Jammu, August 5
Two central universities will be opened in the state, one in Jammu and the other in Kashmir, a group of ministers (GoM) assured prominent citizens and student organisations at a meeting here today.

Minister for Industries and Commerce Surjit Singh Slathia, Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Medical Education R.S. Chib, Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla and political adviser to the Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana had convened this meeting after discussing the central university issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Addressing the mediapersons, the ministers said the state government had taken up the proposal for two central universities with the Government of India.

They mentioned that the government was committed to equitable development of all three regions of the state.

The student representatives said they were fully satisfied with transparent and genuine efforts of the state and union governments for considering the demand favourably.

They said they would fight for the cause of students in a peaceful manner and not allow the divisive forces to succeed in their evil designs to create regional and communal tensions.

Earlier, the group of ministers visited the recently established Jammu office of the central university at Gandhinagar to inspect its functioning. They issued instructions for displaying hoardings at a conspicuous place for public awareness. 

Jammu, August 5
A gun has been replaced by a needle and the hands that were trained to kill have learnt the art of embroidery. A person, who used to hold a gun in his hands, is now seen with a needle, as he has become a master in embroidery at the Jammu District Jail, Ambphalla.

He is a person who once snatched lives of many innocent people but now wants to live a peaceful life.

Amin Yaseen, a LeT militant who belongs to Kishtwar district, has been lodged in the district jail for the past three years. He could not control his tears when Harsha Vashnav, an employee with the J&K Bank, tied Rakhi on his wrist today.

Talking to TNS inside the jail, Yaseen said: “Militants killed my relative and my parents are being harassed by the people. Those, who are on this wrong path, should once think about their parents, their country and leave militancy to lead a normal life.”

Abid Khan, another jail inmate who belongs to Bihar and has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, said, “I got bail but I stopped to celebrate the festival. A person is not a criminal by birth but circumstances forces them to adopt wrong path.”

He said, “I miss my children on all festivals. I have realised my mistake and will not commit it again.”

The same were the feelings of other more than 500 jail inmates. The entire atmosphere of the jail was emotional when these jail inmates were tied Rakhi by Harsha and Jail Superintendent Rajni Sehgal.

Rajni Sehgal said, “The festival of Raksha Bandhan depicts the strength of a bond between sisters and brothers. All jail inmates are human beings and we want them back in society.”

Amarnath Shrine (Anantnag), August 5
Using high-frequency radio interceptors, high-tech aerial pictures, thermal imagery and sniffer dogs, security forces have been able to ensure an incident-free Amaranth yatra.

Last year, the allotment of 800 kanals of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) had led to a controversy. People in the valley and Jammu had responded with separate communally divisive bandh calls.

This year, the pilgrimage started on June 16 and concluded today as “Charri Mubarak”, the holy mace of Lord Shiva, was brought down to Panchtarni after prayers.

Nearly 5,200 CRPF and BSF personnel were deployed to ensure an incident-free yatra. Teams of the Army oversaw the outer perimeter of the security using nearly 2,000 of its men.

Besides, the SASB had set up 12 langars (community kitchen), rain shelters and made 320-odd toilets and bathrooms for the pilgrims.

Senior officials of the CRPF and the BSF praised 23 sniffer dogs, which sniffed out three improved explosive devices (IEDs). Nalin Prabhat, DIG (operations), south Kashmir, said: “The dogs have been effective”.

Rakesh Sharma, BSF’s commandant of the area, was also full of praise for the dogs.

Security forces also had access to images gathered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) being operated by the IAF. The IAF also operates Israel-built UAVs that have high-resolution cameras.

Beside this, the agencies used a radio intercept system that was able to track down a vast range of frequencies that could have been possibly used by militants.

Karamveer Singh, ADG, CRPF (north zone), admitted that “tracking has helped to at least pinpoint the location of militants even though some of the information passed on the radio sets is done deliberately to mislead security forces”.

A hand-held thermal imager is another device that was used extensively. In the dark, the imager provides with clear movement of a person in the hills or jungles. Similar thermal imagers have been positioned all along the international border.

The other equipment to be used were deep search detectors that can detect mines buried up to 2-feet deep.

On the religious front, it is clear that pilgrims are now preferring the Baltal route with 73 per cent preferring it as a trek of just 12 km is needed. The old route of Pahalgam-Chandanwari entails a 34-km trek.

