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6 suspended BJP MLAs elect deputy leader
Moral Policing |
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White Knight Corps celebrates 39th Raising Day
Frenchman takes ‘Awami Mulakat’ route to recover money
Manhas constitutes party cells
Power shortage badly hits Jammu industry
Special squads to check smoking at public places
Lightning damages power station
Dhaba owner gets 10-year jail
Blast at DFO’s
House
Floriculture officer held
Teachers’ transfer policy being violated in state
Regular power supply sought
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6 suspended BJP MLAs elect deputy leader
Jammu, June 1 Unfazed by the decision of the party high command to expel Gupta from the primary membership of the party, the six legislators, who had been suspended by the party for cross-voting in the Legislative Council poll, today called on the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Akbar Lone, and submitted a letter to him mentioning that Gupta was still their leader. The suspended MLAs, in their letter, also mentioned that they had elected Jagdish Raj Sapolia as the Deputy Leader of the Legislature Party and Gharu Ram Bhagat as the chief whip of the party with a majority. “The BJP legislators today called on me and submitted a letter regarding the election of a new Deputy Leader of the BJP Legislature Party and the chief whip,” confirmed the Speaker while talking to The Tribune over the phone. “As of now, Chaman Lal Gupta is the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in the Assembly, as he has been elected by all 11 MLAs of the party,” the Speaker said. He added that Gupta would continue to enjoy this status unless a majority of party legislators categorically give in writing that they had withdrawn their support from Gupta as the leader of the Legislature Party. “Till today, we have not received any letter from the party high command regarding Gupta’s expulsion from the membership of the party. We have got information only through the media,” Jagdish Raj Sapolia, MLA, Basholi, told The Tribune. He added that, “As of now, Gupta is our leader”. He said there was a difference between the party and the Legislature Party. “You cannot change the leader of the Legislature Party without passing a no confidence motion against him,” Sapolia said. On the other hand, the BJP leadership has started efforts to lure the suspended MLAs, but the attempts have failed to yield any result so far. “By expelling Gupta, the party has given a clear message to other six suspended MLAs that the party high command is ready to adopt a lenient approach towards them provided they distanced themselves from Gupta,” a senior BJP leader said. Meanwhile, upset over the decision of the party high command to expel him, Gupta said he was an architect of the party in the region. “Since 1945, I have been working with the party, but unfortunately the party high command fell in the trap of those who wanted to weaken the nationalist movement in the state,” he said. Gupta regretted that he had become a victim of the conspiracy hatched by a few forces. He claimed that he still enjoyed the support of the six MLAs and was contemplating the legal recourse after his forced expulsion from the party. Reacting to Gupta’s statement that he continued to be the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in the Assembly, president of the state BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas said this was an absurd contention, “as a person who has been expelled from the primary membership of the party was not entitled to hold any post in the name of the party”. |
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Moral Policing
Jammu, June 1 “Either they committed suicide out of shame or they were raped and killed by the police and their bodies were thrown in the river,” alleged Janki Nath, sarpanch of the native village of the girls. He added that, “See the height of cruelty, even the statements of the victims’ families were not recorded. In the FIR, the police registered a missing case only”. “The families of the girls could not overcome the shock all through these months. There is a common feeling among the villagers that tremendous injustice has been done to the Dalit families,” he said. On July 12 last year, a student of Class XII, Sapna, accompanied by her friend and student of Class X, Sangeeta, went to meet her boyfriend Pardeep Kumar at Patti Gulabgarh near a public place. Meanwhile, a police patrol party arrived there and took them to the nearby police station, Atholi (Gulabgarh). In her statement, detained Sapna reportedly told the police that she was going to get engaged to Pardeep and had come there to talk to him to know about him. However, the police claimed that they were found behind the bushes under suspicious conditions. Nevertheless, it claimed that it had released the girls and later the boy after a brief questioning. Next day the police recovered their slippers and a shawl at the confluence of the Butnullah and the Chenab. Infuriated over the police action, the villagers staged violent protests, ransacked the police station and even injured many policemen. In view of the sensitivity of the matter, the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, and the IGP, Jammu, had flown to Paddar to pacify the agitated villagers on July 15. They reportedly assured them of a fair investigation in the case. The Divisional Commissioner even announced an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 each to both Dalit families, which they had not received till date. Eventually, in August last year the National Human Rights Commission took cognisance of the matter on a complaint filed by the Rashtriya Sarv Meg Vansh Mahasabha, New Delhi. In its complaint, the mahasabha alleged that the girls were “abducted, tortured and killed” by the police and their bodies were thrown in the river. In view of the serious allegations, the commission transferred the case to the State Human Rights Commission, asking the latter to seek a report from the DIG within two weeks. Senior officials of the SHRC told The Tribune that the DIG had submitted the report on the entire issue. The report had been forwarded to the NGO and the victim families in the case for the filing of a rejoinder. The date of hearing in the case has been fixed for July 25. Despite repeated attempts the investigating officer in the case, Madan Lal Choudhary, could not be reached for his comments. |
