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Separatists’ peace suggestion has few buyers
Top Hizbul militant held near Moga
New strategy to target cops?
Anara allowed to approach NCW
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Need to check misuse of PIL: Sorabjee
Punjabi conference begins
Abdul Wahid new VC of Kashmir varsity
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Separatists’ peace suggestion has few buyers
Jammu, December 18 Informed sources said the urge for peace had gripped Kashmiri separatists for the past several years following growing threat to their lives. The separatists, according to these sources, have realised the futility of arms. They now want the parties concerned to work for promotion of peace. A senior APHC leader told this correspondent today that for realising peace, three parties needed to play their role. Besides Delhi and Islamabad militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir had to give up arms. Asked how Delhi could play a role when militancy was not its creation, the APHC leader said India could besides further reducing the troops, announce a ceasefire within the state. The leader of the separatist conglomerate described the urge for peace, manifested during the Nepal Conference, as “simply sweet talk.” If this urge has to be implemented in letter and spirit, militants and those aiding them should give peace a chance without seeking immediate settlement of the Kashmir issue,” he said. A senior police officer, engaged in supervising counter-insurgency operations, said: “the ongoing militancy-related incidents are nothing but embers of a dying flame.” He claimed that the security scenario in Kashmir had registered a marked improvement. A Kashmir watcher said: “On many occasions in the past, a slight lull in militancy was treated as beginning of peace. It never happened.” He said: “Even if during the past three to five months the level of violence has dropped, it would be a mistake to treat it as the beginning of peace.” Knowledgeable circles said even among the separatists there was no consensus on a solution to the problem. |
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Top Hizbul militant held near Moga
Jammu, December 18 The Punjab Police later handed over the militant, identified as Abdul Hamid of Kasbalari near Achhad in Poonch, to the Poonch police. A senior police officer told UNI that Hamid was being interrogated at the Mendhar police station. The police was trying to find out if he was also involved in the attack on Poonch police station over two years ago. The officer said in August last year, the militant had shot dead two persons at Kasbalari after subjecting them to inhuman torture. As his activities continued, the police constituted a special team to hunt him down. According to the officer, due to the increased police pressure on him, he fled the area one-and-a-half month back and reached Jammu in a truck. The officer said he was in the winter capital for about 15 days and worked as a coolie in a saw mill on the outskirts of the city. Later, he fled to Punjab and started working near Moga. However, acting on a tip-off, a special team of the Punjab Police raided the place nearly a week ago and took him into custody. After putting him through sustained interrogation, he was handed over to the Poonch police only three days back. Srinagar: A militant was among two persons killed in Jammu and Kashmir, where security forces busted three militant hideouts seizing a huge cache of arms and explosives, including 10 kg of deadly RDX, in militancy-related incidents since last night, a police spokesman said today. The militant was killed in an encounter with security forces during search operations at Khooni Nallah in Surankote area of Poonch district today. An AK rifle and a magazine were recovered from the deceased, whose identification and group affiliation is being ascertained, the spokesman said. He said militants abducted and later shot dead a youth, Manzoor Ahmad Wani, a resident of Kanur village of Chadoora in Badgam district, last night. The spokesman said two scooter-borne militants kidnapped one Abdul Aziz Mukhdum from his house at Samboora in Pampore area of Pulwama district today. In another incident in Pulwama, official sources said an explosive device went off near a graveyard at Harmain in Shopian this morning but no one was hurt in the blast. Troops of Rashtriya Rifles, posted in the area, immediately cordoned off the village and a hunt has been launched to nab the militants who had planted the explosive apparently to target security personnel, the sources said. — Agencies |
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New strategy to target cops?
