11112024-TT-01.qxd 11/10/2024 11:13 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 312 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH TRUMP DEFEATS HARRIS IN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES WORLD /thetribunechd CIVIL SECRETARIAT TO OPERATE FROM JAMMU FROM TODAY J&K VIOLENCE IN ASSAM’S SAMAGURI AHEAD OF BYPOLL NATION INDIA BIGGEST EXPORTER OF FUEL TO EU, COURTESY UKRAINE WAR BACK PAGE monday | 11 november 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Army officer killed, 3 soldiers injured in Kishtwar encounter Were on trail of ultras behind killing of village guards Arjun Sharma Jammu, November 10 A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Army’s special forces was killed, while three soldiers were injured after an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in a remote forest area in Kishtwar district on Sunday. The same group of terrorists had on Thursday abducted and killed two village defence guards (VDGs), officials said. The encounter broke out around 11 am when a joint search team of the Army and the police intercepted the terrorists in Keshwan forest, a few kilometres from the spot where the bullet-riddled bodies of VDGs Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar were found. A massive search operation was launched in the forests of Kuntwara and Keshwan on Thursday evening after the terrorists abducted and killed the VDGs. It is learnt that the terrorists Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar GUNFIRE SHATTERS PEACE IN SRINAGAR In the first such incident in the past two decades, terrorists exchanged fire with security forces in the dense forests of the Zabarwan range on the outskirts of Srinagar on Sunday. The incident forced residents to flee in panic as additional forces were mobilised to strengthen the cordon. INSIDE were hiding in the dense forest area when they attacked the search team. Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of the Army’s 2 Para (SF) was hit by a volley of bullets and succumbed to his injuries. Three other soldiers were injured after which they were rushed to hospital. A brief encounter ensued after which the terrorists fled the spot. In a statement, the Nagrota-based White Knight Corps, also called 16 Corps, said, “GOC White Knight Corps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of braveheart Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). Rakesh was part of a joint operation launched in general area of Bhart Ridge Kishtwar on November 9. We stand with the bereaved family in this hour of grief.” Earlier in a post on X, the Army said, “Based on a specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a joint operation was launched by security forces in general area Bhart Ridge, Kishtwar. This is the same group which had abducted and killed two innocent villagers (village defence guards). Contact was established and a firefight continued on page 8 BJP offers farm loan waiver in Maha, says allies to pick next CM after poll Claims NDA set to pass Waqf Amendment Bill in next Parliament session Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 10 Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday unveiled BJP’s manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra elections and said all three ruling Mahayuti coalition partners would sit together after the results to pick the next CM of the state. Exuding confidence of victory by full majority in the 288-member Assembly, Shah said, “Eknath Shinde is our Chief Minister today. After the elections, all three Mahayuti allies will sit together to elect the CM. We will not give Sharad Pawar any chance to do that.” The Home Minister said though the ruling allies – the BJP Shiv Sena and the NCP , — had released their own manifestoes, a group of ministers of the coalition partners would be formed after the elections to fulfil every promise. The BJP’s Sankalp Patra released in Mumbai on Sunday made ambitious promises, including a stringent law to prevent forced conversions; Rs 2,100 monthly cash transfer to women; loan waiver for farmers and continued on page 8 Union ministers Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal with Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and others during the release of the BJP manifesto ahead of the Assembly elections in Mumbai on Sunday. ANI MVA vows ~3K for women, caste census Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 10 The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Sunday promised free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged nine to 16, caste-based census and a monthly financial aid of Rs 3,000 for women in its manifesto released by Congress president Mallkarjun Kharge in Mumbai. Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accusing Rahul Gandhi of displaying a blank Constitution, saying he was a “king of lies (jhoothon ka sardar)”. “Modi claimed this red book is an ‘urban Naxalite’ book and a piece of Marxist literature. Yet, in 2017, he himself presented the same book to then President Ram Nath Kovind. He even said it had blank pages,” Kharge remarked. In its manifesto titled “Maharashtranama”, the MVA vowed to give two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation. It further promised setting up of a separate department for the empowerment of selfhelp groups, formation of a dedicated ministry of child welfare and six cooking gas cylinders every year at Rs 500 continued on page 8 Justice Khanna to be sworn in as 51st CJI today NEW DELHI: Over 47 years after legendary Justice HR Khanna’s supersession, his nephew Justice Sanjiv Khanna will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to Justice Khanna at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 am. He will succeed Justice DY Chandrachud, who retired on Sunday. Appointed as a judge of the SC on January 18, 2019, Justice Khanna will have a six-month tenure as the CJI. BACK PAGE Shooter, 2 others held from UP for Siddique’smurder MUMBAI: The police said on Sunday they had arrested the shooter and two others in NCP leader Baba Siddique’s murder case from Uttar Pradesh. The shooter, Shivakumar, and the two others were arrested in a joint operation with the Uttar Pradesh STF The three were being . brought to Mumbai, a police official said. Siddique was shot dead on October 12 by three assailants outside his son MLA Zeeshan Siddique’s office building in Bandra East. — PTI Designated KTF ultra Dalla ‘detained’ in Canada Move to rechristen Ran terror modules on Nijjar’s behalf |Wanted in extortion cases, Oct 28 Milton shootout Tribune News Service B’desh to seek Interpol help to repatriate Hasina Dhaka, November 10 Bangladesh’s interim government on Sunday said it would seek Interpol’s assistance in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India and other “fugitives” to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity. Hasina and her party leaders face accusations of ordering brutal suppression of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, resulting in numerous casualties during the July-August protests. The movement later intensified into a large-scale uprising, forcing Hasina to secretly flee to India on August 5. INTERIM GOVT INDUCTS THREE MORE ADVISERS According to the interim government led