Jammu, February 1
Enraged over a statement of the Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, in which he had charged the RSS with hatching a conspiracy to kill Mahatma Gandhi, the Sangh Parivar today took the minister to task for the statement and demanded an unconditional apology from him.

Addressing a joint press conference, RSS leaders Brig Suchait Singh (retd) and Dr Goutam Mengi criticised Azad for the statement and alleged that he had given it to appease the Congress high command and the National Conference.

“Azad has been thrown out of the group close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi so he has started criticising the RSS to win the confidence of the AICC chief to make a re-entry into the group,” Brigadier Suchait said.

He said there was a mad race among “sycophant” Congress leaders to level irresponsible charges against the RSS to show their loyalty towards the Gandhi family.

He further said Azad wanted to keep the ruling National Conference, especially Union Minister Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in good humour, so he used the function of the Gandhi Global Family to appease the NC leaders.

“Azad has some petty personal agenda in the state. Therefore, to accomplish his agenda it is important for him to keep the Abdullahs in good humour and his statement against the RSS is targeted only to be in the good books of the National Conference,” he said and added that the way the state government supported the rally organised by the supporters of Azad was a clear indication that the authorities had some understanding with them.

Dr Mengi reminded the Union Minister that even the court had acquitted the RSS of the charge of murdering Mahatma Gandhi. The Kapoor Commission, which was constituted to probe the killing of Mahatma Gandhi at that time, had also acquitted the RSS of the charge, he said. He added, “Similarly, the then Union Home Minister, Sardar Patel, had also given a clean chit to the RSS in the incident” .

However, RSS leaders alleged that Congress leaders had been giving such statements only to divert attention from the issue of corruption.

The ABVP, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal also condemned Azad’s statement. 

Sopore, February 1
Though life remained normal in Sopore in Baramulla district today, an eerie silence prevailed in the town following the kidnapping and killing of two teenaged sisters by suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba militants last evening.

The sisters, Akhtara(20) and Arifa(17), daughters of a labourer, Ghulam Nabi Dar, were kidnapped by masked gunmen from their house around 8.15 p.m.last evening and shot dead after about half-an-hour near the shrine of Rahim Shah, about 200 yards away from the house.When the two sisters were kidnapped and killed, their father was working at the market place.

The killings have left the poor family in the congested locality of the town shocked with neighbours and relatives pouring in to console it.

For the middle-aged parents of the girls,who live in a one-room house, the only hope now is Jeelani, their school-going son.

“Three gunmen entered the house and kidnapped the girls while 10 others joined them later”, said the father.

The neighbours and relatives, who tried to raise the alarm, were threatened by the gunmen, he added.

According to the police, two of the three militants, who kidnapped and killed the girls were identified as Waseem Ahmad Ganie, alias Sheer Yuni, from Chankipora, Sopore, and Muzaffar Ahmad Naikoo, alias Muz Molvi, from Khushal Mattoo, Sopore.

Altaf Ahmad, SP, Sopore, said the three militants belonged to the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The reason behind the killings could not be ascertained so far, the SP said, and added the militants had used AK 47 rifles in the crime.

While one of the sisters was shot on the left side of the head,the other was shot on the left side of the chest, leading to their instant death,said Dr Basher Ahmad,who examined the bodies at the sub-district hospital, Sopore, last night.

The SP said this was the first civilian killing by militants this year.At least, four civilians were killed by militants in the area last year. In their operations,the police and the security forces had killed 38 militants last year, the SP added. 

Udhampur, February 1
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is visiting Kishtwar on February 4 to interact with senior police and civil administration officers of the five districts under Doda-Kishtwar and Udhampur-Reasi police ranges in the Jammu region.

Sources said during the first ever visit by a Union Home Minister, especially since 1989 when militancy erupted in the state, Chidambaram would review the prevailing situation.

A meeting of top police officers of the five districts — Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Udhampur and Reasi — had already discussed the modalities regarding the proposed meeting.

The meeting is being considered significant in the backdrop of the Union Government’s initiative to send the three interlocutors who had interacted extensively with the people of the state to find a political solution to the problem. “The step is significant as instead of convening the meeting in Jammu, a top minister of the Union Government is coming to Kishtwar, once a hotbed of militancy, to meet the officers working at the ground level,” said the Deputy Commissioner of one of the five districts.

The sources said the deputy commissioners of the five districts were formally informed in writing by the IGP, Jammu, about the meeting this evening.

They had been asked to prepare a five-minute presentation on law and order, security, crime and allied issues.

Besides DIGs and SSPs of both police ranges, DGP Kuldip Khoda, IGP, Jammu Zone, IGP, CID, and an eight-member team of senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs would be present at the meeting.

Jammu, February 1
Angry over an encroachment on a Government Middle School land by a nambardar,a relative of a Congress leader, residents of Kotan village in Mendhar subdivision of Poonch district blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway for more than two hours today.

The residents raised anti-administration slogans and blocked the traffic. They demanded action against the nambardar, who had allegedly encroached upon the land and constructed a shed on it.

Senior administration and Revenue Department officials brought the situation under control.

The Assistant Commsssioner of the Revenue Department, the local Tehsildar and other officers assured the protesters that revenue records would be checked and if it was found to be goverment land, the shed would be dismantled.

Sources said the nambardar,Manzoor Ahmed Khan, a brother-in-law of Congress leader Abdul Majid Khan, had encroached upon the school land for a long time since the records of the Revenue Department had been destroyed in a massive fire after the police killings in Mendhar.

