Jammu, November 17
Despite religiously following the twin principles of minimum use of force and good faith during its operations, the Army often faces the charges of human rights violations and misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the restive state. However, most of the charges later turn out to be baseless and concocted.

The sources in the Army told The Tribune that the Army, while conducting counter-insurgency operations, ensured that no human rights violation 
take place.

From 1994 to September 30 this year, 988 charges of human rights violations were levelled against the Army in the state and out of which 965 were investigated while 23 charges were still under investigation, they said.

The sources added that while 940 charges were found to be baseless, only 25 of them were found to be correct and stringent action under law was taken in these cases.

They said over the years, there had been some absurd charges of human rights violations levelled against the Army. A classic case was that of a ‘mass rape’ at ‘Kunan-Poshpora’, a twin-hamlet settlement in Kupwara district, in February 1991. The alleged incident was later published in a daily on August 7, 1994. At that time it had received a lot of media attention.

It was alleged that over 30 to 100 women of all age groups were raped by one to seven men at a time of an Army unit in a bestial orgy of sexual violence from 11 pm to 4 am on the intervening night of February 23 and 24, 1991.

A thorough investigation was carried out by a committee led by Habibullah, the then Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir. In his report, Habibullah had concluded that the charges against the Army were grossly exaggerated. Subsequently, the rape story turned out to be completely untrue; a dirty trick to frame the Army and get it off Kunan-Poshpora, which was a terrorist-infested area, along one of the main infiltration routes from occupied Kashmir.

Besides cases of alleged human rights violations, there had been cases where the Home Department had sought sanction from the Central government for the prosecution of Army personnel under the AFSPA.

From 1994 to September 30, 2010, at least 42 cases were received and out of which 38 were investigated, while four were still being probed. Of the 38 investigated cases, the Central government did not accord sanction in 25 cases because these were baseless, while the remaining 15 cases were in the process at the Command Headquarters, Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence. These cases were being pursued, on a case-to-case basis, said the sources.

Jammu, November 17
Eid-ul-Azha was today celebrated with religious fervour and zeal across the Jammu region with special prayers in all Eidgahs and mosques for peace. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere across the Jammu region till this evening.

Security arrangements were beefed up across the region following reports that some anti-national elements were planning to use the occasion to create trouble in different parts of the state. The security forces were put on high alert and were directed to make special security arrangements.

As the day started, security men were deployed in all busy areas in the city and patrolling was also beefed up. A number of policemen were deployed outside all mosques, where Eid prayers were held.

The authorities had made elaborate arrangements to facilitate the movement of people for Eid prayers to major religious places like Jamia Masjid on the Residency Road, Gandhi Nagar mosque, and the mosques at Bathindi and Sidhra.

All top police officers were also found taking rounds of the city to keep a close watch on the security arrangements. A large number of devotees dressed in new clothes were seen in the city. The largest Eid congregations were observed at the Khatikan Talab and the Jamia mosque on the Residency Road. Reports of similar congregations were also received from all districts and tehsil towns of the region, including Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua and Samba.

Ashok Kumar Gupta, IG, Jammu zone said, “It is a sensitive state and we have made arrangements to tackle any untoward incident keeping in mind that anti-national elements can try to create disturbance on such occasions.”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with a battery of his Cabinet ministers also offered namaz at the Eidgah here.

Udhampur, November 17
The Rashtriya Rifles Battalion located at Sarh today visited local mosques to extend Eid greetings and exchange gifts with the general public at various locations. The Commanding Officer at Sarh distributed sweets among children and gave blankets to the poor and the needy. A Barakhana was also organised at all army posts for the local populace at Tuksan, Niram, Batoi, Saldhar, Shajru, Dharmari and Lancha.

In his message to the people of Mahore tehsil, the Commanding Officer wished peace and prosperity on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and said the peace prevailing in the area was not only due to the actions of the security forces, but also because of the support rendered by the local citizens, who provided timely information, and wished for the peace to prevail.

