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Jammu, February 27 Amid pandemonium in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed today announced that Director General of Police Gopal Sharma would probe the incident of police firing in which one person was killed at Bandipura in Kashmir yesterday.
Mufti asks West to lift travel
advisories
To be soft or tough is Mufti’s dilemma Jammu, February 27 The terrorists’ attempt to target the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in the Kashnur valley today is another addition to the challenges that have come the leader’s way in recent days. Exfiltration bid foiled, 95 Bangladeshis
held
J&K Govt privatising
sanitation
Militant among 4
killed
Speaker directs DD to report
impartially
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BJP seeks more seats for Jammu region
Lightning kills two children
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DGP to probe Bandipura
firing
Jammu, February 27 Making a statement on the issue, Mufti made it clear that action would be taken against the police personnel but those civilians, who tried to lynch some policemen and indulged in arson, would also not be spared. Pandemonium prevailed in the Assembly as members of the Opposition, National Conference (NC), raised slogans against the Mufti government on the issue of killing of “innocent persons and human rights violations” in the valley. Some NC members said the government had failed to control human rights violations and killing of innocent persons. Mr A.R. Rather, Mr Ali Mohammad Sagar and several other NC MLAs said the coalition government had no right to continue in office and should quit as it had failed to implement its election promises. The situation had flared up yesterday at Bandipura as mob burnt the stage from where Mr Mufti Sayeed was to address a public meeting today. They had also allegedly tried to lynch the policemen guarding the rostrum. The police personnel fired in self-defence and in the process one person was killed. Mr Mufti Sayeed said he was due to announce a degree college for Bandipura that had been a demand of the people of the area. The Minister of State for Planning and Development Ms Usman Majeed was camping in the town for the past three days. He said “We have to watch those elements that are trying to sabotage the peace process by creating violence. The police are facing a difficult situation and, barring two or three complaints, its record in anti-insurgency operations has, by and large, remained excellent. Over 1,000 police men have so far laid their lives in the anti-insurgency.” Earlier in a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Home Abdul Rehman Veeri said an altercation took place between some Army personnel and villagers near Bandipura as a result of which some persons were injured. On instigation of some mischievous elements, possibly under the dictates of terrorists, the villagers took out a procession towards the town where a mob was waiting to join it. After trying to snatch the arms of the policemen at the stadium where a lot of damage had been caused, the mob attacked the police station. They stoned the police station for two hours and the situation was brought under control following the intervention of senior officers. However, the NC members were not satisfied with the statement of the Chief Minister. Mr Rather demanded that a judicial probe should be ordered into the incident because the probe by the DGP against the police would not satisfy the people. |
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Mufti asks West to lift travel advisories
Jammu, February 27 The Chief Minister was interacting with former US Ambassadors, Howard Schaffer and his wife, Terista Schaffer, who called on him here last evening. The Schaffers are presently Directors, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington. “The withdrawal of such adverse travel advisories would help in promotion of tourism in the state, which has already started looking up with the drastic improvement in the situation,” he said, pointing out that over two lakh tourists, including foreigners, had visited Kashmir last summer. The Chief Minister said the situation in the valley was relaxed to a large extent with people now having greater sense of security and shops remaining open till late hours. “The strategy adopted by the coalition government to win the hearts and minds of the people has also been widely acclaimed. It has also facilitated initiation of dialogue process to address both internal and external dimensions of the problem paving the way for lasting peace in the region,” he claimed. —
UNI |
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News Analysis
