14092024-TT-01.qxd 13-09-2024 22:53 Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 255 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH WHITE HOUSE WILL ‘SMELL LIKE CURRY’ IF HARRIS WINS: TRUMP ALLY WORLD /thetribunechd RASHID MUST CLARIFY IF HE’LL SUPPORT BJP AFTER POLL: OMAR J&K BUCKINGHAM MURDERS: INFLATION MODERATED, BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN, CASE THAT UNMASKS SAYS RBI GUV BACK PAGE DIASPORA REVIEW saturday | 14 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SC grants Kejri bailaheadof Hry poll, Trouble forTytler says extended jail pending trial unjust as murder charges 1984 RIOTS EXCISE ‘SCAM’ Bars him from entering CMO; Bench differs on validity of arrest by CBI Boost for AAP, but Hry poll largely a BJP-Cong fight Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 13 Ahead of the Haryana Assembly election, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case linked to the Delhi Excise Policy “scam”. Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service EMERGED STRONGER I will continue to fight anti-national forces working to weaken the country… My resolve has grown 100 times stronger ❝ Arvind Kejriwal, DELHI CM “The continued incarceration for an extended period pending trial would infringe upon legal principles and the appellant’s right to liberty, traceable to Article 21 of our Constitution,” a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, ordering Kejriwal’s release on a personal bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties. He was released from Tihar Jail this evening after completion of procedural formalities. continued on page 6 edit: bail for kejriwal Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal being greeted by party workers after his release from Tihar Jail in New Delhi. Dispel notion of being caged parrot, be above board, Justice Bhuyan tells CBI Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 13 Maintaining that in a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan of the Supreme Court on Friday asked the CBI to dispel the notion of being a caged parrot. Protest in Mandi Terms Kejri’s arrest by probe agency unjustified “Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not so long ago, this court had castigated the CBI comparing it with a caged parrot. It is imperative that the CBI dispel the notion of being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” Justice Bhuyan said in a separate verdict, declaring “unjustified” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s continued on page 6 Chandigarh, September 13 The AAP campaign in Haryana appears to have got a boost with the Supreme Court granting bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal even as the state is set to largely see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress. AAP which was previously in , talks with the Congress for a pre-poll alliance, had to end negotiations on September 9 as neither party could agree on the number or choice of seats. This was a setback for AAP even though it had been claiming that it would form the government on its own in Haryana. The talks wasted crucial time for AAP as several rebels from , the Congress and the BJP were unable to join the party. AAP has now fielded candidates in all 90 Assembly segments, with a majority being party workers. With Kejriwal set to campaign for AAP continued on page 6 4 Army men injured in Kishtwar gunfight After protests in Shimla over an ‘illegaly built’ mosque, Mandi too witnessed unrest over a similar issue. PTI INSIDE Jammu, September 13 Four Army personnel were injured in an encounter that broke out following a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, police officials said. Acting on a tip-off, security forces launched the search operation in the Naidgham area in Chatroo belt, the police officials said. There was an exchange of fire between search teams of the security forces and hiding terrorists in the Pingnal Dugadda forest area under the jurisdiction of Chatroo police station, they said. Reports said a group of two or three terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, most likely foreign mercenaries, were trapped in the area. The Army said a joint operation with the police was launched in the Chatroo area on the basis of intelligence inputs. “A contact has been established with terrorists at 3.30 JeM ULTRAS TRAPPED? Reports said a group of two or three terrorists of the Jaish-eMohammad (JeM) outfit, most likely foreign mercenaries, were trapped in the area. pm,” White Knight Corps posted on X. “In the ensuing firefight, four Army personnel have been injured. The operation is in progress,” it said. Eight Assembly segments spread across Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts in the Chenab valley along with 16 seats in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam are going to the polls in the first phase on September 18. Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts are going to vote in the second and third phases on September 25 and October 1. Recently, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur have seen a spurt in terrorist attacks against security forces. — Agencies Eyeing 35 seats, PM to roll out campaign in GT Road belt, gateway to power in Haryana 22 candidates expected to be present at Modi’s rally in Kurukshetra today Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday sound the BJP’s poll bugle for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections from Kurukshetra, strategically located along the GT Road belt. With nearly 35 seats, the belt, spread across six districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Panipat and Sonepat, is considered to be the gateway to power in the state. “PM Modi will formally 80% OF VOTERS IN AREA NON-JATS ■ Of the 47 seats won by the BJP in 2014, 23 were from GT Road belt; the tally dropped to 21 in 2019 when kick-off the BJP campaign from Kurukshstra tomorrow to seek people’s blessings for the formation of the party government for the third time in a row,” Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said in Ladwa today. Along with south Haryana, comprising the Ahirwal belt, the GT Road belt has been a the party won 40 seats ■ Over 80% of the voters along this belt are non-Jats, BJP’s core vote bank BJP stronghold since 2014 when the party won 23 seats from here and formed the government for the first time in Haryana with 47 seats in the 90-member House. However, the BJP tally from the area dropped to 21 in the 2019 Assembly poll when the party had won 40 seats in the state. In fact, the consolidation of its vote bank along the GT Road belt fits into the BJP’s Jat, non-Jat narrative as non-Jats, comprising OBCs, Scheduled Castes, Brahmins and Punjabis, constitute over 80 per cent of the voters in the area. Modi will seek votes for at least 22 candidates, who will be present at the rally. Besides Modi, the party has lined up its big guns, including ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, for campaigning along the GT Road belt in the coming days. continued on page 6 c m y b framed 40 years on Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 13 A Delhi court on Friday framed charges of murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, criminal trespass and theft against Congress leader and former minister Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Special Judge Rakesh Siyal, who had on August 30 said there was sufficient ground to proceed against the accused, directed Tytler to face trial after he pleaded “not guilty” to the offences. The case against Tytler relates to murder of three persons in the Pul Bangash area here during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Around 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs, had died in the riots in Delhi in the aftermath of assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Three persons were killed and a gurdwara was torched in the Pul Bangash area on November 1, 1984. In its chargesheet filed on May 20, the CBI said Tytler Congress leader has pleaded ‘not guilty’ Port Blair will now be called Sri Vijaya Puram NEW DELHI: The Union Government has renamed Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as Sri Vijaya Puram. In a post on X, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “The name Port Blair bore colonial legacy, while Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and A&N Islands’ unique role in the same... It is the place that hosted the first unfurling of our Tiranga by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.” — TNS Pre-arrest bail for IAF officer accused of rape Jagdish Tytler. FILE “incited, instigated and provoked” the mob that had assembled at Pul Bangash Gurdwara in Azad Market on November 1, 1984, that resulted in the burning down of the shrine and killing of three Sikhs — Thakur Singh, Badal Singh and Guru Charan Singh. The offence continued on page 6 SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has granted pre-arrest bail to a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer against whom a woman Flying Officer filed a complaint alleging “sexual assault, harassment and mental torture”. “It is directed that in the event of arrest of the petitioner… he be released on bail,” the court said in its order, after the officer approached it for bail. The J&K Police recently registered an FIR under Section 376(2) of the IPC against the Wing Commander. INSIDE