Jammu, August 5
Mystery shrouds the death of the Jammu Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) president, Ram Sahai, who was found shot dead inside his office in the Chamber House, near the Rail Head Complex, Jammu.

Though the police has not ruled out any foul play behind the death, it says that the preliminary investigation and circumstantial evidence suggest that it could be a case of suicide.

Jammu SSP Manohar Singh said during preliminary investigation and after questioning two guards and Sahai’s driver, it was known that he came to the chamber’s office at 12 noon. “As today was a holiday, nobody expected Sahai to be present in the office. The office has only one entry which was guarded by a santri, who was present on his duty.”

The SSP said it was found during the preliminary questioning that Sahai was in depression. He handed over some files and his briefcase to his driver and asked him to put them in his car.

“He called his driver at 1.45 pm and asked him to take those files and briefcase to his Narwal office and come back,” the SSP said, adding that during further questioning the driver said it took him about 20 minutes to return.

“On the entry doors of the office the guard told the driver that he heard some gun shot but cannot find out anything. The driver went to Sahai’s office and found him lying in a pool of blood on the sofa with a revolver in his hand,” the SSP added.

He further said the driver immediately called Sahai’s son, who shifted him to Government Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

The business community in Jammu has expressed shock over the mysterious death of Ram Sahai.

Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir chapter of the CII Sanjay Puri said: “This is a great loss not only to the business community but also to the entire Jammu region.”

A statement of the traders union said: “He had done a lot for the uplift of industry in Jammu. It was the outcome of his tiring efforts that the trade between two divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir started last year and that a team of traders from PoK visited the state.”

Jammu, August 5
The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party has demanded the abolition of the Upper House of the state legislature terming it as the rehabilitation centre for the “defeated” and “disgruntled” politicians.

Head of the Panthers Party Harsh Dev Singh has moved a Bill in the Assembly seeking abolition of the Upper House of the legislature; the Bill in this regard has been enlisted as a Private Member’s Bill no 37 of 2009.

Singh has averred that the futility of the legislative council has been acknowledged all over the country and 24 states across the country have already abolished the legislative council.

“It is high time that the state should acknowledge the fact that the legislative councils have lost their relevance in the present day democratic set up and have only proved to be a white elephant,” Singh Said. In his Private Member’s Bill Singh has stated “The legislative councils were conceived initially for a specific purpose and with a definite objective which stands violated with impunity by successive governments for political and vested interests.”

The objective behind the creation of the Upper House as per the Bill was to have some eminent men of letters who could make meaningful contribution in the process of parliamentary deliberations and debates.

“It was felt by the framers of the Constitution that such men of letters and people with specialised skills might not be able to make it to the legislature through normal process of elections, hence a provision was incorporated in the Constitution to provide a mechanism for the entry of these skilled people to participate in the legislative proceedings and in important policy matters so that the state could benefit form their expertise and specialised knowledge,” the Bill states. 

Jammu, August 5
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand’s direction to the National Building Construction Committee (NBCC), the apex executive agency to dig roads in the state to lay sewer and pipelines, to start work after the rainy season for the benefit of people has brought cheers to the NBCC.

The NBCC had been demanding to postpone the digging work during the monsoon, which has been accepted by the Deputy CM.

General Manager of the NBCC Hemraj said, “The rain water affects the quality of road repair work and the durability of roads built. So we had requested to postpone the laying of line work.”

Hemraj also stressed upon using the riverbed material to refill the trenches instead of using the excavated soil.

As far as funds are concerned, the Deputy CM has asked officers of different agencies, who are instrumental in road work, to use government funds judiciously. He also asked the NBCC and Eco-Reconstruction Agency (ERA) for earth filling of the dug roads after proper consolidation.

With this new direction, the project that is already under scanner for its delay is likely to get further delayed, causing inconvenience to the public due to the dug up roads across the city.

State BJP chief Ashok Khajuria also assailed the NBCC saying that the digging of roads across Jammu has made it difficult for the people to move. He said: “It is very strange that the government has failed to ensure proper and timely repair of the roads dug by NBCC,” he said.

Udhampur, August 5
Festivity turned into tragedy for Attar Chand who lost his teenager son on Raksha Bandhan.

