20052024-TTB-01.qxd 20-05-2024 00:45 Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 139 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 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 Claim vital Maliwal case evidence lost | Say attack could have proven fatal 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 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 threat”. 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 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 MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi and Kailash Gahlot, Kejriwal said people were curious to know if there was any liquor scam, why no money was 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 Copter carrying Iranian Prez 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 seats across six states and two UTs in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha poll that will decide the fate of several prominent leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani and J&K ex-CM 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 EC Foreign minister on board too |Bad weather hits search 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”. on Sunday pointed out that Mumbai, Thane and Lucknow had shown apathy towards voting in the past and asked city dwellers to turn out in higher numbers. The first four phases have registered a 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 Raisi crashes, rescue op on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Phulpur on Sunday. PTI 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 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 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. I 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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