Jammu, January 10
A man allegedly misbehaved with and abused two girls in a cinema house here last evening. The man in mid-thirties allegedly abused and threatened to kill the girls during the screening of a movie only because they were laughing loudly at a comic scene.

He first claimed he was the owner of the cinema house and told the girls that he would get them thrown out. He also allegedly used objectionable language.

The girls said they had some contact numbers of senior police officers and immediately informed the SSP about the incident. The Gandhi Nagar police later arrested him.

The police registered a case under Section 294 of the RPC against the accused identified as Vikas Datt. He is reportedly a son of a prominent politician and a former office-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The SSP, Jammu, Basant Rath said the FIR had been registered against him for harassing and abusing the girls.

A senior PDP leader, AK Sawhney, said Vikas Dutt was impersonating as the president of the youth wing and was just a party worker. A party spokesperson, Nayeen Akhtar, also said an inquiry had been marked into the incident and action would be taken by the president tomorrow.

Srinagar, January 10
The police resorted to a lathi charge and lobbed teargas shells at various places here today to quell demonstrators protesting against the CRPF firing which led to the death of a youth,Inayatullah Khan, here on Friday.

The protests were held in the Dalgate area where the police resorted to a cane charge to disperse the demonstrators.The clashes took place after angry youth threw stones on the policemen chasing the demonstrators.Several youth were injured in the action, reports said.

Protest demonstrations also continued for the fifth consecutive day today in the Maisuma locality, adjacent to central Lal Chowk, the site of encounter between the police and holed-up militants on Wednesday.

The police lobbed tear gas shells to keep the demonstrators away from Budshah Chowk.It also lobbed teargas shells in various localities of downtown, including Nowhatta, Gojwara, Bohrikadal, and Kawdara where angry demonstrators took to the streets and threw stones on the police against the death of the youth.

Jammu, January 10
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd(BSNL) shall provide adequate landline and mobile telephone connectivity during the Amarnath Yatra this year along the Pahalgam and Baltal routes to the holy cave and a detailed action plan in this regard is being prepared by the BSNL.

This was decided at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Department of Telecommunication, Government of India,P. J. Thomas, in New Delhi today.

The meeting was convened at the instance of Jammu and Kashmir Governor N. N. Vohra, who is the also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, who had, in November 2009, taken up the matter with Union Communications Minister A. Raja.

Principal Secretary to the Governor and the Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Raj Kumar Goyal, senior officers of the union ministries of home and tourism and Jammu and Kashmir Home Department and the CMD, BSNL, participated in the meeting.

The shrine board expressed its gratitude to the Department of Telecommunications and the BSNL for the decision.The facility will also enable the board to more effectively manage the administration of the ensuing yatra.

Goyal added that this was one of the important initiatives which had been planned by the board to enhance the facilities to be provided to the pilgrims. He stated the board had been, for the past sometime, working on a number of other important things aimed at improving the facilities for the pilgrims this year.

Jammu, January 10
An eminent genetic scientist, Prof R. N. K Bamezai, will be the new Vice-Chancellor of Mata Vaishno Devi University.

The state Governor who is also the Chancellor of the university, has appointed Prof Bamezai from a panel of names recommended by a search committee headed by eminent scientist, Prof Goverdhan Mehta, National Research Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and comprising Prof S. G. Dhande, Director, IIT, Kanpur, Prof Jai Rup Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Punjab, and Prof P.T. Chande, Vice-Chancellor, Kavi Kulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Nagpur.

Prof Bamezai, a doctorate in human genetics from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, is currently working as a Professor of Genetics and Director, National Centre of Applied Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

He is a member of the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies and Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (FNASc), National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) and International Medical Sciences Academy (FIMSA).

He is credited with more than 29 years’ experience of teaching and guiding research in various universities in the country and has trained more than 300 researchers in the past seven years in human genetics and genomics. He has also lectured at various universities abroad and authored nearly 100 research papers published in eminent journals in and outside the country.

Prof Bamezai is currently a member of several important UGC committees and executive councils of Pondicherry University and Cultural University of Jharkhand. Besides, he has also been a member of the Executive Council, Academic Council and Court of Jawaharlal Nehru University.He is expected to take over his new assignment before the end of January.

Srinagar, January 10
Blaming the government for subverting justice, the Majlis-e-Mashawarat of Shopian has asked the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice (IPTHR) to investigate and identify those involved in the alleged rape and murder of two women in May last year.

This was announced during a day-long consultative programme “Shopian: Birth of a response” with civil society in Shopian today, which also unanimously decided to “continue to fight for justice in the case of rape and murder” of Neelofer and Asiya. The bodies of two women were found from Ranbir Nalla on May 29, a day after they had gone missing.

The Majlis is spearheading the agitation, seeking justice in the case. It was observed that the state institutions were unwilling to identify the culprits as the first necessary step towards dispensing justice. “The state institutions have done everything to subvert the process of justice and break the will of people to pursue the case: destruction of evidence, harassment, threat, blackmail, using the state-controlled rumour-mill to blemish the image of the victims and their families”, it observed.

