Udhampur, September 18
Even as the Doda police has registered an FIR against a Major and some jawans of the 26 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) for allegedly killing a surrendered militant in a fake encounter, the Army has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.

“The matter is under investigation. The Army is looking into all aspects of the allegation of a fake encounter levelled on the troops”, PRO, Northern Command, Col D.K. Kachari told The Tribune.

He said a detailed report had been sought from the Army officers concerned in this regard.

Sources said the recent killing of a youth had sparked massive protests in the Gandoh area of Doda district. People of Chilli village in Gandoh tehsil came out on the streets blaming the Army for killing a surrendered militant in a fake encounter. Villagers alleged that Mohammad Aslam Malik, who had surrendered before the police on August 4 last, was killed by the Army, in a fake encounter.

Mohammad, a local trader, was the son of a retired police inspector.

Following protest by the people, the Doda police registered an FIR against a Major and jawans of the 26 RR for killing the surrendered militant.

A senior police officer, while confirming that a case had been registered against the Army, said a Major and his associates had been booked under Section 364 and 302 RPC. A team had been deputed to the site of encounter, the officer said.

Meanwhile, the Army has claimed that the surrendered militant was killed in an encounter at Malikpura in Gandoh tehsil on the night of September 15.

“A patrol party observed suspicious movement in Malikpura area on September 15. When the suspects were asked to stop, they resorted to indiscriminate fire, which was returned by the troops, resulting in the militant’s death”, Army sources said.

The identity of the slain militant was later established as Mohammad Aslam Malik, who had surrendered before the police on August 4. Army sources claimed that within days of his surrender, Mohammad Aslam rejoined the militants' rank and file and was acting as an overground worker (OGW). He was accompanying some militants when he was shot dead in an encounter on September 15.

Contesting the Army’s claims, the deceased’s father Iqbal Malik said after surrendering before the security forces, his son was looking after the business and had gone to collect some payments where he was killed by the Army in a fake encounter. Malik further alleged that the encounter was “staged” to befool the people. 

Jammu, September 18
The leaders of the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti are on the “hit list” of the terrorists for their role in spearheading the two-month-long land agitation in Jammu. However, the police has failed to provide security cover to these leaders.

A confidential report submitted by the CID to the state police says that the militants want to take revenge from the samiti leaders who raised voice against the revocation of the forest land transfer and the separatist in the valley.

According to the report, the terrorists who killed seven persons in Chinore village in Bantalab area last month were on the mission to eliminate the samiti leadership.

“They were on the mission to eliminate the samiti leadership, but before they could do anything they were killed in the 18-hour long encounter,” an official source said. Though the security forces had inputs about the presence of another militant module in Jammu to perform the task, but police “failed” to provide security to the samiti leaders.

Dr Jitender Singh, spokesman of the Samiti said, “We knew that the CID has submitted a confidential report to the police, saying that the samiti leaders were on the hit list of terrorists, but the police is yet to provide security to us.”

He said, “The police knew that the militants who killed seven innocent persons in Chinore village last month actually wanted to attack our rally and despite a clear threat to us the police turned down our request for security and so far no security was provided to us.”

However, SSP Manohar Singh said the police had no information about the terrorist threat to the samiti leaders.

“We don’t have any information and you can speak to the officers of the security wing who can tell you better as why security was not provided to them,” the SSP said.

Jammu, September 18
With the land row agitation bringing to the fore the issue of discrimination with the Jammu region, various outfits “old as well as new” are gearing up to fight the forthcoming Assembly elections on this plank.

Some of these outfits are even advocating separate statehood for Jammu.

Leading the race is the BJP which is riding high on the success of the agitation. The party has already switched over to the poll mode and is holding a series of “swabhimaan rallies” starting from September 17 to October 6 across the Jammu region.

“We are telling people, now that you have won a battle, it is time to convert your anger into votes and support the BJP, which is the only party that supported the land row agitation wholeheartedly”, former state BJP chief Prof Nirmal Singh said.

