25032021-TTB-01.qxd 3/25/2021 12:00 AM Page 1 13 NETANYAHU’S FUTURE UNCERTAIN AMID POLL STALEMATE WORLD /thetribunechd chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.5 no.83 | 18 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com IN BRIEF PM Yojana: DHFL booked for scam NEW DELHI: The CBI claims to have unearthed a ~1,880 crore subsidy scam in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and has registered a case against Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, brothers and promoters of crisis-hit Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL). BUSINESS Air Force short of 405 pilots, LS told NEW DELHI: The Air Force has a shortage of 405 pilots, the government told Lok Sabha on Wednesday. MoS Shripad Naik said the number of pilots at present was 3,834 against sanctioned 4,239. — PTI 10,099 teachers shifted in Punjab CHANDIGARH: With the touch of a button, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday digitally cleared the transfers of 10,099 teachers and volunteers to the station of their choice purely on merit basis as per a new transfer policy. INSIDE CJI recommends Justice Ramana as his successor New Delhi, March 24 Ahead of his retirement on April 23, CJI SA Bobde has recommended Justice NV Ramana as his successor after an inhouse inquiry of the SC dismissed Andhra Pradesh CM YS JaganmoJustice NV Ramana han Reddy’s allegation that the seniormost judge attempted to destabilise his government. The CJI had sent a letter to the Law Ministry recommending Justice Ramana’s appointment as the 48th CJI, sources said. Once cleared, Justice Ramana is expected to take over as the next CJI on April 24 and will retire on August 26, 2022. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had on Friday written to the CJI seeking his recommendation for the appointment. — TNS Calls for review meet | 771 variants found, 336 in state Tribune News Service Rail passengers line up to get tested in Mumbai on Wednesday. PTI MUTANTS DETECTED ACROSS 18 STATES 10,787 TOTAL SAMPLES FROM FOREIGN TRAVELLERS So far no linkage seen with surge due to foreign travellers, says the Punjab 336 | Telangana 104 | government. The variants detected in India have been prevaDelhi 69 | Maharashtra 62 | lent for the past 6-8 months. Haryana 6 | Ladakh 1 PB, CHANDIGARH SEE LOW VAX COVERAGE AMONG HEALTH WORKERS Punjab 65.11% |Chandigarh 63%|Telangana 62.01% | Nagaland 64.04% 100% in Kerala, Odisha, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and Bihar the health workers have received the first shots in Chandigarh,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. The Centre will meet district magistrates and health officials of Punjab’s continued on page 10 SC to ex-top cop: Issue serious, but move HC Nuns heckled on UP train; Kerala CM seeks action Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 24 Refusing to entertain former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s petition seeking a CBI probe into his allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked him to approach the Bombay High Court. A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul wondered why Singh didn’t approach the High Court and why the person against whom the petition had been filed (Deshmukh) was not made a party to the case. The Bench observed: “We have no doubt that the matter is quite serious and affects the administration at large. It also appears that a lot of material which has come in public Bijendra Ahlawat Faridabad, March 24 The District and Sessions Court on Wednesday convicted Tausif and his aide Rehan in the Nikita Tomar murder case. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Friday. Nikita (21) was shot by Tausif (22) near her college in Ballabgarh on October 26 last year. Tausif, who had been pressuring the victim to marry him, his accomplice Rehan and one Arjuddin, who had SPIKE IN INFECTIONS NOT DUE TO MUTATIONS: GOVT ‘VARIANTS OF CONCERN’ Says no to his plea for CBI probe into charges against Deshmukh NIA SLAPS UAPA AGAINST WAZE The NIA has slapped charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Mumbai cop Sachin Waze, who was arrested on March 13 in connection with the recovery of an SUV with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note, parked near Antilia. domain is a consequence of the personas falling out.” “He (Param Bir) is making some allegations and the minister is also making some allegations. I don’t see a point why you should not move the High Court,” Justice Kaul said. continued on page 10 