Jammu, October 15
Protesters blocked three bridges over the Tawi for nearly three hours by placing the body of 38-year-old Kuldeep Kumar Bagal on the main Tawi bridge here this evening.

The traffic movement came to a grinding halt between the two parts of the capital city divided by the Tawi as well as between Jammu and Srinagar.

Trouble erupted around 4 pm today when a mob comprising women blocked the main traffic placing Kuldeep’s body on the main bridge. An employee with New Paragon Tailors in the Shalamar area, Kuldeep did not return to his Canal Road house from his workplace last evening. However, his body was found from an isolated place in the bus stand area this morning.

The victim, who is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, had a money dispute with his employer Ramesh Kumar Balgotra.

“The proprietor of the tailoring shop owed Rs 5 lakh to Kuldeep, who had been working for the former since long,” claimed Krishan Lal, victim’s brother. “We waited for him till 8.30 pm yesterday and then tried to contact him on his cellphone twice around 2 am. But there was no response,” said Krishan. Eventually around 5 am today, we went to the city police station to lodge a missing report, he said. In the meantime we received a call from Kuldeep’s employer informing that Kuldeep’s body had been found from the bus stand area, he added.

“We feel there was a foul play and Kuldeep had been murdered,” Krishan said.

After an autopsy was performed at the Government Medical College Hospital here, a strong mob, including family members of Kuldeep, placed his body on the main Tawi bridge around 4 pm today. Angry protesters attacked Balgotra at the bridge, but was rescued by a strong posse of police and was later arrested.

As traffic movement came to a total halt on the three tubes, Deputy Commissioner MK Dwivedi along with SP City (North) Randeep Kumar and SDPO, Bakshi Nagar, SK Chauhan reached the spot. The DC tried to pacify the protesters and assured them of an impartial probe into the circumstances leading to the death of Kuldeep.

But the unrelenting protesters demanded adequate compensation to the aggrieved family, including ex gratia relief and job for Kuldeep’s widow. However, despite repeated attempts no police officer was available for comments.

Jammu, October 15
Describing the custodial death of Rajnish Sharma as a black spot on the NC-Congress government and a heinous human rights violation, veteran BJP leader and Punjab’s Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla today demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

Chawla also announced she would take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, besides moving the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

She said the Crime Branch of the state police that had been told to investigate the case may not deliver. “A murderer can’t be a judge of his own case,” she said categorically and demanded a CBI probe.

“If marrying a person (after becoming a major) from other religion is a crime, what about the senior leaders of the state who also had interfaith marriages,” asked the BJP leader while responding to media queries here this afternoon after meeting Anchal Sharma, aka Amina Yousuf, widow of Rajnish, at her house.

Rajnish had died under mysterious circumstances in a Srinagar police custody on October 5 evening after he was picked up from the Rehari residence of his elder brother Pawan on September 29 on the charges of kidnapping Anchal Sharma.

Chawla expressed regrets that the young Chief Minister had so far maintained a silence over the killing. “Why has the Chief Minister maintained silence over the tragedy of the family,” she asked. I would also ask the Prime Minister whether the law of the land was applicable to the state or not, she added.

“Being major both of them married before a court, a right guaranteed under the Constitution of the country. But the innocent boy was killed in police custody,” she said.

Chawla added to come clean over the entire issue the Omar-led government should immediately put behind the bars Anchal’s father Mohammed Yousuf Mirazi, her brothers Tariq Ahmed and Javed Ahmed, besides the guilty police officers from Kashmir, including the SHO, Bakshi Nagar.

The BJP leader described Rajnish’s death as a cold-blooded murder saying instead of ensuring justice to the family by punishing the culprits, the government rubbed salt on the aggrieved family’s wounds by announcing a compensation.

She also lashed out at the human rights activists saying where were the champions of human rights, who raised a hue and cry every time a militant was killed in Kashmir.

Jammu, October 15
Distancing himself from two party legislators who met suspended SSP Manohar Singh in the Kot Bhalwal prison recently, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said today the NC had nothing to do with the Amandeep murder case and the law would take its own course.

Farooq said he had ordered a party probe by provincial president RL Gupta to know what prompted the two legislators (MLC Ajay Sadhotra and MLA Rachhpal Singh) to meet Manohar Singh in the high-security prison. The suspended SSP, who allegedly received huge kickbacks to fudge evidences in the murder case, was recently shifted to the prison.

Without naming Nagar Singh and his two brothers (father and uncles of main accused Jatinder Singh, aka Raja), Farooq also appealed to the police to arrest the absconders within 48 hours to improve its image.

Addressing mediapersons here this morning after inaugurating an automobiles showroom in Channi Rama, he said there had been a lot of fuss about the NC getting involved in the case, but the NC had no connection, whatsoever, with the case.

