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Twin strategy for taming Hizbul
Luminaries share stage at SP College centenary
Malik among 39 accused in hawala racket
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Rebel NC leader quits party, Assembly
J&K House adjourned
2 Pak infiltrators, Hizbul chief killed
12 Army men booked for killing porters
Bus mishap: Anantnag ADC to probe
Multi-tier security at Vaishno Devi shrine
CBI to probe multi-crore timber scam
Experts hold talks on Baglihar
Two BSF jawans among 4 killed in Kashmir accidents
35 kg of poppy seized
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Twin strategy for taming Hizbul
Jammu, October 3 On the one hand it has engaged a section of those who matter for motivating the Hizb leadership for declaring a ceasefire which could be reciprocated by the security forces, on the other operations have been intensified for eliminating field commanders of the rebel outfit. According to a senior police officer posted in Kashmir, during the last one week as many as three top “commanders” of Hizbul Mujahideen, including Ishtiaq Ahmed, Rashid Gujjar, Ibrahim Dar, were eliminated in separate operations. The officer said that during the last two months not less than 10 top “commanders” of Hizbul Mujahideen have been killed. Among them was Wasim Mohd, considered to be the outfit’s think-tank. He is said to have died in custody. Though several hundred foreign mercenaries, belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba, Al Mansoorian, Harkatul Ansar and Al Badr were operating in Jammu and Kashmir, Hizbul Mujahideen had its cadres in all the districts of the two regions of the state. Since Hizbul Mujahideen’s activists were all local youths, its survival could delay restoration of peace. It is in this context that the twin strategy has been adopted for either persuading the Hizb activists to declare a ceasefire or forcing them to surrender once more of their field “commanders” were eliminated. According to the police experts, once Hizbul Mujahideen activists were tamed it would be easy to account for the foreign mercenaries who, in that situation, could get isolated in the absence of people’s support which Hizbul Mujahideen has been enjoying. A section of people have been waiting for Hizb to declare ceasefire at least for the month of Ramzan which is to begin from tomorrow. People wish that the month of fasting could pass without bloodshed on the streets. |
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Luminaries share stage at SP College centenary
Srinagar, October 3 Recalling their student days in SP College along with other luminaries like renowned theatre personality Pran Kishore and Dr Girija Dhar, they shared the moments of the past century in this college. It was a “Yadoon Ka Karawan” for the Pran Kishore, who had joined the college in 1943 and was introduced to the world of theatre by his teachers. The APHC leader, Abdul Ghani Bhat, felt pride to have been in the college as student to learn lessons from the institution “to know what is knowable”. Even as he vowed not to touch “politics’, Mr Bhat could not help concluding his speech with a political touch. As he pointed towards Mufti Sayeed and Farooq Abdullah, the separatist leader said that all of them were at a job to “live together”. “We all want to live in harmony. My world has a different geography and I meet people with different chemistry, we all are at a job…to live together”, Bhat commented amid applause from the students present on the occasion. Dr Farooq Abdullah held that there was no end to the sweet memories even after the passage of about five decades. His politics, was different from that of Mufti Sayeed and Abdul Ghani Bhat, but what brought them together was their motherland and the educational institution to which they owed their learning. Mufti Sayeed said that it was a “good coincidence” to be with the two other personalities, Farooq Abdullah and Abdul Ghani Bhat, as “good old students”. He said the only available treasure was the human resource that needed to be further developed in Kashmir. With the opening of new schools and new colleges, Mufti said, thrust was being given on professional courses so that those coming out of educational institutions did not have to toil for jobs. |
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Malik among 39 accused in hawala racket
Srinagar, October 3 They said 143 persons had been arrested in 84 cases of fake currency racket since 2002 and more than Rs 2 crore and millions of dollars seized from them. Though the names of breakaway Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Peoples League chief Sheikh Abdul Aziz did not figure in the list of 39 accused people, they too had been arrested in connection with allegedly receiving havala money. Bazaz was arrested on charges of channelling funds to militant organisations from the UK-based World Kashmir Freedom Movement president Ayub Thakur. Geelani was arrested reportedly after Bazaz’s disclosure that the money was meant for Geelani. Aziz was arrested outside the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi early this year for allegedly possessing Rs 100,000 in fake Indian currency and 94,000 dirhams. Geelani is since out of jail, but Aziz is undergoing imprisonment at the Tihar jail in New Delhi. Malik was arrested after Mushtaq Ahmed Dar and Shazia Rasool (both from Batmaloo) were caught with $1 lakh on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, near Kud in 2002. It was alleged that the money was meant for Malik, who described the controversy as ‘’cheap’’ tactics by the government to malign his image. Last month, the Delhi police had arrested a carpet dealer on charges of routing havala money for Democratic Freedom Party Chief Shabir Ahmed Shah. The police had claimed to have recovered Rs 63 lakh besides some arms and ammunition from him. However, Mr Shah denied the charges. |