Prof Singh said the empowerment of Jammu would definitely be a big issue in the coming elections. “The people of Jammu made it very clear through the land agitation that it was enough and they won’t take it anymore. They are now geared up to get their due share in every sphere, be it political power, development or employment”, Prof Singh said.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) led by Bhim Singh is another key player in the Jammu region, which is a strong supporter of reorganisation of the state. The party is currently holding a signature campaign demanding delimitation of constituencies prior to the Assembly elections. The party is seeking removal of political imbalance in the state.

The Jammu State Morcha (Progressive) would also be contesting elections on the plank of a separate statehood for Jammu. Morcha president Prof Virender Gupta said they would be fielding candidates on 20-25 seats in the region. The Morcha is one of the oldest outfits demanding trifurcation of the state. It believes that the region has been “systematically denied free and fair participation in the political structure of the state”.

Among the newly formed outfits, the debate on whether to contest the elections is on in the Jammu State Front. Chief of the People’s Revolutionary Movement Rajinder Jamwal said though they were yet to reach a decision on fighting the elections, but separate statehood would be the main issue in case the front takes a decision in the affirmative.

Meanwhile, there is also a possibility of some members of the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, which spearheaded the agitation in Jammu region, contesting the elections. 

Jammu, September 18
The National Conference today alleged various irregularities in the preparation of electoral rolls for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference here, senior party leader Ajay Sadhotra alleged that village-level officers were not functioning as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India. He also accused them of adopting ‘partial approach’ while discharging their duties. “In most of the villages these officers are not available to the voters,” he charged. The party also claimed that only 30 to 40 per cent of the voters have been issued photo identity cards.

The party further claimed that the state electoral authorities don’t have any identity cards left to provide to the remaining registered voters.

Sadhotra said the party had shot off a missive to the chief electoral officer of the state, informing him about various discrepancies in the electoral rolls and urging him to take corrective measures.

The Election Commission must ensure that all registered voters got the identity cards. He also urged the authorities to delete bogus voters.

On his party’s stand on delimitation, Sadhotra gave an evasive reply and said the Congress-PDP government had the issue in their common minimum programme, but they didn’t bring the relevant Bill in the Assembly.

Regarding the issue of discrimination with Jammu, he said their party stood for socio-political and economic equality among all three regions of the state to fulfil the aspirations of the people.

Jammu, September 18
Kashmiri Pandits seem to be getting aggressive. At least, one got this impression at a conference organised by their umbrella organisation, Panun Kashmir, here today to announce the world conference of Kashmiri Pandits diaspora in January.

The global conference will coincide with 20 years of Kashmiri Pandits forced exile from the valley following the eruption of armed insurgency.

The conference that seeks to give a “road map” to the community for the attainment of their demand for a separate homeland with a union territory status carved out in south of the valley.

“We have entered a crucial phase of our battle and from here upon the community needs to be prepared and to gird up its loins and coordinate with the nationalist forces across the country against the Islamic terrorist and separatists operating in the valley.” said Panun Kashmir’s convener Dr Agnishekhar.

Asked what was the root cause of their running away from the valley and what was stopping them from going back to their homes Dr Agnishekhar said, “Like the previous decades invaders, it is once again the march of Islam that does not like the Kashmiri Pandits to be around in the valley.”

He said he would not like to say more on this subject at this stage but it was a fact that invaders’ religious fundamentalism had changed the course of times to come, and the nation was still paying a heavy price for this.

Asked about the mood of the youth in the community regarding their displacement, Dr Agnishekhar said, “They feel very hurt, and many of them are getting very aggressive in their approach to tackle the Kashmir issue.

They say they have waited for too long and they will have to help themselves to achieve what they have been agitating for so long.”

He said, “Our youth is overwhelmingly joining the Armed Forces and are becoming aggressive.”

When asked the stand of Panun Kashmir towards Article 370, he said, “The union territory that we have been demanding would have no restrictions for Indian nationals to come and settle with us.”

Jammu, September 18
Over 20,000 special police officers (SPOs) in the state continue to lament over the raw deal being meted out to them by the government. ”For years together we have been forced to remain content with receiving a fixed wage of Rs 3,000 per month,” said one SPO posted in Ramnagar belt of Udhampur.

