Srinagar, June 11
The sex ratio in seven tehsils of the state has gone below the sex ratio of the state which is 889 females per 1000 males. The sex ratio in these tehsils has gone even below 800 to 1000 mark. Among the 10 tehsils having the lowest sex ratio, Nubra in Ladakh region and Gurez in north Kashmir top the list as per the findings of Census-2011 that were made public recently. Remote Nubra and Gurez tehsils have the sex ratio of 633 and 653 females, respectively, per 1000 males. Leh in Ladakh and Karnah in north Kashmir come next with the sex ratio of 660 and 744 females, respectively, per 1000 males.

Kargil, Nowshehra, Uri, Kupwara, Udhampur and Rajouri tehsils are among the other 10 tehsils having the lowest sex ratio at 749, 783, 790, 816, 821 and 830 females, respectively, per 1000 males.

While the state government has already drawn flak over the sex ratio in the state and the matter had also led to several debates in the state Assembly.

Joint Chief Principal Census Officer, CS Saproo said tehsils like Nubra and Gurez had low female sex ratio because they were tribal belts. “Even the birth rate in Nubra is low…and given that it is a tribal area, people send their children away….Gurez is also a tribal belt and it could be one of the reasons (for low sex ratio),” he said.

Meanwhile, the child sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 in the state is lower than the overall ratio. As per the Census 2011, female child sex ratio in the 0-6 age is 862 females per 1000 males.

South Kashmir’s Pulwama district and Kathua in Jammu have the lowest child sex ratio at 829 and 831 females, respectively.

While Kargil and Leh districts in Ladakh have the highest child sex ratio at 977 and 946 females, respectively, the overall average at these districts is among the lowest in the state at 810 and 690 females respectively per 1000 males.

After the issue of low sex ratio had come to the fore in the state last year, the government had declared 2013 as ‘Save the girl child’ year.

Factfile

• Russia has the highest sex ratio of 1,140
• India has a 943 sex ratio; J&K third lowest in the country at 889
• Child sex ratio in J&K lower at 862
• Kerala highest with 1,084; Bihar lowest at 918
• Sex ratio in India lower than Bangladesh (953)

Jammu, June 11
Known for his opposition to the Centre’s Kashmir policy, the Panun Kashmir (PK) president Ajay Chrangoo has today claimed that the separatists and pro-Pakistan organisations in the state were establishing links with the Maoists and Leftist intellectuals to legitimise their Islamic agenda.

He alleged that the state agencies were also to blame as they had created ‘mercenary leaders’ among the displaced community who could toe the government line, thus diluting the political demand of a separate homeland for the minority community in the Valley.

“The deadly cocktail supporting Kashmir’s secession from India now includes the Left and Maoist groups who are supporting the agenda of Jehadi organisation in the state. They are being encouraged, which is a matter of concern for the people who believe in the Indian Constitution,” Chrangoo said.

The PK claims that myths created around the decline of militancy by the state government and the Centre were being destroyed fast. “Terror organisations including Jaish-e-Muhammad, Hizbul Mujadeen and Laskhr-e-Toiba are being run by local informers and over-ground workers. Peace in Kashmir due to a tactical withdrawal by militants was a myth and the recent spurt in the attacks on security forces has busted this myth,” Chrungoo claimed.

The organisation has also lashed out at the rehabilitation policy for the former militants who are now entering Kashmir illegally.

“The state government is encouraging illegal infiltration of people who are highly trained and could prove a challenge in future. Their rehabilitation is being actively supported by political parties. Hundreds of counter insurgents who confronted the militants were decimated and demoralised by the present ruling class,” he said.

Migration of the minority Hindus had started from the Valley, mainly due to threat from the militants owning allegiance to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Al-Badr, Allah Tigers and a host of Islamist organisations which had mushroomed in the Kashmir Valley.

Over past two decades, PK has been seeking a separate homeland and supports the reorganisation of the state.

Srinagar, June 11
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today accused the BJP of working through a “remote control” from Nagpur, where the RSS is headquartered. Omar, who was a minister in the BJP-led NDA government, wrote on micro-blogging website Twitter,“Look who is getting all touchy. At least my party is controlled by people who fight elections and not by a remote control from Nagpur.”

The Chief Minister’s comment was a response to state BJP chief spokesperson Dr Jitendra Singh’s statement that the BJP was not a “father-son” party, a reference to Omar and his father Farooq Abdullah who are the driving force of the ruling National Conference.

