19082026-TTB-01.qxd 8/18/2026 11:49 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 228 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA TRUMP CITES INDIA’S POLL TO PUSH FOR US VOTING OVERHAUL WORLD /thetribunechd PROPERTY DUTY WAIVER COVERS DAUGHTER’S KIDS: GOVT HARYANA GOR CALLS FOR MORE INDIAN INVESTMENTS IN US BUSINESS wednesday | 19 august 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com SC to set up panel to probe ‘police excesses’ during CJP’s Parl march Will comprise retired top court judge, former HC CJ, CBI ex-director Siwan SP shifted amid row over use of AK-47 during stir Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 18 The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would set up a high-powered committee comprising a retired top court judge, a former high court chief justice, a CBI exDirector, a former DGP and other members to examine allegations of police excesses during the CJP-led student protest in Delhi last month. Seeking suggestions from different parties by this evening on other members to be included in the committee, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said an order to this effect would be issued on Wednesday. The Bench said it would direct the handing over of video footage and CCTV recordings of the violence during the July 20 Parliament march to the panel for examination even as the Delhi Police denied using excessive force against protesters. The committee will examine video footage and CCTV recordings of the violence and the police response during the march and recommend appro- PMCARESdomestic donationsdrop30% to~479crinFY25 Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 18 Domestic donations to the PM CARES Fund fell 30 per cent to nearly Rs 479 crore in 2024-25, while foreign donations declined 18 per cent to Rs 92.8 lakh, according to its latest audit report. The Congress reacted sharply to the data, claiming that only 0.01 per cent of the available corpus had been utilised. The total balance in the PM CARES Fund stood at Rs 8,452 crore as on March 31, 2025, up from Rs 7,173 crore a year ago. Of this, Rs 7,846 crore was parked in fixed deposits and Rs 605 crore in savings bank accounts, the report said. Domestic donations to the PM CARES Fund stood at Rs 681.8 crore in 2023-24, while foreign donations totalled Rs 1.13 crore. The fund spent Rs 87.8 lakh on the PM CARES for Children Scheme during 2024-25, sharply down from continued on page 8 Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service The panel will examine the footage of violence and police response. FILE New Delhi, August 18 In a major reshuffle, the Bihar Government on Tuesday transferred 18 IPS officers, including the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Siwan, whose role had come under scrutiny over police action during the students’ protest in July. DON’T PLAY DELAY TACTICS ON FIRs When court is asking for a list of FIRs to be quashed, why is govt not submitting it? It is hesitating on this. Don’t play delay tactics. We will not accept this. Saurav Das, CJP CHIEF SPOKESPERSON ❝ Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 18 Women from rural Punjab are increasingly visiting the Golden Temple to pray for the marriage of their sons, who have crossed the conventional age, highlighting a growing social concern in villages where many men in their 30s struggle to find brides. A granthi serving at the Golden Temple complex noted that many women approaching him for prayers expressed deep worry over the marriage prospects of their sons, aged 30 to 40. He said prayers offered by devotees had changed over the years, reflecting changing social aspirations. “Some years ago, people would often offer prayers for visas for their daughters and Islamabad, August 18 The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s transfer to a private hospital for medical assessment and treatment within two days. The order follows months of concern expressed by the 73year-old former PM’s family and supporters over his health, amid repeated allegations that he was being denied adequate medical care. The top court on Tuesday directed that Khan be taken to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad “within the next two days” and remain there until the next hearing on September 16. It also ordered the constitution NTA OVERHAUL: 4-TIER CHECKING, CISF SECURITY The Centre has announced an overhaul of the examination systems at the National Testing Agency (NTA), including a fourtier paper-checking process, removal of 600 experts along with onboarding of new ones and CISF-secured offices. INSIDE Shekhar Singh A video grab of cop firing from AK-47. July 20 march in which 240 police personnel were injured, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Bench that except for 2,873 individuals continued on page 8 Siwan SP Puran Kumar Jha has been shifted following the controversy over the use of an AK-47 by a constable during the students’ protest against the NEET (UG) paper leak in the district on July 25. He has been placed on the waiting list for a new posting. Bharat continued on page 8 Poonia gets Punjab BJP charge, Tawde to handle UP Tarun Chugh Gujarat , Tejaswin, Gayatri, Divyaamong17get Arjuna Award; no KhelRatnafor2025 sibility he will handle in addition to Haryana. Heavyweight general secretary Vinod Tawde — the only one besides Sunil Bansal to be retained by Nabin in the revamped team — will helm Uttar Pradesh, while Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh will handle Gujarat. The Tribune was the first to report on June 30 that Poonia was set to be the Punjab incharge after the demise of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad continued on page 8 NewDelhi, August18 The Sports Ministry today named 17 Arjuna awardees, but didn’t confer the coveted Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna on any athlete for 2025. The selection committee had discussed the names of hockey forward Hardik Singh, midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and archery star V Jyoti Surekha for Khel Ratna, but none made the cut. This marks only the third instance — after 2008 and 2014 — over the past two decades that no player was chosen for the award. The Arjuna awardees include leading decathlete Tejaswin Shankar; chess superstar Vidit Gujrathi and fellow chess player Divya Deshmukh, who became the first Indian woman to win the World Cup; rifle shooter Akhil Sheoran and India’s women’s badminton pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. INSIDE Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 18 The ruling BJP at the Centre hit the ground running in key battleground states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, due for Assembly elections in 2027, by naming in-charge for each on Tuesday. Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Satish Poonia, picked as the BJP’s national general secretary in party president Nitin Nabin’s new team yesterday, has been appointed the Punjab in-charge, a respon- KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AHEAD OF STATE POLLS Tarun Chugh GUJARAT IN-CHARGE Satish Poonia PUNJAB IN-CHARGE Vinod Tawde UP IN-CHARGE daughters-in-law to go abroad. Now, many prayers are for them to get jobs and permanent residency in Canada or other countries,” the granthi said. The issue has also come to the notice of officiating Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj. Treating it as a growing social concern in Punjab’s villages, he has been urging people to come forward and help facilitate marriages of eligible young men. During his recent visit to Panjwar village in Tarn Taran district, Gargaj urged people to come forward to help arrange marriages for men over 30. Kashmir Kaur, a former panchayat member of Dhotian village, said the problem was visible in all villages. “There are around 10 to 15 unmarried men in every ‘patti’ (a neighbourhood or locality within a village). They include well-educated youth, farmers and those engaged in private occupations,” she said. Baba Pyara Singh, a matchmaker from Lohar village, said, “Every week, over five families approach me looking for brides for their sons, but families with girls looking for a match rarely come to me.” The situation is being linked to several social and demographic changes in Punjab, including the decline in the number of girls following the widespread misuse of ultrasound technology and female foeticide after the 1990s, as well as large-scale migration of young people abroad. Medical board to assess former PM’s health Imran Khan, Pakistan ex-PM of a medical board to assess the health of the former cricketerturned-politician and treat him. The Supreme Court also granted Khan one weekly meeting with his family during his stay at the hospital. Khan, who is the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, has been in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since 2023, with several cases against him. His supporters continue to protest his incarceration. His relatives and party colleagues have repeatedly alleged human rights violations and accused authorities of restricting his access to medical care, family visits and legal counsel. The court directive came while hearing several identical petitions following Khan’s eye ailment that surfaced earlier this year. The petitioners had sought his transfer to a private hospital, saying they were not satisfied with the continued on page 8 Champat getsclean chit over templetheft NEW DELHI: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the donation theft at Ram Temple has given a clean chit to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust former general secretary Champat Rai and former member Anil Mishra. The SIT report has been submitted to the Trust. INSIDE AAP’s SatyendarJain nabbedingraftcase NEW DELHI: Former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain, former Delhi Jal Board CEO Udit Prakash Rai and four others have been arrested in an alleged corruption case involving the tendering process for sewage treatment plant projects of the Delhi Jal Board. — TNS Grief led me to politics: Sonia memoir out on Nov10 Moms pray as rural Pb men struggle to find brides Charanjit Singh Teja Pak SC orders Imran’s transfer to private hospital in two days Tribune News Service priate measures to the top court. It will also look into complaints by female protesters who were allegedly molested. Alleging that historysheeters had infiltrated the DEFENCE MINISTRY BANS IMPORT OF 405 ITEMS BACK PAGE Dr Sukhdev Singh, a former Professor in the Department of Economics and Sociology at Punjab Agricultural University, said the consequences of the skewed child sex ratio were now becoming visible. He said the misuse of ultrasound technology in Punjab’s cities and towns after the 1990s had distorted the child sex ratio. “At that time, we had warned that the consequences of such social changes would be faced by the next generation. Today, those boys have crossed the age of 30,” he said. According to the 2001 Census, Punjab had a child sex ratio of 798 girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group, among the lowest in the country. The ratio improved to 846 in 2011 and 923 in 2025-26 following continued on page 8 c m y b New Delhi, August 18 What made senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who was born in Italy and once fiercely guarded her privacy, enter Indian politics after two devastating personal losses and what made her turn down the country’s top political office when it appeared within reach? Her memoir, “Belonging: A Jour- ney of Love”, is set to offer these answers. Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced on Tuesday that the memoir will be published on November 10. The book traces Sonia’s journey from postwar Italy to the heart of Indian politics, covering her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv, her entry into politics and her years at the helm of the Congress. Sonia (79) said the memoir was an attempt to look beyond the political mythology surrounding the NehruGandhi family and bring out the people behind it — their motivations, choices and human failings. “Much has been written about my family, but few narratives were able to reach into the truth of their motivations, their actions and even their very human failings. In many ways, this book is a homage to their humanness. My story also offers readers a unique perspective of the social and political changes I have witnessed for six decades in the beautiful continued on page 8