12112023-TTC-01.qxd 11/12/2023 12:38 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 7 NO. 313 | 28 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 RUSSIA LAUNCHES MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV, NEARBY REGIONS WORLD /thetribunechd SECURITY PERSONNEL, ULTRAS EXCHANGE FIRE IN PULWAMA J&K SURGE IN DEMAND FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS EMBARKS ON FIVE-DAY SPECTRUM VISIT TO UK BACK PAGE sunday | 12 november 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Divinity PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR India, US affirm commitment on Indo-Pacific to tackle China 2+2 PM lists initiatives both sides need to take on defence co-op Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Devotees soak up the Golden Temple hues on the eve of Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas in Amritsar. Baby among 5 die as besieged Gaza hospital runs out of fuel Deir Al-Balah, November 11 Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen battled on Saturday outside Gaza’s largest hospital where frantic doctors said the last generator had run out of fuel, causing the death of a premature baby and four other patients. Thousands of warwounded and displaced civilians were caught in the fighting. In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in northern Gaza has intensified and supplies have run out. The Israeli military has alleged, without providing evidence, that the militant group Hamas had established command posts in and underneath hospitals, using civilians as human shields. Medical staff at Shifa have denied such claims and accused Israel of harming civilians with indiscriminate attacks. Shifa hospital director CRICKET WORLD CUP New Delhi, November 11 India and the US, engaged over a 2+2 meeting in New Delhi yesterday, gave assurances on working together to “tackle” China and ensuring cooperation in the IndoPacific. After the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out the initiatives that the two sides need to pursue on defence cooperation and the Indo-Pacific. At the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met their US counterparts Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken, respectively. India was keen to assess how committed the US was about the Indo-Pacific after Liquor that killed 18 in Haryana sold under brand name A bulldozer operates amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. REUTERS JOINT ISLAMIC-ARAB SUMMIT CALLS FOR END TO WAR Saudi Arabia and Muslim nations called for an immediate end to war in Gaza, declaring at a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh that Israel bears onus for “crimes” against Palestinians. INSIDE Mohammed Abu Selmia said the facility lost power on Saturday. “Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die,” he said by phone, with gunfire and explosions in the background. An Israeli officer, Col Moshe Tetro, confirmed clashes outside the hospital, but denied Shifa was under siege. — AP Chandigarh, November 11 As the toll due to intake of spurious liquor in Yamunanagar and Ambala reached 18 today, police investigations have revealed that it was sold from an authorised liquor vend under a brand. The liquor vendor in Yamunanagar allegedly had a nexus with spurious liquor suppliers. “The seized bottles had the sticker of ‘Malta’ brand, with manufacturing in November 2021, not 2023,” said ADGP , Haryana State Enforcement Bureau, AS Chawla. INSIDE BEIJING’S AGGRESSION ❝ We (allies India & US) increasingly find ourselves in agreement on strategic issues, including countering China’s aggression. Rajnath Singh, DEFENCE MINISTER its involvement in helping Ukraine fight Russia and in brokering peace between Israel and Hamas. Defence Minister Rajnath set the ball rolling at the oneon-one meeting with his Tribune News Service Pakistan’s hopes of booking semis berth are dashed with 93-run loss to England. Ben Stokes shines with 84run knock. With this, New Zealand become the last team to join top four teams and will take on India in semifinals. Also, Australia, riding on Mitchell Marsh’s 177 off 132 balls, beat Bangladesh by eight wickets. They end their qualifying campaign with third spot on points table. B’desh 306/8 (50); Australia 307/2 (44.4) England 337/9 (50); Pakistan 244 (43.3) TODAY’S TIE TEAMS VENUE TIME India vs Netherlands Bengaluru 2 pm Austin said, “We should be able to sail the international seas and fly international airspace wherever authorised by law” ■ This was in reference to China’s hegemony seeking self-assumed control of the South China Sea American counterpart saying “we (India-US) increasingly find ourselves in agreement on strategic issues, including countering China’s aggression”. “We share a focus on mar- NGT raps Haryana, Punjab over lack of ‘immediate’ steps to improve AQI Bhartesh Singh Thakur 36.57L ACRES UNDER PADDY IN HARYANA Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 