26052022-TTB-01.qxd 5/26/2022 12:05 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO.144 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA ZELENSKYY: WILL TALK ONLY TO PUTIN, NOT MEDIATOR WORLD /thetribunechd GOVERNOR RETURNS ORDINANCEON ‘ONE MLA, ONE PENSION’ PUNJAB MARKETS IN RED FOR 3RD DAY AS VOLATILITY CONTINUES BUSINESS WILL EXPORT WHEAT TO COUNTRIES IN SERIOUS NEED: GOYAL BACK PAGE thursday | 26 may 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Teen kills 19 kids, 2 teachers in Texas Deadliest school shooting in decade | Victims in 7-10 age group attacked in one classroom Houston, May 25 In one of the worst school shootings in the US, an 18year-old gunman in body armour massacred at least 21 persons, including 19 kids and two adults, inside a classroom at a Texas elementary school, prompting President Joe Biden to issue an appeal to lawmakers to “turn this pain into action” to enact tougher gun laws to curb such recurring tragedies. The youth opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde town, Texas, 134 km from San Antonio, on Tuesday morning before he was IN BRIEF Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll on June 23 Chandigarh: Sangrur is among three Lok Sabha and seven Assembly seats across six states where bypolls will be held on June 23. In Sangrur, last date for nomination is June 6 while counting will take place on June 26. TNS Ransomware attack delays SpiceJet flights New Delhi: Low-cost Indian carrier SpiceJet came under ransomware attack on Tuesday night, resulting in several of its flights getting delayed and cancelled. TNS ‘Shivling’ worship: Plea now with fast-track court Varanasi: A district court here on Wednesday transferred to a fast-track court for hearing on May 30 a petition seeking permission to worship a “Shivling” claimed to have been found in the Gyanvapi complex during a survey. PTI Air surcharge: Leh and beyond Rs 2.00 Army’s first woman combat aviator New Delhi: Capt Abhilasha Barak, who belongs to Panchkula in Haryana, has created history by becoming the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as combat aviator. BACK PAGE 212 SHOOTINGS IN US THIS YEAR HAVE TO ACT: BIDEN When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When will we do what we all know needs to be done? ❝ Joe Biden, PREZ killed by law-enforcement officers. All fatalities and injuries took place inside one MAYHEM ON CAMPUS MAY 2018 A 17-year-old at Houston school guns down 10 FEB 2018 A 20-year-old kills 14 students, three staffers in Florida OCT 2015 A man kills 9 persons in Roseburg, then kills himself DEC 2012 A 19-year-old kills 20 kids, 6 educators in Connecticut APRIL 2007 A 23-year-old student kills 32 persons on Virginia campus APRIL 1999 Two students kill 12 People react after the shooting at the of their peers in Colorado before turning the gun on themselves Texas elementary school. REUTERS classroom in Uvalde, according to Lt Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the Texas Department for Public Safety. The shooter barricaded himself in one room, killing Sibal quits Cong, gets SP backing for RS berth Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 25 Days after advising the Gandhis to step aside and let another leader have a chance at Congress presidency, veteran leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday officially quit the party and filed Rajya Sabha nomination as an Independent candidate with the backing of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. “I want to be an independent voice in the Rajya Sabha 5TH MAJOR EXIT OF YEAR ■ Kapil Sibal is the fifth high-profile exit from the Congress this year ■ Punjab Congress ex-chief Sunil Jakhar joined the BJP on May 19 ■ Hardik Patel, former Gujarat Congress working president, resigned from party on May 18 ■ Former Union Ministers RPN Kapil Sibal files his papers for the Singh and Ashwani Kumar quit Rajya Sabha seat in Lucknow. PTI in Jan and Feb, respectively and work to bring anti-BJP forces together ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” declared Sibal, a prominent minister in the erstwhile Congress-led UPA govern- Ousted Punjab minister acted via his ‘group of 4’ GCMholdsMajGen guilty of indecent conduct with girls Vishav Bharti Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 The ousted Health Minister, Dr Vijay Singla, functioned through a “group of four”, comprising his nephew, a dentist friend and two acquaintances from Mansa. A senior Health Department official said three of them held no official position, yet they were passing directions on behalf of Singla. They were identified as Pradeep Bansal, son of Singla’s cousin sister; Vishal, alias Lavi, a pesticide dealer, and Jogesh Kumar, a brick- DELEGATED WORK ■ Vijay Singla allegedly involved four aides in official work ■ The four apparently were Pradeep Bansal, Vishal, Jogesh Kumar, Dr Girish Garg ■ Pradeep dealt with suppliers and construction contractors ■ Jogesh and Vishal took care of transfers of health officials ■ Dr Garg handled fiscal issues Singla’s house searched, bank details procured kiln owner, both of Mansa. The fourth, Dr Girish Garg, is a dentist presently working continued on page 9 To save Aravallis, safari on the cards New Delhi, May 25 The Centre and Haryana Government’s efforts to restore the Aravalli hills appear to be moving forward. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar today discussed the modalities of the ambitious Aravalli Safari Park Project and the efforts to replenish the rich ecosystem of the mountain range. “In today’s meeting, we moved a step closer towards its (Aravallis’) restoration and TO COME UP OVER 10,000 ACRES IN HARYANA ■ Aravallis marred by illegal construction and mining due to proximity to urban clusters ■ Safari project aims at reinstating loss of wildlife habitat ■ Will spread over 10,000 acres in Gurugram and Nuh starting a safari in the region,” Yadav said. Khattar said the site had been identified and top firms would be invited to design the safari. The project has a huge potential to generate employment avenues for locals, officials said. It mostly comprises the stretch along the Sohna Road towards Nuh beyond Bhondsi village. — TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 A General Court Martial (GCM) has held a Major General guilty of inappropriate conduct with girl cadets of the National Cadet Corps and awarded him 10-year forfeiture of service for the purpose of pension and a severe reprimand. He had been accused of sending inappropriate messages and videos to girl cadets as well as financial misappropriation. According to sources, the officer had faced 13 charges and was continued on page 9 In mega expansion, HPCC gets over 60 new office-bearers Shimla, May 25 The Congress central leadership today appointed three senior vice-presidents, six vice-presidents, 13 general secretaries and 41 secretaries of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC). The Congress president also approved proposal for appointment of additional office-bearers, members of executive committee, senior spokespersons and a spokesperson. INSIDE Chess champ at night, schoolboy next morning Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 Guess what the important assignment was that awaited Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa merely hours after he beat world No. 10 Anish Giri in the semifinals of the Chessable Masters tournament? Well, it was just an internal exam in his Chennai school. In the wee hours of Wednesday, Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian two teachers and 19 children. “Just goes to show you the complete evil from this shooter,” Olivarez said, just 10 days after 10 persons were killed in a mass shooting in New York. All victims have been identified and their families have been notified, the lieutenant said. Multiple children were wounded inside the classroom, according to Olivarez, but there is no exact number as to how many at this time. “It’s a small classroom, you can have anywhere from 25 to 30 students continued on page 9 edit: texas bloodbath DEFEATS WORLD NO. 10 R Praggnanandhaa is the first Indian player to reach the final of the Champions Chess Tour’s Chessable Masters tournament (being played online). He registered a breathtaking 3.52.5 win over world No. 10 Anish Giri of the Netherlands. player to reach the final of the Champions Chess Tour’s Chessable Masters tournament, being played online, after registering a breathtak- ing 3.5-2.5 win over Anish Giri of the Netherlands. The four-game rapid format match had ended 2-2 in regulation time, following which a two-game tie-breaker was played in the blitz format, which Praggnanandhaa won 1.5-0.5. The match had started on Tuesday night IST but spilled over to Wednesday. After winning the tense match, the 16-yearold Praggnanandhaa, a Class XI student, said, “I have to be at school around 8.45 am, and now it is 2 am! I’ll try not to sleep during my internal exam.” Praggnanandhaa, currently ranked No. 108 in continued on page 9 ment and more recently a member of the G-23 group that rooted for reforms in the party to make it battle-ready. Sibal (74) said he had resigned from the Congress on May 16, the day the party’s Udaipur conclave concluded. He, however, refrained from attacking the parent party today. “All Congress leaders are like my family. I had a duty to speak so long as I was in the party, but now I have moved on. I am not far away continued on page 9 Separatist Yasin Malik gets life in jail for terror funding Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 25 A special NIA court today awarded life imprisonment to Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik in a 2017 terror funding case even as the probe agency had sought death penalty for him. The court of Special Judge Praveen Singh also awarded varying jail terms for various offences under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It also imposed a fine of over Rs 10 lakh on Malik. The life term was awarded for two offences — Section 121 (waging a war against the Government of India) of the IPC and Section 17 (raising funds for terrorist act) of the UAPA. All sentences will run concurrently. The Special Judge had, on May 19, convicted Malik and directed the NIA to assess his financial situation to determine the amount of fine to be imposed. Earlier in the day, Malik, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was brought to the courtroom amid heavy security. Malik told the court that ever since he “renounced” vio- Yasin Malik at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi. MANAS RANJAN BHUI CONVICTED IN 2017 CASE ■ A conspiracy was hatched by Pak-based outfits and others to raise funds for terror ■ Aim was to cause disruption in Valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, burning schools and other property THE PENDING CASES 1989: Abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 1990: Attack by JKLF ultras on IAF personnel in Srinagar that left four dead, several injured COP, CIVILIAN, 3 ULTRAS KILLED IN VALLEY Terrorists shot dead a woman in J&K’s Budgam while a cop and three militants were killed in an encounter in Baramulla. INSIDE lence, he had “followed the principles of Mahatma Gandhi”. He also said he had met seven Prime Ministers of India and challenged that no intelligence agency would be able to prove that he was wanted in any terror activity after 1994, when he gave up arms. As per the NIA chargesheet, Malik was responsible for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. On May 10, Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him, including Sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and Sections 120-B continued on page 9