20052024-TT-01.qxd 5/19/2024 11:29 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 139 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HIMACHAL PRADESH BATHINDA NOT A CAKEWALK FOR SAD’S HARSIMRAT INDIA VOTES /thetribunechd AFTER TWIN TERROR ATTACKS, SECURITY BEEFED UP J&K CARBON FINANCE PROJECTS HOLD POTENTIAL INFOCUS CONG CONSIDERS LS SEATS AS ANCESTRAL PROPERTIES: PM NATION monday | 20 may 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Bibhav erased phone data, assault footage blank: Cops Samad Hoque Tribune News Service Andhra’s Gopi first Indian space tourist WASHINGTON: Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and a pilot, on Sunday became the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin's NS-25 mission. Born in Andhra Pradesh. Thotakura was selected as one of the six crew members for the NS-25 mission, making him the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after the Indian Army’s Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984. BACK PAGE 60-yr-old stripped for ‘cow smuggling’ GARHWA: A 60-year-old man was allegedly stripped and dragged after being tied to a motorcycle by three persons on suspicion of cow smuggling in Jharkhand's Garhwa district. The incident occurred near Amrora village when Surswati Ram was on his way to Banshidhar Nagar Untari with his cattle on Friday afternoon and the suspects intercepted him and accused him of being involved in cow smuggling. An FIR has been registered. — PTI New Delhi, May 19 The CCTV footage related to the Swati Maliwal assault case that was accessed from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence turned out to be blank, the Delhi Police told a local court while seeking the custody of AAP chief’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar late last night. In its application seeking seven-day remand, the police claimed that Bibhav had “admitted to formatting his password-protected iPhone15 in Mumbai only a day before his arrest”. They said the device and the accused needed to be taken to Mumbai to recover the data, which was “vital evidence”. The police, which was allowed Bibhav’s five-day custody, also argued that the alleged assault on Maliwal, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP on May 13 , could have proven fatal. The police said digital video recording of the drawing room of the CM’s Civil Lines residence where the alleged assault took place was not provided officially, and that a portion of it procured unofficially had turned out to be blank. In their submission in the court, the Delhi Police said Bibhav could not explain as to why he, despite the termination of his appointment as Kejriwal’s personal secretary continued on page 10 CM Arvind Kejriwal with MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha at a protest in New Delhi. MANAS RANJAN BHUI Kejri leads protest to BJP office, alleges ‘Op Jhaadu’ launched to wipe out AAP New Delhi, May 19 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday fired salvos at rival BJP claiming it had launched “Operation Jhaadu” to crush the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the saffron outfit saw it as a “potential challenger”. Putting up a brave face in the midst of a massive political storm over the Swati Maliwal assault case, AAP convener Kejriwal, who led party leaders in a protest towards the BJP headquarters here, asked why no money had been recovered in the Enforcement Directorate raids in the alleged liquor scam. Kejriwal had said on Saturday said that AAP leaders would protest at the BJP headquarters and he had dared to “arrest them all”. AAP’s march was stopped midway amid sloganeering by the party’s leaders and workers. “We waited for half an hour on the road for the police to come and arrest us. But the BJP accepted its defeat,” said an AAP statement. Flanked by Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi and Kailash Gahlot, Kejriwal said people wanted to know if there was a liquor scam, why was no money recovered. “They (probe agencies) are themselves saying in the Supreme Court that not a single paisa has been recovered…. They say the scam is worth Rs 100 crore. If that’s so, why haven’t they found even Rs 100 in raids? They have continued on page 10 Ph-5: Spotlight on Rajnath, Smriti, Rahul Polling in 49 seats across six states, 2 UTs today | Omar, Lone face Baramulla test Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 19 Polling will be held on Monday in 49 constituencies across six states and two UTs in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections that will decide the electoral fate of several prominent leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Among the seats going to the polls, 13 are in Maharashtra, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, five in Bihar, three in Jharkhand, five in Odisha, one in J&K and the lone seat in Ladakh. This round covers the least number of seats (49) in the seven-phase elections. It is another important phase for the BJP as over 40 of these seats were with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). On the eve of poling, the Elec- YOUTH CASTS ‘MULTIPLE VOTES’, EC TAKES NOTE After the Congress and Samajwadi Party posted a video of a youth in UP’s Farrukhabad purportedly casting multiple votes in favour of BJP candidate Mukesh Rajput, the Election Commission on Sunday said it had taken cognisance of the video and the authorities concerned had been told to take “prompt and effective action”. tion Commission on Sunday pointed out that Mumbai, Thane and Lucknow had shown apathy towards voting in the past and asked city dwellers there to turn out in higher numbers. So far, the last four phases have registered a total voter turnout of 66.95 per cent. Other prominent candidates include Union ministers Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North, Maharashtra), Sadhvi Niranjan continued on page 10 edit: phase v poll Copter carrying Iranian Prez Raisi crashes, rescue op on Foreign minister on board too |Bad weather hits search Dubai, May 19 A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister crashed on