Another SPO said, “We are being associated with counter insurgency operations and whenever one among us gets killed, in action, his family receives an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh.” He said, “we are not entitled to any medical allowance and some of us had to bear expenses on treatment to their injuries.”

A senior police officer, while confirming it, said, “In certain cases the Police Department bears the expenses on treatment of an SPO injured while fighting militants.”

He said if a jawan or an official from the regular police forces got killed his family received Rs 3 lakh as ex-gratia relief from the government and another Rs 3 lakh were paid from the Police Welfare fund. But this facility is not available for the SPOs.

Yet another SPO said, “We do not receive Rs 3,000 wages on time. At times the payment is made after three to four months.” Official sources said the government was considering several proposals for bettering the lot of SPOs. First was enhancing their monthly wages. Secondly, they too were being brought under the medicare package. Another proposal under consideration was to increase the quota of recruitment in regular police services for the SPOs.

Asked whether the government planned to sanction some emoluments for the members of the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) the official sources said since their number was quite large the state resources might not allow it. 

Srinagar, September 18
Hundreds of State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) employees made a human chain to protest the "indifferent" attitude of the government towards their demands.

Scores of SRTC employees marched through the streets of Srinagar, raising slogans in favour of their demands and accusing the government of backtracking.

The ongoing agitation, the employees said, was not for the salary only but for the implementation of the agreement reached between the union and the government in March, which assured the release of salaries along with allowances.

They said the agitation would continue till the government conceded their demands. However, official sources said as the Board of Directors of the corporation stood dissolved, a number of their demands were difficult to be fulfilled. Government calls

Jammu: The government has called the SRTC Workers Union to discuss demands on September 22.

A five-member committee of the union would meet a government committee headed by S.L Bhatt at Governor House in Srinagar.

Members of the union held a protest march from Dogra Chowk to the Press Club on Thursday. They have been protesting in support of their demands for the past one month.

Earlier, the union organised 35-day protest, which ended on March 24. Ashok Mehra, president of the union, said the agitation had concluded with assurances, which were not implemented, forcing the workers to go on strike again. 

Jammu, September 18
With the tenures of the vice-chancellor of Jammu University (JU), Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) Jammu and chairman of J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) nearing completion speculations are on rife over the selection of candidates for coveted posts.

VC, JU, Prof Amitabh Matoo, chairman, BOSE, N.A. Gannie and VC Islamia University, Kashmir, Siddiq Wahid are completing their tenures this year in a month or two whereas VC, SKUAST, Jammu, Prof Nagendra Sharma has got retirement.

Prof Matto was appointed as VC in 2002. He was appointed for three years but was given extension for another three years. The search committee for the post of VC of JU, which is being headed by Prof G.K. Chadda- economic adviser to the Prime Minister and former vice-chancellor of Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU), includes Prof Atul Sharma former VC of Arunachal Pradesh University and S.S. Bloeria -adviser to Governor N.N. Vohra.

Applications for the post of VC of JU have been submitted as September 10 was the deadline. As many as 20 applicants from within the university have made their claims over the coveted post, while two are being considered as strong contenders. Next VC would be from inside the state or outside the state, still remains a question.

Similarly, the five-member search committee for the selection of VC for SKUAST, is being headed by Dr Mangla Rai - director-general of Indian Council of Agriculture and Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The VC, SKUAST, Dr Nagendra Sharma earlier retired this month. Presently, the university is being headed by the finance commissioner, S.L. Bhat.

However, the search committee for the chairman of J&K BOSE is being headed by JU’s outgoing VC Prof Amitabh Mattoo. The committee includes K.M. Wani - commissioner secretary, higher education, G.A. Peer - commissioner secretary, education and VC, Kashmir University, Prof Riyaz Wani.

Present chairman of the JKBOSE, N.A. Ganie, though a domicile of Kashmir but employee of Jammu University and his predecessor J.P. Singh was also a resident of Jammu. It is in place to mention here that for the time being post of secretary and joint secretary (education) are also lying vacant since the retirement of Veena Rajput and V.K. Gupta in June and July, respectively.VC, Islamia University, Siddiq Wahid is completing his tenure on September 22.

Former VC, Aligarh Muslim University, Mohammad-ul- Rehman is heading the four-member search committee, which will suggest the name for next VC. 

