02062022-TT-05.qxd 6/1/2022 11:07 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO.151 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH WEST ADDING FUEL TO FIRE: MOSCOW OVER ARMS SUPPLY TO KYIV WORLD /thetribunechd ~1.41 LAKH CR GST COLLECTED IN MAY, UP 44% YOY BUSINESS BJP MAKES UNION NADAL BEATS DJOKOVIC, MINISTERS IN-CHARGE ENTERS FRENCH OPEN FOR RS POLL BACK PAGE SEMIFINAL SPORT thursday | 2 june 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ED summons Sonia, Rahul in money laundering case; Cong cries vendetta Tribune News Service WON’T BEND OR BUCKLE Cong will not retreat, formed shell company Young won’t bend... It’s prevalent Indian to illegally acquire Nationacross India... still alive in al Herald assets worth ~2,000 cr every village. Priyanka Gandhi, CONG ■ The assets belonged to AJL, a firm set up by ex-PM Nehru in BREACH OF TRUST 1938 to publish National Herald ■ Swamy alleges the newspaper Sonia and Rahul shut in 2008 after a Rs 90.25 cr Gandhi maliciously acquired Congress loan failed to revive it assets of AJL. It is a case of ■ In 2010, YI was formed with cheating and breach of mere ~50 lakh capital, but with rights to recover ~90.25 cr debt Sonia Gandhi has been summoned for June 8, Rahul for June 2. FILE trust. Subramanian Swamy, BJP IN 2015, ED DIRECTOR WAS SHIFTED AFTER HE SHUT CASE DUE TO ‘LACK OF EVIDENCE’ NATIONAL HERALD ROW Family members and relatives of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala immerse his ashes in the Sutlej at Kiratpur Sahib in Ropar on Wednesday. A TRIBUNE PHOTO Cops begin process to bring Bishnoi to Punjab; SIT recast Tribune News Service RECCE BEFORE ATTACK Bathinda, June 1 After failing to make any major breakthrough in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, Director General of Police (DGP) VK Bhawra today strengthened and reconstituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. The SIT, which will work under the overall supervision of ADGP Anti-Gangster Task , Force (AGTF), Pramod Ban, will have three new members. IGP (Punjab Armed Police) Jaskaran Singh will be its chairman and AIG (AGTF) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan and Mansa SSP Gaurav Too- Toyota Corolla car used in the crime seen multiple times in CCTV footage three days before the murder of Moosewala: Cops ra will be the other two new members. SP (Investigation), Mansa, Dharamveer Singh, DSP (Investigation), Bathinda, Vishawajeet Singh and Incharge of CIA Staff, Mansa, Prithipal Singh are its existing members. On completion of the investigation, a report shall be submitted in the court of competent jurisdiction, the new DGP order said. Addressing mediapersons, the Mansa continued on page 11 Gangster moves HC, fears fake encounter Chandigarh, June 1 Alleged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking, among other things, directions to the State of Punjab and other respondents to question him through online mode/video conference facility or within the precincts of Tihar Jail in Delhi. His protection petition, expressing apprehension of elimination in a staged encounter by adopting extrajudicial means, is scheduled to come up for hearing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday. — TNS ASIA CUP INDIA BEAT JAPAN 1-0, CLINCH BRONZE ■ The young Indian men’s hockey team beat Japan 1-0 to clinch a bronze medal ■ The field goal was scored by Raj Kumar Pal in the 7th minute of the game ■ Doing all the hardwork on the right flank, Uttam Singh set it up for Raj Kumar, who pushed the ball past the goalkeeper REPORT INSIDE IN BRIEF Armed men ‘loot’ PRTC bus conductor, cops deny LUDHIANA: Three unidentified men allegedly looted cash at gunpoint from a PRTC bus conductor near Ladhowal toll plaza in Ludhiana on Wednesday even as the police denied the claim. INSIDE Bank staffer shot dead outside Amritsar college AMRITSAR: A private bank employee was shot dead and his friend seri- ously injured after a scuffle broke out between two groups of students outside Khalsa College here on Wednesday, the police said. INSIDE Include Muslims in caste census: Minister Giriraj KATIHAR (BIHAR): Union Minister Giriraj Singh said on Wednesday that the proposed caste census in Bihar must include Muslims as they “took advantage of reservations for backward classes”. PTI India cautions over misuse of biological weapons UNITED NATIONS: India has cautioned over the “heightened” threat of misuse of biological agents and chemicals as weapons of mass sestruction against the backdrop of the Covid pandemic. INSIDE New Delhi, June 1 The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case linked to a 2012 private complaint filed by BJP’s Subramanian Swamy in a Delhi court. Terming the summons as “political vendetta meant to divert attention from pressing national issues”, the Congress said Sonia would appear before the ED