Srinagar, July 13
The government seems to be again in the dock over the rape and murder of two women of Shopian, as the Justice Muzaffar Jan Commission has accused the police of shielding the culprits.

The one-man commission submitted its report that was made public by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister here on Friday.

The commission in its findings had suggested that there was material on the file to hold that the “involvement of some agency of the J&K Police cannot be completely ruled out”. The police investigating team, led by SP, Haseeb Mughal, assisting the commission had also submitted its findings, which had been annexed to the commission’s report.

The police from day one had been trying to shield the culprits, the commission opined. “We are not against anyone… there has been trouble due to the incident all over the valley,” Justice Jan said, adding that it would not play with the sentiments of the people.

In its three-page report, the police has cast aspersions on the character of the slain women and has recommended interrogation of Shakeel Ahangar, husband of Nelofar, whose body along with her sister-in-law Asiya, was recovered from a canal on May 30 outside Shopian town.

“We did not accept the police report. It had no coordination with us. It was investigating independently,” Justice Muzaffar Jan said.

He added that the investigations by the police team were put on the file of the commission report, but did not comprise part of the report submitted to the government. This had been done in view of the nature of the judicial commission inquiring into the incident. It had not made any negative remarks or recommendations against the family members of the victims, he said.

In its findings the commission reported: “Considering the overall facts and attendant circumstances of the present incident, it appears that the deliberate inaction of the police left unexplained, is not a bona fide omission, caused by an error of judgement, or a genuinely wrong interpretation of statute, or a mistaken notion of procedure, but seems to be a deliberate attempt to dilute and mellow down this incident.

“Weighing the pros and cons of the consistent connivance, in the initial stage of investigation, by the investigating agency, and the subsequent cover up and manoeuvring by the local police, showing no seriousness in the incident, leads to the irresistible inference that the police had more to hide than to reveal.

“The only aspect that has to be considered is, why should the police try to cover up facts from the public gaze, was it because of incompetence, or indifference or out of fear of public exposure”. 

Jammu, July 13
The streaks of rebellion have started appearing in the Congress party after the recent Cabinet expansion. It started with big shot MS Niaz, MLA Bhaderwah, today threatening to resign for sidelining him to accommodate his arch-rival Ghulam Mohammad Saroori in the Cabinet expansion taken place on Saturday.

Niaz said it was unfortunate that the party had chosen over Saroori, who campaigned against the Congress when he (Niaz) was fighting from Bhaderwah in the Assembly elections last year and extended tacit support to the BJP. He then reported this matter to the party high command.

He said he felt disheartened that Saroori had been rewarded for his wrong acts and he would take this matter before Sonia Gandhi once again. He said if he was not given justice, he would resign from the party.

Saroori is considered to be a close confident of former Chief Minister and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Saroori, who became MLA in 2002, had resigned from his seat to facilitate that seat for Azad in 2006. A year later, he was made MLC for his sacrifice.

His rebellion has not gone down well with the Congress as senior leaders in state Congress said his resentment might be justified but it was not correct on part of Niaz to use media podium to air his angry sentiments against the party, instead of solving it within party folds.

Jammu, July 13
Exposing the slack security arrangements at Shri Maharaja Ghulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital, a newborn baby boy went missing from its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) last evening. The police has failed to trace the child so far. The hospital staff and relatives and the parents of the baby protested outside the hospital this afternoon.

The police today pinpointed the ‘lax security’ arrangements at the hospital. It said during investigations it was found that the register meant for recording entry and exit times of visitors at the NICU ward was poorly maintained, while there was no security at the NICU ward to question the credentials of the visitors to the ward at the time when the infant went missing.

Reports said Rajni Bala, wife of Sunil Sharma, was admitted to the hospital, where she gave birth to a baby boy on Saturday. The infant was critical and was kept in the NICU ward.

According to the mother of the missing baby, she breastfed her two-day-old baby in the NICU around 7 pm yesterday. Later his father too went there to see him, but he was missing around 8 pm.

When her father did not find the child, reports said he asked the hospital staff on the duty, who denied knowledge about the whereabouts of the infant. Thereupon, he raised a hue and cry and made the police to intervene and investigate the matter.

