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NC councillor shot dead
PDP wins Ganderbal, NC loses
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Jammu BJP to hold dharna in Delhi
JKLF calls for strike today
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NC councillor shot dead
Srinagar, February 10 The police said militants opened fire on Mohammad Maqbool Khaksar, a newly elected member of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation when he was coming out of a local mosque in Ikhrajpora, Jawahar Nagar area at 6.30 pm yesterday. He was admitted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, where he succumbed to his injuries at 9.30 pm. The 72-year old former police Inspector was recently elected as a National Conference councillor to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. The National Conference has emerged as a major party by winning 41 out of 68 wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. The newly elected corporation is yet to elect its Mayor, first to the Srinagar
Municipal Corporation. The killing took place only 36 hours after the killing of a PDP member who was declared elected unopposed to Beerwah Municipal Committee on Tuesday morning. Identified as Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir, he was among 13 PDP members declared elected unopposed to the Beerwah Municipal Committee in Budgam district. The police has registered a case in this regard amid conflicting reports about the circumstances in which he had been killed. The police said investigations were on to find out the reasons behind Mir's visit to Raithsona village near Beerwah, and to trace those who had called him to visit the place. Being a sensitive place, Mir had not informed anybody in the village about his visit, where his bullet-ridden body was found in his car. The news of Mir's death provoked residents to stage a dharna in the town. Suspected militants targeted the houses of two newly elected members of the civic bodies. They have been identified as a PDP member, Mohammad Sultan Sofi in Beijbehara town of Anantnag district, and Abdul Rashid Kuchay at Bandipore in Baramula district. At least eight persons have been killed and 40 others injured by militants in 18 poll related violence since the process of civic poll began in the valley in January. Those killed have been identified as the two newly elected members, Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir (PDP) of Beerwah, Mohammad Maqbool Khaksar (NC) in Srinagar and Congress candidate Nooruddin Sheerwani in Baramula. It has been "impossible" for the police to provide security to all candidates participating in the civic poll. However, the police and para-military troops were put on high alert to ensure smooth and incident free poll. The National Conference President, Mr Omar Abdullah, and Leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Mr Abdul Rahim Rather, have expressed concern over the killing of Mohammad Maqbool Khaksar and condoled his death. Mr Omar Abdullah cancelled his engagements and returned from New Delhi today. He visited the residence of the slain leader. He expressed condolences with the bereaved family and described Khaksar as a dedicated political and social worker. Ms Mehbooba Mufti, president of the ruling PDP, has expressed shock over the killings of Ghulam Mohuiddin Mir, an elected candidate of the party in the Municipal poll from Beerwah by unidentified gunmen. She also condemned the killing of Zahoor Ahmad Bhat by the BSF near Magam on Sunday. |
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PDP wins Ganderbal, NC loses Chrar-e-Sharief
Srinagar, February 10 The ruling PDP-Congress and Independents have maintained their lead in these elections today after defeating the National Conference in the North and South Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Anantnag and Pulwama held in the first and third phases. Independents with the support of the Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF), an ally of the ruling coalition, have registered victory in two committees of Magam and Khansahib in Budgam district in the elections held today. In Magam, four Independents and a National Conference member were elected to the five-member committee. In Khansahib, where two Independents had already been declared elected unopposed, four others also went to the Independents, supported by the PDF member and minister, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen. There was no polling in Beerwah, where all 13 candidates of the ruling PDP had been declared elected unopposed. The Opposition National Conference maintained its lead in Budgam town only, where it got six out of 10 wards, polling for which was held today. There are, however, four vacant wards, where no nominations had been filed. In the prestigious Ganderbal committee, where the National Conference had to face defeat first in the 2002 Assembly elections, all three major parties had fielded their candidates for 13 wards. These included 13 candidates of the PDP, 10 from the Congress and 12 from the National Conference. Of these, the PDP got nine, followed by two of the National Conference, and one each by the Congress and Independent. The constituency registered a 70 per cent turn out, with 6,298 voters out of 8,883 exercising their franchise. In Chrar-e-Sharief town, the Assembly segment represented by leader of the Opposition National Conference, Abdul Rahim Rather, the Congress got six out of 12 wards, followed by four by the PDP. The NC got only two wards. |
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Jammu BJP to hold dharna in Delhi
Jammu, February 10 This was stated by Mr Madan Lal Khurana, senior BJP leader and in charge of the party affairs, at a press conference here today. Mr Khurana, who returned after campaigning in the Udhampur civic elections said the rail link between Jammu and Udhampur had been completed during the NDA regime but its inauguration was postponed because of the Lok Sabha poll. He said the UPA government had deferred its opening three times during the past one year even though successful trial run was carried out. He said BJP activists, including those elected to the Assembly and the civic bodies, would hold a demonstration in Delhi in protest against the inordinate delay in opening of the rail link between Jammu and Udhampur. Criticising the Congress for sleeping over development projects Mr Khurana said the work on the rail project had been started in 1983 but by the end of 1996 not more than Rs 38 crore had been allocated for the project even though its estimated cost was over Rs 450 crore. A former Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, who was also present on the occasion said the recent killing of several elected civic body representatives should be probed by an independent body. He said a thorough probe was needed to determine whether these killings were “political murders or engineered by the terrorists.” The BJP leader wants the government to provide adequate security cover to all such elected civic body representatives political leaders. |
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JKLF calls for strike today
Srinagar, February 10 The day will be observed as “Women’s Day” with the announcement of awards to be given to the 10-year old Shabnam Rashid of Handwara and the 60-year-old Hakim Jaan of Pahalgam, both alleged victims of security forces. Mohammad Maqbool Bhat was hanged to death in Delhi’s Tihar jail in 1984. The JKLF and several other separatist organisations have demanded “an end to the capital punishment on the basis of political ideology” and return of Bhat’s mortal remains to his family members in Kashmir. |
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Woman kills leopard to save husband
Jammu, February 10 Adnan Hussain, a resident of Bari village of Darhal tehsil of Rajouri district, had gone to the shed adjoining his house to bring some grass last night when he was attacked by the leopard which had strayed from the forest and was hiding there, official sources said today. Hussain resisted while raising the alarm and covered the mouth of leopard with a blanket he was carrying, they said adding Hussain’s wife Somi Begum hearing the commotion rushed to the shed and axed the animal to death. The dead leopard was shifted by the authorities to Rajouri where an autopsy was conducted.
— PTI |
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