Srinagar, March 16
Tension gripped the central Lal Chowk area when militants opened fire, killing one person and injuring four others, including two CRPF personnel, here this morning.The assailants, believed to be two in number, fled after the attack, creating panic in the busy market place and prompting the police and the CRPF to cordon off the area to carry out search operations. 

This is the fourth militant attack in the city in the past nine days. Three persons were killed and five others injured in the earlier three attacks.

According to Prabhakar Tripathy, PRO of the CRPF, militants struck in the area injuring head constable Omkar Ram and Basant Maiti of the 132 Bn CRPF around 11.24 am. He said the militants fired at the CRPF men from some distance near the adjacent Kokar Bazaar locality, also injuring three others and fled. Those injured were admitted to the SMHS and SKIMS hospitals, where one of them, Khursheed Ahmad Parray, a salesman in a shop in Budgam district, died. The condition of constable Basant Maiti was stated to be critical, and he was later shifted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.

In earlier attacks, suspected militants shot dead Ajaz Ahmad, a militant who had surrendered, at Bemina here on March 7. Another former militant, who had been working as a special police officer (SPO), Mohammad Arif, was gunned down by unidentified militants in the posh Jawahar Nagar area on Friday last. A CRPF jawan was killed and five others were injured in a grenade attack by militants on CRPF vehicles near Pathar Masjid in the MR Gunj area of Srinagar downtown on Sunday afternoon.

Traders have been demanding the removal of security pickets from the area that are being targeted by militants, resulting in damage to their property and heavy losses. Only a day ago the traders had also staged a sit-in at the nerve centre of the city to press the government for the removal of the security pickets.

Meanwhile, two persons, including a policeman, were killed and four others injured when militants opened fire on a police party at the crowded Sopore bus stand in Baramulla district this evening, the police said.

Unidentified militants opened fire on a police party at the main bus stand in Sopore district town, 55 km from here, around 5.55 pm, and in the ensuing exchange of fire six persons, including two policemen, were injured, the police said.

The firing lasted for a brief period and the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where a special police officer (SPO) and an unidentified civilian were declared brought dead.

The other injured — three civilians and a policeman — were admitted to the hospital, the police said.

The incident took place when the bus stand was crowded with commuters rushing back to their homes after the day’s work, it said.

Reinforcements rushed to the scene of the firing and a hunt had been launched to nab the militants involved in the attack, the police said.

Katra, March 16
Governor NN Vohra visited Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on the first Navratra today and performed ‘pratham darshan’ at the sanctum sanctorum. His wife Usha Vohra accompanied him to the shrine.

Vohra, while paying obeisance at the holy cave shrine, prayed for communal harmony, brotherhood, peace, progress and prosperity in the state. He also participated in the nine-day Chhat Chandi Maha Yajna, which commenced at the shrine today.

The Governor covered the entire track from Sanjichhat to the holy cave on foot, and en route interacted with pilgrims and enquired about the facilities available for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. The pilgrims reportedly expressed satisfaction over the arrangements.

The Governor also took stock of the facilities made available for pilgrims and issued instructions to the Chief Executive Officer of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Raj Kumar Goyal, for initiating timely action in respect of the plantation of fast growing species of ornamental and flowering plants, shrubs and creepers, all along the track, compatible with local soil and climatic conditions, to continuously improve the ambiance of the track and its surroundings.

He also called for planting plants to check soil erosion on a sustainable basis and stressed the need for propagating locally available wild flowering plants along the track to make it beautiful and environment friendly.

Vohra directed the board authorities to replace the old and worn out CGI sheets of shelter sheds from Sanjichhat to the bhawan with specially designed thick metal sheets, wherever required. He also instructed for initiating steps for hill stabilisation measures, in consultation with known experts, for ensuring the safety of pilgrims.

The Governor was informed that work had since commenced for creating a fire line by cutting grass and weed along the track between Banganga and the bhawan.

He emphasised the need for organising refresher courses for the officials of forestry, floriculture and horticulture wings and other technical staff working in the board to regularly update their knowledge and skills for better performance.

The Governor also inspected the dispensary at the bhawan and enquired about the medicare facilities put in place for the yatris. He directed the CEO to get the medical facilities upgraded.

Jammu, March 16
Former Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has welcomed the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but aired apprehension that the move could further shrink the institutional space for the minorities, especially Muslims.

In a statement issued here, the Mufti said it was a fact that women were grossly under-represented in all institutions of the state, including Parliament and other legislative bodies. But it was equally true for Muslims, who constituted the largest minority and in their case the situation was worse and a cause for serious concern. This, he said, would call for a review of the entire arrangement so as not to push the minorities to the wall.

He, however, expressed confidence that the inclusive ethos of our system would facilitate a way out.

The Mufti said there could be no two opinions about the desirability of creating opportunities through special measures for the 50 per cent population of the country, which had lagged behind. However, women did not live in isolation, as they were part of the strong family tradition of our country and,therefore, stakeholders in the economic progress that had been achieved so far, he said.

He added that nobody could grudge political empowerment that reservation could get them. Women as a class had proved their ability to perform as efficiently as men.

Referring to the present socio-economic condition of the Muslims, the Mufti said the Sachar Committee had served to focus on the problems faced by the community. “Our country has resolved many difficult problems facing it since Independence, but the problems facing the Muslim community have unfortunately received attention only from the integration perspective,” he added.

The Mufti said while the representation of Muslims in services left much to be desired, their voice in elected bodies too was getting dimmer by the day. “It does not augur well for a country with nearly 200- million Muslim population that the number of members in Parliament belonging to the community should actually be going down rather than up,” he said.