“The IPTHR has accepted our request and written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asking for access to the Army, paramilitary and police camps and their officers and personnel in Shopian and around, along with the evidentiary material collected for examination and analysis,” the spokesman stated.

The organisation, according to the spokesman, has appealed to all those with any information and insight about the crime to come forward and cooperate with the IPTHR in the probe.

It also urged the government to provide access to the tribunal to all materials, sites and persons as demanded during by February 1, failing which the Majlis along with people of Kashmir would agitate to persuade the government for providing such access.

Jammu, January 10
In order to create better living infrastructure for the jawans and officers, the state police has undertaken a massive construction work under its modernisation programme.

The programme has been launched across the state and several buildings and barracks have already been constructed at various places in
the state.

This was revealed by DGP Kuldeep Khoda here yesterday while reviewing the housing facility for police and security forces. He said the thrust had been on strengthening the building infrastructure so that better living facilities were provided to the jawans and officers.

He said during the last two years besides constructing more than 500 buildings across the state at various locations, the department had taken up other works which were nearing completion. These works would be completed early and commissioned during the current year, he added. The buildings constructed include residential as well as official accommodations, comprising six administrative blocks, four district police offices, one sub-divisional police office, nine district CID offices, four district telecom offices, 15 police station buildings, seven police post buildings, 26 barrack accommodation for jawans, 200 residential quarters for lower subordinates, 200 residential quarters for upper subordinates, three SHO quarters, auditorium and battalion headquarters.

Besides, the department has a mega construction programme to create alternate accommodation for security forces. The aim of this programme was to provide alternate accommodation to the security forces in lieu of the government and private buildings under their use, said the DGP.

Jammu, January 10
Fixing a target of 20 per cent coverage during the kharif season, Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir has directed all stakeholders to implement the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) at the gross-root level by setting up the basic infrastructure at the block level.

Stating this at a high-level meeting convened here to review the implementation of the NAIS, Mir said the scheme was introduced in 2002-03 in the state, but its implementation, over the years, had remained negligible.

He stressed on launching a massive awareness campaign across the state through the print and electronic media to make the farmers aware about its benefits.

He directed the Commissioner/Secretary, Agriculture, to activate the publicity wing of the Agriculture Department and ensure that the farmers became aware of the benefits of the scheme at the earliest.

Pointing out that the state had high percentage of marginal farmers, Mir maintained that the scheme could be effectively implemented only when they had easy access to the offices and agencies processing the insurance cases.

He said having such offices and other infrastructure at the block level became imperative and directed the regional manager of Agriculture Insurance Company Limited to create infrastructure at the block level.

Jammu, January 10
Minister for Medical Education, Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports RS Chib has said the government has worked out a special plan to extend medical facilities to all in the state through various health institutions that were being upgraded and renovated as per the guidelines of the Medical Council of India.

Chib was interacting with the media here after inspecting a site for setting up a psychiatric centre, a newly constructed attendants’ sarai at Government Medical College and an upgraded Intermediate Reference Laboratory in Chest Disease Hospital.

The minister said the government had speeded up the work under execution in almost all sectors, including health and medical education, to ensure their completion within the stipulated time to extend their benefits to people.

Earlier, Chib inspected the site of about seven kanals , proposed for the construction of a double-storeyed psychiatric centre of Government Medical College at an estimated cost of Rs12.35 crore.

He was informed that on its completion the ground floor would house an OPD and ICU, a counselling centre, a male ward, a laboratory, a dispensary, minor treatment and emergency wards, a drug store and a wash room.

The first floor would house a lecture hall, a library, a refreshment hall, a pantry, a female ward, an isolation room, a conference hall, a doctors’ room and a drug store.

Jammu, January 10
A photo exhibition on the life and times of former Chief Minister G. M. Shah, organised in connection with his first death anniversary, was inaugurated by Governor N. N. Vohra at the Press Club here yesterday.

Commenting on the photographs put on display, the Governor said there was need for converting them into a photo- album with a commentary on the dates, names and occasions. More than 200 photographs have been displayed at the exhibition.

The governor also launched the website of the G. M. Shah Foundation.

Referring to his meeting with the late Chief Minister in 2003,Vohra said among the many suggestions made by him he had stressed the usefulness of initiating a well-planned intra-Jammu and Kashmir dialogue.

He said the dialogue process initiated by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government had been vigorously carried forward by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.He said though the dialogue process had got stalled due to several incidents, perpetrated with external support and execution, the people-to-people exchanges had been continuing. He believed that, in due course, when certain essential issues got resolved, the dialogue would also re-commence.

The wife of late Shah, Khaleda Shah, his son, Muzaffar Shah, former ministers, Gulchain Singh Charak and Mohammad Dilawar Mir, former MP Sheikh Abdul Rehman and prominent social and political activists were present.

Jammu,January 10
Four prominent personalities who contributed to the promotion of the Dogri language and literature were felicitated by Governor N.N Vohra at a function held in connection with Dogri Recognition Day by the Dogri Sanstha,Jammu, here yesterday.