Omar said the BJP had no problem with the “father-son combination” when they were in alliance with them. “And clearly you don't have a problem with father-son combinations as long as they are in the BJP or are allied to you,” he said.

Omar’s association with the BJP has been deep as he was the Minister of State for External Affairs during the NDA government when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and LK Advani was the Deputy Prime Minister.

The tech-savvy Chief Minister also tweeted about Advani, who resigned from all posts in the party on Monday in an apparent protest against Narendra Modi’s elevation in the party.

Advani, who has been a BJP stalwart, submitted his resignation to the party president a day after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was declared BJP’s election campaign chief.

“LK Advani as the NDA's mascot of secularism. Who would have imagined!” the Chief Minister said.

“If his opinion didn't matter to you yesterday why is his resignation a crisis for you today?” he tweeted.BJP’s state president Jugal Kishore Sharma said Advani has “expressed his feeling” and the party is yet announce its decision. “We cannot comment on it, the party has to decide,” Sharma said.

Srinagar, June 11
In a twist to the 1991 Kunan Poshpora mass rape case, the victims have filed a protest petition before a magisterial court in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district seeking re-investigation of the case by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The Kupwara judicial magistrate had recently issued notices to the victims to record their statements. The protest petition appeals expunging of the recently recorded statements of rape victims and seeks to "ascertain the role of 125 Army personnel" who allegedly took part in the operation at that time.

The petitioners have alleged that the statements of rape victims were recorded in an open court by the magistrate concerned and not in front of a camera, as mandated by the Supreme Court ruling in rape cases.

Over 30 women were allegedly raped by Army personnel in the remote Kunan Poshpora village in Kupwara on February 23, 1991.

Terming the investigations carried out so for by the J&K Police as "incomplete and mala fide", the petitioners have submitted that statements of the victims and family members recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC by the police investigators were taken in a "lackadaisical and unprofessional manner".

It states that statements of only 21 rape victims appear to have been recorded whereas the total number of victims in the FIR is 31. It states 40 victims have come forward before the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

“Though medical examinations of 33 rape victims have been conducted, it is clear that incomplete investigations have been carried out. Since February 1991, five rape victims have died but the police appears to have no knowledge about this, which suggests it is an unprofessional investigation,” the petition states.

“From the records, it appears that statements of only 19 Army personnel under Section 161 of the CrPC have been recorded. This clearly reflects an incomplete investigation when one considers that the Army itself, as per nominal roll provided by Captain Ranjan Mahajan on March 31, 1991, with regard to the operation at Kunan Poshpora, places the number of personnel involved in the Kunan Poshpora operation at the relevant time at 125,” the petition states, adding that investigations in the case would be considered “grossly incomplete” if the “role of other Army persons” were not investigated.

“Due to the incomplete and mala fide investigations, an SIT, headed by an officer not below the rank of SSP, will be the appropriate body to carry out further investigations,” it states while seeking expunction of statements of rape victims due to the “irregularity of the court procedure”. The petition has also questioned filing of the closure report by the police 22 years after the incident in March this year.

The judicial magistrate after taking the petition on record has now directed the prosecution to file its objections by June 13 before taking a final decision on the matter.

Srinagar, June 11
Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo and Director General of Police Ashok Prasad called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today. During the meeting, they discussed issues related to the internal security management, an official said. Other matters discussed in the meeting were security and traffic arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath yatra.

Former Inspector General of Police Raja Aijaz Ali, too, called on the Governor at Raj Bhawan. He felicitated Vohra on his appointment for the second term.

During the meeting, Raja Aijaz Ali discussed with the Governor various problems and development needs of people of the border areas of Uri. The duo also talked about measures required for securing rapid economic advancement of the area. — TNS

Srinagar, June 11
At a time when poplar trees in Kashmir have become a serious health hazard, scientists from the Faculty of Forestry at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, have started research to produce the seedlings of the poplar tree which grow very fast for mass multiplication and plantation. The new variety would not only grow fast, making it more economically viable but will also be produced from the female pollen of the tree, which will not lead to allergy, experts claim.

The scientists are screening a dozen male clones of the poplar brought from WIMCO (Ltd), Haryana, for mass multiplication. These clones are being evaluated at the university for the past one year to screen the fastest growing clones best suited for the region.

“Apart from importing male of the poplar deltoides clones from Haryana, we have also collected three local clones and they are also under screening. Over the next two years, we will produce seedlings of the poplar species for mass multiplication and future planting,” Dr Tariq Hussain Masoodi from the Faculty of Forestry at SKUAST said.

