27062026-TTC-01.qxd 6/27/2026 12:31 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 176 | 24 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 CJP TO STEP UP PROTEST AS PM HAILS PRADHAN FOR REFORMS NATION /thetribunechd ANTI-INFILTRATION OPS INTENSIFIED AHEAD OF AMARNATH YATRA J&K THE AGENCY S2: A WEB OF LIES, DECEIT AND BETRAYALS REVIEW XI BACKS DHAKA SOVEREIGNTY IN MEET WITH RAHMAN WORLD saturday | 27 june 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 8 held after Ram Temple donation theft Pbaccountedfor58%oftotal heroin seizure in 2025: NCB FIR; Trust gen secy Champat Rai resigns Animesh Singh Tribune News Service All associated with counting of cash|BJP’s mask has come off: Akhilesh Cong seeks probe under top court, asks PM to act Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 26 Eight persons named in an FIR over the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have been arrested, senior officials said on Friday. Amid the police action, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra stepped down from their positions. The eight accused were produced in a court, which sent them to police custody till June 29. Among them was Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, who is said to be a former driver of Champat Rai. Others named in the FIR were Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra and Subhash Srivastava. They were associated with the process of counting cash and valuables received as donations at the temple, an official said. The FIR, lodged at the instance of Krishna Mohan, a member of the Trust, follows recommendations made in Will implement civil code in West Bengal: Adhikari NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said the BJP government in the state would implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by following the model adopted in Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat. “There is a prescribed procedure for it. I will explain it in the Assembly. A committee will be constituted under the leadership of a retired judge. I will provide further details in the Assembly on Monday,” Adhikari said. INSIDE Six killed as vehicle plunges into gorge inShimla’sRampur SHIMLA: Six persons, including a woman and her 12-yearold son, were killed after a pickup van veered off a narrow road and plunged into a deep gorge in Rampur subdivision of Shimla district on Friday evening. The accident occurred around 10 km from Taklech towards Kashapat, killing all the occupants on the spot. Initial probe indicates that the mishap may have occurred due to the driver’s negligence. INSIDE AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Party MP Sanjay Singh and others are also seen. PTI ‘BID TO DEFAME AYODHYA’ Champat Rai Anil Mishra the preliminary report of a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh Government to probe the allegations. The SIT had flagged serious lapses in the handling and The Congress on Friday appointed senior leader Sanjay Dutt as the new AICC in-charge for Haryana, replacing BK Hariprasad in a key organisational reshuffle announced by the party leadership. As part of the reshuffle, the party also appointed Lalji Desai as the AICC incharge for Odisha in place of Ajay Kumar Lallu, and named Rajendra Pal Gautam as the new in-charge for Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect. INSIDE AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal appealed for a social boycott of the accused in the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple, terming the issue a “dharm yuddh”. monitoring of donations offered by devotees. It has been alleged that while some employees involved in the counting blocked the view of CCTV cameras, others stole cash and hid it in their clothing. The names of some of the accused had been circulating on social media ever since Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue on June 7, after which it snowballed into continued on page 7 The India-Pakistan border, especially through Punjab, has witnessed a marked shift towards drone-based smuggling. This represents a technological adaptation in smuggling methodology that outpaces current enforcement capacity along the border. Firstly, it says that the volume decline is a supply-side phenomenon and not a demand-side one. Existing stockpiles have continued to sustain trafficking flows even as production has fallen; in other words, the pipeline has not yet run dry. Further, these pipelines are being used to traffic amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in the region. Secondly, trafficking networks have not abandoned Amid Sikh concerns, Maha puts Takht Sri Hazur Sahib draft legislation in abeyance Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 26 The revised Class IX social science textbook has dropped chapters on the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution and the rise of Nazism, while introducing content on ancient civilisations, early human history and Indian knowledge systems. The chapters on world history have been moved to Class X. The integrated textbook, combining history, geography and political science, includes a new chapter, “Understanding Society: India and Beyond”, which traces human evolution from hunting and gathering to agriculture. It covers the Mesopotamian, Harappan, Egyptian and Chinese civilisations, with a detailed account of Sumerian society, including its irrigation systems, architecture