Jammu, August 19
Nearly 4,000 BSF personnel have been withdrawn from counter-insurgency and border duty and placed at the disposal of the Jammu and Kashmir government to tackle the situation arising out of the Amarnath land row.

"We have withdrawn troops recently and have placed them at the disposal of the state government for law and order duty," A. K. Sarolia, BSF inspector-general, Jammu frontier, told PTI today.

In view of the continuing agitation over the Amarnath land transfer controversy, the state government was facing a shortage of forces to maintain peace and normalcy.

A large number of personnel from the Army, CRPF, RAF and state police have already been deployed and the need for more troops will be met from the BSF.

"The BSF was withdrawn and deployed for civilian job as the CRPF was being used to tackle the Amarnath protests," Sarolia said.

The troops were withdrawn from the Dhamkund-Mahore-Gool belt of Ramban district and from Sunderbani in Rajouri district.

The CRPF was withdrawn from Jammu airport and deployed for law and order and BSF troops replaced them there.

CRPF personnel were also replaced by those of the BSF at several jails, Baglihar and Salal power projects, and for providing VIP security in Jammu and adjoining areas.

As per a Home Ministry guideline, the BSF was to be totally replaced by the CRPF in counter-insurgency operations. The CRPF has already taken over from the BSF in the Kashmir valley in general and Srinagar city in particular in 2006. — PTI 

Jammu, August 19
With the incidents of violence over the Amarnath land row coming down, the Army is now being removed from Jammu in a phased manner.

The Army was called out in Jammu after protests took a violent turn. Ever since the Army took over from the police, the level of violence has dropped considerably.

“After the Army took over, a considerable decline in the level of violence was seen in and around Jammu. Earlier the protesters targeted the police, but they showed respect for the Army,” an official of the district administration said.

The official said: “It was due to the Army’s presence that incidents of stone-pelting were stopped and protesters no longer took canes with them”.

The Army’s role is now limited to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the national highway and the railway track.

Speaking to The Tribune, GOC of the Jammu-based Tiger Division, Major-General D.L. Chowdhary said: “It is the prerogative of the civil administration to decide at which place they want to utilise our services.”

Jammu, August 19
The Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti today strongly condemned Governor N.N. Vohra for “providing VIP treatment to pro-Pakistan Hurriyat Conference and other separatist groups” in their march towards the office of the United Nation Military Observer Group  in Srinagar.

Addressing a press conference here today, a samiti spokesman said, “The state government not only gave VIP treatment to the Hurriyat leaders, who have been demanding secession from the country, but also facilitated their meeting with the UNO observer. It is shocking that with the support of state government the delegation of the Huriyat Conference submitted a memorandum in which secession from India was demanded.”

He alleged that the “involvement of the government in the controversial march to the UN office was clear from the presence of large number of government employees in the procession.” “Furthermore, many government departments rendered their services during the procession. The PHE Department had arranged water for those who were taking part in anti-national march,” he charged.

The samiti reiterated, “Peace cannot be restored in Jammu and Kashmir as long as Vohra is at the helm of the affairs.”

The samiti took strong exception of reports of attack on a media house at Shastri Nagar and has appealed to its workers to single out those who have been indulging in such activities to subvert the ongoing agitation.

Referring to another suicide attempt over the issue, the samiti appealed to all its activists not to take any such extreme step. The samiti said it was ready for talks with the four-member panel formed by the Governor. It also announced extension of the Jammu bandh till August 25.

Udhampur, August 19
Women outnumbered men in the “jail bharo” call given by the Shri Amarnath Sangharh Samiti in connection with its ongoing stir for restoration of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Though the procession carried out by men yesterday was quite impressive, the women of Udhampur made a stronger impact today. Women processionists turned up in large numbers and virtually took control of the local police station where they had gone for a court arrest.

The police created some barricades to stop the women processionists, but they removed all hurdles, while forcing their entry into the police station. The procession, which started from different localities in Udhampur town, had turned into a huge rally before reaching the police station.

The police personnel deployed were stunned at the huge number of women and all arrangements made by them proved futile. Shouting slogans against the state government for not restoring land to the shrine board, women entered the police station and sat down to perform a satsang.

The police personnel virtually left the spot and did not even try to stop the women from performing religious rituals.