as summoned on June 8. Rahul, summoned for Thursday, has sought extension for any day after June 5, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala said, calling the development a “cowardly conspiracy”. He said the “entire party would stand by ❝ ■ Swamy alleges that Gandhis ❝ ■ Nov 2012: Swamy files pri- vate complaint in Delhi court ■ June 2014: Sonia, Rahul summoned as accused ■ Aug 2014: The Delhi High Court stays proceedings; ED the Gandhis, fight and win this attack on the country’s democracy”. The matter that the Con- initiates a preliminary probe ■ Aug 2015: ED decides to close case due to lack of substantive evidence; ED Director Rajan Katoch shifted gress described as “a weird case of money laundering in which no money was involved” relates to Swamy’s Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 1 Castigated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court more than two year ago for delay in the trial of drugs and liquor cases following inordinate wait for chemical examination reports of the seized samples, the Punjab Government has finally increased its testing capacity. Among other things, 10 chemical analysts have been recruited after the posts were advertised by the Punjab Public Service Commission. An affidavit placed before Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan’s Bench added that nine more candidates, including five medical laboratory technicians, had also joined at Chemical Examiner Laboratory, Kharar. Taking a note of the enhanced testing capabilities, Justice Sangwan expressed hope that eventual reduction in the pendency of reports would lead to quick disposal of drug cases. “Since it is noticed that a huge number of samples are pending and on joining of 10 chemical analysts, as per the Srinagar, June 1 Nearly 175 Hindu families have fled Kashmir in a day as panic gripped employees from the minority communities after a woman Dalit teacher was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir on Tuesday. Employees belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Kashmir joined the Kashmiri Pandits’ protests, seeking relocation to Jammu. Militants on Tuesday shot dead Rajni Bala, 36, in her school in Kulgam district, making it the seventh case of targeted killing in the Valley last month. Avtar Krishan Bhat, a teacher in a government school in Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News Service 85 CANDIDATES HELD ■ As many as 121 persons arrested in the case so far ■ Those arrested include 85 candidates, 33 agents ■ Parents of three candidates land behind bars too also questioned the IG, chairman of the recruitment committee and members of the ONE-YEAR WAIT IN SOME CASES ■ Chemical laboratories are involved in testing drugs, liquor and other samples ■ A year’s wait for the report is not uncommon ■ A challan or final probe report submitted without FSL report direction of the court, it is accepted that the testing capacity will increase and it allegations that the Gandhis formed a shell company called Young Indian to illegally acquire assets of Samaan Lateef Hindu families resort to road blockade in Samba area of Jammu on Wednesday, a day after a teacher was shot by militants; and (inset) the victim’s mother-in-law. TRIBUNE PHOTOS CHECKPOINTS TO STOP KP EMPLOYEES I SHAH TO REVIEW SITUATION TOMORROW Baramulla, said: “We have 350 families of migrant employees in Baramulla and 50 per cent of them left for Jammu since Tuesday.” “We have kept trucks on standby because we may have to leave anytime. The targeted killings have shocked us and we want the government to relocate us immediately,” Bhat told The Tribune. Meanwhile, the J&K administration has decided to post all 4,500 Kashmiri Pandit employees working under paper-setting panel. Three coaching centres are under the lens for sharing phone numbers of candidates with the agents in the recruitment scam. These centres (one in Haryana and two in Himachal) were allegedly charging huge money by guaranteeing success to job aspirants who had cleared their physical test. A number of other coaching centres are also likely to come under the purview of the probe by the special continued on page 11 is considered incomplete ■ An accused, in absence of timely submission of challan, can seek default bail ■ Criminal trials in drugs, liquor and other cases are delayed due to long wait for reports will reduce the pendency of the reports and ensure quick disposal of drug cases,” Jus- tice Sangwan asserted. For testing the veracity of the claims, Justice Sangwan at the same time kept the matter pending. It will now come up for further hearing in the second week of November for the State of Punjab to file a fresh status report “showing the actual increase in testing capacity”. The improvement in the sample testing capacity assumes significance as a year’s wait for the report in some