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Shalin’s murder
Blame game begins
10 hurt as Gujjarsclash with police
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Srinagar tense over teenager’s death
Parents wanted Toufail to make it big in life
Uzma Khatoon adjudged best speaker
Gujjar kids worst victims of child labour: Study
NGO organises lecture
Hoteliers assure police of help
Saroori reviews road
projects
MC drive against milk adulteration
Unfair means in education need to be checked: HC
Students protest against tuitions by govt teachers
Sindhu Darshan festival begins in Leh
Human Rights Violations
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Shalin’s murder
Jammu, June 12
While it is not possible for the family to maintain calm in such a trying situation, the police has ample experience to guide the family on how to deal with the situation. The kidnapping of children is a rare crime in Jammu and no such incident took place in the last five years in the area. An analysis of such cases reveals that the chances of survival of a kidnapped person are low when he recognises the kidnappers. “In such cases, only swift police action can save the victim. Even paying the ransom won’t help. The kidnappers would never release the person alive as he could expose them the moment he was released,” said a Punjab police officer. He stressed swift police action was easier said than done. “By the time the police comes into the picture, the word of kidnapping generally spreads around and the police action becomes difficult.” Media, too, has a key role to play. At many places, where media and the police have good coordination, the news of kidnapping is not released. As a result the kidnappers do not panic and the police get time to act. Former DGP MM Khajuria said Shalin’s kidnapping was a bad reflection on the law and order situation in the state. “You can’t keep the police out of a kidnapping incident. The police has to be informed. The kidnappers’ warning has to be taken seriously and the further path taken carefully.” Asked if paying ransom was the easy way out, the former DGP replies in the negative. “And if you settle for money, there is no end to it. The child can be kidnapped again.” Boy was killed within 15 minutes: DIG “The kidnapped boy was killed within 15 minutes,” claimed DIG (Jammu-Kathua) range Farooq Khan to reporters in a hurriedly convened press conference in the late evening. The DIG said the kidnappers had already planned to kill him as the boy could recognise them.
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Blame game begins
Jammu, June 12 The Opposition has also demanded a probe into the allegations that some influential persons had exerted pressure on the police to set free the main accused, who was reportedly arrested just after the kidnapping but released half an hour later. “There is need to single out those who have put pressure on the police to get the main accused released,” demanded Nirmal Kamal, spokesperson for the state BJP unit. Reports said main accused Darbinder Singh was arrested just after the kidnapping but released after some time. He was re-arrested only after Shalin’s body was found early today. Quoting reports that the main accused was released without proper questioning due to alleged political pressure, Kamal lamented that had the police not succumbed to the pressure, life of an innocent child would have been saved. The BJP spokesperson alleged that the law and order situation in the region has worsened due to the failure of the administration in keep a check on the activities of anti-social elements. Panthers Party chief Prof Bhim Singh, while condemning the gruesome killing, blamed the police for the tragedy and demanded strict action against the culprits as well as police officials who did not take the matter seriously. “Members of the ruling coalition are not interested in maintain law and order. They have their own personal agenda,” he alleged, adding that the government had no control over the administration. The PDP has also condemned the incident and took the government to task for not acting on time. “Had the administration taken the kidnapping incident seriously, life of a child could have been saved,” observed PDP general secretary Balbir Singh. Sikh organisations like the Nirbhao Nirvair Organisation, Shiromani Youth Akali Dal, All-India Sikh Students’ Federation, Bhai Khania Nishkam Sewa Society, Sikh Noujwan Sabha and Sikh Sudhar Sabha, Akhnoor, have also condemned the killing. They have demanded action against the erring police officials. Meanwhile, Minister of Revene, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla has demanded transfer of senior police officials for the episode.
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10 hurt as Gujjarsclash with police
Jammu, June 12 The clash took place when a team of JDA officials accompanied by the police reached the spot and asked the Gujjars to vacate the land. The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the agitated Gujjars after the latter pelted it However, sensing the situation going out of the hand after the Gujjars attacked the JDA team with lathis, the police fired tear gas shells and subsequently fired into the air to keep the furious mob at bay. Mohammad Hussain, a Gujjar whose thatched hut was demolished, said, “The government has simply banished us from the purview of development. It’s doing nothing for us but lip service. See how we are being treated as if we are not human being.” There were several others like him who lost their shelters to the bulldozers of the JDA. Though the JDA officers maintained that they had given notices to them well in advance, the affected Gujjars maintained that they had been living on the land since long. “We started the anti-encroachment drive in the Majeen area of Sidhra where 200-300 acres of government land have been encroached upon,” said SHO, Nagrota, Nazir Ahmed. “We are utterly shocked over the incident and condemn the police action on Gujjars. At the same time, we appeal to the Gujjars not to leave the land,” said national secretary of the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, Dr Javed Rahi. “Since the time of the Maharaja, nomads have a natural right over forest and state land. Now, the state has even the Roshani Act so those tribals who want to settle should be rehabilitated by the government,” he added.
