Srinagar, June 24
In a twist to the Wamiq Farooq killing case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its conclusion report to the court has said there is a possibility that the teenager may have died after falling from the boundary wall of Gani Memorial Stadium.

Earlier, in its reports to the court, the police had described Wamiq as a miscreant. Wamiq, a class VII student, was allegedly killed by a tear gas shell fired by the police on January 31, 2010, in Srinagar.

“From all the relevant facts and statements of witnesses, it can be concluded that on the day of the incident, there was stone throwing in the area and the police party reached areas surrounding Gani Memorial Stadium to control the situation,” SIT in charge SP Ajaz Ahmad stated in his report submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, today.

“The gypsy, in which the police was boarded, was stopped near the masjid and the police party disembarked in order to chase stone throwers and fired a teargas shell. At the same time, the death of a boy named Wamiq Farooq was reported, which may have been due to a fall from the (boundary) wall surrounding Gani Memorial Stadium or the death could have been caused by the tear gas shell itself.”

“However, police action has been taken in the due course as per the situation on ground without prejudice or ill will,” the SIT in charge has further submitted in the report, which was contested by counsel Ajaz A Dar, who is representing the Wamiq’s family on many grounds.

While seeking summons or warrants against the accused, Dar submitted to the CJM that no civilian witness had disposed or endorsed the police stand that there was stone throwing in the area on that day.

He also sighted the Forensic Science Laboratory report which stated that the projectile (tear gas shell) was dangerous enough to cause serious injury in entire its range and had the potential to damage vital organs of the body, which may result in death, too.

After partly hearing the arguments on the issuance of the process, the CJM listed the matter for June 29.

On December 17, the CJM while directing the Special Investigation Team to submit a status report on the next hearing had also authorised the team to procure the attendance of civilian witnesses, if they fail to appear before it.

The SIT had submitted that despite repeated summons, civilian witnesses in the case were not appearing before the SIT for recording their statements.

The family of the deceased has maintained that Wamiq was killed after the police fired a tear gas shell which hit his head while he was playing on a street near Gani Memorial Stadium, Srinagar. It has been demanding registration of a murder case against the accused police officers. 

Anantnag, June 24
Local artistes today performed Dambali, a folk dance, on the premises of the Baba Naseeb-ud-din Ghazi’s mausoleum in Bijbehara town.

Like every year, thousands of people from different parts of the Kashmir valley, specially women and children, gathered at the mausoleum to witness the ritual.

Various groups of ‘Dambal-i-Fakeers’ (artistes) enchanted the crowds with the beating of drums and their acrobatic skills throughout the day.

Before the main event, these dancers performed in small groups on roads leading to the shrine.

The main performance went on for hours at the shrine, where more than 10 different groups of dancers exhibited their skills at drum beating, dancing and stick fighting like swordsmen.

Many people could be seen witnessing the show from windows and terraces of the adjoining houses.

The age-old festival coincides with death anniversary of a 16th century saint, Baba Naseeb-ud-din Ghazi, who was known for his philanthropic work.

It is said that Baba Naseeb-ud-din Gazi had constructed 1,200 mosques, bathrooms, lavatories, ‘musafir khanas’, bridges and planted trees on both roadsides wherever he went to apprise people about the teachings of Islam.

During his missions, the saint used to be accompanied by drum beaters, who exhibited acrobatic skills and taught people skills of self-defence and war.

The Dambal-i-Fakeers of the day come from various parts of the Valley, including villages in Budgam and Anantnag districts, particularly the periphery of the Bijbehara town. They say they have been involved in this art form since generations.

“Our forefathers accompanied the saint during his missions and did Dambali on his directions,” said Abdul Rehman, a dancer from Kokernag village in Anantnag.

He said the dance form was a way to pay homage to the revered saint. “We do not do it for money, there is faith attached to it,” he said.

The Dambali will be followed by a two-day fair held at the Dara Shikoh Mughal Garden in the town. 

Srinagar, June 24
The district-wise protest demonstrations of National Youth Corps (NYC) were foiled by the J&K Police today. NYC volunteers had earlier gathered at Press Enclave, Lal Chowk, to observe a hunger strike but were dispersed by the police.

Imran Rather, the spokesperson of NYC, told Kashmir Tribune that the volunteers wanted to observe peaceful demonstrations, ahead of Prime Minister’s visit to the Valley, to impress upon the Central Government that 8,000 youth, recruited as NYC volunteers in various public departments, had been taken for a ride.

“The PM talks of ushering the Valley into a phase of development. But that is not possible without guaranteeing jobs to the youth. In 2010, 8,000 youth from the state were promised jobs to crush the unrest. But seemingly, the state government has fooled us,” Rather said.

The volunteers also castigated the police of resorting to force every time peaceful protests were carried out.

“The administration, in tandem with the forces, is trying to crush our peaceful protests. But we will not succumb to their pressure. We are trying to take our concerns directly to the Centre after the state government failed to resolve them,” he added.

The youth were engaged in 2010, under the central NYC scheme, by the state government for a period of two years, under the condition of not studying or working anywhere else.

The youths were disengaged in 2012, although many of them still continue working in the public departments and have launched a state-wide agitation against the government for rendering them jobless. 

Baramulla, June 24
More than 1,500 patients, including women and children from Palhalan and its adjoining areas, availed free medical check up services and medicines at a medical-cum-veterinary camp at Ghat Palhalan in Baramulla district.

