04102026-TTC-01.qxd 10/4/2026 12:58 AM Page 1 c m y b 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 274 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 RAHUL LAUNCHES ‘SATYAGRAHA’ PORTAL FOR PROTESTS >> NATION /thetribunechd OF FOUR, INDIA’S TRUCE PLAN BROADEST, SAYS UKRAINE >> WORLD WEST, CHANDIGARH MONETISED HERITAGE CHAIR >> SPECTRUM INDIA CAN’T SET HASINA EXTRADITION DEADLINE: ENVOY >> BACK PAGE sunday | 4 october 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Co-pilot from Oman, hit captain with crash axe UAE claims flydubai attack was attempted terrorist act Ujwal Jalali & Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service Skipper Harmanpreet Singh (2L) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the men’s hockey final against Malaysia in Japan. PTI Golden double as India defend hockey title early qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This is the first time that the hockey teams have completed a golden double in the Asian Games, having earlier come close in 1982, when the men lost in the final, and in 1998, when the women fell agonisingly short in the gold medal match. This is also the first time that the men’s team has defended its title, with Harmanpreet captaining the side on both occasions. Former captain Manpreet Singh became the most decorated Indian player at the Asian Games with three gold medals. The most-capped Indian player has been a key component in the team’s revival in world hockey, having won two successive Olympics bronze medals. That resurgence has also brought India unprecedented success at the continental level, with the team enjoying its most dominant phase in the Asian Games. With their third gold medal in four editions, India took their total tally to five, Influencer Mad Sandhu shot dead in Amritsar AAPsuspendsMLA hoursafterheflags teacher shortage Pawan K Jaiswar Bathinda, October 3 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday suspended party MLA Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana from its primary membership over his alleged involvement in anti-party activities. The development came hours after the Maur MLA broke down during a 14-minute Facebook Live video while criticising his own government over the shortage of teachers in government schools despite the Sikhya Kranti programme. In a letter, AAP Punjab general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat said the action was taken over Maiserkhana’s alleged involvement in anti-party activities and indiscipline, and would take effect immediately. Earlier, the first-time MLA said he had taken up the matter with the party high command, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, but the shortage remained unresolved. INSIDE Indervir Grewal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 3 India completed an unprecedented golden sweep in hockey as the men’s team defended its Asian Games title a day after the women ended a 44year wait for their second gold in the continental event. Led by their talismanic captain Harmanpreet Singh, who scored his second successive brace, India outclassed Malaysia 5-1 in the final in Kakamigahara on Saturday to join the women’s team in ensuring killing is yet to be ascertained, he said. Till now, no Amritsar, October 3 one has claimed the responSocial media influencer Mad- sibility for the attack. husudan, alias Mad Sandhu, In July, a Nihang Sikh had was shot dead by two uniden- allegedly threatened him tified motorcycle-borne about his videos on his social assailants on Loharmedia accounts ka road here around 6 while alleging that pm on Saturday. those were misleadAccording to the ing the youth. He had police, the assailants asked him to refrain opened fire at Sandhu from making and and fled from the spot. posting such videos. He was rushed to a priIt had led to a controvate hospital, where he Mad Sandhu versy at that time. succumbed to his His Instagram injuries. The police have account had 2.26 lakh followers launched an investigation into and he had even acted in a Punthe incident and formed teams to jabi movie ‘Oye Bhole Oye’. identify and trace the assailants. Congress leader Raj Kumar The Additional Deputy Verka criticised the AAP govCommissioner of Police, ernment over the law and Sirivennela, said that the order issue by citing the latest police had got some leads murder incident in Amritsar. and were working on those. The AAP government has CCTV footage from the failed to protect the life of the area is being examined to common man in Punjab, he establish the sequence of said, while demanding the events and identify the sus- resignation of Chief Minister pects. The motive behind the Bhagwant Mann. Tribune News Service becoming the second-most successful team behind Pakistan (eight titles). India’s recent rise coupled with the decline of their continental rivals means that the Asian Games gold medal is seen as a foregone conclusion even before the start of the tournament. That brings added