Sunday as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog, an Iranian official said, adding that rescuers were struggling to reach the incident site. The official said the lives of Raisi and minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were “at risk following the helicopter crash”, which happened on their way back from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan in Iran’s northwest. “We are still hopeful, but information coming from the crash site is very concerning,” said the official on the condition of anonymity. Iranian state media said bad weather was the cause of the crash and was complicating rescue efforts. The chief of The copter carrying Ebrahim Raisi (inset), which later crashed, takes off near Azerbaijan border. REUTERS staff of Iran’s army ordered all resources of the army and the elite Revolutionary Guard to be put to use in search and rescue operations. “It is dark and it has started raining, but the search continues. Rescue teams have reached the area, but the rain has created mud, making the search difficult,” a source said. State TV had earlier stopped all its regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country and continued on page 10 Delhi’s Najafagarh hottest at 47.8°C, red alert across region Amritsar sizzles at 43.9°C | No relief likely till May 23 New Delhi, May 19 Najafagarh in Delhi was the hottest in the country with the maximum temperature soaring to 47.8° Celsius on Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a severe heatwave in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and sounded a red alert. Even the hill stations of Himachal Pradesh, safe haven for people escaping the punishing heat in the plains, reeled from the scorching conditions. The maximum temperatures reached 36°C in Dharamsala, 44.4°C in Una, 42.4°C in Bilaspur, 36.6°C in Solan and 40°C in Kangra. Issuing the red alert, the Met office has stressed the need for extreme care for vulnerable people. The crippling heat strained low-income households, which often have poor access to water and cooling, and tested the endurance of outdoor workers toiling in the searing sun, forcing them to take frequent breaks. Nuh in Haryana recorded a blistering A volunteer pours water to cool the floor at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR high of 47.2°C on Sunday, while Sirsa sizzled at 47°C. The maximum temperature was recorded at 45.6°C in Hisar, 46°C in Mahendragarh, 45.2°C in Rohtak, 45.1°C in Gurugram, 46.1°C in Jhajjar, 43.8°C in Ambala and 44°C in Bhiwani. Chandigarh recorded a high of 44.2°C. In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a maximum temperature of 43.9°C, Faridkot 44°C, Patiala 45°C and Ludhiana 44.2°C. Gurdaspur recorded a high of 43.5°C. The IMD predicted heatwave conditions for the next five days in many parts of north India. — TNS/PTI Spell out stand on criminalising Over 700 Rajasthan students marital rape, SC tells Centre in Kyrgyztan seek govt help Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Phulpur on Sunday. PTI NEW DELHI: As the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which will replace the IPC on July 1, fails to criminalise marital rape, a PIL in the SC has challenged the validity of the provision that treats marital rape as an exception to rape. The SC has asked the Centre to spell out its stand on the issue. — TNS GURUGRAM: Even as the Indian embassy has assured that situation is under control in Kyrgyztan, over 700 students from Rajasthan’s Dausa and Bainswara districts have sought government help to return home. Many of them said the situation was tense and they had been barred from posting anything online. —TNS THE TRIBUNE INTERVIEW: KANGANA RANAUT, BJP CANDIDATE FROM MANDI LOK SABHA SEAT ‘Nehru was ready to give up Assam, had announced it’ O NE would think actor Kangana Ranaut’s plunge into politics was imminent, but the Bollywood “Queen” has sprung a surprise by stating she is feeling quite lost at the moment. Even as her candid utterances in the past have to come to haunt her, the actual grind of politics is far different from what she has portrayed in films like Thalaivii, the biopic on Jayalaithaa. The contest in Mandi is hogging media attention, not just in Himachal but nationally, with the Mandi ki beti, as she likes to call herself, locked in a keen contest against Congress candidate Vikramaditya, the scion of the erstwhile Rampur royal family. Amidst scepticism about her being a 24X7 politician she assures she is here to stay, irrespective of the outcome of the poll. In conversation with Dipender Manta, she shares her views on various issue. ❝ The Congress has ruled the country for about 60 years and the Nehru-Gandhi family has exploited people. Nehru was ready to give up Assam. Unhone announcement bhi kar di thi ki Assam hamare bus mein nahin raha (he had even announced it). ■ Despite being well estab- lished in the film industry, why join politics? At the moment, I am feeling quite lost in politics. It is like making a movie, which is a creative and gratifying work. The most difficult and tiring work is the marketing. The satisfaction comes when the film succeeds. The same situation applies in politics. As part of campaigning, I am travelling 400 km daily on potholed roads, but the real happiness and contentment will come when I will bring about a change in the life of people, especially economic progress. It is true that as an artiste I have done well in the film industry and was also awarded the Padma Shri. I wanted to serve the people of my state and the BJP gave me this opportunity. c m y b ■ People are apprehensive if you are elected, you will not devote much time owing to your acting commitments. If want to make it clear that if people elect me, I will work wholeheartedly for their upliftment and development of this constituency. These apprehensions are being created against me by the opposition party, which has an adverse mindset against women joining politics. continued on page 10 BJP candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat Kangana Ranaut.
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