30092026-TT-01.qxd 9/29/2026 11:07 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 270 | 14 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH ESSAR-BACKED FIRM PLANS $18-BN US STEEL INVESTMENT >> WORLD /thetribunechd MLAs SLAM OFFICERS OVER OBJECTIONS TO RESOLUTION >> J&K NEW STEEL POLICY TO DRIVE 600 MT CAPACITY BY 2047 >> BUSINESS ELEVATE MONITORING MECHANISM: RAJNATH TO NAVY >> BACK PAGE wednesday | 30 september 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SC to hear next week PIL on restraining CEC CISF officer among 4 killed as colleague opens fire in Kathua Another plea last week sought Gyanesh’s prosecution Arjun Sharma Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 29 The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a PIL seeking to restrain Gyanesh Kumar from functioning as the Chief Election Commissioner. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed to take up the PIL filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh after senior advocate Vikas Singh mentioned it for urgent listing. “The Election Commission is a multi-member body and under the statutory framework, its business is required to be transacted unanimously as far as possible, with differences being decided by majority,” Vikas said, requesting an early hearing. If the commission had not taken a unanimous decision, it was a serious issue, he told the Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana. He said there was serious doubt regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and in view of objections allegedly recorded by the other two Election Gujarat HC rejects Kejriwal’s appeal in PM degree case Ahmedabad, September 29 The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against an order that set aside a directive asking Gujarat University to disclose information related to PPM Narendra Modi’s academic degree. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray upheld the single judge’s order, finding no grounds to interfere with the decision that quashed the Central Information Commission’s 2016 directive and imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal. “In the totality of facts and circumstances of the present case, no error on any of the submissions of the appellant herein can be found in the judgment impugned. The appeal stands dismissed,” the high court said. — PTI Assam Rifles jawan killed in Arunachal ITANAGAR: An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and four injured after a patrol team came under suspected militant attack along the IndiaMyanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district on Tuesday, officials said. The incident took place when personnel of the 21 Assam Rifles were patrolling an area where fencing work is on. — PTI Gyanesh Kumar Commissioners, it was not clear if it was, in fact, a decision of the commission. The CJI said it would be listed for next week. Citing reports that about 14 decisions were taken in the name of the Election Commission between October 2025 and August 2026 despite objections recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the PIL has sought to restrain Kumar from functioning as the Chief Election Commissioner. The petitioner has urged the top court to declare that decisions vested in the Election Commission could not be taken unilaterally by the CEC. He wanted the court to Punjab Cong set to get new chief in ‘two days’ Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 29 Within days of appointing Congress leader Sachin Pilot as the general secretary incharge of Punjab affairs, replacing Bhupesh Baghel, the party high command has set in motion the process to replace state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. The change of guard is expected over the next two days. Warring is expected to be called to New Delhi shortly. Sources said the issue was discussed by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and Pilot at a recent meeting held via video-conferencing. The decision has been delayed as the party leadership got busy with the nationwide protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. However, the decision is now expected Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge with CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, LoP in LS Rahul Gandhi, and MPs KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh among others at the CWC meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI ‘No moral right to continue’: Cong seeks CEC, PM’s ouster over SIR Rinku Behera Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 29 The Congress on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing them of bearing responsibility for what the party called systematic “vote chori” and manipulation of the electoral process. The demands followed a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), during which it passed a resolution accusing the Election Commission (EC) of allowing the electoral process to be “captured” and Demands suspension of exercise, restoration of ‘illegally’ deleted voters Is Cong giving EC clean chit in Pb, HP & Kerala, asks Smriti calling for the immediate resignation of CEC Kumar. It also sought the suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the restoration of names “illegally” deleted from the voter lists. Addressing the media after the CWC meeting, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said: “In the SIR process and election procedure, it is the duty of