J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

No need to reject Pervez formula: Sinha
Srinagar, May 3
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen S.K. Sinha (rtd.) while asserting that there was a global yearning for peace today favoured discussions on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula to resolve the Kashmir issue and added that there was no need to reject it out rightly.

Expedite troop reduction in J&K: Mufti
Srinagar, May 3
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has urged the Centre to expedite his party’s demand for the reduction of troops and revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act as it had now become unavoidable.

ITIs to be upgraded: Fernandes
Jammu, May 3
Union minister Oscar Fernandes said today that 100 ITIs in the country would be upgraded as centres of excellence every year to promote vocational education. He was addressing the national working committee meeting of the Indian National Trade Union Congress here.

Girl accused of poisoning youth
Jammu, May 3
The death of a Jammu youth in Pune took a fresh turn today with the doctors confirming that Ashish had died due to poisoning. The parents of Ashish, who was studying in an engineering college in Pune, allege that their son’s girlfriend poisoned him.

A child member of Village Defence Committee trains at Sabgain village near Poonch on Thursday. — PTI

Suicide bid by girl after beau found dead
Rajouri, May 3
A girl of Poonch attempted suicide after her lover Guftar Ahmed was found dead by the police in a forest at Kota in Mendhar of Poonch district, yesterday morning. It is said the girl after consuming a poisonous substance was rushed to the local hospital where her condition is stable.

HC judge, wife hurt in mishap
Udhampur, May 3
Justice R.Gururajan of the Karnataka High Court and his wife, Vijay Lakshmi, were injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling skidded off the road and rolled down into a nullah near Katra-the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The accident took place at Kadmal, 35 km away from Udhampur, today.

Medical staff protest cops’ misbehaviour
Udhampur, May 3
Medical employees of Chenani tehsil organised a massive demonstration in protest against highhandedness of the local police. Agitating employees gheraoed the police station for quite some and did not allow any one to enter or go outside it. Senior police officers rushed to the spot and saved the situation from worsening further.

No need to reject Pervez formula: Sinha
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 3
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen S.K. Sinha (rtd.) while asserting that there was a global yearning for peace today favoured discussions on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s four-point formula to resolve the Kashmir issue and added that there was no need to reject it out rightly.

He said India and Pakistan engaged in the composite dialogue had distinctively adopted ‘flexibility’ in their approach but lamented that Kashmir separatists did not join the dialogue within.

In his inaugural address at a seminar the Governor said people of India and Pakistan were yearning for peace and increased people-to-people contact had shown positive results.

"There is no need for us to reject the four-point formula… We must discuss these. But, this does not mean that we accept them”, Governor S.K. Sinha said. Welcoming President Musharraf’s proposal on making the LoC irrelevant, the Governor said “We would like to see the LoC turning into line of peace and prosperity with free movement of people” on European pattern. But, that was possible only when the infiltration and cross border terrorism stops, he cautioned.

Referring to the self-rule, the Governor said it was synonymous with democracy and added that the degree of self-rule available to Jammu and Kashmir was more than any other state of the country. There was, however, scope for further improvement particularly in the devolution of power at the grass-root level, he added.

On demilitarisation issue, the Governor said it was not practical since Jammu and Kashmir like other states, Punjab and Rajasthan, was a border state, even if peace was restored. “Troops on duty to combat terrorism can be withdrawn only when the situation permits”, Lt Gen Sinha commented.

The two-day seminar on ‘Consolidating Peace and Sustaining the Improved Security Scenario in J&K’ began at SKICC here today. The seminar, third of its kind during the past two years, has been organised by the state police in collaboration with the institute of peace and conflict studies, New Delhi. Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was among others who attended the inaugural session. DG Gopal Sharma, IPCS director Maj Gen Dipankar Banerjee (retd.), Salman Haider and Lalit Mansingh were present on the occasion.

Expedite troop reduction in J&K: Mufti
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 3
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has urged the Centre to expedite his party’s demand for the reduction of troops and revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as it had now become unavoidable.

Addressing party workers here today the PDP patron said “human security and dignity” should now take the centre-stage and emphasised that the dependence on security forces and such laws had to be phased out by strengthening the civil society institutions in the state. “Even one of the working groups, constituted by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has strongly recommended the revocation of AFSPA and dealing with the situation through the normal laws of the land”, Mufti commented. Mufti said the only way to ensure sustainable peace in the state would be through greater trust reposed in the people by strengthening civil society and democratic institutions.

