13032026-TTC-01.qxd 3/13/2026 12:29 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 70 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ED ATTACHES ~581-CR ASSETS IN ANIL GROUP FRAUD CASE BUSINESS /thetribunechd ~12-CRORE HEROIN DROPPED BY PAK DRONE SEIZED J&K friday | 13 march 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Retail inflation rises to 3.21% in February NEW DELHI: India’s consumer price index, or retail inflation, in February 2026 stood at 3.21 per cent, compared to 2.74 per cent in January 2026, according to data released on Thursday. Corresponding rates for rural and urban areas were 3.37 per cent and 3.02 per cent, respectively, as per the statement by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. INSIDE Will hit US bases: Iran top leader vows revenge in his first remarks Says Hormuz to stay shut |PM raises safety of Indians with Pezeshkian Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service SC junks petition on gettingNetaji’sashes NEWDELHI:A Bench of Chief Jus- tice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi of the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea filed by the grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, seeking directions to bring back to India the ashes believed to be those of Bose from Tokyo's Renkoji temple. — TNS SC bail to 2 accused in Moosewala case DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to accused Pawan Bishnoi and Jagtar Singh in the 2022 Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case. While Pawan was accused of being part of the Bishnoi gang, Jagtar allegedly helped in the reconnaissance of the slain singer’s residence. — TNS NEW B’DESH CONDOLENCE CENTRE MULLS RESTORING MOTION MENTIONS ZIA, MANUSCRIPTS DAMAGED IN MANMOHAN WORLD OP BLUESTAR BACK PAGE An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra in Iraq. AP/PTI New Delhi, March 12 Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on Thursday after succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed along with several family members in USIsraeli strikes at the outset of the ongoing West Asia war. In a message broadcast on Iranian state television and read out by a news anchor, Khamenei vowed that Tehran would “avenge the blood of Iranians” killed during the conflict and warned that Iran would continue targeting US bases across the region. “We are not enemies of the countries around us,” the statement said, adding, “But the existence of US bases in some of these countries and their use to attack Iran is not benefiting the region and they must be closed.” He also warned that Iran would continue using the threat of blocking the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the US and Israel. Linking the war to personal loss, Khamenei said members of his own family Mojtaba Khamenei ANOTHER INDIAN SAILOR KILLED; CONFLICT TOLL 3 Two oil tankers were attacked near the Iraqi port of Basra, leaving one Indian sailor dead. The number of Indian fatalities in maritime incidents linked to West Asia conflict has risen to three. INDIA JOINS 135 NATIONS AT UN OVER ANTI-IRAN MOVE India has joined over 135 countries in co-sponsoring a UN resolution condemning what it called Iran’s “egregious” attacks on Gulf nations and Jordan. were among those killed in the strikes. “I lost my father and my wife. My sister lost her child and her husband,” he said, adding that patience and faith would guide Iran through the crisis. continued on page 8 Panic buying due to anxiety, not LPGshortage: Puri in Parl Govt asks states to let eateries, hotels use kerosene, coal Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 12 Amid panic booking of LPG cylinders across the country, the government on Thursday said India had enough gas supplies even if the West Asia conflict prolongs. To offset the shortfall, the Centre advised state pollution control boards to allow eateries and hotels to use alternative fuel options like biomass, kerosene, coal and RDF pellets for one month. Briefing the Lok Sabha for the first time as the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s key energy supply route, remained closed for the 13th day, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri said panic bookings were due to consumer anxiety, not supply shortages. He warned against “rumours and fake narratives”, saying everyone must stand behind the energy warriors as India navigated the “most severe global energy disruption in recorded history”. The minister said crude supplies were secure, gas had been prioritised for homes and farms, LPG production had been stepped up by 28 per cent in the last five days, consumer prices continued on page 8 ‘Partisan conduct’: 193 Can’t decide creamy layer for OBC quota Oppn MPs sign notice solely on basis of parental income, says SC seeking ouster of CEC Satya Prakash Tribune News