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Hawala racket busted, two arrested
Militants kill three members of family
Transport staff court arrest
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Asma, Azad discuss post-poll scenario in Pak
Azad’s b’day a low-key affair
Asma in Srinagar, to meet people from all walks
BJP unit refuses to meet Asma
A catchy slogan but no takers
Army keeps its fingers crossed over pay panel report
CM inspects work on Sitlee plant
Detention of petitioner unwarranted: HC
Peace prevails in border villages
Ailing hospital gets new lease of life
Nothing clear about new
Pak govt: Azad
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Hawala racket busted, two arrested
Rajouri, March 7 Police sources said on specific information about the transaction of the hawala money, the special police team headed by DSP (operations) Farooq Qaisar conducted series of raids in Kandi area and arrested Zulfikar of Karag, a Rehber Taleem teacher and brother of a slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant Abdul Qayoom, who died in July last year, and Muhammad Qadir of Larkuti, from Karamat Hussain’s shop, son of Muneer Hussain of Khadyoon in Kandi, while they were purchasing shoes and other food items for militants operating in the area. “The police team also recovered Rs 1.5 lakh of hawala money from the possession of the arrested persons. The money was to be handed over to LeT commander Saqib (operating in Kandi and Buddal areas)”, sources said. Reliable sources in the Police Department disclosed that following the arrest of the duo, the police team shifted them to the district headquarters where the accused were being interrogated. The duo had reportedly made several disclosures during their interrogation and had named some more persons supplying money to the militants through the hawala channel, sources added. The sources said the police arrested Karamat Hussain for reportedly supplying shoes and other eatables to the arrested persons to be supplied to the LeT militants. The police had also taken into custody the driver of a revenue officer posted in Buddal for questioning, they added. Confirming the arrests of two persons for their alleged involvement in the hawala network, a police officer among the interrogators told The Tribune that the arrested persons were being interrogated and at this time and it was not proper to divulge much detail as we were awaiting some vital clues from them for unearthing a major hawala racket.” “We have also recovered some SIM cards from the arrested persons and are in the process of verifying their contacts with other persons involved in the hawala network”, he added. A senior police officer said the militants operating in the Kandi and Buddal areas were running short of money and arms for carrying subversive operations. |
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Militants kill three members of family
Udhampur, March 7 Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Udhampur-Reasi range, Alok Puri, quoting initially reports, told The Tribune that three members of the family of a VDC member had been killed and some others received injuries in a militant attack in the Arnas area of Reasi district. Reports reaching here said at 8.45 this evening a group of militants knocked at the door of the house of Mushtaq Ahmed, at Sunni village, 40 km away from Arnas tehsil. Sensing some trouble, family members did not open the door despite repeated attempts by the militants. Following their failure to barge into the house, militants reportedly lobbed grenades into the premises which exploded, resulted in the killing of three members of the family. Reports said Mushtaq Ahmed’s father, Habibullah, and two of his kids were killed in the explosion while four members of his family received severe injuries in the
incident. Although other members of the VDC rushed to the spot, the militants reportedly manage to escape from the spot taking advantage of the darkness. |
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Transport staff court arrest
Jammu, March 7 Despite an ultimatum served by the state government and imposition of the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance (ESMO), 2001, the striking employees didn’t return to work. A big swarm of employees today gathered outside the Press Club here and shouted slogans against the government. Some of them also tried to block the Tawi Bridge. However, acting swiftly a strong posse of the police force reached the spot, where 387 striking employees courted their arrests. They were taken in police buses to district police lines. However, they were released in the evening. Shouting slogans against the government, the employees demanded immediate revamp of the loss making SRTC. Besides other things, the striking employees are demanding timely release of their pending salaries and instalments of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). “We are not going to give in,” said one of the employees, adding that “We are fighting a legitimate struggle.” All J&K SRTC Workers Union chairman Shakeel Ahmad said the employees would not succumb to pressure tactics of the government. “We would intensify our agitation if government didn’t concede our demands immediately,” he added. Meanwhile, senior National Conference leader and former finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather has strongly condemned use of brutal force against striking employees. “It is a matter of shame for the government that dependents of these employees are on roads to seek justice,” he added.
