20032023-TTC-01.qxd 3/20/2023 12:37 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 7 NO. 77 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 PUTIN PAYS SURPRISE VISIT TO OCCUPIED MARIUPOL WORLD /thetribunechd NHRC TO DEAL WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN J&K, SC TOLD J&K LIVESTOCK SECTOR CAN BOOST DEMAND FOR MILLETS INFOCUS FIXING DOCUMENTARY TRITE AND A BIT LOW ON FACTS SPORT monday | 20 march 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Fresh case under Arms Act against Amritpal, aides; 4 flown to Dibrugarh Hunt on to nab separatist | Flag marches across Punjab | 34 more arrested, 112 in all PK Jaiswar SEIZED WEAPONS ILLEGAL Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 19 A fresh FIR has been lodged against pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh, who is still on the run, and his accomplices under the Arms Act at Khalchian police station in Amritsar even as four of his aides were flown to Dibrugarh in a joint action between the Centre, Punjab and Assam Governments. The four aides were identified as Daljeet Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Pradhanmantri Bajeka. They are likely to be kept in the high-security Dibrugarh Central Jail. A 27member Amritsar Rural police team led by SP Tejbir Singh Hundal escorted them to Assam on an IAF aircraft. The fresh FIR was lodged after the seizure of illegal arms ■ Six .12 bore rifles & 193 cartridges, all illegal, seized from 7 Amritpal’s aides arrested on Saturday ■ Police also seized licensed .315 bore rifle and .32 bore pistol with ammunition and two SUVs NET SHUT TILL NOON TODAY ■ Punjab Govt extended suspen- sion of SMS and mobile internet services till Monday noon HC NOTICE TO PUNJAB ■ Punjab & Haryana HC issues notice to Punjab on a habeas corpus plea seeking Amritpal’s ‘release’ MORE INSIDE The Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam where four aides of ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal were flown in from Punjab; and (inset) the seized arms. PTI/ANI TRICOLOUR PULLED DOWN AT INDIA’S UK MISSION, DELHI SUMMONS BRITISH DIPLOMAT BACK PAGE from seven aides of Amritpal, who were arrested from Mehatpur in Jalandhar on Saturday. Amritsar Rural SSP Satinder Separatist’s financier, his 5 guards held in Gurugram Gurugram/Hisar, March 19 The Punjab Police today arrested Punjabi film actor Daljeet Singh Kalsi, alias Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, and his five bodyguards from his residence here. Sources said Kalsi was an adviser and financier of fugitive pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh. A CCTV footage of the police arresting him went viral on social media. Kalsi was also a close aide of actor- COPS CLUELESS DAY AFTER CHASE CENTRE’S ‘WORD’ LED TO ACTION turned-activist late Deep Sidhu, who had founded the radical outfit, “Waris Punjab De”, the sources said. Meanwhile, a group of Amritpal’s supporters gathered on the Moriwala border in Sirsa district today. The police detained about 60 protesters and took them to the Police Lines in Sirsa. The police said they had put up 16 nakas in the district amid high alert on areas bordering Punjab. — TNS Singh said, “We registered a fresh FIR last night under the Arms Act in which Amritpal is the key accused. All seven aides named as accused in the FIR.” The weapons were arranged by Bathinda resident Gurbhej Singh at the behest of Amritpal. Those arrested were identified as Harminder Singh, Gurvir Singh, continued on page 9 Aditi Tandon/ Shubhadeep Choudhury CONG CRIES VENDETTA; COPS DOING DUTY: BJP Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 19 The Budget session resuming on Monday after the logjam last week appears headed for another spell of paralysis with acrimony between the Congress and BJP hitting a new low on Sunday after the Delhi Police reached Rahul Gandhi’s residence to question him over his January 30 remarks Cops at Rahul’s house in Delhi. PTI over women being sexually assaulted and raped.” Moments after a team led by Tribune News Service Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh addresses a gathering on his barsi at Mansa on Sunday. PAWAN SHARMA At singer’s barsi, father slams govt over ‘slow probe’says fightfor justice to go on , Mansa, March 19 Singer Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh and mother Charan Kaur today attacked both the Central and state governments over the “slow probe and delayed justice” in their son’s murder case. At a function to mark his first “barsi” at the new grain MOOSEWALA KILLING QUESTIONS TIMING OF CRACKDOWN ON AMRITPAL market at Mansa today, they said they would continue their fight for justice. Slamming the state gov- Cong called the police action as “the worst case of harassment & political vendetta”, while the BJP claimed the cops were doing their duty to trace “sexual assault victims” mentioned by Rahul Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda met Rahul at the ernment, Balkaur Singh questioned the timing of the crackdown on “Waris Punjab De” chief and pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh. “The police and the AAP government need to answer why they particularly chose to take action against Amritpal on Saturday? Probably it was a plan to stop the masses continued on page 9 Dharamsala, March 19 The Dharamsala Smart City project will come to an end in June. The project, which was proposed for Rs 2,109 crore when it was sanctioned for Dharamsala city in August 2015, now has been limited to just Rs 631 crore. The remaining parts of the project worth Rs 1,478 crore have been shelved. Dharamsala was selected in the first phase of cities to be developed as Smart City after PM Narendra Modi flagged off the scheme in June 25, 2015. The Commissioner of ~1,478-CR PLAN SHELVED ■ The ~2,109 crore project has now been limited to ~ 631 cr ■ The project in totality could not be executed as investors didn’t