Jammu, December 18 Reports now trickling in here indicate that the policemen were not ambushed as such, but were caught in a shower of bullets that were fired at them as soon as they reached a mutually agreed place to finalise the modalities for surrender. A police source told this correspondent yesterday that negotiations had been going on between the police and a group of terrorists who had expressed a desire to surrender. The ultras wanted to be sure that they would not be eliminated and would be given the incentives that had been announced for those terrorists who surrendered. However, it is not known that what developments led to the ultras first inviting the policemen for further talks, but later firing at them without giving them any opportunity to retaliate. It is learnt that four ultras belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had earlier approached the police for surrendering. However, they attacked these policemen and fled with their weapons. This indicates that the ultras have now adopted the strategy of looting weapons of the police at remote places as the supplies from Pakistan have stopped due to border fencing. A group of terrorists had on Wednesday looted 11 guns and other ammunition from a picket in the Doda district. In the Kathua incident, it appears that the ultras had lured the police for the surrender and had taken their weapons after killing them. It is worth mentioning that seven terrorists had, earlier, this year surrendered in the Kathua district where their movement is frequent in the high reaches adjoining the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. A police source said ultras were using the Himachal territory as a safe haven particularly during the winters or whenever the security forces increased vigilance there. There were reports that at times certain suspected terrorists had mixed up with the Kashmiri labourers in the Chamera hydroelectric project in the Chamba district to escape from the police. Following the theft of explosive material from the Nathpa Jhakri project, the Himachal Pradesh police had some time ago decided to screen the Kashmiri labourers engaged in various hydel projects in the state, but this was a gigantic task to be accomplished. |
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Anara allowed to approach NCW
Jammu, December 18 Modifying his earlier order regarding the release of Anara Gupta on bail, Chief Judicial Magistrate Sanjeev Gupta also directed the state’s crime branch yesterday to exercise restraint while disseminating information about the case to the media. The court, however, turned down Anara's request that she may be allowed to give interview to the media. “This will hamper the investigations,” the CJM observed, adding, “the prayer is premature as the case has been recently handed over to the crime branch.” On November 9, the former Miss Jammu was granted bail by the court subject to the conditions that she would neither leave the jurisdiction of the court without prior permission, nor talk to the media. Yesterday’s order was issued following an application by Anara Gupta through her counsel Sarfaraz Rather, seeking permission to go to Delhi to avail of a legal remedy in respect of alleged police torture inflicted on her while in custody.
Anara has further charged the investigating agency with conducting the probe into the case in a ‘biased’ manner and leaking information to the media. Meanwhile, a Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Chief Justice
S.N. Jha and Justice S.K. Gupta has asked Anara’s counsel to file a reply to an application seeking shifting of the girl from her residence to a women’s welfare home. The application was filed by the state government on December 16, saying that Anara appeared to be under “some pressure” and unable to cooperate with the investigation. According to the police, Anara Gupta was allegedly involved in making pornographic video compact discs in connivance with Narinder Kohli. Denying the charges, Anara had filed a petition in the High Court seeking a CBI inqiry into the matter. She had also sought Rs 1 crore as damages from the police officials.
— PTI |
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Need to check misuse of PIL: Sorabjee
Jammu, December 18 Mr A.S. Anand, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, who is Chairman of Justice Sawhney Memorial Trust, was present on the occasion. Mr Sorabjee said the PIL was a system to safeguard the interests of the disabled and exploited. However, over the years vested interests had started filing PILs in a bid to protect their interests. He said there was a need for a constant watch by judges to prevent the misuse of PIL. He, however, said the PIL had induced a sense of accountability in the executive. Mr Sorabjee said the media could play a significant role in preventing the misuse of PIL by not mentioning the name of the petitioner in its reports. That would certainly bring down the number of PILs being filed. He mentioned the three pitfalls in the PIL — private interests, political interests and publicity interests. He said the PIL should not be allowed to be used for routine violations of municipal laws and such things. Mr Justice Anand said Justice Sawhney was not only a jurist, but a visionary too. He graduated from the Cambridge and passed his law degree from Oxford University. He became a Judge of the J&K High Court in 1928. Mr Amitabh Mattoo, Vice-Chancellor of the university, in his welcome address, pointed out that Jammu University was the only one in the country that had been granted the ISO-9001 certification. Judges of the state High Court, Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji, Mr Justice Permod Kohli and Mr Justice Y.P. Nargotra, were present on the occasion. The Director-General of Police, Mr Gopal Sharma, was honoured on the occasion. |
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Punjabi conference begins
Jammu, December 18 The President of the Punjabi Sahitak Sabha, Jammu, Mr Karpal Singh, presented a demands’ charter, including filling of vacant posts of Punjabi lecturers in colleges and higher secondary schools, introduction of Punjabi up to the primary level, opening of Punjabi graduate department in Srinagar University, recognising Punjabi as the second language, increasing the time for Punjabi programmes at All-India Radio and construction of Punjabi Bhawan, to the minister. The minister said the demands would be met in a phased manner. He assured of every possible help to the sabha for carrying on its education mission. |
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Abdul Wahid new VC of Kashmir varsity
Jammu, December 18 Prof Wahid has a vast academic and administrative experience spanning 37 years. He completed his Ph.D in 1974. He has authored 12 research papers and started his academic career as Lecturer in Humanities in Regional Engineering College, Srinagar, in 1967. In 1968, he moved to University of Kashmir and rose to the position of Professor of Economics, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Colleges, Academics and Chief Coordinator, Postgraduate Centre. He has also worked as interim Vice-Chancellor for four months in 2001. |
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