“The research programme at the University was started as people in the Valley were facing a lot of health problems due the poplar seeds in April and May,” he added.

The state government had recently banned the new plantation of the Russian breed of female poplar in Srinagar city as the allergies caused due to the cotton-like material substance that shed from these trees was causing severe allergies.

The government had already sought a report from experts and given them two months time.

Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Mian Altaf, had recently directed the officers of the Forest Department to come up with a proposal to replace the poplar trees in the Valley as they were leading to health problems across the Valley.

Experts claim that the kind of poplar tree that was introduced in the early 80’s sheds a cotton-like material and is cultivated for money.

“At SKUAST, we are trying to produce the best and the fast-growing seedlings of the poplar variety for mass multiplication and future planting,” said Masoodi.

Srinagar, June 11
The Dutch national accused of murdering a British woman tourist in Srinagar, Richard De Witt, has sought translated copies of the chargesheet filed against him by the Jammu and Kashmir police.

In the application filed before the principal district and sessions judge, Srinagar, De Witt (43) has sought translation of the original charge sheet into English and Hindi, while expressing his inability to understand the original chargesheet as it has been filed in Urdu by the police, which is the official language of the state.

Currently, De Witt is being treated at a government-run psychiatry hospital after being declared a schizophrenic by doctors.

“Under the law, he is entitled to have a clear picture of the case against him and know the allegations against him in order to present his defence,” reads the application moved by De Witt through his counsel Shilpi Jain, in which she has appealed that the translated copies of the chargesheet be provided in English and Hindi.

In the chargesheet filed before the court on June 3, the police charged the Dutchman under Section 302 of the Ranbir Penal Code for murdering Sarah Groves, who was found dead in a houseboat in Srinagar on April 6.

Apart from the chargesheet, the statement of witnesses have also been recorded in Urdu by the police.

The court, however, is expected to take up the application on June 15, when the matter is listed for framing of charges against the accused.

De Witt was arrested by the police on April 6 near Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu highway on the suspicion of murdering the 23-year-old tourist in a houseboat, where he had booked a room adjacent to Groves’s and had gone missing soon after the crime, abandoning his belongings in the room.

Jammu, June 11
Two siblings from Jammu have cleared the auditions of Indian Idol Junior, a television show, in Chandigarh and have gone to Mumbai to participate in the next round of the show. Anmol Jaswal (14) and Vidhi Jaswal (12), with their hold on singing and knowledge of music, have reached a position where every budding singer wants to reach.

Before reaching the “gala round” in the show, singers will have to clear three rounds. Parents of these children are hopeful that with the kind of talent they have, nothing is impossible.

“Sky is the limit for my children and I know other participants will face tough competition from our children. They are in Mumbai right now and preparing for other rounds,” Surpal Jaswal, father of Anmol and Vidhi, told The Tribune.

Surpal himself is a renowned singer of Jammu and Punjab and has done many shows. It is due to his efforts and training that his children have learnt music and have excelled in it at various levels.

“They have been listening to music and have been learning it from me. Whenever I did riyaz, they would sit near me and learn. Their thirst for learning music is out of this world and I am hopeful that in the future, they will make a mark not only in India but around the world as well,” Jaswal added.

Anmol has won a singing show in New Delhi and has done many shows in North India. The siblings will compete with 86 other children, in the age group of 5-14, who have been selected for the next round of the show.

Jammu, June 11
The police has made no arrests in the case of stabbing of three Jammu University scholars at BC Road in Jammu on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday. The victims were on their way back to university from the Government Medical College (GMC) after medical attention on a motorcycle. They were allegedly stabbed by the three accused in a car without a number.

The victims Amarjeet Singh, Daljit Singh and Suraj Kumar received major injuries. All of them were taken to the GMC where their condition was stated to be stable.

The police has failed to identify the accused. A case under Section 307 of the RPC was registered in this regard.

It is not the first time that some unidentified criminals attacked people during night in Jammu. A couple of days back, few criminals had thrashed petrol pump staff in Rehari area of Jammu. This, despite police claims of having increased patrolling.

“We have increased the patrolling and activities against such criminals. We will make their lives miserable,” Shakeel Beig, Deputy Inspector General, Jammu-Kathua range, said.

A delegation of the Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association delegation has taken up the matter with Vice Chancellor Mohan Paul Singh Isher and apprised about him about the stabbing incident. — TNS