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Wednesday,
October
8, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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3 BSF jawans
killed as militants blow up bridge Minister’s
pro-militant statement leads to row
Hurriyat faction
leader held J&K institute
to have cathlab facilities |
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Durbar move to
Jammu from October 24 1,178 silver
coins seized, 4 held
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3 BSF jawans killed as militants blow up bridge
Srinagar, October 7 No militant outfit has so far claimed the responsibility for the blast. In other militancy-related incidents across the valley overnight, nine militants and two soldiers, besides a numberdar, were among 15 persons killed while three militants were arrested and RDX seized. Official sources said militants triggered a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) under a bridge at Ganeshpora, about 70 km from here, when a BSF patrol of 58 Batallion was crossing it at 9.45 a.m. Sources said five BSF personnel crossing the bridge at the time fell into the river. Bodies of three jawans were later recovered from the river, while the injured were admitted to hospital in a critical condition. The deceased jawans have been identified as Preetipal, Vishvanathan and J. Pandia. Traffic to Pahalgam was disrupted as the blast caused major damage to the bridge. Security forces later conducted a search operation in the entire area and picked up some persons for questioning. Five militants, including three Pakistani nationals belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit and an Army jawan, were killed and a security jawan injured in separate encounters while three militants were arrested along with 6 kg of RDX and other weapons in Kashmir valley since last night, official sources said today. Three JeM militants identified as Abu Usman, Syed Fazl-ul-Rehman and Abu Abid, were killed in two encounters during search operations at Dardsun-Kralpora and Sogam-Lolab in Kupwara district today, the sources said. The encounters took place when the troops of Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off the two villages in search of militants, they said, adding that three AK assault rifles, seven magazines, 90 rounds and four hand grenades were seized from their possession. A Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant identified as Abu Rehman was killed in an encounter with Army troops at Kangroosa forest in Baramula district last night, they said. Another militant was killed in an ongoing search operation by the Army at Pattan in Baramula this afternoon. An Army jawan was killed when militants opened fire on a patrolling party of 36 Rashtriya Rifles at Sagam village in Kokernag area of Anantnag district last night, the sources said. Jammu: Two persons, including a numberdar and a security personnel, were killed in separate militancy-related incidents in Doda and Poonch districts of Jammu division last night, official sources said here today. A group of militants entered the house of numberdar Mohammad Yousuf in Troum village of Baderwah tehsil of Doda district last night and shot him dead after some altercation, they said. An Army jawan, who was injured along with three colleagues in an encounter with militants at Naka Majairi in Poonch district last evening, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital early this morning, they said. In another incident, the bodies of one Army Havaldar Shivanand of 137 medium regiment and his wife Satwanti were recovered from a canal near Lakhanpur in Kathua district, sources said. Meanwhile, a district commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen was killed by troops in an encounter at Gagarbala area in Doda district today.
