Handwara, June 15
Protests were held against the rape and death of a 16-year-old girl in Handwara district. The victim, Sabreena Akther, who had set herself on fire on June 2 following her rape allegedly by a few youths, died at SKIMS Hospital at Soura in Srinagar this morning.

The victim was a native of remote Hampora village under the jurisdiction of Handwara tehsil. Her parents said she was kidnapped and raped by a few youths on June 2. Following the incident, she set herself on fire, while seeking a stern punishment for the accused, said her father Khazir Mohd Mir. Following her death, her relatives protested and demanded a stern punishment for the accused.

The protesters raised slogans against the administration and blocked the Handwara-Baramulla road for a few hours. They refused to bury her body till the culprits responsible for her death and rape were arrested.

“A few youths kidnapped and raped her about two weeks ago. We lodged a written complaint against the accused persons soon after the incident and shifted her to the SKIMS Hospital in Srinagar. She breathed her last this morning due to severe burn injuries all over her body. The persons responsible for her death are still at large and I want stern punishment for them,” said Mir.

The protesters laid the body of the victim on the road blocking the traffic movement from 2pm to 4pm. Handwara SDPO Ifroz Ahmad rushed to the spot and gave an assurance to the protesters that the accused would be brought to the book soon. Following repeated assurances from the official, the protesters called off the protest.

“We are hopeful that the police will soon arrest the accused on charges of rape and murder and the court will award them a stern punishment. We will cooperate with the police and see to it that the culprits are send to the gallows,” said a relative.

The relatives identified the accused as Javid Ahmad Lone and Mohd Ramzan Lone, both residents of Dangiwacha. Javid is a sumo driver, who allegedly used his vehicle to ferry the girl to some unknown destination where she was raped by three youths, said a relative.

A senior police official said, “Post-mortem of the victim was conducted at the district hospital, Handwara, and samples have been sent to a forensic laboratory. Meanwhile, a police team led by Kralgund SHO has been deputed to Dangiwacha to arrest the accused involved in the case. They will be brought to the book soon.” 

Srinagar, June 15
The police has opposed the bail plea of fake dervish Gulzar, who was arrested on charges of raping minor girls last month, saying his release may hinder the arrest of other accused in the case.

The police in its report submitted to the court stated that Gulzar used to “hypnotise” his victims and would play a music player loudly in his “Hujra-e-Pak” (special room) so that nobody outside was able to hear cries of the girls, whom he used to rape.

Gulzar Reshi, alias Syed Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, was arrested on May 21 after four minor girls accused him of raping them. Gulzar is currently in police remand and has been lodged at Central Jail, Srinagar. So far, six girls came forward and recorded their statements before the police against Gulzar.

Last week, he had applied for bail with the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Budgam, through his lawyer. Acting on the bail plea, the court had sought a report from the police.

In the report, which was submitted to the court early this week, the police had stated that Gulzar used to “rape” minor girls studying at his religious seminary at Shamsabad, Budgam, without their “consent.”

“When he used to call these girls into his room separately on the pretext of educating them, he used to play the tape recorder loudly so that nobody outside his room is able to hear noise or shrieks of the girls. And this practice (sexual exploitation) continued for six months till December, 2012”, the police said, while objecting to the bail plea of Gulzar.

The police also revealed that after formally registering a case in this regard in May under Section 376 of the RPC in police station Khansahab, Budgam, the tape recorder and the mattress used by Gulzar were seized and preserved as evidence.

The police said apart from the girls who had come forward to depose against him, Gulzar and his associates had raped several other girls, who were feeling reluctant to come forward publicly as they feared for their honour and dignity. “In the disguise of a human being, he (Gulzar) is a monster and an evil, who has exploited religion. He had spun a web in the whole Kashmir valley and used to exploit innocent girls with the help of his assistants,” the police said, adding that releasing Gulzar on bail at might effect the ongoing investigation. “There is a strong resentment among the people against the evil deeds of Gulzar and the police is looking for his other accomplices. If he is set free on bail, then the arrest of his other associates would be difficult,” the police said in the report, adding that it was also investigating the accounts of the persons who used to fund Gulzar and his bogus religious seminary.

Baramulla, June 15
A minor girl was found murdered under mysterious circumstances in an orchard at Laiser village of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The brutal incident sent shivers down the spine of local residents who thronged the orchard to see her body.

Throat-slit body of 8-year-old Muskaan Altaf, daughter of Mohammad Altaf Rather of Laiser, Rafiabad, was found in an orchard near the Rafiabad high lift irrigation canal.

She went missing from her house on Friday afternoon. A relative of the victim said her parents had gone to Baramulla district hospital for treatment of their son and left the girl at home.

“On their return, they found their daughter missing. After failing to locate her in the neighbourhood, they lodged a missing person report at the Dangiwacha police station. This morning, her body was found in an orchard. Her throat was slit open,” said a relative.

The police took the body to the district hospital, Baramulla, for a post-mortem examination.

Sources said family members of the victim protested against the hospital management as specialist doctors were not available at the new district hospital. The body was later shifted to the old hospital where doctors conducted the post-mortem.

The police later handed over the body to her family for the last rites. “Culprits should be arrested and given exemplary punishment,” said father of the deceased. A senior police officer said the minor had been murdered and the culprits would be arrested soon.

“The post-mortem and FSL reports are awaited. We have intensified investigations The minor was brutally murdered as her throat was slit open,” he said. A case has been registered at the Dangiwacha police station in this regard. 

Srinagar, June 15
Government school teachers today protested near the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir, office here today against non-payment of salaries of teachers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The protesting teachers were led by J&K Teachers Forum chairman Abdul Qayum Wani.