Service the CEC requires the signaTribune News Service tures of at least 100 MPs in the New Delhi, March 12 Lok Sabha or 50 in the Rajya More than 190 MPs from Oppo- Sabha. The sources said MPs sition parties have signed belonging to parties in the notices seeking the removal of INDIA bloc have signed the Chief Election Commissioner notice. Lawmakers from the (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accord- Aam Aadmi Party have also ing to sources, marking the first supported the move despite the such attempt against a serving party no longer being formally head of the Election Commis- part of the alliance. sion. Among other According to a charges, they have source, the notice blamed the CEC of lists seven charges “partisan and disagainst Kumar. criminatory conduct These include allein office”. gations of partisan Sources said 130 and discriminatory MPs from the Lok conduct in office, Sabha and 63 from deliberate obstructhe Rajya Sabha tion of investigahave backed the tions into electoral move. The notice is irregularities, and Gyanesh Kumar expected to be subactions that allegedmitted in at least one House of ly resulted in large-scale disenParliament on Friday or on Mon- franchisement of voters. day, although it remains unclear Opposition parties have where it will be introduced first. repeatedly accused the poll An Opposition leader said panel of favouring the ruling MPs across parties showed BJP particularly during the , strong interest in signing the ongoing special intensive notice, with several lawmakers revision of electoral rolls. adding their signatures even Leaders have claimed the after the required numbers exercise could influence elechad already been reached. toral outcomes. Concerns Under parliamentary rules, a have also been raised over continued on page 8 notice seeking the removal of Shekhar Singh New Delhi, March 12 Creamy layer status of candidates for availing reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category cannot be determined solely on the basis of parental income, without reference to the posts and status held by the parents in their organisations, the Supreme Court has ruled. A Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan held that treating similarly placed employees of private entities and PSUs differently from government employees for deciding reservation would amount to hostile discrimination. “Having regard to the peculiar facts of the present cases, the reasoning adopted by the High Court that treating sim- ilarly placed employees of private entities and PSUs differently from government employees and their wards, while deciding their entitlement to reservation, would amount to hostile discrimination, is certainly one that inspires the confidence of this court,” the Bench said. Dismissing the Centre’s appeals, it upheld the decisions of the high courts of Del- Space command, drone agency, air shield in MoD’s ‘vision 2047’ Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 12 The Ministry of Defence on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan that includes creating dedicated entities for analysing data, operating drones and carrying out geospatial mapping. Full-fledged commands for space operations and cyber operations are to be raised, while an expanded air defence system named “Sudarshan Chakra” is expected by 2030. The MoD made public the document “Defence Forces Vision 2047: A Roadmap for a Mulls 3-phase military upgrade with focus on indigenous tech Future-Ready Indian Military”. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had formally released the 47-page document at an event on March 10. It was made public today. The document says the plan is to expand ballistic missile defence (BMD) and air defence systems for protecting economic and strategic assets as well as civilian installations against multi-domain threats as part of mission “Sudarshan Chakra”. India has already tested a BMD system and is looking to expand it, analysts explained. “Sudarshan Chakra” is the name of the expanded air defence system. The vision document lists the creation of a defence geospatial agency, a data force, a drone force and a cognitive warfare action force. In the case of a full-fledged space command, the forces have a division handling space. The full command indicates expansion and the need to control space operations. continued on page 8 c m y b 5,3 82 5,2 74 18, 38 7 24 ,36 9 5,1 73 17, 44 7 17, 90 8 23 ,81 8 5,0 58 16, 99 7 23 ,30 1 4,9 53 24 ,88 6 CANCER FATALITIES IN THE STATES 22 ,78 6 New Delhi, March 12 As many as 68 people died of cancer every day in Punjab in 2025 with the incidence of the disease and mortality both rising over the years. Overall trends for the country also showed spikes as 2,380 Indians lost their lives daily to cancer, with the maximum mortality of 343 in Uttar