Tribune News Service
Jammu: ‘There are many a slip between the cup and the lip’, the adage aptly suits the “prestigious” ropeway project of the winter capital hanging in balance since 1996.

The ropeway project at a cost of Rs 20 crore had to connect the heritage monument of Mubarak Mandi with ancient Bahu Fort across Tawi River but alas, it still remains a casualty to various “constraints” including laid-back attitude of the successive regimes.

However, the government was still gung-ho and claimed that the project would soon become a reality much to the delight of the people.

Talking to The Tribune, managing director of the Jammu and Kashmir State Cable Corporation Limited, Farooq Khan said, “A Chandigarh-based party has evinced keen interest in the project. However, the two-month-long agitation over the Amarnath land row delayed further negotiations.”

“I personally talked to them on July 20 this year and we are hopeful that a team from Chandigarh would shortly come to Srinagar for further negotiations and if things materialises then work on the project would begin shortly,” added Khan.

However, if they back out then we have certain plans up our sleeves like dropping certain conditions from previous tenders so as to woo previously interested parties, he said.

“It is a big project and it must come up. It would not only become a revenue earner like cable car project in Gulmarg but would also help us check accusations of regional imbalances”, he added.

It may be recalled here that in 2005 much hype and hoopla had been created by the Jammu and Kashmir State Cable Car Corporation Limited to start the project.

Official sources said the project had to be constructed by private players on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis and the state government had to provide land only.

After its completion the private players had to operate it for 30 years before transferring it to the state government, they added.

An official on the condition of anonymity said, the Cable Car Corporation Limited could not be blamed for the delay. In fact we had thorough discussions with the RITES Limited preparing a detailed project report and floating tenders.

Few private firms had come forward but later they backed out because they thought it to be financially unviable, he added.

He said, under an agreement that had to be executed between private party and the cable car corporation, the former after constructing the project had to cough up royalty to the corporation for a period of 30 years before transferring it to the state.

Srinagar, September 18
The police has solved the murder of Mohammad Anwar Dar of Kupwara whose body was found at Lasjan in Srinagar on September 11. The killer paramour has been arrested while an accomplice is at large.

SSP S.A. Mujtaba said Dar’s body, which bore marks of violence on the face and neck, was identified with the help of his documents. The deceased was staying at Shivpora, Srinagar, along with his wife, Irshada, and three children.

Irshada said she had last seen her husband on the evening of September 10 just before he left her in order to purchase a mobile phone. She also revealed that her last contact with her husband had been through his newly purchased mobile phone. Based on this statement, a detailed analysis of the call records of the deceased and his wife was carried out.

This analysis, the SSP said, led to two persons, Manzoor Ahmad Ganie of Srinagar and Tanveer of Kupwara. Accordingly, Manzoor was arrested and his confession led to the recovery of a blood-stained brick used by the accused for committing the crime and the deceased's slippers which had been thrown away after the murder.

Besides, Manzoor's scooter had been seized and the tyre marks picked up from the scene of crime bore, prima facie, resemblance to the marks of the tyres of this scooter.

The SSP said the deceased's mobile phone, which was sold by Tanveer to a mobile dealer in Kupwara, had also been recovered. Tanveer was, however, still at large.

Jammu, September 18
Mr Justice J.P. Singh of the state High Court has quashed the detention of Jamali Khan, an employee of the Bombay Mercantile Cooperative Bank, alleged to be hawala courier, who was caught smuggling hawala money to the tune of Rs 46,89,500.

S.C. Gupta, AAG appearing for state, said the police received a tip-off that one G.M. Bhat, a resident of Hyderpora, Srinagar, associated with different militant organisations, particularly the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, had illegally collected a huge sum of money and the same was being taken for delivery to chairman of the Tehreek, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, at Srinagar. “The money was required to be used for providing financial aid to terrorist organisations for carrying out anti-national and subversive activities”, Gupta said.

Acting on the information, the police laid a naka at Jakheni and a Tata Sumo (3937/JK14) was intercepted. During search, the police found a CNG cylinder full of currency notes. During questioning, Jamali told the police that the cylinder was given to him by one G.M. Bhat for being delivered to Geelani.

