28082024-TTB-01.qxd 8/28/2024 12:09 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 238 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI 120 HOSPITALISED IN MATHURA AFTER FOOD POISONING NATION US NSA SULLIVAN LANDS IN CHINA TO MANAGE STRAINED TIES WORLD /thetribunechd ZEE, SONY AMICABLY PROTESTERS, POLICE CLASH DURING KOLKATA SETTLE MERGER DISPUTES BUSINESS MARCH BACK PAGE wednesday | 28 august 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com PM dials Putin, stresses talks, diplomacy to end Ukraine war KavithagetsbailfromSC,walks out of Tihar after five months EXCISE ‘SCAM’ Court questions agencies’ probe fairness Satya Prakash Russian Prez blames Kyiv, its western patrons for ‘destructive policies’ Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 27 A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Joe Biden, he called up Russian President Vladimir Putin today to exchange notes on ending the ongoing RussiaUkraine conflict. A Ministry of External Affairs statement said they discussed “perspectives” on the ongoing conflict. The conversations with Putin and Biden come in the wake of Modi’s recent visit to Kyiv and his trip to Moscow last month. The PM’s attempt at balancing India’s relations with the US and Russia have drawn the world’s attention. Modi is now expected to visit the US from September 21 to 25, when the UN General Assembly session is on in New York, but it is not clear yet whether he will also go to Washington DC for talks with Biden. He will be back in Russia in October to participate in the BRICS summit in Kazan, which Putin is hosting as the BRICS Chair. The Kremlin — the office of the Russian President — Before Ukraine visit, PM Modi had met Vladimir Putin in Moscow. FILE MODI TO VISIT US IN SEPT, RUSSIA IN OCT Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be in the US from September 21 to 25. His visit will coincide with the UN General Assembly session in New York. The PM will again visit Russia in October to participate in the BRICS summit in Kazan. said in his conversation with PM Modi, Putin blamed Ukraine and its “western friends” for what he termed “destructive policies”. “Putin shared his principled assessment of the ‘destructive policies’ of the Kyiv authorities and their western patrons,” the Kremlin statement said. Putin mentioned Russia’s approach to resolving the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had, at a meeting with Modi in Kyiv on August 23, mentioned a peace formula, adding that India could possibly become the venue for a peace summit. But he also made it clear that Ukraine would not make Imran: Army, ISI chiefs to blame if I’m harmed New Delhi, August 27 The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered BRS leader K Kavitha’s release on bail in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi excise policy “scam”. The court questioned the fairness of the probe agencies and observed Kavitha’s custody was not needed any more as the probe was already over. Kavitha, who was released from Tihar jail this evening, is the third prominent politician to be granted bail by the SC in the excise “scam” after AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia. “The investigation is complete and a chargesheet has been filed. Custody of the appellant is not necessary. She has been behind bars for five months. The likelihood of the trial being concluded in the near future is impossible. As said in various pronouncements of this court, undertrial custody should not turn into a punishment,” said a Bench led by Justice BR Gavai. The SC set aside the July 1 Delhi High Court order denying her bail. The court ordered her release on bail in both mon- K Kavitha after release from Tihar ❝ A Delhi court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal in a graft case related to the alleged excise “scam” till September 3. The CBI told the court the money generated from the “scam” was spent as per the wishes of Kejriwal, who promised ~90 lakh to each party candidate in the 2022 Goa Assembly poll. TNS KCR TEAM UNBREAKABLE We will prove ourselves innocent… We will fight it out legally, politically. By sending us to jail illegally, they’ve only made KCR team unbreakable. K Kavitha ey laundering and corruption cases on furnishing bonds for Rs 10 lakh each. It further directed Kavitha to deposit her passport with the trial court and refrain from attempting to tamper with the evidence and influence witnesses. The SC took note of the fact that the trials in the cases were unlikely to be completed soon as 493 witnesses were to be examined and the documentary evidence ran into 50,000 pages. Questioning the ED and the CBI over alleged selec- Omar to contest from Ganderbal Assembly seat Islamabad, August27 Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday reiterated that the army and the ISI were responsible for his condition and expressed fear for his life. Khan (71), lodged at the Adiala Jail since last year, also blamed the current dispensation for being averse to criticism, for deteriorating law and order situation across the country, and also for ruining Pakistan’s cricket that is facing