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Missing Merchant Navy Officer
Ramgarh, June 1 While Simarpreet is too small to understand the unpleasant development, the state government’s has dashed off two letters to the embassies of Australia and Singapore, besides taking up the matter with the UPA government, renewing the hopes of the Sikh family in this border village. Vikram had joined the company just a year ago. “Vikram Singh (30), second officer in the Japanese merchant navy company, Mitsui Osk Lines, had left the Fremantle Port in Australia on May 24 for Singapore, but on May 27 at 11 am (IST) we received a call from his company office in Mumbai informing us about the incident,” Chanan Singh Toor, Vikram’s father-in-law told The Tribune. “Subsequently, on May 28 another official from the company’s Mumbai office, Captain Rajeev, came to meet us. It seemed they all parroted almost same answers to our questions. We were not at all satisfied with their replies,” said Toor. “Even on the day when Vikram left Australia for Singapore, he had spoken to us, including his wife, on the phone before the signal snapped. In fact, his vessel had been almost 300 km into the sea from the Fremantle Port, but well within the coastal boundaries of Australia,” Toor added. Vikram’s father-in-law said two days ago, the aggrieved family had faxed a letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and had also talked to his political adviser DS Rana. “The state government has now written two letters to the embassies of Australia and Singapore, while Congress MPs Lal Singh and Madan Lal Sharma have also taken up the matter with the right authorities in New Delhi. It seems that the Chief Minister is serious about the case,” Toor said. Industries Minister SS Salathia, former MP TS Bajwa and former minister Manjeet Singh have already visited the family and assured it of all possible help. Toor has also written a letter to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Meanwhile, the wife of the young Sikh officer has urged the Central and state governments for help. “I strongly feel that something terribly wrong has happened to my husband on the ship. So, I demand that the entire crew be arrested and interrogated. By now they must have destroyed all clues and evidences,” she said before breaking down. “A God fearing man, my husband never had enmity with anyone,” she added. |
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White Knight Corps celebrates 39th Raising Day
Jammu, June 1 It adopted “White Knight” as its emblem, signifying the onus to make the first move and the capability to strike in all directions. It came into being as the largest and the most dynamic operational corps of the Army, entrusted with the security and integrity of the area of prime strategic importance. The corps was raised on the banks of the Tawi by Lt-Gen JFR Jacob, who after retirement had successful tenures as the Governor of Goa and Punjab. Since its raising, three of its General Officers Commanding (GOC) have had the honour of becoming the Chief of the Army Staff. They were Gen KV Krishna Rao, Gen SF Rodriguez, and Gen Shankar Roy Chowdhury. On the occasion, GOC, White Knight Corps, Lt-Gen Jai Prakash Nehra, complimented all ranks for their outstanding contribution in combating militancy and assisting the administration in regaining normalcy. The GOC was confident that in future too, the White Knight fraternity would continue to scale the lofty heights of success. The area of the White Knight Corps has seen fierce battles in 1948 and 1965 operations. Today, the corps remembered the valiant soldiers, who made the supreme sacrifice in order to maintain the territorial integrity and protect the local population during these battles. Naik Jadunath Singh, who laid down his life fighting successive waves of attacks in the Nowshera sector in February 1948, and Lt RR Rane, who displayed exemplary courage during the Battle of Rajouri in April 1948, were awarded the highest gallantry award of the country, the Param Veer Charka (PVC). Brig Usman, Mahavir Chakra awardee, popularly known as the “Hero of Nowshera”, and Brig Pritam Singh, Mahavir Chakra awardee, popularly known as the “Saviour of Poonch”, have been the household names in the Jammu region. The corps was bifurcated in 2005 when it shed a large area of its responsibility to the neighbouring corps. Even after the split, the corps remains the largest active formation of the Army. |
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Frenchman takes ‘Awami Mulakat’ route to recover money
Srinagar, June 1 Bernard walked into the “Awami Mulakat” being held by the Chief Minister every Wednesday with his application along with court documents showing that a resident of Barzulla, Ghulam Mohiuddeen, had taken Rs 9 lakh in cash from him against a proper notarised receipt promising to return the same in five instalments at a nominal interest. “I approached the tourist police, but nothing is happening. These are the documents to support my case,” he said, adding that he had been moving from pillar to post, but nothing happened. “I came here after hearing about the meetings you (Omar) hold with the public and all I want is my hard earned money back,” requested the French national, who had been now staying in a small hotel in the Dalgate area. The Chief Minister, after perusing the papers, directed SSP Ashiq Bhukhari to investigate the matter and ensure that the money was returned to the tourist. A police team later accompanied Bernard, who was with his wife, to nab the culprit. “We will ensure that proper and speedy justice is done in the case as tourism is the mainstay of thousands of people in the Valley,” Omar remarked.