The protesters, besides demanding release of the salaries of the SSA teachers, also expressed concern over regularisation of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT), ad hoc, contractual and migrant substitute teachers.

The teachers decided to postpone their protests till June 30 on an assurance given by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand. They said if their demands were not accepted then they would observe a complete shutdown in government schools of the Valley on July 1.

Bandipora, June 15
Commuters and drivers are suffering immensely due to poor condition of the Bandipora-Srinagar road. They demanded repair work of the only surface link connecting Bandipora with Srinagar to ensure smooth flow of traffic. They said the 60-km long road was full of potholes.

“It takes more than two hours to cover the distance to Srinagar, which could be covered in an hour. The road is full of ditches and pits and most of the drivers have developed backache while driving on the road,” said driver Javid Ahmad.

Some other drivers said driving on the 60-km dilapidated road was a frightening experience for them. “Drivers using this road have developed disc problems. Every second day, we have to take our vehicles to the workshop for repair. Most of the drivers and owners submit monthly installments to the bank and a lot of money is incurred on repair work,” said driver Nazir Ahmad.

Commuters said they suffered the most while travelling on the road. “Visit to Srinagar is delayed by at least an hour due to the dilapidated road. Patient’s especially the pregnant women visiting different hospitals in Srinagar and private clinics undergo trauma while travelling on this worn-out road,” said Shabir Illahi, an employee working in the Health Department.

Commuters alleged that Beacon authorities had not taken up the road for repair for the past many years. “Since 2009, the road has not been taken up for repair work. About 8-km stretch has become non-motorable due to ever increasing flow of traffic. We made several representations to the Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, to get the vital surface link repaired but to no avail,” said Mohammad Shafi, a trader, who often visits Srinagar to get commodities for his shop.

Deputy Commissioner Mohd Yusuf Zargar said, “Due to prevailing bad weather conditions, Beacon has not been able to carry out repair work on the road. The road is already macadamised, but patchwork is required at many places. If weather improves in next few days, the patchwork will be started soon.” 

Srinagar, June 15
With prosecution failing to produce any witness today, the main accused in the 1996 Nishat contractor’s killing case has pleaded for an in-camera trial of the proceedings, which, however, has been contested by the counsel representing the victim’s family. The trial court after hearing both the sides, however, adjourned the hearing in the matter till June 29.

Ali Muhammad Mir, a resident of Nishat, was allegedly kidnapped and subsequently killed by a counter-insurgency group led by Ghulam Muhammad Lone alias Papa Kishtawari, who is currently in judicial custody and facing trial in the case pertaining to the contractor’s murder.

The case was listed before 1st Additional District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, and the prosecution was supposed to produce witnesses. However, it did not produce any witnesses today. Counsel representing the accused in the case Abdul Majeed today pleaded for having an in-camera trial of the case and even moved an application in this regard. His submissions were contested by counsel Babar Jan Qadri, who represented the complainant family in the case.

The court, after hearing both the sides, adjourned the matter till June 29. It also did not pass any orders on the submissions by the accused side.

Anantnag, June 15
With no streetlights installed on the Khannabal-Pahalgam (KP) road in Anantnag, it is becoming tough for the commuters to ply the road during night.

Being an important route during the tourist season and the Amarnath Yatra, the KP road witnesses a huge traffic inflow round-the-clock. The irony, however, is that most of the parts of this 45-km-long road have been left without any streelights.

“I ferry tourists to and fro Pahalgam more than three times a week. I mostly travel at night and even though I drive cautiously, the chances of mishap are high. The absence of lights can be life threatening, especially when it rains,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a driver.

Local commuters blame the district administration for not listening to their repeated requests.

“The accident on Thursday night, which claimed four lives, should be enough for the authorities to wake up from its slumber and do something about the issue,” said Sajad Ahmad, who runs a hotel in Pahalgam. Four youths were killed in a road mishap near Nunwan on the KP road on Thursday night.

While the authorities maintained that the slippery road after rains had caused the accident, the locals blame it on the absence of lights on the road.

“Let alone the lights, there are not even reflective sighboards anywhere on the road,” said a local resident, adding that even the small illuminated stretches along the road had their lights defunct.

Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Farooq Lone said a proposal for the lighting of the road was already in the pipeline and it would be implemented soon. 

Jammu, June 15
National Mazdoor Conference (NMC) president Subash Shastri today expressed concern over the continuance of pay anomalies of clerical cadre of the state government.

He also urged the Chief Minister to immediately address the issue.

Addressing a meeting of NMC activists, Shastri said the clerical cadre of the state was a pillar of the administrative sector and its problems should be solved.

“The state government has already removed pay anomalies of various cadre but it has not done the same for the clerical cadre. As a goodwill gesture, government should take an early decision in this regard,” he said.

Laying emphasis on the formulation of a national pay policy throughout the country, Shastri demanded early setting up of the 7th pay commission, which would cover both central and state government employees.

Shastri pointed out that the delay in constituting the 7th pay commission was causing confusion in the minds of the employees and pensioners.

Pleading the cause of both Centre and state government employees and pensioners, Shastri said till the new pay commission was constituted and its recommendations implemented, 50 per cent DA be merged 
with the basic pay/pension and interim relief of 20 per cent of the basic pay/pension be provided to the employees and pensioners. 

Srinagar, June 15
In the ongoing football league tournament, the first match was played between the Lal Chowk and Royal Sports teams. The match ended in a draw as both the teams failed to score a goal.

In a match played between J&K Police and Young Mahrajas yesterday, J&K Police won the match, with Imtiyaz Ahmad scoring a goal towards the end of the game, breaking the opposite team’s strong line of defense.