tribuneindia... Jammu and Kashmir

J A M M U C
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Saturday, July 25, 1998

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2 soldiers killed in blast
JAMMU, July 24 — Two soldiers died in a bomb explosion at an Army transit camp near Bari Brahman, 12 km from here, last night.In another incident, four hardcore militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Bator village in Udhampur district today...

Fernandes visits Amarnath
PAHALGAM, July 24 — Defence Minister George Fernandes said here today the proposed talks between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Colombo would focus on the "improvement of relations between ...

Hariyali Mahotsava inaugurated

2 soldiers killed in blast
Tribune News Service
JAMMU, July 24 — Two soldiers died in a bomb explosion at an Army transit camp near Bari Brahman, 12 km from here, last night. In another incident, four hardcore militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Bator village in Udhampur district today.
Official sources said on receiving information that a group of militants had set up a hideout in the forest village of Bator, 10 km from Ramsu, overlooking the national highway, men of Rashtriya Rifles and the BSF carried a joint operation. As the security forces neared the hideout, they came under fire from the militants. The security forces retaliated and killed four hardcore rebels on the spot.
As the militants started fleeing to safer place, the RR and the BSF cordoned off the area. Arms and ammunition were seized from the scene of the incident.

Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing on 12 Indian villages and border posts in R.S. Pora and Samba sectors since last night. The BSF returned the fire early this morning. There was no casualty on the Indian side.
Meanwhile, mystery continues to shroud the blast in which two soldiers were killed and eight wounded.
The explosion took place around 9.40 p.m. when the troops in the transit camp were asleep. The bomb had been planted near a shed which was smashed to pieces killing Army constable Gauri Shanker on the spot. The other soldier, Rameshwar Singh, is said to have succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Soon after the blast the entire area was cordoned off by the troops and neither the police nor the mediapersons were allowed to go near the site of the blast which further heightened the mystery.
Two theories are being given out by the police and the Army. While the police says the bomb may have been planted by some militant outfit, the Army sources are of the opinion that the explosive material may have been there for sometime and that too before the troops moved from a forward area to the transit camp.

Another theory is that the bomb that went off might have been part of the weaponry of the Army but the Army sources say weapons and explosives are kept at a separate guarded places. What has intrigued the police is the way the militants sneaked into the transit area to plant the bomb, which could have been exploded through some remote control device. If this theory is correct, it does reflect the lack of elaborate security arrangement that was needed to protect the men in the transit camp.
Those who believe that the bomb had belonged to the Army and had exploded by a mistake refer to June 1, 1998, incident in a unit of the military intelligence where, in a bomb explosion, two persons, including a soldier, were killed and one officer of the rank of a Major was critically wounded and is still in the hospital. They say that while the Army alleged that the bomb had been planted in the room cooler the reality was that an Army man was explaining the technique of defusing the bomb which went off.
There are others who are of the opinion that the bomb may be meant to blow up the nearby railway track on which the Shalimar Express from Jammu to Delhi had passed minutes before the blast. The saboteurs may not have succeeded in planting the bomb on the railway track and hurled it inside the Army transit camp.
The police said had the Army authorities allowed them to examine the site of the incident, they could have come to some conclusion. However, the Army sources said the area was cordoned off by the troops to nab the saboteurs and to ensure that there were other explosives planted in the area. Had the police and civilians been allowed to visit the spot it could have hampered the search operations.

Fernandes visits Amarnath
Tribune News Service
PAHALGAM, July 24 — Defence Minister George Fernandes said here today the proposed talks between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Colombo would focus on the "improvement of relations between the two countries".
Addressing presspersons after taking stock of the security arrangements in view of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, the Defence Minister said the talks would include "the whole lot of issues for both the countries", apart from the defence matters. Kashmir issue was a bilateral issue between the two countries that would also be a part of the discussions. The Defence Minister reiterated the government stand on bilateral talks between the two countries while rejecting the involvement of any third party.
In reply to a question, the Defence Minister said that relations with China were friendly. "We are destined to be friends", adding that there were border disputes with China. These disputes would be resolved. For this purpose a joint committee of Defence and External Affairs experts had been constituted. The joint committee would look into all the related issues on the border disputes between India and China. He expressed the hope that the relations between the two countries would further improve with the constitution of the joint group.
Referring to the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, the Defence Minister said that the US sanctions against India were not so important and there was no problem as a result of these sanctions. India's stand on the CTBT was also very clear. The conduct of the nuclear test by Pakistan within 10 days after the Pokhran tests revealed that Pakistan was already in possession of such a capability.
Commenting on the ongoing Amarnath Yatra to the holy cave shrine, the Defence Minister expressed the hope that the pilgrimage was undertaken with same traditional fervour as used to be before the eruption of militancy. He said that the Army and other security agencies had a tough time in making the yatra
smooth and peaceful given the
terrain of the area in which the yatra is undertaken in the high mountains in South Kashmir. "I am satisfied with the arrangements made by the Army and the security agencies during yatra", Mr Fernandes said.
Earlier, the Defence Minister visited the cave shrine of Amarnath and met a number of security officials on the 32-km long trek between Chandanwari and the cave, as also the pilgrims while coming and going on the trek. The pilgrims were happy about the arrangements made by the security forces, the minister said, adding that "Hum yehi sunney kay liye aaye they" (We had come to hear this only)".
In reply to a question on the recent threat by an underground militant organisation imposing a "ban" on the yatra, the Defence Minister said that there was a threat, which was condemned by many publicly. The yatra had been going on peacefully and expressed the hope that it would continue to be safe and smooth during the coming days. It was scheduled to be concluded on August 8.

Hariyali Mahotsava
JAMMU, July 24— A week-long Hariyali Mahotsava was inaugurated by Brig. D.S. Grewal by planting a sapling. He was followed by a team of officers and jawans who planted 5,000 saplings at the newly constructed Tarapore Enclave and its adjoining areas at Ratnuchak military station, near here, on Thursday.