17072025-TTC-01.qxd 7/17/2025 CABINET CLEARS ~24K CR FARM SCHEME NATION /thetribunechd 12:38 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 9 NO. 196 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 thursday | 17 july 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SC raps Hry SIT over ‘misdirected’ probe against Ashoka varsity prof Questions phone seizure in case over post on Op Sindoor Move trial court or Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 16 Taking strong exception to the Haryana Police’s special investigation team (SIT) seizing electronic gadgets, including cell phones, of Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over alleged controversial remarks on Operation Sindoor, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the SIT has “misdirected itself” A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant questioned, “Why is the SIT, on the face of it, misdirecting itself? They can PPCB slaps ~5 cr penalty on Ropar thermal plant ROPAR: The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has imposed a fine of Rs 5 crore on the Ropar thermal plant for violating environmental laws. In an order passed on July 7 after a hearing before the PPCB Chairman, the board has withdrawn the “consent to operate” the plant. The plant authorities have been directed to deposit Rs 5 crore within 15 days. With the board withdrawing the “consent to operate”, the plant authorities will not be able get fresh coal supply till the orders were stayed, sources said. The next hearing will be held in the second week of August. INSIDE IndiGo flight diverted after engine failure MUMBAI: A Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing here after it was diverted to the city due to a mid-air engine failure, according to a source. The flight, operated with an Airbus A320neo, made an emergency landing at 9.52 pm, the source said. The number of passengers on board the flight could not be immediately known. — PTI EXTENDS INTERIM BAIL; NO CURBS ON POSTS ■ The SC extends Ali Khan Mah- mudabad’s interim bail ■ Says free to write articles & social media posts, except on sub judice matters ■ Asks Haryana SIT to complete inquiry in four weeks say the article (Facebook posts by Mahmudabad) is an opinion and does not constitute an offence or otherwise… The SIT can always say there is nothing in this FIR, but we are examining other issues... Why take two months for this?” Justice Kant told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the SIT, “We just want to know from the SIT... for what purpose they have seized devices. We will call them (officers).” The Bench pointed out that the SIT was constituted specifically to examine only Mahmudabad’s Facebook posts to determine if any offence was made out, not to launch a roving inquiry. ASG Raju urged the Bench to direct Mahmudabad to join the investigation if needed and sought two months continued on page 8 Edit: Exceeding its brief Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 16 The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked former Delhi University Professor Hany Babu to move either the trial court or the Bombay High Court for bail in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad conspiracy case under the UAPA over alleged Maoist links. A Bench led by Justice Pankaj Mithal dismissed his plea for a clarification on the continued on page 8 Draws parallel with US-Indonesia market-opening pact New Delhi, July 16 Even as India and the US are engaged in another round of trade negotiations, US President Donald Trump has indicated the much-anticipated interim trade deal is on track and could be finalised soon. Trump suggested the proposed deal might grant American companies greater access to the Indian market, similar to the “full market access” trade agreement between the US and Indonesia. India and the US have been negotiating to keep tariffs below 20 per cent. The current round of talks in Washington DC is set to con- AIMING TO KEEP TARIFFS BELOW 20% ■ India and the US negotiating to keep tariffs below 20% ■ Delhi seeking access for textiles, gems, leather & footwear exports ■ Resisting US pressure on concessions on dairy and agricultural goods ■ Pushing for reduced tariffs on steel, auto sector and aluminium ■ Securing a deal that aligns with India’s fiscal interests CHIEF NEGOTIATOR IN WASHINGTON An Indian delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Aggarwal, is in Washington DC for finalising key terms before the August 1 deadline, when US tariffs could take effect clude on Thursday, with chief negotiator Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, leading India’s delegation. The goal is to finalise the first phase of the agree- Bomb scare ment by fall (SeptemberOctober) this year, with an interim deal potentially being reached even earlier. Speaking to reporters, Trump referenced the recent continued on page 8 Pb & Hry HC shifts Col Bath assault case probe to CBI CRPF jawan, Maoist dieinJ’khandgunfight NEW DELHI: A Maoist, carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, and a CRPF jawan were killed in a gunfight in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district on Wednesday morning, the police said. A civilian was also killed after being caught in the crossfire. The police had earlier identified him as another Maoist. The gunfight broke out in the Birhordera forest. — TNS HC for bail in Elgar case, ex-prof told Deal soon, close to having full access to India: Trump Tribune News Service A BSF jawan, along with a sniffer dog, checks the Golden Temple premises after it received bomb threats on Wednesday. PTI INSIDE CHANDIGARH: Finding that the Chandigarh Police were “not only trying to create loopholes in the investigation, but also craters”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has transferred the probe into the assault case of Army officer Col Pushpinder Singh Bath to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “The purpose of the investigation is to bring out the truth and not to suppress it. The success of the probe agency is in collecting the best of the evidence and presenting it before the court and not to fabricate the evidence and submit a hopeless chargesheet before the court...,” Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj asserted. INSIDE After hitting Fauja, owner hid SUV, used bike Had returned from Canada three weeks ago after losing Indian passport Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 16 As the police looked for him for nearly 30 hours, Amritpal Singh Dhillon (26), who was driving the SUV when it hit 114-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh, hid his Fortuner car in the garage of his plush house at Dasupur village of Kartarpur sub-tehsil here. Since the fateful Monday afternoon, he was only using his bike. Dhillon, an NRI based in Canada, knew that he had hit an elderly man, but it was late in the night that he came to know that the legendary marathoner had been killed in the accident. Since he was the third buyer of the For- The vehicle that allegedly hit Fauja Singh; and (inset) owner Amritpal Singh. tuner SUV, whose record had not been updated, he was not expecting the police to nab him so soon. He was arrested from his house on Tuesday evening. A CDS: MODERN WARS NEED LATEST ARMS BACK PAGE huge team of Jalandhar Rural Police, including SSP Harvinder S Virk, SPs Sarabjit Rai and Parminder S Heer, DSP Adampur Kulwant Singh, Inspectors Hardevpreet Singh and Pushp Bali, had been working on all possible leads in the high-profile case. “He used several means to dodge us but we took this case as a challenge. After hitting Fauja Singh, Dhillon had left the highway and took country lanes to reach his house. Due to this reason, we could not get much footage, but whatever images we got were conclusive. Reaching his house, he quickly hid his Fortuner in the garage and kept it covered. The area near the left headlight of the vehicle had been damaged, but he chose not to get it repaired. Since the accident occurred, he continued on page 8 Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. c m y b