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Rebel NC leader quits party, Assembly
Srinagar, October 3 “I have submitted my resignation to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and also quit the National Conference,” Mr Mir said. Mr Mir, who represented the Rafiabad constituency of Baramula, had raised the banner of revolt against NC patron Farooq Abdullah and president Omar Abdullah last year, saying that the “wrong policies” of the father-son duo were sinking the fortunes of the party. Mr Mir said he had not decided his future course of action as far as his political career was concerned. With this, the National Conference which had won 28 seats in the 2002 Assembly poll, was reduced to 24 members in the House. In May this year, the then sitting MLA from the Pattan Assembly segment, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, quit the NC and Assembly, and joined the PDP. The NC had lost the Batmaloo seat to the PDP and the Zanskar constituency to the consensus candidate of the coalition government during the byelections.
— PTI |
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J&K House adjourned
Srinagar, October 3 Chairman Abdul Rashid Dar expressed gratitude to members and government for cooperation in running the business smoothly in the House. He said that the members raised public interest issues and government projected its viewpoint regarding these issues and in certain cases, government assured the House to redress the problems of the people. The Chairman said 138 questions were taken up including starred and unstarred questions. A discussion was also taken up, single calling attention notice was taken up. Nine Private Members resolutions were taken up and two resolutions passed by the House. Five Bills were passed by the House during the brief session. The Chairman also thanked the media, police, Information and Health Department for the cooperation extended by them during the session.
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2 Pak infiltrators, Hizbul chief killed Srinagar, October 3 Security forces arrested a top Hizbul Majahideen militant along with a girl while two others surrendered in the state during the period, an official spokesman said. Official sources said militants detonated an IED at Wagad Tral in South Kashmir district of Pulwama when a security force vehicle was passing through the area. However, the IED exploded seconds after the vehicle crossed that particular area. No one was injured. Security forces killed two Pakistani infiltrators immediately after they crossed into the Indian side from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) at Fateh Gall in Kupwara. Two AK rifles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants. Militants killed one Sajad Ahmad Ganai by slitting his throat at Rawalpora Shopian in Pulwama district today. The spokesman said security forces gunned down a militant in an ecounter at Nara Sirothi in Poonch district of Jammu region today. One AK rifle, two magazines, one hand grenade and one wireless set were recovered from the slain militant. He said security forces arrested a top HM militant along with a girl in Pull Doda today. Rs 1 lakh was also recovered from the militant, active for the past eight years. Two militants surrendered and laid their two AK rifles, four magazines, 10 rounds of ammunition and one wireless set at Doda last night. Jammu: A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) Commander was killed by security forces in an encounter at Samuti, near Gursai, in Poonch district today. Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Rajouri-Poonch) V.K. Singh said HM Commander Qari Umar Inqlabi was killed in a joint action by the police and army troops in a gunbattle at Samuti in the afternoon.
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12 Army men booked for killing porters
Srinagar, October 3 The FIR was registered following a complaint by father of one of the killed labourers, Senior Superintendent of Police (Kupwara) Sunil Dutt told PTI. The four labourers were allegedly killed at Devar Lolab in Kashmir valley on April 20 last year by troops who branded them as foreign militants. The FIR alleged that the labourers were hired by the Army as porters and later killed in a fake encounter. The matter came to light after the family of slain labourer Ram Lal received a letter from an anonymous person in Delhi claiming the four were killed by Army personnel for getting rewards. The letter named the Army officers and jawans and this became the basis of the FIR against them, the SSP said. He said the family members of the victims, who were here as part of the inquiry into the killings, identified the dead as their kins after seeing their photographs at the local police station. However, the bodies of the deceased had already been claimed by some residents from Ganderbal and cremated, the SSP said. “We cannot be sure at this stage who is right. It is a matter of investigation,” he said.
