18052026-TTB-01.qxd 5/18/2026 12:15 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 136 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA ‘CLOCK IS TICKING’: TRUMP WARNS TEHRAN OVER DELAY IN DEAL WORLD /thetribunechd MASSIVE SEARCH OPS LAUNCHED IN POONCH J&K CNG PRICE UP BY ~1, SECOND HIKE IN A WEEK NATION RCB SECURE PLAYOFF BERTH AS KINGS XI FACE 6TH DEFEAT SPORT monday | 18 may 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com From paper setters to Telegram groups, CBI traces multi-layer chain in NEET leak Insider network at play, agency tells court; gets 14-day custody of Pune botany teacher Manikant Mishra Tribune News Service PM Narendra Modi inspects a guard of honour at Landvetter. Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson is also seen. REUTERS India, Sweden aim to double trade, elevate ties to ‘strategic partnership’ Dutch PM flags ‘erosion’ of minority rights; MEA bins claim Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 17 India and Sweden on Sunday announced they would work together on artificial intelligence, green energy and space technology while aiming to double bilateral trade from the present $7.7 billion. The announcements were made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Swedish counterpart Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at Gothenburg and held wideranging talks. “In light of our growing cooperation across every sector, we have decided to elevate our relationship to the level of a strategic partnership,” Modi announced. Kristersson said this would include an enhanced political dialogue on security and defence matters and talks at the level of National Security Advisers of the two countries. Swedish Gripen fighter jets escort PM Modi’s plane. ANI New Delhi, May 17 India has flatly rejected allegations made in the Netherlands about declining media freedom and erosion of religious and minority rights, asserting that the country is a “vibrant democracy” that guarantees free speech to all. The remarks were made by Ministry of External Affairs, Secretary (West), Sibi George, in response to questions about reported comments by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten expressing concern over a perceived slide in freedom of expression in India. While speaking to the media in the Dutch capital regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the continued on page 9 New Delhi, May 17 A Delhi court on Sunday remanded Manisha Mandhare, a Pune-based botany professor and National Testing Agency (NTA) panellist, to 14 days of CBI custody in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case. Mandhare allegedly conspired with other persons, including Manisha Waghmare and PV Kulkarni, to leak questions and examination content to students for substantial monetary gain. The CBI had sought 14 days’ remand of Mandhare to unearth the larger conspiracy and trace the source of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper. She is scheduled to be produced before the court on Accused botany teacher Manisha Mandhare at a Delhi court. ANI PROBE AGENCY RAIDS LATUR COACHING CENTRE INSIDE May 30. The agency argued in court that the accused allegedly provided examination-related questions and content to selected students in exchange for large sums of money. The agency’s probe has pointed towards a phased operation that allegedly began with access to confidential question pools linked to the paper-setting and moderation process before reaching candidates days ahead of the May 3 examination. At the centre of the investigation is Mandhare, who, according to the agency, was associated with the examination process as a subject expert and allegedly had access to confidential botany and zoology question paper sets. The CBI probe has also linked retired chemistry professor PV Kulkarni to the chemistry paper-setting process. Investigators suspect that portions of the paper and answer keys were extracted from within the examination ecosystem and circulated through a network of accused persons. continued on page 9 Rahul attacks Centre over med exam, 3-language rule Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 17 Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Sunday demanded the dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case and also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s apology over the sudden implementation of a compulsory three-language rule for Classes IX and X. In a series of posts on X, Rahul accused the Centre of failing to stop repeated examination leaks and questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on the issue. On the NEET paper leak issue, he asked the Prime Minister why was not he sacking Pradhan over his “repeated failures”. In another post, he demanded an apology from Modi to lakhs of children whose future, he alleged, had been “destroyed” by him and the Education Minister. He compared the government’s handling of the NEET 2024 and 2026 controversies, saying the same cycle of leaks, investigations