They added that the residents told the nambardar to vacate the land, but he didn’t do so, compelling them to block the highway.

SDM, Mendhar, M A Chaudhary, speaking on the phone, said:”We have verified the records and found Manzoor Ahmed Khan guilty of encroaching on governement land. The local SHO has been directed to book him “.

He added:”The Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, is looking into the matter and will soon issue an order to dismantle the illegal shed”.

However, till the filing of the report, no case had been registered against the nambardar.

New Delhi, February 1
Jammu Central University continues to be headless even more than a month after the President cleared the controversial appointment of Prof Amitabh Mattoo as its first Vice-Chancellor.

The Tribune has learnt that Professor Mattoo, whose appointment was approved eight months after the Human Resource Development Ministry recommended his name in April last year, is now in two minds to join.Sources close to him told The Tribune that he was indeed in two minds to join and would convey his decision to the ministry by February 3.

He has not even given his assent to the ministry to accept the top post though his appointment was approved by the President on December 22 last year. That explains the delay in his formal takeover, with the ministry unable to issue the final appointment orders. It is a piquant situation considering the delay, all this while, had been on the part of the President, who, in her capacity as the Visitor of Central Universities, received several complaints against Mattoo, and chose to seek clarifications from the ministry. The ministry stood by Mattoo as its choice, citing his academic credentials as “spotless”.

It was further learnt that the President, while approving the appointment of Professor Mattoo, advised the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the university authorities ( there are none at present) to “maintain the law and order situation in the state following the appointment ”.

Mattoo’s run for the post was earlier challenged by several Jammu-based organisations who threatened a stir if a Kashmiri Pandit (Mattoo is one) became the Vice-Chancellor. Originally, the government had sanctioned only one Central university for Srinagar. This triggered a major political agitation in Jammu which then got a Central university.

In the run-up to Mattoo’s appointment, even the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir forwarded to the HRD Ministry a warning regarding a potential law and order situation, if Mattoo was to become the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu Central University. That explains the rider in the President’s orders for Mattoo. A day after these were issued, the Jammu Province People’s Forum (JPPF) warned the authorities of an agitation.

Mattoo, on his part, was waiting for his name to be vindicated on the issue. “He has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu State University for six years. He will see if he wants another stint,” sources close to Mattoo told TNS.

Currently, Professor of Disarmament Studies at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, JNU, Mattoo might have other options to choose from.

If he declines to accept the post, the HRD Ministry will have to draw up a fresh panel of names to select the new Vice-Chancellor. Already, Jammu Central University is the only among 16 new universities whose academic session has remained stalled for over a year due to political reasons.

Srinagar, February 1
Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora today inaugurated heli-skiing at Gulmarg, which is a joint venture between Himalaya Sports and Moten Joseph of New Zealand.Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Minister for Tourism and Culture said the youth of the state had a great potential and stressed upon channelling their potential in the right direction and in a constructive manner so that they brought laurels to the state both at the national and international levels.

Jora said there were many tourist resorts which were yet to be brought on the tourist map of the state. However, the minister added that the state government was according a special attention to these health resorts.

The minister hoped that heli-skiing would add to the beauty of the Gulmarg resort and attract more and more tourists.

Jammu, February 1
The University of Jammu announced the results of the B.Ed examination 2009-10 here today. The pass percentage this year was 70 per cent, which was 20 per cent less than the previous year’s results.

While talking to The Tribune, the Controller Examination, University of Jammu, Prof GM Bhatt, said the cases of mass copying at some examination centres had brought the results down this year. “During the academic year 2008-09, the pass percentage in the B.Ed examination was 90 per cent,” he said. He, however, added that though the B.Ed results were comparatively less, it showed improvement in the examination system of the university.

Bhatt said because of the mass copying cases, the exam of such candidates was conducted again and due to this the results were declared a bit late. “To curb the menace of copying, we will ensure the proper management of all examination centres from this academic year. We will also try to declare the results this year on time,” said Bhatt.

Meanwhile, all principals of B.Ed colleges affiliated to the university were directed to collect the marks sheets/result gazettes of their candidates from the office of the Assistant Registrar (Exam/Prof-I) on or after February 4.

Jammu, February 1
The Minister of State for Power, CAPD and Forest, Shabir Ahmad Khan, asked the authorities concerned to ensure timely distribution of ration, timber and adhere to scheduled power supply to consumers here today.

He added that providing better services was the top priority of the government.

The minister was interacting with deputations of the Kashmir valley and the Jammu province, who called on him to highlight the development needs of their respective areas and individual problems.

He said several steps had been taken across the state to push the development process in the rural areas, including upgrade of power, drinking water, healthcare, roads and education sectors.

He added that in the process, preference was being given to such remote and hilly areas that lagged behind on the development front.

The deputations hailing from Baramulla, Kupwara, Budgam, Ganderbal, Poonch and Rajouri districts put forth their demands, which among others included upgrade of power infrastructure, availability of adequate ration quota and providing timber.

Jammu, February 1
The Gharota police arrested two narcotic smugglers with 500 grams of brown sugar and impounded the car they were travelling in in the Kanger area in Domana here today.

The police said a team led by SHO, Gharota, Inspector Bhushan Manhas, under the supervision of SDPO, Akhnoor Mustaq Choudhary, laid a naka at Kanger and arrested smugglers Varinder Singh and Kulwant Singh, both residents of the Pangali area in Khour and at present living at Nanak Nagar here.

The car had been impounded and a case under the NDPS act registered against the duo.