01082022-TTB-01.qxd 7/31/2022 11:36 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO. 211 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA SUNAK RAMPS UP CAMPAIGN, SAYS RACISM NO ISSUE WORLD /thetribunechd ROAD BLOCKADES DAMPEN SPIRITS OF PILGRIMS J&K CROP-SPECIFIC MODEL CAN BE GAINFUL INFOCUS CITIZENS MUST BE MADE AWARE OF RIGHTS: CJI BACK PAGE monday | 1 august 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ED raids Sena MP Raut’s Mumbai residence, he alleges it’s a frameup JEREMY LALRINNUNGA GOLD WEIGHTLIFTING: 67KG BIDYARANI DEVI SILVER WEIGHTLIFTING: 55KG Uddhav calls it conspiracy to finish off party WON’T QUIT PARTY False action, false evidence but won’t bow down. I will never leave Shiv Sena. I swear by Balasaheb Thackeray that I am not involved in any scam. Sanjay Raut, MP ❝ Tribune News Service T20 INDIA BEAT PAK New Delhi, July 31 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the alleged ‘Patra chawl’ land deal scam today conducted searches at Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s residence at suburban Bhandup in Mumbai for nine hours and questioned him before shifting ■ 8-wicket win boosts India’s chances of semifinal berth ■ Pakistan bowled out for just 99 runs in 18 overs ■ Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav take two wickets each ■ Smriti Mandhana (63 off 42) helps India chase a target of 100 runs in 11.4 overs Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut being taken to the ED office in Mumbai. PTI him to the agency’s office in the evening, officials said. Before being taken to the ED’s south Mumbai office, ~10 cr lure for J’khand MLAs to topple govt: Cong New Delhi, July 31 In fresh trouble for the JMMled ruling combine in Jharkhand, the Congress today suspended three of its MLAs arrested by the West Bengal Police on Saturday for allegedly carrying Rs 49 lakh in their SUV while travelling through Howrah and being unable to explain the source. The Howrah district court today remanded the three in 10-day police custody. A zero CASH PILES: FIR FILED ■ Cong suspends 3 MLAs found with piles of cash in Bengal; FIR filed in Jharkhand ■ Alleges they attempted to lure other MLAs with ~10 cr each ■ BJP strikes back, saying ‘don’t blame us for your ills’ << Cash found in a car in Howrah. PTI FIR was also lodged against the MLAs in Ranchi under the Prevention of Corruption Act after Congress legislator Kumar Jaimangal alleged they had offered Rs 10 crore each and ministerial berths as inducements “for the fall of the JMM-Congress-RJD govern- ment in the state”, a charge BJP leaders Syed Zafar Islam and Babulal Marandi was outrightly rejected. “Congress president Sonia Gandhi has suspended the three MLAs found with the money. These MLAs were complicit in trying to mislead other party leaders in weakening the party in the state. In the coming days, anyone found involved in continued on page 9 Raut claimed he was being “framed based on false evidence, but he won’t bow down or quit the party”. ED action on Raut reflection of BJP’s vendetta politics: TMC “They (ED) are going to arrest me. I am going to be arrested,” Raut told mediapersons outside the ED office. IN BRIEF Arora new Delhi Police Commissioner NEW DELHI: Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS offi- cer who headed the ITBP, was appointed as the Delhi Police commissioner on Sunday. TNS Over 54 lakh I-T returns filed on last day NEW DELHI: Over 54 lakh income tax returns were filed on the last day of filing ITR for 2021-22 fiscal by salaried individuals. Till July 30, more than 5.10 crore tax returns had been filed. BACK PAGE AAP councillor shot dead in Malerkotla SANGRUR: Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot AAP councillor Mohammad Akbar in Malerkotla. The leader was at a gym when the incident took place. Raids were on to nab accused, police said. TNS Crime against SCs & STs on the rise, Charles’ charity got money from bin Laden’s kin MET AL-QAIDA CHIEF’S HALF BROTHER IN LONDON: REPORT UP, MP report maximum cases Mukesh Ranjan Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 31 The cases of crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs) rose from 42,793 in 2018 to more than 52,291 in 2020 — an increase of 17.5 per cent in three years. As for cases of crime against Scheduled Tribes (STs), the number rose from 6,528 to 8,272 in the same period — a rise of 26.71 per cent. This has been revealed in the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data, which was presented in Parliament by Minister of State (MoS) for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra. The maximum cases of offence against the two communities were registered in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. According