Udhampur/Jammu,September 14
Four protesters and six policemen were injured today in violence during the bandh in Kishtwar town in the wake of a news report about the alleged desecration of a holy book in the US. One policeman was injured seriously. Traffic, however, plied normally on the National Highway-IA.

Apart from Kishtwar, protests over the issue passed off peacefully in other parts of the Jammu region, including Reasi, Ramban, Doda districts. Peaceful protests were held in these areas yesterday as well. Given the sensitivity of the problem, the civil administration and the police have vigorously started to involve the prominent citizens of the areas to dispel the rumours spread due to the media report. As part of a short term strategy, a heavy deployment of the police has been made.

The protesters turned violent in Kishtwar town and started pelting stones at the police as their procession reached near the police station. The police had to use tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters, resulting in injuries to 10 persons. SP, Kishtwar, Mohammad Haseeb Mughal told The Tribune that four protesters and five policemen were discharged after first-aid. A constable, Arun Singh, a resident of Katra, who was injured grievously, was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu.

To prevent a possible backlash, security was provided around the institutions belonging to the Christian community in all areas. The police was deployed at a convent school at Batote, 15 km from the Patnitop hill resort on the National Highway-IA. This is the only Christian institution in the entire Ramban district that touches the Jawahar Tunnel, the entry point to the Kashmir valley. A similar protection was provided at churches in Udhampur town, Ramnagar and Chenani in Udhampur district. “Despite a miniscule presence of the Christian community in these areas, we did not want to take any chances,” said a senior police officer.

A complete bandh was observed in the Banihal area in Ramban district and Kishtwar town. However, shops remained open in Ramban town, Chanderkote, Gool, Ransoo and Batote areas of Ramban district. Some persons tried to take out protest marches in Nawgam and Thethar villages of the district but were persuaded by the police not to do so. There was a heavy deployment of the police at all vulnerable places as well as the stretch of the NH-IA passing through the district.

In Poonch, where a similar clash between the police and protesters had left 15 persons injured yesterday, there was no relaxation in curfew today. “Curfew was still on and there was no relaxation today,” SSP, Poonch district, Manmohan Singh told The Tribune over phone.

He said the police had also identified 45 troublemakers against whom action was being initiated. “Among the troublemakers, some had come from ‘outside’ to foment trouble in the town,” said the officer. He, however, rubbished reports that one of the 15 injured died in the hospital.

All injured were discharged today after first-aid and the one, who was shifted to the GMCH in Jammu yesterday, returned home in Sunderbani on his own, he added.

The SSP said the police today had a meeting with senior citizens of the town, who also condemned yesterday’s incident and assured to maintain peace and calm in the town.

Meanwhile, peaceful protests were also staged in Rajouri, Doda, Gandoh and Thatri areas. 

Jammu, September 14
At a time when Kashmir is on the boil, Valley-based politicians have been playing the role of escapists and most of them have virtually taken shelter in Jammu.

Interestingly some of the politicians, who have managed important political assignments on the basis of their Kashmir background, have confined their activities only to the Jammu region just to hoodwink their leadership.

Though the Secretariat is at present functioning in Srinagar, ministers prefer to organise their political as well as official meetings in Jammu only from where they have been “spreading” the message of peace.

As the youth of the Kashmir valley has been agitating on the streets, leaders of the youth wing of different political parties are hesitating to organise even close-door or corner meetings in Kashmir. The youth wing of the ruling National Conference (NC) has virtually became defunct, as there is no state president of the wing.

During the past three months, the NC youth has not organised a single function in the Valley and some leaders of the party have been camping in Jammu.

Similar is the situation in the newly-constituted Pradesh Youth Congress (PYC). PYC chief Shoaib Lone was appointed on this post due to his Kashmir background but since his appointment his activities have been confined only to the Jammu region.

Congress sources said the party high command had appointed Lone as the PYC chief with a hope that he would initiate political activities in the Valley to create some space for the mainstream political parties.

“What to say of starting political activities in the Kashmir valley, our PYC chief has himself taken shelter in the Jammu region,” said a senior Congress leader on the condition of anonymity. He regretted that for taking political posts, politicians exploit their Kashmir background.