the Prime Minister to intervene...Modi no longer has the moral responsibility or continued on page 8 New Delhi, September 29 Hours after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) raised questions over the functioning of the Election Commission, the BJP fielded national general secretary Smriti Irani to ask whether the grand old party was giving a clean chit to the poll body in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and other states with non-BJP governments. Irani asked if the Congress wanted deceased and duplicate voters in the electoral rolls. INSIDE RELAY STARS Tribune News Service Jind’s Neeru Dhanda holds the gold medal in the women’s trap shooting event at Asian Games in Nagoya. PTI Jind, September 29 From a one-room house with buffaloes tied in the verandah, to a hesitant father sceptical of the high costs of shooting, and a bout of dengue that confined her to a Delhi hospital bed — nothing could stop Neeru Dhanda (26), a resident of Sangatpura village in Jind district, from taking aim at glory. She went on to win the gold medal in the women’s individual trap shooting event, becoming the first Indian woman to achieve the feat. Her mother, Sudesh Devi, was standing in a queue to collect ration under the BPL scheme when she received a Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 29 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided 14 locations across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula in connection with its money-laundering probe into the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank scam involving the alleged embezzlement of Rs 645 crore from the accounts of the Haryana Government and the Chandigarh Administration. The searches covered several jewellers, including Malik Jewellers, KLG Jewels and its associate entities, MB Gold continued on page 8 because of the threat it had faced from a neighbouring country over several decades. “What is particularly important for us in India is the issue of terrorism. There are very few countries that have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have faced from a neighbour as part of a deliberate and India eyes China corridor tocounterPakflightcurbs Singla, Bajwa, Channi, Pargat, Aujla, Sarkaria in the reckoning Deepender Deswal EDsearches14 sitesacross Tricity in IDFC-AU scam conscious policy over many, many decades,” he said. “If something which matters so deeply to us, there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that, I think that creates a problem too,” he said. Jaishankar was responding to a question on the trajectory of the India-US relations amid differences over trade, tariffs, defence cooperation and other issues. “If one of my primary concerns is not fully appreciated by my partner, then clearly there is an impact of that on the relationship to some extent,” he said. continued on page 8 Student moves HC for CBI probe into LPUviolence,arson Ujwal Jalali Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service over the next two days following another scheduled meeting between Pilot and Rahul. An indication in this regard was given on Tuesday to some senior Punjab Congress leaders on the sidelines of a CWC meeting in New Delhi, where the mood regarding a change of guard was reportedly conveyed to the Warring camp. In a recent interview with The Tribune, Pilot had not ruled out the possibility of replacing Warring. Though leaders are tightlipped, sources said the probable candidates were former minister Vijay Inder Singla, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Bajwa, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, MLA Pargat Singh, MP GS Aujla and MLA Sukhbinder Sarkaria. continued on page 8 Jammu, September 29 Four Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, were killed after a Head Constable allegedly opened fire on them in Kathua district of the Jammu division on Tuesday evening. The incident took place at around 7 pm in the higher reaches of the district at SEWA hydroelectric power project in the Basohli area, near the border with Chamba in HP It has . been learnt that the accused allegedly entered into an argument with his colleagues before opening fire on them Lack of US empathy on cross-border terror, trade bumps hitting ties: EAM Ujwal Jalali New Delhi, September 29 Sending a strong message to Washington on terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the “lack of understanding, appreciation or empathy” in the US towards India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism has adversely affected bilateral ties. He also identified the trade negotiations as another issue that had created “bumps” in the relationship. Speaking at an Asia Society programme in New York, Jaishankar said terrorism mattered “so deeply” to India The quartet of Kiran, Prachi Choudhary, MR Poovamma and Vithya Ramraj powered India to the women’s 4x400m relay gold, clocking 3:29.69s, at Asian Games. India had previously won gold in the event in 2014 and 2018. Remarkably, 36-yr-old Poovamma has been the common golden thread in all three victories. PTI Jind’s Neeru battles odds to trap shooting gold Nirav aide held after UAE deportation NEW DELHI: The CBI arrested Sandeep Bharat Mistry, a close aide of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, upon his deportation from the UAE in the Rs 6,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud probe, officials said on Tuesday. According to officials, Mistry was