Nikita killers convicted in 5 mths Tribune News Service thursday | 25 march 2021 Centre flags rapid surge, slow vax pacein Punjab New Delhi, March 24 A year since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed to break the chain of viral transmission, the country finds itself battling a second surge of the infection with the Centre on Wednesday terming “Maharashtra and Punjab as areas of gravest concern”. Of the 47,262 (the highest daily case tally this year and the highest in 132 days), more than 28,699 are from Maharashtra and 2,634 from Punjab. “Punjab is a specific worry as cases are rising disproportionately to the population and the vaccine coverage among health workers is extremely low at 65.11 per cent. While 10 states have achieved 100 per cent coverage of health workers with the first dose, Punjab, despite adequate vaccine supplies, has not been able to cover even the identified groups. Likewise, only 63 per cent of Was shot outside F’bad college in Oct last year; sentencing tomorrow supplied the weapon, were arrested soon after the incident. “While Tausif and Rehan have been convicted under Sections 302 (murder), 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel her into marriage) and 120-B/34 (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, Arjuddin has been held guilty under the Arms Act,” said Adal Singh Rawat, one of the prosecution lawyers. He said the prosecution produced 55 witnesses and the defence only two. A fivemember SIT had submitted a 700-page chargseheet against the accused on November 6, 11 days after the crime. continued on page 10 Thiruvalla (Ker), March 24 The alleged harassment of nuns of a Kerala-based congregation in UP recently had its echo in the poll-bound southern state on Wednesday, with CM Pinarayi Vijayan taking it up with the Centre and Home Minister Amit Shah promising strong action. Officials in Jhansi said the nuns were detained on March 19 after Bajrang Dal activists complained that two women were allegedly being taken forcibly for religious conversion. The police said there was no basis in the complaint and all four women later took the next train to their destination in Odisha. — PTI Houses acquired partially for NH in HP, locals in a fix NURPUR, MARCH 24 The partial acquisition of shops and houses by the NHAI for construction of the proposed Pathankot-Mandi four-lane project has left the affected people in Nurpur section from Kandwal to Bhedkhud in a quandary. While 3,800 families affected by the project are on the warpath protesting the compensation announced on March 1, the partial acquisition of structures has perturbed a certain section. INSIDE US SENATE CONFIRMS INDO-AMERICAN MURTHY AS SURGEON GENERAL WORLD PPSC making mega bucks with hefty exam fee BalwantGarg & Aman Sood Tribune News Service Faridkot/Patiala, March 24 While various government boards and corporations are under debt, the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) is proving to be a money-minting machine for the state government. From April 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021, the commission collected over Rs 32.60 crore as examination and registration fee for various recruitment drives. The total expenditure incurred by the commission GLARING DIFFERENCE SERVICE COMMISSION Punjab Himachal Haryana Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Meghalaya Gujarat UPSC CHARGES (GEN CATEGORY) ~3,000 ~1,500 ~1,000 ~350 ~125 ~100 ~100 ~200 on conducting these exams was only Rs 8.91 crore. The PPSC deposited around Rs 24 crore “profit” with the state treasury a few days ago. In a letter to CM Capt Amarinder Singh in January, PPSC Chairman Lt Gen Surinder Singh (retd) had demanded fee reduction for various categories, including women, economically weaker sections and persons with disabilities. He also appended a comparative list of money charged by the UPSC and other state service commissions for various exams. Except SC/ST and OBC categories, all others are being Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. BJP VOWS LAW AGAINST LOVE JIHAD IN KERALA BACK PAGE charged Rs 3,000 per exam in Punjab. This included persons from economically weaker sections, those with disabilities, sportspersons and descendants of ex-servicemen. The letter pointed out while Punjab charges Rs 3,000 for an exam from every general category candidate, the UPSC charges only Rs 200 for the same. Meghalaya and Gujarat charge Rs 100, UP Rs 125, Rajasthan Rs 350, Haryana Rs 1,000 and Himachal Pradesh Rs 1,500. continued on page 10