Srinagar, July 22
The Army today ordered an internal probe into the allegation that its two soldiers had kidnapped and raped a woman in Kulgam district, even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah promised the guilty would not be spared.

The General-Officer-Commanding of the 15 Corps, Lt-Gen SA Hasnain, said an internal probe had been launched into the case and strict action would be taken against the guilty. However, he cautioned that the allegations may have been levelled to “defame the force” and disturb peace in the Kashmir valley.

“It is not possible for two soldiers to remain out of their camp for 48 hours. Though we have ordered an internal inquiry and we are cooperating fully with the local police, we feel it is a conspiracy to disrupt peace in the Valley, as the woman has retracted from her statement twice,” said Lt-Gen Hasnain.

“If there is any truth in the allegation, it is a criminal act requiring strict action. The Army is cooperating in the police investigation and we have launched a separate investigation of our own,” Hasnain told reporters here.

Meanwhile, the Chief minister said an identification parade of soldiers from the Army unit stationed there could be held. “The size of the Army unit in the area is less than 20 strong so an identification parade won’t be a problem. The guilty won’t be spared either, AFSPA or no AFSPA,” Omar said on the micro-blogging website, Twitter.

Sources said the swabs taken from the woman had been sent to the forensic laboratory in Srinagar. “If any foreign bodies are found in the swabs, the same will be subjected to DNA testing for ascertaining the identity of the bearer,” they said.

The woman from Gujjarpatti Manzpora in Kulgam, 80 km from here, yesterday lodged a police complaint accusing unidentified Army personnel of abducting her on July 19 and gang-raping her before being left off on July 21.

After the news spread in the area last evening people in a large number came out on the roads and held protests. Following tension, DGP Kuldeep Khoda and Minister of state for Home Nasir Aslam wani rushed to the area. The police recorded the statement of the victim at the police station in the presence of the DGP and Aslam Wani and registered an FIR against two unnamed Army personnel.

The police, however, said the woman retracted from her statement twice as first she accused some unnamed Army personnel of kidnapping and raping her but later she accused a local of the crime. However, she again accused the Army personnel from the 66 Rashtriya Rifles of the crime.

“We have registered a case on the basis of her statement. The Army has promised full cooperation and we will hold an identification parade of the Army personnel on duty in the area,” a senior police officer told The Tribune

“The police has registered an FIR under Sections 366 and 376 of the RPC at Damhal Hanji Pora police station in the incident,” he said. The relatives of the victim said she had gone out for ablutions around 7 pm on July 19 but did not return.

“She returned on July 21 and narrated the entire incident. She told us that two Army men had kept her captive in a meadow hutment for two days. We brought her to the police station,” a relative of the victim said. 

Jammu, July 22
Though the state government has constituted the State Pollution Control Board to keep a check on the increasing pollution level, the lack of adequate staff has been affecting its functioning.

The board started functioning in 1986 and aimed at making Jammu and Kashmir a pollution
free state.

However, the lack of manpower has resulted in adismal performance bythe board.

Sources in the board disclosed that no fresh recruitments had been made for almost a decade. “In 1996, additional manpower based on the actual responsibilities was estimated and the sanction was obtained from the government to increase the staff strength. The staff strength of the board, however, increased in years 2000 and 2001 after which no new recruitments were made,” a board official said.

He added that the board lacked environment engineers, scientists, field staff, inspectors and some class IV employees. Due to an inadequate staff, the board had virtually failed to take effective action against defaulters, including some industrial units, hotels, banquet halls and automobile workshops under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Chairman of the board Lal Chand also said the staff shortage was hampering the board’s efforts to control the pollution levels in the state.

“Earlier, there were no recruitment rules. But now we have framed the rules and have sent them for approval to the state government,” said Lal Chand while talking to The Tribune over the phone from Srinagar.

He added that, “The staff shortage has added extra workload on the existing staff. At present, we need at least one-third of the total sanctioned staff of 450 employees to be able to do our job efficiently.”

Jammu, July 22
The BJP urged the Union government to table the amended Land Acquisition Bill in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament.

Addressing a press conference here today, national vice-president of the BJP Kissan Morcha Suresh Chandel impressed upon the government to incorporate the suggestions given by the morcha in the Bill.

Chandel said the Congress-led UPA government during its previous tenure had tabled the Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament in 2007, but it was allowed 
o lapse due to its non-serious attitude towards
the farmers.

“After studying the Bill, we came to the conclusion that it will not benefit the farmers and instead harm their interests,” he said. “We have been continuously agitating for the cause of the farmers and are well aware of their problems,” he added.

Srinagar, July 22
The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) met here today under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra and reviewed the status of the ongoing Amarnath yatra. The meeting expressed satisfaction over the board’s efforts for ensuring improvement in the management of the pilgrimage.

Those present at the meeting included Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhajan Sopori, Justice GD Sharma (retd) and Dr Ved Kumari Ghai. RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the shrine board, and Preet Pal Singh, Additional CEO, were also present at the meeting.

The SASB decided to set up a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, member of the board, to advise the board regarding the duration and the schedule of the yatra from 2012 onwards.

