Mohali August 3:
            The district administration as well as police in Mohali were on their toes morning when a high-profile corruption case against Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, wife Surinder Kaur Badal, and deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, filed by the vigilance bureau, came up for hearing.
The entire district administration, including among others Mohali deputy commissioner Prabhjot Singh Mand, district planning board chairman NK Sharma, senior police officials like deputy inspector general (Patiala range) SK Asthana, Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, superintendent of police (SP City-1) Sukhwant Singh Gill, deputy superintendent of police (DSP City-1) Raka Gira, DSP city-2 Swarandeep Singh and Mohali SDM RPS Walia left no stone unturned in preparation for the visit of the chief minister and his son.
Almost all officials waited outside the complex entrance and DC Mand was seen sitting on a chair with SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar standing close to him under a solitary fan. The rest of the officials either stood in the shade wiping their sweaty brows or were resting their perspiring bodies against the walls of the complex, which prompted one advocate to comment that they all seemed to be looking forward to completing their duty at the earliest.
The approach roads to the district courts in Phase 3B1 were barricaded and cordoned off by the police at around 11 am when the father-son duo reached Mohali. The movement of traffic was completely stopped on the main road leading to the market from inside the sector, causing a lot of inconvenience to residents and commuters alike. Even an ambulance had to be turned back. Luckily, the said ambulance was not ferrying a patient at that time.
An irate resident, Kuldeep Kaur, told reporters that since her eight-year-old son had fever, she had to go to the market but had to take the alternate route to the market as the police stationed in front of the district courts just would not let her drive through. She said that although at that time both the chief minister and his son were inside the court complex, yet she was not allowed past the security cordon.
Even advocates working in the district courts were a hassled lot because as soon as the district courts were opened, police security checks were carried out and advocates as well as mediapersons were subjected to frisking. Mohali Bar Association president PS Toor said that the matter was solved amicably when it was brought to the notice of SSP Bhullar, who directed his staff to allow unrestricted passage to advocates to the courts, provided that the advocates showed their identity cards upon demand by the police officials manning the entry points.