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Omar to visit curfew-bound Poonch today
Missing
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Alleged Sacrilege
Centre ‘failed’ to check anti-national elements in state
Admn promises help, people get none
Seminar on environmental issues organised
Students of Government College for Women, Parade, present Saraswati Vandana at the inaugural function of the seminar on “Global issues on Environment” on Friday. A Tribune photograph
Class XI student raped, murdered in Manjakote
3 killed, 37 hurt in police action
‘Little hope from all-party delegation’
All-party Delegation
CM briefs Governor on situation
Finish projects on time, engineers told
LUTF leaders join BJP, Cong
Army restores water channel in Achinathang
Pak troops open fire in Poonch
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Omar to visit curfew-bound Poonch today
Jammu, September 17 “The Chief Minister is coming to Poonch tomorrow to take stock of the situation and the compensation for the aggrieved families of those killed in the police firing in Mendhar may also be announced tomorrow,” Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, KL Khajuria told The Tribune on phone. At least three persons were killed and several others were injured in the police firing on September 15 when a mob went berserk protesting against the alleged sacrilegious act in the US. The Chief Minister would meet senior officers and prominent citizens of the twin border towns, besides meeting families of those killed in the police action. The situation in Mendhar town, where the curfew was being imposed strictly, remained peaceful, said Khajuria. “I personally visited various mosques in the town and talked to the Moulvis and the people and urged them to offer Friday prayers in a peaceful manner,” he added. In fact the district administration had made a special provision for the people to offer Friday prayers in various mosques in their respective localities and they had been given special curfew passes, he said. In Poonch also the Friday prayers passed off peacefully. Though the curfew entered the fifth day, it was relaxed in the evening from 5 pm to 6.30 pm, said the DC. Officers from the civil and police administration were personally meeting prominent citizens of the area to soothe the frayed nerves, said Khajuria, adding that no untoward incident was reported from either of the twin border towns. However, the situation in Mandi in Poonch district was tense while it was peaceful in Surankote town of the same district. People also took out processions in Manjakote and Thannamandi. Though people shouted slogans against the alleged act of sacrilege and the USA in Rajouri, Manjakote, Mandi, Thannamandi and Surankote, the processions passed off peacefully. A heavy posse of policemen along with CRPF personnel was deployed in the towns to keep troublemakers at bay.
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Naval divers fail to make headway, return to Delhi
Aggrieved family wants fresh probe Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 17 “This was the third attempt by divers and nothing came out. We apprehend a foul play behind the disappearance of Syed Zuhaib Rizvi, who went missing under mysterious circumstances on May 14,” Zuhaib’s maternal uncle Shaukat Alamgir told The Tribune. The district administration and the police did their best providing all help to trace the boy, he said, adding that the third attempt, which also proved futile, had strengthened our belief that Zuhaib was not drowned. Since May 14, we had been apprehending that something wrong happened with Zuhaib and now we requested the police to probe the case afresh from a different angle, he said. If the body could not be traced in the lake, chances of a foul play could not be ruled out, he added. Shaukat expressed regret over the lukewarm response of the principal of Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences where Zuhaib had been pursuing his MBBS. He ridiculed the college principal for what he dubbed a lukewarm and adamant approach in lodging an FIR on May 21, after a gap of one week of the incident. A final-year medical student, Zuhaib went missing from the lakeside on May 14. No doubt, the state government provided every possible help to us in tracing Zuhaib but we now wanted the police to investigate the case afresh, he added. The medico’s father, an assistant executive engineer with the Power Development Department, died way back in 1990, leaving behind his wife, son (Zuhaib) and a daughter.
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Sangarsh Samiti urges people to remain calm
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 17 He said the incident was a well-planned conspiracy hatched by some foreign agencies to create communal tension and a law and order problem in various parts of the Jammu province, which by and large remained peaceful during the Kashmir turmoil. Addressing a press conference here, Sharma said Terry John, who had reportedly desecrated the holy book, must be put behind bars as he had hurt the sentiments of a large number of people. He asked the Centre to take the matter seriously and create diplomatic pressure on the USA to punish John. Expressing anguish over the violent incidents in Mendhar and Poonch in which some persons lost their lives, he asked the authorities to grant compensation to the families of those killed in the police firing in Mendhar. He appealed to the majority community to hold peaceful protests against the alleged sacrilege and not to burn government property and indulge in violence. “Some anti-national forces have been trying to take advantage of the prevailing situation, so we should avoid violent protests,” he said. He appealed to people to organise peaceful demonstrations. Sharma, while pointing towards the decision of the Centre to send an all-party delegation, said people of the Jammu region should also be taken into confidence while arriving at any conclusion. A group of the Shiv Sena has also condemned the alleged act of desecration of the holy book and asked people to remain calm and strengthen brotherhood and communal harmony.
