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Militants recruiting tribal children Six militants, jawan killed Jammu State Morcha asked to keep away from LS poll Release of Sikh youths from jails sought |
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Militants recruiting tribal children Jammu, February 3 Most of these children are between 9-15 years and belong to the higher reaches of the Pir Panjal and are soft targets for terrorist groups. A series of recent chance recoveries of missing boys by security forces showed that terrorists now preferred to recruit younger children, Defence sources told UNI. The tragic tale of nine-year-old Abdul Gafoor, who was rescued from militants by the Army near Ladha village in Udhampur district, reflects the changing trends of terrorism in the heights of Pir Panjal. Gafoor was abducted by Salamuddin of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) on September 15, 2003 and given arms training and was also taught to use radio set. At present, he is in the custody of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in Reasi. “For the first two months, I was made to wash utensils and carry the load of the terrorists as they moved from one village to another. Then I was trained in the use of AK-47 rifles and later taught to handle explosives,’’ Gafoor told UNI. “I was also taught how to use a radio set and sometimes, I was told to go near security installations and inform them (the terrorists) about the strength of security forces,’’ he said. Last month, Gafoor had a narrow escape when terrorists launched an attack on an Army patrol party in the Poni area. In the encounter, one terrorist was injured but Gafoor, along with the militants, managed to escape. About six months ago, Gafoor’s father, Saki Mohammad, was killed by terrorists for his alleged links with the Army and his mother, Malika, was abducted. Nothing has been heard about her since. Gafoor, who has passed second standard, was abducted from his house at Parankot in Udhampur. He roamed with Hizbul militants in the thick forests of Pakikot, Narla and Larki in the hilly belt of Udhampur. Gafoor’s grandfather, the only earning member in the family, died while he was away. Now his only relative left is his aged grandmother. Sources said security forces have launched search operations to recover innocent children who have been forcibly recruited and would not register any case against them. “The boys are not ideologically committed to militant outfits but are only forced recruits. The children would be returned to the parents and we would soon work out a rehabilitation policy for them,’’ the sources added.
— UNI |
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Six militants, jawan killed Jammu, February 3 Acting on specific information that militants were hiding In the house of one Saif Ullah in Bafliaz village of Poonch and were forcing his 18-year-old daughter to share bed with Them, the forces launched a combing operation yesterday, they Said. Militants killed a jawan after he went to the house and asked the militants to surrender, they said, adding that a gunbattle between the two sides broke out and three militants were killed, besides the girl. A jawan was also injured in the firing, the sources said. Three AK rifles, seven magazines, 78 rounds, a pistol, One pistol magazine, a wireless set, 22 grenades among other Things were recovered from the slain militants, they said. Meanwhile, an LeT militant was killed by the police in an operation in the Kotcherwal area of Rajouri last night. A police personnel was injured in the incident, they added. SRINAGAR: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in an encounter with army troops in Anantnag district of south Kashmir this morning, official sources said. In a pre-dawn operation, troops of the Five Para raided the Kokernag area and confronted two militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen hiding there, the sources said. The militants were asked to surrender, but they opened fire, the sources said, adding that both militants were killed in the retaliatory fire. The deceased were identified as Mubashir, alias Zulfikar, and Ghulam Ahmad Naikoo. Two AK assault rifles, seven magazines, 180 rounds of ammunition and a wireless set were recovered from the slain militants.
— PTI |
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Jammu State Morcha asked to keep away from LS poll Jammu, February 3 This instruction has been given to the Morcha leadership and senior RSS functionaries by top leaders of the Sangh Parivar. BJP sources said that the state unit of the party had pleaded with senior RSS functionaries in Delhi that participation by the RSS in any election by fielding candidates of the State Morcha would hit BJP’s prospects. Party leaders explained to the BJP high command and RSS leadership that main reason for the BJP’s rout in the 2002 Assembly poll. It won one seat against eight in 1996 election, was the presence of State Morcha candidates in more than 12 Assembly constituencies. In 1999 Lok Sabha poll the BJP had won both seats in the Jammu region with its candidates leading in the 35 out of 37 Assembly segments. The party had failed to repeat the performance in the 2002 Assembly poll. The State Morcha leaders have been told to recognise the BJP as political wing of the Sangh Parivar and hence the RSS should support the BJP candidates wherever they are fielded. So far the BJP has decided to contest four out of six seats and the RSS has its base only in the Jammu region. Since the BJP has decided to contest the four Lok Sabha constituencies without alliance with any political party it has to bank on the support of the RSS. The chances of BJP having an alliance with the National Conference or the PDP have become remote as the entire Sangh Parivar in the Jammu region treat these organisations as its main political foes. Consequently, the BJP leadership in Jammu plans to target not only the National Conference but the Congress and the PDP in its pre-poll campaign. |
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Release of Sikh youths from jails sought Jammu, February 3 The society held an emergency meeting here today under the chairmanship of Mr Mohinder Singh, Chief Organiser, and hailed the decision of the Mufti-led government to release prisoners from jails. They demanded that the decision should not be applicable to a certain community, but the Sikh youths should also be released by granting them amnesty. The society said that the Sikhs had made sacrifices for the country, but it was unfair that the community was now being discriminated against in the release of prisoners. Mr Mohinder Singh demanded that leaders of the Sikh community should be involved in the talks for solving the Kashmir problem as many Sikhs were uprooted from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. |
INAUGURATED Jammu: Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, Minister of State for Defence, inaugurated two roads at Basoli on Monday. A 2-km long approach road (on the Basoli side) to the Ravi bridge was inaugurated in the presence of senior officers of ‘‘project sampark’’. A 90-km length of the Basoli-Bani road of single lane specification will be developed to National Highway double-lane standard. Work for the initial 20-km stretch has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 7 crore. |
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