and social organisation. The textbook also intro- Aditi Tandon Introduces chapters on Indian knowledge system duces students to the four Vedas — Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda — and their broad purpose. A chapter, “Social Structures and Everyday Life”, discusses the evolution of the varna and jati systems. It states that early Vedic texts do not indicate a rigid birthbased social order and that social identity was shaped by factors such as occupation, geography, language and kinship. It adds that occupations remained flexible and hereditary divisions had not yet become firmly established. “In previous grades, we learned about the varna system and its fourfold structure — Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Early Vedic texts do not indicate continued on page 7 A 41-member team from 60 Para Field Hospital is being deployed as part of ‘Operation Amistad’ in Venezuela. PTI ‘Op Amistad’: Army sends portable hospital to Venezuela; quake toll 920 Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 26 India on Friday launched “Operation Amistad” offering relief to Venezuela, which is grappling with twin earthquakes that have flattened areas in the northern region and left at least 920 people dead so far. The number of casualties is expected to climb as rescuers race against time to save thousands still unaccounted for. Venezuela is a Spanishspeaking country, where “amistad” means “friendship”. As part of the operation, two Indian Air Force C-17 transport planes carrying doctors, a portable field hospital, equipment and supplies took off from the Hindon Air Base, 20 km east of New Delhi, today. En route to South America, the Kinner Kailash Yatra faces local opposition Tribune News Service NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday alleged some political parties were trying to defame Ayodhya and play with people’s sentiments. He issued an appeal against “political rhetoric”. SHIFT TO DRONE-BASED SMUGGLING NCERT drops French, Russian Revolutions from Class IX books Subhash Rajta Congress appoints Sanjay Dutt as its Haryana in-charge ‘BOYCOTT THIEVES’ New Delhi, June 26 The Congress on Friday demanded a Supreme Courtmonitored probe into the alleged embezzlement in the Ram Mandir Trust, urged the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and order an investigation, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene to ensure those responsible are punished and sought the dissolution of the Trust currently managing the temple. Senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla alleged that irregularities involving hundreds, if not thousands, of crores of rupees had taken place and said the matter warranted an independent probe under the supervision of the SC. Shukla said the Congress earlier did not want to politicise the matter. However, he added that the registration of an FIR itself amounted to an admission by the government that embezzlement had taken place. INSIDE New Delhi, June 26 Punjab, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir remain highly vulnerable to trans-border drug trafficking from Pakistan, with Punjab alone accounting for the seizure of 2,086 kg heroin in 2025. This comes to 58 per cent of the total seizure of 3,567 kg of the drug. According to the annual report of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for 2025, the India-Pakistan border, especially through Punjab, has witnessed a marked shift towards drone-based smuggling in view of stringent ground-level checking. The report says this represents a technological adaptation in smuggling methodology that outpaces current enforcement capacity along that frontier. It mentions three major points of caution for India arising from opium cultivation in Afghanistan. The report says that though opium cultivation has shown a downward trend in the past few years owing to the Taliban regime’s focus on eradicating it, this in no way is a signal towards a diminishing threat to India. the western corridor. Rather, they have adapted to the new situation. The India-Pakistan border, especially through Punjab, has witnessed a marked shift towards drone-based smuggling as a countermeasure against ground-level checks. Thirdly and most significantly, the collapse of the Afghan supply has not eliminated the Golden Crescent as a geopolitical risk; rather, it has redistributed it. Syndicates that historically depended on Afghan-origin heroin are now diversifying their products and some of it is flowing eastward into India, the NCB report has said. This has been further highlighted in the report, which pointed out that the Golden Triangle continues to be a major source of methamphetamine through India’s north-eastern states. Meanwhile, Mizoram accounted for the seizure of 1,477 kg of the ATS. This was 42 per cent of the total national seizure of 3,269 kg. Other significant contributors were Manipur (535 kg), Delhi (454 kg), Gujarat (308 kg) and Karnataka (164 kg). Cannabis remained the most frequently seized narcotic drug in 2025. Shimla, June 26 Pilgrims heading for the Kinner Kailash Yatra in Kinnaur may find locals a little less welcoming this time. Ahead of the yatra, which begins on July 1, residents of a few panchayats along the yatra route have submitted a memorandum to the Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner, urging the administration to cancel the pilgrimage. “Local deities have warned us