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Srinagar tense over teenager’s death
Srinagar, June 12 The clashes erupted in various parts of Srinagar following the death of a teenager, Toufail Ahmed, in stone throwing last evening. The locals, however, said the boy died after being hit by a bullet fired by the police. The police said 37 persons, including 15 policemen, were injured in various parts of the city. During his funeral procession, thousands of people carried Toufail’s body to be buried in the martyrs’ graveyard at the Eidgah in the downtown locality here. The protesters started throwing stones at the police and paramilitary forces, prompting the latter to resort to cane-charge and lob tear gas shells at the protesters and fire into the air to disperse them. Several persons were injured in the action. The police had imposed restrictions in the downtown where undeclared curfew was imposed, but many defied the restrictions and reached Toufail’s residence to take part in the procession. The protesters pulled down two CRPF bunkers in the downtown. Residents said the police deliberately killed Toufail as he was not part of the stone-throwing group. “He did not join the group for he was carrying his schoolbag; the bag was on his shoulders when he was shot dead,” Mustaq Ahmed, a local resident, told The Tribune. The police said the boy died under “mysterious circumstances” and claimed it could be a ‘deliberate murder’. It police further said Toufail’s body was handed over to his relatives this morning after an autopsy. “As the mourners insisted on burying the body at the Eidgah, they were allowed to do so and the police and the CRPF showed tremendous restraint due to which the entire process passed off peacefully,” a police spokesman said. An internal probe through the Srinagar DIG would be ordered into the incident, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, the condition of constable Mushtaq Ahmad, who was assaulted by the mob yesterday, continues to be critical. Apprehending the “breach of peace”, the police this morning detained Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference. A team headed by the DSP today raided the Hyderpora house of Geelani and took him to Humhama police station. “The step was taken as a precautionary measure in view of the apprehension of breach of peace during a special prayer meeting convened by Geelani at the Hazratbal shrine later today,” a source informed.
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Parents wanted Toufail to make it big in life
Srinagar, June 12 Toufail, who was the only child of his parents, died yesterday in a stone throwing incident. The police says he was murdered, while the locals say he was shot dead by the police while he was returning from tuition. “As usual, after Friday prayers he had gone for tuition and when he was on his way back home, eyewitnesses told us, he along with some of his friends were chased by the police and were caught inside a stadium,” said Haibib Naqash, a senior photojournalist and uncle of Toufail. He said eyewitnesses told them that when the boys left the area the police fired at them and Toufail was hit in his head and he died on the spot. “The police fired at them and a bullet hit Toufail in the head and he died on the spot. A woman also fainted when she saw the boy dead,” Naqash said. A pall of gloom descended on Toufail’s home when the news of his death reached his family and a large number of relatives, friends and neighbours started pouring in to console the family. “Toufail was the only son of his parents and was a brilliant student. His parents wanted him to do big things in life, but his life was cut short. We had never imagined that he would meet such a tragic end,” Naqash said. Toufail’s father Mohammed Ashraf Matoo is a businessman and mostly lives in the Gulf countries. He had arrived in Kashmir a few days ago and was about to return to the Gulf when the tragedy struck the family. The family maintains that they had to wait for the whole night before the police handed the body of Toufail over to them. “In the evening the police refused to allow post-mortem, as it wanted public anger to settle down. After waiting for the whole night when the body was handed over to us the police did not allow us to take it in a procession to be buried at the Eidgah graveyard,” said the relative. He said, however, despite cane-charging and teargassing by the police they managed to take the body in a procession to the Eidgah and buried it there.
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Uzma Khatoon adjudged best speaker
Udhampur, June 12 Tanika Devi of Class VIII and Rohit Kumar of Class XII of the same school stood second and third, respectively. The symposium was organised as part of the awareness campaign by the Department of Drugs and Food Control in collaboration with the Department of Education, Health and Information. Twenty-seven students participated and highlighted the effects of tobacco. Assistant Controller, Drugs, Munish Gupta gave a detailed account of the campaign. The naib tehsildar and the zonal education officer, Chenani, GHSS principal Rashpal Singh, Dr Mohit Sharma of the Sudhmahadev Primary Health Centre and the Udhampur drug inspector were also present on the occasion.
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Gujjar kids worst victims of child labour: Study
Srinagar, June 12 The study says Gujjar children were the worst affected than 10 other tribal groups’ children residing in the state. Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the foundation, said out of every 1,000 nomadic Gujjars and Bakarwals moving in Poonch, Rajouri, Baramulla and Kupwara districts, 74 per cent of their children between the age of 7 and 15 years were engaged in child labour. They were being exploited because of their limited family income and lack of human resources in tribal life as they were not in a position to get proper education and health care facilities at an early age, the study said. |
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NGO organises lecture
Jammu, June 12 The lecture was organised at the sanstha’s PAHL Centre, where 140 underprivileged children study. Sanstha chairman Onkar Nath Chandra said a survey had revealed that government servants had employed minors as domestic helps and did not allow them to complete their education. He also urged the state to conduct a survey and prevent minors from falling in the trap of government servants who forcefully engage them as help. PAHL students pledged not to do jobs before attaining the age of 18 and motivate working children to complete elementary education.
