31012024-TT-01.qxd 1/30/2024 11:23 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 30 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HIMACHAL PRADESH COUNTRY HOME TO 718 SNOW LEOPARDS, MOST OF THEM IN LADAKH J&K MUIZZU GOVT MOVES SC OVER IMPEACHMENT MOVE WORLD /thetribunechd INTERIM BUDGET TO CM SOREN CHAIRS RULING MLAs’ MEET, WIFE ALSO FOCUS ON RURAL PRESENT BACK PAGE DISTRESS BUSINESS wednesday | 31 january 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Modi Sarkar ki Guarante ee Government of India CBC 22201/13/0100/2324 PM Fasal Bima Yojana becomes safety net for farme ers Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat Claims worth ₹1 lakh 50 thousand crore paid to 16 crore farmers Saffron jolt to INDIA in Chandigarh mayoral polls amid rigging charge An injured CRPF man being treated at a government hospital after a Naxal attack on the Bijapur-Sukma border in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. PTI 3 CRPF personnel killed, 14 injured in Bastar Naxal attack New Delhi, January 30 Three personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), including two commandos of its elite jungle warfare unit CoBRA, were killed and 14 injured in an encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Tuesday. The incident, which is the first major Naxal attack since the new BJP government came to power in the state last month, took place hours after a security camp was set up in Tekulagudem village, around 600 km away from Raipur. In 2021, 23 security personnel were killed in a similar attack in Tekulagudem. According to reports, after setting up the new camp, a joint team of CoBRA, the Special Task Force and the District Reserve Guard was conducting anti-Naxal operations in the JonagudaAliguda area when Maoists opened fire. The security personnel retaliated following which Maoists ran into the forest area. The 14 injured personnel have been airlifted to Raipur. The attack comes days after Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting to discuss the Left-wing extremism situation in Chhattisgarh. — TNS Allies AAP, Cong accuse presiding officer of fraudulently declaring 8 votes invalid Sandeep Rana AAP MOVES HIGH COURT, SEEKS FRESH ELECTIONS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 30 The opposition INDIA bloc suffered its first electoral setback on Tuesday as allies Aam Aadmi Party and Congress lost all three mayoral posts to the ruling BJP in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections amid allegations of rigging against presiding officer Anil Masih. High drama prevailed in the House as AAP and Congress councillors created a ruckus after Masih declared eight votes invalid and announced BJP’s Manoj Sonkar winner for the Mayor’s post. The opposition councillors alleged that Masih, who is a nominated councillor and former general secretary of the BJP’s minority wing, put a mark on the eight ballot papers to declare these invalid. In the 35-member corporation, the BJP has 14 councillors, AAP 13, Congress seven and the SAD one. BJP MP continued on page 9 edit: Chandigarh polls ■ AAP moved the Punjab and Newly elected MayorManoj Kumar Sonkar (C)with Senior Deputy Mayor Kuljeet Sandhu (L) and Deputy Mayor Rajinder Sharma (R). PHOTO: VICKY Haryana HC, seeking setting aside of the mayoral poll results and demanding fresh elections under the supervision of a retired HC judge ■ The petition was filed by AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar, who was the candidate for the Mayor’s post ■ He sought directions to the respondents to seal, preserve and present before the HC the entire process of election Dangerous for democracy: Kejriwal New Delhi, January 30 Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that the BJP won the elections using unfair means, calling the events that unfolded a “black day for democracy”. The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral elections by committing “fraud in broad daylight”, he said at a press conference here. “Seventy-six years ago on January 30, Mahatma Gandhi — the CONSTITUTION TRAMPLED BY BJP It’s a black day for our democracy... Days after nation celebrated Republic Day, the BJP chose to trample country’s Constitution. Bhagwant Mann, PUNJAB CM ❝ preacher of non-violence — was assassinated. On the same day, the BJP has murdered democracy. This hooliganism is very dangerous for democracy. The act of treason was caught on camera,” he alleged. The AAP chief said that people saw on social media how the BJP elected their Mayor. Attacking the BJP he , alleged the BJP chose their own office-bearer as the poll presiding officer. — TNS Now, Navy frees vessel 11 Rajya Sabha MPs’ suspension with19 Pak fishermen revoked ahead of Budget session Tribune News Service Pak ex-PM Imran gets 10-year jail for leaking secrets Islamabad, January 30 Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court on Tuesday for leaking state secrets, in a major blow to his bid to return to power in the February 8 general election. The decision to sentence Imran and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was announced by Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during a hearing of the case held at the special court in Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi. continued on page 9 New Delhi, January 30 The Indian Navy, in two separate operations against pirates in the Arabian Sea, freed a fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani fishermen on board and coordinated the rescue of another fishing vessel by providing real-time surveillance inputs from UAV Sea Guardian. In two days, there have been three operations against pirates, two of them in the past 24 hours. The Indian Navy rescued the fishermen from the clutches of Somalian pirates. In a late-night operation in the Arabian Sea, INS Sumitra rescued Iranregistered fishing vessel Al Naeemi and its 19 crew members, all Pakistan nationals. Also helps in rescue of Lankan fishing vessel LATE-NIGHT OP ■ In a late-night operation in Arabian Sea, INS Sumitra rescued Iran-registered fishing vessel Al Naeemi and its 19 Pak crew members ■ Eleven Somalian pirates were on board the vessel. In the past two days, there have been three operations against pirates by the Indian Navy Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 30 A day before the commencement of the Budget session of Parliament, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday revoked the suspension of 11 members, even as they were held guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of council, thus allowing them to attend the President’s Address to both Houses of Parliament on January 31. According to sources, the Chairman invoked his authority to revoke the suspension of 11 members, who were suspended during the winter