29072026-TT-01.qxd 7/28/2026 SHARIF’S PARTY WINS 9 OF 13 PoK SEATS WORLD /thetribunechd 11:06 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 208 | 14 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HIMACHAL PRADESH wednesday | 29 july 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SC bars coercive action Govt calls paper leak Bill a milestone; tear gas, lathis used against students, orders Oppn asks whytowards youth, cites UPA exam scandals Jitendra reaffirms commitment detained minors’ release Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service CJP fears ruling may be misused, warns of fresh stir Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained the authorities from taking any coercive action against students and other protesters involved in the recent anti-paper leak demonstrations, except those with criminal antecedents. It also signalled the constitution of a highpowered committee to examine allegations of police excesses after receiving responses from the Centre and the states concerned. Independent probe into police excesses likely Reacting to the order, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said the Supreme Court’s interim order in the student protest violence cases could undermine the Centre’s assurance to withdraw FIRs against peaceful protesters, warning that the governments concerned might use the ruling to continue criminal proceedings. The party warned that it would resume its nationwide agitation if the Centre failed to honour what it described as guarantees given to the protesters. continued on page 8 Use of force, especially pellet guns, has become a major flashpoint. FILE RAF fired pellets on Delhi DCP’s order: Police diary Rahul Gahlawat & Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 Contrary to the Delhi Police’s stand so far, a general diary entry at the Parliament Street police station has revealed that a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)-rank officer ordered Rapid Action Force personnel to fire pellet guns at students during their July 20 march to Parliament. “In order to control the crowd at the Cockroach Janta Party protest, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) fired 55 rounds of nonelectrical shells, 15 rounds of SC to take up pellet gun pleas on August 3 WHAT RAF USED ON JULY 20* ■ 55 non-electrical shells ■ 15 electrical shells ■ 5 tear smoke grenades ■ 2 rounds of anti-riot guns** ■ 2 rounds of plastic pellets (*On DCP’s directions; ** pellet guns) electrical shells, five tear gas grenades, two rounds from anti-riot guns and two rounds of plastic pellets on July 20,” mentions the entry recorded at continued on page 8 RBI’S POLYMER NOTE TRIAL GETS GOVT NOD BUSINESS New Delhi, July 28 After a week-long impasse, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday began a discussion on the anti-paper leak Bill, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh describing it as a “milestone and the first-ofits-kind” legislation in the history of Parliament. From the Opposition, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned why it was necessary for the government to fire tear gas shells or rain lathis on students. Jitendra, who initiated the debate, said the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, was a reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to safeguarding the welfare of students and youth. continued on page 8 Minister of State Jitendra Singh and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra speak in the Lok Sabha. PTI Change ‘angle of heart’: Priyanka to PM Animesh Singh and Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to change the angle of his heart rather than the angle of the cam- Says can’t win Gen Z trust via videos era to win the trust of Gen Z. Priyanka, who was participating in the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amend- ment Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha, made this remark while trying to drive home the point that the government “needs to change its attitude towards sensitive issues such as paper leak, which impact the future of the young generation”. continued on page 8 CBI chargesheet against 13 in NEET paper leak case Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 The CBI has filed a chargesheet against 13 arrested persons before a special fast-track court in the NEETUG paper leak case, alleging offences, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence and violations under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act. The agency has cited 360 witnesses and submitted 422 documents as part of the prosecution evidence. All 13 accused named in the chargesheet are currently in judicial custody. The case was registered after the Department of Higher Education lodged a written complaint on May 12 regarding alleged irregularities and leakage of questions in the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3. Govt summons Meta after ‘Dyal Singh Majithia College’: Institution PM Modi’s video removed moots new option amid renaming row Rinku Behera Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has summoned Meta’s global head of public policy after the company removed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video from Facebook. The move came as Meta apologised to the gov- c m y b Rejects firm’s ‘technical glitch’ explanation ernment, attributing the incident to a technical glitch and confirming that the content had since been restored. A Meta spokesperson said the content had been “removed in error” and had since been continued on page 8 THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE DU to take final call Harsh Yadav Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 28 After months of controversy over plans to rename Dyal Singh Evening College as Banda Singh Bahadur College to distinguish it from Dyal Singh Morning College, the institution has proposed a fresh name for Delhi University (DU) to consider. The proposed name is Dyal Singh Majithia College — a description that both reflects and preserves the legacy of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of institutions such as The Tribune, Punjab National Bank and the Dyal Singh Trust. The new name has been proposed in response to prolonged protests by Dyal Singh Evening College staffers who are against dropping the name “Dyal Singh” from the college description and say this would amount to betraying the contributions of the great philanthropist. As things stand, two names — Dyal Singh Majithia continued on page 8
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