— UNI, PTI |
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Minister’s pro-militant statement leads to row Jammu, October 7 This time it was Qazi Mohammad
Afzal, Minister for Public Health Engineering and Irrigation, who made the controversial statement during his recent visit here. Earlier, the terrorists involved in the attack on the Akshardham temple in Gujarat had caused much embarrassment for the state government when they reportedly claimed before the police that they had finalised the strategy in the house of Agriculture Minister Ali Mohammad Zargar, in south Kashmir. With such sensitive developments one after the other, the Mufti government has landed in the soup particularly in the Jammu region as this has provided an opportunity to his critics of point a finger at him. Soon after coming to power in November last, the Mufti was in the eye of storm when he started releasing without the approval of the Centre persons allegedly involved in terrorism. He had to put a brake to this when the Centre took a serious note of the issue. The coalition again faced criticism when the Mufti announced that POTA would not be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also accused of being “soft” towards terrorists. Qazi Afzal during his visit here said that certain militants released by the state government had come in the mainstream by campaigning for him and there was nothing wrong in it as they had shun violence. Qazi
Afzal, who contested on the PDP symbol, had defeated Mr Omar Abdullah, chief ministerial candidate of the then ruling National Conference, in the Ganderbal Assembly constituency. Certain senior leaders of the National Conference have been alleging that the Mufti’s PDP had utilised the services of militants to rig the elections. Controversy relating to Mr Zargar had not yet settled and the new one has arisen. The Mufti has rejected the resignation of Mr Zargar by giving him a clean chit. Meanwhile, Mr Ashok
Khajuria, general secretary of the BJP, has accused the Mufti government of supporting the militants. He said that both Mr Qazi and Mr Zargar belong to the PDP which was vigorously implementing the “healing touch” policy and pursuing a “pro-militant agenda” which the BJP would not allow. Mr Khajuria demanded an explanation on the issue from the Congress and the Panthers Party alliance partners of the Mufti government. |
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Srinagar, October 7 Mr Alam, who shot to prominence after being elected the interim chairman of the rebel faction, was arrested from his Tankipora residence last night, official sources said, adding that he had been booked under the PSA and sent to the Kotbhalwal jail in Jammu. Mr Alam is the third leader of the breakaway Hurriyat faction led by Jamaat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to be arrested for alleged unlawful activities. National Front president Nayeem Khan and Muslim League president Mian Manzoor are the other two leaders supporting Mr Geelani who were arrested on various charges last month. Condemning the arrest, Mr Geelani said it was a totally undemocratic move as “New Delhi did not want that Kashmiris should continue their struggle for the right to self-determination in a peaceful manner.” Alam’s parent organisation Muslim Leauge has also condemned the arrest, describing it as intimidatory. “Those who are making tall claims about democracy have arrested Masrat Alam, which is totally undemocratic and inhuman,” Mr Geelani told reporters at his Hyderpora residence here. Condemning New Delhi for refusing permission to Amnesty International and Asia Watch to visit the state, he appealed to the human rights watchdogs to send a fact-finding team to take note of the human rights violations.
— PTI |
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J&K institute to
have cathlab facilities Srinagar, October 7 With the installation of the cathlab, heart bypass surgery will become possible at the institute and cardiac patients will not have to go outside the state, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said in his address to the 28th meeting of the governing body of the institute here yesterday. He said hi-tech MRI facility would also be made available in the institute by next year. The Chief Minister said the institute, which had already been accorded the status of a deemed university, must “come up to the expectations of the people”. “All-out efforts are required to bring its functioning on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi, so that people of the state get specialised medicare facilities within the state”, the Mufti said. Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baigh, Health Minister Lal Singh, and Minister of State for Health and Medical Education Abdul Gaffar Sofi also attended the meeting, which decided to create a revolving fund for effecting repairs and maintaining equipment.
— PTI |
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Durbar move to Jammu from October 24 Srinagar, October 7 Civil Secretariat and other offices would close here on October 24 and re-open at the winter capital on November 3, an official announcement said today. In all 33 departments would move in full and the remaining 34 would be in camps, the announcement added. It said all departments had been asked to send their advance parties consisting of one gazetted and four or five non-gazetted employees on October 20 to receive the records at Jammu. It had also been ordered that the salary for current month for employees working in offices that have to move shall be drawn on October 22. A special one-day leave had been authoritised for October 24 for Jammu division employees to enable them to celebrate Divali festival on October 25, the announcement said. The State Road Transport Corporation (STRC) had been asked to make available sufficient number of buses for transportation of Jammu-based employees on October 23 and 24 and Srinagar based employees on November 1 and 2.
— PTI |
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1,178 silver coins seized, 4 held
Jammu, October 7 The coins were recovered yesterday after a labourer Santosh was arrested at the Railway station, allegedly trying to take some of these home to Chhattisgarh, the police said. Santosh was taken into custody and on questioning he allegedly revealed that he and three other labourers had found these coins while digging land at Jung-bari in Domana area a few days back. They had distributed these coins among themselves and he was proceeding to his native place, the police said. Police raids at the houses of other three labourers led to the recovery of the remaining coins, sources said. Sohan Lal, S. Kumar and Sanjay — all hailing from Chhattisgarh, were arrested, the police said.
— PTI |
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