The police took the aggrieved parents and their kin to the control room to scrutinise the footage of CCTV cameras, but to no avail. Thereafter, the police also questioned the hospital staff on duty. It is also checking the records of those parents whose infants died at the hospital yesterday.

Today, the infant’s family and their relatives protested outside the hospital and accused the hospital administration of stealing their newly born son.

The paramedical staff also protested for some hours and warned that if the staff was ‘victimised’, they would go on mass leave.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case. “We have got some leads today and are questioning parents of two newborn infants who left the hospital the same day without the consent of the doctors,” said DSP, city, Swatantar Arora. 

Jammu, July 13
Sakina Bi comes every Monday to Chakan-da-Bagh near Poonch, the crossing point at the LoC in Kashmir, to check if her husband Mohammad Hussain has returned from PoK where he had gone to meet his brother in March.

“I come here every Monday to see if my husband has returned from Pakistan,” Sakina, 50, told IANS over the phone from Poonch.

Hussain, 55, a resident of Kerni village in mountainous Poonch district, had gone to meet his brother Fateh Mohammad in Bajri village in the PoK on March 2 on a 45-day permit and was scheduled to return on April 13.

According to Sakina, her husband used to call regularly from across the border and he even called two days before he was scheduled to return. His family came to the crossing point on April 13, but to their shock he was not among the returning passengers. Since then, his family has had no contact with him. A helpless Sakina now comes to Chakan-da-Bagh every Monday, the day when passengers cross over to both sides, to check if her husband has returned.

“I don’t know what has happened to my husband, but bad thoughts are coming to my mind always,” she said.

A mother of five children with no means of livelihood, Sakina has also approached the district administration for help. “I am begging from people around for providing bread to my children,” she said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Poonch Rattan Lal told IANS that the administration had received Sakina’s complaint and was trying to trace her missing husband. “Usually the intelligence wings are asked to provide inputs in such cases,” he said. — IANS

Luthra appealed to all PHE employees to observe a complete ‘Kam Chhoro Hartal’ tomorrow so that the authority concerned be forced to redress their demands. 

Srinagar, July 13
The PDP has rejected the charge that it was behind the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir valley, saying the ruling NC's "wrong" handling of the situation was to be blamed.

Several NC leaders, including Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, had earlier blamed the PDP for the present unrest, paralysing the region for nearly a month now.

"The accusation levelled by NC leaders about the PDP being behind the current unrest and the threat of police investigation only confirm how wrong the government is in its diagnosis of the problems it has landed itself and the people in," a PDP spokesman said.

"By levelling these false charges, the government is not only insulting the victims of its terror but also those who are raising their voice against it and braving police atrocities," he added.

The party said the government's threat to launch police investigation against it only endorsed the general impression that it was trying to convert the state police into the political tool of the National Conference.

The NC leaders had said: "The PDP leadership is behind the present unrest prevailing in some parts of the valley.Anti-social activities performed by the PDP cadres are highly detrimental to the people's welfare and progress of the state."

The PDP said the government should focus on restoring peace and normalcy in the state instead of playing a blame-game on the issue. The party said the deteriorating law and order situation in the state was a manifestation of the decades-old problem.

"The human and economic cost of the unresolved problem will only keep mounting unless it is resolved", the spokesman said.

He said the PDP had has been constantly advocating that the Kashmir problem needs to be resolved through genuine and bold action on diplomatic, political, constitutional and economic fronts. — PTI 

Jammu, July 13
The BJP has objected to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s paying tributes to those who killed Kashmiri Pandits and made other community members flee their homes in the valley, by observing July 13 as Martyrs’ Day.

Criticising Omar’s statement “the NC torchbearer of martyrs’ principles,” BJP state president Ashok Khajuria said it had hurt the sentiments of the nationalist forces in the state. It would only promote the cause of the separatists and encourage the anti-national elements.

He said such a statement by none other than the Chief Minister was also an indication of the soft approach of the government towards such elements, who indulged in creating a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims.

Khajuria reminded Omar that those called martyrs by him were the people having a communal mindset and were responsible for atrocities on innocent, peace loving Kashmiri Hindus and damaging their properties.

“The Chief Minister should explain as to why a person, who creates a law and order problem and spreads communal hatred, is a martyr. Martyrs always stood for social harmony and sacrifice for unity and integrity of the country not to destroy that,” Khajuria said.