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Asma, Azad discuss post-poll scenario in Pak
Jammu, March 7 Jahangir, visiting the state as UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Faith, had a breakfast meeting with the Chief Minister during which they discussed the post-election scenario in Pakistan and the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister welcomed the positive change in the thinking of Pakistani leadership and said it would go a long way in further improving the relationship between the two south-Asian neighbours. He hoped that the dialogue process between India and Pakistan, slowed down due to the internal situation there, would be taken further. He said lot of things had been lined up for confidence-building and improving the bilateral relations, including a visit by Prime Minister to Pakistan. The process, he said, suffered a hiatus due to the developments within Pakistan. Azad welcomed the holding of elections in Pakistan and said it paved the way for return of democracy there. He said he was hopeful that the new government would carry forward the peace process initiated by India and Pakistan about four years back. He said he was looking forward to harmonious and ever increasing good relations between the two countries. Jahangir stressed the need for carrying forward the peace process and confidence-building measures, saying it was in the best interests of the people of the sub-continent. |
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Azad’s b’day a low-key affair
Jammu, March 7 It was a usual day for Azad who kept himself engaged with the affairs of the state right from the morning and spent hours in inspecting several development projects in the winter capital city, an official spokesman said. However, this did not prevent his well-wishers and supporters from visiting or calling him. Foremost among them was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who made the first ‘Happy birthday call’ in the morning. Prominent among those who called on the Chief Minister to greet him at his official residence here was Governor S. K. Sinha who arrived at the Wazarat Road residence of the Chief Minister at 10 am. Ministers, legislators and senior officials also greeted Azad on the occasion.
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Asma in Srinagar, to meet people from all walks
Srinagar, March 7 Soon after here arrival here Asma said her visit to the state was part of the nationwide tour since March 3 last to have a feel of the religious freedom and beliefs in the country. As part of this UN mission, Asma Jahangir has also visited various other countries outside India. She has already visited India twice during the past two years and during her current visit had already toured Delhi and Amritsar. The current visit was not aimed at having a feel of the human rights issues prevailing in the state, she made it clear. She said India was a vast country of different religions and beliefs as she had exchanged views with people representing a cross-section of the society on the communal harmony in the country as well as in the state. The human rights champion said that participation in voting was a human right and any kind of pressure or force to participate or not was a violation of the human rights. She said India was the world’s largest democracy with strong roots of democracy, and added that a country where democracy was strong has equally a greater religious freedom available to its people. Referring to the recently held elections in Pakistan, Asma Jahangir said it was a great success of the people of that country and expressed optimism over the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. |
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BJP unit refuses to meet Asma
Jammu, March 7 Confirming this, chief of the state unit of the BJP Ashok Khajuria said here today we did not meet Asma because we had been instructed by our party high command to turn down any request for a meeting if made from the human rights activists from Pakistan. Asma who met several political leaders and intellectuals here yesterday had also sought an appointment with BJP leaders but “We refused to meet her.” Panthers Party and PDP leaders expressed surprise over the attitude of the BJP. Senior Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh said the BJP led NDA government had initiated peace process with Pakistan and laid the foundation for people to people contact and as such it was surprising that the state unit of the BJP did not accept Asma’s request for a meeting. A senior PDP leader, Ghulam Hassan Mir, also supported Harsh Dev’s views and said “There was no harm if the BJP leaders had met her.” He said at least the BJP leaders could have conveyed to her their viewpoints on the political, security scenario and human rights record in the state. The two leaders said Asma had assisted a 14-member team of relations of prisoners of war that had visited Pakistan in June last in search of their kin and her role does not smack of anti-India policy.
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A catchy slogan but no takers
Jammu, March 7 In the past 10 years a small number of 351 people registered themselves with the eye bank at GMC, Jammu, expressing their wish to donate eyes. The ophthalmologist admitted that GMC doesn’t have the facilities to preserve donated corneas saying, “In absence of it transplantation has to be performed within four to six hours after the death of a donor.” “But had the facility been available then donated corneas could have been stored for even a week,” he added. Responding to a query, he said, “Till 1997 corneal transplantations had been taking place but ever since the human organ transplant act, no transplantation has been performed in the past 10 years.” Official sources said, “Stringent restrictions in the act like diagnosing a donor for various diseases, including HIV infection, have discouraged people to come forward for the noble cause. The Act says a donor after his death has to be diagnosed for various ailments like HIV infection, hepatitis and other illnesses, for which eye department at the GMC, Jammu, doesn’t possess independent infrastructure. Further, all these tests should be conducted within four to five hours after the death of a donor. “Compared to other organ transplantations corneal transplantation is simple but legal hassles have made things difficult for ophthalmologists,” added sources. However, with sustained campaigning under the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) people have started coming forward for the noble cause. The country today has 166 eye banks but ultra-modern facilities required for cornea transplantation and its preservation exist in just two to three states only. As per a recent survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO) the world today has 37 million blind people, of which India has 12 million. As per national statistics, only 20,000 eyes are donated annually whereas requirement is five times more at about one lakh.