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Centre ‘failed’ to check anti-national elements in state
Jammu, September 17 Addressing a joint press conference, JSM leaders said instead of taking the nationalist people of Jammu and Ladakh into confidence, the Centre had been trying to appease the anti-national forces of the Valley. They said events of the past three months in the state culminating in the all-party meeting have exposed the mindset of the Centre. The JSM also expressed surprise over the attitude of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for skipping the all-party meeting. “This shows that he did not have the courage and only wanted to avoid the uncomfortable questions he would have to answer there regarding his compromise with the separatists and anti-India forces by acceding to and projecting their unjustified demands to buy peace,” JSM leaders said, adding that “It’s very strange that FIRs are being registered against the police and security forces, who take action only in self-defence and to prevent damage to the public and government property.” The JSM demanded that the present coalition government should be sacked immediately and Governor’s rule be imposed to restore normalcy and also confidence in the minority communities in various regions of the state. It was further demanded that the proposed all-party delegation should meet a cross-section of all political and social organisations in Jammu and Ladakh regions to ascertain their views on how to solve the present crises. The press conference was jointly addressed by Anil Gour, Chandra Uday Sharma, Balwinder Singh, Devinder Singh Jamwal, Surjit Singh and Mukesh Raina. |
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Admn promises help, people get none
Srinagar, September 17 The curfew that was clamped five days ago has not been relaxed even a bit and the police and the administration have issued notices that it is
ready to offer help to the residents who were in need of milk, medicines and baby foods. Despite the assurances, people are not getting the “much sought after” help as everyone does not have a valid curfew pass and a few people, who have such passes, say that the police and the CRPF do not honour the passes. A police spokesman said, “In case of any assistance regarding the emergency health aid and other essential needs, residents should contact their local station house officer.” But the residents here blame that whenever they call up the local police station for any help, they are told to come there and collect the items, while they are not allowed to go out. “I needed some baby food and I called up the local SHO. He asked me to come and collect the same from the police station. But how can I go to the station in the curfew. When I asked the SHO to get the baby food delivered at my house, he said the police too could not come out as it fears attack from stone throwers,” said a resident of downtown. In the entire Srinagar city the milk supply from south Kashmir has also been blocked, as no vehicle carrying milk from Pulwama is allowed to enter the city. The milkmen, who used to do their business early
in the morning, say the police and the CRPF have stopped them from selling milk or otherwise they will be booked for violating
the curfew. “For the first two days, I sold milk early morning to customers, who used to come to my house. Later, CRPF and police personnel came and beat me up. They then warned me not to sell milk or otherwise I would be booked for violating the curfew,” said Noor Mohammed, a milkman.
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Seminar on environmental issues organised
Jammu, September 17 Prof YR Malhotra, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Jammu and former MLC of the Legislative Council, was the special guest. While speaking on the occasion, Kiran Bakshi, Principal of the college, highlighted the objectives of the seminar as imparting knowledge and awareness about environmental issues and developing strategies for pollution control and conservation of life on earth. The keynote lecture was delivered by VP Sharma, chairman, WWF, India (J&K), in which he dwelt upon the need for collecting information and counteractive methodologies regarding pollution, global warming and climate change. While addressing the gathering, Prof Malhotra lauded the efforts and initiatives taken by the Principal and the organisers for providing a platform to create general awareness among people at large on a very relevant issue. Principals of various colleges, former principals, experts, faculty members and students were among those who attended the seminar.
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Class XI student raped, murdered in Manjakote
Jammu, September 17 Official sources said Afsana Farooq, 17-year-old student of Class XI of Higher Secondary School, Gambhir Mouglan, was allegedly raped and murdered by Mohammed Younus (22) of Kotli Kalaban, late last evening. They said around 6.30 pm yesterday Afsana had gone to nearby fields in Kotli Kalaban village to collect grass for his cattle. After hearing screams from a maize field, villagers rushed to the spot where they saw Afsana lying in a pool of blood. Sources said the villagers immediately shifted the victim to a hospital in Rajouri but she died en route. They added Younus had been harbouring mala fide intentions against the girl for the past sometime and the last evening he allegedly tried to rape the girl in a field. The post-mortem was conducted at the Rajouri hospital today but we were awaiting the report, said the SHO concerned, who added that the weapon of offence, an axe, was seized from the crime scene.
