Jammu, March 24
The state government which depends heavily on the Centre for funds has been spending lavishly on the renovation of government as well private houses of ministers/bureaucrats and bearing the hefty phone and travelling expenses of the state Council of Ministers.

A whopping Rs 7.29 crore was spent under these heads. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s telephone bills alone account for one-fourth of the nearly Rs-16 lakh expenditure of 25 ministers in year 2009. PDP member of the Legislative Council Murtaza Ahmad Khan had asked the government to furnish the expenditure on fuel, telephone and TA/DAs of ministers.

In the Assembly,another PDP MLA, Zulfikar Ali, had sought details of the expenditure on the renovation of government as well as private houses of ministers. The reply given by the General Administration Department (GAD) about fuel and phone bills included details of all ministers, but the reply furnished to Zulfikar Ali by the minister-incharge of the Estates Department, did not include the details of ministers or bureaucrats.

Of the total Rs 7.29 crore spent last year, Rs 5.79 cr was on the renovation of government as well as private houses of members of the Council of Ministers and Rs 1.5 crore on fuel, telephone and TA/DA of the ministers.

The expenditure does not include the fuel consumption of the Chief Minister. The reply states the security agencies bear the on the motorcade of the Chief Minister.

The expenditure means that if all ministers were on the move for 365 days in a year, then each of them was spending over Rs 800 daily on fuel only. The most surprising thing is that while the spending on fuel was Rs 73.28 lakh, the expenditure on TA/DA paid to ministers was Rs 61.41 lakh.

This means if ministers travelled all days of the year, the government paid them TA/DA of Rs 16,824 daily or about Rs 670 roughly to each minister per day. This is besides the salary and other emoluments of the ministers. While Chief Minister Omar Abdullah incurred the highest expenditure of Rs 6.51 lakh on TA/DA, the bill of his political adviser Devinder Singh Rana was zero.

The TA/DA bill of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand was the second highest at Rs 6.02 lakh.

Jammu, March 24
Almost six months after a youth, Rajnish Sharma, was allegedly killed in police custody, a magisterial inquiry is yet to be completed because certain clarifications on the second post-mortem are still awaited.

Rajnish, who had married a Srinagar-based girl, Anchal Sharma, aka Amina Yousuf, was allegedly tortured to death by the police on the intervening night of October 5 and 6 last year.

However, an official document of the state home department says on August 21 last year, Mohammed Yousuf Marazi,Anchal’s father, had reported to the Nehru Park police post at Srinagar that his daughter was missing. On August 25, he again approached the post and claimed he had credible information that his daughter had been kidnapped.

Subsequently, a case under Section 363, 380 and 109 RPC was registered at Ram Munshi Bagh police station.

The home department says during the course of the investigation, it became known that Amina had been kidnapped by Rajnish Sharma, Guru Dutt, Vishal Mehra, Koushal and Rajinder Kumar.

Acting on the “clues”, a police party from Srinagar raided a house in Rehari at Jammu on September 30 last year and arrested Pawan Kumar Sharma (Rajnish’s elder brother), but in a bid to escape, Pawan sustained injuries on his right ankle, stated the department.

However, it may be stated here that the police had goofed up on the identity of the person it arrested. The police, in fact, had arrested Rajnish.

The accused was remanded in five-day police custody by a magistrate on October 1, 2009 and subsequently the remand was extended by a court in Srinagar till October 9.

The home department says, on October 6 morning, a sweeper went to the lock-up where he found the body of Pawan Kumar (actually Rajnish) hanging from the grill of the bathroom window.

He was taken to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

When the body was dispatched to Jammu it had been identified as that of Rajnish by none other than his mother, Raj Kumari, sending the police into a tizzy and inviting a public outcry in Jammu.

However, the home department says the deceased had deliberately identified himself as Pawan Kumar at the time of his arrest to deceive the police. Now six months on, the home department says the magisterial inquiry is almost complete, but certain clarifications on the second post-mortem report by doctors in Jammu are awaited.

Udhampur, March 24
Lt-Gen Jasbir Singh today took over as the Chief of Staff of Headquarters, Northern Command, Udhampur. Before this, he was the Director-General (DG) of Infantry at the Army Headquarters in Delhi.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Dogra Regiment on March 31, 1972.

A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he has held various staff and command appointments. As the DG, Infantry, he gave an impetus to the modernisation of Infantry, especially the implementation of the Future Infantry Soldier as a Weapon System (F-INSAS) project. He holds the coveted charge of the Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts and heads the fraternity of the distinguished Dogras as their Colonel Commandant.

