Srinagar, June 4
Over 30 persons were injured in fresh violence that broke out in the Kashmir valley today as a youth, who was hit by a tear shell on Monday while protesting against the mysterious death of two women in Shopian, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

As many as 15 persons sustained injuries when a huge crowd accompanying the funeral procession of Nissar Ahmad Dar of Barzulla, Srinagar, clashed with the police as they headed towards the Hyderpora residence of Hurriyat leader Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani.

They wanted Geelani to read Islamic prayers before Dar was buried. However, apprehending more trouble the security forces denied permission and fired tear shells to disperse them. Geelani and many other separatist leaders are still under house arrest.

Clashes between protesters and security forces broke out in Batmaloo, Bemina, Ali Kadal and a few more places in the valley, which observed a complete shutdown for the fourth consecutive day over the alleged murder of two women. The police also foiled a march of the High Court Bar Association, Kashmir, towards Shopian and detained its members.

Geelani, who has again emerged as the rallying force against the alleged highhandedness of the government and the security forces, will spell out his future strategy tomorrow after the Friday prayers.

“We have called for a party meeting tomorrow at his residence. If the government does not allow the meeting, then decision would be conveyed to all concerned telephonically,” his spokesperson Ayaz Akbar said.

Facing a crisis that is a scary reminiscent of the last year’s unrest over the Amarnath land row, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed the people to give him some time to bring out the truth. “I also have a family and I can understand the pain of those close to the deceased. You trust me and give me some time,” he said.

He accused the PDP, which has rubbished the one-man judicial committee to probe the deaths as “discredited”, of trying to make political capital out of a family’s grief.

A PDP spokesperson said they were willing to give the government some time but questioned its intentions.

Meanwhile, the valley remained shut for the fourth consecutive day today. There seemed to be a common refrain against police inaction as shops and commercial establishment remained close across Kashmir.

Udhampur, June 4
The sinking of about 200 metres of stretch on the strategically important Batote-Kishtwar National Highway authenticates the warning of geologists that unplanned development in this landslide-prone belt would prove disastrous for the residents of the mountainous districts of Kishtwar and Doda. The part of the highway sunk between Assar and Trungal in February this year following which both districts remained cut off from the rest of the world for more than a month.

Though the authorities have constructed an alternative track to connect both districts with the rest of the world, soil erosion has been going on unabated on this highway and many spots have been unofficially declared “unsafe” by the authorities.

The authorities have identified more than 10 vulnerable spots after the sinking of some portions of the highway. “The sinking of the highway was the result of the on-going unplanned development in this landslide-prone belt,” observed Prof GM Bhat, an eminent geologist of Jammu University.

Bhat was of the opinion that development had been started in a haphazard manner in this belt and the creation of a lake in the reservoir of the Baglihar hydropower project had further compounded the situation. “The condition of the highway has been deteriorating and it is high time to take some effective steps to arrest further soil erosion to protect the highway from sinking,” he advised.

If geologists have to be believed, the Batote-Kishtwar highway is unsafe as a large stretch of this highway is landslide prone. Before the creation of the artificial lake in the reservoir of the Baglihar project, the geologists had recommended the catchment area treatment, but the same was not seriously taken by the authorities. After filling of the reservoir, water started seeping in rocks and soil particles became loose.

Assar, Kourapani, Trungal and other areas are landslide prone and according to geologists the lake has further loosened the soil that has caused the sinking of over some parts of the highway.

“Then the authorities have decided to use the lake for adventure tourism, but nothing has been done so far to protect the highway from soil erosion,” Shahid Altaf, an Assar resident rued and pointed out that some portions were still gradually sinking in this belt.

Jammu, June 4
Ashok Khajuria and Rajesh Gupta, president and vice-president of the state BJP unit, who boarded an Indian Airlines flight this afternoon, were made to leave the plane. The BJP leaders were going to assess the situation arising out of an attack on the Sikhs at Rangrath in the Budgam area in Kashmir.

Khajuria lashed out at the state government calling the action repressive. He also flayed the separatists for making life difficult for the minority communities in the valley.

His other concern was little representation for the Hindus in the state Cabinet and the non-inclusion of Hindu MPs from Jammu into the Union Cabinet.

He appealed to all political parties and people of Jammu to come on a platform so that the rights of the minorities were protected and they got a proper share in the government.

Jammu, June 4
Acting on a tipoff, sleuths of the State Vigilance Organisation last evening raided the office of the controller, examination, University of Jammu, and seized some documents of B.A, B.Sc and B.Com Part-II biannual examinations.

According to sources, one of the university officers observed some discrepancies between the original award roll submitted by a lecturer and the final marks registered by the controller’s office.

