Mendhar (Poonch), May 4
Even though Islam does not prohibit inter-caste marriages among Muslims, such marriages hardly materialise in the border township of Mendhar in Poonch.

In a recent case indicating the rigidness of Muslim society in certain areas about inter-caste marriages, Guftar Ahmed, a youth belonging to a low caste (Khokhar Rajput) in Kandi village was murdered allegedly by relatives of an upper caste girl whom she wanted to marry.

The girl, Yasmeen Akhter, belonged to upper caste Manyal community among Muslim Rajputs of the same village.

Even the girl, who had reportedly been seeing the boy for the past one and half years and was in love with him, attempted suicide by consuming poison.

But she was saved due to timely medicare and is now recovering at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H), Jammu.

Although the police is yet to ascertain the identity of the real culprits, but the needle of suspicion, according to preliminary inquiry into the murder of Guftar, points at the relatives of the girl.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Mendhar, Yougul Manhas says that the two were reportedly having an affair for the past one and half years and were planning to get married.

“Our inquiry reveals that the two were having an affair which was not liked by the relatives of the girl. We have rounded up eight suspects, including some of the relatives of the girl, in the case”, he said.

“The caste difference between the lovers and their plan to marry may have been one of the causes leading to the murder of the boy”.

He further said the police was questioning the suspects and the facts of the case would come to light within the next few days.

Meanwhile, relatives and friends of the deceased too are suspecting the hand of the relatives of the girl in the murder.

“They were having an affair for more than one year now and were in fact planning to marry. Since the girl was from upper caste and the boy was from low caste, it was not liked by the relatives of the girl who murdered the boy”, claimed Sarfaraz Choudhary, a friend of the deceased.

Jammu, May 4
Women visiting beauty parlours shall now have to shell out more money as service tax has been introduced in the state on lines with the rest of the country.

So far, the service tax was not levied in the state and even public sector units of the Central government did not charge any tax on transactions made.

Because of the terrorism that has shattered the state’s economy; the Centre had so far kept it out of the purview of the service tax.

According to a senior officer of the sales tax department, about 14 services have been brought under the purview of service tax. Consumers shall have to 8.4 per cent service tax on these services, including that of telephone and mobile bills.

Besides coaching in private and professional institutions other sectors on which service tax would be levied are works on contract, photo developing and printing, lodges and hotels, private nursing homes, advertising, courier services, banquet halls, catering, cable operators, banking and insurance.

Gupta alleged that the Working Groups set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have, in their reports, tried to appease separatists, while in the Jammu region, the Kashmiri Pandits and refugees have been ignored completely.

He said the JMM was totally opposed to the implementation of “self-rule” or “autonomy” in J&K.

Jammu, May 4
The BJP today criticised the Congress-led UPA government for granting relaxation in educational norms to youth of the valley for getting job in the CRPF.

The party also accused the Centre of “insulting and humiliating the youth of Jammu and Ladakh”.

The BJP dismissed with contempt the CRPF spokesman’s assertion that the people of the valley alone had suffered due to the ongoing militancy and, thus, only Kashmiris would be given relaxation in education from matriculation to Class VIII during the recruitment drive, BJP’s state unit spokesman Hari Om said at a press conference here.

“We have asked our Central leadership to take up the matter with the union home ministry for granting relaxation in educational norms Jammu and Ladakh provinces for recruitment in the CRPF,” he added.