The police contacted the civil administration and arranged buses to shift the women to the makeshift jail at the PG College, Udhampur. Although the Udhampur unit of the Sangharsh Samiti claimed that more than 25,000 persons turned up to participate in the jail bharo programme, independent observers believed that the numbers were about 15,000.

Meanwhile on the second day of the jail bharo stir, thousands of people, majority of them women, turned up for court arrest in different areas of Reasi, Udhampur and Ramban districts. At Reasi, a huge procession of women was taken out which passed through different markets and culminated in front of the police station for court arrest.

Srinagar, August 19
There was little trace of the unrest and shutdown going in Kashmir for over 15 days as life returned to its usual chaotic and bustling self in the Kashmir valley today.

The coordination committee, an amalgam of separatists of different hues, social and religious leaders, has suspended its strike call for three days to allow people to get back to their daily lives and not to get seriously affected by a prolonged shutdown.

State and private buses plied, shops and offices were open and markets were crowded with people. Schools and colleges also opened after a long break.

The committee had asked people to fly black flags atop their shops and vehicles, but not many shops were seen adhering to the direction and the number of vehicles without black flags far outnumbered those with flags in Srinagar.

A shopkeeper told The Tribune that they feared identification by the police and subsequent harassment. "When we go in rallies, there is no fear of the authorities as a crowd's identity is anonymous," he said.

Reports from other parts of the valley said normal life resumed everywhere.

But the three-day reprieve is the lull before the storm. The committee has asked people to assemble in Eidgah on Friday to offer prayers in unison and the next course of action would be decided then.

With public sentiments overwhelmingly with the separatists, they want to exploit it to the hilt and the focus has shifted from the mundane issues of the shrine board and economic blockade to the large issue of "azadi".

Absence of any concrete action from either state or central governments has given a clear field to the separatists, who have drawn in huge crowds in 
three rallies within a span of eight days.

Srinagar, August 19
Masses may be behind separatists, but their ideological differences over probable solutions to the Kashmir imbroglio have forced the political fault lines among them to come to the fore.

An emboldened Syed Ali Shah Geelani, whose popularity has soared in the past few months, has once again championed the cause of Kashmir's merger with Pakistan while his colleagues like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yaseen Malik are not exactly enamoured of the idea. He took secessionists of all hues sharing dais with him by surprise when he told the mammoth crowd yesterday that "Kashmir is Pakistan" and "Pakistan is Kashmir". "Do you believe in me and my leadership of the movement" he asked the surcharged crowd which roared back "yes". And then he played his Pakistan card very much to the shock of his colleagues while seeking public's approval as "Islam unites Kashmir with Pak". Malik, Mirwaiz, Shabir Shah and their supporters were miffed over the Geelani's attempts to appropriate the leadership of the movement, which is being led by a coordination committee comprising political, social and religious leadership.

Geelani later, though, apologised for the "slip of tongue".

After openly espousing Pak's cause in the valley in the initial years of Hurriyat formation, founded in 1993, he had lowered his pitch in recent years as separatist sentiments moved from pro-Pak to pro-azadi.

Malik's Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front stands for an independent and secular state of Jammu and Kashmir and he has at times criticised Pak's role in the "azadi movement" in the state. Mirwaiz's ideology is more ambivalent and he is regarded as a "middle-path" politician by the establishment.

There were protests in the Maisuma area, which is a stronghold of Malik, two days back. His supporters believe that he is being marginalised.

A hardcore Islamic leader, Geelani even criticised Pakistan yesterday for pursuing secular and socialist policies which, he said, were anathema to an Islamic state, which Pakistan should be ideally as it was founded in the name of Islam. He celebrated the departure of Pak president Parvez Musharraf, whom he accused of diluting Pak's stand on Kashmir, while Mirwaiz has been his admirer and his supporters had publicly rejoiced when he was elected President last year.

Srinagar, August 19
The PDP has asked the Sangh Parivar and its Prime Ministerial candidate, L. K. Advani to keep off and not fish in the troubled waters of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement here today PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Advani and his cohorts had turned Jammu into a cockpit of communal intrigue which could destabilize not only Jammu and Kashmir, but the entire South-Asian region.