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Army keeps its fingers crossed over pay panel report
Jammu, March 7 Already troubled by the shortage of officers in the defence services, the Army received another setback last year when 1,130 serving Army officers submitted their papers to the ministry of defence, expressing their desire to quit the services. According to defence sources, thousands of such officials, who are not satisfied with their service conditions (pay and perks), are waiting for the report before they could submit their papers to quit the services. “The Army is no longer a viable career option for the young talented people as they have lot many other economically attractive career options to choose from”, said an Army officer requesting anonymity. The Army given its unique and harsh service conditions is annoyed over the fact that no representative from its side was included during
the formation of the panel of pay commission. Top Army authorities are worried over the fact that once considered as the most viable career option for the talented youth has now lost its charm and the service is plagued
with the shortage of 11,153 officers and many are in the process of leaving the service. According to available figures of the last five years, 3,179 serving officers of various ranks had submitted their papers expressing their desire to quit the service. “While tough working conditions added with less remuneration is the major factor for making the Army an unattractive career option for the talented youth. The stagnation amongst the officers because of no-promotion to higher levels is the major reason for serving officers to quit the service”, said the Army officer. In order to remove the stagnation amongst the serving Army officers, Ajay Vikram Singh committee was formed, while the first phase of the committee report has been implemented by the government, but the second phase of the report has not been implemented so far. Ajay Vikram Singh in the second phase of his report had made the following recommendations; numbers of serving Lt. Generals in the Army should be raised to 88 from existing 68, 291 Major Generals from existing 216, 1191 Brigadiers from existing 971 and an addition of 735 more Colonels to the existing 4,186. Though the government has so far not implemented the recommendations, however, defence minister A.K. Antony in his reply in Parliament had recently accepted various reasons responsible for the shortage of the officers in the Army. Speaking to The Tribune, Jammu-based PRO of the ministry of defence, S.D. Goswami said “An equitable financial compensation package for the service personnel would
help greatly in the endeavour to improve the quality and quantity of intake as well as retention of the serving personnel.” |
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CM inspects work on Sitlee plant
Jammu, March 7 It may be recalled that the Jammu west constituency having a population of around six lakh people faced a water crisis after one of the two intake pump houses was washed away in flashfloods in September 2006. The third unit of the filtration plant would be completed by June this year as per schedule and it would add another 70 lakh gallons of water per day that would augment the supply to Jammu city so as to overcome scarcity of water in the winter capital. Talking to the mediapersons, Azad said Jammu city was faced with an acute shortage of drinking water due to increased load, following migration of a large number of people from Kashmir and other parts of the state to Jammu due to militancy. “The situation further worsened after unit two of the plant was washed away by floods in September 2006,” he said, adding, “However, it was reconstructed and inaugurated last month restoring pre-September 2006 water supply to the city.” Having a capacity of 70 lakh gallons per day, the second intake pump house was constructed at a cost of Rs 6.54 crore. He said, “Once completed, the third unit would bring the situation to the pre-1990 position.” Azad said instructions had been issued for installing three more units at Sitlee within the next two to three years for further augmenting the water supply. He added that a project had been formulated for this purpose. He said keeping in view the increasing population of the city and peripheral areas, a comprehensive water supply was required to be formulated and implemented by taking short, medium and long-term measures. He, however, asserted that efforts were on to provide 24-hour water supply to the people in Jammu city. |
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Detention of petitioner unwarranted: HC
Jammu, March 7 The high court holding petitioner’s detention to be unjustified held that “power exercised by the District Magistrate under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978, is thus unwarranted because the petitioner’s release in FIR No. 46/2007 and his being on bail in FIR No. 44/2007 had not been taken into consideration. The District Magistrate proceeded to issue a detention order treating him to be in police custody and without knowing his activities as a free man after his release by court on bail and by the police which had not found any incriminating evidence against him.” While allowing the Habeas Corpus petition, the high court further held that, “The respondents have thus failed to justify curtailment of the petitioner’s liberty and his preventive detention on the grounds it had been ordered by the District Magistrate. The detention order being arbitrary