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Encounter: Day 8
Hoax e-mail circulated in Army’s name
Amarnath Shrine Board reconstituted
Aslam named Pro-tem Speaker
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Samiti to fight for delimitation of constituencies
Jammu-Srinagar highway closed
Paharis urge Omar to make Jan minister
Delay in oath to MLAs rued
GM Shah laid to rest
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC patron Farooq Abdullah join others at the funeral prayers for former Chief Minister GM Shah in Srinagar on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Amin War
Submit Vijaypur poll record: HC
Akhnoor emerges as power centre
Army guards kill intruder
Communities seek Cabinet slots
Water supply affected as main pipe damaged
Leopards on the prowl in Udhampur
Students return after 13-day tour
Drug de-addiction camp held at Kulgam
Three bodies found in Jammu
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Encounter: Day 8
Jammu, January 7 “Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and Commandos today entered inside the thick jungle of Bhati Dhar,” a senior Army officer said. Eight to 10 terrorists holed up in the Bhati Dhar jungles in Jammu region were suspected to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group.
Defence Minister AK Antony, Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor and senior officers in Jammu underpinned a strategy to quickly end the encounter which was marked by a heavy exchange of gunfire, but acknowledged it was taking time due to the difficult terrain and to avoid casualties among security forces. Gen Deepak Kapoor told media persons: “We are carrying out to ensure maximum attrition on the terrorists to ensure that we do not suffer any casualties... the area is very rocky and filled with natural caves. That is why it (the operation) is taking time.” The encounter which started on December 31 evening, continued on the consecutive eighth day today, with no major breakthrough for the troops. The militants intermittently fired from the defensive positions inside the dense Bein forests from Bhati Dhar area. The militants reportedly preferred to stay silent during the day while resorted to intermittent firing in the night hours, apparently in a bid to escape, taking cover of the darkness. The Army has cordoned off the entire area and plugged all possible exits from Bhati Dhar. At least five power generators have been put in use to illuminate the area during the night. The zeroed area, from where the militants are firing on the security forces, is away from the general habitation of people. However, the security forces were keeping three-tier cover around the Bhati Dhar to check militants’ escape from the forests into the nearby villages. No person was allowed to enter the “sensitive zone”. The electronic and print media personnel, covering the counter-insurgency operation, were asked to stay at least two km away from the actual encounter site, to ensure their security. — Agencies
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Hoax e-mail circulated in Army’s name
Jammu, January 7 The content, under the headline “Simmering Discontent: Patent Truth”, projecting the Army’s discontent against the government and bureaucracy, was circulated through e-mail (mediacellarmy@gmail.com) to several journalists across the country. Mentioning ‘Media Cell’ as the name of sender, the mail ended with the name and contact numbers of the Army’s Additional Director General (Public Information) and the Army’s IW branches at the Nagrota Corps and the Command headquarters, Udhampur. However, the name of the ADG (PI) was incorrectly mentioned as Maj-Gen JK Narula, instead of Maj-Gen VK Narula. Talking to UNI over the phone, Maj-Gen Narula termed the mail as “fraud”. Later, Brigadier General Staff (IW) of the Nagrota-based XVI Corps, Brig Gurdeep Singh said: “The mail which has been circulated to the media has found to have come from a hoax email ID.” The last line of the press note said: “The Indian Army is no spineless, no demilitarisation and no repeal of the AFSPA from the state.” — UNI |
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Amarnath Shrine Board reconstituted
Jammu, January 7 Prior to the reconstitution of the board, Vohra has also accepted the resignations of its erstwhile members: Justice GD Sharma, Raghu Modi, Sunil Sachdev, Manoj Gaur, Dr Arun Kumar, Dr Vimla Dhar, Prof Neerja Mattoo and Prof Vishwa Murti Shastri. A spokesman of the board said Justice GD Sharma had been re-appointed for another term.
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Aslam named Pro-tem Speaker
Jammu, January 7 Tara Chand, who was Speaker in the last Assembly, was inducted as the Deputy Chief Minister in the 10-member state Cabinet on January 5.