“I am not getting the starting point because since my nomination as the PYC chief, the turmoil has been going on in the Valley. So it is not possible for us to organise any political activities on the other side of the Pir Panchal,” said Shoiab Lone. “Whenever the situation improves, we will definitely start our activities in the Kashmir valley also,” he added.

As the activities of the Youth Congress to restore peace in the state were confined only to the Jammu region, the BJP has reasons to blame the Congress for spoiling the peaceful atmosphere in this region. “Instead of organising political activities in Kashmir, activists of the Youth Congress are taking out peace rallies in Jammu only to disrupt peace,” said Munish Sharma, state president of the BJYM, youth wing of the BJP.

Srinagar, September 14
A crucial meeting of the core group of the National Conference under the chairmanship of party president Farooq Abdullah began here this evening to finalise its strategy ahead of the all-party meeting proposed to held in New Delhi tomorrow.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and party president Farooq Abdullah flew here this evening from New Delhi in the wake of the situation arising out of the Central government’s response over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the prevailing situation in Kashmir. The situation in the Valley, which had been brewing up over the past three months, took a more serious turn following the Eid-day violence in Kashmir, that was followed by widespread clashes triggered by the rumours about the desecration of a holy book, resulting in the killing of 17 persons and injuries to over 150 others.

The meeting was convened a day after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) discussed the prevailing situation in Kashmir without any reference to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s pleas on the revocation of the AFSPA from two districts each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Earlier on Monday, the Chief Minister had separate meetings with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Soon after his return here yesterday, the Chief Minister convened a Cabinet meeting in view of the violence that had been triggered by the reports about the act of sacrilege aired by a foreign TV news channel. The state government had banned the airing of the channel in the state.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister had a series of meetings with ministerial colleagues and party leaders here today. He met his ministers of the coalition, senior leaders of the NC and legislators to discuss the situation in the Valley, an official spokesman here said. 

Srinagar, September 14
Residents of three villages in Sopore township of Baramulla district objected to stone throwing by youths from the adjoining areas on the security forces today, leading to clashes that left one person injured.

"A group of miscreants from Tujjar village had come over to Bomai to attack the CRPF camp, which has been targeted a number of times in the past," said a police spokesman.

He said the youths started pelting stones on the camp, but the local people objected to it, leading to heated exchanges followed by clashes between the two groups.

One person, identified as Khazir Mohammed Nadaf of Bomai, received head injuries and has been hospitalised, the spokesperson said, adding a case, under Section 307, 341, 148 of the Ranbir Panel Code, has been lodged against the culprit who has been identified and efforts were on to nab him.

He said there have been reports of skirmishes from two more places at Haathi Shah and Aarmpora in the Sopore area, where some persons have objected to stone throwing by other groups. However, no one was injured in these incidents, the spokesperson added.

Sopore is the hometown of chairman of hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has appealed to youths not to indulge in violence. — PTI

Srinagar, September 14
Chairman of the hard line faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who came out with a fresh protest calendar, have urged people to start their daily routine after 7 pm.

As per the calendar issued by the separatist camp, people have been asked to observe a complete strike from 7 am till the evening and start their normal routine from 7 pm.

Releasing the new 10-day protest calendar, Geelani said during the protest days all business establishments, including shops, manufacturing units, flour mills, cement factories, would remain open from 7 pm to 7 am.

“Shops and other commercial establishments can do normal business during late night hours. Vehicles can also ply during late nights,” Geelani said.

As per the fresh calendar, the people had been asked to observe a complete strike on September 16 and hold peaceful protests after every prayer. The following day again there would be a strike and people of different districts have been asked to march towards their district headquarters. On September 18, there would be a shutdown. “People, who are computer literate, will register their protest on different social networking sites, especially on Facebook,” the calendar read.

On September 19, there would be no shutdown. “On this day all business establishments, banks, educational institutions and private institutions will remain open,” the calendar read.

Geelani called for “UN chalo” on September 20. “People will march towards the UN office and will give a memorandum to remind it that the people of Jammu and Kashmir want the UN resolutions to be adopted without further delay,” it said.

Again, there would be a shutdown on September 21 and the people had been asked to move towards military establishments and shout: “Go India go back”.

There would be relaxation from the strike on September 22, followed by a strike on September 23 to 26.