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Hoteliers assure police of help
Jammu, June 12 At a meeting here, the hoteliers urged the SSP, Jammu, Basant Rath, that policewomen should be deployed to frisk women inmates of hotels during the yatra. |
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Saroori reviews road
projects
Srinagar, June 12 Saroori inspected the ongoing widening of the Pahalgam-Chandanwari road for which Rs 17.77 crore had been earmarked. He asked engineers and the executing agencies to speed up the work. He also inspected Rs 25.61 lakh Ashmuqam Tulhard road project and the Grand Hardkitroo road. Saroori was informed that Rs 55.50 lakh had been incurred on the road project and it would be completed soon. The minister instructed the engineers to maintain high quality of work and use material according to the guidelines. “There should be no compromise on quality,” Saroori stressed and said inefficient engineers would have to pay for delinquency. He further said 62 schemes had been proposed for Anantnag district under the seventh phase of the Prime Ministers’ Gram Sarak Yojna (PMGSY) for which Rs 1,467 crore had been approved by the Centre. Saroori interacted with tourists at Pahalgam to enquire about the facilities being made available at Pahalgam.
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MC drive against milk adulteration
Jammu, June 12 During the drive, the team checked 89 canes, of which 14 were lifted and sent to the laboratory. A fine of Rs 2,500 was realised from the erring milk vendors on the spot. The drive was conducted in New Plots, Sarwal, Rehari Colony, Maheshpura Chowk, Talab Tillo, Patta Chungi and Muthi areas. Further, the team impounded 28 stray animals from different areas. These were shifted to the Municipal Cattle Pound and a fine of Rs 3,800 realised from the owners. Besides, the team also seized about 10 kg of polythene bags from shopkeepers, vendors and other outlets. A fine of Rs 3,300 was charged from 23 defaulters. — TNS |
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Unfair means in education need to be checked: HC
Jammu, June 12 For having resorted to unfair means in the secondary school examination in 2005, the J&K State Board of School Education passed an order disqualifying the petitioner for one year. The petitioner filed the writ petition stating that no unfair means were adopted by him. He stated that one Khurshid Alam Siddiqui, who had some grudge against the father of the petitioner, entered the examination hall, snatched the answer sheet from the petitioner and scribbled something over it. When the petitioner protested, Siddiqui was caught and handed over to the police. The answer sheet was returned to the petitioner, who appeared in the examination, thereafter. The court asserted that in the present system of education, examinations were best suited to assess the progress of the students as long as they are fairly conducted. “Such unhealthy practices are like poisonous weeds in the field of education that must be rooted out so that the innocent are not affected.” A case of unfair means was framed against the petitioner when a printed slip was recovered from his possession and the same was attached with the answer script signed by the inspector. Subsequently, both petitioner and the inspector were summoned and after affording opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, it was established that he had resorted to unfair means and, accordingly, he was disqualified for a year.
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Students protest against tuitions by govt teachers
Jammu, June 12 Demanding strict action against the guilty, JJSF activists burnt an effigy of Director (School Education) Zahida Khan and raised slogans against the Education Department. While addressing the protesters, Partap Singh Jamwal, JJSF state vice-president, said despite efforts by the federation to alert the government authorities about the practice of private tuitions by government teachers, nothing has been done in this regard. The protesters also showed their anger against private schools that were still in the session instead of being closed for summer vacation. They also extended support to the students of Baba Ghulam Shah Bhadshah University, who had on hunger strike for the fulfilment of their demands. |
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Sindhu Darshan festival begins in Leh
Srinagar, June 12 This year, a large number of participants from different parts of the country participated in it. One of the major highlights of the event today was that people had brought water from the rivers of their own states in earthen pots and immersed these pots into the Sindhu. This was a ritual whereby the waters of all rivers mixed symbolising the multi-dimensional cultural identity of India. As part of the event, the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages organised a folk music programme in Kashmiri and Dogri languages, which was appreciated by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and others. The academy was represented by Deputy Secretary, Kashmir, Jagmohan Sharma and Deputy Secretary Culture, Leh, Mipam Othsal.
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Human Rights Violations
Srinagar, June 12 ANC vice-president Muzaffar Shah said today that “instead of being dismissed, he (Omar Abdullah) should himself step down from the post of Chief Minister.” He said his party would be holding a Round Table conference in New Delhi next month, wherein human rights activists, mediapersons and others would be invited. Muzaffar further said, “The voice from Kashmir does not go outside, so we have decided to hold the Round Table in Delhi where we would discuss human rights violations and good governance.” Condemning the killing of teenager Toufail Ahmed, the ANC leader said, “It is not even three days since the Prime Minister had assured the people of Kashmir of zero tolerance policy against human rights violations but we are again today grieving the teenager’s killing. We also demand the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) immediately.” He said there was widespread corruption and the government had failed to provide succour to the masses.
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njured at Sidhra here today when the Gujjars tried to prevent a team of the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) officials and the police from demolishing their homes built on an encroached land.