come forward the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation and MD of Dharamsala Smart City project, Anurag Chander Sharma, admitted that the Smart City Dharamsala project was going to end in June. Asked why projects worth Rs 2,109 crore planned in the project were not executed, he said many proposed projects continued on page 9 UNDERTRIAL BRANDED IN ROPAR JAIL A community-related word was branded on the back of an undertrial lodged at the Ropar jail in a case under the NDPS Act by a senior official using a hot spoon. Baljit alleged deputy jail superintendent had been harassing him ever since he objected to the torture of another inmate. A probe has been ordered. INSIDE No action against R’sthan firm for illegal mining in Haryana CRIMINAL NEXUS Tribune News Service Mahendragarh, March 19 The local police are yet to take action against a leaseholding Rajasthan firm that was booked 12 days ago for carrying out illegal mining at Dostpur village here located on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan. The illegal mining, as claimed by residents, continues in the village. The police and mining officials say it is yet to be reverified whether the mining zone falls in the limit of Haryana or not because the Rajasthan authorities claim that they are not carrying out mining in Haryana. Early in 2022, villagers had complained of illegal mining and the Deputy Commission- Islamabad, March 19 Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah has said the government plans to consult experts on initiating a process to declare Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a “proscribed” outfit. Meanwhile, the Pakistan police on Sunday registered a terrorism case against Imran Khan and several PTI leaders for indulging in vandalism, attacking security personnel and creating unrest outside the judicial complex here ahead of a court hearing in a graft case involving the ousted premier. Clashes erupted outside the Islamabad Judicial Complex on Saturday when Khan arrived in Islamabad from Lahore to attend the muchawaited hearing in the Toshakhana case. During the confrontation between PTI workers and the police, over 25 security personnel were injured, prompting Additional Dis- Police notice to MP over ‘sexual assault on women’ remark at Srinagar Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Pak mulls options to ban ex-PM’s party Cong-BJP slugfest as cops approach Rahul No investors, Dharamsala’s not-so-Smart City project Sukhmeet Bhasin Terror charge against Imran,partyleaders FIR FILED 12 DAYS AGO | POLICE SAY TURF NOT CLEAR DEMARCATION CARRIED OUT IN DEC 2022 ■ A joint committee had got the demarcation done on December 21, 2022 ■ It came to light that illegal mining was being conducted by M/s Sahaj Bharti Mines er had formed a joint committee of officials of Mining, Revenue, Forest and Police Departments for the demarcation of the area where the mining was conducted. The committee then got the demarcation done on December 21, 2022 and found that illegal mining was conducted by M/s Sahaj Bharti Mines, said sources. In the FIR registered on March 7 on the complaint of a local mining officer, it has clearly been mentioned that the Deputy Commissioner had formed a joint committee for the demarcation of the area. continued on page 9 latter’s Tughlaq Lane residence to gather information about the accusations, the Congress fielded party president Mallikarjun Kharge and top brass to slam the move as a tactic to “divert attention and save Gautam Adani”. The BJP countered the Congress, saying the police were discharging their lawful duty. Rahul at the conclusion of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar continued on page 9 Swiss major UBS to take over rival Credit Suisse Zurich, March 19 UBS will take over Credit Suisse to help rescue the embattled lender, the Swiss authorities said on Sunday. The deal includes 100 billion Swiss francs in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse. BID TO RESCUE 167-YEAR-OLD LENDER AMID US BANK FAILURES ‘ILLEGAL OPERATIONS’ BY COPS: PARTY ■ Clashes erupted outside Islam- abad court complex on Saturday when Imran arrived for a hearing in Toshakhana case ■ During the confrontation between PTI workers & the police, over 25 security personnel were injured ■ PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the party would get cases registered against police officers for “illegal operations” trict and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal to defer the court hearing till March 30. The case was registered against continued on page 9 “With the takeover, a solution has been found to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,” the Swiss central bank said. A source familiar with the matter said the deal was valued at more than $2 billion, after UBS increased its offer. Officials have been racing to rescue the 167year-old bank, among the world’s largest wealth managers, after a brutal week saw the second and thirdlargest American bank failures in history. A source said 10,000 jobs might have to be cut if the two banks were merged. — Reuters IN BRIEF 70% work on Ram Temple in Ayodhya complete NEW DELHI: Nearly 70% of the construction work of Ram Temple in Ayodhya had been completed, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday during his visit to the site to inspect the progress of the work. He was briefed about the work by officials. TNS 6.8-strong quake hits Ecuador, Peru; 15 killed QUITO: An earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 persons, trapping others under rubble and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines. The magnitude of the quake was 6.8. INSIDE NGT seeks report on Varanasi Tent City project NEW DELHI: The NGT has sought a “factual report” from a panel over allegations that the Tent City project in Varanasi was flouting environmental norms and was detrimental to flora and fauna. PTI