04012026-TTB-01.qxd 1/4/2026 12:05 AM Page 1 c m y b GILL BACK AS CAPTAIN IN ODI SERIES WITH NZ SPORT /thetribunechd 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 4 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA sunday | 4 january 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Prez Maduro deposed, captured with wife as explosions rock Caracas, other locations Indicted by US dept for role in narco-terror, leading corrupt &illegitimate government US strikes Venezuela Punjab man looking for brother in Russia finds his body after 1.5 years Ukraine on the Russian war front in November 2025, his Jalandhar, January 3 brother Jagdeep Kumar said. A 30-year-old youth from Jagdeep brought ManGoraya in Punjab’s deep’s mortal Jalandhar, who was remains from Russia duped by travel agents to their native place into joining the Russin Goraya late Saturian army in 2023 and day night, with his whose brother was parents unaware of frantically searching the tragedy until the for him for the past body reached home. over a year and a half, Recounting his Mandeep Kumar has been confirmed ordeal, Jagdeep told dead through DNA analysis. The Tribune that he made two Mandeep Kumar was killed trips to Russia and submitted Continued on page 6 in a drone attack fighting REFLECTING ON BUDDHA PTI Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service OIL-RICH NATION ON WRONG SIDE OF WEST ■ Nicolas Maduro’s fall is the culmi- REUTERS Caracas (Venezuela), Jan 3 The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office. President Donald Trump insisted the US government would run the country at least temporarily and would tap Venezuelan’s vast oil reserves to sell “large amounts” to other countries. The action marked the culmination of an escalating Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American country that consisted of months of strikes on boats officials said were smuggling drugs to the US. Behind the scenes, US officials tracked Maduro’s behavioural habits, including what he ate and where he slept, in preparing to execute an operation that resulted in one of the more stunning regime changes in modern history. Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a US warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy. Trump said the US planned to run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place. He claimed the American Continued on page 6 ALL DISPUTES DON’T NEED FULL TRIAL: CJI BACK PAGE Photo posted by Trump shows Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro aboard USS Iowa Jima; and (right) smoke rises from blasts in Caracas. nation of months of stepped-up US pressure on various fronts. Washington had accused Maduro of running a ‘narco-state’ and rigging the 2024 elections ■ The 63-year-old leader, a former bus driver handpicked by dying Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, had denied allegations and said Washington was intent on taking control of his nation’s oil reserves, the largest in the world WILL RUN VENEZUELA NOW RUSSIA SEEKS URGENT UNSC MEET ❝ The US will run Venezuela with a group. Secretary of State Rubio will be working out the details... will tap its vast oil reserves and sell large amounts to others. Donald Trump, PREZ Calling the strikes an ‘act of armed aggression’, Russia has asked the US to release Maduro and his wife. “The pretexts used to justify these actions are untenable,” Russia said in a statement. It also supported calls by South American leaders for the calling of an urgent UN Security Council meeting. One more arrested in ‘saroops’ case AMRITSAR: The special investigation team probing the disappearance of 328 “saroops” of Guru Granth Sahib has arrested another former SGPC employee as it conducted searches at 15 locations, including Chandigarh, on Saturday. INSIDE SCorderonSharjeel, Khalidbailtomorrow NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and five other accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case on Monday as the top court reopens after the winter break. INSIDE Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including six-page Spectrum. c m y b PM Narendra Modi at the inauguration of an exposition on Piprahwa Relics linked to the Buddha in New Delhi. He termed the return of relics after 125 years a “moment of pride, reverence and cultural connect”. After BCCI diktat, SRK team drops Bangladesh player from IPL squad Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 3 The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has released Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from its roster for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The decision comes amid national uproar, where KKR owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan was trolled on social media, with fringe groups calling him a “traitor” for acquiring the services of the Bangladeshi pacer for the KKR for a sum of Rs 9.2 crore. “Due to the recent developments, the BCCI has instructed the KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad. The BCCI has also said if they ask for any replacement, the board is going to allow it,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI on Saturday. Although he did not specify the exact reason for this drastic step, it is understood the decision was taken because of public uproar over reports Continued on page 6 Set afire, Hindu trader succumbs New Delhi, January 3 Khokan Chandra Das, a middleaged Hindu businessman who was brutally attacked, hacked and set on fire three days ago, died in Dhaka on Saturday. Das was undergoing treatment at the National Burn Institute in Dhaka. Doctors said about 30 per cent of his body was burned, with severe injuries to his face and respiratory tract. His nephew-in-law, Pranto Das, said the family was seeking a Continued on page 6