30072024-TTB-01.qxd 7/30/2024 12:05 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 210 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HARYANA RELIEF FROM HEATWAVE AS RAIN LASHES KASHMIR J&K MADURO ‘WINS’ VENEZUELA’S DISPUTED PREZ POLL WORLD /thetribunechd RBI: DIGITAL ECONOMY MONEY LAUNDERING: SC TO CONSTITUTE 1/5TH BINS ED PLEA AGAINST BAIL OF GDP BY ’26 BUSINESS TO SOREN BACK PAGE tuesday | 30 july 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Coaching centre deathsecho in Parl; MHA sets up 5-member probe panel INDIA@OLYMPICS REUTERS BRONZE HUNT 7 arrested, MCD junior engineer sacked | Delhi L-G announces ~10L compensation Number of dead ‘under-reported’: Protesters to L-G Animesh Singh PRECIOUS LIVES LOST Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 29 Even as the issue of the death of three IAS aspirants Shreya Yadav, Nevin Dalvin and Tanya Soni at a coaching centre due to the flooding of the building’s basement resonated in Parliament on Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted a five-member committee to probe the reasons leading to the tragedy. The panel will identify the reasons, fix responsibility and recommend policy changes, official sources said. Consisting of the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the panel has been asked to submit its report in a month. It also consists of the Principal Secretary (Home) in the Delhi Government, Special Commissioner of the Delhi Police, Fire Adviser and a Joint Secretary of the Union Home Ministry, who will be the convener of the panel. Meanwhile, cutting across party lines, several lawmakers raised the issue in Parliament, including BJP MP Bansuri Anshita Mehra Tribune news Service Shreya Yadav Nevin Dalvin New Delhi, July 29 Two days after the death of three students in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle at Old Rajinder Nagar here, protesting students flagged several unanswered questions, including “whereabouts of their missing fellows”. However, the police Tanya Soni NOTHING TO HIDE, SAYS DELHI’S TOP POLICE OFFICER maintained that three students died in the tragedy and there was nothing to hide. Several students The Tribune spoke to said phones of many of their friends, said to have been rescued from the site, remained unreachable. Protesting civil services aspirants met Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday and handed over a memorandum, seeking immediate compensation for the families of the deceased continued on page 9 An earthmover removes encroachments on drains at Old Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi on Monday. ANI NO LESS THAN GAS CHAMBER RAMPANT VIOLATIONS In a country where opportunities are There is sadly rampant violations of getting enlarged, this silo is turning out to basic norms when it comes to building be a problem... they are becoming no less codes, fire safety, flood safety and so on in than a gas chamber. Jagdeep Dhankhar, RS CHAIRMAN the national capital. Shashi Tharoor, CONGRESS MP DELHI GOVT FAILED TO ACT ON BUILDING MISUSE PLAINT: KHATTAR BACK PAGE ❝ Swaraj, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav. Union Education Minister ❝ Dharmendra Pradhan didn’t have a definite reply when asked whether any action would be taken against simi- lar coaching centres. In a related development, seven continued on page 9 edit: A tragedy in Delhi Having bagged individual bronze, Manu Bhaker stayed in race for another medal as she teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to make bronze playoff in 10m airpistol mixed team event. HARMANPREET SAVES DAY ■ Skipper Harmanpreet Singh rescued India by converting a last-minute penalty corner as they held former champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a Pool B hockey match. India squandered nine penalty corners before Harmanpreet found the net. HEARTBREAK FOR BABUTA ■ Fazilka shooter Arjun Babuta missed an Olympic medal by a whisker despite being in the top-three for the majority of men’s 10m air rifle final on Monday. He ended up in the fourth place. PARIS 2024 MEDAL TALLY INDIA 00 00 01 01 PTI AP/PTI Youth, farmers trapped in BJP’s chakravyuh: Rahul 3 students from Punjab die in Canada mishap BOULDERS HIT SUV IN SOLAN, 1 KILLED The vehicle after being hit by stones in Solan. INSIDE Ajay Banerjee READ RULES: BIRLA TO LoP Tribune News Service External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Quad counterparts in Tokyo. PTI Can’t use coercion, terror: Quad snubs China, Pak Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 29 Sending a clear message to China, the Quad today asked it to adhere to the rule of law in international waters and desist from taking unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion. Separately, the four-nation grouping sought action against terror groups based in Pakistan. In a joint statement, the Quad Foreign Ministers of India, US, Japan and Australia, said, “We condemn terrorism and violent extremism and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.” It went on reiterate its “condemnation of terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Tells Beijing to stick to rule of law at sea TAKE ACTION AGAINST TERROR GROUPS We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and their proxies. The Quad ❝ Mumbai and Pathankot attacks and call for bringing the perpetrators to justice without delay”. Both attacks were carried out by Pakistanbased terrorists. continued on page 9 New Delhi, July 29 Citing Mahabharata, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the ruling BJP-led NDA of creating a “chakravyuh” (vortex) to trap the youth, MSME sector, farmers and the middle class. “But they are not like Abhimanyu, they are like Arjuna and will break the chakravyuh,” he said while speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Union Budget. “You created a ‘chakravyuh’ of unemployment and paper leak... You call yourself Speaker Om Birla advised Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to read the rules after the latter made references to