— PTI |
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Manhas constitutes party cells
Jammu, June 1 Manhas has nominated Jugal Kishore Sharma as the state convener of the MPs-MLAs Development Cell, Chander Mohan Sharma of the Intellectual Cell, Kavinder Gupta of the Urban Local Bodies, Balbir Ram of the Media Cell, Narsingh Dass Rajwal of the Aajeevan Sehyog Nidhi, Onkar Seth of the Legal and Legislative Cell and Vijay Kumar as the co-convener. Other conveners are Dr Yog Raj Padha of the Doctor Cell, Rajinder Sharma of the Election Cell, Shashi Vaid of the Cooperative Cell, Pardeep Kumar of the Sports Cell, Sanjay Nagpal of
the Investors Cell, Ashok Kumar Khajuria of the Sharnarthi Cell and Murari Lal for the OBC Cell. |
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Power shortage badly hits Jammu industry
Jammu, June 1 According to Sharma, in the Gangyal industrial estate alone the industrial units are losing Rs 25 lakh a day because of erratic power supply. “Industrialisation in Jammu and Kashmir is already a difficult task because of its geographical location as compared to other states. But despite deterrents, we made efforts,” said Sharma. He said the government also felt that industrialisation was perhaps the only way to provide employment to the youth. But to set up an industry, uninterrupted and quality power supply becomes the first and foremost requirement. Unfortunately, the government has not kept pace with the vital sector and as a result our miseries increase manifold during summer when electricity plays truant with the industrialists, he added. “Electricity is a limiting factor in the state, while the government says the state has a potential of producing 20,000 MW of hydropower,” said Sharma. An industrialist, Sandeep Gupta, said even when the electricity supply was resumed to the industrial estates, unscheduled cuts hampered productivity. “Unscheduled power cuts in industrial estates, which have been metered by the Power Development Department and its poor quality continue to cause us losses in the form of wages to staff, repayment of loans to banks, depreciation of machinery and above all minimal productivity,” he added. The JCCI claims it had taken up the matter with the state government and the department concerned several times, but nothing positive had happened so far. “Industrial estates at Samba, Bari-Brahmana and Akhnoor, which are more organised than other industrial estates are also suffering losses on account of erratic power supply. It is high time the state government wakes up to the situation,” said Sharma. Of the hydroelectric potential of 20,000 MW this water-rich state has so far tapped around 8,000 MW. |
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Special squads to check smoking at public places
Jammu, June 1 Controller, Drugs, Satish Gupta said in the previous year teams of his department had conducted checking at 14,812 public places to book those found smoking at public places. The teams inspected 8,454 places in Jammu and 6,358 places in Srinagar. These include hotels, auditoriums, railway platforms, restaurants, post offices etc. He added that 1,596 persons were found smoking at public places. Gupta said the teams of the Drug Control Department had inspected 36 shops at different places where children below the age of 18 were found purchasing tobacco items and cigarettes. Furthermore, 140 shops were found selling cigarettes and other tobacco items in the 100-metre radius of the educational institutions. He said the campaign against smoking at public places would be intensified in the days to come.