session in December and their cases were sent to the privileges committee of the Rajya Sabha. The decision was taken to enable the HELD GUILTY OF BREACH OF PRIVILEGE ■ RS privileges panel held 11 ■ RS Chairman Jagdeep Ministry staff in soup over mishap A BSF soldier stands guard near the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar. VILLAGE POLICE OFFICERS ATTACHED role in providing information to check illegal drugs and arms networks ■ He said to strengthen the VDCs, armed village police officers had been attached to make these secure and functional said at least 272 villages falling in the border belt of Ajnala, Lopoke and Amritsar II subdivisions had VDCs. VDC members, whose efforts yielded the desired results, were honoured during the Republic Day pro- gramme. The VDC of Ghonewal village in Ajnala block was declared the winner and got the first prize of Rs 3 lakh followed by the VDC of Rania village, which got Rs 2 lakh, and the VDCs of Dhanoe Khurd and Hardo- Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 30 A Kerala court on Tuesday awarded the death penalty to 14 of the 15 men associated with the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) convicted of killing state BJP OBC wing leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in Alappuzha SHOWED NO REMORSE; RAREST OF RARE CASE: KERALA COURT district in 2021 in front of his mother, wife and minor child. “A holistic examination of the material on record shows the barbaric offence in question could only be termed as a rarest of rare case… I direct they (convicts) shall be hanged by the neck till they are dead,” Additional Sessions Judge VG Sreedevi said. continued on page 9 IN BRIEF Missing Indian student found dead in US NEW DELHI: Neel Acharya, an Indian computer science student in the US, who had been missing for a few days, was found dead. His death comes days after the murder of another Indian student Vivek Saini. TNS An all-party meeting held on the eve of the Budget session in New Delhi. VDCs help BSF keep tabs on smuggling of arms, drugs ■ DIG, Border Range, Narinder Bhargav said the VDCs played a vital Satya Prakash IMPHAL: At least one village volunteer was killed and another injured after their camp came under attack from unidentified gunmen in Kangpokpi district of Manipur on Tuesday, the police said. PTI the sources added. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said continued on page 9 Amritsar, January 30 Village defence committees (VDCs) have been deputed in a 15 km rural belt in Amritsar bordering Pakistan to assist the Border Security Force (BSF), the Punjab Police and other security agencies in strengthening border security and curb infiltration and smuggling of drugs and arms. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori New Delhi, January 30 The BJP on Tuesday said the disintegration of the INDIA bloc, sparring between its partners and the resultant “demoralisation” of cadres were to be blamed for the defeat of the Congress and the AAP in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the maiden battle the two opposition allies had fought together. The BJP went to the extent of saying that the Congress councillors allegedly cast invalid votes as they did not want AAP to win having been subjected to “politics of pressure and duress by the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and having become anxious after Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s public announcement to contest all 13 Punjab parliamentary seats alone”. “That the INDIA bloc fought continued on page 9 death for BJP leader’s killing Village volunteer killed, another hurt in Manipur members to attend the historic special address by President Droupadi Murmu in the new Parliament building, Tribune News Service Tribune News Service NEW DELHI: Aviation regulator DGCA is probing an incident of an IndiGo flight taking off from the capital to Baku without clearance from the air traffic controller. The pilots have been derostered. PTI Dhankhar decided to revoke suspension to let MPs attend President’s Address in new Parliament building, say sources GS Paul Aditi Tandon IndiGo flight takes off without ATC clearance MPs guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of council, but treated period of suspension as sufficient punishment The operation was carried out east of Somalia in Africa around 1,600 km west of continued on page 9 Cong leaders cast invalid votes due to tussle with AAP: BJP 14 PFI men get ratta villages in Attari block, which jointly got Rs 1 lakh for good performance. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, during his multiple visits to the border areas of six districts — Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Fazilka and Ferozepur last year — had advocated setting up of VDCs. Deputy Inspector General, Border Range, Narinder Bhargav said the VDCs played a continued on page 9 c m y b MANDI: The police on Tuesday booked officials of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Surya Construction Company for a road accident in Mandi district in which two youths were killed on the spot. The accident occurred on Sunday night at Pulghrat near Mandi town on the Chandigarh-Manali highway when a motorcycle collided with the Tempo Traveller coming from the opposite side. INSIDE In M’garh, explosives still being used for mining Ravinder Saini Tribune News Service Mahendragarh, January 30 Despite a ban on their use, detonators are being used for illegal mining of stones in Nizampur area of the district. The information came to light following a raid conducted by a joint team of the Department of Mines and the Haryana Police at Dholera village on Sunday. Equipment used for blasting, including detonators, safety fuses and wires, was recovered from the spot, said a mining official. Preliminary investigation suggested that the perpetrators belonged to a nearby village and had conducted illegal mining using detonators in a hilly portion of the village in the past too, the official said. The miners had dug holes at five points to trigger DETONATORS SEIZED ■ Detonators, safety fuses, wires and other equipment seized at Dholera village ■ Holes had been dug and wires laid in a hillock located 1 km away from the village ■ Two perpetrators identified and raids underway to arrest them blasts, he said, adding they could not trigger the blasts after probably being tipped off about the raid. Mining Inspector Tanu Joshi said explosives were earlier seized at nearby Ghatasher village a year and a half ago. “During an investigation, illegal mining was found to have been conducted in a considerable portion of the hill at Dholera,” she said. Dholera sarpanch Devender Kumar said the accused continued on page 9
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