and committees was repeating itself. He questioned why accountability had not been fixed despite continued on page 9 Amid Class XII marks row,Centredefendson-screenmarking ing lower marks than expected following the declaration of Class XII results. He stressed the welfare of students remained the ministry’s “utmost priority”. Rejecting allegations of unfair checking, he said the OSM system was not a new experiment and had first been introduced by the CBSE in 2014 before pausing it due to technological limitations at that time. He said several institutions in India and abroad already used similar systems, including the Institute of Chartered Accoun- nearly 98.66 lakh answersheet pages were scanned and digitised this year before being evaluated online. Kumar said the process involved “three levels of security checks” to ensure no page was missed and that scanned copies remained legible. He said the digital system had removed long-standing problems such as totalling mistakes and brought greater standardisation to evaluation because marking schemes were digitally synced with examiners’ systems. “When the marking scheme is inte- grated into the system, it also standardises how marks are awarded question by question,” he said. CBSE chief Rahul Singh said answer sheets could now be evaluated outside the geographical jurisdiction of CBSE regional offices, increasing transparency and reducing opacity in the checking process. The CBSE, he added, trained teachers extensively before implementation and began the evaluation process from March 17 using older answer sheets for orientation and calibration. continued on page 9 Close shave for passengers in Rajdhani fire Prez Murmu gives nod to add four judges to SC Indian worker killed in drone attackonMoscow SWEDEN CONFERS TOP HONOUR ON PM Sweden on Sunday conferred the Royal Order of Polar Star Commander Grand Cross upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is the country’s top honour for a head of government This is the 31st global honour for the Prime Minister. Earlier, Modi, while addressing the European Round Table for Industry, along with Kristersson and European continued on page 9 Manikant Mishra Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 17 Facing mounting anxiety among students and parents over the CBSE Class XII results, the Education Ministry on Sunday defended the newly reintroduced on-screen marking (OSM) system, asserting that the technology-driven evaluation process was “transparent, accurate and fair”. At a specially convened media briefing, School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar addressed the concerns raised over students allegedly receiv- CBSE REDUCES REVALUATION FEES The CBSE has announced a steep reduction in revaluationrelated fees. Students will now have to pay only ~100 instead of ~700 to view answer sheets. Verification request will now cost ~100 instead of ~500, and rechecking of individual questions will cost ~25. tants of India, University of Delhi, University of Mumbai, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge boards. According to the ministry, Rinku Behera Tribune News Service 69% turnout in HP local body elections SHIMLA: A turnout of 69.16 per cent was recorded in the election to 51 urban local bodies in Himachal on Sunday. The polling was peaceful, said state Chief Election Commissioner Anil Khachi. He said 72.42 per cent polling was recorded in councils and nagar panchayats and 63.44 per cent in corporations. INSIDE Heatwave alert for Pb, Hry till May 23 NEW DELHI: The IMD has issued an alert for an intense heatwave across several parts of the country. It said states and UTs, including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP and Madhya Pradesh, and the Vidarbha region, were expected to remain under heatwave conditions till May 23. BACK PAGE Anand Marriage Act inSikkimfromJune1 NEW DELHI: The Anand Marriage Act, which enables Sikhs to register their traditional marriages under their own legal framework, will come into force in Sikkim from June 1 after SC prod. This will allow Sikhs in Sikkim to register their marriages solemnised under “Anand Karaj” ceremony directly. —TNS New Delhi, May 17 A fire broke out in two coaches of the ThiruvananthapuramHazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday morning. All passengers were safely evacuated from the affected coach, officials said. According to the officials, the fire broke out in the B-1 and SLR coaches — the last two coaches of the train — at 5.15 AM between the Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations in the West Central Railway section. The safety system installed in the coaches functioned immediately, causing the train to stop automatically. The train crew then promptly detached the two rear coaches to prevent the fire from spreading further. All passengers travelling in the affected coaches were safely disembarked and no Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Flames erupt from an AC coach of the Rajdhani Express that caught fire in Ratlam district of MP on Sunday. PTI injuries or casualties were reported among passengers or railway staff, the officials confirmed. The overhead electric supply was immediately switched off as a precautionary measure, while the affected B-1 coach was detached from the rake. Railway person- nel and senior officials rushed to the spot and carried out firefighting operations. Passengers from the affected coach were provided refreshments at the site. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an investigation has been initiated. Moreover, an audit of various systems for fire in coaches has been launched. The officials said the Rajdhani Express resumed its journey from the site with a diesel engine at 9.48 am and proceeded towards the Vikramgarh Alot station. New Delhi, May 17 President Droupadi Murmu has promulgated an ordinance to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, was promulgated last evening to amend Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, replacing the word “33” therein with “37”. It means the Supreme Court will now have a sanctioned strength of 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. The current working strength of the Supreme Court is 32, including the CJI. Four more judges are due to retire later this year. Excluding CJI, top court’s strength now 37 Now, CJI Surya Kant-led Supreme Collegium is expected to recommend names to fill these vacancies. The last increase in Supreme Court judges’ strength happened in 2019, when it was taken from 31 to 33 (excluding the CJI). According to Article 124 (1) in the Constitution, “There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges…”. At its inception in 1950, the Supreme Court had only eight judges, including the CJI. The number of judges in the Supreme Court was first continued on page 9 Moscow, May 17 An Indian worker was killed and three others injured in a drone attack in the Moscow region, the Indian embassy said on Sunday. The incident comes amid escalating hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. “One Indian worker has lost his life and three others have been injured in a drone attack in (the) Moscow region earlier today. Embassy officials have visited the location and met the injured workers in the hospital,” the Indian Embassy in Russia said in a post on X. “The Embassy is working with the company management and local authorities to provide necessary aid to the workers,” it said, even though it did not disclose the identities of the deceased or the injured persons. — PTI PPCB, police raids take lid off illegal biomedical waste recycling racket Aman Sood Tribune News Service Patiala, May 17 In a serious breach of safety rules, biomedical waste meant for mandatory disposal is being funnelled from hospitals and blood banks to illegal scrapyards for recycling. Sources said plastic recycled from the biomedical waste was landing in the hands of those making medical equipment and even cheap toys. The sources said the lid was blown off this illegal trade after the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), in coordination with the police, seized biomedical waste from a godown following a complaint. The initial raid led to another godown in its vicinity on Devigarh Road. The waste was carrying seals of treatment plant facilities. “Initial investigation points towards a well-knit nexus wherein biomedical waste was shifted to the godowns from where unscrupulous scrap dealers would sell it to bigger junkyards in bigger cities. Blood-soaked cotton pads, used syringes and blood sam- Treatment facilities diverting hazardous material to scrapyards USED IN EQUIPMENT, CHEAP TOYS Plastic recycled from the biomedical waste was landing in the hands of those making medical equipment and even cheap toys, said sources. ple bottles were found lying on the spot, raising fears of contamination in nearby areas,” said an official. c m y b At present, there are six common biomedical waste treatment facilities situated in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Muktsar, Mohali, Nakodar and Pathankot. These collectively handle around 20,000 kg of biomedical waste per day. A barcoding system helps the PPCB obtain information related to the collection of biomedical waste. The information, including the tracking system of the vehicle that carries the waste, is uploaded online. PPCB Environmental Engineer Navtesh Singla said the seized biomedical waste was marked with bar codes from an authorised waste collection facility in Mohali, indicating that it had been diverted from a legitimate disposal route. “The whole storage facility was full of bags containing biomedical waste and two labourers escaped from the spot when our teams reached there. However, we have confiscated the waste and some other items that might help us and the police to nail the culprits and owners of the illegal godown,” said Singla. continued on page 9 Biomedical waste being lifted for disposal after a raid in Patiala.