13052026-TTC-01.qxd 5/13/2026 12:35 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 131 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ‘WE STILL HOLD THE TRIGGER’: IRAN SEEKS NEGOTIATED DEAL TO END WAR WORLD /thetribunechd EVEN SHEIKH ABDULLAH DIDN’T BAN LIQUOR, SAYS FAROOQ J&K RETAIL INFLATION INCHES UP TO 3.48% IN APRIL BUSINESS INDIA RAPS CHINA FOR BACKING PAK DURING OP SINDOOR BACK PAGE wednesday | 13 may 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Infiltration bid foiled inPoonch,one killed JAMMU: A terrorist attempting to cross the Line of Control (LoC) into this side in Poonch from Pakistan was killed after soldiers deployed in the area opened fire. The incident took place in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district at around 4 pm on Tuesday, when soldiers noticed suspicious movement inside Indian territory. INSIDE Girlsoutshineboysin Hry Class XII results HISAR: Girls once again outper- formed boys, with the girls’ pass percentage standing at 87.97 per cent — 6.52 percentage points higher than that of boys — in the Class XII examinations conducted by the Board of School Education Haryana, Bhiwani. Significantly, girls also bagged all the top three positions. INSIDE Jacquelinewithdraws plea to turn approver NEW DELHI: Actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Tuesday withdrew her approver plea in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar, sources said. The ED had opposed her plea, saying she remained in contact with the accused despite knowing his criminal antecedents. — PTI faces split, NEET-UG scrapped over ‘paper leak’; AIADMKback Vijay 30 MLAs CBI steps in amid nationwide uproar ahead of floor test 120 of 410 guess paper questions figured in May 3 exam | New dates soon Exposes collapse Aksheev Thakur of exam system: Rahultargetsgovt New Delhi, May 12 Tribune News Service Days after the Rajasthan Police took 16 suspects into custody following allegations of questions of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG being leaked, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the medical entrance examination conducted on May 3. The fresh dates for the reexamination will be announced within a week. The cancellation triggered nationwide outrage among medical aspirants, with students raising questions on the NTA’s competence and demanding that the exam be conducted by AIIMS-Delhi. The Opposition also attacked the Centre, alleging administrative failure, insensitivity towards students and “repeated lapses” in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations. It too demanded an overhaul of the NTA. The day also saw protests by activists of the NSUI, the SFI and other organisations at several places. In the evening, the CBI registered an FIR regarding criminal Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service Student activists being detained in New Delhi during a protest demanding cancellation of NEET-UG. PTI conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under the BNS; offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act; and under the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act-2024. The Nashik police have detained a 30-year-old student, who is currently a final-year student of the Bachelor of Management Studies. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kiran Kumar Chavan said, “The accused will be handed over to the Rajasthan Police. The suspect is a resident of Nandgaon in Nashik district.” A request was received by the Nashik police from the Rajasthan Police on Tuesday regarding the accused’s involvement in the NEET case. Director General of the NTA Abhishek Singh said it would not be appropriate to state that the paper was leaked. “The PDF we have received had some questions which were similar to the ones asked in NEET. We found that the PDF was continued on page 8 edit: heads must roll New Delhi, May 12 The Congress on Tuesday said the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 after allegations of a paper leak had exposed the “collapse” of the country’s examination system, with the Opposition accusing the BJPled Centre of allowing organised paper leak rackets to flourish while lakhs of students paid the price. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the dreams of more than 22 lakh students had been “crushed” because of corruption and negligence in the system. “Some fathers took loans, some mothers sold their jewellery, lakhs of children stayed awake through the night preparing for the exam. In return, they got paper leaks, government negligence and organised corruption in education,” Rahul said in a post on X. Calling the cancellation a “crime against the future of the youth”, Rahul said students were repeatedly being continued on page 8 Chennai, May 12 The AIADMK appeared headed for a split on Tuesday after a group of MLAs revolted against party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, accusing him of seeking an alliance with archrival DMK, and announced support for the Vijay-led government ahead of the floor test on Wednesday. About 30 MLAs, led by senior leaders SP Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam, are believed to be in the