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Wednesday,
January 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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6 killed,
CRPF camp attacked
NC
threatens to review ties with BJP |
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Pakistan
plans to push in suicide squads ‘Locals helping to check infiltration’ Pak troops
step up firing Jammu, a
city of migrants Protesting
shopkeepers teargassed 18
unauthorised colonies to be regularised Personal
accident policy renewed Doctor
stabbed near Sectt Helplines
launched in Anantnag
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6
killed, CRPF camp attacked Srinagar, January 21 The BSF busted two hideouts and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including explosives, in the valley overnight. An official spokesman said militants fired a couple of rifle grenades towards the CRPF camp set up in multi-storey Pamposh hotel on the bank of Jehlum near here around 12.25 pm today afternoon. He said one of the grenades exploded in the compound of the camp causing injuries to two jawans. A civilian, sweeper, was also injured in the blast. Later, security forces took into custody two persons from the nearby market for questioning, sources said. The camp has been attacked about six times by militants with rockets and rifle grenades in the past also. Six security force personnel were injured and their vehicle was damaged when suspected militants hurled a grenade at Qazigund in Anantnag district today. The vehicle was extensively damaged in the blast which the Hizbul Mujahideen claimed its cadre had carriedout. Two militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed and a jawan was injured in an encounter at Achabal in Anantnag district yesterday. A house where the militants were hiding was also damaged in the exchange of fire. Two AK rifles and 27 rounds were recovered from the site of encounter, the police said. Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces at Aragam in the Bandipore area of Baramula district today. Two AK rifles, four magazines, 180 rounds, two wireless sets and four grenades were recovered from the site of the encounter. A bullet riddled body of one Abdul Rehman was recovered at Batagund village last night. A Jammu report quoting the sources said militants, hiding in a nearby hillock fired two rockets
targeting the Kandi Koteranka police station. But one grenade fell short of its target and exploded on the roof of a house, killing one person on the spot and injuring four others. Those injured have been identified as Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Taj Hussain and Shamim Akhtar. They have been admitted to hospital in Rajouri. The police has launched an operation to flush out the ultras from the area, the sources added. A BSF spokesman said troops of 54 battalion on a specific information raided a specially-built militant hideout in the house of one Ghulam Mohiuddin Nazar at Gujbug Pattan in Baramula district last night. He said the arms and ammunition recovered from the hideout included two AK rifles, eight magazines, 240 rounds, two detonators, one programmed time device, one light dependent resistance, five paper codes and one wireless set. The house owner, who was an active militant of Hizbul Mujahideen was arrested, he said. He said in yet another similar operation troops of 120 battalion busted a hideout at Wagad Tral in Pulwama district last night and recovered one wireless set, 15 kg explosives and other items. He said the BSF also arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen militant Niyaz Ahmad Baba who was allegedly involved in hurling a hand grenade at a BSF post at Soura and killing a police constable recently. JAMMU:
Two Village Defence Committee (VDC) members were among four persons killed while as many were wounded in separate militancy-related incidents in Rajouri and Doda districts of Jammu region overnight. The police said at Sumbal village in the Ramban area of Doda district, militants barged into the house of one Jagdish Raj who was a VDC member. Another VDC members Rumaal Singh was also in his house. The ultras sprayed bullets indiscriminately from their automatic weapons, killing them on the spot. |
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NC threatens to review ties with BJP Jammu, January 21 Mr Abdullah was informally talking to mediapersons after presiding over the first meeting of the legislature party of the National Conference. He said it would be difficult to continue in the NDA if the BJP continued to harp on these issues in the coming assembly elections in nine states. It was unfortunate that the policies of the NDA were being changed for political purposes. He said he personally was not in favour of his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, or anyone from the NC joining the Central Ministry in view of the change in the stand of the BJP which was leading the NDA government. Mr Omar Abdullah, whose resignation from the Union Ministry was recently accepted by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, said that such utterances of the BJP leadership would weaken the relations between the two parties. However, he said he could not yet say whether the NC would snap its ties with the NDA over the issue. He criticised the Centre for frequently changing its policy on providing a package for industrial development in the states and discontinuing it for Jammu and Kashmir within three months of introducing it. The package had been provided to Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, which were self-sufficient in the spheres of power supply and security. No one would invest money in this militancy-hit state without the support of a package. Mr Omar Abdullah indicated that the NC would attack the PDP-led coalition on various issues during the coming Budget session of the assembly. He said the NC would no more remain a silent spectator and would raise its voice against the failures of the Mufti-led government. He said the NC was not against the “healing touch” for victims of terrorism, but the Mufti was publicising it as if something new was being done. He said innocent persons were released from jails during the NC regime without any effort to publicise it as an achievement of the government. Mr Omar Abdullah said the NC wanted to play the role of a healthy Opposition, but the Mufti was “not allowing us to do so”. He was sparing no effort to weaken the NC. He alleged that certain senior leaders of the NC had been asked by the government to vacate the houses which were allotted to them during Governor’s rule because of a “security threat” and their security cover was also being withdrawn.