cases is not uncommon. “It is a matter of fact that the trials before the courts, either the Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Package (PMRP) at secured locations by June 6. “All employees from the minority communities posted in Kashmir will be posted continued on page 11 edit: kashmir killings ■ May 2017: HC allows I-T Dept to start probe against Gandhis ■ April 2022: ED questions Kharge, Pawan Bansal ■ June 1, 2022: ED issues summons to Sonia, Rahul National Herald newspaper worth Rs 2,000 crore. The assets belong to Associated continued on page 11 Lakhimpur Kheri Armed miscreants attack witness Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), June 1 BKU leader Dilbag Singh, a witness in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, was allegedly attacked by two unidentified men here, the police said on Wednesday. The attack took place last night when the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) district president was returning home via the Aliganj-Muda road in Gola kotwali area in his SUV and the bike-borne miscreants opened fire on him. Dilbag, however, escaped without any injury. He is among the witnesses in the Tikunia violence of October 3, 2021, in which eight persons, including four farmers continued on page 11 RS poll: 2 seats, 3 in fray from Haryana, stakes high for Hooda, Venod Geetanjali Gayatri & Bhartesh Singh Thakur KK DIED OF CARDIAC ARREST Kolkata: Preliminary findings of the post-mortem conducted on Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath (KK), who died after a live concert here on Tuesday, indicate cardiac arrest, said a senior police officer. “There was no foul play,” he added. The last rites will be performed here on Thursday. OBIT: BACK PAGE Rapped for delay in FSL reports, Punjab raises testing capacity Saurabh Malik Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey appear in Delhi court, get bail ■ Feb 2016: SC refuses to quash proceedings KPs to be shifted to safety as families flee Himachal SIT grills IG, two SPs who had access to leaked question paper Shimla, June 1 Four Himachal Pradesh Police officers, including an IG and two SPs who had access to the final print of the constable recruitment question paper before it reached respective districts, have been questioned by the SIT. The SPs who had access to the final draft were members of the paper-printing committee. The special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the paper leak case ■ Dec 2015: Sonia, Rahul, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act or the Excise Act, are delayed on account of the long wait for forensic science laboratory (FSL) reports. In some cases, it takes about a year to receive the report from the FSL,” Justice Sangwan had asserted. A challan or the final investigation report submitted without the forensic report is not accepted as complete charge-sheet in drugs and some other cases. As a result, an accused can seek default bail in the absence of timely continued on page 11 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 1 In a high-stakes battle for one of the two seats of the Rajya Sabha and amid speculations of Congress MLAs being moved to a "safe place" outside Haryana to rule out horse-trading before the polling on June 10, the party's state leadership has called a meeting in Delhi tomorrow. Sources said the MLAs could be moved to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, though nothing about "further movement" had been conveyed to them so far. "As of now, the message is to reach Delhi on Thursday. Nothing more has been conveyed," a Congress MLA said. Asked if they are taking luggage along, another MLA said, "There is no such message so far. However, all MLAs have been called to Delhi by Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his residence. We don't know anything beyond that." A senior MLA, however, claimed all party MLAs could be moved to Raipur since the party didn't want to leave KEEN CONTEST ■ The BJP appears to be all set to win one RS seat easily ■ For the second seat, the contest is likely between Cong’s Ajay Maken and Independent candidate Kartikeya ■ Maken’s win is seen linked to BS Hooda’s prestige, while Kartikeya is son of Haryana Jan Chetna Party leader Venod Sharma anything to chance. With three candidates in the fray for two RS seats, stakes are particularly high for Hooda and Haryana Jan Chetna Party (V) leader Venod Sharma, while the BJP is all set for an easy win. Sources in the Congress said party nominee Ajay Maken should have no trouble winning since his win was directly linked to Hooda's prestige. "Hooda has been reiterating that the party will win this election because Maken's win is equally important for him. This is the first test for Hooda since the party high command gave in to his demand of replacing the state chief continued on page 11