17112025-TT-01.qxd 11/16/2025 10:50 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 317 | 12 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH NO LONGER ENRICHING URANIUM, SAYS IRAN MINISTER WORLD /thetribunechd FARM ACTIVIST BOOKED FOR HATE SPEECH AT PANJAB VARSITY PUNJAB SC SEEKS REPORT ON ROADSIDE DHABAS, STATE OF NHs NATION CJI BACKS EXCLUSION OF CREAMY LAYER FROM SC QUOTA BACK PAGE monday | 17 november 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com NIA nabs Pulwama man who sourced car for suicide bomber; Jaish link under lens Investigators tracing digital footprints of plotters connecting them with alleged foreign handlers DELHI FORENSIC ERROR BLAST LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan pays obeisance at Patna Sahib Gurdwara. ANI NDA allies in Delhi for talks on govt formation Dipak Mishra 15 ministerial berths A FTER a landslide win in likely for BJP, 14 JD(U) Bihar, NDA partners’focus has now shifted to ‘DIRTY KIDNEY’: ROHINI New Delhi with leaders headSAYS CURSED AT BY KIN ing there for talks on governDay after ‘disowning’ family, RJD ment formation in the state. Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughchief Upendra Kushwaha ter Rohini Acharya said she was ‘cursed at’ for donating a ‘dirty and Deputy CM Vijay Sinha kidney’ to her father in exchange met Chief Minister Nitish for money and party ticket. INSIDE Kumar in Patna on Sunday and later proceeded have held talks on govto the national capital. ernment formation. Lok Janshakti Party “Everything will be (RV) president Chirag clear within a few Paswan and Hindusdays,” said Kushwaha. tani Awam Morcha Sources said a forchief Jitan Ram Man- JUNCTION mula of allocating a jhi, too, have reportedministerial berth for ly been summoned to Delhi. every six MLAs was being JD(U) leaders Sanjay Jha and worked out. With there being Union minister Lalan Singh an upper limit on the size of the continued on page 8 are already camping there and BIHAR ON FAST TRACK Preliminary investigations into the accidental explosion that ripped through the Nowgam police station on Friday night suggest that the use of excessive lighting by the forensic team may have triggered the massive blast, officials said. Animesh Singh & Adil Akhzer Tribune News Service New Delhi/srinagar, Nov 16 In a major headway in the ongoing probe into the Delhi bomb blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a resident of Pulwama in J&K who had allegedly conspired with the “suicide bomber” to carry out the attack, which claimed 13 lives. Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car involved in the blast was bought, was arrested from Delhi. The NIA took over the probe from the Delhi Police on November 11, a day after the blast, and has since launched a massive search operation. On the night of November 10 just hours after the blast, the J&K Police had taken several residents of Pulwama district into custody after initial investigations traced the ownership of the vehicle used in the explosion to the region. Among those detained were three residents of Samboora village in continued on page 8 BULLETS BEING EXAMINED Security agencies are examining three bullets recovered from the debris near the Red Fort blast site, a source said. An empty shell and two 9mm live rounds — a calibre not permitted for civilian use — were found near the bomber’s Hyundai i20 car. << Traffic moves as all Red Fort Metro station gates were reopened a week after the blast; & (inset) Amir Rashid Ali. ANI Al Falah students fear stigma, empty out campus Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Gurugram, November 16 Anxious parents trying to get in and students rushing out with bags — that’s the scene outside Al Falah University in Faridabad. With the medical institution emerging as the epicentre of the “white-collar” terror and its accreditation EC: 49.7 cr SIR forms given in 12 states/UTs Tribune News Service PM Narendra Modi reviews the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project at a construction site in Surat, Gujarat. PTI INSIDE 1dead,dozenfeared trappedasUP’sstone quarry collapses Sonbhadra (UP), November 16 A 30-year-old mine worker’s body was recovered from the rubble on Sunday morning from a stone quarry that collapsed here on Saturday, a police officer said. Several more remain trapped under the rubble. Uttar Pradesh Minister and local MLA Sanjeev Kumar Gond, who visited the spot in the Billi Markundi mining area after the collapse, said “around a dozen labourers” might be trapped under the debris. Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Varanasi zone, Piyush Mordia said efforts were on to clear the debris. The police identified the deceased labourer as Raju Singh of Panari village of the same district. The ADG said clearing the rubble was taking time because it included continued on page 8 under the scanner, both faculty members and students have been left a harried lot. Though the university claims innocence and insists it had only a professional relationship with the doctors accused of masterminding the attack, students and teachers say they feel labelled and want a quick exit from the turmoil. CONG MEET TOMORROW New Delhi, November 16 The Election Commission (EC) has distributed over 49.7 crore enumeration forms to electors across 12 states and UTs till November 16 under the second phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to the poll body, the enumeration stage of the second phase began on November 4 and will continue till December 4. Once this is done, the EC will prepare a draft list of voters in these nine states and three UTs. It said the 49.7 crore enumeration forms covered 97.52 per cent of the total 50.99 crore electors under this phase. The final electors’ list will be published on February 7, 2026. The states and UTs involved in this phase include Andaman & Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Amid the Bihar poll debacle and its ‘vote chori’ pitch, the Cong has called a review meeting on November 18 of in-charges, state unit chiefs, Congress Legislature Party leaders and secretaries of 12 states and UTs where SIR of electoral rolls is underway. Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. All participating states and UTs have achieved 100 per cent printing of enumeration forms, reflecting robust preparedness and logistical efficiency, the EC said in a statement. The poll body has urged political parties to appoint more booth level agents (BLAs) to ensure enhanced scrutiny and transparency during the door-to-door verification process. Army plans women induction into TA, may go with few units initially Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 16 The Army is considering the induction of women into Territorial Army (TA) battalions as a pilot project, with recruitment initially restricted to a few units. Army sources confirmed the development on Sunday, saying the intake would begin with small numbers and may expand after an evaluation of the scheme. They emphasised that the TA is not deployed on frontline battle roles. Currently, women are commissioned into 10 arms and services — the Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engi- Their role currently limited to 10 branches neers, Army Aviation Corps, Intelligence Corps, Judge Advocate General Branch and Army Education Corps, in addition to the Armed Forces Medical Services. Women are not inducted into the infantry or armoured corps. The Territorial Army, raised as a “citizen soldiers’ force”, allows able-bodied volunteers — particularly those overage for regular Army enrolment — to serve the nation in uniform while augmenting the Army’s organisational needs. At present, the Territorial Army has a strength of around 50,000 personnel comprising 65 Departmental TA units such as Railway, IOC, ONGC, and NonDepartmental TA units of Infantry Battalion (TA), including Home and Hearth Battalions, Ecological Battalion (TA) affiliated to various Infantry Regiments and Engineer Regiment (TA) for maintenance of Line of Control fencing. TA units have participated in the 1962, 1965 and 1971 operations, and played active roles in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Rakshak in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, and Operation Rhino and Operation Bajrang in the North-East. The Territorial Army in its present form was established under the Territorial Army Act on August 18, 1948, and was formally inaugurated by C Rajagopalachari on October 9, 1949. c m y b 200 under scanner in terror module probe Sources claim the university is trying to keep classes running and hostels occupied, but a majority of students are “fleeing”, citing personal reasons such as marriage, unwell parents or medical emergencies. “I am still in shock. Only I know how my parents paid to secure a seat here. Now the university is in trouble and speculation is rife that it will be sealed soon. Amid all this, placement feels like a distant dream, and with the accreditation crisis, even getting a continued on page 8 CBIgetsLokpalnodto chargesheet Moitra NEW DELHI: The Lokpal has given the CBI the green signal to file a chargesheet against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra within four weeks in connection with the alleged cash-for-query case. Following the order, the CBI initiated the legal process against the Lok Sabha MP from the Krishnanagar constituency in Bengal. INSIDE Three Naxalites with ~15L bounty killed SUKMA (CHHATTISGARH): Three Naxalites, carrying a collective reward of Rs 15 lakh, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Sunday. The gunfight broke out in the forested hills of Tumalpad village. A .303 rifle, barrel grenade launchers and explosives were also seized from the encounter site. — PTI