JAMMU: The BSF and the Pakistan Rangers exchanged sweets and greetings at a forward post in the RS Pura sector in connection with Eid on Tuesday.

Official sources said at a DIG-level meeting on the octroi border outpost in the RS Pura sector, BSF DIGs C Vasudevan and SK Singh, along with 20 other officers, exchanged sweets and pleasantries with their Pakistan counterparts led by Brig Masood, Sector Commander of the Pakistan Rangers.

At least 15 officers of the Pakistan Rangers also participated in the meeting. Both sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the international border.

Srinagar, November 17
Amid a heavy deployment of the security forces, Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated across the Kashmir valley today with a large number of people offering prayers at mosques and shrines. Congregations were held at the Hazratbal shrine and Eidgah and other major shrines and mosques across the capital city today.The authorities had made tight security arrangements across the Valley.

There were stray incidents of violence in Anantnag in which three policemen were injured.The policemen were injured when a group of protesters threw stones at their vehicle at Janglat Mandi in the town this morning.

The police said after offering prayers at a local mosque, the protesters attacked the vehicle and set it on fire. Demonstrations were also held outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner in Anantnag and in the Nawa Kadal and Safa Kadal areas of Srinagar in which a civilian was injured.

The hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani had called for “peaceful protests” after Eid prayers and people tried to hold demonstrations at some places in response to the call. Geelani and chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are under house arrest and Geelani had called for a march towards the Hazratbal shrine to offer prayers.

Udhampur, November 17
Stressing greater need to spread awareness and promote services on HIV/AIDS across the state among masses, Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma called upon officers, local public, representatives and field functionaries of different departments to put in their sincere efforts to initiate a comprehensive campaign to mobilise people against this life consuming disease.

Inaugurating the Red Ribbon Express, a multimedia supported exhibition on HIV/AIDS at the Udhampur railway station today, the minister said the elected representatives, anganwari workers, ASHA workers, field functionaries of other departments and students should share their responsibility of spreading the message regarding the prevention and control of AIDS in their respective jurisdictions.

The Red Ribbon Express is an initiative of the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) in collaboration with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Ministry of Railways, UNICEF, Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

Extending Eid greeting to the people of the state, the minister said, “Let us strive to make our society and the country healthy and prosperous for achieving excellence in every field by leading our lives based on moral values.”

He hoped that the Red Ribbon Express at the Udhampur Railway Station would prove a great help in disseminating information, developing an understanding about the disease to reduce stigma and discrimination against the people living with HIV/AIDS and help public to adopt preventive health habits and lifestyle. Balwant Singh Mankotia, MLA, and Krishan Chander Bhagat also spoke on the occasion and lauded the efforts of NACO for creating mass awareness about the most challenging disease of the world.

They urged upon the students and field functionaries of different departments to launch the world’s largest mass mobilisation campaign on HIV/AIDS.

The train consists of six coaches depicting the danger of the spread of AIDS, preventive information and training in health care. The exhibition on train would remain open from November 17 to November 19 at the railway station.

A colourful cultural programme on AIDS awareness was also presented by the students of different educational institutions. SSP, Surinder Gupta; Director Health Services, Jammu, Dr Ashok Sharma; Director, Floriculture, OSD to minister Dr YP Sharma; Additional District Development Commissioner, Udhampur; Assistant Commissioner Development; Programme Officer, ICDS; Chief Medical Officer; Chief Education Officer, Udhampur; district heads of various departments, representatives of various political parties, including RS Pathania and Shakeel Shah, prominent citizens, ASHAs and anganwari workers, heads of educational institutions and students were present on the occasion.

Jammu, November 17
Acting upon information, the Kishtwar police has smashed a recruitment network of the Hizbul Mujahideen and arrested two persons. The police was informed about the possible induction of 17-year-old Junaid Akram Malik of Sangrambhatta, who was at present putting up at Bhatindhi Morh in Jammu, into the Hizbul Mujahideen. It alerted all check- posts and some details were also sought from Junaid’s father.