to the NCRB, as of 2020, chargesheets were filed in 39,075 of the 50,202 cases of crime against SCs, while investigation in 19,696 cases was pending. Similarly, chargesheets were filed in 6 arrested for threat calls to Haryana MLAs Our Correspondent Gurugram, July 31 The Haryana STF has busted a six-member gang that was allegedly issuing threats to MLAs to extort money. Four MLAs from the state had approached the police, complaining about threat calls. They had allegedly received death threats and extortion calls from multiple phone numbers, traced to countries in West Asia. The callers had identified themselves as members of the Neeraj Bawana and Vicky Gill gangs. IGP (STF) Satheesh Balan said they continued on page 9 FIRs RELATED TO CRIME AGAINST SCs UP 17.5% | 26% IN CASE OF STs SCHEDULED CASTES STATE CASES (2020) Uttar Pradesh 12,714 Bihar 7,368 Rajasthan 7,017 Madhya Pradesh 6,899 Maharashtra 2,569 SCHEDULED TRIBES STATE CASES (2020) Madhya Pradesh 2,401 Rajasthan 1,878 Maharashtra 663 Odisha 624 Telangana 573 6,477 of the 8,268 cases of crime against STs in 2020, while the investigation was pending in 3,341 cases. Among the states, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases of crime against SCs between 2018 and 2020. In 2018, the state saw 11,924 cases. The num- ber dipped slightly to 11,829 in 2019 and it rose to 12,714 (25.2%) in 2020. Uttar Pradesh was followed by Bihar (7,368 cases in 2020), Rajasthan (7,017), Madhya Pradesh (6,899) and Maharashtra (2,569). Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of cases of crime against STs between 2018 and 2020. In all, 1,868 cases were lodged in 2018. The number rose to 1,922 in 2019 and to 2,401 (29%) in 2020. Madhya Pradesh was followed by Rajasthan (1,878), Maharashtra (663), Odisha (624) and Telangana (573), the data revealed. Identifying the atrocityprone areas in different parts of the country, the MoS (Home), in his submission, said: “There are 13 states and UTs, which saw an increase in the number of crime against SCs and STs.” In Tamil Nadu, 37 out of total 38 districts are identified as “atrocity-prone” areas. London, July 31 A charitable fund founded by Britain’s Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, accepted a donation from slain Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s family in 2013, a UK media report claimed on Sunday. According to The Sunday Times, Prince Charles met Al-Qaida founder’s halfbrother Bakr in London and ‘agreed’to accept £1 million. The report claims that several of the senior royal’s closest advisers urged Charles – ■ Report in The Sunday Times claims Prince Charles met Al-Qaida founder’s half-brother Bakr in London and ‘agreed’ to accept £1 mn ■ Several advisers urged Charles to return the money ■ But Clarence House office denied the royal was personally involved in decision heir to Britain’s throne – to return the money. However, his Clarence House office has denied that the royal was personally involved in the decision. “The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund (PWCF) has assured us that New Delhi, July 31 After a near washout of House proceedings for two weeks, the Lok Sabha will have a debate on price rise tomorrow. According to the list of business, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut and Congress’ Manish Tewari will raise a discussion on price rise under Rule 193. Since the beginning of the session on July 18, the Opposition in both Houses has been raising the issue of rising prices and GST. The proceedings on last Thursday and Friday were washed out due to the “Rashtrapatni” remark of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and the subsequent face-off between party president Sonia Gandhi and Union Minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha chamber. On Friday, Chowdhury apologised to President Droupadi Murmu for his remark. — TNS Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service FIGHT FOR MSP: Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union seeking legal guarantee for MSP block a rail track in Rajpura, Patiala district, on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAJESH SACHAR Ravi Dhaliwal WATER ENTERS HOSPITALS Tribune News Service ■ Majority of Pathankot’s 50 wards inundated ■ Water enters shops, hous- es, malls, hospitals ■ Crops, poplar trees, fodder washed away The gushing floodwaters at the International Border. TRIBUNE PHOTO 2 KIDS AMONG 3 DEAD IN KATHUA FLASH FLOODS Jammu: Three persons, including two children, died while two went missing due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Kathua district of the Jammu region on Sunday. INSIDE shops, houses, malls and hospitals. The situation was particularly grim in ward