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HC: 2001 Janglat Mandi encounter was not fake
Trouble in Congress over seat allotment
Kashmir to host first-ever national mountain running contest
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Prohibitory orders in Srinagar
Minister reviews renovation of Assembly complex
First Lady launches smart classes at Jagti school
Despite ban, pro-Afzal Facebook pages accessible
Police Hospital to get de-addiction centre
Pahari-speaking people demand
ST status
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HC: 2001 Janglat Mandi encounter was not fake
Srinagar, February 19 This was observed by Justice Hasnain Massodi in his judgment announced today, while disposing of a
petition calling for reinvestigation into the matter. The court had reserved its
verdict on November 7 last year. The petitioner, Zaitooni Begum, in October 2011 had moved the high court alleging that her son, Abdullah Bhat, was killed in a “fake” encounter in Janglat Mandi and was later identified by the Army as foreign militant Muteen Chacha. Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who was then a Brigadier commanding Sector 1 of Rashtriya Rifles in Anantnag in south Kashmir, was injured in the encounter, which the petitioner alleged was stage-managed. Before the petition was filed in the high court in October 2011, the DIG, South Kashmir, had on August 9, 2011, directed the SSP, Anantnag, to get the matter investigated by a gazetted officer of the police and submit a report without any delay. However as observed by the high court in its judgment “there is nothing on file to show” that the orders of the DIG, South Kashmir, were carried out and matter entrusted to a gazetted officer. “The occurrence is not a ‘fake encounter’ in the sense the expression is used in common parlance or in the context of law and order situation,” Justice Hasnain Massodi observed in his 33-page judgment which was announced today. “The petitioners’ case is not that Shri Abdullah Bhat was involved in the occurrence but wrongly projected as a foreign militant. The petitioners seemingly are not interested in finding out as to who was responsible for the occurrence of 1st March, 2001 (encounter)”, the court said. “Their interest is restricted to identification of the person other than the two locals of Anantnag town who were killed in the encounter, buried in a local graveyard and, according to them, wrongly projected as a foreign militant named Mohiuddin Afghani, alias Muteen Chacha”, the high court observed. Whether the matter should be “reinvestigated”, the court observed, would depend upon the identification of the third person (non-local Muteen Chacha) killed in the encounter. It however added that the matter “does not, at least at this stage, call for a direction for reinvestigation” by the high court. The high court observed that “it is a settled principle of law that there is no period of limitation for (high) courts to exercise their powers under Article 226 to call for reinvestigation. “For the reasons discussed, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Anantnag, to entrust the matter as directed by the DIG, South Kashmir, (earlier on August 9, 2011) to a gazetted officer for necessary inquiry in terms of said order,” it said. Further directing that the report should be submitted to the DIG, the court said that it (inquiry) should be conducted without being “influenced” by the observation made by the high court in the judgment. “The question of compensation, if any, to the petitioners, would obviously hinge on the outcome of such inquiry,” Justice Massodi said while disposing of the petition.