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Samiti to fight for delimitation of constituencies
Jammu, December 7 Spokesperson of the samiti Jatinder Singh: “When Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was asked about the Delimitation Bill, he got away by saying that it would require the two-third majority. However, if his government dithers on this issue we will fight it out strongly.” Jatinder Singh said the samiti looked for solidarity among all parties, including Independents, in Jammu over the issue of
delimitation. Samiti Convener Leela Karan Sharma said: “We are resting our hopes on parties like BJP which rode on power on the plank of ending discrimination with Jammu. The samiti is all set to play the role of a watchdog. We will also see whether the BJP fulfils its promise of dispensing justice to the people of Jammu.” Prof Narinder Singh of the sangharsh samiti said: “Even the issues of discrimination and delimitation loomed large behind the Amarnath land row. So even the issue related to land has already been settled, we will strive for bigger fight against discrimination. For this, soon we will call a meeting of all MLAs from Jammu and discuss the future course of action.” |
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Jammu-Srinagar highway closed
Udhamupur, January 7 According to traffic police officers, higher reaches of Jammu province, including Patnitop and Banihal, have been witnessing heavy snowfall. About 1,000 vehicles remained stranded on the highway. About two feet of snowfall had accumulated on the highway especially on both sides of the Jawahar tunnel. Patnitop in Jammu region also experienced fresh snowfall since last evening, making the road slippery. No vehicle was allowed from Jammu or Srinagar this morning. Braving heavy snowfall and incessant rains, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), responsible for the maintenance of the highway, has pressed into service its men and sophisticated machines to clear snow from the entry point of Jawahar tunnel to allow movement of stranded vehicles. Meanwhile, the Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the country since last evening following the closure of 300-km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to heavy snowfall. Border towns of Keran, Karnah and a dozen of other remote villages also remained cut off from the rest of the state due to heavy snowfall at Razdan and Sadhna passes while the 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway also remained closed. The 434-km Srinagar-Leh National Highway also remained closed due to heavy snowfall at Zojila. The highway will now remained closed for winter months as there was no chance of reopening it early because of 5 to 10 feet of snowfall at different places. However, the Kargil-Leh highway was through for traffic despite snowfall. Keran and Karnah besides dozens of other remote and far flung villages remained cut off from the rest of the state following the closure of Sadhna and Razdan passes due to heavy snowfall. |
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Paharis urge Omar to make Jan minister
Jammu, January 7 In a press note issued here today, PWF president Lokesh Kumar Sharma said, “Earlier legislator from Poonch-Haveli late GM Jan had been a loyal worker of the NC and had the honour of remaining MLA for three consecutive terms, but unfortunately he was never made a minister. Now, Omar Abdullah should take his son Aijaz Ahmed Jan as a minister to fulfil the aspirations of people.” |
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Delay in oath to MLAs rued
Jammu, January 7 He said despite the fact that the 11th Assembly stood constituted from December 31 last year, neither the date for administering oath to the new members had been announced nor any steps initiated in this regard. This showed “utter lack of concern, imbecility, incompetence and ignorance of those at the
helm”. He said the constitution of the Assembly was simultaneously followed by the announcement of the Speaker pro-tem and oath to all newly elected members, which alone provides legitimacy to their office. Harsh Dev alleged that the delay in administering oath appeared to be deliberate to delay the Budget session, which as per the prevalent practice used to commence in January. He said the Governor need to take cognisance of the lapse and issue appropriate instructions for the timely convening of the Budget session. Harsh Dev Singh urged upon the Governor to intervene so as to ensure that the state legislature met for at least 100 days in a year as per the consensus reached at the national level in this regard. He demanded that a minimum of 60-day Budget session for deliberating on important public issues, including delimitation, PoK and west Pakistan refugee issues, migrants’ problems, regional issues and unemployment. |
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GM Shah laid to rest
Srinagar, January 7 Later, the body of the departed leader was taken in a procession with full state honours to his ancestral graveyard at Ziyarat Hazrat Syed Mohammad Mantaqi (RA) in Chattabal, where he was laid to rest. A contingent of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police lowered its arms as the body of the departed leader was being laid to rest. Earlier, former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and a large number of people from various walks of life visited the residence of the late leader to offer condolences to the bereaved family. They expressed sympathies with Begum Khalida Shah, son Muzaffar Shah and other members of the bereaved family. Other relatives, including members of the Sheikh family who visited residence included his brothers-in-law, Farooq Abdullah and Mustafa Kamal, and NC general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad. All government and educational institutions remained closed as a mark of respect to the departed soul. The government has announced a three-day state mourning during which there will be no official entertainment. The National and state flags will fly at half-mast at all buildings and places. Those who attended the Nimaz-e-janaza included ministers Abdul Rahim Rather, Ali Mohammad Sagar and Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, senior officers and representatives of various political, religious and social organisations, besides close relatives and friends. |