11 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the governments of Haryana and Punjab, besides the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) for NCR, for the absence of “immediate remedial action” over continuous dipping of air quality. The tribunal has taken a suo motu notice of air quality in different cities on a pan-India basis as reflected in the air Tribune News Service INDIA-NZ CLASH IN SEMIS ■ US Secretary of Defence Lloyd itime security in the IndoPacific region, criticality of safeguarding vital sea lanes and our teams are working on substantive outcomes,” Rajnath Singh said and mentioned that “new domains” were expanding the scope of collaboration. Lloyd responded saying “(we are) committed to collaborating closely with India in support of our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took up the matter with Modi when he and Lloyd met him. The US State Department put out a small note on the meeting quoting Blinken saying “reaffirmed the United States’ and India’s shared continued on page 10 73.14 LMT straw produced | 24.63 LMT to be used as fodder 31.41 LMT to be disposed of under in situ mgmt 17.10 LMT to be disposed of under ex situ mgmt 11.09L farmers registered for straw mgmt till Nov 3 10.28L acres to be covered for ~102.80 cr incentive 71,435 acres diverted to other crops for ~7,000/acre incentive ACTION ON STUBBLE BURNING FIRs 72 CHALLANS 1,256 quality bulletins of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). During the last hearing on November 1, the Chief FINE ~32.55L Secretaries of different states were directed to take immediate remedial action and submit continued on page 10 HAPPY DIWALI The Tribune wishes its readers a happy and prosperous Diwali. Offices of The Tribune will remain closed on Sunday. There will, therefore, be no edition on Monday (November 13). The next edition of The Tribune will appear on Tuesday (November 14). IN BRIEF SC bins plea seeking to regulate cryptocurrency NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition seeking a direction to the government to frame guidelines to regulate trading and mining of cryptocurrencies, which are operating independently of central banks. INSIDE Deepfake video: Police seek details from Meta NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police have written to Meta to provide the URL of the account from which the ‘deepfake’ video of actress Rashmika Mandanna was shared on social media, officials said. INSIDE Punjab-origin gangster, son shot in 2 KTF deportees charged Canada; role of rival gang suspected in terror recruitment case Jupinderjit Singh BEN STOKES FREE MOVEMENT Chandigarh, November 11 In yet another gang warrelated killing in Canada, an alleged gangster and his 11year-old son were shot by unidentified assailants, suspected to be of a rival gang, in Edmonton on Thursday. News reports from Canada quoted police officials as calling the killing of the boy as “sick and twisted” as it was not usual for a Punjabi gang in Canada or in Punjab to target families. Police officials here said they had come across instances where planned shootings had been aborted when a family member, especially children, accompanied the target. The victim, Harpreet Singh Uppal, and his son were gunned down outside a gas station. Canadian police described Uppal as a high- FACED CRIMINAL CHARGES ■ Harpreet Singh Uppal & 11-yr- old son targeted outside Edmonton gas station ■ Was a high-level figure in organised crime network in Canada, say cops ■ Faced criminal charges, including cocaine smuggling; was to face trial in April ■ Was member of 3rd-generation Punjabis’ biker gang linked to Punjab gangs level figure in organised crime network in the country. Reports said Uppal was member of a biker gang run by third-generation Punjabis, who had in the past few years established links with Punjab gangs. The Edmonton police suspect the shooters belonged to the rival United Nations (UN) gang. Uppal faced several criminal charges, including cocaine smuggling, and was set to face trial in April next year. The latest murder is yet another incident of gang war, with linkages to Khalistani groups, on Canadian soil. India and Canada are already locked in a diplomatic standoff over Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar’s killing. On June 19, Nijjar was gunned down by unidentified assailants outside a Surrey gurdwara, while on July 14 last year, 1985 Air India bombing accused Ripudaman Singh Malik was killed. On September 21 this year, Sukha Duneke, a Punjab gangster who had fled to Canada in 2017, was murdered in Winnipeg. He was close to gangster-cum-Khalistani operative Arshdeep Dalla.Goldy Brar, another Punjab gangster who fled to Canada continued on page 10 NewDelhi, November 11 The National Investigation Agency has filed a supplementary chargesheet against four persons in the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) recruitment and arms smuggling case. The