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Friday,
April 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Gen Sinha likely to be new Governor Five ultras killed in J&K India, Bangladesh DGs to meet on April 27 Panel to monitor PM’s orders’
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Cops rewarded for fighting ultras |
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Second line of defence
along LoC Death due to SARS in Rajouri?
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Gen Sinha likely to be new Governor Jammu, April 24 Mr Saxena said the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir marked a historic moment and the positive turn in the situation would help the state forget its dark phase of destruction and killings and move towards the restoration of peace. He recalled his 8-year-long stay in the state spread over two terms as Governor and paid tributes to the Army, paramilitary forces and police for their sacrifices in combating militancy. He said civilians and political workers, too, needed a special mention for their courage in meeting the challenges. In his first tenure as the state’s Governor in the early 1990s, Mr Saxena said, the biggest challenge had been to fill the vacuum created by the exodus of political leadership from the valley. “The administration and the police were in a chaos. The return of the elected government in 1996 filled the vacuum, but the government faced new challenges emanating from the Kargil war and militant attacks,” he said. Regarding the October 2002 elections, the Governor said the people of the state had voted for peace, change, good governance and solutions to problems like unemployment. “The elections brought out people’s faith in democracy. The post-election period has shown positive signs. The recent visit of the Prime Minister to the valley provided Kashmiries with another opportunity to restore peace and normacy,” he said. Earlier, the Mufti said Mr Saxena had served as Governor in the most difficult time and the state had gained a lot from his rich experience and highly analytical mind. He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were indebted to him for what he had done to improve the situation in eight years as Governor. He said “While Mr Saxena is departing from the state, Jammu and Kashmir is on a threshold of peace and normalcy, for which, Mr Saxena has worked hard.” The CM gave a Kashmiri carpet to Mr Saxena as gift from the people of the state. Ms Rajni Saxena, Governor’s wife, was presented with a Kashmiri shawl. Mr Vishnu Kant Shastri, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, was also present there. Meanwhile, the PTI adds from Jammu that the Chief Minister has given his consent to the appointment of Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha as the Governor, according to official sources. Mr Saxena’s term in office expires on May 2, but he is understood to have asked that he be relieved on April 30. |
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Five ultras killed in J&K Srinagar, April 24 Official sources said a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was injured when militants detonated a Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Pinglish in Pulwama district today. Another blast took place when a police party reached there, killing an Indian Reserve Police (IRP) constable on-the-spot and wounding two others. Official sources also said the security forces, on a tip-off, conducted search operations in the woods of Sogam in the frontier district of Kupwara last afternoon to nab militants. They were attacked by militants who used automatic weapons and grenades when they were moving in the thick forest. They returned the fire and in the fierce encounter, which continued till late last night, two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were killed, they added. Two AK rifles, four magazines, two hand grenades and a wireless set were recovered from the slain militants. In another incident, militants attacked a security forces camp with automatic weapons at Kooli Lalpora in the same district last evening. Security forces retaliated and in the encounter, a civilian Ali Mohammad was injured and was later hospitalised. Three Bomb Disposal Squad personnel injured when militants set off two IEDs in Tral village in Pulwama district, hours before the scheduled visit of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed there. Constable Manzoor Ahmad of bomb disposal squad of local police was killed and two of his colleagues — constable Mohammad Yaseen and constable Khursheed Ahmad — critically injured when militants detonated an IED which the police party was trying to defuse at Pinglish around 11.50 am, the sources said. The IED was noticed by BSF personnel after a similar device left a jawan of the force, constable Farooq Ahmad, injured around 10.15 am, the sources said. Meanwhile, a bomb went off in the Mughal Garden of Nishat along Dal Lake in Srinagar this afternoon, but no one was hurt in the explosion. The blast took place around 12.45 pm. JAMMU: Three Pakistani militants were among five people killed in three separate militancy-related Incidents in Poonch and Doda districts of Jammu division since Last night, according to official sources. In continued operation against militants in Surankote forest belt in Poonch district, a fierce gunbattle took place Between militants and troops at Hill Kaka in Seek and destroy operation late last night, sources told PTI here today. in the encounter, two Pakistani militants were killed on the spot and a jawan injured, the sources said adding the operation was still continuing to free Surankote hills from the presence of militants. Four AK type rifles, six magazines, 13 grenades, two UBGL rounds, one rocket, three IEDs, one pistol and a wireless set Were recovered, the sources said. Militants kidnapped two civilians from Kori top village in Doda district and later shot them dead last evening, the sources said. Identified as Kesar Ram and Baij Lal, their bullet-riddled bodies were recovered by the police and later handed over to family members today, the sources said. One militant was killed when he tried to cross over to Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Mendhar area of Poonch district yesterday.
