J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Protest against killings, 50 injured
JAMMU, Aug 3 — At least 50 persons, most of them sadhus, were injured today when the police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse groups of youth protesting against the killing of over 90 Hindus in the state by militants during the past two days.

Bid to capture Indian post
JAMMU, Aug 3 — The Indian troops foiled a major bid by Pak army commandos to capture one Indian post in the Nowshehra sector of Rajouri today.

Bodies of massacre victims identified
SRINAGAR, Aug 3 — With the identification of six more bodies, a total of 21 out of 36 persons killed in the shootout by militants at a base camp of Amarnath pilgrims in Pahalgam on Tuesday evening have been identified so far.

Manhunt on to eliminate ultras
JAMMU, Aug 3 — The Army today launched a heliborne operation for flushing out groups of militants involved in the massacre of at least 27 Hindus, including eight members of village Defence Committees, in Banihal-Kishtwar belts of Doda district.

3 militants killed in J&K blast
SRINAGAR, Aug 3 — Three militants were among four persons killed when an explosive device they were carrying went off accidently in a house in Rajouri district today, an official spokesman said. 

Protest against killings, 50 injured
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 3 — At least 50 persons, most of them sadhus, were injured today when the police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse groups of youth protesting against the killing of over 90 Hindus in the state by militants during the past two days.

The police swung into action when the groups defying the curfew, held demonstrations at Satwari. The police chased away a group of protesters and took into preventive custody about 250 other violators.

At the parade grounds, the police tried to stop a large group of sadhus which came out of Geeta Bhavan. The sadhus, joined by local youths and activists of the RSS and the Bajrang Dal were protesting against the government’s decision of not allowing more pilgrims to go on the Amarnath Yatra. When persuasion failed the police resorted to a lathi charge and lobbed tear-gas shells in which at least 50 sustained minor injuries. One sadhu was seriously hurt and was admitted to a hospital.

According to Swami Abha Nand from Himachal Pradesh and Swami Bhagwan Das from Bihar, the sadhus were protesting against the suspension of the Amarnath Yatra from Jammu. They said the police also fired two shots in the air.

They said “we are determined to visit the holy cave” and criticised the government for not helping “us in completing our yatra”. They added that some yatris had gone back to their native places without completing the yatra.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr P.V. Raju, said “we had to deal firmly with anyone violating the curfew restrictions”. He said the authorities in Jammu were waiting for the green signal from the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, following which the yatris would be taken to Pahalgam under a security cover.

The state authorities helped some yatris to visit Vaishno Devi till the yatra resumes by arranging free bus trips.

Meanwhile normal life was totally paralysed for the second day today because of the curfew. Educational institutions remained close.

The police said the curfew was strictly enforced in Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar towns. The government had cancelled curfew passes issued on Wednesday as some of the passes had gone into the hands of undesirable elements.

Transport services in the town and on the inter-state and inter-district routes remained paralysed. This led to heavy rush of passengers at the railway station. Several thousand passengers remained stranded at the railway station.

The Army, the police and paramilitary forces patrolled the city and other areas to ensure that no one violated the curfew. According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.K. Goel, the situation was under control.

Bid to capture Indian post
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 3 — The Indian troops foiled a major bid by Pak army commandos to capture one Indian post in the Nowshehra sector of Rajouri today.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said in the early hours this morning the Indian border guards suspected a movement from across the border and fired illumination shells. Two Pak army commandos were seen crawling to the forward post to capture it.

He said, “Our boys opened fire, killing the two intruders on the spot.” This was followed by heavy fire from across the LoC. The Pak soldiers used 82 mortars to cause heavy casualty “on our troops.” He said there was no casualty on “our side.”

The spokesman said under cover of heavy shelling the Pak soldiers dragged the bodies of the two commandos back to their area.

He said in another operation two Pak infiltrators were killed in the Samba sector. He said when the Indian border guards spotted two intruders inside the Indian territory they were asked to halt. The intruders opened fire which was retaliated by the Indian forces in which both the infiltrators died on the spot.

srinagar (pti): The security forces shot dead five foreign mercenaries belonging to two Pakistan-based militant outfits as they tried to infiltrate into the Kashmir valley from across the border, a defence spokesman said on Thursday.

The attempt by Pakistan to push in the mercenaries was scuttled at Qazinag in Kupwara district when troops shot dead two intruders belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba on Wednesday night, he said.

In another operation, the security forces gunned down three militants belonging to the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami at Panzgam in Kupwara district on Wednesday evening, the spokesman added.

The encounter took place when militants opened fire on an Army patrol. The troops retaliated, killing three militants, he said.

Meanwhile, an Amarnath pilgrim, who was one of the 60 persons injured in the shootout at base camp in Pahalgam on Tuesday, succumbed to injuries on Thursday, raising the toll in the incident to 36.

Gurbachan Singh, a resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, died at smhs Hospital here, official sources said.

Twentythree pilgrims, eight Kashmiri Muslims and two policemen were killed in the militant attack. Two militants involved in the incident were also killed when the security forces returned fire.

Meanwhile, an official spokesman said the body of Naresh Chander, belonging to Uttar Pradesh, is being sent to Delhi by air while the body of an infant, Makhan Singh, is being cremated here.