Those felicitated included Sahitya Akademi awardee Yash Sharma, Prof Nilambar Dev Sharma, veteran journalist Balraj Puri and renowned theatre personality Balwant Thakur.

Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said literature and culture, besides providing a sound foundation for society, also served as a vital source of history.

Referring to the Dogri language, the Governor said it was a simple, expressive and straightforward language, which was being continuously enriched with the addition of new books and literary

creations. He appreciated the Dogri Sanstha for its efforts for the promotion of the language.

He congratulated all those felicitated on the occasion and lauded their contribution to enrich the Dogri language and literature.

The president of the Sanstha, Jammu, Prof Lalit Magotra, in his address of welcome, threw light on the history and contribution of the organisation to promote the Dogri language and literature and its future plan of action. He also spoke about the rich contribution of Yash Sharma, Nilambar Dev Sharma, Balraj Puri and Balwant Thakur in various fields.

Jammu, January 10
Doda MLA Abdul Majid Wani has expressed concern over the poor condition of road infrastructure in the district, which has been witness to frequent road accidents. He urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene and ensure safe road infrastructure and traffic norms in the area.

In a statement, Majid Wani sympathised with the family of the deceased and those who got injured in yesterday’s accident. “In order to avoid small kacha patch of the National Highway -IB, the driver moved the vehicle towards the extreme side of the road due to which the speeding mini-bus rolled down into the nullah in absence of any crash barrier,” he said.

“In the past one year, thousands of people either died or critically injured in a number of road accidents in erstwhile Doda district. However, the State Transport and Traffic Departments have failed to take even basic preventive measures like installing crash barriers, parapets, reflectors and signage system, besides checking the menace of over-speeding and overloading of vehicles in the hilly terrain,” he added.

He further said only half-hearted efforts were being taken by the departments concerned to make the roads safe. “Remedial measures have been suggested to the departments concerned from time to time, but nothing concrete has been done so far,” he added.

The MLA said integrated measures need to be taken not only to enforce proper transport regulation rules strictly, but also to ensure safe roads. “Specially well-equipped traffic police and Transport Department squads should be put on duty after every 10 km in this hilly region round-the-clock. If any road accident or death occurs, the agencies concerned should be made accountable with initiation of criminal proceedings against the responsible officers and bureaucrats,” he said.

Jammu, January 10
Twenty days after a daughter of a DIG committed suicide, the police today arrested two local doctors, including a lady doctor of Acharaya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS), on charges of abetment to suicide in this matter.

Both allegedly blackmailed the girl.

Aparna Saini( 23), a third-year student of MBBS at ASCOMS, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room at her residence on December 23.

A senior officer said the police had found ample proof against Dr Hamanshu and Dr Lata for inducing the deceased to take such an extreme step. Both were said to be her close friends.

The police said they were keeping a tab on the activities of the two doctors from the day of the incident. Finally, after getting enough details against both of them, they were arrested.

Kulwant Singh, subdivisional police officer (SDPO), Gandhi Nagar, said: “We had been interrogating these two doctors for the last five days and during interrogation they failed to give reply to some questions. We have also got ample proof against them and after registering a case against them, they have been arrested”.

Kulwant Singh further said: “Dr Hamanshu used to blackmail the deceased girl on some pretext that she could not tell to her parents, forcing her to take the extreme step.”

The SDPO also added that the possibility of a love affair between the deceased and Dr Hamanshu couldn’t be ruled out at this stage. A police official said Hamanshu was temporarily residing near Karan Bagh in Jammu and Dr Lata was a permanent resident of Chandigarh.

A case under Section 174 of the CrPC was already registered in this regard and now Section 306/34 of the RPC had been added to the FIR.

Jammu, January 10
Natrang staged Sadat Hassan Manto’s short play ‘ Intzaar’ here today. The play has been directed by Sumeet Sharma.

The play portrays a comic situation in which a boy is waiting for his beloved. The story of the play speaks of Manto’s genre which has been effectively captured by Sumeet.

The boy, Muntzar, is waiting for his girlfriend very anxiously to the extent that even half an hour is very difficult to spend. He speaks with himself and innovates different ways to pass the time calmly. He discusses the daily budget, music, literature, whatever he could think of to divert his attention from the palpitation which he is feeling in the process of waiting, but nothing works.

To make his situation even worse, some unwanted guests arrive at his place. Finally, when the time of meeting his girlfriend comes, he falls unconscious because of tiredness. Seeing him asleep, the girlfriend thinks he is unconcerned about the meeting. In disgust, she leaves and the much-awaited meeting turns to be a flop show.

Mohit Sharma, who played the role of Muntzar, got the appreciation of the audience. He was equally supported by Rohit Verma who enacted Muntzar’s inner self. Tania Anand as the boy’s girlfriend was equally confident despite her debut performance. Rahul Singh and Arvind Singh who played the role of friend and newspaper vendor, respectively, also impressed all with their performance. Lights were operated by Pankush Verma. Mohd Yaseen coordinated the show and the presentation was done by Bela Thappa.