Jammu, July 24
Violent clashes broke out between protesters and the police at Bishnah in the wee hours today as the latter reportedly tried to forcibly cremate the body of Kuldeep Dogra, who allegedly committed suicide over the Amarnath land row yesterday.

The district administration had to impose curfew in the morning after the situation became tense around 2.30 am when the police took away Kuldeep’s body from the city's Parade area to Bishnah.

Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti convener L.K. Sharma alleged that a police team led by SDPO (West) M.L. Kaith reached the Parade area at around 2 am and started thrashing Kuldeep’s family members and the activists of the samiti.

“Over 30 persons, including women and two photojournalists, suffered injuries in the police action. The police also picked up Kuldeep’s brother and a number of our activists,” he charged.

Sharma alleged that the police then forcibly took away his body to Bishnah for cremation. He alleged that the police attempted to cremate his body in Bishnah, but the residents spotted them in time.

“They pelted stones at the policemen, forcing them to run away,” he said. They also set afire the vehicle in which the cops allegedly shifted his body to Bishnah.

Later, the residents brought the body to Mahajan Hall in the town, following which violent protests broke out in Bishnah.

The protesters defied curfew and pelted stones at the police station, injuring 12 policemen in the process. The police fired teargas shells to disperse the angry mob. The agitators were adamant that they would not cremate the body until any government representative holds talks with them.

However, keeping in view the sentiments of the deceased's family members, they cremated the body at 1.30 pm. Around 4,000 people from Bishnah, Samba, Vijaypur, RS Pura and Jammu attended his funeral.

At around 3 pm, the protesters again pelted stones at the police at Parade area, following which the police resorted to mild lathicharge.

Meanwhile, IG K. Rajindera has denied the allegations regarding the police using force while shifting the body and attempting to forcibly cremate it.

Deputy commissioner Mandeep K. Bhandari said a special investigating team (SIT) would be set up to look into the entire episode, including the alleged police action in which two photojournalists were also injured. He said a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh has been provided to the next of the kin of the deceased.

The curfew was relaxed in the city from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Meanwhile, Major-Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal (retd), president, J&K Ex-Services League, has also condoled Dogra’s death.

Udhampur, July 24
The ongoing agitation on the Amarnath land row has again sparked off protests after an activist of the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samittee (SASS) committed suicide in Jammu yesterday.

Udhampur district observed a complete shutdown in response to the bandh call given by the SASS on the second consecutive day today, while its adjoining localities witnessed massive demonstrations against the “inflammatory” and “provocative” statements of National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah in the Lok Sabha on July 22.

Effigies of Omar were brunt down at several places throughout the region and people took out processions even in far-flung areas. At several places, people vowed to teach a lesson to political parties who were opposing restoration of land to the SASS in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

In response to the bandh call given by SASS, all schools, business establishments and shops remained closed in Udhampur. Since morning bandh supporters roamed on the streets shouting slogans against the NC, the Congress and the PDP leaders, for opposing restoration of land to the SASS. The procession started from the Dabbar Chowk and passed through different areas.

Addressing the gathering, leaders of the SASS regretted that instead of respecting the emotions of minorities, Omar had appeased the fundamentalists and communal forces of the Kashmir valley. The SASS leaders suggested that Jammu-based NC leaders should resign from the party for the dignity and honour of Jammu.

The speakers also paid tributes to Kuldeep Kumar Dogra who committed suicide yesterday.

Jammu, July 24
A spirited speech by National Conference (NC) supremo Omar Abdullah during the UPA's trust vote that he made a mistake by remaining a minister in the previous NDA regime after Gujarat riots has evoked mixed reactions in the state. While some see it as merely a "delayed realisation", others dub it as an attempt to build bridges with the Congress to keep alive the possibility of an alliance in case of a fractured mandate in the forthcoming Assembly polls here.

Prof Noor Ahmad Baba, dean of social sciences at Kashmir University, saw more of electoral politics in Omar's speech. He felt that the NC might be looking at the Congress as a plausible partner in the state as it doesn't seem possible for any party to single-handedly form the government here. "The two parties may have some degree of understanding prior to the Assembly elections and post-polls they may well formalise their alliance," he added.

Referring to his NDA remark, he said, "It was a realisation of what he should have done seven years back. The NC had also continued its alliance with the NDA despite the latter rejecting the autonomy report." He said the NC now had to compete in Kashmir politics while earlier they had a sort of monopoly, which was why the party leaders were now being careful and cautious while making statements. In a significant development, senior Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma said the way Omar supported the Manmohan Singh government it had certainly brought the two parties closer. He said though the Congress would try to form the government on its own in the state, if need be, the party may tie-up with the NC.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said it was good that Omar realised his mistake at this juncture. She also referred to BJP stalwart LK Advani's book in which he said that the NC preferred to continue with the NDA than pressing for the grant of the autonomy to the state.

Senior Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh termed it as "late realisation and also sheer opportunism". "Omar enjoyed power in the NDA regime for two-three years and is making such a statement when the government is gone," he said. Former state BJP president Nirmal Singh termed it as a deceiving statement. He said the NC was making all these moves, keeping an eye on the forthcoming elections.

Jammu, July 24
Close on the heels of National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah’s “fiery” speech in the Lok Sabha during the trust vote on July 22, the BJP may sue Omar in the court of law for misleading Parliament.

Omar during his speech in the Lok Sabha had claimed that not a single Amarnath pilgrim had been attacked in the Kashmir valley.

“His remarks were nothing more than a lie”, sources in the BJP said, adding, that it was tantamount to mislead Parliament. Omar’s speech has also spread hatred in the state and has vitiated the already surcharged atmosphere, they added.