While Rs 46,89,500 were recovered from the cylinder, Rs 2.50 lakh, one walkman and a mobile phone were recovered from Jamali’s possession. Jamali’s detention under the J&K Public Safety Act was ordered by the District Magistrate, Udhampur, on December 19, 2007.

According to the grounds of detention, the detenue visited London, Dubai, Jeddah, Pakistan, UAE, Sri Lanka and Maldives and was allegedly a hawala courier, messenger, biker and dispatch-rider for the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Hurriyat Conference. The detenue challenged his detention on various grounds, including non-supply of police dossier and non-disclosure of the nature of material. The counsel for detenue argued that the detenue was deprived of his right to make an effective representation to the government against his illegal detention. Mr Justice J.P. Singh, while quashing the detention observed: “The preventive detention of a person who is already in police custody is no doubt, permissible under Section 8 of the Act, yet, while directing the preventive detention in such cases, the detaining authority is required to spell out its satisfaction that the detenue, if released on bail, was likely to indulge in activities pre-judicial to the security of the state or maintenance of public order or the like warranting preventive detention. Such satisfaction, however, needs to be based on some material. In other words existence of material for recording such satisfaction is sine-qua-non for detaining a person who is already in custody, in preventive detention. The records produced by the respondents, however, do not contain any such material on the basis and the satisfaction recorded by the District Magistrate, Udhampur, is therefore, arbitrary.”

With these observations, the High Court quashed the detention order passed by the District Magistrate.

Srinagar, September 18
Former chief minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has cautioned the Centre against its “apparent policy of drift and inaction in Kashmir”, saying the problem would not disappear by ignoring it or seeking quick fix solutions of a fire-fighting nature.

In a statement issued here today, Mufti urged the Centre to revive and push forward the Kashmir resolution process with political courage and sincerity. He said it was time that “we respond to the public sentiment and take concrete political measures for the resolution of the problem instead of resorting to strong-arm tactics to suppress their aspirations.”

Mufti said: “Addressing the public sentiment with open mind is a challenge and gun should not be the state’s medium of expression in the current scenario”.

Mufti said: “There was absolutely no reason in not talking to the people of Kashmir and listening to their grievances which were being now given expression through non-violent protests.”

“The pre-condition most of the times laid by the Centre for working towards the resolution of the Kashmir problem was cessation of violence in the area”, he said.

Mufti said not only the separatist leadership but even the people of Kashmir had, during the recent mass protests, in most profound terms denounced any form of violence despite severest provocations.

Mufti also stressed upon the need to engage in a constructive, comprehensive, purposeful and productive dialogue process with Pakistan as well as the people of the state to resolve the issue.

Mufti said: “The stabilisation of the political situation in Pakistan had offered another window of opportunity for the revival of the peace process and resolution of the issues before nefarious elements try to spoil it again.”

Mufti said the peace process initiated in 2003 had yielded momentous dividends in the shape of the ceasefire along the borders, opening up of cross-LoC routes for passenger traffic and visits by the representatives of the civil society, media professionals, businessmen and ordinary citizens to and from the two sides of Kashmir.

“What is more important is that hope had replaced despair during that period”, he said and added that the lack of follow-up and misplaced priorities after 2005, unfortunately, pushed not only the confidence-building measures under the carpet, but also put the peace process on the back-burner. 

Rajouri, September 18
Following specific inputs about militants using the mobile services of operators in the district, the police has started checking the records of SIM cards.

The police has recovered about 70 mobile SIM cards of one of the leading private operator from Muhammad Iqbal (22), son of Israr Bhatt, a resident of Falni village.

Sources in the Police Department divulged that the police had clear-cut information that militants were using the mobile SIM cards of operators. They added that the police was even having the numbers being used by the militants and had put these numbers under surveillance.

The police decided in a meeting held a few days back to check the records of the outlet dealers and the company operators.

SHO Buddhal said neither the youth was having any letter from the mobile operators nor was he keeping any record of SIM cards issued through him. Meanwhile, the police sources are also not ruling out the nexus of some influential persons with a few company officials who may be getting the SIM cards through illegal means.