Around 300 cattle were also treated by senior doctors from civil organisations and the Army. The camp was organised by the Army’s 29 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) under the aegis of Headquarters 10 sector RR. According to a press release, Maj Bicky Sharma, Company Commander, 29 RR, interacted with the patients at the camp.

“Army feels gratified to help the locals and this quest of extending a helping hand to the society will continue with the same zeal and spirit,” he said.

The objective of the camp was to mitigate the problems of the people in remote areas and provide them medical facilities at their doorstep. The locals hailed the Army’s effort and said such programmes reinforced mutual ties between the security forces and the public.

Meanwhile, a joint team of doctors from civil and Army administration provided medical assistance to 557 people in Delina, Baramulla. The medical camp was organised by 52 RR under the aegis of 10 sector. 

Srinagar, June 24
J&K Pradesh Congress President Saifuddin Soz today took a strong dig at BJP’s leader LK Advani’s statement that the Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, should be removed from the Constitution.

Soz, while questioning the credibility of Advani’s statement, said if it were possible for the government to remove the Article 370, the same should have been done when BJP was in power at the Centre.

“Let me tell Advani that the Constitutional position is that Article 370 can neither be removed nor amended by any authority. It is clear that he has raised this bogey to mislead gullible people and it is also very widely known that the BJP has been raising this issue on the eve of every election in India,” he said.

Srinagar, June 24
Hardline Hurriyat Conference on Monday termed Narendra Modi’s remarks about Kashmir as ‘comic’, saying that his comment about healing the wounds of Kashmiris was “meaningless”.

The separatist group said all politicians were remembering Kashmiris and Muslims as the election was nearing.

“Narendra Modi is the enemy of humanity and his crimes are so severe that he should have been sent to gallows or should be behind the bars,” Hurriyatspokesman Ayaz Akbar said.

Akbar said Modi’s remarks that Kashmir needed a healing process, was based on a necessity of 2014 elections.

Meanwhile, the separatist amalgam’s chairman Syed Ali Geelani condemned the arrests being made ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit. Geelani said police had created an “atmosphere of terror” in the region ahead of the visit.

Srinagar, June 24
A group of eight legislators of the Library Committee of Assam Legislative Assembly, headed by its chairman Banendra Kumar Mushahary, called on the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Mubarak Gul, here today.

The legislators shared their experiences and working of the Assam Assembly with Gul, an official spokesman said.

Gul briefed the group about the functioning of the JK Assembly and the working of the Library Committee. He also apprised the group that the Assembly Library had 27,000 valuable ready references in English, Urdu and other languages on various subjects, including history, tourism, religion, Constitution and law, which have been catalogued properly, the spokesman said.

Gul added that the library was being upgraded to national and international standards for which the process had already been started.

The chairman of the group said the Assam Legislative Assembly had 39,000 references in its library, which are being provided only to the sitting legislators.

Mushahary said the Assam government was contemplating making the system online for which the process had been started.

Srinagar, June 24
The company ITC has recruited two MBA students of the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) through campus placement.

The event marked the start of the campus recruitment drive for 2011-2013 batch of students of the Department of Management Studies at the University. According to Zia-ul-Haq, Training and Placement Officer at the department, several companies were expected to visit the campus this summer for placements.

Vice-Chancellor Abdul Wahid and Registrar Abdul Gani complimented the HOD of the Department of Management Studies, Farooq Ahmad Shah and TPO for their efforts in ensuring placement of students in multi-national companies.

About the achievement, Farooq Ahmad Shah said ITC had also selected four students from MBA Semester II for internship. He said the university administration was committed to provide all possible support to the Training and Placement Centre of the department for enhancing employment opportunities of the students through campus placements.

Srinagar, June 24
Three people, including two women, were killed and twelve others injured in separate road accidents in the last 24 hours across the Kashmir valley, the police today said.

A girl, identified as Rutba Rafiq of the HMT locality of the city, died when she was hit by a bus in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district. The girl died on the spot, a police spokesman said.

In south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a woman died when she was hit by an unidentified vehicle at Khrew near Awantipora town. The police spokesman said the woman had been identified as Bilkeesa Akhtar, a resident of Gujjer Mohalla. She was taken to the Sub-District Hospital, Pampore, where she succumbed to her injuries.

A truck driver was killed in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district when his vehicle turned turtle and fell into a gorge near Zoji La. The driver, identified as Mohinder Singh of Jammu, died on the spot, the spokesman said.

Four passengers were injured when a cab collided with a car at Charsoo near Awantipora in Pulwama district. The injured were taken to the Bone and Joints Hospital here for treatment, the spokesman said.

In south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, a motorcycle hit and injured a woman identified as Zubaida Begum.

A car hit and injured a cyclist identified as Muzafar Ahmad Najar of Kach Razger at Bygroo Crossing in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

In another accident in Budgam district, a motorcycle turned turtle at Sonargund resulting in injuries to the motorcyclist and two pillion riders. The injured were taken to a hospital for treatment, the police spokesman said.

A passenger was injured when a mini-bus he was travelling in skidded off the road near Chewa in Budgam district. The injured passenger was hospitalised, the spokesman said.

Two people were injured on the outskirts of the city near Athwajan when a truck hit a motorcycle. The injured have been identified as Aadil Hussain Khan and Tariq Ahmad Dar, who were taken to the SMHS hospital.

Cases have been registered in regard to all the accidents.