chargesheet was filed before a special NIA court here on Friday against Amritpal Singh, alias Ammy, and Amrik Singh, both deported from the Philippines, and Jassa Singh and Gagandeep Singh, alias Mithi, sources said. The agency earlier had filed a chargesheet against nine accused in the case on July 22. Apart from this, 12 other persons are under investigation for their role and involvement in the terror conspiracy, and also their links with terrorist outfits KTF and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), NIA sources said. It said that a “listed individ- ARSH DALLA LINK ■ 4 persons named in the sup- plementary chargesheet ■ Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla allegedly recruited the four accused into the KTF ■ Twelve other KTF members and their associates are also under lens in the case ual terrorist”, Canada-based Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dalla, in association with accused Manpreet Singh, alias Peeta, had indoctrinated and recruited Amritpal, Amrik, Jassa and Gagandeep into his terrorist group. Operating from the Philippines, Amritpal and Amrik were actively engaged in recruiting youngsters. Their activities extended to smuggling of arms and explosives from Pakistan as well as carrying out extortion and subsequently channelising the continued on page 10 In poll-bound MP BJP vows to procure paddy at ~1,000/quintal higher than MSP , Promises house and job for each family, ~3L cr investment for tribal welfare Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service BJP chief JP Nadda with Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the release of the party’s manifesto in Bhopal on Saturday. PTI Bhopal, November 11 The ruling BJP on Saturday went all out to woo key segments of Madhya Pradesh’s electorate, expanding its sops for women, assuring farmers of comprehensive MSP support and pledging Rs 3 lakh crore investment on tribal welfare. To counter the opposition Congress’ manifesto prom- ise of Rs 2,600 MSP per quintal of wheat and Rs 2,500 for paddy, the BJP said it would procure the two major grains at Rs 2,700 and Rs 3,100 per quintal, respectively. This represents a significant raise over the last procurement season when the MSP for wheat was Rs 2,125 a quintal and paddy Rs 2,040 a quintal. The saffron party, keen to buck three-term anti-incumbency in the state, is con- 5-STATE ELECTION EYEING POLL HARVEST Grain MSP BJP* Cong Paddy ~2,040 ~3,100 ~2,500 Wheat 2,125 ~2,700 ~2,600 *PROMISED RATES PER QUINTAL scious of the electoral potential of the Congress’ farm loan waiver promise, apart from the raise in MSP . “We will empower farmers in every manner possible,” Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, in a signal to farmers who constitute a major voting bloc in the state where three-fourths of people reside in villages and agricultural occupations form the backbone of the economy. Engaging another major bloc—women—BJP president continued on page 10 Today’s issue is of 28 pages, including six-page additional pullout (Spectrum) and four page Jalandhar Tribune. CHARRED: Three tourists from Bangladesh were killed in a blaze in a houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar on Saturday. PTI INSIDE In Jind school abuse case, mystery over girl’s suicide Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Hisar, November 11 Mystery shrouds the alleged suicide by a Class XI girl, a student of the government senior secondary school in Jind district whose principal has been arrested on charges of sexual harassment and molestation of several girls. Sources said two months ago, the girl allegedly hanged herself to death at her house after returning from school. An official, who visited the victim’s house after the incident, told The Tribune that the allegged suicide had remained a mystery till today. “The girl’s family was shocked by their daughter’s suicide. Her mother told me that they did not have any clue about their daughter’s extreme step and that she never seemed to be in any kind of depression,” he said. The official informed that the family had cremated the body the same day. Janwadi Mahila Samiti WASN’T DEPRESSED ■ Two months ago, a Class XI girl had ended her life after returning from school ■ Her mother didn’t have any inkling about the reason ■ The girl was not in any kind of depression, her mother said (JMS) activist Jagmati Sangwan said, “In view of the exploitation by the arrested principal, a thorough probe must be conducted into all incidents of harassment and also the suicide by the girl student. It is shocking that so many teachers and non-teaching employees remained mute spectators to the exploitation by the principal, who used to flaunt his high political connections.” She wondered how, despite his alleged misdemeanours in schools of his previous postings, he got transferred to an all-girls school. The JMS leader demanded a high-level inquiry into the case. continued on page 10