Even though the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti, the umbrella organisation, spearheading the agitation in the Jammu region, had been contemplating to lodge an FIR against Omar, yet the BJP has also been thinking to move the court of law, the sources added.

Sources said for misleading the highest institution of democracy where legislations took birth, the BJP may sue the NC president.

However, talking to The Tribune state BJP spokesperson Prof Hari Om said, “Since the samiti had been looking into the issue so as to lodge an FIR against Omar, the BJP as of now has no such plans.” But there was no denying the fact that Omar’s bundle of lies in Parliament has instigated the already provoked people of Jammu, he added

Calling Omar a “liar”, Prof Om said many Hindu temples had been torched in the valley, while pilgrims were under constant threat in Kashmir. He also cited three such recent incidents, which took place at Ganderbal, Dal Lake and at Baltal, over the issue.

Sangharsh Samiti convener Leela Karan Sharma when contacted said, “Omar's statement has added fuel to the fire in Jammu, but since he made the speech on the floor of the Lok Sabha, there are certain privileges which have to be looked into.”

It may be mentioned here that Kuldeep Dogra, who committed suicide over the land transfer issue yesterday.

Jammu, June 24
Considers two examples. ‘Goddnesses’ and ‘a girl could not married to a boy of higher subdivision’. A class V student has neither written the misspelt word nor the grammatically wrong sentence.

These are the handiwork of the Directorate of Distance Education, University of Jammu, whose study materials are full of these spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Where they should have been ‘goddesses’ and ‘a girl could not be married to a boy of higher sub-division’, the students pursuing correspondence courses are left to content with the mistakes.

Yes, the study material provided by the DDE is giving blues to the students.

Aggrieved students, pursuing BAs and MAs, alleged that the materials were usually “written in haste” and therefore they carried several spelling and grammatical mistakes.

“Sometimes sentences are poorly constructed or broken, which makes it difficult to understand the concepts,” said a student pursuing PG course in sociology, pleading anonymity.

“Take for instance the study material of sociology for the first semester and one can easily come across serious grammatical mistakes even in the prologue of the booklets,” he said and added that such mistakes portray a gloomy picture of the writers and the university. Besides, it forced students to avoid such material and opt for other referral books, he added.

“Generally the students opting for the DDE are drawn from rural areas or families belonging to lower income bracket. Owing to their schooling in Hindi medium schools, English is an alien to them. And such mistakes further multiply their problems,” he said.

“Though the university is the first ISO certified university and has separate centre for quality assurance so it must ensure that such lapses don't occur on its part,” he added.

“The responsibility for ensuring error free study material lies on the writer, but owing to time constraint, minor errors are likely to be there,” said one of the senior professors in the DDE, wishing not to be quoted.

“The DDE appoints writers from the teaching faculty of the university, and they have to spare time for compilation of study material from their routine duties,” he said and added, “The directorate pays only Rs 250-300 per chapter. That's why most of the writers take the task in casual manner.”

Sometimes, during the proofreading mistakes are pointed out by the writers but corrections are not inserted while printing, he added.

Rajeev Gupta, director, Distance Education, said, “I took over recently. As and when things come to our notice, we will rectify the mistakes.”

Rajouri, July 24
Governor N.N. Vohra called upon the district officers in Poonch to work with honesty and dedication to ensure expeditious completion of schemes undertaken in their areas so that the fruits of development percolate down to the people at grassroots level. He warned against any slippage and said funds would not be any constraint if the pace of work on the projects was satisfactory.

The Governor yesterday laid special emphasis on road development, water and power supply, improving civic amenities and ensuring urban development on sustained basis.

During an on-the-spot assessment of problems faced by the people in far-flung areas, he said the people have many expectations from the administration and the officers must redouble their efforts in satiating their aspirations.

“Don’t do anything which attracts any kind of dissatisfaction or public criticism,” he warned the employees.

He was accompanied by his Principal Secretary, B B Vyas, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sudhanshu Pandey, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, K Rajendra. The Governor also took stock of the civic works under execution in the town and asked the District Development Commissioner to monitor their status on regular basis and send him report.

Udhampur, July 24
Bickering in the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) came to fore when two senior leaders raised a banner of revolt against decision of party supremo Prof Bhim Singh to give mandate to Faqir Nath from Chenani assembly constituency.

Faqir Nath, a sitting MLA from Chenani (reserved) assembly constituency, had wrested this seat from the BJP in 2002 elections. Notwithstanding opposition of local party leaders, Prof Bhim Singh, two days back, has announced to field Faqir Nath again from this seat. Romesh Kapoor and Mool Raj, two senior leaders of the party, have strongly opposed decision of party chief and announced to field a rebel candidate from this reserved constituency.

"Faqir Nath, who is an outsider, has miserably failed to fulfil aspirations and wishes of the people of Chenani constituency", Mr Kapoor alleged and further added that during his tenure as MLA Faqir Nath spent most of the time in Jammu.

Although the Panthers Party leadership has clarified that both the rebels were already suspended from the party, Kapoor claimed that three sitting MLAs had supported their decisions and assured to support our candidate from Chenani assembly constituency. Interacting with mediapersons, Kapoor announced to field Hans Raj Kalotra from this reserved seat where the Panthers Party was already facing tough competition from the BJP.

Sources said that local Panthers Party workers were not satisfied with the performance of Faqir Nath who is the choice of Prof Bhim Singh. In 2002 assembly elections Prof Singh gave him party ticket and emerged victorious from the Chenani seat.

As the Panthers faces revolt on this seat, the BJP has already started a campaign and has given green light to the retired DFO to contest election from Chenani.