10092024-TTC-01.qxd 9/10/2024 12:57 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 251 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ISRAELI STRIKES LEAVE 18 DEAD IN SYRIA WORLD /thetribunechd TICKET DENIED, BJP UT VICE-CHIEF MAY FIGHT AS INDEPENDENT J&K GADKARI SAYS WON’T OPPOSE INCENTIVES FOR EVs BUSINESS GAZA CRISIS A CONCERN, SUPPORT CEASEFIRE, SAYS JAISHANKAR BACK PAGE tuesday | 10 september 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Something amiss: SC to Bengal govt on absence of post-mortem challan KOLKATA HORROR Asks protesting docs to resume duty by 5 pm today Congress put off by ‘unreasonable’ demand Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 9 Surprised over a missing challan of the body of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case victim when it was handed over for post-mortem, the Supreme Court on Monday asked the State of West Bengal to produce the crucial document on September 17. “See the third column on the top, the constable is supposed to carry this (form). It has been struck off. So there is no reference of this challan when the body is sent for examination. You need to explain, if this document is missing, then something is amiss,” a Bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said after perusing the status reports submitted by the CBI and the West Bengal Government. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the CBI, said, “In the absence of mention in the post-mortem report, the possibility of it having been created subsequently cannot be ruled out.” Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the West Ben- Talks fail,AAPtofight all 90 Haryana seats Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service People from the Indian diaspora protest the Kolkata rape-murder, in Dublin, California. REUTERS JUNIOR DOCS DEFIANT, SAY WON’T RETURN TO WORK DESPITE SC ORDER; RALLY TODAY gal Government, sought to emphasise that the postmortem was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate and it was videographed as well. Mehta and Sibal accused each other of politicising the issue. As Sibal said the document in question was not present in the documents produced before the court, the Bench directed the state government to produce it on September 17 — the next date of hearing. Noting that the challan would have entries regarding the articles and materials sent along with the body for autopsy, the Bench said the probe agency should ask for it from the state. It also asked the CBI to file a fresh status report outlining the new developments by the next date of hearing even as it said, “We don’t want to guide the CBI on its investigation.” The CBI has decided to send forensic samples to AIIMS for further investigation, it added. Noting that protest couldn’t be at the cost of duty, the top court asked the West Ben- gal doctors protesting against the rape and murder of a colleague of theirs at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata to report back to work by 5 pm Tuesday. “If the doctors report for duty on or before 5 pm tomorrow, then no adverse disciplinary action shall be taken against them. All concerns on safety and security shall be promptly attended to. However, if there is continuous abstaining from work then disciplinary continued on page 9 New Delhi, September 9 The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party appear set to contest the October 5 Haryana elections on their own with pre-poll alliance talks between the INDIA bloc partners hitting a seatsharing roadblock. Top AAP brass today said the alliance was no longer on the table. “Baat nahi bani (didn’t work out),” senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Monday evening hours after AAP’s Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta announced the decision to contest all 90 seats and the party released the first list of 20 candidates. Of the 20, AAP named 12 candidates in seats where the Congress has already declared its nominees. As the talks failed, Sisodia said AAP had reached every village of Haryana and the party was ready to contest elections on every seat. Asked about alliance prospects with the Congress, Sisodia clarified, “Talks to explore an alliance were held but now that it (the alliance) AAP RELEASES FIRST LIST OF 20 CANDIDATES ■ AAP on Monday declared its first list of 20 candidates ■ Among nominees are a jour- nalist, doctor, former minister and a few turncoats ■ AAP state chief Sushil Gupta’s name missing from list ■ State vice-chief Dhanda fielded from Kalayat has not worked out, AAP workers will fight elections with all their might and defeat the BJP .” The Congress did not comment officially on the issue of talks. Three top leaders, however, told this correspondent privately that “sincere efforts were made to reach an alliance, but it could not materialise”. They said AAP was being “unreasonable with the number of seats to be contested”. The Tribune has further learnt that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi personally initiated alliance talks with AAP after senior INDIA bloc partners backed