23032021-TT-01.qxd 3/22/2021 11:12 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.141 no.81 | 14 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881  haryana MANU, CHAUDHARY WIN 10M PISTOL GOLD SPORT /thetribunechd NATIONAL FILM AWARD IN KANGANA’S KITTY BACK PAGE HC STAYS ORDER RESTRAINING FUTURE RETAIL FROM RELIANCE DEAL BUSINESS /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com IN BRIEF Gandhi Peace Prize for Mujibur Rahman NEW DELHI: The prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize-2020 is being conferred on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and for 2019 on the late Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said. PAGE 12 4 militants killed in Shopian encounter NEW DELHI: Four Lashkar-eToiba terrorists were killed in a joint operation by the Jammu & Kashmir Police, CRPF and the Army in Munihal area of Shopian district in the UT on Monday. PAGE 11 Court denies bail to activist Stan Swamy MUMBAI: A special NIA court here on Monday rejected the bail plea filed by 83-year-old tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in October 2020 in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case. — PTI tuesday | 23 march 2021 Mumbai ex-top cop moves Covishield dose gap now 8 wks Fatality rate dips SC, allies back Deshmukh to 1.75% in Punjab Extortion charges rock Parl | BJP wants minister, CM to quit Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 22 Former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh on Monday moved the Supreme Court against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, triggering a fresh crisis for the state’s ruling coalition which backed the minister even as the issue rocked Parliament. Param Bir, removed as the Mumbai Police Commissioner five days ago, moved the apex court seeking an “unbiased, uninfluenced, impartial and fair” CBI probe into the allegations of corruption levelled by him against Deshmukh in his letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The former top cop, who had accused Deshmukh of “interfering” in investigations, PARAM BIR DEMANDS CBI PROBE ■ Former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh has sought a CBI probe into the allegations he levelled against Deshmukh ■ He demanded CBI take in its custody the CCTV footage from Deshmukh’s house ■ Deshmukh interfered in investi- NCP SEES ‘BJP LINK’ TO LETTER GATE NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged Param Bir Singh met “people in Delhi” before writing the controversial letter to the CM. “We will reveal the truth in some time,” he said. sought directions to the Maharashtra Government, the Centre and the CBI to immediately gations, alleged Param Bir ■ His “arbitrary” transfer be cancelled as it came before completion of minimum two-year tenure ■ He sought protection from further coercive steps in retaliation for laying bare Deshmukh’s “misdeeds” CHARGES UNFOUNDED, CLAIMS PAWAR The allegation (by Singh) pertains to exactly the same period (mid-February) when Deshmukh was in hospital. ❝ Sharad Pawar, NCP SUPREMO take in its custody the CCTV continued on page 11 edit: The stinking feeling New Delhi, March 22 The Centre today advised states to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield from the current 28 days (4 weeks) to up to eight weeks, noting that the protection was better when the booster dose was given at a gap of 68 weeks from the first dose. “Emerging global evidence shows protection from Covishield is greater when the second dose is given between six continued on page 11 HIGHEST SINGLE-DAY SURGE SINCE NOV 12 The country saw the worst single-day rise in cases (46,951) since November 12, 2020, when 47,905 cases were logged over 24 hours. Daily deaths rose to 212 on Monday, taking the total toll to 1,59,967 CHANDIGARH: The Covid fatality rate during the second wave in Punjab has come down to 1.75 per cent, which is almost half of the first spike when it hovered around 3.5 per cent. The first Covid spike in the state came in September last year, while the second one began in the first week of February this year. INSIDE UTTARAKHAND CM TIRATH SINGH RAWAT TESTS POSITIVE ASTRAZENECA US TRIAL SHOWS 79% EFFICACY. WORLD LS clears Delhi Bill on morepowers to L-G, Oppn fumes New Delhi, March 22 The Lok Sabha today cleared the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2021 that seeks to give more powers to the L-G, a representative of the Centre and Delhi’s administrative head. Opposition MPs alleged it was a murder of democracy and an attack on the federal structure. BACK PAGE UAE ‘brokered’ Indo-Pak truce; MEA mum New Delhi, March 22 A Bloomberg news report has claimed that the IndiaPakistan ceasefire marked a milestone in “secret talks brokered” by the UAE that began months earlier. The report predicted that the next step in repairing bilateral ties would be the reinstatement of two high ROADMAP TO PEACE? ■ The report says the ceasefire is the beginning of a larger roadmap to forge a lasting peace between neighbours ■ Next step involves reinstating envoys, followed by ‘hard part’ — talks on resuming trade and a lasting Kashmir resolution commissioners. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not yet responded to the report, although several clues over the past few months pointed at the UAE’s role. A day after military chiefs from India and Pakistan surprised the world on February 25 with a rare joint commitment to respect a 2003 ceasefire agreement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah, who then met Pakistan Foreign Minister continued on page 11 Cross Border and Inland Trade Solutions Thanks to this comprehensive trade services platform, we carry out our trade transactions, from the comfort of our offices. Dilip Somani GM Finance, KEC International Ltd. Experience ICICI Bank Trade Online A digital banking platform for your Cross Border and Inland Trade Transactions. Digital Customised Letters of Credit & Bank Guarantees Seamless Cross Border & Inland - Bills & Remittances Supply Chain Solutions Initiate 24x7 Trade Finance & More Terms and conditions of ICICI Bank apply. Give a missed call on 92 0548 0548 icicibank.com/tradeonline SMS ‘TRADE’ to 5676766