17122025-TT-01.qxd 12/16/2025 WHY BLAME PB FOR DELHI POLLUTION: MANN PUNJAB /thetribunechd 10:47 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 347 | 12 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH wednesday | 17 december 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Saini declares Hansi Haryana’s 23rd dist HISAR: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday declared Hansi as the state’s 23rd district. It was earlier part of Hisar district. Addressing a public meeting in Hansi, the CM said a notification announcing it as a separate district would be issued within a week. The CM said the creation of Hansi as a district would mark a significant administrative milestone for the region. INSIDE IPL: Green taken for ~25.2cr,Nabi~8.4cr ABU DHABI: Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a recordbreaking Rs 25.2 crore to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and Rs 18 crore to acquire the services of Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana in the Indian Premier League players’ auction here on Tuesday. J&K pacer Auqib Nabi Dar attracted Rs 8.4 crore from Delhi Capitals. INSIDE Sonia, Rahul get respite in National Herald case LUTHRAS DEPORTED Delhi court refuses to take cognisance of ED complaint Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 16 A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering complaint against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, holding that the prosecution was not maintainable in law at this stage. Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts ruled that the complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could not be entertained as it was not founded on a first information report (FIR) relating to a scheduled offence. The court noted that the ED’s money laundering pro- Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. MODI GOVT ‘EXPOSED’ The Congress said the “illegality” of the Modi government and its “politically motivated prosecution stands fully exposed” after the court refused to take cognisance of the ED complaint against Sonia, Rahul and others. ceedings were based on a cognisance and summoning order passed on a private complaint filed under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by Subramanian Swamy, and not on an FIR. It observed that an FIR was a mandatory requirement for initiating proceedings under the PMLA. While pronouncing the order, the judge recorded that the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police had already registered an FIR in the matter. In view of this, the court held that it would be premature to examine the ED’s arguments on merits at this stage. The court ruled that since the prosecution complaint for the offence of money laundering was founded on a summoning order arising out of a private continued on page 8 Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of a Goa nightclub where a fire killed 25, were arrested from the Delhi airport after being deported from Thailand on Tuesday. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 16 Detained under the National Security Act and lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail, MP Amritpal Singh on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that all work in his parliamentary constituency had come to a standstill and that his detention was preventing him from raising core public issues — floods, Parole plea put off again; hearing resumes today drugs and alleged fake encounters — in Parliament. Appearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry through videoconferencing, Amritpal chose to address the court himself in view of the lawyers’ abstention from work. continued on page 8 New Delhi, December 16 The names of around 58 lakh voters have been removed from the draft electoral rolls of poll-bound West Bengal. The draft rolls were released on Tuesday, more than a month after the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise began in the politically sensitive state. According to data released by the Election Commission of India, of the 7.08 crore voters whose enumeration The poll panel also released the draft voter lists of Goa and Rajasthan as well as the UTs of Puducherry and Lakshadweep. In West Bengal, the EC also released the list of those excluded from the list. forms were collected till December 11 — the last date for submitting the forms — 24 lakh were found dead, 32 lakh were found to have shifted permanently while 1.38 lakh were found to be enrolled at multiple places. Apart from West Bengal, the EC also released the draft voter 1 shooter hailed from Hyderabad; ‘no India link’ to radicalisation Tribune News Service Animesh Singh Tribune News Service BONDI BEACH ATTACK Ujwal Jalali The Goa Police produced the two in the Patiala House Court, which allowed their two-day transit remand. They will be flown to Goa on Wednesday around 11 am. ANI Want to raise core issues Bengal SIR draft rolls out, 58L names deleted in Parl, Amritpal tells HC RAJASTHAN, GOA LISTS RELEASED TOO Saurabh Malik SC ISSUES NOTICE TO LS, RS ON JUSTICE VARMA’S PLEA NATION lists of Goa and Rajasthan as well as the union territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep. In West Bengal, the poll body also released the list of those excluded from the draft voter list. According to EC sources, a total of 58,08,232 enumeration forms were not uploaded on the BLO application. Of these, c m y b 24,18,699 belonged to deceased voters, 12,01,462 to untraceable voters, 19,93,087 to voters who have shifted permanently, 1,37,475 to voters enrolled at multiple places and 57,509 to those falling under other categories. The state’s 2025 electoral rolls had 7.66 crore voters. Among them, the forms of around 58 lakh were not collected, while approximately 30 lakh voters had no mapping. Among the remaining electors, 2.93 crore continued on page 8 New Delhi, December 16 One of the two gunmen who carried out the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 persons during celebrations of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, was originally from India and had migrated to Australia more than three decades ago, official and media reports said on Tuesday. Australian authorities have identified the attackers as Sajid Akram (50) and his son Naveed Akram (24), a fatherson duo. Sajid was killed during the operation to neutralise the attackers, while investigations into the incident — now being treated as a terrorist attack — are continuing. Police and government officials in Australia said the attack was driven by Islamic State (IS) ideology. Two homemade IS flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered from a vehicle registered in Naveed’s name near the beach shortly after the attack. According to information shared by Indian agencies, Sajid Akram was a resident of Hyderabad and had completed his BCom degree in India before migrating to Australia in the late 1980s in search of employment. He later married a woman of European origin and settled permanently in Australia. Naveed and a Sajid migrated to Australia in late 1980s| Massacre IS-inspired: Oz PM Sajid Akram, one of the shooters VISITED INDIA 6 TIMES IN LAST 27 YEARS ■ Sajid Akram of Hyderabad did graduation in India before migrating to Australia in the late 1980s ■ Later, married a European woman; Naveed (second shooter) and a daughter born in Australia ■ Sajid continued to hold an Indian passport; visited India only on six occasions in 27 years ■ Officials say there is no evidence linking his radical beliefs to India daughter were born in Australia and are Australian citizens. Sajid, however, continued to hold an Indian passport. Sources said he had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad over the past continued on page 8