rebel camp that has questioned Palaniswami’s leadership following the party’s debacle in the April 23 assembly polls, where it won only 47 out of the 164 seats it contested. Speaking to mediapersons, Shanmugam said they would meet C Joseph Vijay to provide a letter supporting his government. He also alleged that party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami wanted to form a government with the DMK’s support. Pointing out that the AIADMK was floated to oppose and “uproot” the DMK, Shanmugam said all party members opposed Palaniswami’s proposal to form a government with the support of the MK Stalin-led CM C Joseph Vijay with Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar. PTI ABOLISH SANATANA DHARMA: STALIN JR DMK’s Udhayanidhi Stalin has called for the “abolition” of Sanatana Dharma, claiming it “divides people”, repeating the remarks he made in 2023. The BJP accused Udhayanidhi of fanning hatred for vote-bank politics while the VHP sought his expulsion as an MLA. party. He added that any such proposal contradicted the AIADMK’s fundamental principles. The party needs a continued on page 8 CBI nabs BJP youth leader among 3 in LoP not a rubber stamp: Rahul ~20-lakh Punjab Vigilance bribery case dissents on CBI chief selection Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 12 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said it had arrested three persons, two private middlemen and one associate, in a Rs 20 lakh bribery case involving alleged demand and acceptance of illegal gratification on behalf of officials posted in the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. A CBI spokesperson said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Punjab State Tax Officer, who alleged that Vikas, alias Vicky Goyal, and his son and BJP youth morcha leader Raghav Goyal demanded Rs 20 lakh to secure closure of a complaint pending against him in the office of the Director General, Vigilance, Punjab. The two were allegedly acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials, including OP Rana, reader to the DG Vigilance, who allegedly assured the complainant that his matter Held near Ambala after chase | DG’s reader, also among accused, flees Early monsoon likely, Andaman Sea may witness by May 16 Says govt denied key info, reduced process to mere formality onsetNews Service Tribune Tribune News Service Was told to pay ~20L at any cost in bogus case: Complainant Chaos outside the Vigilance office in Mohali during the CBI raid. VICKY VIGILANCE CHIEF, IN RACE TO BE DGP, IN SPOTLIGHT The CBI action against a Vigilance official and a middleman has brought into focus bureau Director Sharad Satya Chauhan, who is the senior-most contender for the post of the Punjab Director General of Police. He is the fifth Vigilance chief under the AAP rule. INSIDE would be settled once the bribe was paid. During verification, the allegations regarding demand of bribe were prima facie substantiated. According to the CBI, the accused subsequently negotiated the bribe amount down from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 lakh, along with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 mobile phone to be given to Rana. During a trap operation conducted on May 11 in Chandigarh, accused Ankit MUKTSAR: The complainant in the case involving a CBI raid on the premises of the Punjab Vigilance headquarters in Mohali on Tuesday said he was repeatedly pressured to pay Rs 20 lakh to settle a “bogus” complaint against him, leaving him in a “do-or-die situation”. He also alleged that BJP youth wing leader Raghav Goyal, his father Vikas and OP Rana — reader to the state Vigilance chief — were involved in extortion. INSIDE Wadhwa, an associate of the Goyals, was apprehended while allegedly accepting Rs 13 lakh in cash and the mobile phone from the complainant on behalf of the continued on page 8 New Delhi, May 12 Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who is part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led committee to select the CBI Director, on Tuesday expressed his dissent over the procedure. Rahul, who attended the meeting along with Modi and Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, also a member of the selection panel, submitted a two-page dissent note to the Prime Minister, saying that he was not a “rubber stamp”. “By denying the selection committee crucial information, the government has reduced it to a mere formality. The Leader of Opposition is not a rubber stamp. I cannot abdicate my constitutional duty by participating in this biased exercise. I, therefore, dissent in the strongest terms,” Rahul said in his note. Meanwhile, the final choice Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi leaves after a meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi. PTI for the CBI Director’s post could not be ascertained. Reportedly, six IPS officers are being considered for the coveted position. The government is likely to choose from among CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh, R&AW chief Parag Jain, NCB Director Gen- eral Anurag Garg, ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Kapur and Maharashtra DGP Sadanand Date. The current CBI