Jammu, September 1
The CBI has filed challan against seven persons, including two officials of the J&K state forest corporation, in the Rs 80-crore timber scam. The scam relates to supply of sub-standard timber to various installations of the army.

The CBI, in the challan that has been filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Jammu, has said that certain timber traders had procured scants from Himachal Pradesh to supply it to the army installations on the orders of the Director-General, Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D).

The directions of the Supreme Court banning felling of green trees were violated in the transaction by the J&K forest corporation.

Those named in the challan are Gurdeep Singh, DFO, the then timber passing officer, Ghulam Mohammad Khan, the then forester, Sheikh Farooq of M/s J.K. Wood Products, Mohammad Farooq Ganai of M/s Farooq & Co; Baldev Singh Syal of Syal Enterprises, Mushtaq Ahmed of M/s Classic timber Traders and Kuldeep Singh of M/s National Timber Traders.

The FIR was registered by the CBI last year on the orders of the state High Court following seizure of 14 crate load of timber scants that was being taken outside the state for being supplied to the army installations.

As many as 5420 timber scants were recovered by the crime branch when the train was intercepted.

The CBI has said in the challan that 122 sub-standard scants were detected by an expert committee set up under the chairmanship of Mr.P.C. Kapoor, Chief Conservator, by the High Court.

During the course of investigations, the CBI found that the volume of timber loaded in the train was 457 cubic meters against 595 cubic meters shown to have been passed by Gurdeep Singh. Thus, these officials passed and certified approximately 29 per cent more volume, the cost of the excess volume was about Rs 28 lakhs.

Of the 5420 timber scants seized by the CBI, only 537 were found having hammer markings of the J&K Forest Corporation, whereas it was mandatory that every scant should bear the hammer marking.

The challan has pointed out that M/s Lakshmi Timber Traders had procured substantial quantity of timber from the Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation which it might have supplied to the J&K Forest Corporation.

The CBI has pointed out in the challan that the Supreme Court in 1996 suspended movement of timber out of Jammu and Kashmir except for the use of the DGS&D, railways and defence. The movement of timber outside the state is also forbidden unless it is certified by the managing director of the forest corporation that the timber is of its own source.

Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed had argued in favour of the public interest litigation in the court

Jammu, September 1
Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s statement that the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani had forced him to release terrorist leader Azhar Masood from jail in 1999, has triggered a controversy with the National Conference (NC) yesterday demanding that the BJP leaders should seek an apology from the nation for having released the most dreaded terrorist.

The NC president of Jammu division, Mr Ajay Sadhotra told mediapersons that the entire world was paying the price for the blunder that was committed by the then BJP-led NDA government. Azhar had been released in exchange of the passengers of a hijacked aircraft.

He said Dr Abdullah had resisted the Centre’s move.

Mr Sadhotra alleged that the BJP was also a partner in the decision of the V.P. Singh government when some dreaded terrorists were set free in exchange of Dr Rubbiya Sayeed, daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who was the Home Minister at that time.

Reacting to the statement of the NC, Dr Nirmal Singh, state chief of the BJP, asked as to why Dr Abdullah had chosen to remain silent for all these years. “He should have broken his silence while he was supporting the NDA government”, he added.

He alleged that the NC had raked up the issue to appease the Congress and added that the NC leadership was trying to establish its secular credentials by issuing such statements to malign the BJP.

Jammu, September 1
Kashmir-based regional political parties as well as the separatists are maintaining a complete silence on the killing of Baluch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti by troops of President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan.

Not a single leader belonging to the ruling partner, PDP, the National Conference (NC) and the separatists have opened their mouth on the killing of Bugti who was demanding democratic rights for his people.

Generally these parties would raise a hue and cry on the name of human rights when even some terrorist is killed by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. However, they were maintaining silence on the issue of killing of Bugti.

These parties, especially the separatists, have been quickly reacting to any development in South Asia, but this time not a word has come so far from their camps about the killing of Bugti.

The only one to react on the issue was Mr Bhim Singh, Chairman of the Panthers Party, who has asked General Musharraf to explain that was he talking of introducing a similar “self-rule” in Jammu and Kashmir that he had imposed in Baluchistan by killing Bugti who was the most respected leader of the area.

Although other leaders were apparently afraid to come openly against the killing of Bugti to protect their political interests in the Kashmir valley, the killing of the Baluch leader has rung warning bells for them. Those preaching joint control of India and Pakistan over Kashmir might have to do a rethinking on the issue as the Bugti killing has exposed the dictatorship tendencies among the Pakistani rulers.

A Kashmiri leader, who wanted not to be quoted, pointed out that Pakistan was treating residents of the occupied Kashmir as second-grade citizens. They were not free to express their views and the national assembly of PoK had to seek prior approval of the Pakistani rulers before introducing any bill in the House. On the other hand, the state assembly in this part of Kashmir transacted its business without any interference of the Centre.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani media continues to hit at Musharraf on the issue of killing of Bugti and efforts to bury his body secretly.

The Dawn, the leading newspaper of Pakistan, in its editorial today lambasted the Speaker of the Pakistani Parliament, Chaudhary Amir Hussain, for disallowing a discussion on the killing of Bugti and adjourning the House within five minutes. Heavens would not have fallen if a discussion had taken place in the assembly on an issue which the entire nation was talking about; and on Tuesday he termed the vote against no-confidence motion a victory for the truth and democracy.

The editorial pointed out that one must take notice of Chaudhary’s performance. As Speaker, he must stay neutral and conduct parliamentary proceedings impartially.

The newspaper said while the intensity of violence may wane, the situation in Baluchistan was likely to remain unstable.

Another news item published by The Dawn said that the sleuths had piled pressure on the grieving sons of Bugti to make a hasty trek to Kohlu district, apparently to give credence to the army operation to recover the body of the slain tribal leader.

While Bugti’s sons are demanding that his body be handed over to them at Quetta for burial as they would not go to Dera Bugti where a government-sponsored jirga currently held sway.

Bugti’s sons told The Dawn that the puppet jirga had the audacity to tell them that only two members of their family could take part in his funeral.