“Advani’s pronouncement to lead the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS) rally in Jammu on August 25 has uncovered the concealed nexus of the samiti with the Sangh Parivar”, she said. Mehbooba added it was now clear that the BJP had fuelled the Jammu agitation only for political purposes. Mehbooba said the BJP’s open support to communalists might be understandable in view of Advani’s Prime Ministerial ambitions but it could cost the country very dearly.

The PDP chief said the Sangh Parivar was playing a dangerous game in stoking the fires of communalism in Jammu and pitting parts of that region against Kashmir by branding the protests in the two regions as a battle between nationalists and separatists.

Ridiculing the BJP’s accusation that the truckers who refuse to ply outside Kashmir are supporters of the PDP and the separatists, the PDP president said Advani’s party in Jammu and Punjab had created a fear psychosis in those areas, regenerating the horrors of Partition.

Mehbooba said Kashmiris had given a befitting reply to the Sangh Parivar by uniting their ranks and remaining peaceful throughout the current agitation. By ensuring the safety of half a million yatris and providing them all amenities even while suffering from the fallout of ‘economic blockade’ they have added a new chapter of glory to their history.

“Not deterred by the threats of police action and deregistration, we will continue our struggle against the forces of chauvinism and communalism”, Mehbooba said, adding that it was immaterial if her party was allowed to fight elections or not. “Elections are no priority at a time when our people are engaged in a battle of survival”, she said.

Jammu, August 19
In wake of reported protests by locals in the Neelam valley in PoK over the presence of a large number of armed ultras there, the Army is expecting an increase in infiltration from Pakistan.

Residents in the Neelam valley have been holding protests to press the authorities to purge the area of militants, fearing that the activities of heavily armed militants there could disturb the ongoing ceasefire along the Line of Control.

"As the elections in the state are round the corner, the militant leadership across the border would seek to disrupt the process and try to push in a large number of armed infiltrators into our side of the territory." Maj-Gen D.L. Chowdhary, GOC, Tiger Division, Jammu, which helps the BSF in guarding the border in Jammu, said.

The Army has increased its vigil along the LoC to avert any attempt by the infiltrators to cross into Indian territory.

He said as the militant leadership across the border was worried as the level of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir had gone down, it would try to push in more trained militants into Indian side.

Meanwhile, intelligence sources revealed that the regrouping of three types of militants in Pakistan could become a cause of worry for the Pakistani intelligence agency as it was not in a position to make them cross over to India or Afghanistan.

"There are three types of militant outfits-- Kashmiri militants who are from Kashmir and want to fight in Kashmir, jihadi militants who belong to Pakistan and want to fight either in Kashmir or in Afghanistan in the name of jihad and tribal militants who are from tribal areas of Pakistan and are trained to fight in Afghanistan," an intelligence source informed.

He said: "All three groups have united and the situation has slipped out of the hands of Pakistan, with the situation becoming a matter of concern for Pakistan. It is now eager to disperse the terrorists as soon as possible."

The coming winter would also make infiltrators move towards areas near Jammu to infiltrate into the state.

Jammu, August 19
With anti-India voices in the Kashmir valley emerging stronger than ever before, questions are being raised on the approach taken by the Union government.

There are accusations that the government is soft in its approach, which has allowed not only local television channels but also the Pakistan’s official mouthpiece PTV to instigate Kashmiris in the valley.

Some Durbar Move employees, who recently fled the valley due to the surcharged atmosphere there, talking to The Tribune claimed that PTV’s vicious campaign of spewing venom against India was going on unabated.

“In the backdrop of the Amarnath land row, the PTV has intensified its campaign through its special programme ‘Kashmir Cell’,” they said.

According to them, the PTV airs a song depicting alleged atrocities being unleashed by security forces and encounters between security forces and militants, they added.

They said the song goes like this ‘Dekho Yeh Kashmir Hai, Zulm Ki Yeh Tasvir Hai….Bachhe, Buddhey Aur Jawan Sabki Zuban Par Ek Hi Naam Kashmir Banega Pakistan. (This is Kashmir, a picture of repression and atrocities where every individual wants Kashmir valley to go with Pakistan).”

Admitting that PTV’s campaign had been going on since long in the valley, a Doordarshan official on the condition of anonymity said, the Union government should show guts and immediately ban the channel.