Jammu, February 27 However, most the audience at the rally stayed put even as the rifle grenades fired by militants landed near the venue. This generates a ray of hope for the Mufti. The Beerwa area in Budgam district bordering the northern parts of the valley is considered a stronghold of Salahuddin, Pakistan-based leader of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The terrorists have given a call for boycott of the Lok Sabha elections and today’s incident is being viewed as an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere before the poll. The situation has become tense in the Bandipura area in the recent days, particularly following the killing of five civilian porters in an anti-terrorist operation of the Army. The Opposition parties, particularly the National Conference, are trying to push the Chief Minister into a spot by stalling the proceedings of the Assembly almost every day over the issue of human rights and the failure of the government to control the situation. It is a tightrope walk for the Mufti as on the one hand he is being attacked on the sensitive issue while on the other he has to keep in mind the security forces’ morale. The NC has grabbed the opportunity to put the Mufti on the mat on the “excesses” of the security forces and bounce back into limelight in the valley where the ruling PDP had started making inroads into its areas of influence. Meanwhile, Mr Ali Shah Geelani, leader of the breakaway group of the Hurriyat Conference, has also managed to capture the centrestage by participating in the anti-government rallies. Observers here feel that the sharp reaction of the APHC leader, Moulvi Abbas Ansari, threatening to pull out of the talks with Delhi, is aimed at maintaining the credibility of the amalgam. The Mufti has, however, refused to be cowed down by the bullying tactics of the Opposition and has made it clear that while action would be taken against the policemen involved in human rights violations, elements such as the ones who incited a mob to indulge in violence at Bandipura would not be spared. The Jammat-i-Islami of Mr Geelani also has influence in the northern parts of the valley. The centre too is reportedly concerned over the sudden turn in the situation in the valley. However, it is learnt to have ordered the security forces to firmly handle militants while at the same time not violate human rights. |
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Exfiltration bid foiled, 95 Bangladeshis held
Jammu, February 27 A group of Bangladeshis, including 10 women, was attempting to cross over to Pakistan via international border in the Tarnah nallah area of Kathua district this afternoon, they said. Security forces cordonned off the area and later arrested all 35 Bangladeshis, they said. After thorough investigation, they were handed over to the police, they said, adding that nothing increminating was found from their possession. Another group of 60 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested, when troops foiled an exfiltration bid in the Shiekpur area of Kathua district yesterday, they said. They have also been handed over to the police for further action, they added. —
PTI |
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J&K Govt privatising
sanitation
Jammu, February 27 The minister said the shortage of sweepers would be dealt with by privatising sanitation in the two cities. In reply to a question, the Education Minister, Mr Harshdev Singh, said the government had made it obligatory for all private educational institutions in the state to notify their fee structure every year. The Education Minister, who was replying to a question of Mr Mubarak Gul (NC), said the institutions had been directed not to effect any mid-term revision of fee. The government has received a complaint that Tyndale Biscoe School, Srinagar, has abnormally hiked the fee. He said 11 kendriya vidyalayas had been opened in the state during the current year. |
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Srinagar, February 27 He said body of militant Mohammad Sharief was recovered at Magar Nullah in Doda district today. Unidentified gunmen entered the house of Mohammad Hanif and shot dead his wife Naseema Akhtar at Surara Malti in Kathua district last night, he added. Militants kidnapped and later killed Mehfooz Hussain at Bhatidhar by slitting his throat last night. The spokesman said militants attacked a CRPF picket near cooperative bank in the central Kashmir around 3.45 pm today. A girl, Samreena, died on the spot and four others were wounded in the crossfire, he said. Security forces seized one AK rifle, three 303 rifles, 4 kg of explosive, one bundle of wire, one sniper rifle, three grenades and one remote control device at Mahore in Udhampur last night, he added. —
UNI |
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Speaker directs DD to report
impartially
Jammu, February 27 The direction came when Mr Ali Mohammad Rather (National Conference) complained that Doordarshan and Radio Kashmir were not giving proper coverage to the Opposition and were functioning like agents of a particular party. He said the passes of DD and radio mediapersons should be withdrawn if they continued to report the proceedings in a partisan manner. |
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BJP seeks more seats for Jammu region
Jammu, February 27 In a statement here today, he accused the government of trying to mislead people on the issue and said the State Representation of People Act (1957) in no way debarred the government from setting up the commission. Mr Hari Om claimed that the Jammu region deserved 46 seats in the 87-member Assembly. He asked the Congress and the Panthers Party to fulfil their election promises, particularly the implementation of the Wazir Commission report. |
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Lightning kills two children
Jammu, February 27 Two critically wounded boys have been admitted to the medical college hospital here. The killed have been identified as Naresh and Sandeep. All of them were students of class X in Government Higher Secondary School in the town. |
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