Case recall
Killings in the encounter
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Trouble in Congress over seat allotment
Although the Congress today heaved a sigh of relief as nomination papers of the rebel candidate, Mohammad Amin Bhat, were rejected during scrutiny, a number of party workers resigned over “wrong distribution of seats”. A number of supporters of party leader Sheikh Ishfaq Zabbar today tendered their resignations from the Congress, laying the blame on Soz for “hatching a conspiracy to weaken the party in the Kashmir valley”. Ishfaq, a budding Congress leader, resigned as police Inspector in 2008 to contest the Assembly elections against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as the Congress candidate from the Ganderbal Assembly segment. “Acknowledging the sacrifices of Ishfaq and his family, the Congress high command had promised a seat to him but the JKPCC chief has accommodated his blue-eyed boy”, alleged Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, a Congress leader from Ganderbal. Recalling the sacrifices of the family, he said Ishfaq’s father Sheikh Abdul Zabbar was gunned down by militants in the early 1990s because he was a Congressman. “Soz was in the National Conference when Congress workers like Abdul Zabbar were killed for raising the party’s flag in the Kashmir Valley,” said Rasool. He urged the high command to save the party from the hands of Soz, who was “brazenly accomplishing only his personal agenda”. Ishfaq has already sent his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Mohan Parkash, who is in charge of the J&K affairs of the party. Today a number of other supporters of Ishfaq, namely Ghulam Rasool, Mohammad Afzal Bhat, Mehraj Din, Sheikh Rahid, Ghulam Mohammad Dar, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, Ajaz Ahmed Rather, Shabir Ahmed, Bilal Ahmed and Ghulam Nabi Bajaj, resigned from the party as a mark of protest. Incidentally, some party MLAs were already annoyed with the JKPCC chief after the January 15 Cabinet reshuffle and the distribution of seats for the Legislative Council election has further angered them. |
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Kashmir to host first-ever national mountain running contest
Srinagar, February 19 Even though we have held a few mountain running events locally, this is for the first time that a national event of this sport is being organised,” said Rifat Abdullah, secretary general of the Indian Mountain Running Association (IMRA), which is organising the event. He said the championship would be held on April 7 and participants from around 16 states of the country are expected to participate. Rifat said three venues had been identified for the championship. They are the hilly area of Dara Harwan, hills of Fakeer Gujri and Shankaracharya peak. Talking about the details of the championship, well-known mountaineer and trainer Mohammad Yusuf said: “While the usual running championships are held in the plains, this athletic event will take the boys to the mountains. In this sport, runners usually have to cover at least 9 km and gain a height of 2,000 feet above sea level.” Besides boosting adventure tourism, Yusuf said the event would also bring the hills where the national championship is scheduled to be held on the tourism map. A similar local event that had been held in Gulmarg in December last year was “very successful”, Yusuf said while hoping that the national event would encourage more youngsters to take up the sport. Rifat said top athletes of the Valley had participated in the local championship in December despite sub-zero temperatures. The championship had been held in collaboration with the Tourism Department, Kashmir. Kashmir and Ladakh regions have enormous potential for mountain running activities. “There are several high altitude mountains in the regions where athletes of the country could be trained better so that they would be able to compete at the international level,” Rifat said. |
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Valley breathes easy for 2nd consecutive day
Srinagar, February 19 The traffic across the region plied normally on all routes and some places in the city witnessed scenes of gridlocks. Universities, banks and other commercial establishments remained open for the second day and vendors jam-packed roadsides across the city. The markets in Srinagar remained crowded as residents rushed to buy essential items, anticipating another round of shutdowns and protests which are scheduled to begin on Wednesday and continue till Friday. The separatists would issue a new protest calendar on Friday. The call for shutdown on Wednesday, Thursday and in the second half of Friday, coupled with protests, has been issued by chairman of the hardline Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani. Geelani, who is in New Delhi, has warned of continuous protests till Afzal Guru’s body is returned to his family. While separatists called for protests and shutdowns against Afzal’s hanging, Kashmir remained calm amid restrictions imposed by the government,
crippling life in the Valley for a week. A police spokesman said the situation across the region remained peaceful today and there were no reports of protests. He said no restrictions were imposed anywhere in Kashmir. The curfew in the aftermath of Afzal’s hanging has left the tourism industry in a tense situation as those related to the industry are waiting to see how the situation will emerge in the coming days. Three protesters have been killed so far in protests against Afzal’s hanging and several protesters, policemen and paramilitary personnel have been injured. Prolonged unrest post Afzal’s hanging can disturb Kashmir’s tourism business, which has recorded an unprecedented boom in the past two