He has attended the prestigious Higher Command and NDC courses. His key command assignments are that of an Infantry Battalion in counter insurgency environment in Jammu and Kashmir, an Infantry Brigade in active operations in India’s Western Theatre of Operations and an Infantry Division in Counter- Insurgency/Counter -Terrorism environment in Jammu and Kashmir for which he was awarded the prestigious VSM and AVSM. He has also been the Colonel Administration of an Infantry Division and the Brigadier-General Staff of a Corps deployed in Super High Altitude Terrain. He has also been the Defence Attache in Yangon, Myanmar, for three years.

Srinagar, March 24
Fortyfive students of schools in the Kashmir valley returned here today after a nine-day ‘Bharat Darshan’ organised by the BSF.

While one group, comprising 25 boys, toured central India, the other consisting of 20 students toured different parts of south India. The tours provided an opportunity to the schoolchildren to have a glimpse of the rich cultural and historical heritage of the country.

The two groups were flagged off by Minister for Medical Education, Technical Education, Youth Services and Sports, RS Chib and Minister of State Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani on March 16. The closing ceremony was held at the Subsidiary Training Centre (STC) of the BSF at Humahama near here today, where the students were received by the Inspector-General, BSF, Kashmir Frontier, Baljit Singh.

Baljit Singh said so far, they had organised such tours for 14 groups of students and now they were planning to send a group of girls to give them an equal opportunity. The boys had a memorable journey by air, enjoyed a Metro ride in Delhi and visited places of historical importance in Mysore, Ajmer, Jaipur and Agra.

Jammu, March 24
The Panthers Party on its 27th foundation anniversary celebrations today vowed to launch a movement for the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of cultural, linguistic and geographical identity of three regions of Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu.

The party resolutions said regional assemblies with independent political, financial status, independent planning commission, public service commission and recruitment should be set up.

The Panthers Party also condemned the Congress and the NC for what it claimed an assault on the basic fundamental rights of the people by not delimiting the Assembly and Parliament constituencies. The pary supported delimitation and decided to launch a movement to expose the coalition government for not holding it in the state.

In another resolution, the party urged Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to persuade Pakistan through diplomacy and dialogue to stop sending terrorists to the state and resolve the status of the LoC so that Indians living in the PoK and Gilgit should know their future, which has remained uncertain due to Pak occupation.

It also demanded a referendum in the PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan, besides withdrawal of so-called Gilgit reform ordinance, which violates the UN resolution of August 13, 1948. The ordinance was an attempt to convert Pak occupation from de facto to de jure, the party said.

Jammu, March 24
The nine-day Navratra festival concluded here in the temple city with religious fervour and gaiety as hundreds of devotees throng the Tawi river to immerse ‘Saankh’ (sprouted wheat). They also celebrated Ramanavami with religious fervour here today.

The devotees paid obeisance to get the blessings of the goddess Durga for the welfare and prosperity of their families.

However, the river was left badly polluted as the devotees immersed “Saankh” along with polythene bags, which accumulated on the banks of the river.

Over 2.50 lakh devotees from all walks of life celebrated Ramnavami and participated in a religious procession of Lord Ram here. More than 20 tableau followed the procession, which was organised by the J&K Dharmarth Trust.

Srinagar, March 24
The Army killed two militants along the LoC in the Keran sector of Kupwara district last night.

Defence spokesperson Lt-Col JS Brar said the troops opened fire after observing some movement across the LoC early today,killing two militants.The slain militants were believed to be foreigners and were wearing snow clothes, besides carrying wire cutters and ice axes.

Two AK Rifles, 155 rounds of ammunition, four grenades, one radio set, one ICOM radio set and a mobile phone were recovered from the scene.

“We are fully prepared to foil any infiltration attempt”, said the defence spokesman.

Meanwhile, the police and security forces have arrested a district commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen from Hajin in north Kashmir.

Acting on a tip-off, troops of the 13 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG arrested Ghulam Rasool Malik alias Aftab, district commander of the Hizbul Muzahideen.

An AK-47 rifle and two grenades were recovered from his possession.

Jammu, March 24
Residents of Vikram Nagar along with office-bearers of the Nirbhow Nirvair Organisation today filed a complaint with the Satwari police against a self-styled godman accusing him of exploiting a girl on the pretext of curing her of an ailment.

The residents said the girl, who was a follower of the “baba” had complained that by posing as a special doctor, the self-styled godman had been indulging in immoral activities.

They also alleged that a complaint had already been filed against the “baba” in Punjab in this connection. Iqbal Khan, SHO Satwari police station, further investigation was in progress.