and suffering from non-application of mind is, therefore, liable to be quashed.” Naveen Dutt, advocate appearing for the petitioner submitted that after being released from police custody in FIR No. 44/2007 u/s 20 ULA, 10/11 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1983, 120-B RPC registered with the Banihal police station, the petitioner, while enjoying his liberty was detained under Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978, treating him to be in police custody, which according to petitioner was a clear case of non-application of mind by the District Magistrate. B.S. Slathia, AAG on other hand, admitted that the petitioner had been released from judicial custody on 11.7.2007 on receipt of bail order but was re-arrested in FIR No. 46/2007 under Sections 4/5 Explosive Substance Act. As nothing incriminating was established by the investigating agency, so he was released on furnishing a personal bond. |
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Peace prevails in border villages
Manihari (Kathua-Hiranagar sector), March 7 People don’t want to relive the horrifying days when Pakistani bullets unleashed a reign of terror. When hostilities between India and Pakistan reigned supreme in the wake of the Parliament attack in 2001, a BSF jawan H.B. Gaur, at the Manihari border outpost (BOP) was killed by a mortar fire on May 23, 2002. A memoriam in honour of the jawan, who died while guarding the border, now stands at the BOP. Several similar incidents of unprovoked firing from Pakistani soldiers had been a routine affair on the 198-km-long international border, 778-km Line of Control (LoC) and the 150-km stretch of the Actual Ground Position Line in the highest battlefield of the world, the Siachen glacier. “The truce between the two countries has definitely brought succour not only to villagers but to our personnel as well,” said a senior BSF officer, adding, “However, it doesn’t mean that the BSF has lowered its guard. Villagers, including womenfolk now attend their daily chores and agricultural activities without any fear-psychosis,” he said. Before ceasefire was put in place by both the countries, a constant fear of being hit by Pakistan bullets lurked over villagers, he added. “However, things certainly improved since the truce accord between the two countries. A sense of security has found its way into the minds of villagers,” said the BSF officer. Bua Ditta (70) of Mhal village said, “Now farmers go to their fields without any inhibitions of getting hit by bullets or mortar shells. Earlier we never knew what would happen to our young men who went to fields for cultivating crops,” he said. |
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Ailing hospital gets new lease of life
Jammu, March 7 Conceived under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) by the erstwhile NDA regime in 2004, the Centre had decided to construct 13 institutes based on the lines of AIIMS. Unlike other states, Jammu and Kashmir has the privilege of having two such institutes. On April 16, 2007, the Union ministry for health and family welfare had given a green signal for the upgradation of three medical colleges in Lucknow, Kolkatta and Jammu. Talking to The Tribune, secretary, health and medical education, K.B. Jandial said, “The actual construction work has started and the project would be completed within 18 months.” The Union government has to contribute Rs 100 crore, while the state has to cough up its share of Rs 20 crore “The state’s share of Rs 20 crore is being managed, out of which Rs 8 crore is being spent on the acquisition of different machinery. However, out of Rs 20 crore of the state component, Rs 8 crore in total will be spent on the procurement of equipments and machinery,”
he added. He said, “Though the Union government has appointed the Hospital Supplies and Construction Corporation as the nodal agency for the project and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is constructing the multi-storeyed structure, the state part would be executed by the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC).” The Rs 120-crore project is coming up at the Resham Ghar Colony situated near the existing structure of the GMC, Jammu. Once completed, the winter capital would have a total of 15 super-specialities, six in the multi-storeyed structure near Resham Ghar which would include urology, neurology, neuro-surgery, nephrology, cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery and remaining nine of gastro-enterology, surgical gastro-enterology, medical oncology, surgical oncology, endocrinology and metabolic diseases, clinical hematology, pulmonary medicine, plastic surgery and paediatric surgery in existing block of the GMC, Jammu,” he said. Under the project, the state has already raised an ultra-modern emergency block at the GMC premises, while a 200-bedded super-speciality paediatric block is fast coming up at the SMGS hospital. |
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Nothing clear about new
Pak govt: Azad
Jammu, March 7 Replying to aquestion during an interaction with a group of journalists from Karnataka, whether he was
optimistic about new government's approach there, he said, "it is too early
to say". He said it all depended on how independent the new Prime Minister there worked from the army, the ISI and the President. He, however, said that he was hopeful of the two countries carrying forward the peace process. |
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Udhampur, March 7
Jammu, March 7
