J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Roundtable conference: Parties come out of hibernation
Jammu, April 29
The third roundtable conference has triggered political activity and a series of public meetings by mainstream parties and separatists giving an impression that snap polls might be held for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

Rape victim’s family to move HC
Udhampur, April 29
Even as doctors were medically examining alleged rape victim Ujala Devi, family members who have lost faith in the police as well as the civil administration have decided to approach the High Court for seeking justice.

Summer working hours from May 1
Jammu, April 29
Offices of the state government and educational institutions in this division will observe summer working hours from May 1.

Bad roads lead to mishaps in Rajouri
Rajouri, April 29
Not only bad roads, but inadequate number of commercial vehicles, shortage of traffic policemen and outdated vehicles have also claimed a large number of precious lives in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

Kashmiri women cry at the shrine of Shiekh Abdul Qadir Jeelani, a Sufi saint, on his death anniversary in Srinagar on Sunday. — Reuters

Five LeT militants killed
Srinagar, April 29
Five militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir today, where ultras shot dead a civilian in Kulgam while a highly decomposed body was fished out from the Jhelum here, the police said.

2 kids among 4 killed in accidents
Jammu, April 29
Four persons, including two children, were killed and eight others injured in two road accidents that took place here today. Two of them died on the spot and seven others were injured when a Tata Sumo in which they were travelling rolled down into a khud at Kassar Marh on way to the Patnitop.

• JCO killed in accidental fire

Roundtable conference: Parties come out of hibernation
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 29
The third roundtable conference (RTC) has triggered political activity and a series of public meetings by mainstream parties and separatists giving an impression that snap polls might be held for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

The Kashmir valley has become a battlefield where not only the coalition partners, the Congress and the PDP, were holding separate public meetings almost every day, but Opposition parties have also started flexing their muscles.

With a term of six years, the elections for the Assembly here are due in November next year, but feverish political activity points towards early polls. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently asked Congress activists to be prepared for early elections.

The recent statement of Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf that solution to the Kashmir problem might come earlier than expected has also caused speculations and expectations in the valley.

Hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s public meeting in the heart of the Srinagar city where anti-India slogans were raised on Monday last has generated heat in the state as well as in Parliament. In a belated action, a couple of Geelani’s lieutenants have been taken in custody.

Geelani and PDP leader Mufti Mohammed Sayeed were targets of the National Conference (NC) leaders, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, in their public meeting at Srinagar yesterday. The father and son accused the Mufti of representing the voice of militants. They challenged Geelani to test his strength by contesting the Assembly elections.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, has added yet another dimension to the controversy by suggesting to New Delhi to provide a safe passage for the return of terrorists to Pakistan.

Qayyum Khan, who was in New Delhi to participate in the “heart-to-heart” talks on Kashmir organised by Bhim Singh of the Panthers Party, also gave a clean-chit to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit by describing it as a non-terrorist organisation.

Chief Minister Azad was prompt in rejecting the demand when he announced at Reasi yesterday that there was no question of amnesty to ultras.

Interestingly, while the former terrorists, who have now joined the mainstream here, were stressing that the Centre and the state governments should not bow before the separatists,leaders of various political parties were demanding that New Delhi should initiate dialogue with not only the separatists but also the Pakistan-based top terrorist leader Syed Salahudin.

The Mufti and transport minister Hakeem Yaseen have been making the demand. They are learnt to have touched the issue also during the RTC in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

However, Salahudin’s former deputy Usman Majeed ridicules the demand by pointing out the situation might go out of control once the Centre showed its weakness before the separatists and ultras. Majeed warned that Musharraf’s road map would lead towards the separation of Kashmir from India.

On the other hand, Hashim Qureshi, who hijacked an IAC aircraft to Pakistan leading to the war of 1971, is now critical of Pakistan and was opposed to any dialogue with ultras.

BJP leader Hari Om, who has returned after participating in the RTC, says abrogation of the Article 370 providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir was the only solution to the Kashmir problem.

Rape victim’s family to move HC
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, April 29
Even as doctors were medically examining alleged rape victim Ujala Devi, family members who have lost faith in the police as well as the civil administration have decided to approach the High Court for seeking justice.

“We will approach the High Court to get a fresh FIR registered in this gruesome case”, Ramesh Kumar, brother-in-law of victim Ujala Devi told TNS and added that they would seek directions of the court for fresh medical check of the victim. Furthermore, the family demanded that murder case be registered against the guilty cops.