years when Kashmir remained calm and hundreds of tourists visited the
Valley. |
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Prohibitory orders in Srinagar
Srinagar, February 19 “According to Srinagar District Magistrate Baseer Ahmad Khan, in view of the law and order situation and to avoid breach of peace and tranquility, besides damage to life and property, restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in the entire Srinagar district have been imposed with immediate effect, that is from 6 pm today till further orders,” an official spokesman said. The spokesman said the Srinagar SSP has been directed to implement the order in “letter and in spirit”. |
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Minister reviews renovation of Assembly complex
Jammu, February 19 Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Sartaj Madni accompanied the minister. A major portion of the complex housing Legislative Assembly had collapsed during the intervening night of December 10 and 11. Saifullah went round the Assembly and Council halls, central hall, press and official galleries and the library. He directed the executing agencies to engage more manpower and accelerate the pace of furnishing works to ensure completion within two days. He directed for replacement of old electric wires, old furniture, matting and curtains. He also called for conducting thorough safety check of the complex. Later, he inspected the new Assembly Complex coming up adjacent to the existing Assembly complex at an estimated cost of over Rs 100 crore and took the first-hand appraisal of the status of progress of construction work on the project. Saifullah was told that the new complex would accommodate both the Houses, their secretariats, besides have adequate space for official, press and public galleries. He was told that the complex would have a central hall and various lobbies. The complex would be equipped with an escalator, besides provision for two basement floors for parking, he was told. Law Secretary GH Tantray, Legislative Assembly Secretary Mohammad Ramzan, Legislative Council Secretary Mohammad Ashraf, Estates Director RK Koul, officials and engineers of the departments concerned accompanied the minister. Experts had attributed the collapse of the existing structure to unplanned and indiscriminate digging work for a new Assembly Secretariat building, being constructed near to the existing structure. |
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First Lady launches smart classes at Jagti school
Jammu, February 19 Speaking on the occasion, she said this was an age of knowledge and technology and it was a key to rapid progress and prosperity. She said sky is the limit for those who possess the required knowledge and skills for their advancement. Referring to smart classes, she said with the help of visual aids the process of teaching and learning becomes easy and advised the students against giving up their reading habit as there was no substitute to reading books. The First Lady, who is also president of ASHI (J&K Chapter), lauded the good work being done by ASHI for the socio-economic development of the neglected segments of society, with particular focus on women and children. On behalf of the Governor, she announced a support of Rs 1 lakh to enable ASHI to undertake meaningful activities in the panchayats of Jagti and Panjgrain, which have been adopted by the organisation. She appreciated the cultural programme presented by students on the occasion and wished them a bright future. Earlier, on arrival at Jagti, she was received by the functionaries of ASHI, panchayat representatives, prominent persons of the area, teachers and students of the school. Sushma Choudhary, vice-president, ASHI, thanked the First Lady for taking keen interest in the activities of ASHI. She said smart classes would pave the way for promotion of computer education in the area. In her welcome address, Prof Kailash Rajput, secretary, ASHI, gave details of the activities being undertaken by ASHI in Jagti and Panjgrain panchayats. Bharat Singh, sarpanch, Jagti panchayat, thanked ASHI for the laudable work being done by it for the socio-economic uplift of the people of the area. Ravinder Singh, head master, Government High School, Panjgrain, Sanjeev Gandotra, a teacher, Government High School, Dhammi, and Bharat Mahajan, spoke about the concept of computer education. Seema Khajooria Shekhar, joint secretary, ASHI, presented a vote of thanks. Later, the teachers gave a demonstration of smart class for V and VIII standard students. The students also gave a presentation on computers. |
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Army conducts awareness tour for teachers
