16022021-TT-01.qxd 2/15/2021 11:01 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.141 no.46 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881 himachal pradesh SUU KYI’S DETENTION EXTENDED WORLD /thetribunechd ASHWIN HITS TON, INDIA SET 482-RUN TARGET SPORT SENSEX LEAPFROGS 610 POINTS TO BREACH 52,000-MARK BUSINESS /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com tuesday | 16 february 2021 Toolkit: Warrant against two activists Oppn, BJP clash over Justice Sawant dead, was on Guj riots probe panel Day after Disha’s arrest, Delhi Police claim incriminating evidence against trio | ISIlink under lens Pune, February 15 Former Supreme Court judge PB Sawant died following a cardiac arrest at his residence here in Maharashtra on Monday. He was 90. Justice Sawant was one of the co-conveners of the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017, in Pune. He was also part of a panel that conducted an investigation into the 2002 Gujarat riots. Justice Sawant had also served as chairman of the Press Council of India. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He was appointed a Supreme Court judge in 1989 and retired in 1995. — PTI Vinayak Padmadeo WHAT COPS CLAIM Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 The Delhi Police on Monday secured non-bailable warrants against two activists — Mumbai lawyer Nikita Jacob and Beed engineer Shantanu Muluk — for allegedly aiding the creation of a controversial toolkit which climate campaigner Greta Thunberg had shared on Twitter. Both accused are reportedly absconding. The NBW against the duo came a day after Delhi cops took Bengaluru-based climate activist Disha Ravi (22) into custody, triggering a ■ All three accused — Disha Ravi, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk — collaborated to draft the toolkit ■ They acted at the behest of pro-Khalistani group Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) ■ Canada-based Puneet con- Protest against the arrest of activist Disha Ravi in Bengaluru. REUTERS LAPTOPS SEIZED; NIKITA MOVES HIGH COURT ■ On Feb 11, search was con- ducted at Nikita’s Mumbai residence in her absence ■ Two laptops and a phone were seized and incriminating evidence retrieved, say cops ■ Based on evidence, teams were sent to Maharashtra’s Beed and Bengaluru to nab Shantanu and Disha nected them with PJF; they held zoom meet on Jan 11 ■ Google document ‘Global Day of Action, Jan 26’ was created after the meet ■ Police are also probing ISI link through a man called Peter Friedrich whose name is on the document social media storm. After Thunberg shared the toolkit professing support for the agitating farmers, the Delhi Police lodged an FIR for sedition and criminal conspiracy against “creators of the toolkit”. The police have all along alleged that the toolkit was created in collaboration with Khalistani groups. Nikita Jacob, who has absconded, according to the police, approached the Bombay High Court, seeking protection against her impending arrest. The HC will hear her plea tomorrow even as continued on page 9 edit: the arrest of disha ravi Disha’s police remand Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 The police remand of climate activist Disha Ravi brought the Opposition and ruling BJP to verbal blows on Monday with the Congress-led camp flagging “threat to democracy” and the BJP saying “a crime is a crime, age just a number”. Non-BJP parties rallied behind Disha, demanding her release but top BJP leaders, including minister Gajendra Shekhawat, said if age was an issue, “I am proud of Param Vir Chakra Second Lt Arun continued on page 9 Climate activist Disha Ravi CRIMINAL IS CRIMINAL: BJP DEFENDS POLICE BJP leaders defended the police action, saying Disha was an adult and must be held responsible for her actions. “A criminal is a criminal and age is immaterial if the person isn’t a juvenile.” party spokespersons Sambit Patra and Gaurav Bhatia said. Now, easy access to geospatial data, maps Privacy norms: Notice to WhatsApp, govt Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 15 Indian entities will no longer need government permission to collect, use, publish or share geospatial data, including maps. The government today deregulated the sector, ending its own 250-year-old colonial era monopoly in the area with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the move as a massive push to the national goal of self-reliance. IN BRIEF EYING ~1L-CR MARKET ■ Plan is to allow private sector to make and publish maps with geospatial features ■ It’s estimated to become a ~1 lakh cr market by 2030 and create 22 lakh jobs ■ May improve outcome in a range of sectors, including farming and infrastructure The Guidelines for Acquiring and Producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Ser- Tribune News Service HISAR: The Haryana Police have filed an FIR against cricketer Yuvraj Singh over a “casteist” post against Yuzvendra Chahal on Instagram last year. Yuvraj had apologised for the remarks. — TNS HC won’t quash FIR against SSR’s sister MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to quash an FIR lodged against late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister Priyanka Singh for allegedly forging and fabricating a medical prescription for her brother. — PTI 5-day bail for Kerala journalist Siddique NEW DELHI: The SC on Monday gave five-day interim bail to scribe Siddique Kappan to visit Kerala to meet his 90-yearold ailing mother. BACK PAGE ❝ The government decision will provide a huge impetus to Digital India. It is a massive step in our vision for Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Narendra Modi, PM vices, including maps, acknowledge that maps and other accurate geospatial data are crucial for national infrastructure projects like linkages of rivers, creation of industrial corridors and deploying smart power systems. “From creation of maps to their dissemination, Indian firms were hitherto required to seek licences and follow cumbersome procedures of permissions,” Science Minister Harsh Vardhan said. The government said emerging vibrant technologies like e-commerce, autonomous drones, delivery continued on page 9 NewDelhi, February15 The Supreme Court today issued notices to WhatsApp and the Centre on a plea challenging their new privacy policy that allegedly provides for lower standards of privacy for Indian users compared to their European counterparts. Asking the government and WhatsApp to respond in four weeks, a Bench headed by CJI SA Bobde noted that people’s privacy must be