Family members alleged that medical examination was conducted at Doda just to hush up the case. “We want that medical check up should be done at Government Medical College, Jammu, instead of Doda Hospital”, he added.

Charging the police with trying to shield rape accused SI Irafan Wani, father of victim pointed out that a case under Section 376 of the RPC was registered against Wani on April 25, 2007, but efforts were not made to arrest him. “He was staying in Jammu after Rishi Kumar succumbed to his injuries in the hospital”, he said and added it was only after pressure of a few parties, the accused police officer was arrested on Saturday night.

Summer working hours from May 1

Jammu, April 29
Offices of the state government and educational institutions in this division will observe summer working hours from May 1. According to a notification issued by the divisional commissioner, Jammu, summer working hours will be from 8 am to 2 pm in districts of Jammu, Udhampur, Rajouri, Samba, Reasi, Kathua (except Bani tehsil). In Bani tehsil,the summer timings will be from 10 am to 4 pm.

In Poonch, Doda and Ramban districts, the summer working hours for government offices will be from 10 am to 4 pm whereas for educational institutions it will be from 8 am to 2 pm. — TNS

Bad roads lead to mishaps in Rajouri
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Rajouri, April 29
Not only bad roads, but inadequate number of commercial vehicles, shortage of traffic policemen and outdated vehicles have also claimed a large number of precious lives in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

In fact, these districts are known for deadly accidents. On February 2, 19 passengers were killed and dozens others wounded in a bus accident at Nowshehra in Rajouri. The authorities cited technical fault as the reason behind it. Just 12 days ago, 16 persons lost their lives in a road accident at Sawajian near Poonch, while an overloaded minibus skidded off the road and fell into a gorge.

Imran Dar of Rajouri and Shamim Ahmed Lone of Poonch attribute the surge in accidents to outdated vehicles (plying on the roads even though the High Court ruled that vehicles more than 25 years old should not be allowed on roads), shortage of commercial transport and inability of the policemen to manage the traffic. Such vehicles are plying with the blessings of a few transport officers and a powerful mafia.

Sources revealed that the government had miserably failed to take preventive measures to check road accidents. Though the state government has authorised police stations concerned to check overloading and over-speeding by drivers, policemen have entered into a nexus with vehicle operators wherein they sidetrack the guidelines set for private vehicle operators.

Five LeT militants killed

Srinagar, April 29
Five militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir today, where ultras shot dead a civilian in Kulgam while a highly decomposed body was fished out from the Jhelum here, the police said.

Four hardcore LeT militants were killed in a fierce gunbattle lasting several hours at Maganwari forest in Kandi belt of Kupwara district this afternoon, SSP, Kupwara, Vijay Kumar said.

Kumar, who was leading the operation along with senior officers of 47 Rashtriya Rifles, said a joint search was launched in the area following specific information about presence of militants this morning. The militants were asked to surrender, but they opened fire and in the ensuing gunbattle got killed.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the slain ultras, whose identity was being ascertained. However, the documents recovered from them revealed their affiliation with let outfit, Kumar added.

In another encounter, a police spokesman said security forces shot dead a top LeT militant identified as Abu Hamza alias Shamsher during search operations in Tulwani area of Bhudal tehsil of Rajouri district today.

An AK assault rifle, four magazines, 23 rounds and three grenades were recovered from the killed militant whose another associate, however, escaped the security dragnet, he said.

The spokesman said militants shot dead one Wahid Ahmad Sheikh, a driver by profession, at Chowgal village in the Damhal Hanjipora area of Kulgam district in the wee hours today.

A highly decomposed body of an unidentified person was fished out from river Jhelum at Safakadal in downtown Srinagar today, the spokesman said. — PTI

2 kids among 4 killed in accidents
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 29
Four persons, including two children, were killed and eight others injured in two road accidents that took place here today. Two of them died on the spot and seven others were injured when a Tata Sumo in which they were travelling rolled down into a khud at Kassar Marh on way to the Patnitop. The deceased have not been identified so far.

In another accident, two children were killed and a woman sustained injuries when a bus on its way from Jammu to Poonch met with an accident at the Chaura Chowk near Chowkichora, ahead of Akhnoor.

Among the dead were 5-year-old boy Sadaf and 15-year-old, Mohd Sajid.

JCO killed in accidental fire

Jammu, April 29
A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was killed in an accidental fire in Rajouri district today. An Army jawan was cleaning his service pistol when a bullet accidentally went off and pierced through the head of Subedar D.K. Katoch in an Army camp in Kalakote tehsil. — PTI