J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Seven militants among 9 killed

Srinagar, July 3 Seven hardcore militants, including a self-styled district commander of the Al-Badr outfit, were among nine persons killed in Jammu and Kashmir since last night as fierce gunbattles rocked different parts of the state. A security jawan was also injured in the valley.

Residents salvage belongings from the debris of their house destroyed in a gunbattle between the security forces and suspected militants in Bandipora, 55 km north of Srinagar, on Monday. —  Reuters photo

Geelani to boycott Jamait poll
Jammu, July 3
The rift between the hardliners and the moderates in the Jamait-e-Islami has widened with Syed Ali Shah Geelani directing his supporters in the Jamait and Tehrik Hurriyat Conference to boycott the election at the district level being held by the Jamaat.

BJP opposes J&K working groups
Jammu, July 3
Opposing the setting up of the working group to review the Centre-state relations and matters relating to the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir, Prof Hari Om, vice-president of the BJP, has demanded that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution should be scrapped to pave the way for integration of the state with rest of the country.

Reopen Anara case, demands social activist
Jammu, July 3
A letter seeking reopening of the infamous Anara Gupta “porno CD” case and clubbing it with the Srinagar sex racket for investigation by the CBI was today sent to the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Mr Justice Bashir Ahmad Khan, by social activist Amit Chouhan.

Seven militants among 9 killed

Srinagar, July 3
Seven hardcore militants, including a self-styled district commander of the Al-Badr outfit, were among nine persons killed in Jammu and Kashmir since last night as fierce gunbattles rocked different parts of the state. A security jawan was also injured in the valley.

District Commander of Al-Badr Qasim Bhai was killed along with his close associate in an encounter with CRPF troops at Wanigund near famous Harwan Mughal garden, 23 km from here, this afternoon, Inspector General of CRPF A.P Maheshwari told PTI.

He said acting on a tip off, troops of 112 battalion of CRPF launched a search operation in the area and confronted two heavily-armed militants who tried to escape by resorting to firing resulting in serious injuries to Jawan Jagish Patel.

The troops returned the fire killing both the militants.

Two AK assault rifles, two pistols and a number of grenades were recovered from them, the CRPF officer said.

Meanwhile, the over 12-hour-long encounter between militants and security forces at Gamru in Bandipora, 55 km from here, in Baramula district, ended this morning with the killing of two militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit, a defence spokesman said.

The ultras were killed at day break when the operation, launched jointly by the Army, BSF and local police, was resumed to flush out the militants who changed their positions continuously after the gunbattle broke out in the village at around 3.30 pm yesterday, the spokesman said.

However, eight residential houses were gutted during the fierce gunbattle in which an Army jawan was killed and two others were injured yesterday, official sources said.

The deceased militants have been identified as Abu Ali and Abu Qasim, alias Huraira, both Pakistani nationals. Two AK rifles and some ammunition were recovered from them.

According to the sources the cordon around the village was lifted this afternoon. In another encounter, security forces shot dead two unidentified militants in an ongoing operation at Darhal in Rajouri district today.

The operation was still continuing and further details are awaited, they said.

Security forces shot dead a self-styled deputy district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Tariq Usman, alias Wafadar, in an encounter at Sherkhi village in Bhaderwah area of Doda district last night. — PTI

Geelani to boycott Jamait poll
Our Correspondent

Jammu, July 3
The rift between the hardliners and the moderates in the Jamait-e-Islami has widened with Syed Ali Shah Geelani directing his supporters in the Jamait and Tehrik Hurriyat Conference to boycott the election at the district level being held by the Jamaat.

The moderates, headed by the party Amir, Mr Nazir Ahmed Kashani, had directed Syed Ali Shah Geelani and three others to quit the Tehrik Hurriyat Conference by June 30, failing which their suspension from the Jamaat would not be revoked.

The Geelani camp has not responded so far and instead directed its supporters not to take part in the organisational elections being conducted by the Jamait leadership at the district level.

The district-level elections are important as those elected constitute the Majlis Shoura, the apex body of the organisation that takes vital decisions.

Earlier, it had been presumed that Mr Geelani, who heads the Tehrik Hurriyat Conference, was not prepared to quit the conglomerate and might field his candidates for the Jamaat organisational election. The latest directions to his supporters to boycott the poll indicate that he preferred to run the Tehrik Hurriyat Conference than rejoin the Jamait-e-Islami.

A senior Jamait-e-Islami leader told this correspondent today that under the party constitution there is no room for dual membership. He explained that a member of Jamait-e-Islami “cannot be a member or leader of any other party or organisation”.

He said Jamait-e-Islami was different from the BJP and RSS, adding that an RSS member could be a BJP leader and vice versa.

BJP opposes J&K working groups
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 3
Opposing the setting up of the working group to review the Centre-state relations and matters relating to the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir, Prof Hari Om, vice-president of the BJP, has demanded that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution should be scrapped to pave the way for integration of the state with rest of the country.

Reacting to setting up of the five working groups on Kashmir by the Centre, Prof Hari Om, in a statement here today, alleged that the valley based leaders were resorting to drive the state away from the national mainstream.

He said that Article 370 had given the separatists and other valley based leaders an excuse for creating an impression the world-over, especially in the Muslim world, that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India was conditional and the ultimate political future of the state would be decided by the people of Kashmir.

He said that removal of Article 370 would not only defeat the evil designs of Pakistan but would also remove from the state body politic those elements which had ruined Jammu and Ladakh politically, economically and culturally.

Prof Hari Om, referring to the setting up of another group to deliberate on balanced economic development of all regions, said that the best way to redress the past wrongs was to empower the people of Jammu and Ladakh.

Reopen Anara case, demands social activist
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 3
A letter seeking reopening of the infamous Anara Gupta “porno CD” case and clubbing it with the Srinagar sex racket for investigation by the CBI was today sent to the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Mr Justice Bashir Ahmad Khan, by social activist Amit Chouhan.

He urged the Chief Justice to treat his letter as public interest litigation as the state police had closed the case because of pressure from high-ups. The case pertained to pushing young girls into flesh trade.

He has pointed out that while the Hyderabad-based Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) had reported that the girl posing in the CD was not Anara, the Chandigarh-based FSL confirmed that she was Anara.

The FSL at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat also did not rule out the girl being Anara.

However, the crime branch hurriedly closed the case without taking into consideration the reports of the Chandigarh and Gujarat FSLs, he alleged.