by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, at least 753 people were killed and thousands injured during the protests, which it termed crimes against humanity and genocide. Over 60 complaints of crime against humanity and genocide have been filed against Hasina and her party leaders with the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and the prosecution team till mid-October. “A red notice will be issued through Interpol very soon. No matter where in the world these fugitive fascists are hiding, they will be brought back and held accountable in court,” law affairs adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters here after inspecting the status of renovation at the ICT, which is housed in the old high court building on the continued on page 8 New Delhi, November 10 Designated Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Dalla is believed to have been detained in Canada, sources claimed on Sunday. However, it is not clear whether Dalla, who is associated with the Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF), has been released on bail or is still in jail. SFJ coordinator held in temple violence case As the diplomatic impasse continues with Canada, any official confirmation could not be obtained in this regard. Dalla was apparently detained for his suspected involvement in a shootout in Canada on October 28. Security agencies have now received information about the shootout in which Dalla was present. Dalla ran terror modules on behalf of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist who was killed in June last year. Members of the Hindu Sikh Global Forum try to breach the police barricades during a protest near the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi against the recent temple violence. The forum rejected the separatist ideology, saying “a true Sikh can never be a Khalistani”. MANAS RANJAN BHUI According to Canadian agencies, the Halton Regional Police Service is investigating the shooting that apparently took place in the Milton area. Agency sources said Dalla lived in Canada’s Surrey with his wife. He is allegedly involved in multiple cases of extortion, murder and other terror-linked activities in India. Several cases were also registered against him under the UAPA. A lookout circular has been issued against him by the Punjab Police. His associate Baljeet Singh was arrested from the Delhi airport on October 24. edit: adopt firmer stance Lahore rotary after Bhagat Singh nixed Lahore, November 10 A plan to rename Shadman Chowk in Lahore city after Shaheed Bhagat Singh and install his statue there has been scrapped in light of a report by a retired military official, the district government of the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province has told the high court here. In a reply submitted to the Lahore high court on Friday by assistant advocate general Asghar Leghari, serious allegations were levelled against the freedom fighter. “A proposed plan of the city district government Lahore to name Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh and place his statue there has been scrapped in light of an observation submitted by Commodore Tariq Majeed (retd),” the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore said in a reply to a contempt petition filed by Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Pakistan chair- NOT REVOLUTIONARY, CLAIMS PANEL REPORT man Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi in the HC. It said Majeed, engaged by the government in a committee to rename the rotary after the freedom fighter, in his observations claimed he “was not a revolutionary but a criminal, in today’s terms he was a terrorist, he killed a British police officer, and for this crime, he was hanged along with two accomplices”. Majeed recommended against renaming the rotary as Bhagat Singh Chowk or installing his statue there. The report further said the martyr was influenced by “religious leaders hostile to Muslims and the NGO — Bhagat Singh Foundation — is working against Islamic ideology and Pakistani culture, (and) it should be banned”. “Don’t the officials continued on page 8 Trained at Attari, canines add bite to Customs’ fight against drug trade THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Neeraj Bagga/Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Amritsar/New Delhi, Nov 10 When India Customs recently announced a major drug bust involving 32 kg ganja at their Kolkata checkpoint, everyone sat up and listened. Reason — this was one of the top 10 drug hauls by sniffer dogs who had come out of India’s first centre dedicated to training detection dogs in antismuggling operations exclusively for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Graduates of the Indian Customs’ K9 (Canine) Centre at Amritsar’s Attari, right next to the Indo-Pakistan Border, K9 Nancy and K9 Yasmi made waves in Kolkata with their sniffing prowess. And they are not the only ones making waves. “Since inception on February 15, 2020, the Customs Canine Centre at Attari has trained and deployed 34 dogs who have helped confirm or detect narcotics in 82 cases. Seven more are under training. The K9 Squad is truly keeping India safe from drugs,” top officials of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, parent department of the K9 Centre, told The Tribune. Though India Customs has 34 DOGS HAVE GRADUATED SO FAR ■ The Customs Canine Train- ing Centre at Attari, close to the Indo-Pak Border, has so far trained and deployed 34 detection dogs for antismuggling operations ■ In the latest bust, K9 Nancy and K9 Yasmi, trained in Amritsar, seized 32 kg ganja at Kolkata Customs << A Labrador Retriever sniffs out contraband in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR deployed canines since 1984, it was only in 2020 that they established their own centre to train dogs in specifics that their sphere demands. “A Customs dog works in an atmosphere where it encounters mostly genuine passengers and bona fide trade. It requires specialised c m y b training for detection of narcotics, currency, wildlife, tobacco in varying environments of airports, ports, foreign passport offices, etc. Until 2020, we deployed dogs trained by other paramilitary forces whose training modules are oriented towards active indications such as barking and aggression, whereas India Customs needs a module focused on passive indications such as silently sitting, observing and sniffing. Hence the K9 Centre in Attari,” explains Veena Rao, in charge, Attari Centre, whose graduates have earned the name of force multipliers for offering security clearance in the fastest way at 200 formations of the Customs across the country. The K9 Centre trains three breeds — German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel and Labrador Retriever — sourced mostly from breeding centres of the paramilitary. A visit to the Centre reveals that from the bonding process between the K9 and its handler (the Centre follows one dog, one handler policy), the training spans 32 weeks before the canine can be deployed. “Training begins when the dog is three months old. The most important part is to train the dog to refuse food from strangers unless instructed by the handler to accept and not to bark or get anxious. Behaviour training continued on page 8