Jammu, September 14
Protesting against the alleged desecration of a holy book in the US, members of a community staged a protest and burnt the effigy of US President Barack Obama near Malik Market on the outskirts of the winter capital this afternoon.

The members of the community assembled in the Malik Market area of Narwal on the outskirts of the city and shouted anti-America slogans. “We condemn the incident (of burning a holy book). No country has a right to hurt the religious sentiments of any community,” said one of the protesters. “Our protest is against the US and not against the state government,” said another protester.

Though the protesters wanted to march towards Narwal, the police prevented them.

They sat on the Kunjwani-Sidhra bypass for half an hour and later dispersed peacefully.

The police had diverted traffic to avoid inconvenience to daily commuters. A strong posse of police had been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

Srinagar, September 14
The popular social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube are being used by miscreants in Kashmir to incite negative sentiments by uploading disturbing comments, photos and videos allegedly of the ongoing unrest in the Valley.

The police said these digitally morphed photos and videos were being uploaded with the aim to malign the image of the security forces in the Valley. Recently some people had uploaded a video clip showing some men in uniform allegedly parading a naked group of the Valley youth, following which another such clipping surfaced but was immediately taken off the networking sites.

Earlier also, the police had booked the two most popular networking sites Facebook and YouTube for uploading malicious videos that were aimed at maligning the image of the security forces and creating unrest among the masses.

Chairman of the hard line faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani has also appealed to the computer literate youth of the Valley to mark their protest on the sites like Facebook.

However, the police has taken a serious note of these malicious uploads. A police spokesperson said, “Some miscreants are making repeated attempts to upload morphed pictures on YouTube against the security forces to incite people. Two cases already stand registered in this connection with the crime branch. Efforts to trace its origin and apprehend the accused are on.”

He said uploading such pictures was a criminal offence punishable under Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act.

He said it was also a punishable act under Section 505 of the RPC that was a cognisable offence and attracted a rigorous three-year imprisonment.

Jammu, September 14
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today blamed the ruling National Conference (NC)-led coalition of adopting anti-people policies and observed that the present turmoil was the result of such policies.

Addressing a meeting of party workers at Hiranagar in Kathua district, PDP general secretary Balbir Singh said the policies adopted by the NC-led coalition had proved disastrous for the state and it was high time to launch a decisive war against this government.

He said the state had been plunged into an unprecedented crisis due to the “childish” policies of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Balbir said since the formation of the NC-led government in the state, problems of the common man had been increasing and the government had even failed to solve the basic problems of the people.

While expressing grave concern over the mounting problems of the common masses, he said due to its misdeed and misgovernance this regime had lost its credibility.

During the past 19 months, this regime had done nothing to solve the basic problems of the common masses, Balbir said, adding that instead of fulfilling its commitments, the government had been trying to befool people by raking up non-serious issues.

Jammu, September 14
Separatists have been trying to activate their sleeper cells across the Jammu region to create a law-and-order problem. Sources in the intelligence agencies confided to The Tribune that to incite negative sentiments in the wake of the continued unrest in the Valley, coupled with the misleading reports of a sacrilegious act in the US, the separatists have been trying to create a law-and-order problem across the Jammu region.

“They have been trying to activate their sleeper cells, particularly in the areas where disturbances have already crept into,” said the sources. “We have alerted the state government and the police to do the requisite work to prevent the situation from taking an ugly turn,” they added.

“We will not allow them to vitiate the atmosphere across Jammu,” said a senior police officer. “Since Kashmir has been tense for the past three months, we cannot afford to remain complacent. We are already on our guard and the police is closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

It has been reliably learnt that the Chief Minister’s Office has dashed off a communiqué to Jammu Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal and Jammu zone IG Ashok Kumar Gupta to sternly deal with the troublemakers across Jammu.

Jammu, September 14
Expressing concern over the stray incidents of violence in different areas of the Jammu region, political parties today appealed to people to remain calm and not to pay heed to rumours and provocative slogans.

Addressing a meeting of party workers in Jammu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Daman Bhasin cautioned the people against the evil designs of some anti-social elements, who had been trying to create division among the people. He said the state was passing through a crucial juncture and it was high time for the people to maintain brotherhood and communal harmony.