The PDP patron expressed surprise over the contradictory statements emanating from various quarters over the state’s prevailing security scenario. He added that while the UPA leadership was trying to rightly project the real picture of sharply declining violence level, some politicians had tried to paint a gloomy picture only to score political points. “Such paradoxical proclamations, ironically, would only complicate the problems being faced by the state and its people”, he said. Mufti expressed the hope that good sense would prevail on these politicians and spotting the lucid writing on the wall, they would, instead of creating a fear psychosis through hawkish rhetoric, channelise the people’s yearning for peace and reconciliation in a positive direction.

ITIs to be upgraded: Fernandes

Jammu, May 3
Union minister Oscar Fernandes said today that 100 ITIs in the country would be upgraded as centres of excellence every year to promote vocational education. He was addressing the national working committee meeting of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) here.

INTUC president and MP G. Sanjeeva Reddy, Jammu and Kashmir minister for health and medical education Mangat Ram Sharma, minister for rural development Jugal Kishore, minister for roads and buildings Gulchain Singh Charak, state INTUC chairman Shiv Kumar Sharma were among those present on the occasion. — TNS

Girl accused of poisoning youth
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3
The death of a Jammu youth in Pune took a fresh turn today with the doctors confirming that Ashish had died due to poisoning. The parents of Ashish, who was studying in an engineering college in Pune, allege that their son’s girlfriend poisoned him.

The deceased’s parents, Ashwani Kumar and Kiran, residents of Trikuta Nagar, would leave for Pune tomorrow as they have been asked by the police there to be present during further investigations in the case.

“We will lodge an FIR at Pune as the police have told us that they have found substantial evidence indicating food poisoning to be the cause of our son’s death,” Ashwani Kumar said.

“My son and a local girl had been very good friends and the friendship had developed into a love affair,” the bereaved father said, adding that the girl had met Ashish in Pune on the day he was hospitalised.

The girl was working in Gurgaon and her parents knew about the affair, Kumar said. “Though the girl’s parents were willing for the marriage, the relations between the two had soured during the last six months,” Ashish’s father said.

Last week, Ashish had passed away under mysterious circumstances at a Pune hospital and the doctors had later declared that he had died of poisoning.

Suicide bid by girl after beau found dead

Rajouri, May 3
A girl of Poonch attempted suicide after her lover Guftar Ahmed was found dead by the police in a forest at Kota in Mendhar of Poonch district, yesterday morning. It is said the girl after consuming a poisonous substance was rushed to the local hospital where her condition is stable.

Sources said that the deceased youth was picked up by some unidentified persons on Tuesday night and was murdered. They said the duo were having an affair which was not liked by the relatives of the girl. — TNS

HC judge, wife hurt in mishap
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, May 3
Justice R.Gururajan of the Karnataka High Court and his wife, Vijay Lakshmi, were injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling skidded off the road and rolled down into a nullah near Katra-the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The accident took place at Kadmal, 35 km away from Udhampur, today.

The driver, Ishar Dass, and bodyguard, Suleman, provided by the Jammu and Kashmir government, were also injured in the accident.

Justice R. Gururajan and his wife were on way to Katra from Jammu to pay obeisance at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

The accident took place at 10 am when the driver of an Ambassador car (4108-JK02P) lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a sharp curve and it rolled down into the nullah injuring the four persons sitting in the car.

The locals along with the Katra police immediately evacuated the injured on the roadside before shifting them to government medical college (GMC), Jammu.

GMC doctors said there were signs of multiple injuries on Justice R. Gururajan’s left leg and other parts of the body but other injured were responding to the treatment and were stable.

Medical staff protest cops’ misbehaviour
Tribune News Service

Udhampur, May 3
Medical employees of Chenani tehsil organised a massive demonstration in protest against highhandedness of the local police. Agitating employees gheraoed the police station for quite some and did not allow any one to enter or go outside it. Senior police officers rushed to the spot and saved the situation from worsening further.

Reports reaching here stated that a few cops severely thrashed a driver of a medical department, who was returning from Chapaira, where the rural development department organised a mela. During routine checking a few cops misbehaved with medical employees. When one of the employ objected to this, he was severely thrashed by the cops. A large number of medical employees gathered at the local hospital and trooped toward the Chenani police station today.

The agitating people lifted the dharna only after senior police officers assured to take action against erring cops.