02042023-TTB-01.qxd 4/1/2023 11:49 PM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 90 | 24 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA PV SINDHU REACHES FINAL OF MADRID SPAIN MASTERS SPORT /thetribunechd PAK DRONE FORCED TO RETURN AS BSF OPENS FIRE J&K DEFENCE SUPPLIER JOIN MAINSTREAM, SHAH HAL HAS A LOT RIDING APPEALS TO MIZORAM ARMED ON IT SPECTRUM GROUPS BACK PAGE sunday | 2 april 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ‘Supari’ given, attempts to malign me inside & outside country, says PM Modi Tribune News Service Day later, Trump raises $4 mn, 25% from new donors Washington, April 1 Former US President Donald Trump raised over $4 million towards his 2024 presidential run in 24 hours after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him on charges related to paying off a porn star, his office has said. According to it, over 25 per cent of the donations came from first-time donors, further “solidifying Trump’s status as the clear frontrunner” in the Republican primary. “This surge of grassroots contributions confirms that the American people see the indictment as a disgraceful weaponisation of our justice system by a Soros-funded prosecutor,” it said in a statement. “With an average contribution of only $34, Trump’s 2024 campaign is funded by an unmatched coalition of hardworking patriots who are fed up with special interest donors like Soros spending billions of dollars to influence our elections,” it claimed. The grand jury on Thursday voted to indict Trump for his role in paying money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair. — PTI New Delhi, April 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said “concerted efforts” were underway from people inside the country as well as outside to malign his image. Speaking at Bhopal’s Rani Kamlapati railway station after flagging off the Vande Bharat Express from there, PM Modi said after he became the Prime Minister in 2014, there were people who had publicly announced that they would destroy him. “To achieve this objective, they gave “supari” (contract) to many others. They have accomplices inside the country. They also have people in foreign countries to help them,” he said. While the Prime Minister did not spell out who were the foreign collaborators of his Indian adversaries, the outburst is believed to be POOR, MIDDLE CLASS ARE MY SHIELD ❝ India’s poor, middle class, tribals, Dalits and backwards, all have become my protective shield. PM Modi ‘CONG MEANS CORRUPTION’ SERIES FROM TODAY: BJP PM Narendra Modi with students aboard Vande Bharat Express at Rani Kamlapati station in Bhopal. PTI over the “concern” expressed first by the US and then Germany about the recent disqualification of Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament. “India’s poor, middle class, tribals, Dalits and backward classes, all have become my protective shield,” the Prime Minister said, asserting that his adversaries would not be able to get the better of him. Taking a dig at the Con- gress, PM Modi said when he was told that the inauguration ceremony of BhopalNew Delhi Vande Bharat Express would be on April 1, he feared that this would prompt the Opposition party The BJP is set to up the ante on the issue of graft. The party on Saturday released a video on Twitter announcing unveiling of a series of video files under the title ‘Congress means corruption’ from Sunday. The PM had earlier this week accused the Opposition of having launched a ‘bhrashtachaari bachao andolan’. to launch a propaganda saying this was going to be an “April Fools’ Day joke from Modi”. “But as you can see, the train took off on April 1 only. This is a symbol of our continued on page8 BRACE FOR UNUSUALLY HOT SUMMER: IMD Most of India, barring parts of northwest and peninsular region, is expected to see above normal maximum temperatures from April to June, as per the IMD. “A significantly higher number of heatwave days are predicted over northern states, including Punjab and Haryana,” it said. BACK PAGE Be ready for emerging threats: Modi to forces New Delhi, April 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reviewed India’s security challenges and operational readiness of the armed forces at a key conclave of top commanders from the Army, Navy and Air Force in Bhopal. He called upon the three services to stay ready to deal with new and emerging threats, adding that steps were being taken to equip the forces with the necessary weapons and technologies. He was addressing senior-most commanders at the concluding session of the three-day Com- Tribune News Service Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New DElhi, April 1 King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will begin his three-day visit to India on Monday even as Bhutan PM Lotay Tshering stressed he had said nothing new