the pact to bolster unity among parties that form the anti-BJP opposition GST slashed, cancer drugs to get cheaper group. Top INDIA bloc leaders from NCP Sharadchandra Pawar and TMC’s Mamata Banerjee to JMM’s Hemant Soren, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Lalu Yadav are learnt to have favoured an AAP-Congress tie-up in Haryana. “Sincere attempts were made from our side, but seat sharing could not be worked out. AAP was seeking too many seats,” said a Congress leader privy to discussions. Indications that talks were on a weak footing came days before when the Congress changed its interlocutor — from powerful AICC general secretary, organisation, KC Venugopal who speaks directly for Rahul Gandhi to AICC general secretary, Haryana, Deepak Babaria. From AAP Raghav Chadha , was engaged in negotiations. A Congress leader today said AAP was confused about what it wanted in Haryana and kept changing the wish list of seats. “At one time they asked for 20 seats. This was unreasonable,” said a leader, continued on page 11 edit: Haryana polls Shot in the arm for Hooda, who had opposed pact Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 9 With the Congress-AAP talks not pulling through, it appears that ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s writ has prevailed. He was opposed to the alliance right from the beginning. His camp had argued that AAP lacked community-wise vote base and had performed poorly in previous elections in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha poll when AAP had fought on its own, it had polled 0.36 per cent of the vote, just ahead of NOTA. The Vidhan Sabha poll that year saw AAP contesting 46 seats only to forfeit deposits on all seats with a vote percentage of 0.48. It was less than NOTA, which polled 0.52 per cent. “How would have the alliance benefited the Congress? It was only AAP that would have gained. The Congress would risked losing all seats allotted to AAP said a ,” senior Congress MLA supporting Hooda. The Hooda camp didn’t want to part with the Kalayat, Pehowa, and Guhla (SC) seats. The Jind seat was also a bone of contention. AAP will be at a disadvantage with the alliance not taking off. It lost out on precious time to take in rebels from other parties, said a senior Congress leader. GoM to assess tax cut on insurance Defence Ministry inks ~26K cr deal with HAL for 240 Sukhoi engines Vijay C Roy Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 9 The 54th GST Council headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met in New Delhi on Monday and decided to reduce the GST on certain cancer drugs (Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab) from 12 per cent to 5 per cent; cut GST prospectively from 18 per cent to 12 per cent for savoury items; and set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) on reducing tax related to medical insurance. In another decision, universities and research centres that have been established by a law of the Central and state governments, and institutions that have obtained income tax exemption can receive research funds, both government and private. Such research-related funds would not attract taxes as they have been exempted from the GST. Addressing the media after the meeting, Sitharaman said, “The GST Council has decided that the funds given MAJOR DECISIONS ■ GST on certain cancer drugs to be reduced from 12% to 5% ■ GST on car seats to be increased from 18% to 28% ■ Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) to be introduced on supply of metal scrap by unregistered person to registered person ■ GST on savoury or salted (other than non-fried or uncooked snack pellets) items to be cut from 18% to 12% for research and development to Central and state government universities, and those who have obtained income tax exemption would be exempted from GST.” Delhi Education Minister Atishi had flagged the matter at a press conference on Sunday, when she said the AAP government would demand the withdrawal of GST notices to premier institutions at the GST Council meeting, and would also demand that research be kept out of the GST ambit. In August, many premier institutions, like IIT-Delhi continued on page 9 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid Zayed Al Nahyan in New Delhi on Monday. MUKESH AGGARWAL India, UAE sign pact on long-term LNG supply Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 9 India and the UAE today signed several agreements in the energy sector, including one on long-term supply of LNG. The pacts were inked after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid Zayed Al Nahyan here. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said PM Modi and Crown Prince Al Nahyan discussed multifaceted relations between India and the UAE with an aim to broaden the comprehensive strategic partnership. The pact on the LNG supply was signed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Under it, one million metric tonne per annum of LNG will be sup- plied to the IOC. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The LNG supply agreement will provide India with a reliable source of energy, ensuring stability in our energy markets.” ADNOC and India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited signed an MoU regarding India’s strategic petroleum reserves. The deal ensures that India can access emergency crude supplies, enhancing the ability to mitigate global oil supply shocks. ADNOC and Urja Bharat inked a production concession agreement for Abu Dhabi onshore block-1. The contract provides India access to UAE’s hydrocarbon resources. Deepening cooperation in nuclear energy, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India continued on page 11 India confirms1stMpox case as Africa returnee tests positive Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 9 The Health Ministry on Monday confirmed the case of Mpox (monkeypox) in a young male who tested positive for a strain from western Africa. The ministry said the patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities. There is no indication of any widespread risk to the public at this time, it added. The government said testing had confirmed the pres- IDENTIFY ISOLATION FACILITIES, HEALTH MINISTRY TELLS STATES ■ The Health Ministry has directed states to identify isolation facilities in hospitals for treatment of such cases ■ Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has recommended contact tracing of suspected and confirmed cases to minimise risk of transmission ■ Health officials have been ence of ‘clade 2’ of the virus, and that the particular strain is not a part of the current ISTOCK public health emergency, reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that is asked to review public health preparedness at state and district level ■ Lab network under Indian Council of Medical Research has been strengthened to test samples, and considering the disease epidemiology, the state AIDS control societies have been told to improve community awareness regarding ‘clade 1’ of Mpox. “The previously suspected case of Mpox has been verified as a travel-related infection. Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus of the West African ‘clade 2’ in the patient. This case is an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency (reported by the WHO) which is regarding clade 1 of Mpox,” the ministry said in a statement. A ‘clade’ is a biological grouping that refers to all evolutionary descendants of c m y b a particular strain of virus. “The individual, a young male who recently travelled from a country experiencing ongoing Mpox transmission, is currently isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The case aligns with earlier risk assessments and continues to be managed according to established protocols.” The ministry said contact tracing and monitoring were actively in place to ensure that the situation was contained. New Delhi, September 9 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) today signed a Rs 26,000-crore deal with staterun aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for production of 240 aero-engines for Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft. The agreement was inked by senior officials of the ministry and the HAL in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari. The HAL, which will produce the engines at its Koraput plant in Odisha, will supply 30 AL-31FP aero-engines annually as per the delivery schedule. The supply of all 240 engines would be completed in the next eight years, the ministry said. It added that the HAL would enhance the indigenisation content up to 63 per cent to achieve an average of over 54 per cent. The unit plans to take support from the country’s defence manufacturing ecosystem, involving MSMEs and public and private industries. The Cabinet Committee on Security had on September 2 approved the proposal for the procurement of 240 engines to power the Sukhoi-30 MKI jets. The IAF has 272 such aircraft of Russian parentage. continued on page 11 2 Pak militants shot near LoC in Rajouri Arjun Sharma Jammu, September 9 Two Pakistani terrorists trying to sneak into this side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district were on Monday morning eliminated after their movement was detected by soldiers guarding the border. A US-made M4 carbine, two AK-47 rifles and a pistol, among other arms and ammunition, were recovered when the Army launched a search operation with the first light of the day. The soldiers were able to detect the incoming terrorists with the help of night vision devices. Jammu-based Army’s White Knight Corps, in a US-made M4 carbine among arms recovered statement, said that following intelligence inputs, an antiinfiltration operation was launched by the Army on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday in Nowshera’s Lam area. “Two AK-47, an M4 rifle, one pistol, eight grenades, assorted ammunition, personal clothing and miscellaneous war-like stores have been recovered. Surveillance is being maintained and operations are in progress,” the Army said. While the Army noticed two terrorists sneaking towards the border fence, it is continued on page 9