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Thursday,
May 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SPOs’
desertion a setback to govt’s move Army turns
heat on Pir Panjal ultras ‘Start
dialogue with open mind’ Prasar
Bharti CEO criticised |
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3
pilgrims killed, 20 hurt in mishaps Pune-based
NGO starts orphanage Transporters’
strike hits life 
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SPOs’ desertion a setback to
govt’s move Jammu, April 30 During the past week 104 SPOs have mutinied against the government in Doda district in protest against what they call an inordinate delay in the release of their monthly wages of Rs 1,500 per head. The first batch of 40 SPOs had deserted their posts in Doda but were later motivated to return to the police lines after five days of negotiations. The batch had not yet reached the police lines in Doda when another batch of 24 SPOs mutinied in Bhaderwah and its adjoining areas. For the past three days, they have been camping on the mountain belt of Padri Par, dividing Himachal Pradesh from Doda district. Being the highest mountain belt in the area, senior police functionaries have yet to get in touch with the deserters. The state authorities were taken by surprise when 30 SPOs from Gandhov, Bartha and Changa mutinied. They have left their posts carrying weapons and ammunition and for the past two days their whereabouts are unknown. Both the state government and the Union Home Ministry have bungled the plan of involving youths in counter-insurgency operations. Under the plan, these youths were first enrolled as members of Village Defence Committees (VDCs). The experiment was carried out successfully in Doda district, where VDC members assisted the security forces in eliminating a large number of militants during the past four years. With the success of the experiment, the concept of raising VDCs was extended to other areas in the state and at present there are over 15,000 VDC members. Similarly, the number of SPOs has increased from 700 to over 22,000 during the past four years. While VDC members were initially paid Rs 200 per month per head, the SPOs were entitled to receive Rs 1,500 per head per month. Official sources said the Centre bungled the plan when it continued to delay the release of security-related expenses which covered payment of wages to VDC members and SPOs. The situation worsened when the state Government stopped paying Rs 200 per head per month to the VDC members and payment of wages to the SPOs was delayed by two to four months. The state government, especially ministers and bureaucrats in the previous National Conference government, went on enrolling youths as VDC members and SPOs as they found it to be the only alternative to the problem of unemployment. And before the PDP-Congress coalition government took over, the state had recruited SPOs and VDC members much higher than the number sanctioned by the Union Home Ministry. Both SPOs and VDC members complained to the government that they got a raw deal despite having risked their lives. Regarding those killed in the operations against militants, their next of kin received Rs 1 lakh as ex gratia relief like any other civilian. Their demand for recruitment in the police on a priority basis was not also conceded. The Union Home Ministry delayed the release of funds earmarked for the wages of VDC members and SPOs because the state authorities had not sought prior approval for raising the strength of these two voluntary forces. The Centre was also annoyed at reports that a large number of SPOs had been deployed in houses of former ministers and other bureaucrats where they were engaged in domestic chores instead of security-related activities. Senior police sources are worried that more SPOs may revolt and some of them could join militant outfits, which could give them lucrative sums of money. This could prove dangerous when most of the VDC members have got cold feet and shirk participating in anti-insurgency operations. Meanwhile, a senior state government functionary said an inquiry had been ordered into the revolt staged by groups of SPOs and after the completion of the probe, it would be decided whether the mutineers would be retained in the service or not, the functionary said. |
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Army turns heat on Pir Panjal ultras Jammu, April 30 The operation has been launched in view of the increase in militant movement, particularly foreign mercenaries, with the melting of snow in the Rajouri-Poonch-Doda belt, south of Pir Panchal ranges, the sources said here. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of commanders of Rashtriya Rifles headed by deputy Army chief JBS Yadava, the sources said. The security forces have been told to target foreign militants and their commanders in the mountain-locked woodland, which has been a safe haven for militants for years. A plan has been devised to singularly target the top brass of militants like area commanders, platoon commanders, district commanders and divisional commanders of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Al-Badr, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Tehreek-e-Jehadi-Islami and Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment (HMPPR). Specialised troops have been assigned the task of gathering information and networking. Some major operations had already been carried out as part of the surgical operation, causing major casualties to militants.
PTI |
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‘Start
dialogue with open mind’ Jammu, April 30 Addressing a rally in Poonch today, Mr Abdullah said that in view of the recent developments in Afghanistan and Iraq, where war had brought destruction, it was imperative for India and Pakistan to start the process of meaningful dialogue which alone could bring lasting peace to the subcontinent. In this regard he welcomed the move of Dr Farooq Abdullah to offer his services and those of other MPs to initiate the dialogue. He said this initiative would help improve relations between the two neighbours. He said the internal dialogue needed to be started with an open mind. Mr N.N. Vohra’s mission was bound to fail because his mandate was vague and confusing. He said any process of internal dialogue was likely to fail unless it involved all those who had not come forward to hold talks in the past. |
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Prasar Bharti CEO criticised Jammu, April 30 Mr
Sarma, who was here to take stock of the security aspects following a militant attack on the DD, AIR complex in Srinagar on April 26 in which five persons were killed , avoided meeting the fear-stricken employees, the Prasar Bharti Staff Forum
(PBSF) chairman, Mr A.K. Handoo, said in a statement here. Pointing out that the entire staff of Radio Kashmir in Jammu and other areas was eagerly waiting to meet the CEO and his team, which included the Deputy Director-General (security), and air their grievances, he said Mr Sarna conveniently preferred to stay away from the staff for unknown reasons, which thoroughly upset them. The members also appealed to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shanker Prasad and Mr Sarna to visit Jammu and all other stations located in the region to have an on-the-spot security assessment in view of the threat posed to various Prasar Bharati establishments in the state.
PTI |
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3 pilgrims killed, 20 hurt in mishaps Jammu, April 30 Two persons, identified as Sanjay Gupta and Sohan Lal of Udhampur, were killed when the Maruti van in which they were travelling collided with a truck near Kathua on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, the sources said. The police handed over the bodies of the two to their families today. A case was registered against the truck driver. In another accident, a vehicle carrying Vaishnodevi pilgrims from Jammu to Katra, the base camp of the holy cave shrine, skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge killing one person and injuring 20 pilgrims at Nagrota last evening, the sources said. The injured pilgrims were admitted to GMC Hospital.
PTI |
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Pune-based NGO starts orphanage Jammu, April 30 “We have set up the first residential home in Kupwara district to take care of children who have been orphaned by 13 years of turmoil in the state”, foundation president Bharti Mamani said here yesterday. Named “Basera-e-Tabbassum” (abode of smiles), the campus houses 17 children, mostly girls in the age group of four to 10 years, said Mamani, who runs the home along with a another worker, Adik Kadam, in Sulkoote village, which was once the hotbed of militancy in Kupwara district. Mamani, herself an orphan, said over 80,000 children had been orphaned due to the ongoing turmoil in the state. “Children’s minds seem to be frozen and they are left to themselves to bear the unbearable and understand the explicable”, she said adding that they had urged Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to assist them in their endeavour to rehabilitate orphans. With social activists like Mohan Audhi and C.V. Deshpande on its panel, the BWF would work to bring happiness and educational development in the lives of these orphaned children, she said.
PTI |
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Transporters’ strike
hits life Jammu, April 30 Inter-city, mini bus and Matador services did not ply. Hundreds of people were seen walking to their offices. The transporters are demanding a hike in the
passenger fare. Although the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation
had plied vehicles on different city roads to ferry passengers, these were not adequate.
PTI |
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J&K Houses to meet on June 2 Srinagar, April 30 |
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