protected in view of the allegation that users’ data was being ❝ You may be 2 or 3 trillion (dollar) companies, but people value their privacy more than money. People have apprehension they will lose their privacy SC Bench shared with other firms. People have grave apprehension that they will lose their privacy and it is our duty to protect them, the court noted. Dealing with an appeal arising out of a Delhi High Court verdict, the top court had in 2017 referred WhatsApp’s privacy policy matter to a Uranium deposits Re-poll at 3 booths in Patiala dist today found at 2 HP sites Shubhadeep Choudhury Yuvraj Singh booked over casteist remarks DIGITAL INDIA PUSH New Delhi, February 15 The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has confirmed that “small deposits” of uranium were found at Kasha Kaladi in Shimla and Tileli in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. While Kasha Kaladi has an estimated 200 tonnes of triuranium octoxide, which is enough to produce 170 tonnes of uranium, Tileli has 220 tonnes of triuranium octoxide (186 tonnes of uranium). The largest deposit in the state (364 tonnes of triuranium octoxide) is at Rajpura in Una district. The size of the find has put Himachal Pradesh at the 10th position among 11 states in the country where uranium has been traced. Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Meghalaya occupy the top three positions, respectively. Earlier, uranium extracts were found during digging operations at Lambehra village in Hamirpur district. Uranium Corporation of India Limited has come up with a plan to meet the target STATE 10TH ON LIST OF MINES 200 TONNES OF TRIURANIUM OCTOXIDE AT KASHA KALADI (SHIMLA) 220 TONNES AT TILELI (MANDI) 1,95,751 TONNES IN TOP PRODUCER ANDHRA 3,45,362 TONNES IN ALL SPREAD OVER 11 STATES of attaining self-sufficiency in uranium production by 2031-32. It includes maintaining supply from existing facilities, increasing capacity of existing mines and exploring new locations. The Himachal Industry Department claims that uranium deposits had been found at 11 locations, including Hamirpur. There is, however, no mention of the village among the sites listed by Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (Hyderabad), the exploration arm of the DAE. Chandigarh, February 15 The State Election Commission, Punjab, today ordered re-poll at three polling booths of Patran and Samana municipal councils in Patiala district. The re-polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm tomorrow, while the counting of votes will take place on February 17. The Patran Returning Officer (RO) had reported to the commission that an EVM was damaged at booth number 11 of ward number 8. The Samana Returning Officer had reported similar inci- 1 IN PATRAN, 2 SAMANA ■ In Patran, re-poll will be held at booth number 11 of ward number 8 ■ In Samana, booth numbers 22 and 23 of ward number 11 will see re-poll ■ Re-polling will be held from Securityman outside a strongroom dents at booth numbers 22 and 23 of ward number 11. Three cases have been registered against 18 persons in Muktsar while over 20 work- 8 am to 4 pm on Feb 16, counting on Feb 17 ers of the Congress and SAD have been booked in connection with a clash at Ropar that left nine persons injured yesterday. PPCC chief Sunil Back to college in Valley ■ After remaining shut due to Covid for almost the entire academic session in 2020, colleges reopened in the Kashmir region on Monday. Jakhar, meanwhile, said the polling yesterday was largely peaceful as compared to the civic body polls during the Akali regime. “High voting percentage of 71.39 is indicative of people’s verdict in favour of the state government. The trend will continue during the 2022 Assembly elections,” he claimed. SAD and AAP leaders, on the other hand, attributed the high poll percentage to the alleged misuse of official machinery by the Congress government. — TNS Constitution Bench as it related to the larger issue of privacy and right to personal liberty. On behalf of the petitioner in the present case, senior advocate Shyam Divan pointed out that WhatsApp was differentiating between Indian and European users in terms of privacy standards. He alleged that huge metadata was being shared for profit. WhatsApp has denied differential treatment between European and Indian users in its new policy. — TNS R-Day: Jat Regimental Centre bags trophy NewDelhi, February15 The Jat Regimental Centre bagged the Republic Day parade trophy for the best marching contingent among the three armed forces while the Delhi Police was adjudged the best marching contingent among the Central Armed Police Forces and other auxiliary services, a government statement said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today presented the trophies, lauding the two forces for their “courage and valour”. — TNS Kanhaiya meets Nitish aide, sparks speculation ■ Though the pandemic has relatively calmed down, the attendance remained thin with the administration putting in place strict SOPs. PTI Patna, February15 Many an eyebrow was raised in Bihar on Monday as news broke of a meeting between CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar and Ashok Choudhary, a minister and key aide of CM Nitish Kumar. A fiery former JNU student leader, Kanhaiya has been soft towards Nitish despite their parties rarely being on the same page on most Tension between the aspiring leader, CPI issues. Kanhaiya met Choudhary on Sunday. During his failed bid for the Lok Sabha in 2019, the former student leader had avoided attacking Nitish who had come out in support of continued on page 9 Hope fades as rain, snow hit rescue; 149 still missing SC okays diversion of forest land Tribune News Service & PTI Joshimath, February 15 Four more bodies were recovered, including three from Tapovan tunnel, on Monday, taking the toll in the Uttarakhand flashflood to 55 as hopes of finding survivors dimmed. As per the authorities, 149 persons are yet to be traced. Officials said the rescue work at the Tapovan tunnel and Raini village area was hit following light showers and snowfall. A senior ITBP official said: “We are waiting for the weather to improve to LAST-DITCH EFFORT ■ Bid to reach trapped workers by widening a hole drilled into Tapovan tunnel failed as the hole got choked with sludge ■ Rescuing the trapped people is now possible only with the help of excavators, says Chamoli DM Swati S Bhadauria ■ With the recovery of four more bodies, the toll has risen to 55 <
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).