persons who were not LS members and also sought to display some photographs. “As LoP, you must maintain the dignity of the chair and lead your fellow members in adhering to the rules,” Birla said. PTI PATIALA: Three students from Punjab were killed in a road accident in Canada on Saturday. Among the victims were two siblings from Malaud village in Ludhiana — Harman Somal (23) and Navjot Somal (19). The third victim was identified as Rashamdeep Kaur (23) of Samana in Patiala district. Sources said the students were returning by a taxi after submitting their case for permanent residency (PR) in Mountain City when the taxi driver lost control over the car after its tyre busted. The car then overturned. All three students died, while the driver survived the mishap. — TNS Will bring Bills on MSP guarantee, caste census: LoP | Don’t ‘mislead’ nation: Rajnath nationalists, but when you have to help jawans, you do not give money for pensions. You trapped the youth in the ‘chakravyuh’ of Agniveer,” he alleged. After his speech, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh later rose to say the Leader of Opposition was trying to mislead the nation about the sensitive issue of national security and the Agnipath scheme. In his response, Blow to Haryana ex-minister Sandeep, Kejriwal ‘mastermind’ UT court frames molestation charges of excise case, CBI tells HC; bail verdict reserved Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 29 A local court on Monday framed charges against Haryana’s former minister Sandeep Singh in an alleged molestation case registered two years ago while dismissing his application for discharge from the case. The court has framed charges for the offences punishable under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (sexual harassment), 354-B (assault or criminal force to woman with intent of disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of woman) of the IPC. Meanwhile, the court has dismissed the application of the complainant to conduct trial against the former minister on rape charges. In the complaint filed under Section 209 of the CrPC, the complainant prayed before continued on page 9 15 of 42 highway projects hit roadblock in Punjab, NHAI to inform PM Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 29 Prolonged delay in the possession of acquired land and declaration of compensation, coupled with tardy disbursement of awards, have forced contractors of several projects in Punjab to foreclose or terminate contract agreements and raise claims against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). So much so that 15 of the total 42 projects of the NHAI have been delayed, an official AWARDS PENDING 845.3 hectares Acquisition hurdles, relief disbursement behind delay LANDOWNERS YET TO GET ~3.7K CR AWARDED AMOUNT ~17,325.8 cr DISBURSED ~13,626.4 cr PENDING ~3,699.3 cr THE STUMBLING TRAIL ■ Work underway on 1,500 km highway in state ■ Termination process initiated for 4 projects worth ~4,942 cr ■ ~52,000 crore is total cost ■ 3 projects worth ~3,303 cr Ludhiana-Ropar highway is among three NHAI projects terminated. FILE report has revealed. The NHAI will table the report before Prime Minister Naren- structure development projects in the border state and some other states, in New ■ 31 projects measuring 1,150 km, worth ~42,175 cr, stalled have been terminated dra Modi, who will chair a high-level meeting to review the status of the major infra- Rahul said the Defence Minister had told the House that the family of an Agniveer martyr was paid a compensation of Rs 1 crore, but it was only insurance payment and not compensation. Rahul earlier said the INDIA bloc would bring Bills on a legal guarantee for MSP and a caste census and ensure the same were passed by the House. He made “chakravyuh” as the focal point of his attack on the NDA, which led to an uproar in the House, and alleged there was an atmosphere of fear prevailing in the country. He cited the Mahabharata and the killing of Abhimanyu after getting trapped in the “chakravuyuh”, which, he said was actually shaped like a lotus flower (BJP’s symbol). “The entire continued on page 9 (SOURCE: NHAI) Delhi on Wednesday, officials have said. On July 15, at a meeting that c m y b went on for over six hours in New Delhi, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had expressed concern over the status of the NHAI projects in Punjab and directed Central and state functionaries to ensure their resumption. The development assumes significance as “The Tribune” had, on July 12, highlighted that the unending farmers’ protests was costing Punjab dear — evident from the fact that the NHAI has already continued on page 9 Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 29 The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved the verdict on the bail plea filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. The CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor, DP Singh, argued that Kejriwal was the “sutradhar” (mastermind) of the “entire scam” and presented direct evidence of his involvement. He said the trial court had already deemed Kejriwal’s arrest legal and the probe agency had passed the stage of legality of arrest in the court below. He also said the orders related to Kejriwal’s bail were interim and subject to change based on the Constitutional Bench’s decisions. He argued that Kejriwal’s arrest was necessary to prevent the compromise of the Arvind Kejriwal PROBE ON COURSE ■ CBI claims trial court has already deemed Kejriwal’s arrest legal. “Within one month of his arrest, the chargesheet was filed. It means our investigation is at an advanced stage,” it says ‘INSURANCE ARREST’ ■ Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for Kejriwal, counters agency; calls it an “insurance arrest” following his interim bail in the ED case investigation or influence on witnesses. “The investigation couldn’t have been completed without his arrest. Within one month we filed the continued on page 10
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).