It was decided that the other members of the sub-committee would be Swami Avdheshanandji Maharaj, Joona Peethadishwar, Haridwar; Dr Chandermouli Raina, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Jammu; Prem Gupta, Jammu; RL Bharti, Jammu; and YV Sharma, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jammu, with RK Goyal as its member secretary.

The board had decided that the chairman of the sub-committee might co-opt any other person, who had knowledge and experience in the field of religious traditions and practice, security, management, environment protection and any other relevant area.

It was disclosed that the sub-committee was likely to commence its work in the first week of September 2011 and tender its recommendations to the shrine board by December 15, 2011.

During the meeting, the Governor informed the board members about the approaches adopted for the management of the yatra to ensure that all required logistical facilities and arrangements were put in place at the base camps, camps en route and at the cave shrine to facilitate the yatris. 

Jammu, July 22
Ten days after the interlocutors on Kashmir held the first ever Roundtable Conference here, the non-official three-member Kashmir Committee headed by eminent advocate Ram Jethmalani arrived here today on a three-day visit.

During their stay in Jammu, the committee would hold discussions with a cross-section of society for a solution to the Kashmir issue. Other members of the Kashmir Committee include VK Grover, a former diplomat, and rights activist Madhu Kishwar.

Notably, this is the first visit of the Kashmir Committee to Jammu. Earlier, the members of the committee had twice visited the Valley and held detailed discussions with the separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

After their arrival in the city, Jethmalani straightway went to the recently inaugurated Kashmir migrants’ township at Jagti, near Nagrota, and attended a religious function. He also listened to the plight of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits and assured them that they would incorporate their aspirations in the final report of the committee.

Later the committee members went to the Panthers Party office at Gandhi Nagar and held discussions with party leaders Harsh Dev Singh and Balwant Singh Mankotia.

After an hour-long meeting with the committee members, Harsh Dev told The Tribune that they had vociferously put forward their demand for the re-organisation of the state to fulfil the aspirations of the people of all the regions and sub-regions of the state.

He said the Panthers Party delegation also sought to draw the attention of the committee towards the abuse of the special status of the state by the ruling elites. “To authenticate our allegations we pointed towards the six-year tenure of the Legislative Assembly in the state,” he said, adding that, “We informed the committee that the ruling elites had been brazenly abusing the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir to further their political
interests”. 

Jammu, July 22
Students from the remote areas of Jourian and the Khour block of the Akhnoor subdivision returned from a 10-day educational tour of Delhi, Dehradun and Mussoorie. The tour was flagged in by the sentinels of the Chenab Brigade of the Crossed Swords Division at Rakhmuthi in Jourian Military Station today.

During the tour, 23 children accompanied by two teachers visited various places in Delhi, Indian Military Academy and the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.

Om Prakash Sharma, a schoolteacher of Government High School, Hamirpur Sidhar, said the Army had provided a good opportunity to the children from the remote areas to visit various parts of the country and learn about its culture and heritage.

Subham Kumar, a student of Government High School, Gigrial, thanked the Army for giving him the opportunity to go on the tour. He said he was motivated to join the Army after visiting the Indian Military Academy.

A student of Government Higher Secondary School, Khour, Pankaj Manhas, said the tour had rejuvenated all the children. Govind Ram of Government Middle School, Chak Bhagwana, said, “We have only read about the places and now with the help of the Army we got an opportunity to visit prestigious institutions like the Indian Military Academy, Forest Research Institute and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration”.

Srinagar, July 22
The members of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhajan Sopori, Justice GD Sharma (retd) and Dr Ved Kumari Ghai, accompanied by RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the board, paid obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine this morning.

The board Members reviewed the yatra-related arrangements at the shrine, particularly relating to sanitation and health care. They interacted with a large number of yatris and enquired about the yatra arrangements. They were received by BD Mengi, camp director of the shrine board, and senior civil, police and Army officers. Besides, a large number of devotees had gathered to greet them.

The board members later visited the Baltal base camp and reviewed the operation of the Sewage Treatment Plant there. They also witnessed the langar operations at the camp. They expressed satisfaction over the sanitation and other facilities for the yatris.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast that the sky would remain partly cloudy on July 23, 26 and 27 and there was a possibility of light rain and thundershowers on July 24 and 25 in the Kashmir division.

Srinagar, July 22
The Jammu and Kashmir Pensioners Welfare Association is organising conferences at Pulwama, Baramulla and Srinagar on July 24, 26 and 27, respectively.Sampat Prakash, president of the association, said here yesterday that eminent scholars and educationists would address the conferences at Pulwama and Baramulla. Justice Basher Ahmad Kirmani would inaugurate the conference being organised at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.

He said eminent trade union leaders and members of the International Labour Organisation namely “Thumbal Thamus” Umro-Mal Parohit, Champa Verma and Harbachan Singh Sidhu were also expected to attend the conferences.

“The accused demanded Rs 30,000 from the CRPF officer threatening him that if the money was not paid he would publish news against his battalion in his newspaper,” a police spokesman said. The accused, identified as Showkat Maqbool Moon, a resident of Noorbagh at Baramulla, was caught red-handed by the police while taking Rs 5,000 from the officer. — TNS