Farooq’s induction Jammu, January 21
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Pakistan plans to push in suicide squads Jammu, January 21 “Eight to nine suicide squads, besides other militants, have been brought from interior areas of Pakistan and kept ready at three different launching pads in the Shakergarh sector of Pakistan for their infiltration into Jammu for disruption of Republic Day functions,” the sources told PTI. These include suicide squads of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) and Al-Badr, they said. The militants have been instructed to carry out suicide attacks at the Republic Day venues, attack some ministers and target religious places on or before January 26, the sources said. These militant groups are being directly commanded by Pakistan’s SSG, also called the ‘Sabotage Force’, they said. Pakistan’s ISI has also re-activated launching pads and training camps along the border in the R S Pura, Ramgarh and Hiranagar sub-sectors of Jammu-Kathua belt during the past one month, the sources said. The camps were closed last year due to international pressure, they said. Nearly 450-475 militants are actively taking part in weapons training at camps located at Dallapur, Jalapur, Kunjah, Mahara, Maraw, Chawinda, Shakergarh and Musa in the Sialkote and Zafarwal sectors of Pakistan, the sources said. In view of the increased threats, all security agencies have been asked to be on the alert. The BSF, which is guarding the border, have put additional cordons all along the border line and likely routes of infiltration, they said. In the border belt of Samba, which falls opposite Shakergarh sector of Pakistan, three-tier security of the BSF, the police and the army have been put on round-the-clock monitoring, they said. Meanwhile, security has been beefed-up in the city in view of militants’ threat to disrupt the Republic Day celebrations. “The police has taken all possible security measures in and around Jammu city to ensure that no untoward incident takes place on or before January 26”, official sources said here today. Besides the deployment of special teams at many places on infiltration-prone areas like R S Pura, Samba and Nikki Tawi, vigil had been tightened and all incoming and outgoing vehicles were being checked, they said. The Nikki Tawi river bed adjoining Maulana Azad Stadium, the main venue of R-day function was also being sanitised, the sources said, adding police teams had been put on round-the-clock patrol in the area. Additional armed guards had been deployed in main government buildings, including the civil secretariat.
PTI |
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‘Locals
helping to check infiltration’ New Delhi, January 21 Talking to the media during his visit to the Republic Day NCC camp here, he said: “Things are looking up in Kashmir. After the successful Assembly elections, there is rise in hope and expectations among the people who are now supporting us in our efforts at checking infiltration”. Contingents from all states and 76 foreign cadets, along with 10 officers, from nine countries have come to participate in the camp. He acknowledged that there had been no increase in tension on the border with Pakistan even as he confirmed that infiltration from across the border was still continuing, according to a UNI report. Asked to comment on the ‘’provocative’’ statements made by Pakistan, including its President Pervez Musharraf, against India in the recent days, he said, “What can I say about their comments...it is the job of our national leaders’’. |
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Pak troops step up firing Jammu, January 21 Using light and medium machine guns, Pakistani troops targeted border outposts in R.S. Pora sector and some forward posts in Akhnoor sector since last evening, he told reporters. Around 1,000 rounds were fired from across the border till this
morning, the spokesman said, adding that no casualty was reported. One excavator used for digging earth was damaged in the firing. Indian troops retaliated and an intermittent exchange of fire took place between both sides, he said. According to intelligence reports, several hundred militants were waiting across the border to sneak into India via Jammu border, he said.
PTI |
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Jammu, a city of migrants Jammu, January 21 “Though the migrants problem in Jammu and Kashmir is as old as over 53 years, it has become complicated during the past over one decade because of political and other considerations,” one of the oldest migrants, Mohan Singh told PTI here recently. During the past 10 years alone, eight types of migrants had taken refuge in the city, he added. Taking a look at the historical background of migration to the city, he said “After Partition, the first to land in Jammu were refugees from Pakistan, mostly from Sialkot district”. From 1947 to 1971 Mirpur Mahajan migrants, refugees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Chhamb refugees and West Pakistan refugees, who had fled from the other side of the Border, took shelter in Jammu, where they are now settled permanently. Many of these refugees gradually left the state to settle in Punjab, what was at that time known as East Punjab. But an unspecified number stayed in the Kathua-Jammu border belt. The vacant plots, belonging to Muslims who went to Pakistan were allotted to these refugees for cultivation by the state government, a divisional-level official said. However, while all other refugees have got most of the rights enjoyed by citizens, West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) have been denied some rights, including the right to vote in any democratic institution in the state except for Parliament, he said adding that the WPRs cannot join any state service. The total refugee population consists of over 70 to 80 per cent of the total population in the city. After the eruption of militancy in Kashmir, the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits began with over three lakh Pandits leaving the Kashmir valley and over one lakh of them settling in Jammu. In addition to the Kashmiri Pandits and people belonging to other minority communities, over a thousand families of Kashmiri Muslims have migrated to Jammu because of the threat of terrorists. Later, an additional 30,000 persons from Doda district migrated to Jammu after increased militant activities in the area in 1994-95, the official said. In 1996, Pak shelling forced migration of over 40,000 Persons from Pallanwala. these border migrants were living in Jammu and adjoining areas till now. In 2002, after the military buildup on the Indo-Pak border, more migrants poured in from Samba and R.S. Pura areas. some of them are putting up with relatives and some in migrant camps established by Jammu and Kashmir Government, he said.
