05032025-TTB-01.qxd 04-03-2025 23:45 Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 63 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI CHINA AIDING PROGRESS IN BORDER AREAS OF PoJK, SAYS OMAR J&K /thetribunechd EU MULLS €800 BN DEFENCE PLAN AMID US PULLBACK WORLD PM LAUNCHES TWO NEW HC STAYS FIR AGAINST MISSIONS TO PROMOTE EX-SEBI CHIEF MADHABI EXPORTS BUSINESS BUCH BACK PAGE wednesday | 5 march 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com INTO THE FINAL Punjab cracks down on farmers, detains 350 on eve of UT march Protest on, won’t give in: SKM leaders| Murder of democracy, says Oppn Jupinderjit Singh & Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Virat Kohli’s measured 84-run knock steered India into their fifth Champions Trophy final with a clinical four-wicket win over Australia in the first semifinal clash in Dubai on Tuesday. REUTERS INSIDE Delhi HC allows bail to wrestler Sushil NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has granted bail to wrestler Sushil Kumar in a case related to the murder of former junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium. Sushil and others allegedly fatally assaulted Dhankar and his friends in May 2021 over a property dispute. — PTI Michelgrantedbailin Agusta copter case NEW DELHI: British arms consultant Christian James Michel was on Tuesday granted bail in the ED money laundering case linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The SC allowed Michel bail citing his extended imprisonment of over six years and the absence of any progress in the trial. BACK PAGE Chandigarh, March 4 The Punjab Government launched a crackdown on leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) late on Monday night, hours after talks between the farmer body and a state government delegation, led by CM Bhagwant Mann, ended in a deadlock. The police first detained union leader Ruldu Singh Mansa, who was staying at Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh. As the night progressed, nearly 350 farmer leaders from various unions in Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Patiala and Barnala were detained. Prominent SKM leaders, including Balbir Singh Rajewal, were also taken into custody. The farmers had refused to accede to Mann’s appeal to call off their week-long protest, scheduled to begin on March 5, prompting the government to take action. Sources reveal that the CM was clear about not allowing the farmer unions to lay siege to Chandigarh, the state capital. It was reportedly discussed within the government that the frequent CHINA, CANADA RETALIATE TO TARIFFS Trump’s fresh 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%. China announced additional tariffs of 10%-15% on certain US imports and export restrictions for its entities. INSIDE icy on Ukraine and Russia upon taking office in January, opening talks with Moscow. The reversal culmi- Cow vigilantes thrash man for carrying beef Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service SCdirectsMajithia toappearbefore SITindrugscase New Delhi, March 4 The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia to appear before a special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police on March 17 for interrogation in a drugs case. A Bench led by Justice JK Maheshwari directed Majithia to be present at the police station in the SIT Headquarters, Patiala, at 11 am on March 17. “The authorities may interrogate him and complete the investigation,” the Bench said, adding he would appear on March 18 as well at the same time, if needed. continued on page 8 Farmers burn an effigy of CM Bhagwant Mann to protest the arrest of their leaders, at Jhumba village in Bathinda district on Tuesday. TOP FARM LEADERS IN PREVENTIVE CUSTODY To prevent farmers’ march, the police detained SKM leaders Balbir Singh Rajewal, Ruldu Singh Mansa and Paramdeep Singh Baidwan AAP GOVT, FARMERS HEADED FOR SHOWDOWN Sources say with AAP govt determined not to yield to farmers’ demands, a face-off with protesters appears inevitable protests by farmer unions had turned urban and economic sentiment against them and the administra- tion’s “soft approach” so far was alienating traders and industrialists. The farmer unions, howev- US halts military aid to Ukraine asZelenskyy‘regrets’Trumpspat Washington, March 4 US President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissures that between the one-time allies. Hours after the US move, Zelenskyy termed the Oval Office blowup with Trump “regrettable”, and said “it is time to make things right”. Trump upended the US pol- Gurugram, March 4 A group of alleged cow vigilantes thrashed a Nuh resident after reportedly catching him transporting beef in the Ferozepur Jhirka area today. The police have registered an FIR regarding the incident. The FIR said the police control room received a call that a few persons had caught a man who was carrying beef on a motorcycle on the DelhiMumbai Expressway. Incident sparks tension in Nuh village When the police reached the spot, it found the victim, Aslam, a resident of Aagon village, lying injured near his bike with a bag of beef next to him, said the FIR. The police took Aslam to a hospital. “Aslam said he and two other persons were going to (a market to) sell beef after continued on page 8 nated in an explosive confrontation with Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, in which Trump upbraided him for being insufficiently grateful for Washington’s backing. “President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” said the official on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. continued on page 8 Parl panel readies report on Amritpal, other absent MPs Chandigarh, March 4 Over a week after the Lok Sabha Speaker constituted a 15-member committee to examine leave applications of absent MPs, including Amritpal Singh, the Centre on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the matter had been considered and the committee’s recommendations would be placed before Parliament on March 10. The committee considered the leave requests of five MPs during a meeting on Monday. INSIDE Bring policy to stop fleecing of patients by pvt hospital pharmacies: SC to states Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 4 Noting that state governments have failed to ensure affordable medical care to the poor, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked them to introduce a policy to check overpricing of medicines and medical devices at private hospitals. While hearing a PIL filed in 2018 by Siddharth Dalmia and TRIBUNE PHOTO:VICKY Apex court flags lack of affordable medical care another person, a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh said the states’ failure “facilitated and promoted private hospitals”. Alleging that private hospitals were compelling patients and their families to buy medicines, implants and other items from in-house pharmacies that charged exorbitant mark-ups, the PIL sought direction to private hospitals not to compel patients to purchase only from hospital pharmacies. The petitioners alleged also that the Centre and states failed to take necessary regulatory and correctional measures, continued on page 8 Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b er, remain undeterred and planned to march towards Chandigarh on Wednesday. Many leaders, who went into hiding following the crackdown, have vowed to join their cadres in the protest. Justifying the action, CM Mann and AAP state president Aman Arora said while the government remained open to dialogue, it could not allow the unions to hold the state and its citizens hostage. Mann emphasised, “We can’t let them convert Punjab into a state of dharnas and protests. How will the state grow economically if these unions keep holding protests at the drop of a hat?” As news of the detentions spread, opposition leaders rallied behind the farmers, accusing the CM of arrogance and high-handedness. In various villages, cadres of the 37 unions under the SKM burned effigies of the state government, condemning the “suppression of their democratic right to protest”. Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala of the Kirti Kisan Union, part of the SKM, criticised the government’s actions, stating, continued on page 8 CM Mann talks to a protester during a visit to Kharar tehshil office. Mann govt suspends 14 striking tehsildars Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 4 Showing a steely resolve to deal with striking revenue officials, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today acted tough against them and suspended 14 tehsildars. The government claimed that 90 per cent of the tehsildars reported back for work by the evening. Many of them were transferred to other tehsil offices later. Earlier in the day, the Aam Aadmi Party government deputed other officials — PCS officers and kanungos — in all tehsils to ensure that the public was not inconvenienced. It issued a warning to the striking revenue officials to start the work of reg- REGISTRY WORK HIT ■ 181 sub-registrar offices in Punjab, 250 revenue officers ■ 900 registries were slotted for Tuesday, over 400 executed ■ CM Mann said new tehsildars and revenue officials would be recruited for which an agenda would be tabled in the Cabinet istration of sale deeds by the evening or face suspension. The warning, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue), came after Mann censured tehsildars over their strike “in favour of corrupt colleagues”. This is the second time during the AAP government’s tenure that a warning has been issued to striking officials. continued on page 8