He added the NC may have compulsions to observe July 13 as Martyrs’ Day in order to appease a particular section of society in the valley, but silence on the part of the Congress was a crime. It is most unfortunate that the Congress had not said even a single word over the observance of July 13 as Martyrs’ Day and declaring a holiday on the day.

Jammu, July 13
After reviewing the ongoing developmental works of the National Building Construction Corporation, UEED and the Jammu Municipal Corporation in different areas, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand today issued instructions to speed up the projects.

He showed his concern over the slow pace of work, especially outside the Civil Secretariat road, Amphalla and in the Raghu Nath Bazar areas.

After inspecting the work of cleaning of deep drains/ nullahs taken up by the MC opposite Government Gandhi Memorial Science College road and Nowabad, he directed the officers concerned to clear these drains again. He also directed the MC to take up the construction of a parking lot at Nowabad immediately.

Ordering strict action against the building violators, the Deputy Chief Minister directed MC officers to stop unauthorized constructions in the city. He also directed the officers to develop parks and take up other beautification works in the city.

Jammu, July 13
There have been large-scale irregularities in the construction of Balidan Stambh here by the Army that still awaits inauguration

As per the CAG report, there has been an irregular sanction of works out of the operational funds by the GOC of 26 Infantry Division, sanctioning additional works of Rs 3.50 crore out of the funds meant for operational works in violation of the defence works procedure.

A sum of Rs 10.50 crore was projected in the approximate estimate for Shaheed Minar at Bahuwali Rakh in Jammu, including related works.

However, in July, 2004, Engineer-in-Chief’s Branch Army Headquarters omitted the security-related work of Rs 3.50 crore to meet ex-operational works. The government in November 2004 sanctioned the project for the reduced scope of works for Rs 7.25 crore.

For the balance work of Rs 3.5 crore, the Infantry Division GOC accorded sanction in May 2006 under operational works procedure for the security of the war memorial out of the funds placed at his disposal for operational works.

The sanction comprised security buildings, security wall, electrical security system and allied works such as roads, external water, electrification and sewage disposal, which were being executed under four contracts.

Since these additional works were integral to the original War Memorial project, reduction in the scope of works by Rs 3.5 crore from the sanction issued under the Defence Works Procedure and sanction of the same under the Operational Works Procedure was irregular. The sanction of the government, which sanctioned the original work, was required as per the Defence Works Procedure.

“Thus, the Infantry Division GOC had violated the codal provisions while sanctioning additional works worth Rs 3.5 crore,” the CAG report reads.

Jammu, July 13
Shareholders of Cooperative Bank have expressed concern over the condition of cooperative banks in the state that are under the dual control of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, and the RBI.

“The dual control over the bank is the root cause of the decay of the urban cooperative banks and rampant corruption in them,” Rajiv Chuni, president of the Cooperative Banks Shareholders Association, said.

He said such a system had resulted into ‘open’ looting of public money by unscrupulous cooperators on managing committees, board of banks and letting them go scot-free.

“It was because of the malpractices of the management of Citizen Cooperative Bank Ltd, Jammu, that the financial health of the bank had been eroded by unscrupulous cooperators and so called founders. And as a result the bank was declared a ‘weak bank’ by the RBI in 1996,” Chuni said.

Chuni expressed hope that the new Minister for Cooperatives would take measures so that the cooperative movement could get a boost. “His role will open a new chapter of progress and give new dimension to the cooperative movement,” he added.

Jammu, July 13
Chairman of the Panthers Party Prof Bhim Singh has said the political experiment by New Delhi by making Omar Abdullah as the Chief Minister has landed Omar in rough weather and was bound to fail.

“New Delhi’s flawed policy of putting Omar Abdullah on the front seat of governance has accentuated peoples’ discontent and public anger, followed by a massive uprising against amateurish statements, anti-people measures and administrative failures,” Bhim Singh said.

He said the NC-Congress coalition had come to peril after the recent Cabinet expansion as Legislators of both parties had risen in revolt with a loud and clear voice against the Chief Minister.

