J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Militants kill 1; Hizbul ultra killed
Srinagar, September 22
Militants killed one person and injured his mother even as an encounter was going on between ultras and security forces at Lolab, Kupwara, in the Kashmir valley. Security forces arrested a top Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Reyaz Ul Shaban at Sopore in Baramulla district. Official sources informed that a group of militants entered the house of Nighar Ahmad Sheikh at Chogulpora in Anantnag district and shot him dead. 

Shifting of murder case to CBI hailed
Jammu, September 22
The decision of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to transfer to the CBI the case of the recent murder of five persons in a house in the posh locality of Trikuta Nagar has been appreciated by the local residents. But a sense of being unsafe looms among residents of the town with a number of mafias flourishing here with the patronage of the police and other authorities. The state Cabinet last evening decided to transfer the murder case to the CBI and attach Senior Superintendent of Police (Jammu South) Sheikh Mehmood to the office of the IGP.

2 boys rescued
Jammu, September 22
The police yesterday rescued two teenaged boys who had been kidnapped by terrorists 21 days ago in Doda district for militant training in Pakistan.

Militants kill 1; Hizbul ultra killed

Protesters raise slogans in downtown Srinagar during a protest on Friday against comments by Pope Benedict on Islam. — Tribune photo by Amin War

Srinagar, September 22
Militants killed one person and injured his mother even as an encounter was going on between ultras and security forces at Lolab, Kupwara, in the Kashmir valley.

Security forces arrested a top Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militant Reyaz Ul Shaban at Sopore in Baramulla district.

Official sources informed that a group of militants entered the house of Nighar Ahmad Sheikh at Chogulpora in Anantnag district and shot him dead. His mother Raja Begum was injured in the firing.

Militants had killed his sister two years ago.

A police spokesman said a security patrol was attacked by militants at Lolab in the frontier district of Kupwara today.

Security forces also returned fire and a fierce encounter was going on when reports last came in.

BSF troops shot dead a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant during an encounter at Tarzoo, Sopore, in Baramulla district.

Jammu: The police on Friday arrested one Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) militant in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid on Bonjwah village in Kishtwar Tehsil of Doda district early today and arrested the militant Mohmmad Isreal, they said. 
— UNI, PTI

Shifting of murder case to CBI hailed
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 22
The decision of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to transfer to the CBI the case of the recent murder of five persons in a house in the posh locality of Trikuta Nagar has been appreciated by the local residents. But a sense of being unsafe looms among residents of the town with a number of mafias flourishing here with the patronage of the police and other authorities.

The state Cabinet last evening decided to transfer the murder case to the CBI and attach Senior Superintendent of Police (Jammu South) Sheikh Mehmood to the office of the IGP. The SHO of Trikuta Nagar police station has been placed under suspension.

The incident has been taken seriously by the government only because it hit headlines in the media. Otherwise, a number of cases of murder, rape and robberies go unnoticed by the authorities.

The general complaint is that the police here is insensitive to crime and action is taken only in cases when there is a political pressure or some other considerations.

It is a common knowledge that the mafias relating to liquor, land, builders, sand and building material were not only operating here, but have strong political links.

The police has already said the Trikuta Nagar murder is the outcome of some business dispute. Mr.B.R. Chopra, who along with his wife and daughter, was brutally hacked to death, was in the building trade.

Not only that, but for the past some time women, in particular, feel unsafe to come out of their houses after the sunset because unsocial elements virtually rule the streets during the night as the policemen generally sit in the police station.

The system of night patrolling by the police has almost been forgotten and the main concern of police officers of any police station is to run around ministers and VIPs.

The lanes and bylanes in the posh localities of Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar and Channi have virtually become a haven for anti-social elements.

The local people were already living under the threat of terrorism and the flourishing mafias have made their lives miserable.

2 boys rescued
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 22
The police yesterday rescued two teenaged boys who had been kidnapped by terrorists 21 days ago in Doda district for militant training in Pakistan.

According to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mr Manohar Singh, the two boys, Zakir Hussain and Farooq Ahmed, students of classes XI and XII, respectively, were picked up by terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit from Parvati village on August 30.

They were rescued from a terrorist hideout in the forest near Zihand village.