The matter was later discussed in the VC office. However, when no action was taken, the officer registered a complaint with the State Vigilance Organisation.

Controller of examination R.D.Sharma refused to call it a raid, adding that the university authorities were also probing the matter. He said the vigilance team had visited the examination centre. “Whatever documents the team demanded were given because we also want the matter to be sorted out”, R.D. Sharma said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the university has constituted a two-member committee comprising Prof. Deep Sahi and Vivek Slathia, deputy registrar, finance, to investigate the matter.

Rahul Bhou, president of the Progressive Students Association, condemned the discrepancies in marks records, saying that the controller of examination should issue a clarification on this matter.

A lecturer of the university said action should be taken against the culprit

An officer of the State Vigilance Organisation said the matter was under investigation and the culprits would be punished as per the law.

Jammu, June 4
Nearly 200 persons, mostly women from Meen Sarkar and adjoining villages, today staged a protest outside the police control room (PCR) here demanding exemplary punishment to the in-laws of a newly wed woman, who was allegedly tortured to death for dowry on May 30.

Fed up with alleged maltreatment and torture by her in-laws, Rekha Devi, wife of Krishan Singh of Sanjay Nagar here, had committed suicide by consuming some toxic substance on May 30.

Nearly 200 villagers, including Rekha’s father Hari Singh, from Meen Sarkar and other adjoining villages in Bari-Brahmana arrived at the PCR here around 10.30 am today and staged a protest and blocked traffic.

They claimed that Krishan Singh and his parents used to torture Rekha to bring more dowry from her parents. However, Manohar Singh, SSP, Jammu, pacified them and assured them of an impartial probe into the case.

The SSP said Randeep Kumar, SP, city north, had been asked to probe the case.

Srinagar, June 4
Somit Sinha, an electrical engineer based in Pune, arrived here on June 1 to spend a week with his wife and two kids even as the law and order situation had begun deteriorating after the separatists’ strike call in the wake of the suspicious death of two young women.

Sinha (42) remained confined to the boulevard, the scenic road along the Dal, where he was staying in a hotel, hoping for the situation to get better. Like scores of other tourists, he realised that things do not get better so easily in the valley and decided to take the first flight back home and spend the rest of his children’s summer holidays elsewhere. “There is no life. Shops are closed and so are restaurants. This is not the ideal situation to spend holidays,” he said on his way to airport.

As one travelled on the Jammu-Srinagar highway today, several tourists buses and vehicles could be seen ferrying the disappointed tourists out of the valley, marking of yet another season gone wrong midway for tourism industry after it made a promising start.

There has been a few cases of tourist buses getting attacked by protesters, prompting even separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yaseen Malik to issue statements against it.

Travel operators say they are getting more calls for cancellation than booking these days. “A tourist does not like instability or volatility. And this is the current situation. The government should bring a quick end to this crisis and we are finished this year as well,” Mohammad Hamid of Ansari Travels says. One hope for the industry is that not even separatists would like to be blamed for harming an industry which is the lifeline for Kashmir's livelihood, and they may withdraw their call to facilitate tourists' arrival and movement.

Hamid says it is too early to say if the ongoing shutdown in the valley would have a permanent effect on this year’s season. “Taliban scare was more disturbing for tourists. Still they were coming in large numbers till a week back. Once separatists withdraw their call, tourists would come again,” he says.

Officials at Broadway and Mumtaj Hotels, two major hotels in Srinagar, say they are suffering due to the current volatility but refused to give out any figures.

Tourism officials say the cancellation of flight tickets to Srinagar is rife. Tickets for immediate plane tickets have come down by more than half.

Jammu, June 4
Even as policemen from three posts and two police stations close to the banks of the Chenab in Akhnoor sector are working to recover the body of a woman employee of the Wildlife Department who was drowned in the Chenab, her four male friends were booked on the charge of culpable homicide today.

It may be stated here that 31-year-old Munira Begum, a native of Sunder Dacchan in Kishtwar and an employee of the Wildlife Department posted at the Manda deer park, was drowned in the mighty Chenab in Akhnoor on June 2.

Munira had gone on an excursion near the Pandav caves on the banks of the Chenab with her four friends.

Mohan Lal, SP, rural, said despite hectic search operations the body still remained untraced. Though we called off search operations last evening, three police posts and two police stations (Garkhal, Pargwal, Khour, Jourian and Akhnoor) situated close to the Chenab in Akhnoor sector were on a look out to recover the body, the SP said.

About the four friends of Munira, he said they had been booked under Section 304, RPC, (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Those booked are Munish Khanna, 29, of Rehari Colony, Munish Bhandari, 35, of Pucca Danga, Puneet Kumar, 18, and Rakesh Kumar, 28, both of Sarwal.