Kulu, September 6
The district has become a safe haven for militants who have migrated from various parts of the country and established businesses or joined power project construction companies.

One such militant, Manzoor Ahmed, was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police from Manali on September 4.

Though arrested in a case of abduction and murder, he had claimed in public that he took training in Pakistan and remained active in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Superintendent of Police admitted that the person arrested in Manali was a Hizbul Mujahideen activist.

Released by the Army in 1992, Manzoor had been staying in Manali since 1996.

He was into the shawl business at the NAC Market here and there was no case of unlawful activity against him here.

The Punjab police and the Jammu and Kashmir police had picked up at least 10 persons who were believed to be militants from Kulu, Manali and Manikaran during the past five years.

They had either been selling shawls or carpets in villages or performing kar seva at places of worship.

Mr G.D. Bhargava, Superintendent of Police, admitted that the possibility of shady characters staying in the district could not be ruled out.

He said there were many foreign nationals staying in the valley without valid documents.

The volume of transitory population in the district had gone up by manifold.

The police had been on the alert and many persons had been either deported or detained.

He said two foreigners, Israeli national Karmezin Umari and Dutch national Aryan Natali, who were without valid visas, were arrested in Manali yesterday.

He added that a Kashmiri militant, who had taken training in Pakistan, had been staying with a Japanese woman at Kasol in the Manikaran valley for the past many years.

Asked whether the police had verified the antecedents of the migratory population doing business or working in the district, Mr Bhargava said they were keeping a watch.

The markets in Manali had a majority of gift shops and shawl shops of Kashmiri migrants.

Most of them were also vendors, visiting villages in interior areas of the district.

There were three cases of such persons having married local girls.

The district police chief confirmed that the police did not have their antecedents, but it had become alert after the arrest of Manzoor.

He further said power project construction companies in the district had been advised to have full details and character verification of employees from their native places.

Kullu, September 6
A former minister and a senior BJP leader, Mr Karan Singh, tendered his resignation from the Himachal Pradesh State BJP executive committee yesterday in protest against the appointment of party returning officers (ROs) in the Banjar Mandal in this district. He alleged favouritism in the elections and he sent his resignation to the state and national BJP leaders, including Mr Sahib Singh Verma, the party in charge of Himachal Pradesh.

Refuting Mr Karan Singh’s charge of favouritism, the election in charge, Mr Satpal Sati, said that elections were done after consultation with all the senior party leaders of the district. He said that the ROs were elected to conduct the organisational elections being held in the first week of October. Mr Dev Raj Tyagi, Mr Hukam Chand and Mr Ram Singh were elected ROs for Kullu, Banjar and Ani mandals, respectively, he added.

Mr Maheshwar Singh, a former state BJP President and former MP, and his brother, Mr Karan Singh said that they had already raised objections before the election in charge, Mr Satpal Sati, against the elections of the ROs.

Dharamsala, September 6
Dreaded convict Amrish Rana, lodged at the district jail here, today escaped from police custody in Una, where he was taken by the police for appearing in a fast-track court.

The convict gave the police the slip after saying he wanted to go to the toilet in the Mini-Secretariat, adjoining the court premises.

His associates were waiting for him in a car nearby and he fled in it.

Rana had been lodged at the Dharamsala jail to undergo life imprisonment in a triple murder case in Una.

The police sealed all escapes routes to Punjab and search operations and raids were being planned to nab him.

Information had been given to all police stations in the state and special nakas and barriers had been put up.

Rana had also been facing two cases of murder, two cases of assault and three cases of dacoity, some of which were at Kharar in Ropar district and Delhi.

Rampur Bushahr, September 6
Hundreds of people agitated over the death of a school student and insensitive approach adopted by the school principal and the local administration blocked National Highway-22 for more than two hours here today.

Rakesh Kumar (14), a Class IX student of Government School, Dewati, went to Government Senior Secondary School, Dutt Nagar (Rampur Bushahr), to participate in the block level sports tournament on Tuesday.

But after participating in the events, he along with two of his friends went for an outing in the afternoon along the Sutlej. Unfortunately, he slipped into the river.

His friends immediately went back and informed the school principal about the incident but the principal took it lightly and delayed by more than two hours informing about the incident to the police, alleged the agitators.

The insensitive approach of the principal could well be judged from the fact that the Tehsildar of Nirmand tehsil was informed about the incident on Wednesday, only after the people of Dewati and its adjoining villages had started gathering outside the school to know about the whereabouts of the student.

Today when the NH-22 was blocked by the agitating people, the Tehsildar of Nirmand tehsil arrived on the spot and assured the people that the local administration would try its best to recover the body of the student.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides of the highway during the protest for more than two hours.

Shimla, September 6
Emphasis has been laid on efficient transportation network and proper traffic management through construction of by-passes and undertaking of conservative surgery of the central zone to decongest the “Queen of Hills”and save it from further degradation.

These were the deliberations held by various departments, NGOs and other organisations at the Stakeholders Consultation workshop on the City Development Plan for Shimla, organised here today. The workshop was jointly organised by the Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and the local Municipal Corporation.

The Urban Development Minister, Mr Kaul Singh, while inaugurating the workshop said various agencies should come up with constructive suggestions for the formulation of the Shimla Development Plan.

He said since Shimla happened to be one of the 63 cities which would benefit under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a medium term city development plan would have to be formulated to avail of the grants from the Centre.

Mr Thakur said JNNURM was a reform driven project in which municipalities and state governments had to go in for complete reforms. He said various problems like traffic congestion, haphazard constructions, drinking water problem and solid waste management issues would be addressed under the mission.

Planners and architects have stressed the need for having more circular by-passes with better inter connectivity links through radial roads. “Roads have to be made free from vehicular parking by creating more parking areas and construction of elevators at places like Lakkar Bazar Bus Stand, Indira Gandhi medical College and Bemloe to The Mall,” said planners.

A very important issue that came up for discussion was conservative surgery of the central zone by shifting the non- conforming uses like grain and vegetable market, coal depots and workshops on the outskirts of the city.

The issue of developing a satellite townships at Ghandal beyond Ghannati and a tourist township at Fagu was also discussed.

Kumarhatti, September 6
The land on which the full grown trees were allegedly axed at Khajret village, near Kasauli, has been sold by its joint owners. Inquiries showed that the general power of attorney of land, measuring over 37 bigha and 11 biswa, was made in the name of a local private contractor, Tirth Ram, who was accused of mindless construction activities at the site. The villagers were absolute owners of the land, said Mr Pratap Singh, Tehsildar, Kasauli, who visited the spot today.

It was the Forest Department which had to take action on any loss to flora and fauna, he maintained. However, as per the damage report of forest department, the 46 full grown trees were found chopped off. The compensation as per norms has been claimed, forest officials said.

The matter has been handed over to the police by the Forest Department for further action.

In the FIR there was a mention of felling of 46 trees. However, during the Forest Department verification, over 100 saplings were also found damaged, sources said. The trees were axed to make a road for a proposed hotel site.