Jammu, October 20
Mohammad Akbar Ganai, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, who is conducting a probe into the death of local youth Rajnish Sharma in a Srinagar police lock-up, will be camping at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here for two days from tomorrow.

Rajnish died in 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 Amina Yousuf, whom he had married.

Though I would be camping at Jammu for two days, I may extend my stay, if needed, because justice should prevail, Ganai told The Tribune.

As of now, Ganai had the police version with him and that is why he decided to shift to the winter capital to meet the relatives of Rajnish, including his widow Anchal Sharma, and others connected with the case.

“The police will never say its personnel are guilty and that is why I will like to meet everyone in the capacity of a judge during my stay in Jammu,” he said. The family, including Anchal, can meet me and give their versions, added the ADC.

Asked whether he would visit the bereaved family, Ganai said without the permission of the Divisional Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner it would be difficult. I had come here to help the family and hence they should not feel afraid of anyone, he added.

The ADC would also examine and draw parallels between the reports of two autopsy done separately in Srinagar and Jammu.

Though the police maintained that Rajnish had committed suicide in the lock-up, Anchal and other family members alleged that he was tortured to death. It may be stated here that the SHO concerned and two policemen had already been suspended.

Since the family belonged to Jammu and the case had vital links in Jammu right from the arrest of Rajnish, his death was followed by protests and serious accusations, Ganai decided to come to the winter capital.

Amina Yousuf, aka Anchal, who after seven years of love affair had married Rajnish out of her own choice, accuses her father Mohammad Yousuf Mirazi, two brothers Javed and Tariq of conniving with the police to liquidate her husband.

The young widow, who now lives with her in-laws, has refused to go back to her parental house in Kashmir. The family still insists upon a CBI probe into Rajnish’s death.

Meanwhile, MK Dwivedi, DC, Jammu, said the ADC could meet people connected with the case at his office from 10 am to 4 pm tomorrow onwards.

Jammu, October 20
Health care facilities are visibly crippled at Shri Maharaja Ghulab Singh (SMGS), the premier gynae and paediatrics hospital of Jammu. The ongoing strike of doctors has allegedly claimed the life of a baby boy for want of medical care.

The hospital that is already grappling with the ever increasing patient load on the one hand and the shortage of medical and paramedical staff on the other was compelled to close its five wards in the wake of the strike.

When The Tribune team visited the hospital today, rooms of all doctors were closed, besides ward Nos 4,7,8,16 and 17 were also locked. The emergency ward (ward No 12) that has 14 beds is catering to 24 extra patients at present, whereas the total number of patients in the ward is 38 as mentioned on the board. Equally worse were the sanitary conditions in the hospital, as littered garbage was stinking in almost all wards.

Rajini Devi, a resident of Barui village in Akhnoor, was very happy after giving birth to twin baby boys on September 24 in the hospital. However, her happiness did not last as a baby died for want of timely medical care.

“Both babies were down with jaundice. One of them died on October 18 (Sunday), as there was no doctor to attend to him,” said the grief-stricken mother.

“Only a senior doctor comes in the morning, whereas emergency services are far from being satisfactory. Now, we are worried about our second son,” said Rajesh, father of the baby.

He said the emergency ward was overcrowded and we rarely got consultancy services. “In such a chaotic situation, we are only three doctors taking care of the whole lot of patients in all wards. Though its difficult, we are managing,” said Dr Rekha at ward No 15.

Chunnu Kumar (6), who had drunk some poisonous substance mistakenly, was rushed to the hospital this morning. His father Girija Prasad, a washerman, said, “My son is not able to eat or drink. He is on an empty stomach since morning. He is not able to speak even and no body is attending to him. Its 4:30 pm now and I am planning to move to some private clinic.”

When this correspondent asked the doctor on duty, Dr Sunil, about the patient, he expressed ignorance. However, Satish Sharma, deputy medical superintendent, he said, “We have taken cognisance of the matter” and assured that the patient would get the best treatment.”

Srinagar, October 20
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh today expressed concern over the proposed discontinuation of pre-paid mobile phone services in the state. He also said he would request Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to reduce processing fees for RTI applications.

