Udhampur, May 12
Cops in Udhampur town have been finding it difficult to check the activities of criminals as during the past six months nine murders have been taken place in this town, which was earlier known as a peaceful area of the Jammu region.

Notwithstanding the claims of the police in solving these cases, fear psychosis gripped inhabitants of this town as most of the killings took place in broad daylight.

The way Sanju Jandial, a fruit dealer, was stabbed and later shot dead in the ever busy Chabotra Bazaar area in full public view last week, reflects how fearless are the criminals in the town. “The killing of a businessman in the broad daylight negates police higher ups’ claims that cops have built pressure on criminals,” points out Rajinder Badyal, a resident of Gole Market. He alleges that there is a deep-rooted police-criminal nexus.

Badyal has reasons to allege a nexus because in some murder cases the involvement of policemen has been established. Recently a police constable along with a gangster had gunned down two of the former’s colleagues in a broad daylight incident. Inter-gang rivalry and dispute over a piece of land was the main reason for this gruesome crime.

The cop involved in this double murder case was a “blue-eyed boy” of senior police officers. Despite being a belt force man, he was known as “king” in the real estate business and he usually sells plots to senior police officers at nominal prices.

Similarly, in another gruesome incident, a police constable had killed his brother and sister-in-law in Lodhana village of Udhampur district some time back. Constable Mohammad Asharf had committed this crime over a property dispute.

“How can we trust policemen who are themselves involved in criminal activities?” Aditya Singh, another resident of Udhampur, asks and hastens to add that some cops are themselves working for criminal gangs.

The deteriorating law and order situation in the town can be gauged from the fact that during the last six months, most of stabbing cases were occurred during the day. Sometime back, shopkeepers of Udhampur along with locals had held a massive demonstration against the failure of the police to maintain law and order situation. People had alleged that the police authorities were adopting soft attitude towards criminals and anti-social elements.

Besides increase in the number of theft cases, incidents of stabbing have also become common in the town.

Blaming the police for the deteriorating law and order situation in the town, the residents had alleged that it was all due to the cop-criminal nexus that the crime rate had increased in the otherwise peaceful town. They had asked the senior police officers to single out those policemen who had been hand in glove with the criminals.

It seems that the residents have lost faith in the police, as so far no murder case has been solved properly. Recently, the police authorities had decided to constitute a special team headed by a senior police officer to re-investigate the murder case of Varinder Singh Butyal as the family members of the deceased no longer trust the local police.

Not only broad daylight murder cases, mysterious killings have also created a sense of insecurity among the inhabitants of this town. During the past one year, six mysterious deaths of women were reported. Most of the cases still remained unsolved. Sometime back, a middle-aged couple was brutally murdered in the Panchari area, but the cops have failed to get a lead in this case even as more than one year has elapsed.

Jammu, May 12
The state education department wants to strictly do away with the old saying of “spare the rod and spoil the child”.

Concerned over with some rising instances wherein students were subjected to canning and torture in classrooms, Zahida Khan, director education, Jammu, has issued a note of caution to all government and private institutions prohibiting the teachers to give corporal punishment to their pupil.

In a circular, the director has called upon the management of all educational institutions to ensure that students are allowed to acquire education with dignity and in an atmosphere free from the fear of punishment.

A similar circular has also been issued by director education, Kashmir, wherein the valley-based teachers have recently been advised not to resort to corporal punishment to the students. The circular states that such punishment carries a long-term detrimental effect on students’ overall development, self-esteem and their interest in learning.

The directors of both regions have asked the teachers to explore options like consultation, conciliation and counselling, instead of restoring to brutal methods of caning or frog jumping under the hot Sun.

Zahida said she had made it clear to every principal of government school that in the event of any complaint, the authorities would take stern action against the erring teachers.

When her attention was drawn to some instances wherein students were subjected to punishments, as was reported by a section of the media, the director assured that she would definitely look into the matter.

Zahida had also appealed to the parents to bring to her knowledge any kind of such instance if genuinely complained by their wards.

She hoped that the management of all private schools would also follow these guidelines, which have even been issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

The NCPCR guidelines said even scolding students in a classroom tantamount to a crime.

Bhaderwah/Jammu, May 12
Parents try hard to keep their minor children away from nudity, violence and films, but what can they do when the cover of notebooks only give a peep into the forbidden world to the children?

This is exactly what is happening in the state where in the absence of any check or regulation on notebooks and registers used by children for writing lessons, these have become virtual platform of nudity.

Semi-clad Shilpa Shetty or other Bollywood heroines are all over the covers. So is blood splitting scenes from Hindi movies. Most popular is the topless Amir Khan in Ghazini, who has tattoos all over his body and seems to advocate violence and thirst for blood. Another popular hero is again the shirtless Salman Khan.

The Tribue found such notebooks on sale everywhere. From Jammu to Doda to Bhaderwah, shopkeepers selling these had purposely kept the books on a rack outside the counter.

“Books with plain covers used earlier have no buyers. Children want Ghazini or Shilpa or others,” says Mohd Ayaz, a stationery shop owner in Bhaderwah.

