29122022-TTC-01.qxd 12/29/2022 12:49 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 6 NO. 359 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ALARMING: UNSC SLAMS AF CURBS ON WOMEN WORLD /thetribunechd SHEELA FOAM TO ACQUIRE KURLON FOR ~2,000 CR BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT AGAIN ON NEED FOR VEHICLE SCANNERS J&K RUSSIAN MP PAVEL DIED OF ‘INTERNAL INJURIES’ AFTER FALL BACK PAGE thursday | 29 december 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 4 heavily armed ultras travelling in truck killed in Jammu encounter Vehicle intercepted on Srinagar highway |Intense firing for 45 minutes Arjun Sharma Jammu, December 28 Four heavily armed terrorists hiding in a truck covered with straw were eliminated by security forces in an early morning “chance encounter” near Jammu and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered. The encounter broke out around 7.25 am when a team of the police and Army, already on high alert due to Republic Day, tried to stop a 12-wheel truck at the Sidhra intersection near Tawi Bridge on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The Sidhra intersection has one road leading to Kashmir and the other to the old Jammu city areas. As soon as the security forces stopped the truck and asked the driver to come out, he escaped on the pretext of attending the call of nature. When security personnel began to search the truck, ultras hiding with AK rifles started firing and an encounter ensued. Both the police and Army sent reinforcements, including Para SF commandos along with their dog squad, to eliminate the terrorists. The intense firing between the two sides lasted for over 45 minutes. Senior Army and police officials, including Tribune News Service ‘CHANCE ENCOUNTER’ IN MORNING ■ Gunfight takes place around ■ Truck driver escapes on pre- 7.30 am amid intense fog near Tawi Bridge on JammuSrinagar highway ■ Police get suspicious on noticing a truck heading towards Kashmir, as most trucks come around noon text of attending call of nature ■ On searching truck, forces come under heavy fire from militants hiding in straw-laden truck ■ An encounter results during which truck catches fire, and the terrorists get killed AMMUNITION RECOVERED ■ Seven AK-47 rifles, 3 pistols and one M4 rifle recovered as the encounter ended ■ 14 grenades, bullets, AK magazines, chocolates, biscuits, nutrition drinks, medicines and ~50,000 in 500 denomination of Indian currency notes also recovered ADGP Mukesh Singh and Jammu SSP Chandan Kohli, reached the encounter site and coordinated the operation. Mukesh Singh said, “Trucks generally come in the area around noon, but this truck came early in the morning, trig- DISMANTLE ECOSYSTEM THAT ABETS TERROR: SHAH Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meet with MHA and J&K officials to discuss security situation in UT. Officials said Shah reviewed steps taken to deal with Pak-backed terrorists. Shah asked officials to completely dismantle the terror ecosystem, comprising elements that aid, abet and sustain the terrorist-separatist campaign. INSIDE gering suspicion. A search operation has been launched to apprehend the driver.” Due to continued on page 9 Drone incursions on Punjab border up 4 times in a year COLD Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service FROZEN DAL LAKE: Women walk on a bridge over partially frozen waters of Dal Lake in Srinagar. PTI BATHINDA SHIVERS AT 1°C | AMRITSAR 2.8°C parts of Punjab and Haryana, reducing visibility ■ In Punjab, Bathinda shivered at 1°C, Amritsar 2.8°C and Faridkot 3.5°C; in Haryana, Narnaul was coldest at 4°C ■ Fourteen trains to Delhi were reported running late due to dense to very dense fog in other areas CITY FARIDKOT NARNAUL HISAR GURDASPUR LUDHIANA KARNAL PATIALA PATHANKOT MIN TEMP 3.5° C 4° C 4.3° C 4.7° C 6.4° C 6.7° C 6.8° C 7.1° C CROPS HIT IN KANGRA Farmers in the lower belts of Himachal’s Kangra district are a worried lot as the prolonged dry spell has started affecting their rabi crops such as wheat, barley and mustard. Citrus fruit growers are also fearing damage to their crops. Wheat is sown on 92,000 hectares in Kangra. Chandigarh, December 28 The Punjab frontier remained the most active sector in 2022 among the four states that share the International Border with Pakistan, with a nearly four-fold rise in hostile drone activity being reported. The spike has prompted the BSF to initiate counter measures such as setting up of a special centre to train personnel in dealing with the threat from drones, establishing operational protocols and upgrading technical capability. From January 1 to December 28, there have been 254 drone activities in Punjab compared to 67 in 2021, said sources in the BSF . This includes 221 activities detected inside Indian territory and 22 inside Pakistan. The activity in Punjab accounts for about 84 per cent continued on page 9 ‘Wrong’ info, Speaker wants staff punished GLARING MISMATCH ■ INLD’s Abhay Chautala, HARYANA