During the course of investigation it came to light that Junaid was in constant touch with Azher Ali Bhat of Kijaie, who at present was living near Asthan Payeen in Kishtwar. Azher was picked up and subjected to sustained questioning. He disclosed that he was working with Skyline Communications, Kishtwar, as a field distributor of SIMs of Airtel and was actually a friend of a ‘B’ category Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Amir Kamal, alias Akram, of Kamal Mohalla in Kishtwar.

On Akram’s directions, he (Azher) had motivated Junaid and even visited Jammu twice to finalise his induction into the Hizbul Mujahideen.

As per the plan, Azher picked up Junaid from the Kishtwar bus stand and handed him over to the next Hizbul Mujahideen courier, Irshad Ahmed of Lidri in Dacchan. Irshad took the boy to a local hotel and stayed at Kishtwar for the night and even managed an identity card for Junaid.

Next morning, Irshad transported Junaid to Pinjrari in Dachhan and handed him over to one ‘Chacha’, who finally handed Junaid over to Hizbul Mujahideen militant Akram.

After a series of raids in Dacchan-Kishtwar, Irshad was apprehended and was subjected to sustained questioning. Irshad was a Rehbar-e-Taleem teacher at Primary School, Lidri.

During the course of investigation it came to the fore that Azher was actually the kingpin of the racket. He had also motivated Akram to join the Hizbul Mujahideen in November 2008.

Further it come to the notice of the police that Akram’s family at Kishtwar had paid for the transportation of Junaid from Jammu to Kishtwar and finally to Pinjrarai. Out of this money, Azher had paid Rs 3,500 to a Mahindra Scorpio driver for ferrying Junaid from Jammu to Kishtwar.

While Azher and Irshad have been arrested, a series of raids were being conducted in the Dachhan area to nab “Chacha”, the last link of the recruitment network.

Jammu, November 17
Even as the police busted a recruitment network of the banned terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in Kishtwar district, security forces have launched a manhunt to either eliminate or arrest a dreaded ultra, Subhash Kumar, alias Wafif, alias Qamran, who has become divisional commander of the banned militant outfit, by the end of this year.

The Tribune had reported in its columns on September 7 this year that Subhash, who had adopted the Islamic law and had married a Muslim girl from Sigdibhatta, had taken over the reigns of the banned outfit.

In the history of Jammu region, he had become the first Hindu militant to take over the command of the Hizbul.

After Firdous Ahmed Mattoo, alias Prince, was nabbed by the Anantnag police in Kashmir on September 3, Subhash had become the divisional commander of the outfit.

“Our efforts in recent times via village elders and other channels to bring him back to the mainstream failed,” it added. Acting upon intelligence inputs, teams have already been dispatched for the purpose.

Subhash has been involved in serious offences like killings of two civilians, two Army jawans and a police constable.

In September this year, the Kishtwar police had launched an operation in the Dacchan area where personnel had a brief encounter with Subhash and his group.

“He operates in the Dachhan-Lidri-Pinjrari area,” sources said.

“The Hizbul had suffered heavy losses this year and hence their mentors on other side of the Line of Control want to revive the outfit in Kishtwar district by recruiting naïve and gullible youth in the name of freedom struggle,” they added.

Kishtwar district SP Haseeb Mughal told The Tribune that the Kishtwar police along with the Special Task Force, CRPF and Army had intensified operations to get rid of Subhash by the end of this year.

“In fact, we want to deal with two groups of ultras, one headed by Subhash and the other by another ultra Rizwan. Subhash with his two associates (Amir Kamal, alias Akram, and an unidentified associate) operates in the Dachhan area, while Rizwan with his two associates Chota Hafiz and Shafi operates in the Marwah area,” said Mughal.

When asked whether elimination was the only option left with the security forces, he said, “Though our efforts in the past to bring them back in the mainstream failed, yet we are working on a multi-pronged strategy and hence the option of surrendering before the security forces is still open for them.”