PTI |
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Protesting
shopkeepers teargassed Srinagar, January 21 The Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), has given a general strike call for tomorrow as a mark of protest against the government’s demolition drive, describing it as a “discriminatory campaign”. A spokesman for the federation said here that several of the constructions undertaken with the permission of the Srinagar Municipality and the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) were also being demolished thereby “transcending legal boundaries”. He added that it was government’s drive to divert the attention of people from “its failure to deliver on the promise of disbanding the SOG and stopping human rights violations”. Resentment against the demolition, though much appreciated by people, came to surface here yesterday when a group of affected shopkeepers in the Maisuma locality in the Lal Chowk area damaged an autorickshaw of the Srinagar Municipality. The autorickshaw was fitted with the public address system warning the encroachers to demolish their illegal constructions on their own or action would be taken against those violating the orders. An employee of the municipality was also injured in the action, following which the police arrested several persons involved in the incident. Following the warning, most of the shopkeepers in the locality today started demolishing part of the encroached establishments on their own. However, this was objected to by the officials concerned who described it as insufficient. This led to resentment among the business community. The police had to use tear gas to quell the demonstration that followed the removal of illegal constructions by bulldozers. An official spokesman said here that the demolition drive would continue for the time being, while people have been once again asked to demolish the illegal encroachments voluntarily or face action. Meanwhile, hundreds of structures constructed illegally in busy markets of Srinagar city have already been removed during the past few weeks. The drive has been launched by the coalition government in order to further beautify Srinagar city and its surroundings. It has already stopped construction work on the official residences of the Chief Minister and the DGP in the green belt area near the Dal Lake and ordered on inquiry into the permission granted to these constructions by the previous government. The state government has also banned illegal constructions on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway falling in Srinagar district and twin districts of Anantnag and Pulwama in south Kashmir. |
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18 unauthorised colonies to be regularised Jammu, January 21 “A three-member committee is being constituted under the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) Vice-Chairman to prepare a report of the unauthorised colonies”, Mir told reporters after meeting officials here yesterday. The committee, in consultation with legislators concerned will determine development charges to be recovered from illegal occupants of these colonies and submit the report to the government within one month, he said. Another committee headed by Vice-Chairman, Srinagar Development Authority, will be constituted to determine the premium and development charges to be recovered from the
encroachers of the unauthorised colonies in the city, he added. PTI |
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Personal
accident policy renewed Jammu, January 21 Under the scheme, 3.50 lakh employees of all categories of state government departments, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies (including local bodies) and such other daily rated workers engaged up to January 1994 and continue as such would be covered, he said. The withdrawal of premium amount of Rs 2.45 crore at Rs 70 per employee per year of which Rs 64 would be recovered from each employee from the salary bill for the month of January 2003 and Rs 6 in respect of each employee as contribution by the government should be debited to the funds at the disposal of the Finance Department, elaborated. The amount of premium of Rs 2.45 crore would be payable to the National Insurance Company and New India Assurance Company in the ratio of 55:45, the spokesman said.
PTI |
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Doctor
stabbed near Sectt Jammu, January 21 Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred in the
heart of the city although there was heavy deployment of police as the
place is near the fortified Secretariat. Meanwhile, valuables were
looted from the house of Dr Sunil Gupta in the Posh Gandhi Nagar
Colony here last evening. The inmates were beaten and locked in the
bathroom. |
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Helplines launched
in Anantnag Srinagar, January 21 The helplines, set up at Bijbehara, Anantnag and Mattan police stations in south Kashmir, would function round-the-clock and the people could contact them in emergencies, official sources said here. The PDP-led government had established similar helplines in New Delhi, besides the two capital cities of the state, Srinagar and Jammu, in order to help the distressed residents, who were anxious to know the whereabouts of their missing relatives or friends.
PTI |
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