Director, Praveen Sood, has already been given two extensions by the Centre and is set to retire this month. Rahul, meanwhile, also accused the continued on page 8 Wife’s career choice can’t be branded cruelty: SC A first in 145 yrs, St Stephen’s gets woman principal Satya Prakash New Delhi, May 12 A pioneer in AI and deep tech research, Kerala’s Susan Elias made history on Tuesday by becoming the first woman principal of India’s leading institution — St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, in its 145-year history. As another glass ceiling fell, Elias wore her credit lightly. “More than gender, I would rather have work speak for me,” the 56-yearold told The Tribune in an exclusive interview today. Rooted in Kerala but born and brought up in Chennai, Susan beat tough competition to the top role. Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 12 A qualified woman’s decision to pursue her career and ensure a stable and safe environment for her child cannot be branded as “cruelty” or “desertion”, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday. “To brandish the wife’s effort to pursue her own career goals as acts of cruelty, as the same may have hurt the sentiments of the husband or the in-laws, is highly objectionable and deplorable in the era where the society proudly talks of women empowerment,” a Bench of Sets aside Gujarat HC’s ‘regressive’ decision Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said. Terming it as “feudalistic”, “regressive” and “ultra-conservative”, the top court frowned upon a family court’s decision upheld by the Gujarat High Court which held a woman’s pursuit of her professional career as a dentist amounted to “cruelty” and “desertion”. Emphasising that a wife’s professional identity was not subject to an “implied continued on page 8 Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Asked how it felt to be the first woman head of India’s most-sought-after liberal arts and science college, she said, “I don’t think the institution’s Supreme Council was looking for a woman in particular. They were simply looking for someone with a strong research presence and I fit,” said Susan, who graduated with BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from Madras University at a time when women barely looked at STEM disciplines. But Susan, currently Pro Vice Chancellor, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, always stood out. She is today among the few private Indian researchers whom top-line strategic min- c m y b Susan Elias A PIONEER IN AI AND DEEP TECH RESEARCH Susan Elias, Pro VC at Chandigarh University, UP, made the cut for her pioneering research in AI and deep tech. She is among the few private Indian researchers whom top-line strategic ministries such as Defence and Home Affairs trust with complex problem solving. istries such as Defence and Home Affairs trust with complex problem solving. Susan has executed for the DRDO key projects with major consequences for soldier health. The first involved a study of fatigue levels of muscles of the leg — a mustfactor indicator when assigning field duties to soldiers. The second was about the impact of ballistic helmets, each weighing 3 kg, on the neck muscles of India’s jawans. Recently at the Centre for AI Robotics in Bengaluru, Susan addressed a Union Home Ministry problem statement on cyber security. “We need to be AI-ready and quantum-aware,” says the new St Stephen’s principal whose focus at the college will be on introduction of MSc in Quantum Computing; short AI courses for lawyers, journalists and other professionals and active collaboration with college alumni which include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, former CJI DY Chandrachud, writer Amitav Ghosh and economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia. “My idea is to create a platform to engage the alumni for enhancement of research and entrepreneurial edge of the institution, which has a rich history of nurturing thought leaders,” Susan says. continued on page 8 New Delhi, May 12 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said weather conditions were becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over parts of the south Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands by May 16. “Conditions are becoming favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over parts of the south Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands towards the end of this week,” the IMD said. The usual date for the arrival of the southwest monsoon in India is June 1. However, this has no relation to the progression of the monsoon. In 2025, the monsoon reached the Andaman Sea region on May 13. The meteorological department said a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from May 15. Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh are expected to receive light to moderate rain till May 14. SENSEX TANKS 1,456 POINTS WEALTH ERODED IN 4 DAYS ~16.7 LAKHCR ~AT NEW LOW OF 95.63 ■ Equities under pressure, with rupee weakening to record lows amid rising crude oil prices ■ Massive selloff in IT triggered by OpenAI’s new venture ■ FIIs continue to offload equities; sold ~2 lakh cr shares since Jan