alleged that tanneries in Jalandhar district were discharging effluents into drains(HT File)

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Updated on Dec 31, 2017 10:36 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Rs 98-lakh loan default: Pay up before Jan 15 or will seize property: Bank to ex-SAD minister

The decision comes in the wake of the Congress government’s direction to co-operative banks to recover their loans from all major defaulters.

Recovery notices pasted by PADB officials outside former SAD minister Raghubir Singh’s house in Kapurthala on Thursday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Dec 29, 2017 08:54 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Kapurthala

Christmas holidays in Canada may delay bringing Jalandhar teen’s body back

The officials told the family that it would take over two weeks in completing the documentation process as the officials concerned are on Christmas holidays.

Sahaj Juneja, the 19-year-old from Jalandhar who died on Wednesday, two days after landing in Toronto.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Dec 23, 2017 11:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Canadian dream shatters: Jalandhar teen dies 2 days after landing in Toronto

His body is lying in a morgue in Toronto for the past two days as the family says they do not have resources to bring his body back home.

cities

Updated on Dec 23, 2017 06:33 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Congress dominant in Jalandhar MC; AAP draws a blank, turnout drops

Unfulfilled projects that marred the functioning of the SAD-BJP rule in the House was also a factor that helped the Congress win by a massive margin

Congress supporters celebrating MC poll victory in Jalandhar on Sunday.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Dec 18, 2017 10:03 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal

MC elections: Social media new platform for poll campaigns

Candidates turn to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter to seek votes and generate support.

Congress candidate Jasleen Kaur Sethi showing her party symbol on a dummy EVM to a voter during a door-to-door campaign in Jalandhar on Thursday.(Pardeep Pandit/HT)

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Updated on Dec 08, 2017 02:16 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Jalandhar | ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

Bank manager, 5 others create NRI’s fake account; booked

The accused made transactions of Rs 70 lakh and purchased old worth Rs 15 lakh using the account.

cities

Updated on Dec 05, 2017 10:46 AM IST

ByJatinder Mahal, Jalandhar

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Jatinder Mahal

Jatinder Mahal is a staff correspondent. He covers Jalandhar, Kapurthala and SBS Nagar district for Hindustan Times.

Deputy commissioner Mohammad Tayyab said internet and SMS services will remain suspended till Monday night and will resume on Tuesday morning after reviewing the situation.

Following the clash, mobile internet and SMS services have been suspended in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshehr (SBS Nagar) districts of Punjab for the next 24 hours.

A first information report (FIR) was registered on Wednesday by the Shahkot police against clerk Sukhwinder Singh for creating ‘ghost’ teachers and withdrawing salaries worth Rs 36.6 lakh from the department during three financial years.

The families’ financial condition is not good as most of them have lost their sole breadwinners.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament that 39 Indians, abducted by Islamic State terrorists in Iraq’s Mosul town three years ago, are dead and their bodies have been recovered.

While the payment of Rs 88 lakh is pending to the PRTC, the department owes Rs 25 lakh to the Punjab Roadways for providing educational trips from August 2017 to January 31 this year.

During interrogation, he confessed that he was operating Bobby Malhotra’s business after receiving instructions from him over phone.

Kids rescued are produced before the Child Welfare Commission. The city however does not have a child protection home for rehabilitation.

The accused have been identified as Gurjant Singh, 32, and his younger brother Nachhattar Singh, 30, of Dholewal village in Moga district.

Forty bags carrying 11 quintal of poppy husk were also recovered on November 15. This year, 4kg opium and 12 quintal of poppy husk has been recovered that was concealed in juice boxes by the smugglers.

Vigilance SSP DS Dhillon and his team probed the matters and had sent the file to the headquarters to get approval from the higher authorities in mid-December to file a first information report (FIR) in this case.

The case has been registered under Section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the IPC on the complaint of Ruby.

Kenyan inmate Ushta Ugvona was the link between smugglers in the jail and drug suppliers in Delhi.

Of 50,000-odd hectare that is on average under kinnow cultivation, 30,000 hectare is in the Abohar-Fazilka belt, 5,500 hectare in Hoshiarpur, 5,000 hectares in Bathinda and the rest scattered in other districts.

Lahoriya earlier belonged to the Sukha Kahlwan gang before switching sides and joining Vicky Gounder, Kahlwan’s rival. Gounder and Lahoria were both killed in a police encounter on Friday.

Traders said their businesses were hit hard because of the confusion over the new tax regime.

New conduits: Nigerian lodged in Nabha jail accused of masterminding new mode of smuggling drugs; woman arrested with 1.5-kg heroin was making her third Delhi-Ludhiana trip as a courier

The NGT had recently ordered the closure of 19 tanneries for discharging pollutants, including heavy metals, into drains in Jalandhar and the matter is pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court.

The previous SAD-BJP government appointed Arora, who is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), as the V-C in 2008 for three years and his tenure was extended by another three years.

Sources said the probe looked into complaints that the Delhi campus of PTU incurred an expenditure of Rs 1.65 crore and candidates with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were made faculty members.

Officials said as many as 2,675 farmers out of the 4,262, who had taken farm loans from the PADB, have been termed ‘defaulters’ by the bank, as they have failed to repay their loan instalments on time.

“We have been sleeping with bodies of our relatives for the last three days so that stray animals do not harm them. We are very poor and cannot afford expenses to perform the last rites of the bodies.”

The Jalandhar and Kapurthala administration has directed the school authorities to change the morning timings of the schools, 10am for schools in Kapurthala and 10.30am for schools in Jalandhar.

Owners claim that the industry employs over 20,000 people directly or indirectly and if the state government failed to find way out, hundreds of workers will lose jobs.

The decision comes in the wake of the Congress government’s direction to co-operative banks to recover their loans from all major defaulters.

The officials told the family that it would take over two weeks in completing the documentation process as the officials concerned are on Christmas holidays.

His body is lying in a morgue in Toronto for the past two days as the family says they do not have resources to bring his body back home.

Unfulfilled projects that marred the functioning of the SAD-BJP rule in the House was also a factor that helped the Congress win by a massive margin

Candidates turn to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter to seek votes and generate support.

The accused made transactions of Rs 70 lakh and purchased old worth Rs 15 lakh using the account.

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