However, not going too far down the memory lane the Union information and broadcasting ministry had tried to ban PTV inviting protest demonstrations by cable 
network operators in the valley, he said.

He said, “After taking strong exception to Pakistan’s malicious propaganda via its official mouthpiece in the Kashmir valley, New Delhi had put curbs on cable network operators asking them to suspend airing PTV.”

But it triggered protests by cable network operators and they had gone on a total black out stopping all other channels as well, he said.

Eventually, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi had to succumb before their pressure tactics, he added.

The official expressed regrets that on the one hand union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the backdrop of Amarnath land row repeatedly asked Pakistan to stay away from meddling in India’s internal affairs but on the other New Delhi has utterly failed to stop neighbouring country from furthering its agenda in Kashmir via the PTV. Furthermore, Pakistan has either banned or “regulated” Indian television channels in its country, the official added.

Jammu, August 19
Employees of the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) today gave an ultimatum to the state government to implement the agreement reached between them in March last, failing which they would go on a strike from tomorrow.

President, SRTC Employees Federation, Shakil Ahmed Kuchhay, said: “SRTC employees will kick off the strike from tomorrow and will stop the movement of buses and trucks across the state.”

He said the agreement between the SRTC employees and the government was initially signed on March 10, 2007, but the government had failed to implement the agreement, forcing employees to resort to strike for 35 days from February 19 last.

Kuchhay said on March 24 last, another agreement was signed between the government and the employees. “The agreement included regularisation of employees of the corporation who are engaged on consolidated wages, release of COLA (cost of living allowance), besides regular promotions to the employees. This agreement, too, has not been implemented by the government as yet,” Kuchhay said.

He warned the government that if the agreement was not implemented till tomorrow, they would take to the streets along with their families.

“There are 17 public sector corporations in the state and many among them are running at loss, but all except the SRTC, are paying salaries to their employees regularly”, Sampat Prakash, a veteran trade union leader, said.

Prakash demanded that the government should immediately release the salaries of employees as they had been suffering badly.

Mohammad Maqbool, state president of the J&K State Co-ordination Committee of Trade Unions, also pleaded that the government should implement the agreement at the earliest.

SRTC M.D. Manzoor Ahmad Lone could not be contacted for comments.

Meanwhile, the SRTC employees’ strike could spell big trouble for the commuters, as during the ongoing Amarnath land row agitation, private buses and other means of transportation remained off the road.

The SRTC buses are the sole means of transportation for the commuters, especially in the winter capital.

The SRTC has 1,100 vehicles, out of which only 700 are in working condition, with a total staff of 4,800. Out of these, 4,300 employees are working on consolidated wages.

Jammu, July 19
Mr Justice Virender Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has rejected the plea of Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, seeking concession of regular bail, initially under section 498-A/302 read with 120-B RPC but subsequently altered to section 306, RPC, when handled by the CBI.

Deceased Romika Sharma was married to the petitioner on February 10, 2003. Romika died an unnatural death on July 14, 2003, at Kathmandu (Nepal), while staying with her husband.

Later, a report was registered with the district police office, Kathmandu, on the insistence of Anuradha Sharma, Romika’s mother.

The CBI started investigating the case on June 2, 2004, and a challan was filed on December 3, 2006. The petition seeking quashment of FIR that the offence was committed outside the territorial jurisdiction at Kathmandu suffered dismissal.

Even the special leave petition was disposed of by the Supreme Court when the final report already stood filed after the investigation was completed.

The second petition seeking quashing of the FIR and investigation conducted thereon is still pending adjudication.

While dismissing the petition the HC observed that “No doubt, the parents of the petitioner have already been granted concession of regular bail and that the petitioner is stated to be in custody for the past about four months and the fact that the trial is not likely to be concluded at an early date, the same can not be a ground to grant bail.”

The court, however, cannot ignore the fact that there is a specific allegation of demand of a particular item (Maruti car) for which documentary evidence was also in the police file. Romika had also sent an e-mail to her parents’ side, telling her woeful tale.

While granting bail, the nature of accusation and severity of punishment and nature of supporting evidence needs to be considered. At the same, reasonable apprehension of tampering of witnesses or apprehension of threat to complainant or other relevant factors have also to be taken into account. I, after considering all relevant facts and circumstances of the case, am of the view that the petitioner is not entitled to the concession of regular bail.