number 20. While Deputy Commissioner Harbir Singh and a though due diligence was undertaken in accepting this donation,” a Clarence House spokesperson said. “The decision to accept was taken by the charity’s trustees alone and any attempt to characterise it otherwise is false,” the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund said the donation from Sheik Bakr bin Laden in 2013 was carefully considered by PWCF trustees at the time. — PTI Debate on price rise in LS today LPU under scanner for panchayat land ‘grab’ Ravi in spate, Army, BSF on standby in Punjab’s border villages Gurdaspur/Pathankot, July 31 The Army and the BSF were asked to be on standby as the Ravi and Ujh rivers overflowed in the twin border districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur on Sunday, leading to floods in the border belt as well as Pathankot city. Services at the Pathankot Civil Hospital were severely hit. Schools and deras along the IB were vacated in the morning and announcements made from gurdwaras to warn the villagers of the impending danger. At 6 am, a light drizzle that greeted morning walkers soon turned into torrential rain. Within an hour, an alert was sounded as waters entered “‘Zukega nahi’ (won’t bow down),” Raut said, putting up a brave front. He alleged that the ED action was aimed at trying to weaken the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra and that a “false” case was prepared against him. Talking to reporters outside the agency’s office, Raut’s lawyer Vikrant Sabne said, “The ED issued fresh summons to Sanjay Raut today morning. On that basis, he came to the ED office to record his statement. He has neither been continued on page 9 team of senior officers camped in the ward throughout the day, SSP Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh supervised operations at Bamiyal village. Locals blamed the BRIDGE IN PALAMPUR DAMAGED AFTER RAIN Palampur: A steel cable suspension bridge over the Neugal river near Palampur was damaged due to heavy rain. MC authorities for waterlogging, claiming the drains had not been cleaned. Mayor Panna Lal Bhatia denied the allegation, urging his rivals not to “politicise” the matter. Agriculture expert Dilbagh Singh Lally Cheema said paddy and maize crops, poplar trees and fodder had been washed away. In Pathankot, the Civil Hospital was flooded. Essential services took a hit as the authorities grappled with the problem of draining out water. Pankaj Kumar, SDO, said a portion of the rail track near “Bajri” company had been eroded. “The administration has sent as SOS to the Railways,” he added. A disaster management plan mentioning “vulnerable” villages, prepared a few years ago, came in handy for the Gurdaspur and Pathankot administrations. These villages were forewarned about the looming danger. Chandigarh, July 31 Lovely Professional University (LPU), owned by an Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member, is under the scanner for allegedly grabbing panchayat land. However, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats is “going slow” on getting the land vacated. As per documents available with The Tribune, the issue was first raised at a meeting on June 3, which was chaired by Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Kuldeep Dhaliwal. The minister had even instructed the officials concerned to immediately get the panchayat land vacated from the possession of the LPU. However, officials of the department in Jalandhar and Kapurthala allegedly started dragging their feet on the issue and failed to take any action to take possession of the panchayat land. Taking note of the situation now, the Chandigarh based anti-encroachment cell of the department has asked for an action-taken report from the District Development and Panchayat Officer, Jalandhar. The DDPO, Jalandhar, Gur- Rural Development Dept ‘going slow’ on getting it vacated VARSITY’S DENIAL The panchayat land is in the possession of a gurdwara at Hardaspur. It was a clerical mistake that the name of the LPU was mentioned. ❝ Aman Mittal, VICE-PRESIDENT, LPU preet Singh, said they had examined the ground situation and the land concerned falls in Kapurthala district. The DDPO, Kapurthala, Harjinder Singh Sandhu, said he had instructed his development and panchayat officer to check the situation on the ground, who informed that a part of panchayat land belonging Hardaspur village was in the possession of the LPU. He said he had asked the village panchayat to file a case against the illegal possession. Minister Dhaliwal did not take calls despite repeated attempts. All attempts to contact LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal remained futile as his phone was switched off. continued on page 9