The Chief Minister had already made it clear that transparency should be maintained at every level in the probe and the guilty should be punished, he added.

On two legislators, Farooq said the provincial president had been asked to conduct a probe and subsequently action would be taken against them.

He, however, expressed concern over the inordinate delay in arresting the absconders saying continuous delay smacked of a foul play and raised a question mark on the police functioning.

Farooq said the NC’s autonomy proposal could still be one of the options to resolve the Kashmir issue. “We had said it before the Justice Sagheer Working Committee and we say it now. There is nothing to hide. The Union government should look into it,” he said.

It may be stated here that the erstwhile NDA government, of which the NC was a partner, had rejected the NC’s document duly passed by the state legislature.

Srinagar, October 15
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has welcomed the statement of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram that the Centre was ready to initiate dialogue with the representatives of all shades of opinion in the state.

This would help to work out solution to Jammu and Kashmir-centric problems amicably across the table, Omar said while addressing a public meeting in Pulwama district today. Omar said there was also a need to resume Indo-Pak talks, which have broken after the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

The gun or war was no solution to any problem, he said, adding that the state experienced gun culture for about 20 years and it had been realised that gun only adds to miseries without resolving any issue.

He said peace was must for political and economic stability. “We are all equal stakeholders of peace in the sub-continent, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, as such we have to contribute and create conducive environment to discuss all issues across the table and find out a solution,” he added.

Omar said the unemployment problem in the state had assumed a complex magnitude and the government flagged this issue as one of the most important concerns.

“We have initiated a multi-pronged policy to tackle the problem and create job opportunities for the youths in government and private sectors. Attention is being concentrated on skill development and upgrade of employability so that the job market for educated youths is expanded,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has welcomed Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement on the resolution of the Kashmir issue and described it as a development with a breath of fresh air in a situation that had been marred by negative rhetoric for long.

She said the Centre’s commitment to work for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue added a positive dimension to it. Mehbooba said the Home Minister’s description of Jammu and Kashmir as a place with a unique history and a unique geography that would need a unique solution was in line with the thinking and efforts of the PDP.

She said Chidambaram could not be more accurate in outlining the contours of the problem and its possible solution when he said that the state would need its own solution in view of the peculiar background of its problems and that no other arrangement could serve as a model for the state.

Hoping that the dialogue process that the Home Minister promised should take off without delay, Mehbooba said it was also necessary that Pakistan was engaged simultaneously at the political and diplomatic levels. She said all political shades of opinion in the state need to be taken on board to reach a lasting solution, which would also be acceptable to people and states of India and Pakistan.

The PDP president said the self-rule vision presented by her party was taking these factors into consideration and provided a solution to the external and internal problems of the state, aiming at the virtual unification of the pre-partition state of Jammu and Kashmir, without impinging on the territorial integrity and sovereignty either of India and Pakistan.

Referring to the Home Minister’s comments on withdrawal of forces, Mehbooba said: “It needs to be done now in view of the vastly improved security scenario as endorsed by Chidambaram himself.” She said it would work as an effective confidence-building measure along with the revocation of the AFSPA.

Jammu, October 15
Though the state government has called the employees of the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) to hold fourth round of talks to end the impasse between the two sides as the first three rounds proved to be inconclusive, there seems to be no end to the stalemate between the two sides.

“First round of talks were held in Jammu and two in Srinagar while the fourth one is in progress in Jammu, but we don’t expect any outcome from these talks,” president of the SRTC Employees Union Ashok Mehra said.

The first three rounds of talks between the government representatives and the members of the employees’ union remained inconclusive as both sides could not reach to a final decision to end the deadlock.

The ongoing strike by the SRTC employees today completed 51 days and the protesting employees say they will continue their stir if the government fails to come up with a onetime settlement plan for them.

The employees have been sitting on strike for the past 51 days, demanding release of their five months salary and other benefits, but the government was ready to pay only salary for three months on Id, which the employees refused.

Meanwhile, the employees today held a protest march from Bikram Chowk to Dogra Chowk and blocked the Tawi bridge for almost half an hour.

The protesting staff said they had to celebrate Id without salary now Diwali would also be dark for us as we had been received the salary for the past five months. “The festival of lights would be dark for us. We don’t have sufficient ration at our houses, how to bring firecrackers and new clothes for our children? If the government fulfil our demands it would be the greatest gift on Diwali for us,” an employee of the SRTC said.

Srinagar, October 15
Disasters lead to death and destruction and people should be sympathetic towards those who are affected by these disasters. Sharief-ud-din Shariq, MP from the Baramulla-Kupwara LS seat, said on Tuesday while delivering a lecture during the inaugural function of a two-day workshop - state of recovery and rehabilitation in earthquake affected Jammu and Kashmir and future strategies towards resilience.