“Pre-paid mobile phone services should not be banned as this would widen the gulf between the valley and outside world instead of reducing it. I would meet the Chief Minister and request him to reduce the fees of Rs 50 for moving an RTI application,” said Digvijay during the inaugural session of a one-day workshop on “Role of RTI in rural development” organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Movement in collaboration with FIL Industries and KABIR, New Delhi.

He said the RTI Act could be used as a tool to fight corruption throughout the country. The credit for bringing awareness among people about their rights goes to Aruna Roy, he added.

“Aruna went from village to village in Rajasthan and was in favour of enacting an Act that would serve some purpose to a common man. This is the first Act that gives power to common masses,” he said.

Digvijay said interaction with civil society and community leaders should have been there before framing rules. Quoting an example, the senior Congress leader and two-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said information regarding the functioning of government departments in Bihar was available on phone.

He said Rs 50,000 crore was spent on rural development in India “but how much trickles down to the grass-roots level is a million dollar question.”

Syed Mohammad Afzal Qadri, former head faculty of law, Kashmir University, said the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act 2009 was a complete and comprehensible law. “It was introduced in the morning and passed by the evening and I wonder how many legislators know about the knitty gritty of the Act.”

He said the Act supported honest officers and could act as a ‘sword’ for corrupt officers. “We all have to work together to eradicate corruption from society. Otherwise, the future generations would blame us for the mess.”

Bashir Ahmad Malla, a former DIG of the state police, said no accountability led to more corruption. “All works carried out in the Rural Development Department are sub-standard and the department is defective.”

Srinagar October 20
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, currently on a visit to Kashmir, had a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here today.

The senior Congress leader, who was on a private visit here on the invitation of an NGO, had a two-hour luncheon meeting with Omar at Dachigam, an official spokesman said here. The two leaders discussed various issues and reiterated the commitment of the NC and Congress to strengthen the coalition in the state and work together for the welfare and development of the people.

Omar informed the visiting leader that he was working on holding the panchayat poll in the state by year-end or the beginning of the next year so as to involve the people at the grass-roots level in the process of development and make the delivery system more effective, efficient and accountable.

Srinagar October 20
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flagged off the first batch of 400 Haj pilgrims from the Srinagar International Airport here this morning.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the state administration and the State Haj Committee for the pilgrims. He said the facilities would be gradually improved.

While talking to the pilgrims individually at the airport, he was apprised of the arrangements and facilities made available to them both at the Haj House, Bemina, and the airport.

Earlier, the pilgrims were received at the Haj House, Bemina, early in the morning by Minister for R&B GM Saroori, MoS for Haj Aijaz Ahmed Khan and Divisional Commissioner Naseem Lanker.

Adviser to Chief Minister Mubarak Gul, DGP Kuldeep Khoda, Secretary Revenue Aijaz Iqbal, Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, Mohammad Rafi, Director Airport Authority, Srinagar, OS Tyagi, besides senior officers of various departments and the State Haj Committee were present on the occasion. 

Srinagar, October 20
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have stressed the need for greater synergy between agricultural universities and the extension agencies of the state government for optimally enhancing agri-production and productivity in all three regions of the state.

They were addressing the 18th University Council meeting of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, here yesterday.

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, stressed the need of extension activities being carried out through composite teams of Agricultural University and the state government’s extension agencies. The Governor said there was a need for much more and effective coordination at various levels to achieve tangible results.

The Chief Minister, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the University, underlined the need for enhanced linkages between the theoretical knowledge and its practical implementation on ground by taking research from the laboratories to the field for optimally extending the benefits of scientific advancement to the farming community. He said there was a vast scope for developing agriculture and allied sectors and all efforts are required to be made in this direction. 

Srinagar, October 20
The government today constituted a committee to take stock of the situation arising out of the ongoing strike of junior doctors in the state. However, the junior doctors continued their strike today even as the health services remain paralysed in the valley.