There was a time when the notebook covers had pictures of freedom fighters. “No book has patriotic messages on the covers or back pages. No notebook flashes save environment pictures and slogans. Bollywood, and it seems the worst part of it, has taken over,” rues Ajay Kumar, a local resident, who was shocked to see pictures on the notebooks of his 10-year-old daughter. He remembered books in his time carried moral science messages.

Not only notebooks, schoolbags also carry such pictures. Cartoons like Mickey Mouse are seen on bags of kids, but on bags for teenagers it is again the half-naked film stars and models.

There is no check or regulation on such obscene covers. Secretary, J&K Board of School Education (BOSE), Dr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad could only criticise the printing of such pictures.

He admits that though the BOSE has no control over the printing of notebook covers, but the department of stationary and supply or the director consumers affairs should constitute a censor board to have a check on such printings.

Expressing concern for the younger generation, he says such things are deteriorating the character of the young students.

Assuring that he would take up the matter, he says instead of printing useless things on the covers, the departments concerned should print mathematical equations or geographical diagrams on the notebook covers that could help the students to enhance their knowledge.

Jammu, May 12
If one wants to drop or pick a passenger from Jammu railway station, he would have to pay a hefty amount at the parking lot. Due to security reasons, vehicles are not allowed to go near the main gate of the station and forced to park in the parking lot where employees ask for a parking fee.

No vehicle, be it car, motorcycle or rickshaw, is allowed to go near the main entrance or exit point of the station, as the security personnel manning the gates ask you to park the vehicle inside the parking lot.

One has to spend Rs 20 for parking a car for one hour and Rs 10 per hour for parking a motorcycle in the highly congested parking lot. The people, who frequently travel by rail, allege a nexus between the security personnel deployed outside the station and the contractors who get the contract of the parking lot from the Railway authorities.

“In the name of security they are fleecing the common people. If you have to pick or drop a passenger, they (security personnel) won’t allow the vehicle to go beyond a point and will ask you to park the vehicle in the parking lot from where the passenger has to himself carry the luggage and pay charges for the parking,” said Alok Jasrotia, a resident of Jammu.

He said, “If you are not in a mood to pay the parking fee, then you have to stay outside the premises of the station and then the luggage becomes the main problem.”

The people, especially the commuters, said the security personnel deployed at the station should perform their duty and would allow the vehicle to drop or pick the passenger from the departure or arrival point. But they ask to park the vehicle in the parking space and the workers there at once hand you a slip for paying the fee for parking the vehicle. Every year, the Railway invites tenders from contractors to lease out the parking space and the contractor with the highest bid gets the contract.

“There is no check on the parking fee from the Railway authorities. They should at least make a slab, but every time you visit here to pick or drop a passenger you find that the parking fee has been increased,” said Kirpal Singh, a resident of Channi Himat, Jammu.

Officials are tightlipped on the issue and refused to comment. They, however, admitted that the contractors were fleecing the people and they don’t have any objection if the security personnel allow the people to bring their vehicles to the entrance or exit point.

The commuters said they had taken the issue to the appropriate level a number of times, but a nexus was running between the officials of the Railways, security officers and the contractors, which was hampering from implementing a minimum slab for parking fee.

Jammu, May 12
Rising mercury keeps students inside their departments and restricts their free movement on the campus. After a hustle and bustle on the campus for a couple of days due to a slight dip in the temperature, Jammu University presented a deserted look once again due to soaring temperature.

Jammu, May 12
Craze for roller skating is fast catching up with children and youths in the city, but the indifferent attitude of the state’s sports council has been discouraging the professional skating.

Though the J&K sports council is constituted every year in April, but due to the election code of conduct, the sports body could not be formulated for this year so far.

Interestingly, there are two recognised bodies - Roller Skating Federation of J&K and Amateur Roller Skating Association of J&K for the promotion of the game, yet for the past several years, no state-level carnival has been organised for the skaters.

“The entire selection process for the national and international level sports competitions is conducted in unfair manner. The authorities have been damaging the interest of skating and skaters,” complained players at MA Stadium.

Children awaiting the state-level roller skating tournament got a shock after they came to know that it had been cancelled.

Though the organisation, Roller Athlete Skating Club, Jindrah, which were to hold the carnival, has not been recognised by the sports council, its executive members (most of whom have represented state at the international forums) say earlier also they have organised such tournaments with the consent of the sports council.

“We had received application forms from as many as 250 skaters who wanted to participate in three-day long carnival. We had advertised in the media, repaired the track, put lights besides other preparations after spending Rs 20,000 from our pocket,” they say, adding, “We were told at the eleventh hour that we could not hold the programme.”

“We wanted to talk to authorities but they were not available, resultantly we had to inform all participants about the unfortunate development besides returning their applications,” they rue.

On the other hand, sports officer, Jammu, Krishan Sharma says politicking between the two associations has been victimising the game. “With the intervention of the spots council, efforts are on to merge both associations into one,” Sharma says.

In-charge secretary sports council, PS Gill says, “We are not supposed to hold sports activities. We just raise infrastructure and facilitate the selection of players for the national and international events.”

Gill further maintains that the skating associations are accountable to the central federation only. “We will soon get the repair and renovation work done on the track,” he says.