28032025-TT-01.qxd 3/27/2025 11:53 PM LoP NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK: OPPN MPs MEET BIRLA /thetribunechd Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 85 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 HIMACHAL PRADESH friday | 28 march 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Three J&K policemen, 3 Pak-origin militants killed in Kathua gunfight 3 security personnel hurt as forces come under heavy fire in forest Arjun Sharma Jammu, March 27 Three Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel and three militants were killed while three security men were injured in an encounter in a thick forest near Jakhole village of Ghati Juthana in J&K’s Kathua district on Thursday. The security forces, including the Army, launched a combing operation after being alerted by villagers about suspicious movement in the area, said officials. Sources said the hiding terrorists, carrying sophisticated weapons and learnt to be highly trained and of Pakistani origin, fired indiscriminately at the security personnel, injuring five of them, including Sub-Divisional Police Officer Dheeraj Katoch. Katoch and PunjabGovernorto start6-day‘padyatra’ for drug awareness chandigarh: Amid AAP's anti-drug campaign, Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday announced to undertake a sixday padyatra (April 3-8) from Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur) to Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar), covering 7-8 km daily through villages. The Raj Bhawan stated the march aims at highlighting the Centre’s commitment against drug abuse. Kataria has invited state leaders to join the walk. He also exhorted government officials to participate in the drive. INSIDE A policeman injured in the Kathua encounter being shifted to a hospital in Jammu on Thursday. PTI three other police personnel were the first to reach the area and came under heavy fire from the militants. Dur- ing the encounter, a head constable and two constables were killed, said sources. No official statement was released by the police till the filing of this report. The injured included a jawan of continued on page 6 Lok Sabha clears Immigration Bill; Shah says India not a dharamshala Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 27 The Lok Sabha passed the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, on Thursday, with Home Minister Amit Shah saying that those who come to India for business, education and investment are welcome, but those who pose a threat to security will face stringent action. Shah said the government would not allow anyone who wished to disrupt peace enter the country. “This country is Oppn: Send Bill to JPC for further examination not a dharamshala where anyone can come and reside. If someone comes by following the law and with an intention of developing both India and their home country, they are most welcome. But if it is a security threat, it is the right of Parliament to make a law to stop them,” he said in Parliament while replying to a debate on the Bill. The Bill, PLEDGE AGAINST DRUGS which seeks to regulate immigration, entry and stay of foreigners in India, was passed by a voice vote. It repeals the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. During the discussion, Shah explained the features of the Bill and said it held significance for strengthening national security, ensuring global standards of Indian continued on page 6 Four die after falling ill at Lucknow rehab LUCKNOW: Four special needs children died and at least 16 were taken ill, allegedly after they had their dinner at a government rehabilitation centre here, officials said. On Tuesday, more than 20 children fell ill, possibly due to food poisoning, and were taken to Lok Bandhu hospital. Four of them succumbed during treatment. INSIDE Punjab Police IGP Baljot Singh Rathore (left), other police personnel and civilians take a pledge to eradicate drugs from the state, during an awareness event in Abohar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Bar leaders ask Collegium to withdraw Justice Varma’s transfer, want FIRlodged CASH AT JUDGE’S HOUSE Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 27 The leaders of six Bar associations of different high courts on Thursday met Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna-led Supreme Court Collegium and demanded the withdrawal of the recommendation to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. Justice Varma has been in the eye of the storm following discovery of unaccounted cash at his residence during a fire incident on March 14. The leaders of the Bar associations of the high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka and Lucknow (Bench of Allahabad HC), who met the CJI and other Collegium members, also questioned non-registration of an FIR in the incident. The other Collegium members are continued on page 6 Verdictin2008Chd ‘cashatjudge’sdoor’ case tomorrow Files petition in HC for travel expense waiver, hearing today Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 27 Hours after Baramulla MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh attended Parliament’s Budget session “in-custody”, the Delhi High Court declined an urgent hearing on his plea seeking waiver of Rs 1.45 lakh daily travel expense required for Lok Sabha attendance. The court scheduled the hearing for Friday. The development came after Rashid’s counsel received an email from the Tihar Jail, stating he must pay Rs 1,45,736 per day for travel between prison and Parliament — totaling Rs 8,74,416 for the six-day session. Rashid LUDHIANA: A city court has awarded the death penalty to Sonu Singh (28) of Fatehpur district in UP for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. The 58-page verdict was based on the testimonies of 16 witnesses and supported by CCTV footage. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh on him. INSIDE Tribune News Service Rashid’s Parl gig to cost him ~1.45 L/day Aditi Tandon Man gets death for Ludhiana girl’s rape Ramkrishan Upadhyay Chandigarh, March 27 A CBI court in Chandigarh will on Saturday pronounce its judgment in the 2008 alleged “cash at judge’s door” case against Justice Nirmal Yadav, then a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. continued on page 6 filed an urgent application seeking modification of this order, stating he lacked funds and his family had only managed to arrange one day’s expenses through crowdfunding. His petition noted no such costs were imposed during his previous Parliament visits for oath-taking or the continued on page 6 GOVT INKS DEFENCE DEALS WORTH ~2.5K CR BACK PAGE Himachal second only to Punjab in drug addiction: MP NEW DELHI: Shimla MP Suresh Kumar Kashyap on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that Himachal Pradesh stood second only to Punjab when it came to the rising levels of drug addiction. Kashyap shared data from school surveys and addiction among government employees and attacked the Congress government in the state for its alleged failure to curb the menace. He said Himachal, known as Devbhoomi, was increasingly falling into the clutches of addiction. “In rehab centres, 35 per cent children are addicted to ‘chitta’, a synthetic drug,” he said. INSIDE c m y b
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