Jammu, March 16
A delegation of BJP leaders and workers from Ramban, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar led by former state party president Nirmal Singh and vice-president Bali Bhagat called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today. The delegation submitted a memorandum containing a number of issues and demands to the Chief Minister.

BJP leaders expressed serious concern over the total politicisation of developmental works as also of the criteria while providing security to political leaders in the state.

They said different yardsticks were adopted while providing security to leaders of various parties. While those with least or even no responsibility in parties like the NC and the Congress were provided police vehicles along with a number of security personnel, BJP leaders were ignored. The BJP leaders urged the Chief Minister to direct DGP Kuldip Khoda to review the security cover to all such persons, withdraw the same that had been provided under influence and frame a clear policy in this regard.

The BJP leaders further said more than 25,000 SPOs, who are

working as operational policemen and also discharging the duties of security forces in far-flung and militancy-affected areas, were paid very less and their services needed to be regularised so that they should in a position to support their families.

About the provision of compensation to the families of those who lost their lives during the Amarnath land agitation, the BJP leaders said despite assurances from the government, they had been paid nothing and demanded adequate compensate to them.

The leaders also took up the case of custodial death of Jammu youth Rajnish Sharma, who was kidnapped and taken to Ram Bagh police station in Srinagar city, where he was tortured to death by the police. They asked the Chief Minister to adopt a humanitarian approach and take the matter seriously and order a thorough inquiry.

Jammu, March 16
If students can use hi-tech means like mobile phones and blue tooth to cheat in exams, the authorities concerned have gone a step ahead by eavesdropping on sound waves to catch such mobile phone users in the vicinity of an examination hall. In perhaps the first ever measure to check cheating, the state Board of School Education is tapping sound waves, via the FM band, to catch mobile phone users in and around the exam hall.

With new cellphones, some very small, it is not possible for invigilators to them detect by frisking. Then there is religious sensitivity attached to turbans, where cellphones may be hidden. Still more difficult is to frisk girls.

The education board has adopted the FM (frequency modulation) Band technique, which is generally used by the security forces for connectivity even in far-flung areas. These waves are also used by radio stations like some private FM channels. A senior officer of the school board told The Tribune that the latest technology was adopted in the wake of the mass copying incident in which 21 students of class XII were caught by the police using cellphones in the ‘Munna Bhai’ style in examination halls at a private college in Kullian village on March 13.

The officer further said the education board was not ready to give any kind of relaxation to students. “We have already got approval from the Information and Broadcasting Department to use FM waves to catch students using unfair means, especially cellphones during exams,” he said. On March 13, as many as 21 teenagers belonging to a community were caught using mobile phones for cheating and they had concealed the cellphones and blue tooth operated earphones in their turbans. It caused a major problem for the officials of the Education Department to check them. Police sources said this was the latest and the safest technique to get all information regarding call details, tower location, length of call and many other things.

Javed Iqbal, secretary (UMC wing), J&K Board of School Education, said, “Earlier, it was a major problem for the board officials to check students wearing turbans. So we have adopted the fastest and the latest technique to catch students using cellphones or other hi-tech gadgets for copying. We have also planned to adopt a number of other techniques, which are still in the pipeline.” The police too had got special powers to deal with this type of unfair means, SSP, Jammu, Basant Rath said.

Jammu, March 16
Even as the preparations have started for conducting the local body elections, the authorities have been facing pressure from different quarters to delay the entire process. Some elected representatives, irrespective of their party affiliations, have been indirectly exerting pressure on the authorities not to expedite the election process.

Sources told The Tribune that some members of the ruling party and some opposition MLAs were not enthusiastic over constituting the local bodies as they did not want that their power should be delegated to some other institutions.

Some former corporators of the dissolved Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) aired apprehension that the decision to dissolve the body without finalising the dates for conducting the elections was a move by the ruling coalition to grab the local bodies through bureaucracy.

Though MLAs of most of the political groups were not cooperative in conducting the elections, members of the ruling alliance were more particular about getting the process delayed, a senior officer in the Local Bodies Department said.

The election process of all local bodies was scheduled to be completed by March 11 as tenure of these institutions was expired on same day. Instead of completing the process before the tenure of the existing bodies expired, the government has dissolved all local bodies and handed over power to bureaucrats.

The elections to the local bodies were held in 2005 after a gap of over 23 years. It was all due to the efforts of the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed that local bodies were democratised after two decades. “Even at that time some MLAs had opposed the elections, but their opposition was ignored by the Mufti,” TS Bajwa, former Rajya Sabha member, said.

It is widely alleged that instead of democratising the local bodies, the ruling coalition was more concerned about running these institutions through their officers. The Mufti has already raised doubt over intention of the government in dissolving these institutions.

Jammu, March 16
A group of schoolchildren belonging to poor Gujjar families of Nowshera were given a ‘royal ride’ on commercial aircraft by the Army. The children were thrilled when they boarded the aircraft for their first-ever air journey from New Delhi to Leh on March 12 and further from Leh to Jammu on March 14.

The event was organised by the Nowshera Brigade. The tour was flagged off on March 7 by Brig Saranjeet Singh, Commander, Nowshera Brigade. Thereafter, the children went to Jaipur by train and visited Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, Amar Fort and Nahargarh Fort and saw a movie in a multiplex, besides interacting with the Governor of Rajasthan.

Subsequently, the tour moved to Delhi and visited the Red Fort, India Gate, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Lotus Temple and also had a ride in Metro, besides visiting shopping malls.