— TNS |
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Lightning damages power station
Jammu, June 1 Official sources said around 5 am today lightning struck a receiving station at Molechak Palad, a border village in the RS Pura subdivision, snapping power supply to nearly 12 villages comprising Molechak Palad, Nikowal, Arnia, Sai, Trewa, Beaspur, Pralah, Sangoli, Sagda, Devigarh and Sai Camp. Though there was no loss of life or injury to anyone in the incident, the receiving station suffered a loss
of around Rs 40 lakh, they added. The Assistant Executive Engineer of the department, Hanumant Singh, who rushed to the spot along with a team of officials, has reportedly said the panels and feeders of the station suffered extensive damage in the incident. The department had started the repair work on a war footing and the power supply to the affected villages would be restored by tomorrow evening, said a local quoting the
AEE. |
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Talat takes over as VC
Srinagar, June 1 Immediately after taking charge from the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof Riyaz Punjabi, Prof Talat, in an interaction with the top functionaries of the varsity, expressed happiness over the way the university had grown over the years in terms of infrastructure and facilities. “We will like to go beyond from here and all our efforts have to be student specific,” said Talat. He added that the students should face no problems while pursuing their career at the university. Accountability on all fronts is something that would help us grow faster, said Talat, while appealing to the university employees to help in making the university a hub of educational activity. He said there was no way out then to mobilise all
our resources to benefit our youth. |
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Dhaba owner gets 10-year jail
Jammu, June 1 According to the police, on July 24, 2004, the Kathua police station, got a tip-off that Amar Singh, who was running a dhaba at Lagate Morh, was also selling bhukhi. The police raided the dhaba and recovered 9 kg of bhukhi from Amar’s possession and registered a case against him. After investigation it presented a challan in a competent court of law. The Principal Sessions Judge, Kathua, while sentencing the accused, observed that, “The request of the accused for a lesser imprisonment is hereby rejected, and the accused, Amar Singh, shall suffer a rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and shall also pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh. And in case of default in the payment of fine, he shall suffer a further imprisonment of two years”. |
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Blast at DFO’s
House
Jammu, June 1 Official sources said the police picked up watchman Mohammed Arif for questioning. “Though no substantial lead has come to us as yet, we are questioning some suspects, including the watchman,” said a senior police officer. Asked about the material used in the blast, the officer said so far experts had not been able to speak on the issue. None was injured in the explosion as Mughal and his family had gone to Jammu, and there was none in the house, he added. A wall and the roof of the kitchen were extensively damaged in the blast. The officer, however, did not rule out the possibility of the involvement of militants in the incident. “We are investigating the case from all possible angles and nothing could be said at this stage,” the officer said. The sources said the service of Army experts had been requisitioned to ascertain the nature of
the blast. |
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Floriculture officer held
Jammu, June 1 Sheikh had lodged a complaint with the SVO stating that he being a contractor was allotted a contract for earth filling at government parks and quarters. According to him, he completed the earth filling at the VIP Quarters, Sonwar, and Gupkar, Srinagar, for which a payment of Rs 70,000 was pending with the department. He completed the works last year. However, the department concerned had not paid him the dues till date. It was further mentioned in the complaint that Sheikh had many a time visited the office of the District Floriculture Officer, Srinagar, and requested him to release the payment. But the officer in turn demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 for releasing the payment. Accordingly, a case was registered. The accused officer was caught red-handed while accepting a the bribe in the presence of independent witnesses. The bribe money was recovered from his possession. |
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Teachers’ transfer policy being violated in state
In a reply to an application filed under the RTI Act by Vilakshana Singh, an advocate, who is practising in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, the Directorate of School Education stated that as many as 2,805 teachers and lecturers had been working in the same schools for a period of more than five years, which was against the prescribed norms. A perusal of these documents further revealed that there were a few teachers who were working in the same schools for more than 30 years. These teachers had started their career from these schools and were about to retire from there only. The reply also stated that a teacher had been posted at Government Middle School, Kaumti, Ladda, in the Udhampur zone for the last 32 years. Similarly, a teacher had been serving at Government Primary School, Kund, in the Udhampur zone for the last 30 years and another had been posted at Government Middle School, Chowki Choura, in the Jammu zone for the last 30 years. The list of such teachers was long, but hardly any action had been taken against them because of their political backing. Even the Director, School Education, GA Qureshi, failed to give a satisfactory reply. “This matter is very serious and I will check the details. So far I can’t comment on the issue,” said Qureshi while talking to The Tribune over the phone. However, he accepted that no teacher or lecturer could serve
more than five years in the same school. |
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Regular power supply sought
Jammu, June 1 In a statement issued here today, Gupta said the government had promised to provide uninterrupted power supply to the metered areas, but the promise remained only on paper. At present, electronic meters had been installed in almost all areas of Jammu city by the Power Department, but there was no improvement in the power supply, he regretted. “The department is collecting rent regularly for the domestic use of electricity and if there is any theft of power or discrepancy in this regard, it is in the industrial sector,” he added.
— TNS |
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Jammu, June 1