Prominent among others who attended the meeting included Deepinder Kour, HR Chargotra, Hussain Ali Bafa, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammed Rouf, Mohammad Shafi, Eijaz Khan, Vimal Sharma and others.

Jammu State Morcha (JSM) members condemned the alleged desecration of a holy book. The members appealed to the people to remain calm and composed in the face of this blatant attempt to stir up communal fires. The JSM members also condemned the burning of the old and famous school in Srinagar and appealed to all sections of society to refrain from such acts that hurt the religious sentiments of other communities.

The Rastriya Krantikari Smajwadi Party (RKSP) has also expressed serious concern over the violent incidents in the Valley and their negative fallout in some parts of the Jammu region as well.

In a press statement issued today, state president of the party Tanveer Hussain Babzada complimented the members of the majority community in Doda, Kishtwar and Inderwal areas for maintaining communal harmony and goodwill despite all provocations.

Jammu, September 14
A two-day seminar ‘Chetna-2010 on the empowerment and development of junior leadership’ organised by the Ace of Spade Division concluded at Rajouri today.

The seminar was held with an aim to empowering JCOs and NCOs by giving them greater responsibilities in the wake of the shortage of officers in the Army. Honorary Captain Bana Singh and Lance Naik Sanjay Kumar, both Param Vir Chakra recipients, were present on the occasion. Decorated retired soldiers, including Hony Capt Surender Singh, Ashok Chakra, Hony Capt (retd) Swarn Singh Chib, Vir Chakra and Hony Capt (retd) Loknath Sharma, Shaurya Chakra, also participated in the seminar and shared their experiences with the audiences.

About 750 JCOs and NCOs of Ace of Spade Division participated in the seminar. Commander, Tithwal Brigade, Brig AK Bhatt emphasised the need to train JCOs and NCOs to make them more responsible. Major Gen Om Prakash, GOC of Ace of Spade Division, encouraged the junior officers to enhance their awareness level and knowledge to inculcate leadership qualities that were essential for this profession. Maj Gen Prakash felicitated the awardees and the panelists of the seminar by presenting them mementos.

Jammu, September 14
The State Board of School Education (BOSE) has decided to revive open schools in the state once the situation gets normal in the Valley.

The open schools will be relaunched for dropouts and private candidates, who do not get time to study in regular classes. An open school was formally inaugurated in 2003, but it remained a non-starter for reasons unknown.

The board was scheduled to formally relaunch an open school in the Jammu province yesterday but due to the prevailing condition in the Valley the programme had to be postponed.

“The situation is worse in the Valley. As a result, we could not reach Jammu today. We have postponed the programme right now and we will relaunch the open schools in the Jammu province after 10 to 12 days,” said Prof Desh Bandhu Gupta, Chairman, BOSE, while taking to The Tribune.

“We will run the open schools in a formal way and provide an alternative channel of learning to those who could not pursue education because of financial or other problems.”

He said the open school was a step towards achieving cent per cent literacy in the state. “This is the need of the hour,” he added.

Around 15 open schools would be opened in the Kashmir province while around 42 open schools would be opened in the Jammu province. Gupta said the state board would run the open schools with the coordination of the National Open School (NOS), which would provide all support.

“Open school provides a non-formal education in which the students can pursue education through the distance mode,” said the chairman.

Initially, the students would be able to do their matriculation through open schools, which would be gradually upgraded to Class XII.

Gupta said education through open schools would be affordable for students as they could pursue the course by spending less than Rs 2,000.

The students would be provided study material. The chairman assured that all efforts would be put to provide benefits of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan to the students.

Udhampur, September 14
As part of the Hindi Divas celebrations, competitions on Hindi essay writing, noting and drafting, Hindi typing on computers were conducted at the Northern Command here today. Brig BS Das, BGS (IS&T), HQ Northern Command, gave away prizes to the winners.

Addressing the audience, including the winners, Brig Das emphasised the importance of Hindi as the official language in the day-to-day official correspondence in the offices of the HQ Northern Command. He also pointed towards the importance accorded to Hindi in the Indian Constitution and urged all to contribute to the promotion of our national language in the right spirit, especially in the Armed Forces where multi-lingual people join and perform their duty.

DS Rauthan, Assistant Director (OL) and secretary, official language implementation committee, HQ Northern Command, thanked the chief guest, officers and all those present at the ceremony.