pressure. Despite being the highest-ranked team in the tournament, there is always the possibility of a slip-up. The shock loss to Malaysia in the 2018 semifinals was a prime example of continued on page 7 New Delhi, October 3 The man accused of attempting to crash a flydubai passenger aircraft and kill around 180 passengers and crew on board has been identified as 29-yearold Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, who allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit during a flight to Israel. His identification has brought his aviation career under scrutiny, with questions emerging over how a pilot who had reportedly faced restrictions on flying in Oman over concerns about alleged extremist views was subsequently able to join flydubai and serve as a commercial co-pilot. United Arab Emirates prosecutor general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi on Saturday said, “Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack.” In a statement carried by the UAE’s state news agency, the official said the co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and PITCH PERFECT India summons Pak envoyoverinfiltration NEW DELHI: India on Saturday summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission and lodged a strrong protest over “continued facilitation of illegal crossborder infiltration”. INSIDE Turkiyedeportsnarco mastermind to India Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Deputy PM Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum visits heroic flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar at a hospital. PTI CO-PILOT STOOD TO PRAY, HIT ME: SMIT TO BIBI n In a call with Israeli PM, Capt n Netanyahu said he’s amazed Smit said he was attacked after co-pilot got up to pray n He first felt a blow to the back of his head and then the blows kept coming, he said at his courage and ability to stay cool under such a situation n “You saved so many souls... You saved the spirit of the world,” the Israeli PM said attempted to take control of the aircraft. The investigation into the incident, including the suspect’s motives, was ongoing, and the findings would be released once the “necessary procedures” had been completed, he said. The prosecutor general’s comments were the first by Emirati investigators to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack. continued on page 7 India defeat arch-rivals Pakistan by 19 runs to clinch their second consecutive gold medal in the men’s cricket event. After posting 211 for six on a batting-friendly track, India restrict Pakistan to 192 for six to bag the honours. Amritsar, October 3 The Border Security Force (BSF) has recorded a sharp surge in narcotics recoveries along the Punjab frontier this year. More than 850 kg of heroin smuggled from Pakistan has been seized so far, more than double the 415 kg recovered in 2025 and nearly three times the 283 kg seized in 2024. Despite intensified counter-drone measures, unmanned aerial vehicles remained the preferred mode for cross-border smuggling. While 182 drones had been recovered till September-end this year, the figure stood at around 290 in each of the previous two years. Apart from heroin, the BSF seized around 14 kg of ICE (crystal methamphetamine) and 44 kg of opium. ICE recoveries remained largely at par with 2025, when 21 kg was seized, compared with just 1.4 kg in 2024. Opium seizures, meanwhile, rose from 12 kg last year and 16 kg in 2024 to 44 kg this year. Another notable trend has been the steady rise in the trafficking of sophisticated weapons by cross-border networks. The BSF recovered 261 weapons, including assault rifles, this year, compared with about 200 in 2025 and just 36 in 2024. Recoveries of magazines also climbed sharply to 390 this year from 286 last year and 47 in 2024. Punjab Police officials said the consignments were intended for terror modules, gang networks and criminal syndicates operating in Punjab as well as other states. Atul Fulzele, IG, BSF Punjab Frontier, said smuggling networks had altered their tactics this year, prompting security agencies to recalibrate their response. “While we have launched a number of intelligence-based joint operations in the border belt, we have also expanded surveillance and enforcement NEW DELHI: Five Indians were rescued after a Kuwait-flagged tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian mission in Oman said on Saturday. BACK PAGE Delay in delivery of fighter jets hurting force, says IAF Chief Tribune News Service PRANAVI URS WOMEN’S GOLF Is the first Indian woman golfer to win Asiad gold, maintaining a slender one-stroke lead that also helps country claim the team silver. ONA GOLD ROLL KUMKUM MOHOD ARCHERY (WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL RECURVE) Scripts history with India’s first-ever individual recurve gold, beating South Korea’s Oh Yejin 6-5. On Friday, she won women’s team recurve gold. AMAN SEHRAWAT WRESTLING (MEN’S 57KG) Upgrades bronze to gold