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| Tuesday, December 19, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Advocate shot in
Kashmir 23 deer freed from
Manda sanctuary
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SRINAGAR, Dec 18 (PTI) — Unidentified militants gunned down an advocate at Zirpora village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir today, an official spokesman said. A group of militants raided the residence of advocate Abdul Gani Bhat at the village in Bijbehara, 45 km from here, and shot him dead around 9.30 am, he said. The militants escaped after the incident, the spokesman said adding that the motive behind the killing was not known. A report from Jammu, meanwhile, said security forces gunned down a foreign mercenary and injured another in an encounter at Mandol Berri village of Doda district in Jammu division yesterday, an official spokesman said here today. A group of militants opened fire on a joint patrol party of Rashtriya Rifles troops and the police in the village, he said. In the retaliatory action, one militant was killed and another injured, he said, adding, that the slain militant was identified as Abu Zunair of Afghanistan, who was an expert in making and exploding improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The injured militant, however, managed to escape in the forest area along with his accomplices. The troops have launched a manhunt to nab the other militants. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter, he said. A UNI report from Srinagar said Mr Abdul Razak Itoo, uncle of Jammu and Kashmir Minister Sakeena Itoo, was shot at by militants at Damhalhanjipora in south Kashmir this afternoon. In another development, at least one person was killed and another injured in a grenade explosion at Vilgam in the frontier district of Kupwara this afternoon, a report from Baramula said. An official spokesman here said Mr Itoo was shot at and critically injured by the militants in Anantnag district at around 4.50 pm. He was rushed to hospital where his condition is stated to be critical. In Baramula, official sources said the militants hurled a hand grenade at security forces at main chowk in Vilgam. |
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23 deer freed from
Manda sanctuary JAMMU, Dec 18 — As many as 23 spotted deer were set free from the Manda sanctuary, near here, today. The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, opened the gates of the enclosure to allow eight spotted deer to jump to freedom. The deer were so much scared of the crowd that they hit the enclosure while jumping. Some of them received minor injuries but managed to flee to nearby forest belts. The remaining 15 deer will be let loose around Mansar forest belts. The Manda sanctuary had witnessed an unprecedented increase in the population of spotted deer in the past several years. In fact, the Wildlife Department, which had been facing the problem of cash crunch, could not properly feed and take care of the 38 deer. The department decided to retain 15 deer in the sanctuary for ensuring that the species did not face extinction. The Chief Minister said under accepted norms wildlife species were to be allowed to live in natural habitats without restriction. He said the government had prepared a plan to establish a zoo for rearing rare wildlife species but the ongoing resource crunch had forced it to suspend the project. |
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