Harshil Kalsotra (14) of Udhampur had gone to the market along with his friend. As they were travelling on a speeding two-wheelers, the thread of a kite pierced through his throat. With severe bleeding, he was immediately shifted to a hospital where doctors pronounced him “brought dead”

Srinagar, August 5
A sessions court may pronounce its order tomorrow on the bail pleas of four police officials, including the then SP Javed Iqbal Mattoo, in connection with the Shopian rape and murder case.

The sessions court had heard the arguments of government as well as defence counsel for nearly a week before reserving its order on July 31 and adjourning the 
case to August 6.

The officers concerned, who have been suspended, were SP Javed Iqbal Mattoo, DSP Rohit Baskotra, former Shopian SHO Shafeeq Ahmad 
and Sub-Inspector Gazi Abdul Karim.

All four police officers had been remanded in 15 days of judicial custody by the court after their police remand ended on July 30. They were first sent to 10-day police remand after being arrested in connection with the sensational case on July 15 following an order by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The four officers, suspended on June 22 for their alleged involvement in destroying evidence relating to the rape and murder of 17 year-old Asiya and her sister-in-law Neelofar (22) on May 30, were arrested on July 15 following an order by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

Overturning the High Court order that the four officers should seek bail only from it, the apex court allowed them to move the sessions court in Shopian which was directed to expeditiously consider their applications. — PTI 

Srinagar, August 5
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah declared open the second Kashmir Cup International Rafting Championship at Sonamarg, 100 km from here, today. Omar Abdullah highlighted the unlimited potential of Jammu and Kashmir in adventure tourism and said the state was none to second in the world in this category. 

He laid emphasis on showcasing this potential globally and added that besides conventional tourism, the state offers a grand mix of cultural, pilgrim, adventures and other forms of tourism activities.

Besides five foreign teams from Newzealand, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Nepal, Singapore, eight national and 12 state teams are participating in the championship.

Abdullah said there had been a sea change in the situation since 1990s and the atmosphere was highly conducive to promote tourism of all categories. He said the perception about the situation in the state had to be re-written and the mindset among the foreign tourists changed in positive direction.

Tourism offered greater employment opportunities and generated wide economic activities, as such, demands focused attention for integrated development, he added. “While steps have to be taken to encourage and promote conventional tourism, skiing, river rafting, mountaineering, mountain biking and other adventure tourism need to be properly showcased and encouraged in the state.”

The Chief Minister welcoming the foreign rafters, who are taking part in the championship, asked them to be the brand ambassadors of the state’s natural beauty, adventure tourism and hospitality.

Srinagar, August 5
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has stressed the need for a coordination among various security forces and the state police to help maintain peace and security in the state.

The CM, while chairing the Combined Unified Headquarters meeting here this morning, asked the police to be people friendly while taking measures to maintain law and order and peace. The Combined Unified Headquarters, headed by the Chief Minister, comprises heads of various security agencies and the police and oversees the law and order and security scenario in the state.

The GOC of Srinagar-based 15 corps, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, DGP Kuldeep Khoda and ADG (CID) K Rajendra Kumar and other heads of the security agencies gave detailed briefs about various matters pertaining to the law and order and maintenance of peace.

Omar Abdullah asserted that the government was keen to usher the state in an era of faster development and peace is imperative to carry forward works smoothly and ensure the completion of schemes in a time-bound manner.

Jammu, August 5
Though the festival of Raksha Bandhan is a special occasion for the brothers and sisters, it was even more special for the management of Serving All Humanity Yearningly Over the Globe (SAHYOG) India - an NGO that solemnises marriages of poor girls besides taking care of special children at its Prerna Institute.

“The day holds a pious value for us too like everyone. The girls, who are married off by SAHYOG, come to us and tie rakhi to every member of the organisation,” said founder president of the NGO Ashvini Jojra.

According to secretary of the organisation Mahesh Kinth, “We have arranged nearly 880 marriages of girls belonging to penury-ridden families. Of which, several were orphans or suffer from some sort of physical disability.”

The moment was equally euphoric at the institute - a branch of SAHYOG working for the welfare of the mentally challenged, deaf and dumb, visually impaired, orphans, poor and the needy children. A community kitchen was also organised on the occasion.