repeated defeats. In a post on X from jail, Khan repeated claims about rigged elections and said only a government with a genuine mandate will be able to plan for fundamental reforms. “The ISI controls all administrative matters related to my imprisonment. I’m saying it again: if anything happens to me, the army chief and ISI DG will be responsible,” the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a detailed post on X. Khan’s comments came two days after the Pakistan government said that the former Prime Minister’s trial in cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year might go to the military courts. “The compromises like losing onethird of its territory in the quest for peace. In his meeting with Indian journalists after Modi had departed from Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed India on its side, “not balancing between the US and Russia”. The Russian side today indicated that India was keen on getting the conflict resolved. Modi “informed” Putin about his recent visit to Kyiv and “stressed his commitment to bringing about a settlement for Ukraine by political and diplomatic means”, the Kremlin said. The MEA said: “Modi underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict”. Yesterday, Biden had called up Modi and the two spoke about Ukraine and the developments in Bangladesh. The White House today said, “The leaders reaffirmed their continued support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with continued on page 8 KEJRIWAL’S JUDICIAL CUSTODY EXTENDED Tribune News Service Adil Akhzer tive approach in making some accused approvers, it said: “Prosecution has to be fair. A person who incriminates himself has been made a witness! Tomorrow you pick up anyone as you please? You cannot pick and choose any accused. What is this fairness?” Arrested by the ED on March 15 from Hyderabad, the 46-year-old daughter of former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao has been accused of being a key member of the “South continued on page 9 Imran Khan, former PM events and vandalism on May 9 invited the application of the Army Act since military installations were attacked and damaged,” government spokesperson Barrister Aqeel Malik had said. Violent protests had erupted after Khan’s arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad HC in connection with an alleged corruption case. His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations. A mob also attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Khan’s post on X started with “reminding” the nation of the two attempts on his life: first in Wazirabad, Punjab province, and then again at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad. — PTI JJP’s Dushyant Chautala and ASP-KR leader Chandra Shekhar Azad in New Delhi. PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL JJP, Azad’s party tie up in Haryana Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 27 The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and the Azad Samaj Party-Kanshi Ram (ASP-KR) on Tuesday stitched an alliance for the Haryana Assembly elections. Under the agreement, Dushyant Chautala’s JJP will contest 70 seats while the remaining 20 will go to Chandra Shekhar Azad’s ASP-KR. Dushyant, the outgoing Deputy CM of Haryana, dubbed the alliance a replay Dushyant’s outfit to contest 70 seats, leaves 20 for ASP-KR of 1998 when the then INLD patriarch and his great-grandfather, Devi Lal, became the first leader to support BSP founder Kanshiram’s Delhi Boat Club agitation, which called for Bharat Ratna for BR Ambedkar. Asked about the possibility of a post-election alliance with JJP’s former ally BJP , Dushyant firmly ruled it out. Azad, a first-time MP from Nagina in UP also dismissed , the idea of joining hands with the BJP accusing the , party of harming the interests of workers and farmers. “Our stance is clear. We will never ally with the BJP again. The JJP suffered after forming an alliance with the BJP and we now fully understand how they treat their partners... The NDA is now restricted only to Bihar (JD-U) and Andhra Pradesh (TDP),” said continued on page 8 Shimla, August27 The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2024, was passed by the Vidhan Sabha today to enhance the marriageable age of girls from 18 to 21 years. The Bill for making amendments to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, was passed by the Assembly today. Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil tabled the Bill in the Vidhan Sabha and it was passed by the House through a voice vote. “In today’s world, women are progressing in every field and as such early marriage acts as a hindrance not only to their career progression but also their physical development. In order to provide gender equality and opportunities of obtaining higher education, it has become necessary to increase the minimum age of marriage of girls,” the objectives of the proposed amendment read. It has further been pointed out that the amendment is being made to enhance the 4 from Samana robbed, starved on ‘donkey route’ to US Aman Sood Tribune News Service A video grab of youths stuck in a forest in Spain on way to the US. Patiala, August 27 Four Samana-based youths, who opted for the “donkey route” to reach the US for work, had to remain hungry for days and once survived on just biscuits for an entire week. Along the way, they were robbed and their phones and shoes snatched. They had to trek barefoot and were made to sleep on the floor in a room without a fan or a window. The four, who were left to DUBAI: BCCI secretary Jay Shah was elected unopposed as the next ICC chairman here on Tuesday, making him the youngest ever to reach the pinnacle of global cricket administration. Shah (35), who has been the BCCI secretary since 2019, will take over from Greg Barclay (62) on December 1 after the New Zealander decided against running for a third consecutive term of two years. INSIDE Another cheetah dies at Kuno; 2nd fatality in 3 weeks NEW DELHI: Namibian cheetah Pawan died in the wild at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, the state’s forest department said. The department said preliminary cause of the death seemed to be drowning. The exact details would be revealed only after a postmortem, it said. The fatality at the park was reported weeks after a five-monthold cub of African cheetah Gamini died on August 5. continued on page 9 HPpasses Bill raising girls’ marriageageto21 Tribune News Service Srinagar, August 27 Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah will contest the Assembly elections from the Ganderbal seat in central Kashmir. The NC today released a list of 32 candidates, a day after it finalised a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. The elections are being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Omar and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had earlier said they would not contest the Assembly elections until Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood was restored. While Mehbooba has so far stuck to her stance, Omar recently hinted at changing his decision, citing pressure from party. The Ganderbal seat has been a family bastion of the Abdullahs. Their three generations — Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah — have represented the seat in the past. The Abdullahs have managed to hold on to the seat for the most continued on page 8 Jay Shah elected next ICC chief, is youngest on post Narrate ordeal; parents forced to shell out ~60L each YOUTHS WARN AGAINST TAKING ILLEGAL ROUTE alive to thanks to ❝ Wetomade itPunjabi isthe US,to take theour parents. Our appeal every never illegal route. Victims fend for themselves in Spain, finally managed to reach the US after paying another agent Rs 25 lakh, in addition to the Rs 35 lakh they had already paid to an agent earlier. They were part of a group of around 10 youngsters, mostly Indi- ans, trying their luck to make it to the US. “We slept on one bed with no food or electricity. After every couple of days, we were told that the visa permits had got delayed and that we should not get caught till the US doc- Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b uments arrive,” recalled one of the youngsters, who got stuck in Spain for weeks last year en route to the US. The police said the parents (complainants) of the four youths — Gaganpreet Singh, Harwinder Singh, Jugraj Singh and Gurwinder Singh — approached the Samanabased travel agent who had allegedly assured them of a work visa to the US. “The agent told us that he would charge Rs 35 lakh each and would send the four within two months. We handed over Rs 2 lakh and the four passports to the agent in February 2023,” the complainants told the police. The complainants sold their property, land and even mortgaged their jewellery to arrange the money to see their wards settle in the US. “The agent said he would take our children to Delhi from where they would fly to Serbia and then to Austria. Later, they would reach Spain from where continued on page 9 KANGANA REMARKS TRIGGER UPROAR The House witnessed sloganeering and heated exchanges between the treasury benches and opposition members as remarks made by Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut on the farmers’ agitation echoed in the Vidhan Sabha on the opening day of the monsoon session. girls’ marriageable age from 18 to 21 years. It was highlighted that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, was enacted to provide for the prohibition of solemnisation of child marriages and for matters connected with this issue. The amended Act will apply to all persons domiciled in the territory of Himachal notwithstanding anything contrary or inconsistent therewith contained in the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or any other law or custom or usage or practice in relation to marriage. BJP’s Bittu, Kiran among 12 make it to RS unopposed New Delhi, August 27 The NDA government neared the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after nine BJP candidates and one each from the NCP and RLM were elected unopposed in the bypolls. Among these nine were Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu (elected from Rajasthan) and Kiran Choudhry (Haryana). continued on page 9