UNI, PTI |
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India, Bangladesh DGs to meet on April 27 Jammu, April 24 “A major conference would be held at Dhaka from April 27, not only to bring a complete end to the tensions along the Indo-Bangla border but also solve multiple problems between the two sides”, DG (BSF) Ajay Raj Sharma said here today. Mr Sharma, who undertook a review of the border fencing operations along the international border (IB) in Jammu sector, said the conference would debate various issues, including infiltration of Bangladeshis, border fencing and security measures. Regarding fencing along the Tripura-Bangladesh border, he said the work had been started by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and would be completed by 2007. Terming “border fencing” as the foremost measure in stopping infiltration of armed militants, the DG said that 70 km of the international border (IB) had been fenced. “Cross-border terrorism would automatically decline if infiltration is stopped”, he said, adding border fencing was a prime step towards this direction. Mr Sharma also said that a similar activity was on along the Line of Control (LoC) in J and K and these two tasks of border fencing would contain and even end cross-border terrorism. Admitting shortfall of BSF manpower along the IB, he said: “There are some units short on borderline in Jammu, but it is less than 20 per cent.”
PTI |
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Panel to monitor PM’s orders’ implementation Jammu, April 24 Financial Commissioner, Finance, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Principal Secretary, PDD, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Secretary, Tourism Department, would be the other members of the committee. By another order, the state government has nominated the home department as the nodal department for providing necessary administrative support, logistics and other facilities to be required from time to time by the Central Government’s interlocutor in the state N.N. Vohra.
UNI |
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Cops rewarded for fighting ultras Jammu, April 24 The DGP, who was accompanied by the IGP Jammu zone, Mr P.L. Gupta, also inspected the Ind police post in the Gool area of Udhampur where an attack by militants on March 15, had killed 13 persons, including 10 SPOs. Mr Suri regularised the services of seven SPOs as constables in the state police in recognition of their good performance. He also gave away a reward of Rs 4 lakh to the police party that had shot four militants at Dheda in the Gool area on February 24. Mr Suri interacted with men of the IRP and the JKAP at Ind and lauded their work. The DGP also visited Mahore, Budhal and Nowshera to meet police personnel.
UNI  |
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Second line of defence
along LoC Jammu, April 24 Security sources said the second line of defence had been raised along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts and areas along the Pir Panjal mountains bordering the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Terming the infiltration level as phenomenal, sources said each year thousands of infiltrators tried to steal their way into India through Poonch and Rajouri districts. Alarmed at increase in Pakistan-sponsored infiltration bids by heavily-armed ultras, the second line of defence is an effort to thwart any such attempts. Earlier, Rajouri and Poonch used to be easy routes for the ultras to sneak into the valley but currently they are merely entrenched there given the hostile terrain. There are an estimated 1500 ultras in the hinterland, the sources added.
UNI |
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Death due to SARS in Rajouri? Jammu, April 24 A bachelor, Altaf worked as a driver in Goa. He had complained of high fever, dry cough and a breathing problem. Within a couple of days, he experienced loss of energy, according to his cousin Hussain. Hussain said despite medical treatment in Goa, Altaf’s condition deteriorated and he was brought to his native village where he died yesterday. Hussain suspects that Altaf fell victim to the mysterious virus in Goa where a number of SARS cases have been identified. When a senior government functionary was asked to comment on the incident, he said he had no information. He said since Altaf had not been admitted to a hospital in Jammu or Rajouri, it was not possible to ascertain whether he had been a SARS case or not. |
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