Bodies of massacre victims identified

SRINAGAR, Aug 3 (PTI) — With the identification of six more bodies, a total of 21 out of 36 persons killed in the shootout by militants at a base camp of Amarnath pilgrims in Pahalgam on Tuesday evening have been identified so far:

They are: 1. Biran Kanta, r/o Balyalpur, Delhi 2. Rattan Lal Raw, r/o Kheri Chitorgarh, Rajashthan. 3. Bishwanath Dass, s/o Ram Nath, r/o Parowan Rotash, Patna. 4. Romesh Prashad, s/o Ram Prashad, r/o Magesha Dharam Kanta, ward no eight, Jai Prakash Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. 5. Ritu Raj Verma, s/o Shanker Prashad Verma, r/o Nowtanua, Maharajganj, UP. 6. Mushtaq Ahmad Parray, son-in-law of Abdul Gani Dar, daily wager, Forest Department, Dadser, Anantnag. 7. Naresh Goyal, r/o Meerut, UP 8. Niha Goyal, d/o Naresh Goyal (UP) 9. Gitto Goyal, s/o Naresh Goyal (UP) 10. Suraj Singh, constable of Tourist Police, r/o Tral, Kashmir 11. Arshad Ahmad, constable District Police Lines Anantnag. 12. Ram Shankar Jaswal s/o Swami Nath Jaswal, r/o Sanoli Bazar Mahrajgunj (UP). 13. Ghulam Mohammad Mir, s/o Abdul Khaliq Mir r/o Lalpora Kupwara (Kashmir). 14. Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, s/o Aziz Sheikh, r/o Lawad- Qazigund (Anantnag, Kashmir) 15. Naresh Chander, s/o Gopi Chander, r/o Safiabad, Meerut (UP) 16. Ghulam Rasool Shah, s/o Reshi Shah, r/o Zipora, Bijbehara, Kashmir. 17. Makhan Singh, s/o Kula Singh, r/o Subash Nagar Hoshiarpur, Punjab. 18. Mohammad Iqbal Bhat, s/o Mohammad Abdullah, r/o Bonabal, Mattan (Kashmir) 19. Gurbachan Singh, s/o Amar Singh, r/o Hoshiarpur (Punjab)

Besides, the 19 victims, two militants were also identified. They are: 1. Mansoor Ali, said to be a student of Aligarh Muslim University. 2. Shabir Ahmad of Anantnag.

Sixteen Hindu labourers, who were among 26 brick-kiln workers killed by militants at two separate attacks at Mir Bazar in Qazigund and Sandu-Acchabal in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Tuesday night, have been identified so far.

They are: 1 Manoj, r/o Rai Bareilly (UP) 2. Dev Parshad, s/o Babu Lal, r/o Bilaspur (UP) 3. Ajay, r/o Bihar 4. Ganesh, r/o Bihar 5. Ramu, s/o Bishnu, r/o Rai Bareilly (UP) 6. Joru Ram, r/o Raipur (MP) 7. Chooni, s/o Ram Dayal, r/o Bilaspur (UP) 8. Krishan Lal, s/o Hira Lal, r/o Rai Bareilly (UP) 9. Bola Ram, s/o Samu Ram, r/o Bilaspur (UP) 10. Chaboor Ram, s/o Ram Dayal, r/o Bilaspur (UP) 11. Bany Ram, s/o Dashrar, r/o Bilaspur (UP) 12. Ram Bilore, r/o Raipur (MP) 13. Santosh, s/o Kachai r/o Bilaspur (UP) 14. Ram Krishan, s/o Swami Dayal, r/o Rai Bareilly (UP) 15. Kishore, s/o Ram Swaroop, r/o Rai Bareilly (UP) 16. Narander, s/o Choota, r/o Bilaspur (UP).

Manhunt on to eliminate ultras
From M.L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Aug 3 — The Army today launched a heliborne operation for flushing out groups of militants involved in the massacre of at least 27 Hindus, including eight members of village Defence Committees, in Banihal-Kishtwar belts of Doda district.

According to Maj-Gen P.P. Bindra, a couple of helicopters were pressed into service which flew over the mountain belts of Banihal and Kishtwar for eliminating those militants who had carried out the killings of 27 innocent people on Wednesday.

Official sources from Doda district said the troops aboard the helicopters were equipped with sophisticated weapons to blow up the militant hideouts. Till the filing of this report the heliborne operation had failed to arrest or eliminate the killers of 27 persons.

The sources said the Deputy Commissioner of Doda and other Government functionaries left for Pogal Paristan and other areas for distribution of ex-gratia to next of kin of those killed by the militants. The bodies of 14 persons killed in the mountain belts of Banihal were moved to the lower levels and cremated today.

Sources said besides the heliborne operation men of the Rashtriya Rifles, the police and other paramilitary forces launched a manhunt for the killers. These forces moved from different directions and scaled lofty mountain peaks to smash the hideouts of the militants.

Reports said the militants may have escaped to the adjoining subdivisions or they may have crossed over to Verinag area or Kokernag area in Kashmir.

In Jammu city the security forces carried out search operations for militants who are said to be hiding in localities that fall on the outskirts of the city. Many localities were cordoned off for the third day today but no clue to those who attempted to eliminate Amarnath pilgrims in the registration centre had been found.

3 militants killed in J&K blast

SRINAGAR, Aug 3 (PTI) — Three militants were among four persons killed when an explosive device they were carrying went off accidently in a house in Rajouri district today, an official spokesman said. The incident took place in Darhal sector of the district when four militants entered the house of Mohammed Akram in Darhal sector of the district, he said adding that the houseowner was also killed in the blast. A civilian was injured in the explosion which badly damaged the house. However, the fourth militant fled from the scene. Meanwhile, a possible major tragedy was averted in the R.S. Pora sector of Jammu with the timely detection of a powerful landmine by the security forces, he said. In Udhampur district, unidentified militants abducted Shabir Ahmad Dar from Handiwala village of the Gool sector last night.