in his interview to Belgian paper ‘La Libre’ regarding Doklam and the BhutanChina boundary talks. The Bhutan King’s visit comes within days of an interview by his PM to the Belgian paper which received an extremely CHINA Thimpu BHUTAN INDIA Bhutan shares over 400-km-long border with China adverse reaction from the Indian media. Wangchuk will be accompanied by Bhutanese Foreign and Commerce Minister Tandi Dorji and senior officials. During the visit, the King will meet President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and senior officials will call on him. “The visit will provide an opportunity to both sides to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and to further advance the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation,’’ the MEA said. Bhutan PM Tshering on Saturday gave a fresh interview to a continued on page8 New Delhi, April 1 Notwithstanding stringent conditions provided under Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, inordinate delay in trial can be a ground to grant bail to an accused, the Supreme Court has ruled. Section 37 of the Act says the court can grant bail to an accused only when it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail. However, a Bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice BAIL FOR HUSSAIN JAILED FOR 7 YEARS ■ The SC granted bail to Md Muslim, alias Hussain, who was in jail for seven years ■ Was arrested on the basis of a statement by accused nabbed with 4 kg ganja in Delhi ■ Top court said despite stringent conditions, bail can’t be denied if trial delayed inordinately Dipankar Dutta said, “The grant of bail on ground of undue delay in trial cannot be said to be fettered by Section 37 of the Act, given the imperative of Section 436A (that requires the accused to be granted bail if the trial is not concluded within specified period), which is applicable to offences under the NDPS Act too.” It granted bail to one Md Muslim, alias Hussain, who had been in jail for more than Sumedha Sharma PREPARING DATABASE Tribune News Service Navjot Singh Sidhu outside central jail in Patiala on Saturday. RAJESH SACHAR Democracy under threat: Sidhu after release from jail ‘Plot to impose President’s rule in Punjab’ Patiala, April 1 Soon after his release from the Patiala central jail on Saturday, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed the Centre and the Punjab Government while alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched to impose the President’s rule in the state. Sidhu, who spent about 10 months in jail in a 1988 road rage death case after surrendering in court on May 20 last year, alleged that democracy was in chains and institutions had turned slaves in the country. “There is nothing like democracy in India today. Punjab is the shield of this country and attempts are being made to break this shield. A conspiracy is being COUNTRY’S SHIELD Punjab is India’s shield and attempts are being made to break this shield. There is a conspiracy to impose President’s rule in Punjab. Navjot Singh Sidhu, CONGRESS LEADER hatched to impose President’s rule in Punjab,” he claimed while speaking to the media outside the jail. Visibly charged up, the former Punjab Pradesh Congress president criticised the state government for allegedly delaying his release. He claimed that despite being intimated that he would be freed by 11.45 am, his release came continued on page8 Gurugram, April 1 Amid allegations of highhandedness by cow vigilantes, the Nuh police in Haryana have revamped a team that was formed to check bovine smuggling, with “curbing vigilantism” the additional task assigned to the recast 10member CIA unit. On February 16, two men from Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, Junaid (35) and Nasir (25), were allegedly ■ Ten new members and two vehi- cles, the reconstituted CIA team will prepare a database of smugglers and also cow vigilantes known to target vulnerable youth and families for blackmail ■ The team will also identify social media groups and YouTube accounts promoting cow vigilanThe burnt vehicle in which bodies tism; several cow vigilantes are of Junaid & Nasir were found. FILE reportedly on the run abducted by cow vigilantes and their charred bodies were later recovered from a car at Loharu in Bhiwani. Before heading to Loharu, the accused had allegedly arrived at the Ferozpur Jhirka CIA office asking the 2 more industrial estates in Baddi belt Ambika Sharma Tribune News Service Solan, April 1 To promote industrialisation in the hill state, two new industrial estates are being developed at Bhangla and Nanuwal in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) belt. Nearly 40 bigha land has been reserved at Bhangla and 94 bigha at Nanuwal for the purpose. “With earmarked plots, we are expecting to attract investors to set up units in this