SESSION Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 28 Haryana Government officials responsible for providing halfbaked or incomplete information in the Vidhan Sabha during the three-day winter session that concluded today will have to face the music as a number of MLAs have complained about such instances of “misinformation”. In one such case of “wrong information that caused embarrassment” to Education Minister Kanwarpal Guj- New Delhi, December 28 Uzbekistan is probing the death of 18 children with the health ministry of the country allegedly linking the mortality to excessive doses of cough syrup Doc-1 Max, manufactured by Marion Biotech, a Noida-based pharmaceutical company. The Uzbekistan ministry, in a statement, said the deceased children consumed large amounts of the cough Aditi Tandon Security personnel during an encounter with terrorists near Tawi Bridge at the Sidhra area in Jammu. PTI JJP’s Naina Chautala and Congress’ Neeraj Sharma have alleged furnishing of wrong information ■ Chautala sought details on deaths due to spurious liquor ■ Naina put up a query on the shortage of teachers in her home constituency Badhra GIAN CHAND GUPTA ■ Sharma raised a question on the number of deaths due to sewer cleaning, open drains and damaged roads TWO OF EDUCATION DEPT SUSPENDED jar, the School Education Department suspended an assistant and deputy superintendent while another assistant and assistant director may be issued a chargesheet. The action follows directions by Speaker Gian Chand Gupta to ministers to act against “erring” officials. Replying to a question raised by JJP MLA Naina Chautala on the shortage of teachers in her home constituency Badhra (Bhi- wani) in general and eight schools in particular, Gujjar gave a detailed reply in the House. Disagreeing with him, Naina said there was only a principal at the school in Hansawas Kalan while others posts were vacant. “I visited the school, there are no teachers. The entire academic year of the students will be wasted. A few days ago, the villagers even staged a protest and locked the school gate. This information is wrong,” she insisted even as the minister tried to convince her that “his report had come from the field”. Naina dug in her heels, prompting the Speaker to direct the continued on page 9 IN BRIEF Says contained unacceptable levels of ethylene glycol syrup and alleged that the drug contained unacceptable levels of ethylene glycol, a toxic contaminant. Uzbekistan said tablets and syrups of Doc-1 Max had been withdrawn from sales across pharmacies in the country. These claims come close on the heels of a Gambian parliamentary committee blaming Sonepat-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited for exporting contaminated cough syrups, allegedly linked to the death of at least 70 children in the country. The Indian drug regulator has maintained that no contaminants were found in the control samples of the drugs in question which were taken from Maiden Pharma premises before the firm was closed down for violating manufacturing practices. continued on page 9 India isolates BF.7, studies begin BITING ■ Thick blanket of fog enveloped Uzbekistan links death of 18 kids to cough syrup made in Noida New Delhi, December 28 In a major breakthrough, Indian scientists have isolated BF the subvariant of Omi.7, cron, and embarked on studies to generate evidence on the need for an additional booster. Top sources said BF current.7, ly driving the Covid-19 surge in China and some other nations, had been isolated. “Studies have started to determine how well Indian vaccines and drugs work on BF .7,” sources said, adding the government was expecting a surge and was ready continued on page 9 edit: Futility of lockdowns GOVT SAYS JANUARY ‘VERY CRITICAL MONTH’ PM Modi’s mother hospitalised, stable NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi visited his mother, who was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad on Wednesday . Her condition is stable, officials said. TNS 7 killed in stampede at ex-CM Naidu’s roadshow AMARAVATI: Seven persons died after falling into a drainage canal in Kandukur in Nellore during AP ex-CM Chandrababu Naidu’s roadshow. BACK PAGE -VE REPORT FOR CHINA ARRIVALS MULLED ■ The government A worker at Gurugram oxygen plant. PTI Chandigarh, 10 other cities get Jio 5G services CHANDIGARH: Reliance Jio has is expected to make negative RTPCR reports mandatory for arrivals from five Covidaffected countries and Hong Kong from next week ■ Sources said RTPCR negative reports 72 hours prior to arrival in India would be required from the next week for arrivals from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore announced launch of 5G services in 11 cities, including Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Kharar, Zirakpur & Dera Bassi. INSIDE ARSHDEEP IN ICC AWARD SHORTLIST Pacer shortlisted for ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award 6 months after debut Took 33 wickets in 21 T20Is, averaging 18.12