J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Remains of Paul Wells identified
JAMMU, Jan 6 — The state government in a communication to the Union Home Minister has said it should convey to the British authorities that DNA tests and forensic scientists had confirmed that the body recovered from a grave in Ackingam village in Anantnag district was that of Paul Wells, one of the four foreign tourists abducted by Al Faran militants on July 4, 1995.

Security reviewed in Srinagar
SRINAGAR, Jan 6 — Security arrangements are being tightened to thwart any attempts to create disturbances around Bakshi Stadium, the venue of the main Republic Day functions in the valley.

Kickbacks: Justice Gupta to head probe panel
JAMMU, Jan 6 — Justice K.K. Gupta, a former judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, is to head a judicial commission being set up to probe into the allegations of kickbacks received by former Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari from a private firm that was engaged in building a satellite town at Sidhra near Jammu.

Remains of Paul Wells identified
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Jan 6 — The state government in a communication to the Union Home Minister has said it should convey to the British authorities that DNA tests and forensic scientists had confirmed that the body recovered from a grave in Ackingam village in Anantnag district was that of Paul Wells, one of the four foreign tourists abducted by Al Faran militants on July 4, 1995.

The police has preserved three bones from the body and invited the British authorities to examine them if they want.

Police authorities said one militant, during interrogation, had stated that one of the four foreign hostages was buried after he was killed by the captors in Ackingam village. The police opened several graves and exhumed two defaced bodies. However, skulls of the two bodies did not match in preliminary tests.

Later, two bones were sent to Calcutta forensic laboratory for further tests, along with blood samples of the parents of Paul Wells, a Briton. The report confirmed that the body exhumed from Ackingam was that of Paul Wells.

Activists of the Al Faran had kidnapped six foreign tourists from above Pahalgam on July 4 and 6. One tourist, John Childs managed to flee. Another, Hans Christian Ostro, was beheaded by his abductors. The four other tourists remained in captivity for several months and were taken by the kidnappers from one place to another.

Police said that from the recovery of the body of Paul Wells it is evident that three other hostages, Keith Monigam (Briton), Donald Rutchings (American) and Dirk Hassort (German) too may have been killed by the militants. The police is trying to trace their bodies.

Security reviewed in Srinagar
From Ehsan Fazili
Tribune News Service

SRINAGAR, Jan 6 — Security arrangements are being tightened to thwart any attempts to create disturbances around Bakshi Stadium, the venue of the main Republic Day functions in the valley.

The militant attack on SOG headquarters, close to Bakshi Stadium here on December 27, in which at least 24 persons including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, two CRPF men and three militants were killed, have prodded the authorities into a review of security.

A high-level meeting of various security agencies was held here recently decided on the distribution of security duties around Bakshi Stadium and overall security in the capital.

The capital city has witnessed two major attacks recently. The first on the SOG headquarters and the latest was a powerful explosion at a vegetable market in the Batamaloo area on Monday last.

The police believe militants may be preparing to create disturbances on the occasion in the wake of the recent hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane. The swap of three militants for 155 Indian Airlines passengers has "raised the morale of militants", but it would "not discourage the security forces in their fight against militants," sources said.

Talking to The Tribune Dr Ashok Bhan, Inspector General of police, Kashmir Range, said: "we will take extra steps in sanitizing areas around Bakshi Stadium".

Reports here said that a few families from Aloochi Bagh and Solina localities in the vicinity of Bakshi Stadium and the SOG headquarters, have shifted to safer places in view of the security measures.

The residents of these localities have been subject to rigorous house-to-house searches and identification parades of male members.

A number of attacks have been made by suspected militants in this sensitive area which apart from stadium also houses the J&K LI headquarters, a regiment of the Army, formerly known as J&K LI militia militants have fired rifle grenades on the J&K headquarters over the past three years.

Kickbacks: Justice Gupta to head probe panel
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Jan 6 — Justice K.K. Gupta, a former judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, is to head a judicial commission being set up to probe into the allegations of kickbacks received by former Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari from a private firm that was engaged in building a satellite town at Sidhra near Jammu.

The commission may also look into complaints of the evasion of sales tax by Ansari Motors which is owned by kin of Maulvi Ansari.

The decision to set up the commission, to probe into the kickbacks issue, was taken by the Chief Minister after the former minister accused certain senior bureaucrats of having conspired against him by leaking part of the Raju panel report. The Maulvi told the Chief Minister that he was innocent and kickbacks were not normally received through bank cheques. He had stated that the Raju panel report if studied in full had not held him guilty.

He had told the Chief Minister that certain bureaucrats and politicians had conspired to malign his name. The Chief Minister decided to set up a judicial commission to probe into the issue so that the government could take further measures on the report of the commission. The Maulvi was dropped from the Cabinet on the kickbacks issue.

Justice Gupta has headed several commissions in the past, including the Delimitation Commission. He has been sounded by the government and he has given his consent. He is awaiting formal orders.