Rajouri, February 19 The tour was organised by the Army in collaboration with KC Public School to expose the teachers to the state-of-the-art teaching methods, equipment and techniques. The tour started with a welcome ceremony by the Principal of the school. Teachers were then introduced to the latest and modern infrastructure available at the school such as library, computer laboratories, smart classes with the state-of-the-art multimedia aids for teaching, activity rooms, auditorium, science and language laboratories, reception centre, students’ hostel and indoor and outdoor sports facilities. A workshop was also conducted by KC Public School to give first-hand experience to teachers on modern methods of instruction, learning, motivation and school management. The teachers interacted with hostel and mess staff and learnt about personal health, hygiene, sanitation and waste disposal methods. Principal of KC Public School Dr Ram Thakur praised the effort of the Army and said, “The school management would like to participate in more such programmes for the professional growth of teachers from remote areas.” All teachers who participated in the tour promised to improve the teaching and learning environment in their schools. Tripta Sharma of Government Girls High School, Kalakote, said, “Teachers have benefited a lot from this tour. They will spread awareness among their colleagues and other schools.” |
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Chief Secy discusses security issues with Governor
Jammu, February 19 The Governor had wide-ranging discussions with Khanday, covering issues relating to governance, security, growth and development. The Governor also reviewed with Khanday several important issues relating to the Amarnath yatra which begins on June 28. The Governor wished the new Chief Secretary high success in the discharge of his important responsibilities. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here this evening. They discussed issues relating to the interests of the state and its future growth and development. |
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Despite ban, pro-Afzal Facebook pages accessible
Srinagar, February 19 “Some of these pages are accessible and have not been blocked yet despite directions by the Union Government to the Internet service providers to block them,” a source said. Majority of these Unique Resource Locator (URLs) pages were created Afzal’s execution. Sources said these pages were blocked by the Union Government on the recommendations of the state government which has been keeping a close surveillance on the content appearing on social networking sites since Afzal’s hanging. “All the Internet service providers were directed by the Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Department of Telecommunications, on February 14 to block access to the URLs notified in the order and not the main Facebook website,” an order by the Department of Telecommunications said. Afzal’s hanging had sparked instantaneous protests despite curfew across the Valley. The wireless Internet service was also blocked and the ban remained in place for a week. Most of these banned Facebook pages have been demanding the return of Afzal’s body from Tihar Jail. The sources said most of these pages had also lambasted New Delhi for hanging Afzal in a secretive manner.
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Police Hospital to get de-addiction centre
Jammu, February 19 “The job of a policeman involves more stress as compared to other professions and in a conflict-ridden state like Jammu and Kashmir the stress levels can be more. This stress makes some policemen take to alcohol and tobacco,” the police source said. “Initially, only OPD (outpatient department) will be set up and thereafter a 10-bedded ward will come up for chronic patients. Later, more beds will be added,” he said. Dr Shehnaz, who has done a one-year course in mental health from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bangalore, would be the coordinator of the de-addiction centre. “We will also help youth addicted to substance abuse in getting back to their normal lives,” the source added. Last year in his Independence Day speech, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had called for a “jihad” to save the future generation of the state from drug menace. “We need to wage a jihad against drug abuse, which has reached alarming proportions,” Omar had said.
— TNS |
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Bhim demands dismissal of state government
Jammu, February 19 Bhim Singh demanded fresh elections in the state so that Hurriyat Conference leaders could also participate in the election process to put an end to the dynasty rule in the state. He said confederation of the three regions, Ladakh, Kashmir Valley and Jammu Pradesh, was the only solution to save the state from chaos, disorder, anarchy and constitutional discrimination. “These three units should be given independent legislative power,” he said. He also accused the Samba police of assaulting drivers of the Samba Truck Union last week. He threatened to sit on a fast in Samba if cases registered the drivers were not withdrawn, trucks were not allowed to ply and police officials involved in incident were not shifted out of Samba.
— TNS |
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Pahari-speaking people demand
ST status
Jammu, February 19 The Governor, who has earlier had several meetings with the deputations of the Pahari-speaking people, reviewed the to-date status of the matter with the members of the delegation. He assured the delegation that he would pursue the matter with the authorities concerned. The delegation included MLA Ajaz Ahmad Jan; MLC Shehnaz Ganai; Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari, former Vice-Chairman of the State Advisory Board for Development of Pahari Speaking People; and former minister Mirza Abdul Rashid. Principal Secretary to the Governor Navin K Choudhary was present on the occasion.
— TNS |
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Jammu, February 19