Srinagar, March 24
Ramanavami was celebrated with fervour and gaiety here today.

At the Ramaji Mandir, hundreds of devotees,especially those from the rural areas, offered prayers. Somnath Mishra, a devotee, said the festival was being celebrated for the past nine days during the month of “Zaith” according to the Hindu calendar.

He added special dishes were prepared by the Pandit families. “We mostly cook vegetables, nadroo (roots of lotus), cheese and dam aloo”, he explained.

Chuni Lal, a representative of the Hindu Welfare Society, said “havan and aahooti” were performed on the ninth day. He said Muslims had been helping them make arrangements for the festival.

Jammu, March 24
To mark World TB Day, the Youth Movement for Peace organised a symposium at the Paramedical Institute, Baba Budhan Shah Educational Trust, in Raipur Satwari here this afternoon.

The participants spoke on topics such as spread, prevention and control of TB, role of health education and community participation.

Ashiq Hussain and Alka Katal won the first and second prizes, respectively, whereas Sujata and Munish Padha were given the third prize by Relief, Rehabilitation and Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla.

Among other dignitaries, state president Samajwadi president Sheikh Abdul Rehman was also present.

“There are 10,268 TB patients registered in the state of which 6,178 belong to the Jammu region alone. There are 2,059 patients from Jammu district alone”, said Vikas Sharma, chairman of the YMP. Executive members of YMP, Rekha Sharma, Ranjana Sharma and chairman of the paramedical institute, Zohra Begum also spoke.

Jammu, March 24
A group of four polio-ridden dwarfs today failed to meet Revenue and Rehabilitation Minster Raman Bhalla at a function in Satwari.

After delivering a speech, the minister left for another function, leaving the group disappointed.

Two brothers, Nikka Ram and Babu Ram, along with a close friend, Gopal Das, and another, were scene jostling in the crowd to say a word to the minister.

They had come to seek battery-operated tricycles so that they could do some work . Nikka Ram and Gopal Dass are tailors. “It is difficult to carry on with this profession as people today prefer readymade clothes,” Gopal Das of Chak Sardar village said.

Gopal said: “We even find it difficult to board vehicles to travel. I had applied to the Social Welfare Department for tricycles a number of times, but to no avail. This minister is known for his generous approach, but I could not meet him.”

“I and my brothers,Nikka Ram and Brij Lal, are dwarfs and victims of polio. We are dependent on each other. If we get tricycles, this may improve our lives,” Babu Ram averred.

“Our third brother, Brij Lal, was also curious about the minister’s visit to our locality. But he could not come here as he has been hospitalised at Government Medical College after his leg was broken in an accident two days ago,” he added.

Jammu, March 24
The Anusuchit Jati Morcha of the BJP yesterday warned the government against any move to ban inter-district recruitments. The Morcha warned that the proposed ban on this recruitment process would be opposed by weaker sections.

Addressing a press conference, Morcha state president Chaman Lal Kanathia said the move of the present NC-Congress coalition to impose a ban on inter-district recruitments was a conspiracy to deprive the Scheduled Castes (SCs) of the right of reservation as granted under the state Constitution to them.

“The Constitution provides 8.5 per cent reservation in government jobs to the Scheduled Castes. Ten districts of Kashmir do not have any population of SCs, and if the ban is imposed, no one among the SCs would be able to apply for any post in the valley,” he said, adding that the reserved posts meant to be filled by the SCs will be given to a particular section in the valley.

BJP leaders said the reservation to the SCs was granted after Independence in order to uplift them, but unfortunately it had not been properly implemented, as a result of which the SCs were still economically backward.

Jammu, March 24
Eighteen persons were injured in a clash between two groups over a land dispute at Dharana village in the Mendhar area in Poonch district today, the police said.

It said the situation took an ugly turn when Fazil Mohammad, claiming ownership of a particular piece of land, had heated arguments with Nassar Hussain in the Mendhar area this morning.

Hussain contested his claim over the land, which led to the clash between the two groups. The police said nine persons were shifted to the sub-district hospital at Mendhar. However, no one was severely injured in this incident, the police said.

Investigation officer Malik Nazir Ahmad said: “Both parties have registered cases against each other under Sections 307 and 447 of the RPC at Mendhar police station. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused threw stones at each other.”

Sources said both Fazil Mohammad and Nassar Hussain were relatives and belonged to the Gujjar community. Till the filing of this report, the police was searching the whereabouts of the accused and investigations were on to nab those who were still absconding.