Jammu, November 17
In the ongoing BSF Inter Frontier sports meet at BSF stadium in Paloura here athletes from Punjab Frontier dominated the show by bagging two gold medals today.

Punjab men bagged gold in 800 metres and 100 metres race. Kuldeep Singh of Punjab Frontier was the athlete who clinched gold in 800 metres race, while Anil Kumar Mishra of Punjab Frontier dashed to gold in 100 metres sprint.

Kuldeep Singh and Sandeep Pradhan of South Bengal Frontier won silver and bronze, respectively. In 800 metres, silver and bronze were won by Subhash Chand of Gujarat Frontier and Gurbir Singh of M&C Frontier, respectively.

Udhampur, November 17
To showcase the activities of the department under various schemes, besides creating awareness among farmers about the latest technology in fruit cultivation, the Department of Horticulture, Udhampur, organised a fruit show-cum-awareness mela at remote Moungri village in the district here today. MLA, Reasi, Baldev Raj Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion.

Lauding the efforts of the Horticulture Department in a remote area of the district, Sharma said such programmes could be very useful for the farmers to boost horticulture production for their socio-economic transformation.

He called for holding more fruit show-cum-awareness camps for the benefit of the farmers. He called upon the farmers to come forward and take the maximum benefit of the schemes, especially designed to raise their economic standards by adopting the latest techniques of horticulture production.

The MLA also distributed cheques amounting to Rs 9.70 lakh under the Indira Awas Yojana among 54 beneficiaries living below poverty line.

During the camp, officers of allied departments presented a detailed account of different activities of their respective departments.

As many as 450 farmers of the area participated in the exhibition along with the samples of different fruits, vegetables, cereals and oil seeds for their display there.

Among others, the Chief Horticulture Officer, District Horticulture Officer, farmers and officers of various departments were present on the occasion.

Jammu, November 17
Two sisters sustained severe burn injuries when the elder one was performing some religious rituals at their house in Bakshi Nagar here today. Maansi Kohli (21) sustained burn injuries when the flames touched her suit and it was burnt, the police said. It added that after seeing her elder sister in a precarious situation, Tanika (18) tried to save her and in the process was also injured.

Both were rushed to the Government Medial College and Hospital (GMCH) where the doctors referred Maansi to a Ludhiana hospital, while Tanika’s condition was said to be stable.

In another incident, another girl, Santoshi (16), a resident of Talab Tillo, sustained burn injuries while doing household work, the police said. She was also taken to the GMCH.

Jammu, November 17
A 28-year-old jawan of the 84 battalion of the CRPF was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a room of a private hotel at Trikuta Nagar here yesterday.

The deceased identified as Manoj Fukhan, a native of Assam, had come to the hotel on Monday night and when he did not wake up the next morning, the hotel staff knocked at his room’s door. When they did not get any response, they called the police, said Yashpal Jamwal, SHO, Trikuta Nagar police station.

He added the door was broken and the body of the jawan was found lying on the bed. It was shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for a post-mortem. “There were no injury marks on the body and the jawan might have died due to a cardiac arrest or some other illness. But this could be established only after getting the post-mortem report,” added Yashpal.

Sources said the jawan posted at Chatha in the RS Pura area was facing suspension from service and had come to the city in this regard.

Jammu, November 17
Bharti Shishoo, a teacher of Government School, Gahri, Udhampur, won the first prize in a divisional-level seminar in connection with International Year of Biodiversity today. The seminar was held on the premises of the Directorate of School Education.

The second prize was won by Shaguna Khajuria, a teacher of Government School, Salmaria, Udhampur, while the third prize was jointly shared by Vikram Sharma, a teacher of Middle School, Rashwah in Rajouri, and Poonam Makhnotra, a teacher of Government School, Nagrota.

The seminar was inaugurated by Director School Education Zahida Khan, who was the chief guest, while Kuldeep Raj Sharma, Joint Director, Training, and Principal of the State Institute of Education, was the guest of honour. — TNS