as he holds his nerve to beat N Korea’s reigning world champion Chong Song Han 11-7 in men’s 57kg final. This is India’s second wrestling gold after Sujeet Kalkal’s win on Friday. Arms, opium recoveries up too; drones remain key carrier, 182 seized so far Tribune News Service FiveIndiansrescued afterHormuzattack Ajay Banerjee 850 kg in 9 months,Pb heroin haul doubles on IB Channi, Tharoor renamed Pawan K Jaiswar NEW DELHI: Narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh was deported from Turkiye and arrested upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. A court has sent him to 10 days’ police custody. — TNS up to 5-8 km inside the hinterland from the International Border. Counter-drone capabilities have been strengthened and we are also developing human intelligence with the help of village defence committees,” he said. Fulzele added that coordination with agencies such as the Punjab Police and the NCB had been further strengthened to crack down on traffickers operating in border areas. He said recoveries showed that Amritsar and Tarn Taran remained the preferred infiltration corridors. However, the Ferozepur sector had also witnessed a major increase in seizures, he added. parliamentary panel chiefs Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 3 Key Opposition leaders, including Charanjit Singh Channi, Shashi Tharoor and Mukul Wasnik of the Congress and Tiruchi Siva and K Kanimozhi of the DMK, were today reappointed as chairpersons of important parliamentary committees. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Saturday recast 24 department-related parliamentary panels (16 of the Lok Sabha and eight of the Rajya Sabha) naming former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as chairman Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including six-page Spectrum. c m y b TRINAMOOL PROTESTS ‘BLACKOUT’ TMC’s Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha leaders Derek O'Brien and Abhishek Banerjee wrote to House chairpersons objecting to the blackout in the parliamentary panel recast notified on Saturday. BACK PAGE of the panel on agriculture. Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, often at variance with his party over key policy issues, including Operation Sindoor, remains the head of the crucial Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs. continued on page 7 New Delhi, October 3 Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Saturday said that delay in delivery of fighter jets was “hurting” the force. Referring to the number of combat jets and scheduled phasing out of older planes, he said the “numbers are getting reduced”. Separately, on military reform of carving out geographically defined theatre commands, the IAF Chief cautioned that lessons from ‘Operation Sindoor’ need to be factored in before a final decision is made. The IAF Chief was addressing the annual press conference ahead of Air Force Day (October 8). On the shortage of jets, he pinned hopes on the future of multiple jetmaking programmes in the private sector as well as public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). “Going ahead, we need anything between 36-40 jets annually,” Air Chief Marshal Singh said. Answering a question on delays in getting fighter jets, he said, “It is hurting us. There is no doubt about that.” With older fleets set to be phased out, the numbers could drop further. The IAF at pres, ent, has 30 squadrons against a mandated need for 42 squadrons for a two-front war against China and Pakistan. Some of the squadrons are set to retire over the next few years. In the future, the IAF Chief pinned hopes on getting 24 Tejas Mark 1A jets annually from HAL and another 12 jets annually from the future order of 114 Rafale jets. “The deal for 114 jets could happen within this fiscal,” he said, answering a question. Das- Air Chief Marshal AP Singh sault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, will be making 96 of these jets in India. “In case these things go through as planned, we will be able to achieve our set pace of growth,” the IAF Chief said. On India getting a fifthgeneration jet, he said, “Russians have offered it (Sukhoi-57), but no decision has been taken so far. We need a plane of this class. In case the indigenous fifthgeneration jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, is getting delayed, we need to take a call on getting a fifthgeneration plane.” The IAF chief said, “China giving a fifth-generation plane to Pakistan is a matter of concern, but not a major concern.” Pakistan had air power even earlier, but the outcome during Operation Sindoor demonstrated that simply having advanced aircraft is not enough. Addressing the issue of having theatre commands, the IAF Chief said, “We have a new situation which we saw after Operation Sindoor… So, my only point is that we should look at all those and then take a decision…maybe a slightly better option on what kind of organisation continued on page 7