05072024-TT-01.qxd 7/4/2024 10:56 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 185 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HIMACHAL PRADESH BRITONS VOTE IN POLL EXPECTED TO PROPEL LABOUR TO POWER WORLD /thetribunechd RASHID SET TO TAKE OATH TODAY, FAMILY TO JOIN EVENT J&K VI TO INVEST ~50K CR TO BOOST 4G, 5G ROLLOUT BUSINESS OUT ON BAIL, SOREN BACK AS JHARKHAND CM FOR 3RD TERM BACK PAGE friday | 5 july 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 6 arrested for Hathras stampede, ~1L bounty on ‘satsang’ organiser HEROES’ WELCOME UP cops say Bhole Baba to be grilled if required, criminal past being checked Tribune News Service TOO EARLY TO NAME HIM Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team and the trophy during a breakfast hosted by him at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI REPORT INSIDE Border standoff won’t benefit any side: India, China on SCO margins Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 4 India and China on Thursday agreed that prolongation of crisis along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was not in the interests of either side, with New Delhi emphasising that disengagement of military was the only way for- PM’S RUSSIA VISIT ON JULY 8 PM will visit Russia from July 8-10 for India-Russia annual summit. The Tribune was first to report about the visit on June 25. PM Modi will travel to Austria on July 10. BACK PAGE ward to restore normalcy in ties. The Ministry of External Affairs put out a statement after External Affairs Minis- ter S Jaishankar had a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit at Astana in Kazakhstan. “The two ministers had an indepth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along continued on page 7 Edit: LAC imbroglio BJP’s Angural stops short of releasing ‘extortion’ proof against CM’s kin, MLA Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 4 A day after being dared by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to produce evidence of alleged extortion against his family and AAP MLA Raman Arora ahead of July 10 high-stakes Jalandhar West bypoll, BJP candidate Sheetal Angural today stopped short of releasing the audio recordings to the media, BJP’s Jalandhar West candidate Sheetal Angural holds a pen drive. saying he would first share these with Mann. Accepting CM’s challenge yesterday of releasing the evidence against AAP leaders “right now instead of July 5”, Angural had promised to do so at 2 pm on Thursday. Mann’s dare came after Angural went live on Facebook to allege Arora had sought money in the name of CM’s family, specifically his wife and sister. At Babu Jagjivan Ram Chowk here today, the BJP put up two chairs — one for the CM and the second for continued on page 7 New Delhi, July 4 Two days after 121 persons were killed in a stampede during a religious congregation near Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, the state police today arrested six ‘sevadars’, including two women, of the organising committee even as selfstyled godman Bhole Baba, aka Narayan Saakar Hari, is yet to be taken into custody. The police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of one Ved Prakash Madhukar, in whose name permission was taken to organise the ‘satsang’. The authorities had given permission for 80,000 people to gather, but more than 2.5 lakh people attended the event, an official said. Addressing the media, Inspector General (Aligarh range) Shalabh Mathur said an investigation into the July 2 tragedy had just commenced and more arrests were likely once facts emerged. He said the “godman”, whose real name is Suraj Pal, was yet to be questioned. continued on page 7 ❝ Weonwill make arrests based what probe reveals... If required, he will be questioned. It's too early to comment on his role. He hasn’t been named in the FIR. Shalabh Mathur, UP POLICE IG RAHUL’S VISIT TODAY IN MOURNING: Vinod (in white) with his sons after performing the last rites of his family members killed in the stampede in Hathras. The bodies of Vinod’s mother Jaya Manti (70), wife Rajkumari (40) and daughter Bhumi (10) were found in three different districts — Agra, Hathras and Aligarh. PTI Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Hathras on Friday, party officials said. This will be the first visit of a senior opposition leader to Hathras since the incident took place. CM Yogi Adityanath visited Hathras on Wednesday. Cops search ashram, godman still ‘missing’ Mainpuri (UP), July 4 The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday entered the Mainpuri ashram of preacher Bhole Baba, a self-styled godman who held a satsang in Hathras where a stampede took place, killing 121 persons. The police later said he was SENSEX AT NEW HIGH 80,049 POINTS NIFTY ENDS AT 24,302 ■ Benchmark indices close at fresh all-time highs; rally attributed to buying by domestic and foreign investors Justice Sheel Nagu appointed Punjab & Haryana HC CJ Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 4 More than six months after the Supreme Court recommended his elevation, the President on Thursday appointed Justice Sheel Nagu as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The appointment comes at a time when the Justice Sheel Nagu high court is grappling with a shortage of 31 judges and a backlog of over 4.36 lakh cases. The high court currently has 54 judges against the sanctioned strength of 85. This situation is expected to exacerbate with the impending retirement of three judges this year and three more next year. As many as 15 judges are in the zone of consideration for elevation from the category of district and sessions judges. But their names could not be considered and recommended in the absence of a regular Chief Justice since the office fell vacant in October last year with the retirement of Justice Ravi Shankar Jha. The names of advocates were last recommended for elevation more than a year ago by the high court collegium, headed by the then Chief Justice and two senior-most judges. Available information suggests judges have not been appointed in the high continued on page 7 c m y b All victims identified, bodies handed over to kin: DM not present there. A police official claimed they had gone there to check security arrangements. Circle Officer Sunil Kumar Singh said police and special operation group (SOG) personnel entered the ashram premises on Wednesday night. “There were 50-60 sevadars (volunteers), including women, inside the ashram,” he said. Asked whether Bhole Baba was inside the ashram, the officer said, “He (Baba) was neither there yesterday nor today.” Rahul Mithas, Additional Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri, too said the preacher was not seen in his continued on page 7
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