J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

DGP urges ultras to surrender
JAMMU, Nov 30 — The new police chief, Mr A.K. Suri, has made a fresh offer to the militants to surrender. He has promised that those who accept the offer would be rehabilitated, as per the existing package. 

A paramilitary jawan watches the filming of a Bollywood movie in Nishat Garden on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday. 
— Reuters photo

BSF men shot, calm along border
SRINAGAR, Nov 30 — In the second attack on security forces since the Ramzan ceasefire came into effect, militants gunned down a BSF personnel and wounded another in Baramula district of north Kashmir today, official sources said.

DGP urges ultras to surrender
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Nov 30 — The new police chief, Mr A.K. Suri, has made a fresh offer to the militants to surrender. He has promised that those who accept the offer would be rehabilitated, as per the existing package. After taking over as the Director-General of Police here yesterday evening, Mr Suri, told newsmen today that the police had been instructed to honour the ceasefire commitment made by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. He, however, made it clear that if the militants “attacked my men” the police would retaliate.

Mr Suri stated that police patrolling would continue and “our job is to help all agencies to restore peace to the state.” He said militants should not harbour a wrong impression that the ceasefire has “tied the hands of the police.” The police, he added, would react if it was attacked or it found its lives in danger.

Referring to the intelligence inputs received by him, the DGP said that militants would try to wreck the peace initiative taken by the Government. In reply to a question, he said that about 4,000 militants belonging to different outfits were active in the state.

Mr Suri urged the militants to bid farewell to guns and allow people to taste peace after a long time. He assured them that no harm would be faced by those militants who surrender. He said that his request to the militants to surrender was the result of his desire to save their lives. They should realise that 10-year-long turmoil kicked by them had not yielded any results, except that the state witnessed death and destruction.

He made it clear that the police in Jammu and Kashmir was fully geared and equipped to face any challenge. The police was in the forefront of all counter-insurgency operations, he claimed.

He said that he would continue to further strengthen the police so that the force was able to help the Government in restoring peace and normalcy to the state.

Displaying confidence on the first day of taking over as DGP, Mr Suri said he was hopeful that those who tried to wreck the peace process would lose support as a majority of the people in the state were for peace. He claimed that there was marked decline in the incidents of firing on Indian border villages by Pakistani troops.

BSF men shot, calm along border

SRINAGAR, Nov 30 (PTI) — In the second attack on security forces since the Ramzan ceasefire came into effect, militants gunned down a BSF personnel and wounded another in Baramula district of north Kashmir today, official sources said.

Equipped with silencer-fitted pistols, the militants shot dead Head Constable D.C. Bakshi and critically wounded Lance Naik Santok Singh in the subzi mandi area, they said.

The militants escaped taking advantage of panic in the area as shopkeepers pulled down their shutters and ran helter-skelter along with pedestrians.

Security forces exercised restraint and did not retaliate to avoid civilian casualties, they said.

Meanwhile, a near-total calm prevailed along the borders for the first time since last year’s Kargil war with no shelling by Pakistan after the Centre’s unilateral ceasefire came into force.