wanted by both the CBI and the ED for his alleged role in the fraud. BACK PAGE issue a direction to Gyanesh to show under what authority he had acted and continued to act as though he was individually entitled to exercise the collective decision-making power vested by Article 324 of the Constitution in the Election Commission. The PIL demanded the CEC’s suspension pending adjudication, production of the poll panel’s original records and constitution of an independent judicial inquiry commission or SIT headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. Vikas cited Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. According to Section 18 (1), “The Election Commission may, by unanimous decision, regulate the procedure for transaction of its business and also allocation of its business amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.” Section 18 (2) states that “All business of the Election Commission shall, as far as continued on page 8 with his own service rifle. The accused, Abdesh Singh, a 2009-batch Head Constable, was arrested by the Kathua police and taken into custody. His service rifle was also seized by the police. The deceased have been identified as Assistant Commandant Ankit Kumar Pandey, Sub-Inspector Lakshman Singh and constables Sandeep Kumar and Mohammad Rafiq. The four CISF personnel sustained critical injuries in the firing and were rushed to an NHPC hospital in nearby HP . They were declared dead by the doctors. The police and the CISF are carrying out sepa, rate probes into the incident. phone call informing her that her daughter had won the gold medal. Elated over the success, Sudesh said Neeru was always confident about her performance. “We have been living in a one-room house, earning our livelihood by selling buffalo milk. But Neeru never complained and always used to say that we will have our own big house and car soon. She is now aiming for an Olympic gold,” Sudesh said. The family and villagers are on cloud nine after Neeru’s golden feat. “The entire village is proud of her. We will organise a huge function to honour her when she returns,” said Sunil c m y b Kumar, husband of village sarpanch Soniya. The family was concerned when she fell ill before the Asian Games. Her mother said, “She was down with dengue and had to be admitted to a hospital in Delhi. It delayed her departure for the Asian Games by four days.” Initially, Neeru’s father, Suresh Dhanda, a farmer, was hesitant to allow her to take up shooting because of the high costs involved. “However, we are thankful to our relative, Sombir Pehalwan, whose son Lakshya Sheoran is also a competitive shooter. continued on page 8 Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 29 India is exploring the possibility of securing access to Chinese airspace over Xinjiang for its airlines, a move that could significantly shorten flight times to Europe and North America and save Indian carriers millions of dollars in fuel and operating costs currently caused by Pakistan’s continued closure of its airspace. Government sources indicated that discussions on alternative flight paths have been part of broader India-China engagement as New Delhi seeks to improve international connectivity and support the rapid expansion of its aviation sector. Any arrangement would require clearances from Chinese authorities, as parts of the Xinjiang airspace remain under military control. The potential savings are substantial. Air India has estimated that access to a proposed route through Hotan in Xinjiang could reduce its loss- ‘CHINA TIES IMPROVING’ S Jaishankar said India-China ties were “better” today than these were a couple of years ago, stressing that the relationship returns to normalcy as border issues are resolved. Talks on to utilise Xinjiang airspace es by about $1.13 million a week—equivalent to nearly $59 million a year if sustained—while restoring up to 15 per cent of passenger and cargo capacity cut on some long-haul routes, according to a Reuters report based on an Air India document. The Delhi-New York route illustrates the potential impact. Air India operates the route with its Airbus A350-900. The airline has reported that the Pakistan airspace closure has increased journey times on some long-haul routes by up to three hours and raised fuel costs by as much as 29 per cent. An A350-900 burns about 5.8 tonnes of fuel an hour in long-haul operations. Thus, if the Xinjiang corridor were to eliminate three hours of additional flying, a single Delhi-New York sector could theoretically save about 17 tonnes of jet fuel. continued on page 8 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 29 Citing political reasons, a Lovely Professional University (LPU) student has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a CBI probe into the recent incidents of “violence, arson and vandalism”. Among other things, the student has pointed out that the university founder and Chancellor, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, is a sitting Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Punjab. “He left AAP , which governs the state, and joined the BJP in April this year, and the Assembly elections are due in early 2027,” the petitioner submitted. The petition, filed in public interest, is expected to be heard by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor. In his petition against the Union of India, among others, Ravi Raj submitted that on the night of September 26, an continued on page 8