to stop the yatra. The residents followed the command of the deities in asking the administration to cancel the yatra,” said Baldev Singh, a member of Dev Samaj in Pawari gram panchayat. The track to Kinner Kailash, believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva, from Pawari gram panchayat, the starting point of the yatra, is around 16-17 km. Normally, it takes two to three days for the pilgrims to complete the yatra. According to Baldev Singh, the yatra has become more of a pleasure trip than a pilgrimage. “It is polluting our water sources, damaging our medicinal plants and herbs, including a special flower used for worshipping the local deity,” said Negi. In this part of the world, the voice of a local deity plays a vital role in almost every aspect of people’s lives. If the deity’s hint is not heeded, people feel it could bring misfortune. “If the yatra still goes ahead Residents flag warnings of deities, eco concerns in memorandum to DC despite our objections, we want the administration to give us a written assurance that it would compensate us if we suffer any loss of life and property in some natural disaster,” said Baldev Singh. Meanwhile, the yatra management committee, comprising local residents, feels the concerns raised in the memorandum are already being taken care of. The secretary of the committee, Naresh, said the panel was formed in 2022 on the directions of the local deity to facilitate the yatra along with the district administration. “The committee facilitates and monitors the yatra. We inform the administration if we notice any issues related to sanitation, littering, etc. Forest personnel are deployed to ensure no harm continued on page 7 Today’s issue is of 24 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. c m y b planes will refuel at Côte d’Ivoire in Africa. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a post said: “Two IAF C-17s took off today for Venezuela with urgent assistance to support their postearthquake relief efforts. The assistance contains an Army field hospital unit and over 35 tonnes of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment.” continued on page 7 New Delhi, June 26 Amid concerns over the violation of Sikh religious autonomy, the Maharashtra Government has agreed to place a controversial new law around the affairs of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in abeyance and constitute a committee for wider consultations. The decision was conveyed in Delhi after a meeting between BJP leaders and Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, deputed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to resolve the concerns. After the meeting where Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon also shared his concerns, party leader RP Singh said the state government had agreed to form a panel and conduct discussions with stakeholders before introducing the legislation. “I conveyed my concerns to CM Fadnavis and he prompt- Haryana IAS officer on the run in ~657-cr bank scam court. The court on Friday directed the CBI Senior Public Chandigarh, June 26 Prosecutor to present before it Suspended Haryana IAS offi- on July 2, the next date of hearcer Pardeep Kumar is allegedly ing, the details of any other on the run after being pending bail applicanamed as an accused in tion of the accused. the Rs 657-crore bank Officials of IDFC First scam. His mobile phone Bank and AU Small continues to be Finance Bank allegedly “switched-off”. colluded with Haryana The CBI had earlier Government employarrested 2000 and ees, including IAS offi2012-batch IAS offi- Pardeep Kumar cers, to siphon off funds cers Pankaj Agarwal from eight state and two and Ram Kumar Singh in Chandigarh Administration the case. Both are currently departments. Sources in the in judicial custody. CBI said Pardeep Kumar had Pardeep Kumar, a 2011-batch been “missing” from his officer, has filed an anticipatory Gurugram home while his continued on page 7 bail application in a Panchkula Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Govt to form panel for wider discussions ly deputed Chandrashekhar Bawankule to meet us. We had a fruitful discussion, with Kewal Dhillon also joining in. We requested that wider consultations be held before the Bill is introduced in the Assembly,” RP Singh said. He said Bawankule had accepted the suggestion. Dhillon also welcomed the development regarding the constitution of a committee of Sikh scholars before introducing the Act. “We conveyed to the state government that consultations must be undertaken with the Sikh Panth before any legislative framework concerning the administration of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib is finalised. We are thankful to the Maharashtra CM for responding with sensitivity to the concerns of the Sikh continued on page 7 CBSE 3-language rule not for pupils of Classes VII-IX New Delhi, June 26 The Centre has clarified that CBSE students currently studying in Classes VII, VIII and IX who have opted for two foreign languages under the existing three-language policy will be allowed to continue with the same subject combination until Class X, sources in the Ministry of Education said. The clarification comes weeks after a CBSE circular issued in May stated that, from July 1, students entering Class IX in the 2026-27 academic session would be required to study three languages, with at least two being continued on page 7