The workshop was organised by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in collaboration with the Welthungerhilfe (formerly German Agro Action). He also extended support to people and organisations working for the welfare of people affected by disasters.

“We have lost human values, solidarity and peace and become greedy and self-centred. Community-based work on sympathetic attitude towards people affected by disasters is missing, and we want same should get revived. I am ready to help those who want to do some job on humanitarian grounds,” says Shariq.

Mayank Joshi, facilitator of workshop in thematic presentation, said relief was the immediate priority after a disaster.

Vinod Sharma, a Professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration-Delhi, delivered a lecture on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Development. He said buildings like hospitals and schools need to be constructed in proper manner as this would ensure minimum casualties.

GA Bhat, Director General, Fire and Emergency Services, expressed concern that old Baramulla and Srinagar come under seismic zone V.

Udhampur, October 15
With the arrest of five overground workers (OGWs) of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI) from the Chatroo area in Kishtwar this evening, the police claims to have foiled plans of the militant outfit to execute killings and conduct recruitment in the remote areas of the district.

The five arrested have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, 24, Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, 55, Rustam Ali Chopan, 34, Tanvir Hussain, 18, and Mohammad Imran Bhat, 19, all residents of Sigdhi in Kishtwar.

According to the police, during an operation in the area following the kidnapping of a JCB driver, the police nabbed the five accused. They had been providing logistic support to HuJI commander Mohammad Amin Rahi. Rahi had been active in the belt for the past three months. JCB driver Satpal Singh of Nurpur, Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, who was kidnapped by HuJI militants, had managed to escape from the clutches of the ultras.

According to the police, Rahi had tasked the five accused to provide him information about the movement of the security forces in the area. The arrested persons were also involved in arranging SIM cards and other material for the HuJI commander.

Police sources said after the killing of its top commanders, the HuJI had virtually been wiped from this belt. Rahi had started a recruitment drive in the belt.

Out of the five OGWs arrested, three were fresh recruits who had been assigned the job of luring more youths of their age to join “jihad”.

The sources further said during initial interrogation the arrested OGWs had admitted to their involvement in arranging money and other logistic support for the HuJI commander. They were also involved in extorting money from contractors for Rahi.

Jammu, October 15
Just a few days ahead of the annual practice of shifting of the government offices from Srinagar to Jammu, popularly known as darbar move, the employees coming to Jammu will be shocked to know that some of the government apartments here have witnessed an increase in theft cases in the past few days.

In the absence of proper police assistance, the Estate Department, which is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of these government apartments, seemed to be helpless in stopping the incidents of thefts in these apartments near the BC road and at Kachi Chawni.

Confirming this, deputy director estate Arun Manhas told The Tribune that there had been theft incidents in some government accommodations. The thefts came to light when the employees holding the possession of the accommodation, asked the chowkidar or the Estate Department to get the accommodation whitewashed. “When chowkidars entered the apartments and found items scattered. We informed the police and an FIR was registered in the case,” Manhas said.

Manhas said there had been four incidents of burglary in the quarters.

In the darbar move, the employees leave most of their belongings in Jammu as they have to return during the winter to Jammu and this time most of their belongings have been stolen.

The occupants of the quarters were called to check for the items stolen, and in most of the cases TV sets, gas cylinders and household utensils were missing.

“There used to be a police post to guard these quarters but it was removed last year during the Amarnath land row,” Manhas said. On September 29, the Estate Department registered a case at Bus stand police post.

The Estate Department has written to the Jammu Deputy Commissioner and the Jammu SSP and have raised the issue with the Jammu Divisional Commissioner during a recent meeting. Jammu SSP Basant Rath told The Tribune that, so far, there was no “breakthrough” in the cases of thefts.

Meanwhile, chowkidars of the Estate Department caught two burglars red-handed while they were trying to break the lock of an accommodation at Kachi Chawni a few days ago.

Jammu, October 15
After Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon instructed officials to be strict on violators, the traffic police here has started tightening the noose around those who break the law. The minister, while chairing a high-level meeting, had asked officers of the traffic department to penalise minibus drivers who violate rules and even cancel the permits of those who overload their vehicles.

Following this, the traffic police had set up check posts at various places yesterday. “I must assure you that no violation will be tolerated at any cost,” said SSP, Traffic, Parminder Singh.

He informed that initially fines would be imposed and if violations continued the respective vehicles would be impounded.

Residents here had filed several complaints regarding overloading of minibuses, playing of loud music etc.

“Overloading, loud music and pressure horns would not be tolerated,” the SSP said.

Meanwhile, the locals have welcomed the move of the traffic police. The traffic police has also initiated action against those who use tinted films on the window panes of their vehicles, which reduce visibility below 70 per cent.