Bid to stall power transmission

SRINAGAR, April 24 (PTI) —The bomb disposal squad today defused four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) foiling a bid by militants to disrupt transmission of electricity from the state to the northern grid.

The IEDs were found at four 32,000 KV transmission towers at Rawalpora on the outskirts of Srinagar through which power generated at the Uri hydel project is transmitted to the northern grid, the official spokesman said.

The IEDs would have caused much harm to the high-tension lines plunging the Kashmir valley in darkness, besides inflicting other damage, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a prominent CPI activist escaped a bid on his life while two militants and a counter-insurgent were killed and three others wounded in unabated violence since last evening.

Militants attacked the residence of CPI activist, Ghulam Nabi Itoo at Tiker-Shopian in Pulwama district last night, the spokesman said, adding that the police guards returned the fire, thus foiling the attempt.

A militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces at Budkol-Bandipora in Baramula district last night, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a body which was found at Kalaroos yesterday was identified as that of Wali Mohammad Lone, a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen, who was believed to have been killed owing to group rivalry.

Militants also shot and wounded Shaukat Ahmad Dar, a counter-insurgent owing allegiance to J.K. Ikhwan, and two of his associates, at Tarabal in interior Srinagar last night. Dar later succumbed to his wounds in hospital, the spokesman said.

Militants triggered a powerful explosion at Danyot-Sunchal near Kalakote in Rajouri district yesterday. One person was injured.

The spokesman said three militants who were injured while handling an explosive device in their hideout at Surankote in Poonch district were taken into custody by the security forces yesterday.

He said 3 kg of RDX and cordex were seized from the hideout.

Another militant, injured in an exchange of fire with the security forces at Laher in Udhampur district, was also taken into custody.

The security forces arrested a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen from his hideout at Kaloosa-Bandipora in Baramula district yesterday. Four grenades were seized from him.

Sports vital for cops: Governor
From Our Correspondent

JAMMU, April 24 — The six-day Jammu and Kashmir Police inter-zone sports meet, 1999, concluded on Thursday at a ceremonial function at Gulshan grounds here. The Governor, Mr Girish Chandra Saxena, was the chief guest on the occasion, Mrs Rajni Saxena was also present.

The Governor said sports activities were an important event for the police forces. Besides providing recreation, sport activities infuse a spirit of coordination, cooperation and brotherhood among forces. He said sport activities not only help attain physical potential but develop a competitive team spirit. He said sport was vital for nation-building.

The Governor appreciated the role of the police forces in combating militancy in the state. He asked the police to give maximum attention to physical fitness.

The Governor donated Rs 25,000 for starting a special sport programmes for the promotion of sports by recruiting fresh athletes. He also donated Rs 25,000 for promotion of general sports in police forces.

The DGP Mr Gurbachan Jagat said the state police had achieved a major success in curbing militancy in the state. He said the police was also taking a keen interest in athletic activities which were vital for physical development. He said the athletes of the police had played at national and international level and got medals for the state. He said for the promotion of sports activities, the police had initiated a drive to recruit such candidates in the police who were good sportsmen.

Renegade militants under threat
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, April 24 — When on Friday pro-Pak militants, including foreign mercenaries, gunned down 12 renegade militants in two separate incidents, one in downtown Srinagar and another in Ganderbal, it was clear that rebels had received instructions from agencies across the border to eliminate insurgents, who had surrendered, police informers and men of the special operation group (SOG) of the police.

During the past two years of the National Conference rule, the renegade militants have been on the receiving end and the activists of Ikhwan, were a threat to rebels between 1994 and 1996, when they eliminated Pak-trained militants in score. They had forced activists and leaders of Jamat-e-Islami to flee to safer places from south Kashmir and from the Sumbal-Safapore belt. The Ikhwan and two other pro-government militant outfits could only do it under the security cover of the Army and the BSF.

After the National Conference took over the renegades had been sidelined and many were not provided security cover. And those who managed to survive militant attacks had to seek shelter in the Army or the BSF camps. A number of militants, who had surrendered, had migrated to areas outside the valley, others rejoined their parent militant outfits and yet others are moving from place to place to ensure security of their lives.

During the past three months the militant attacks on renegade militants, informers and men of the SOG increased resulting in the killing of more than 60 renegade militants, 50 informers and 35 policemen in different parts of the state. This strategy has been adopted to achieve twin purpose.

First, by eliminating informers and renegade militants the foreign mercenaries want to ensure that information about their movement and their hide-outs was not leaked to the security forces. Foreign mercenaries have of late, realised that specific operations carried out by the security forces in different parts of the state were the result of exact information given to the policy by informers. As such the militants want to create fresh terror among the people so that nobody dared to act as an informer. They have not spared even women who used to convey information regarding the movement and hideouts of the foreign mercenaries. The attack on police personnel has the same reasons. The militants have been forced on the run soon after the police was revamped to take on the rebels. It is a common knowledge that police officials have better links than the Army or BSF which have helped the former to eliminate scores of rebels.

Secondly, attacks on renegade militants and police informers are likely to allow the rebels to establish new hide-outs in the inhabited villages and towns. It would discourage renegade militants in launching counter-insurgency operations and prevent other rebels from surrendering before the security forces.

Pro-Pak militants have felt upset over the way more then 3,000 insurgents had surrendered during the past several years and out of them 2,800 militants had been rehabilitated. This is a big loss to Pak agencies which had spent crores of rupees on training and providing weapons and ammunition to the militants. Consequently, the Pak agencies are said to have directed the foreign mercenaries to intensify attacks on the militants, who had surrendered, so that in future no youth trained in arms surrenders before the police. This is so because Pak agencies had already moved groups of militants close to the border across Kupwara, Uri, Poonch, Rajouri, Samba and R.S. Pora.

During the last one month more than 200 militants, including foreign mercenaries, have sneaked into the state in small groups. The task assigned to them is to establish their hideouts in different parts of the state and cultivate people's support through love or fear.

Experts do attach much significance to the hit and run tactics of the militants. They say that during the past nine years the militants have failed to achieve anything in the state even when a section of people were on their side. And with people having grown wary of bloodshed, militants could do hardly anything to destabilise the government or the security forces. But, they have genuine fears about the outcome of attacks on police informers and militants, who had surrendered. They have suggested immediate review of the situation and devise means for ensuring protection to the renegade militants and the police informers.