07102026-TTC-01.qxd 10/7/2026 12:33 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 277 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ‘FLOATING STOREHOUSE’ SURYA TO BOOST NAVY OPs >> NATION /thetribunechd ‘ILLEGAL’ STRUCTURE LINKED TO KIN OF AFZAL GURU RAZED >> J&K ~10,000-CR FUND FOR SMEs GETS CABINET NOD >> BUSINESS HALZEN WINS PHYSICS NOBEL FOR WORK ON GHOST PARTICLES >> WORLD wednesday | 7 october 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Rahul leads 8-hr Oppn charge for CEC ouster Mann cries vendetta CASH-FOR-POSTING SCAM Detained along with Priyanka, others as protesters enter Akashvani Bhawan on way to EC office Shekhar Singh Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi stands on a barricade as Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra waves the Tricolour during an INDIA bloc march from Parliament House to Nirvachan Sadan, near Akashvani Bhawan in New Delhi. Dipke flags police notice to activists over Oct 10 protest MUMBAI: Ahead of his proposed fresh agitation at Jantar Mantar on October 10, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday accused the Maharashtra Police of issuing notices to CJP activists. He alleged the police were pressuring them not to attend the party’s planned protest to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR exercise. — PTI Cabinet resolution hails PM Modi on 25 yrs as govt head NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday passed a resolution hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for completing 25 years as the head of government while “championing the politics of nation first over family first”. Modi had taken oath as Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001 and led the BJP to three consecutive wins in the state and later three consecutive victories in Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024. INSIDE New Delhi, October 6 After more than eight hours of a sit-in that turned the premises of Akashvani Bhawan into the centre of a dramatic political standoff, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday evening. Rahul and Priyanka were taken to the Kingsway Camp police station. The police also detained protesters gathered outside Akashvani Bhawan as they moved to clear the premises following the prolonged confrontation. Among those detained along with Rahul and Priyanka were Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Deepender Singh Hooda and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, and several other leaders and workers who had joined the sit-in inside and outside the Akashvani complex. Rahul and other leaders were released a little after 10 pm. The day’s protest had begun at Parliament around 10.30 am, with more than 300 Opposition MPs marching towards Nirvachan Sadan, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Rahul Gandhi being detained by police personnel after an eight-hour sit-in on the Akashvani Bhawan premises in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI NO MEETING SOUGHT: EC ANARCHY ATTEMPT: BJP ■ The EC said no party had ■ The BJP alleged Rahul was try- sought an appointment for a meeting with it till 4 pm ■ The poll panel said Delhi Police later told it that a delegation of Oppn MPs wished to meet it ■ The EC said it had laid down a procedure for meetings with political parties in 2025 ing to create anarchy with his ‘baseless vote-chori’ allegation ■ It said Rahul should instead work diligently to regain people’s faith to win elections ■ “The reality is Rahul is a ‘kaamchor’,” said BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi (SIR). But what appeared to be a conventional Opposition march took an unexpected turn after the Delhi Police stopped the MPs near the NITI Aayog office with heavy barricading. Rahul climbed atop a barricade and waved the Tricolour as the MPs tried to move towards the Election Commission headquarters. Several leaders were detained and bundled into buses. Then came the move that changed the course of the protest. Priyanka had already boarded a detention bus parked near Akashvani Bhawan, while Rahul was preparing to follow her. Instead, the two suddenly changed course and walked into the nearby Akashvani Bhawan premises, leaving the police scrambling to respond. The move reportedly took continued on page 8 Chandigarh, October 6 The CBI on Tuesday conducted coordinated searches at eight locations across Punjab and Chandigarh, including the camp office of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in connection with the alleged “cash for postings and favourable tenders” scam. The case involves allegations of corruption and influencepeddling involving CM Mann’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman and others. The search and seizure operation was initiated after the CBI registered an FIR on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court against six HC NOTICE TO CHIEF SECY IN DA CASE Tribune News Service Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 6 The government on Tuesday appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit as the next Chief of the Indian Air Force. He will assume charge on October 31 upon the superannuation of Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. Air Marshal Dixit is presently serving as Vice Chief of the IAF He will take over at a time . when the force is on the cusp of significant transformation. Several new aircraft and weapon systems are expected to be inducted in the coming years, shaping the IAF’s trajectory over the next decade. One of the immediate priorities for the IAF Chief-designate will be assessing the induction of Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets. Public sector firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is set to complete the integration of radars and missiles. The first of the aircraft are expected to enter service before the end of the year. The IAF has ordered 180 of these jets and a delay in To oversee induction of Tejas Mark-1A jets Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit deliveries was flagged by IAF Chief AP Singh three days ago saying the wait “was hurting the force”. Air Marshal Dixit is expected to be at the helm when the IAF takes a call on the next generation of medium transport planes. Greater emphasis on advanced technologies and long-range missile systems, along with the continuing focus on strengthening the country’s air-defence network, will be among the key priorities before him. continued on page 8 New Delhi, October 6 The Punjab Government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court directive for a CBI probe into allegations of corruption linked to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s office. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed to take it up on Wednesday or Thursday after senior counsel Vikas Singh mentioned it for urgent listing, alleging that it was all due to the ensuing Assembly elections. ■ The Punjab and Haryana HC has issued a notice to Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and directed him to remain present on Friday ■ The court has asked the Chief Secretary why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for making a “prima facie false statement” in dearness allowance case “During election time, these kinds of cases are being trumped up... It’s a clear case of federal structure being violated,” Singh submitted. “We will try tomorrow… otherwise the day after, definitely,” the CJI told Singh. A special leave petition against the High Court’s October 5 order, which came on a PIL filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf, was filed by the government at 1.42 am on Tuesday. A High Court Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor had on Monday directed the CBI to register a criminal case to probe allegations against Rajbir Singh Ghuman, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Mann. It had also directed the state of Punjab and the Punjab Police to provide all assistance to the CBI for conducting a fair probe. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had asked the Punjab Police to register a case to probe the allegations of corruption against Ghuman Nitin Gohal acted as an intermediary between people seeking favours from the government and Ghuman, the ED alleged. The allegations related to transfers, access to confidential government documents, facilitation of arms licences and other benefits. After the police continued on page 8 Harman steps down, Mandhana to lead Team India Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 6 A year after leading India to its maiden Women’s Cricket World Cup title, Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday stepped down as captain of the national team across all three formats. Later in the day, the BCCI named vice-captain Smriti Mandhana as her successor. Harmanpreet announced review meeting in Guwahati, her decision on Instaattended by Hargram. “This is not an manpreet, Mandeasy decision. It carhana and head coach ries years of memoAmol Muzumdar. ries, emotions, sacriIn her post, Harfices and moments manpreet spoke that will stay with me about making perfor the rest of my life,” sonal sacrifices she Harmanpreet Kaur the 37-year-old wrote. made as captain. “I The announcement came a have given everything I had day after the BCCI held a to this team and to Indian women’s cricket — my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first,” she added. continued on page 8 AAP sarpanch shot dead String of targeted killings puts Pb Police in a spot ahead of polls in Tarn Taran, driver hurt Probe role of ISI-backed Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, October 6 shop in the village when three An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unidentified assailants riding a sarpanch of Toot vilmotorcycle opened fire lage in Patti was shot on him. He was rushed dead in broad daylight to a private hospital in by unidentified Patti in a critical condiarmed assailants on tion, where doctors Tuesday. His driver declared him “brought was also seriously dead”. His driver, injured in the attack. Chamkaur Singh, also Ashwani Kumar The deceased, Ashsustained bullet wani Kumar, was in his SUV injuries and was admitted to continued on page 8 near his commission agent Chandigarh, October 6 The Punjab Police are grappling with two distinct security challenges ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections — a string of attacks on policemen allegedly backed by Pakistan-based handlers and a spate of killings of social media influencers in the name of moral policing. Social media has been abuzz with posts highlight- ing how easily shooters appear to arrive on motorcycles, carry out attacks and ride away. Three influencers and six policemen have been targeted in recent months. A similar pattern has emerged in several of these attacks, prompting Opposition parties, including the Congress, BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, to question the police response and the state’s grip on law and order. Police officials, however, c m y b TTH, local gangsters Mad Sandhu ASI Harjit Singh said investigations indicated that the attacks on influencers and policemen were unrelated, involving different perpetrators and motives. “The attacks on policemen are an attack on national security. A pseudo organisation, Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), has been floated to claim responsibility, but the planning and execution are linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror groups,” said a senior police official. Madhusudan Sandhu, popularly known as Mad Sand- The ED has summoned Amardeep Singh Grewal, brother-in-law of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, for questioning in connection with the alleged ~5-cr bribery case, in which the name of Dr Gurpreet Kaur Mann, the CM’s wife, has also cropped up. INSIDE persons — Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal, alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder, RS Nagra and Ghuman. Searches were conducted at the residences of the six accused and their relatives in Sangrur, Mohali, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, continued on page 8 Security personnel stand guard as a CBI team raids House No. 50, Sector 2, the camp office of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Air Marshal Dixit to Punjab moves SC against CBI probe into take charge as next corruption charges linked to CM’s office IAF Chief on Oct 31 Satya Prakash ED SUMMONS CM’S BROTHER-IN-LAW RAVI KUMAR ANI Tribune News Service as camp office among 8 sites raided by CBI hu, an influencer and LGBTQ activist, was shot dead on October 3 by two motorcycle-borne assailants at a car-washing point on the Loharka Road in Amritsar. Four policemen have been killed in Punjab this year, while two others have survived gun attacks. Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjit Singh was shot dead near Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar on the night of September continued on page 8 Indian seafarers hurt in Black Sea, Hormuz attacks Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 6 India on Tuesday condemned attacks on two commercial vessels in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz that killed two foreign seafarers and injured several others, including 11 Indians, in the latest incident off Oman, and warned that attacks on merchant shipping were undermining global commerce and the welfare of people worldwide. Delhi seeks end to strikes on commercial shipping In the latest incident, 11 Indian nationals were among 12 crew members injured when the Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was carrying 19 crew members, of whom 17 were Indian nationals. With the assistance of Omani authorities, all injured crew members were evacuated and have been receiving treatment in Khasab (Oman), the Ministry of External Affairs said. India thanked the Omani authorities for their “valuable support” and called for an immediate cessation of attacks in the region. “The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and navigation and commerce through international waterways must be restored at the earliest,” the MEA said. The statement came hours after India condemned the attack on MV Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea, in which two foreign seafarers were killed and members of the crew, including Indian nationals, were injured. The MEA said the three Indian nationals who were part of the crew were safe. continued on page 8