— PTI |
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Bus mishap: Anantnag ADC to probe
Srinagar, October 3 This information was given by Minister of State for Home A.R. Veeri in the Legislative Council today. The Inquiry Officer would enquire into the circumstances which led to the accident of KMD bus (3873/JK03) at Chappra Manjal near Manjabari on Ramban-Gool road on its way from Shangus-Anantnag to Tatapani-Gool area on September 29. The Inquiry Officer shall enquire into how the overloaded bus was allowed to ply on the route by traffic police personnel. It would also find out whether the bus had valid permission from Transport Department/ Deputy Commissioner concerned to travel from Srinagar to Tatapani (Gool area), and submit his report to the Government within 15 days. He was replying a Calling Attention Notice moved in the House by MLCs Abdul Gani Vakil, Ms Sakina Itoo, Mr Bilal Ahmed Khan Lodhi and Mr B.A. Naz to this effect. He stated that for negligence and dereliction of duties by the supervisory officer for Banihal-Ramban-Gool axis, six traffic police personnel had been suspended. |
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Multi-tier security at Vaishno Devi shrine
Katra, October 3 “A multi-tier security set-up has been activated in and around Katra town and the Trikuta hills for an incident-free week-long Navaratra festival,” top police sources said. Entry and exit routes to the holy town have been sealed and all vehicles coming into the city with pilgrims would be checked through metal detectors and sniffer dogs. Katra town has already been sanitised with civil defence personnel, CRPF, BSF and armed police keeping round-the-clock guard. Special security monitoring teams headed by a DSP have been made, they said, adding that each team would be deployed on the Domail road, Katra market and Vaishno Devi shrine. Quick reaction teams, dog squads, mobile security teams and plainclothes intelligence sleuths would be part of the security rings during the festival.
— PTI
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CBI to probe multi-crore timber scam
Jammu, October 3 The crime branch of the police had seized 5000 “sub-standard” scantlings while these were being transported in a train in July this year. These were to be supplied to various defence establishments in the country and to the Railways. Taking a note of the slow speed of investigations by the crime branch, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji and Mr Justice Y.P. Nagotra had recently ordered the CBI to take over the case. The Division Bench ordered the state government to complete unloading of the scantlings from the train within 10 days. The court also directed the three-member expert committee, constituted by it, to inspect the timber and submit the report within 10 days of unloading of the timber. The court ordered that the CBI would be associated with the inspection and report of the committee shall also be handed over to the CBI.
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Experts hold talks on Baglihar
Jammu, October 3 The team, headed by the Swiss expert Raymond Lafittee, camped at the project site throughout the day and listened to the claims of the Indian and Pakistani teams. They also held discussions with the management of the project. The proceedings were held in-camera and no outsider was allowed to enter the project site. Sources said both sides stuck to their guns. While the Indian team maintained that the project was being constructed strictly within the framework of the Indus Water Treaty, the Pakistanis claimed that the treaty has been violated. |
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Two BSF jawans among 4 killed in Kashmir accidents
Srinagar, October 3 Official sources said a BSF vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Keran, resulting in on-the-spot death of two jawans. Two other jawans were also injured and were hospitalised. Boy Asif Ahmad Ganai died on the spot and two other were wounded when a vehicle hit them at Chatpore in Pulwama district last night. Later one more injured boy, Javid Ahmad Mir, died in the hospital. — UNI
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Jammu, October 3 The police intercepted a Batala (Punjab)-bound truck at Lakhanpur on J-K Highway and during search recovered 35 kg of poppy, official sources told PTI. They impounded the truck and arrested two smugglers identified as Rajinder Singh and Rattan Singh of Batala area, they said adding that a case has been registered. The truck was coming from Kashmir valley, they said.
— PTI
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