14102025-TTB-01.qxd 10/14/2025 12:21 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 284 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA CHINA CALLS ON PAK, AFGHANISTAN TO END CONFLICT WORLD /thetribunechd APEX COURT ORDERS CBI PROBE INTO KARUR STAMPEDE NATION RETAIL INFLATION SLIPS INDIA, CANADA SET NEW TO 8-YR LOW OF 1.54% ROADMAP TO REBUILD IN SEPT BUSINESS RELATIONS BACK PAGE tuesday | 14 october 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Two years after Hamas invasion, Israel swaps 2,000 Palestinian prisoners with 20 remaining hostages US President tells Israel Parl ‘nightmare is finally over’; Netanyahu affirms commitment to truce At Sharm el-Sheikh, Trump along with mediators Imam seeks interim Egypt, Qatar & Turkey sign accord to end conflict bail to contest poll ‘Holy Land at peace’ as Gaza truce deal signed Sharm El-Sheikh, October 13 US President Donald Trump along with mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed on Monday a document on the Gaza ceasefire deal during the international summit hosted by Egypt in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. At the summit, Trump said, “After the Gaza deal, rebuilding will begin. The reconstruction requires that Gaza remains demilitarised.” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi said Trump’s West Asia proposal represented the “last chance” for peace in the region and reiterated his call for a two-state solution, saying Palestinians had the right to an independent state. The summit in Egypt was aimed at supporting the ceasefire reached in Gaza, ending the Israel-Hamas war and developing a long-term vision to rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory. This came as Hamas freed the remaining 20 Israeli hostages from Gaza and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees as Trump told Israel’s parliament that peace had arrived in the Holy Land. continued on page 8 Edit:Trump’s Gambit BACK TRUMP EFFORTS FOR PEACE: MODI PM Modi has welcomed the release of hostages and said India supported President Donald Trump’sefforts to bring peace to the region. “Their freedom stands as a tribute to the courage of their families, the unwavering peace efforts of President Trump and the resolve of PM Netanyahu,” he said. INDIA A GREAT NATION: TRUMP PRAISES PM President Donald Trump poses with the signed agreement at a world leaders’ summit on the Gaza war in Egypt; and (right) Israeli hostage Alon Ohel is reunited with his family on Monday. AP/REUTERS At global leaders’ assembly in Egypt, junior minister leads India Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 13 As world leaders gathered in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh for the Gaza Peace Summit on Monday, India was represented by Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the high-profile meeting. “It was a privilege to meet President Abdel Fattah ElSisi of Egypt during the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm elSheikh. Egypt and India share a significant and vibrant strategic partnership. LALIT KUMAR Cong questions PM Modi’s absence The summit underscored the global commitment to peace and dialogue. India reaffirms its unwavering dedication to peace, stability and enduring security within the Middle East,” Singh posted on X after the meeting. The summit — co-chaired by President Donald Trump and President El-Sisi — brought together over 20 world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan Prime Minister She- hbaz Sharif, to deliberate on consolidating a Gaza ceasefire, humanitarian relief and long-term regional stability. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been invited to the summit, he did not attend. The government offered no official explanation continued on page 8 Trump praised India and PM Narendra Modi, saying: "India is a great country with a good friend of mine at the top and he's just done a fantastic job." In his address at the summit, Trump said he believed "India and Pakistan will live very nicely together", as he looked at Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif. ‘STRATEGIC RESTRAINT OR MISSED OPPORTUNITY’ Cong leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said India’s presence at the Gaza summit, at the level of a Minister of State, was in stark contrast to the heads of state gathered there. He wondered whether the decision reflected “strategic restraint” or “missed opportunity”. Tribune News Service Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Tamil Nadu shuts down cough syrup firm linked to death of 21 children in MP Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 13 The Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department has cancelled the manufacturing licence of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and permanently closed the company after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance, in its cough syrup Coldrif. The adulterated syrup was responsible for the death of 21 children in Madhya Pradesh. Sresan Pharmaceuticals was issued a manufacturing licence by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2011. The licence was renewed in 2016. However, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation was not kept in the loop. “The drug manufacturing licence of Sresan Pharmaceuticals has been completely cancelled, and the company has been closed. Orders have been given to conduct a detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies located in continued on page 8 Chandigarh, October 13 The cash-strapped Punjab Government has decided to reduce the reserve price of prime state properties worth Rs 8,000 crore that have been lying in neglect for years and