belt,” said Sakshi Satti, General Manager, Single Window Clearance Agency, Nalagarh. He said land had already been policemen to arrest the duo. The CIA team allegedly turned the accused away and was subsequently ridiculed as its intervention “could have saved the two lives”. Several cow vigilantes are on the run after the incident. Two separate inquires were marked against the CIA team by the Nuh and Rajasthan Police. Even as the inquiries remain pending, Nuh SP Varun Singla has transferred Sub-Inspector Virender Singh, the incharge of the CIA team that was responsible to check crimes continued on page8 Tribune News Service PUNJAB KINGS DEFEAT KKR Punjab Kings on Saturday defeated KKR by seven runs in their IPL season opener in Mohali Dismissal of Russell & Venkatesh Iyer by Curran & Arshdeep tilted the DLS par score for Punjab Kings. IN BRIEF Land earmarked, HP assures hassle-free approvals 7 chargesheeted in Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case NEW DELHI: The police on Saturday filed an 800-page chargesheet against seven accused in the Kanjhawala hit-and-drag case in which a woman was killed in the early hours of January 1. BACK PAGE Swede held for molesting IndiGo crew member MUMBAI: A 63-year-old Swedish national was arrested for allegedly molesting a crew member onboard IndiGo’s Bangkok-Mumbai flight. Accused KEH Jonas Westberg was allegedly drunk. INSIDE Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarhindustrial area houses 90% of the state’s industry. Bird hits plane, full emergency at Delhi airport transferred to the Industries Department and development would be taken up as per demand. Plots would be leased out to investors as per their requirement, he added. The BBN cluster has six industrial areas. Ready land NEW DELHI: A full emergency was declared at the Delhi airport on availability saves investors the hassle of securing permissions under Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, which is a tedious process. More than 90 per cent of the state’s industry continued on page8 Today’s issue is of 24 pages, including six-page additional pullout (Spectrum). seven years after being arrested on the basis of a statement made by one of the four accused nabbed with 4 kg of ganja in Delhi. The Bench lamented the overcrowding of jails and the appalling living conditions of prisoners. Maintaining that laws imposing stringent conditions for the grant of bail may be necessary in public interest, it said if trials were not concluded in time, the injustice wrecked on the individual would be immeasurable. The court emphasised that a literal interpretation of the conditions prescribed under Section 37 — that states the continued on page8 Punjab Labour Dept official held for ~700 cr loss to govt JUNAID CASE Nuh police transfer Ferozpur Jhirka incharge SI Virender Singh Tribune News Service bined Commanders’ Conference. The pending integration of services was among the key issues discussed. The commanders had sought inputs from field units on issues such as the “way forward” on integration and changes in “tactics techniques and procedures.” These inputs were discussed in detail.The conference continued on page8 Bhutan King arrives tomorrow on Delay in trial ground for bail in NDPS cases: SC 3-dayvisit after Doklam misgivings CIAteam recast to check cow vigilantism Aman Sood Reviews preparedness & pending integration of armed forces Saturday after a Dubai-bound FedEx aircraft was hit by a bird soon after take-off. The cargo plane’s windshield was cracked. TNS ~1.6L cr, GST March collection 2nd highest ever NEW DELHI: GST collection grew 13 per cent in March to ~1.60 lakh crore, the second highest mop-up since the rollout of the tax regime. The total mop-up for FY23 was ~18.10 lakh crore. INSIDE Mohali, April 1 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Narinder Singh, Joint Director, Factories, Labour Department, on the charge of illegally de-registering Mohalibased Philips factory, as a result of which the state had suffered a loss of Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore and faced civil cases. The Mohali-based unit manufactured CFL bulbs. A sharp decline in demand for CFL bulbs forced the company to shut. The accused was produced in a local court that sent him to five-day police remand. The VB had registered a case on January 5 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 201 and 120-B of the IPC. So far, nine officers have been arrested. Singh’s name was added to the FIR on March 31. On December 28, 2018, he received an application from Sukanto Aich, Director, Phillips India, to de-register the factory that had already been shut by the company. The application, which was addressed to the Punjab Labour Commissioner, was not forwarded to him. The accused de-registered the Philips factory without approval in 2019.