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Submit Vijaypur poll record: HC
Jammu, January 7 The petitioner from the Vijaypur constituency, Samba district, who was defeated by Surjeet Singh Slathia, an NC candidate, by a margin of 1,212 votes, had sought direction for the issuance of certified/attested copies of Form No. 17-A (register of voter turnout), Form No. 17-C (containing total turn out of male and female voters), dairy of presiding officers of all polling booths and the report of counting of each round given by the returning officer to the media. He also sought the details of change of the EVM, if any, during the election process and details of the postal ballots issued to the Belt forces and the polling staff at Vijaypur. The counsel for the petitioner, LK Sharma, alleged large scale bogus polling in some polling stations, especially serial No. 9 polling booth No. 7, Bari Brahmana, where there were 137 women voters while 186 votes were cast. The petitioner further said about 3,000 postal ballots were sent to the Belt forces, which were on active duties, but their votes were cast in their respective polling stations in their absence by the polling staff. Besides, there were about 700 residents of the constituency who were deputed on election duty and to whom postal ballots were issued, but votes of some of these persons were cast in their respective polling booths by the polling staff. Even votes of several persons, who have died and others who were lodged in jails, were cast by the polling staff. |
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Akhnoor emerges as power centre
Jammu, January 7 The induction of Tara Chand and Sham Lal Sharma from Chammb and Akhnoor, respectively, into the Cabinet, besides Sham’s elder brother Madan Lal Sharma, a sitting Congress MP from Jammu-Poonch, have virtually made this border area a seat of power. People here feel the two ministers in Omar’s Cabinet and a Congress MP from this border area may give impetus to development and the three legislators could change the region. “Having seen enough shelling for a decade, followed by an 11-month tension built-up with Pakistan after the Parliament attack, we now look forward to better days,” said Thoru Ram, a marginal farmer of Pallanwala. “I still remember those horrifying days of intense shelling followed by tension that forced us to flee our homes and hearths,” he said, adding that he along with other families had to live under inhumane conditions in migrant camps. In 2003-04, the previous government did provide some alternative land to the uprooted border residents for safe shelters and cultivation, but ‘luck’ did not smile on people like me, he said. Over 20,000 people had been uprooted from border villages like Pargwal, Garh, Sant, Hamirpur and Chakla. It may be stated here that people in these border villages had also bore the brunt of 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. Preeto Devi, a housewife in Khour, said though Madan Lal as an MP and Tara Chand in his capacity as Assembly Speaker had used their good offices to provide some respite to border villagers, a lot needed to be done to ameliorate our socio-economic condition.” Even today, our area lacks basic amenities like roads, electricity, water, hospitals and schools, she said. “We continue to live hand-to-mouth and we certainly expect a lot from Tara Chand and Sham Lal Sharma, who have been inducted by Omar as ministers, said Mohan Lal, an unemployed youth of Garh village.
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Army guards kill intruder
Srinagar, January 7 The incident took place when the intruder scaled the rear boundary wall of the compound around 10 pm last night, a defence spokesman said here. Despite being challenged repeatedly by the sentries, the intruder did not stop and continued to run towards the residence. The sentries then opened fire, resulting in his death. According to the spokesman, the incident was immediately reported to the police. The SP, SDPO and SHO immediately rushed to the area and the body was handed over to the police which is investigating the matter. The intruder was identified as Abdul Rashid Reshi, a resident of Veer Saran, Pahalgam, in Anantnag district of south Kashmir. The Army has also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. While the intention of the deceased is not clear at this juncture, the possibility of his carrying out reconnaissance with the aim of launching a fidayeen attack at a later date cannot be ruled out. This possibility is also being examined by the inquiry instituted into the case, the defence spokesman said. |
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Communities seek Cabinet slots
