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Militants attack houses of politicians NC media chief resigns PDP to contest Srinagar, Baramula, Anantnag seats
Geelani insists on UN resolution
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| Industrialist held on rape charge Jammu, March 16 Four persons, including an industrialist and a vigilance officer, were arrested here for allegedly raping a 22-year-old girl, official sources said today. 
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Militants attack houses of politicians Srinagar, March 16 In other militancy-related incidents, a retired police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and a Lashkar militant were killed while the police averted a major tragedy when they defused an IED in a hospital in the Kashmir valley overnight. Official sources said militants opposing the elections hurled a hand grenade on the house of state secretary of the CPM Mohammad Yusuf Targami, MLA, at Bongam Kulgam in south
Kashmir district of Anantnag last night. The grenade missed the target and exploded without causing any damage. The police guards posted there also opened fire but the militants managed to escape. The sources said militants entered the house of ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Ghulam Nabi Wani at Devsar at around 8 pm yesterday. The militants later blew the house after the inmates were asked to leave. Later militants went to another village at Devsar and attacked the house of former legislator Ghulam Hassan with grenades and automatic weapons at around midnight. Noone was injured. The same group of militants went to another village at Sarsoona and hurled grenades towards the house of another former legislator Mohammad Anwar. However, noone was injured in the attack. At least four soldiers were injured when militants ambushed an army patrol at Lolab in north Kashmir last night. The security forces also shot dead a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant in the same area. One AK rifle and other arms and ammunition were seized from the slain militant. A report from Baramula said unidentified gunmen shot dead a retired ASI Ali Mohammad at Sopore in north Kashmir last night. He was now running a shop in the area where he was fired upon twice by gunmen, the sources said. An alert civilian averted a major tragedy when he informed the police that about a 2 kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted near the Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura last night. The bomb disposal squad immediately summoned which defused the IED. Jammu: Security forces have recovered 10 kg of RDX from a militant hideout in Doda district, while militant set ablaze the house of a police constable in Rajouri district of Jammu on Monday. These explosives were meant to target the security forces
vehicles in the area, sources said. In another incident, militants set ablaze the house of one police constable, Talib Hussain in Dudasan in Rajouri district last night, however, no one was injured in the incident.
— UNI, PTI |
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NC media chief resigns Jammu, March 16 “There is absolute lack of inner-party democracy in the National Conference,” Indrabi, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Srinagar-based Urdu daily ‘Indian Times,’ said in a statement here announcing his resignation. “An honest and dedicated worker often feels the atmosphere within the party is stifling and one can hardly voice his honest views and expect to be heard,” Indrabi, who remained in-charge of the press and publicity of the NC for several years, said. He said he had expected that the party would consolidate and stabilise all constructive political forces so as to usher peace, normalcy and prosperity in the state. “But the NC failed to do so just as it also failed in giving the people a responsive and responsible governance. I can no more function within the stifling atmosphere of the NC which also lacks inspirations and directions,” he said. Indrabi had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from the Srinagar-Budgam constituency in May, 1996.
— PTI |
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PDP to contest Srinagar, Baramula, Anantnag seats Srinagar, March 16 The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) President, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, on her arrival from Delhi here this afternoon, said her party and the Congress would contest jointly from the six seats in the state. She indicated that the PDP would field its candidates from all three constituencies of Srinagar, Baramula and Anantnag in the Kashmir valley, where it enjoyed popular support. Its main ally, the Congress, would be contesting from the remaining three seats of Jammu and Udhampur in the Jammu division and the Ladakh constituency. A final decision regarding the selection of candidates being to be by the PDP would be taken during the next few days, after consultations with party leaders at different levels, she added. Ms Mufti was accompanied by senior party leaders, including the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Law Minister, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, and the Housing and Urban Development Minister, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir. She said the focus would be on the common minimum programme of the coalition government during the campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Ms Mufti held that a misinformation campaign had been launched against the coalition government on trivial issues. Meanwhile, the National Conference is also in the process of giving a final shape to the list of candidates for all six constituencies in the state. A high-level meeting, held here yesterday, was attended by the party President, Mr Omar Abdullah, the NC patron and a former Chief Minister, Mr Farooq Abdullah, the general secretary of the party, Sheikh Nazir Ahmad, and the provincial president, Dr Mehboob Beigh, to decide on the selection of candidates. Mr Omar Abdullah told TNS here today that he had asked the party leaders to “discuss the selection of candidates at the grassroots level”. He said discussions would be held at all district levels to reach a consensus on the selection of candidates ahead of the elections. The party is expected to come out with a final list of candidates by the end of this week. Out of the six seats in the state, five were represented by the National Conference in the previous last Lok Sabha. It has 28 seats and is the single largest party in the state Assembly. The PDP, which has 14 members in the Assembly, is yet to open its account for the Lok Sabha since it came into existence in 1997. |
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Geelani insists on UN resolution
for talks Srinagar, March 16 As per the Hurriyat constitution, the amalgam should press for the implementation of the UN resolution for resolving the Kashmir issue, the rival Hurriyat said in a statement here. “As far as dialogue is concerned, it has been made amply clear in the constitution that the nature of talks shall be tripartite and be held under the supervision of the UN or a friendly country,” it said.
— PTI |
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Industrialist held on rape charge Jammu, March 16 Following a complaint by the girl who hails from the Akhnoor area of the state that she had been “used” for the past one year by the industrialist under the pretext of giving her job, a police party raided a paint factory in the Gangyal area last night. The industrialist, and vigilance officer with the Income Tax department and two others were caught while allegedly criminally assaulting the girl, they said. The girl told police that the businessman had called her to factory to meet some officials who would give her a job. — PTI |
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