An official spokesman said here that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah constituted a team of ministers and advisers led by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather to take stock of the situation arising out of the strike. The ministers in the committee included Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma, Minister for Technical Education, Medical Education RS Chib and Minister of State for Medical Education Javed Ahmed Dar. The Chief Minister’s advisers Mubarak Ahmad Gul and Devender Singh Rana have also been included in the committee.

The committee members would visit Jammu and Srinagar medical facilities tomorrow and discuss various aspects with the stakeholders concerned, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said here today that there was nothing in the doctors’ demands which could not be taken up for discussion. CPM state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has also urged the government to initiate negotiations with the representatives of the doctors.

Tarigami said removing the pay disparity in various cadres of doctors, provision of two and a half day salary to them and uniform honorarium during their Post Graduation were the genuine demands to be addressed. He appealed to the Chief Minster to intervene for resolving the grievances of the doctors.

He said shedding off responsibilities by either sides was against the public interest and suggested both for reconciliation.

Jammu, October 20
SRTC employees continued their strike for the 56th consecutive day today as four rounds of talks between their union leaders and the state government failed to end the stalemate.

The state government had offered the employees to pay them pending salaries for the past five months on the condition that they would to defer the strike, which the employees refused. The protesting employees had been demanding a one-time settlement to their problems and this time they wanted a written assurance from the government.

“During the four rounds of talks, the government representative agreed that our demands were genuine and that the same would be conveyed to the minister, who in turn would inform the Chief Minister. Then the government would come up with a solution to the problem,” Ashok Mehra, president of the SRTC Employees’ Union, said.

He said the government took a U-turn and told the employees that they would be paid pending salary for five months if they deferred the strike till the darbar move arrived in Jammu. However, we asked the government that we wanted salary for only two months and all assurances should be in black and white, Mehra said.

Nearly 4,000 SRTC employees this year did not celebrate Id and Diwali and if the stalemate. Mehra said the employees were ready to call off the strike if the government gave them a written assurance that their problems would be resolved.

Udhampur, October 20
Alleging the incorporation of names of some influential persons in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) lists under political pressure, the PDP today demanded a fresh survey to ensure genuine and deserving people were included in the list.

In a party function at Thathri near Doda to start a membership drive, PDP workers one after another alleged that ration meant for BPL families was being swindled by some influential persons, whose names figured in the BPL lists. They demanded the scrapping of the existing list and a fresh survey to include deserving people.

PDP general secretary Balbir Singh supported the demand of the locals and asked the authorities concerned to conduct a fresh survey. He flayed the state government for its failure to address the problems of the common masses.

The PDP leader pointed out that the government was formed with out any programme and policy and instead of solving the basic problems of the people, leaders of the Congress and the NC had been befooling people by making false promises.

Pointing towards issues raised by residents of Thathri and adjoining localities in the meeting, Balbir Singh said erstwhile Doda district had been badly affected by drought, but the authorities failed to provide relief to the people.

He regretted that the entire area had been facing a scarcity of ration, but the authorities were not concerned about solving the problem. He pointed out that the worst affected were the poor who could not afford to purchase ration from market.

The PDP leader exhorted party workers to expose the anti-people policies of the coalition government. He said the party was committed to the development and betterment of all regions and sub-regions of the state.

Jammu, October 20
The Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Watch (JKHRW) has alleged that corruption in the state has almost swallowed justice. This has added to the hardship and difficulties of the general public.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, chairman of the organisation BL Kapoor alleged there had been bungling and misappropriation of BPL ration cards and funds under the NREGA and other central and state-sponsored schemes in Rajouri and Poonch districts.

He said the ration meant for BPL families was not distributed to the deserving and it was issued to only those who were favourites of the officials concerned.

He added that the NREGA scheme was also being misused by vested interests. The people of Rajouri and Poonch districts had been victims of drought and their crops had been totally destroyed. They were on the verge of facing starvation, he said.

He said a Human Right Watch activist was murdered in Poonch and the culprits had not been arrested till date. He appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene into the issue and take stock of the situation in Poonch and Rajouri that has arisen due to drought and rampant corruption going on in government departments.