Jammu, January 7 The 76-year-old Congress leader had earlier held key posts like Speaker and state Congress chief. He is also the senior-most legislator of the party having been elected for the first time in 1967. However, the Congress put to rest all speculation of Aslam being in the race of for the post of Deputy Chief Minister a day before the swearing-in ceremony by electing him as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. The Congress move has angered the Gujjars to an extent that they have urged Aslam to quit the post of CLP leader. The Congress, which suffered a big jolt in the Jammu region in view of the Amarnath land row, chose former Speaker Tara Chand for the post of Deputy CM apparently to woo back the Hindu electorate. Though the new Cabinet has a veteran Gujjar leader in the form of NC's Mian Altaf Ahmad, the Gujjars are adamant on their demand. The displaced Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community is also keen on representation in the Cabinet. Though a record number of 47 Kashmiri Pandit candidates jumped into the electoral arena this time, none of them got elected. The KPs were given representation in the last two state governments. While the NC government (1996-2002) had Pyare Lal Handoo as Law Minister, the previous Congress-PDP government had Raman Mattoo as Industries Minister. Their claim holds significance in the light of the fact that the government has set the process of the community's return and rehabilitation to Kashmir rolling and their involvement in implementation of the programme would be vital. Sikhs, who have a sizable population in Jammu region, are also seeking a Cabinet berth. The National Conference had fielded two Sikh candidates - TS Wazir from Gandhi Nagar and Taranjeet Singh Tony from Suchetgarh - but both lost while the Congress didn't field any Sikh candidate. However, the community has appealed to former CM and NC patron Farooq Abdullah to give due representation to it in the government. Like KPs, Sikhs too had a Cabinet berth in the last two state governments. In the previous Congress-PDP regime, Manjeet Singh, the then MLA of Vijaypur who had joined the PDP after winning the seat on a BSP ticket, was a minister of state. In the last National Conference government under Farooq Abdullah (1996-2002) senior NC leader Harbans Singh was a Cabinet minister. |
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Water supply affected as main pipe damaged
Srinagar, January 7 Official sources said the main water line which used to supply water to dozens of ‘mohallas’ in the city, was damaged in the outskirts yesterday. “The water supply through the main line from Rangil WSS has been stopped to undertake the repair work,” an official of the Water Works Department (WWD) said. He said repair work was on in full swing and the line would be restored soon. However, he appealed to people living in the affected areas to contact the WWD in case there is a shortage of water so that tankers could be pressed into service. — UNI |
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Leopards on the prowl in Udhampur
Ramnagar (Udhampur), January 7 Leopards have created terror in several hamlets of Ramnagar tehsil. These beasts have killed some cattle heads in Kheen, Ghara, Bogodh, Thial, Pathwar and Palno villages of Ramnagar and Majalata blocks. Fear of the people can be gauged from the fact that they come do not out of their houses after 5 pm every day, as the wild beasts can attack them any time at any place. Farmers have also stopped working in their fields. “For the past two months, we are living in constant fear”, Jagmohan, a resident of Kheen village, said and regretted that the matter had been brought to the notice of the authorities a number of time, but no action had been taken so far. Naresh Chander, a local youth, said the wild beast attacked cattle in the Pathwar area recently and killed two of them. While expressing anguish over the casual approach of the Wildlife Department, Ravinder Singh, a resident of Palno village, said, “If the authorities did not act, we have to take some measures on our own to get ourselves rid of these wild beasts”. He narrated how residents of Bachal village in Udhampur had killed a leopard in March 2007 when the authorities failed to take appropriate action. The leopard, which was spotted at Kheen village, had reportedly escaped from the wildlife sanctuary as villagers noticed a belt around its neck. RS Pathania, a local leader of Majalta, told The Tribune that a deputation of Thial villagers had approached the Wildlife Department two months back and the department had promised action immediately, but nothing concrete had been done so far. Expressing a similar view, Somnath, sarpanch of the village, urged the district administration and the wildlife authorities to capture the animals and put them in cages or a wildlife sanctuary. He said the leopards had been moving freely in the area and giving sleepless nights to the people. |
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Students return after 13-day tour
Jammu, January 7 According to the Army, the students visited various historical and religious places like Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Rock Garden, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikiri and Ajmer Sharif. He said the students also visited the IMA, Dehradun, and interacted with officers and cadets. They also got an opportunity to interact with various dignitaries, including Uttrakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri. |
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Drug de-addiction camp held at Kulgam
Srinagar, January 7 The medico said most of the women living in the area consume good percentage of charas while puffing it by means of hubble-bubble. “Out of 471 persons who visited the camp 200 were found to be addicts. These people were not willing to accept that they are addicts, but marks on fingers and lips told the story. These people accepted that they had taken brown sugar and charas in the past,” Dr Shabir said. |
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Three bodies found in Jammu
Jammu, January 7 The bodies of Parkash of Nepal and Raj Nath of Faizabad (UP) were found in Kathua. The deceased were working as labourers in Bharat Udyog, Industrial Estate, Kathua. |
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Srinagar, January 7