Pradesh. According to fresh data on cancer trends tabled by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Parliament, Haryana witnessed 50 daily deaths in 2025 and Himachal Pradesh 15 due to cancer. Statistics show a cumulative incidence of 15,69,793 cases in India during 2025 and 8,68,588 estimated cases of mortality due to cancer. Punjab saw 43,196 cases of cancer in 2025 with 24,886 deaths due to the disease, while Haryana witnessed 33,395 cas- 16, 54 3 Tribune News Service es and over 18,387 deaths the same year, according to the Health Ministry data. Uttar Pradesh saw the maximum 1,25,184 cancer mortality cases during 2025, against the incidence of 2,26,125 estimated cases reported during the year. The Health Ministry data revealed that the incidence of cancer cases has been continuously rising in the northern states. In Punjab, the cases increased from 39,251 in 2021 to Uproar in LS after Rahul’s Epstein jab at oil minister Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 12 Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Thursday raised a storm in the Lok Sabha when he linked the government “being allowed” by the US to buy crude from Russia to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s reported mention in the infamous Epstein files. Raising the issue of oil crisis as a result of the West Asia conflict in the Lok Sabha, Rahul began by referring to disrup- Says govt bartered India’s energy rights to the US tions in crude supplies, pointing out that the energy crisis had only begun to play out and troubles for the common man might rise in the coming days. However, as soon as the LoP referred to Puri’s reported links to the Epstein files, Speaker Om Birla interjected and did not allow him to continue, saying that he was continued on page 8 MARCH MAGIC hi, Madras and Kerala, which dealt with the eligibility of candidates claiming OBC (non-creamy layer) benefit for civil services examinations. The top court directed the Centre to consider the claims of respondent candidates Rohith Nathan, Ketan, Ibson Shah I. and other intervenors in accordance with the principles laid down in this judgment, and to continued on page 8 7yrson,SCgrantsbail toseparatistShabirin terror funding case New Delhi, March 12 The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a terror funding case on the ground that he has been in jail for almost seven years and that there was a delay in concluding the trial. “Bail granted. You will get a detailed order,” a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said. It asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the National Investigation Agency, to suggest “stringent” bail conditions to be imposed on Shah. INSIDE In 2025, Punjab saw 68 cancer deaths daily, Haryana 50, Himachal 15 Aksheev Thakur People queue up at an LPG depot in Ahmedabad for refilled cylinders. PTI 43,196 in 2025. In Haryana, the count increased from 30,015 to 33,395 during the same period. During the same year, Himachal Pradesh saw 9,761 cases and 5,382 deaths due to the disease. A 2021 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study had revealed that breast cancer was the deadliest among women in Punjab. Estimated cancer deaths in Punjab rose from 22,786 in 2021 to 23,301 in 2022, 23,818 in 2023, 24,369 in continued on page 8 Fresh snow at the Atal Tunnel’s North Portal in Himachal Pradesh’s tribal Lahaul and Spiti district on Thursday. PTI Wanted to kill Farooq for 20 yrs, got chance at wedding: Shooter Adil Akhzer Srinagar, March 12 Kamal Singh Jamwal, a 63year-old resident of Jammu who attempted to kill National Conference chief and former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday, has told investigators that he wanted to kill Farooq for 20 years and on Wednesday evening, “got a chance.” Farooq escaped unhurt when Jamwal fired at him from point-blank range at a wedding in Jammu. At the event, highprofile people were present. Jamwal, a resident of the Purani Mandi area of Old Jammu, has told the police that he wanted to kill Farooq for the past 20 years. “I wanted to kill him. Today, I got a chance to kill him. But he didn’t die,” he said. Asked why he wanted to kill the leader, Jamwal said, GOD SAVED ME I am fine and God saved me. The biggest issue is there was no police presence at the venue. ❝ Farooq Abdullah, NC PRESIDENT “I have my own motive”. Sources in the J&K Police said the accused had no criminal history and was in an inebriated condition at the time of the incident. He told the police that he had a personal weapon, which he used in the incident. In a statement, the Jammu police said Jamwal was arrested after the incident. “The firearm used in the crime has been recovered. Further investigation is on,” the police said. Sources said J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to Farooq and continued on page 8