couldn’t find any bidders in auctions. To facilitate the process, the Council of Ministers, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here this afternoon, approved amendments to the e-auction policy for land and properties. “We have decided to reassess the reserve price of these properties. Because of the high rates, the properties could not find any buyers in previous auctions,” said Finance Minister Harpal Cheema. The decision came close on the heels of earlier meetings held to dispose of several government properties, including those owned by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Mandi Board, municipal corporations and the departments of irrigation, public works, local government, health, horticulture, sports, housing and transport. The Tribune has learnt that the SNIFFER DOGS FOR JAILS ■ Cabinet nod to buy six sniffer dogs from BSF, CRPF to check criminal activities at jails ■ Land to be given to cooperative societies for flats under Group Housing Scheme-2025 ■ One-time extension of up to 5 years for pending housing projects on payment of ~25,000 per acre per year ■ Flood relief hiked to ~10,000 per acre for 26-75% crop loss; ~20,000 for 76-100% loss ■ ~40,000/unit for partially damaged house, up from ~6,500 properties that could go under the hammer after the change in e-auction policy include the Old Bus Stand land in Patiala; assets owned by the Power Department in Ludhiana and Patiala; Ladowal Seed Farm in Ludhiana; and a chunk of the prime land opposite the DC office and on Rani Jhansi Road in Ludhiana. “The reserve price for these properties was too high. Leave aside finding buyers, bidders were not even attending the auction,” a senior minister had told The Tribune last week, explaining the need to reduce the reserve price. continued on page 8 Amid IPS officer’s death row, PM Modi cancels Sonepat visit Geetanjali Gayatri & Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cancelled his October 17 visit to Sonepat amid the ongoing stalemate over the autopsy of Haryanacadre IPS officer Y Puran Kumar and mounting pressure on the Nayab Singh Saini government for failing to act on the demands of the officer’s family. With Haryana ministers and senior officers failing to end the impasse, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s trusted aides are learnt to be making concerted efforts for a breakthrough. PM Modi was slated to address the ‘Jan VishwasJan Vikas’ programme in Sonepat and launch a number of new initiatives to mark the one year of the state government’s third term. While no reason has been attributed for the change in plans, sources in the BJP admitted that the situation following the officer’s suicide was not conducive for the PM’s visit. The late officer’s family is firm on its demand for the arrest of DGP Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and SP Narendra Bijarniya before proceeding with the postmortem and cremation. Though the government has transferred Bijarniya as Rohtak SP it has, is facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, has sought interim bail from a court to contest the Bihar Assembly elections. The application was placed before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at Karkardooma Courts, where the conspiracy case is being heard. BACK PAGE Centre allows up to 100%EPFwithdrawal NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Trustees, the apex decisionmaking body of EPFO, on Monday approved liberalised part withdrawals for its more than seven crore EPF subscribers, allowing up to 100 per cent withdrawal of the “eligible balance” in the fund, including employee and employer share. INSIDE 2 more arrested in WB gang-rape case KOLKATA: Two more persons were arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student in West Bengal’s Durgapur, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five, the police said. The student was gang-raped on Friday when she went outside the campus with a male friend to have dinner. — PTI Unsold in auctions, Pb Lalu to face daily trial from Oct 27-Nov 7 IRCTC ‘scam’: Jolt to RJD Cabinet nod to cut rate before Nov 6,11 Bihar poll of ~8,000-cr properties Shekhar Singh HONOURING LEGACY: HP CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi & Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others at the unveiling ceremony of six-time CM Virbhadra Singh’s statue in Shimla. INSIDE NEW DELHI: Sharjeel Imam, who n’t taken any action against the DGP who is considered , close to Khattar. In the past 24 hours, Khattar’s media adviser Sudesh Kataria has visited the deceased officer’s family twice. A former Chief Minister of Haryana for nine years, and now an MP from Karnal, Khattar’s influence on his former state remains significant. During Monday’s visit, Haryana Scheduled Castes continued on page 8 RAHUL TO MEET COP’S FAMILY IN CHD TODAY ■ Rahul Gandhi will visit Chandigarh on Tuesday to pay a condolence visit to the wife and family members of Y Puran Kumar, the Congress leader’s office has confirmed ■ His mother Sonia Gandhi also wrote a personal letter to IPS officer’s wife Amneet Kumar and expressed shock and condolences at the tragic death of her husband c m y b New Delhi, October 13 Less than a month before the Bihar Assembly elections, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav on allegations of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating in the IRCTC “scam”. The case proceedings are to be held on a daily basis from October 27 to November 7 while the twophase Bihar elections will be held on November 6 and 11. Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts framed charges against the RJD first family and other continued on page 8