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3 killed, 37 hurt in police action
Srinagar, September 17 While three persons were injured in the police action, a person, Fayaz Ahmad Dar, died in the hospital. Another civilian, Mohammad Shafi Ganai, was injured in a retaliatory action by the police in the nearby Chachloora locality, the police said. A civilian was killed and three others were injured when the police opened fire on a group of stone throwers at Tappar, Pattan, in Baramulla district. One of the injured, Ghulam Rasool Bhat, later died. A youth, Imtiyaz Ahmad, who was injured during the clashes at Shirmal near Shopian district town, died in hospital this evening. The police said a mob set on fire the timber of the Forest Department, the police said. Protests after Friday prayers were reported from various areas of Shopian, Awantipora and Sopore. |
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‘Little hope from all-party delegation’
Srinagar, September 17 The much-hyped all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan in New Delhi on Wednesday had taken decisions on the vital issues of governance deficit and the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). It also decided to send the delegation to Srinagar to hold talks with all sections of people, including the separatists, who abjured violence. “The major issues concerning the situation have already been covered, and there seems to be no purpose of another meeting here,” said a keen observer on the condition of anonymity. He added that there was no relevance of the statement of support to the Omar government by Rahul Gandhi when everything had been thrashed out. The major issues of governance deficit and the AFSPA revocation had been taken up in the all-party meeting, while the separatists were in no mood to enter into any kind of talks with the delegation. “Thus, no major purpose would be served by the visit in Kashmir,” he said. “Under such circumstances no breakthrough is expected in Kashmir as the concerned parties had already discussed the issues related to the prevailing situation in the Valley,” said a government employee. He added that meetings with a smaller section of people in Srinagar or Jammu would not help in a big way. The separatists had already refused to have a dialogue with the Centre, or the all-party delegation when it arrives here three days later. Only a section of society, including traders and businessmen, would be meeting the visiting delegation. With hard line APHC leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani having put forth his five-point conditions for the talks, he had been demanding the acceptance of Kashmir as a dispute, end to killings, revocation of the AFSPA, withdrawal of troops and the release of all political prisoners. A series of meetings, both at the state and Central government levels, had taken place ever since the eruption of the turmoil in the Valley in early June, which had so far claimed 93 lives. Three meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Security were held during the past two months. The last such meeting was held two days before the all-party meeting to discuss the situation in Kashmir and arrive at some way to restore peace and normalcy. Omar also convened an all-party meeting in the state here on July 12, which, however, was not attended by the
PDP.
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If ignored, Kashmiri Samaj to go on fast
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 17 According to a statement issued here, Pandit RK Bhat, president of the YAIKS, said the Kashmiri Pandits had always been ignored by the Union government in any talks regarding the settlement of the Kashmir issue. “We have a history of 5,000 years and we are the aborigines of Kashmir. The Kashmiri Pandit youth are the first victims of the militancy,” alleged Bhat. He said, “We are never consulted in the framing of any government policy whether at the state or the Central level.”
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CM briefs Governor on situation
Srinagar, September 17 The Governor particularly stressed the need for ensuring security of the minority communities and the institutions run by them, including their places of worship. He also expressed concern over the irreparable loss being done to students by affecting their educational schedule and the need to take possible measures for the resumption of academic activities. The importance of ensuring the functioning of the administrative apparatus was also underlined, particularly the need to ensure the delivery of public services and meeting the day-to-day needs of the common man. |
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Finish projects on time, engineers told
Udhampur, September 17 The meeting discussed the progress of works executed by different departments, action taken reports of the District Development Board meeting held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Chief Minister, status of the utilisation certificate against NABARD loan for securing balance, loan instalments and the status of the restoration work after the flash floods. Asking the engineers to achieve cent per cent results on the ground, the DDC clarified that expenditure made by them must commensurate with the physical achievement on the ground. He instructed the officers to lay a special emphasis on the ongoing schemes for ensuring their time-bound completion. |
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LUTF leaders join BJP, Cong
Leh, September, 17 The announcement of the LUTF leaders joining the BJP was made at a public meeting at Shenam, near Leh, yesterday. State BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas and former president and senior leader of the BJP Jajnath Singh and executive members of the party were present on the occasion. Former LUTF president Dr Sonam Dawa said the decision to join the BJP was taken to fight the elections on the ticket of the national party. Among the leaders who joined the BJP were former MP Thupstan Chewang, chief executive councillor Chering Dorjay and executive councillors for education and agriculture. However, three councillors, including executive councillor for arts and culture Tsering Angchok, joined the Congress. Meanwhile, the first list of 14 candidates of the Congress for the elections has been announced by the District Congress Committee.
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Army restores water channel in Achinathang
Udharmpur, September 17 “The flash floods destroyed the village completely,” defence spokesman Lt-Col JS Brar said. The water channel, which is the lifeline of their crops, was damaged by the flash floods. The villagers approached the General Officer Commanding, Forever in Operations Division, for assistance during his visit to the village. “The GOC immediately agreed to assist the villagers and initiated an innovative idea after visiting the site by utilising corrugated galvanised iron sheets to provide a channel for directing the water to the village.
— TNS |
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Pak troops open fire in Poonch
Jammu, September 17 One round was fired from a RPG from across the LoC on the forward post in the Balnoi area following which the alert Indian troops retaliated. However, there was no casualty or injury to the Indian troops in the unwarranted action of the Pakistan troops, they added.
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Jammu, September 17