He said the bureaucratic conscious subversion and the insensitivities of security forces, the police and other governmental agencies had manifested itself under the very nose of Omar. “Rampant corruption in the administration, scant respect for human rights, continued detention of political elements under draconian laws, banning of legitimate political activities of opposition parties speak for itself the hallow political convictions if any represented by the coalition state government and in particular by a child-like Chief Minister, who need ideological grooming in politics,” Bhim Singh said.

RS Pura, July 13
Two out of three inmates of the Juvenile Observation Home in RS Pura in Jammu have been staying there despite crossing the age of 16 years, a condition to live in such centres.

Fayaz Ahmad Bhatt, who came about three months ago from the Srinagar Central Jail where he was lodged on charges of rape and murder, is aged 24, while other boy Mohammad Imran, who has been charged with murder and militancy, has been living in the observation home for more than three-and-a-half years.

When Fayaz, a resident of Wakoora, Ganderbal, was shifted in March this year, he was sent back by the Superintendent of the observation home after consulting the District Social Welfare Officer with a letter that the boy could not be accepted in the home for being overage.

Taking strong note of the superintendent’s letter, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, reprimanded him not to give his interpretation of law and, thus found his action contemptuous. The court also observed that the boy was not a juvenile at present, but was so at the time of the commission of the crime in 1995 when he was jailed for murder.

Legal experts opine otherwise. Advocate Sheikh Shakeel says, “The person who commits crime before the age of 16 is put in a Juvenile Observation Home. But once he crosses that age he is shifted to a jail. This is a legal practice everywhere.”

The observation home officials had to accept Fayaz back on April 22. “The example of Fayaz will set a wrong precedent for juvenile homes, which are meant only for minor criminals,” Superintendent of the observation home Tarsem Lal said.

It is also suspected that the boy may use influence to get himself released from the observation home on the pretext of being a juvenile.

The officials of the observation home could not do much about Fayaz, but they were trying to shift Imran, a resident of Tandi village in Khaniyar district, Srinagar, to the Central Jail.

Jammu, July 13
A modest farmer has to face a lot of difficulties when it comes to take financial aid from banks even to purchase a tractor. The reason: He should have more than three acres to be mortgaged as security deposit.

Farmers rue that even after completing formalities, bankers dither in advancing loans to them.

Interestingly, most of the banks do not have an agriculture development officer (ADO).

Progressive farmer and Jammu Flower Growers Association president Tejinder Singh alleged: “Banks do not follow guidelines laid by the Reserve Bank of India regarding the disbursement of loans to farmers.”

He demanded that the banking facilities should be made available with the Entrepreneur Development Board or the procedure for the advancement of loans to farmers be made simple.

“Though Punjab National Bank is disbursing of small loans, it has only one ADO for the entire state,” he said.

He alleged that the Credit Guarantee Scheme launched by the Centre in 2005 failed to yield results in the state.

Giving details about the scheme, he said it promised a loan of Rs 5 lakh without any mortgage to trained farmers. However, banks had cleared not even a single case under the scheme, he added.

“The rate of interest charged on farm loans is equivalent to that of industrial loans. Banks are supposed to educate people regarding the loan schemes but they are not bothered,” rued Karam Chand, a small farmer.

“It is a very lengthy procedure to get clearance from different departments for getting loan. Moreover, there is no co-ordination between the banks and allied departments,” he alleged.

He said even if a farmers got sanction for the loan, he had to repay it in monthly installments, which is not possible as a farmer did not have fixed monthly income.

He said the farmers should be entitled to repay the amount in two or three installments every year.

However, vice-president of the J&K Bank Madan Lal Gupta refused to comment on the issue whereas spokespersons for other banks just said the banks always took into consideration the repaying capacity of a farmer while sanctioning loans.

Jammu, July 13
Weather in Jammu today turned pleasant after the city was lashed by moderate rainfall this evening. The drizzle that lasted for only few minutes brought respite for residents who were reeling under the scorching heat wave condition.

Though the state Met Department had said that the monsoon had already arrived in the state. However, the current of the same had weakened so there was not much rain in the region.

“The current of the monsoon in the north, especially Jammu and Kashmir has weakened, so we do not expect much rainfall,” an official of the state Met Department said.

Meanwhile, the Met Department has predicted cloudy sky with a few spells of heavy to moderate rain accompanied by thundershowers.