Jammu, May 14
Some doctors allegedly beat up a man mercilessly at the prestigious Government Medical College and Hospital here today, leading to protests by Gujjars and the deployment of the police on the hospital premises. The man had to be operated upon later.

Official sources said, 48-year-old Nazir Ahmed, a resident of Ramban, at present putting up at Bishnah, had to bear the wrath of some errant doctors simply because he wanted proper treatment for his 18-year-old daughter, Salima Begum, who was bitten by a snake at Bishnah last night.

Trouble erupted around 8.30 am today when Nazir asked a nurse on duty to change the empty bottle of IV fluids. While the nurse allegedly asked Nazir to change the drip himself, a doctor allegedly entered into an argument with him. The doctor and the nurse then had a verbal spat with Nazir.

Sources said, thereafter, two security personnel took Nazir to a room where three doctors allegedly thrashed him severely with fists, blows and kicks, causing head injuries to the poor man. Subsequently, as the day progressed the hapless man, unaware of his injuries, shuttled from pillar to post seeking proper treatment for his young daughter on bed No. 22, ward number 15. But he soon realised he had swelling in his stomach because of internal injuries sustained in the attack, including damage to his liver, they said. Nazir had to be operated upon at the GMCH for nearly three hours, they added.

As the news about the attack on Nazir spread like wildfire, his relatives and friends belonging to the Gujjar community gathered at the hospital in the evening and staged a vociferous protest.

The protesters demanded stern action against the guilty doctors, including the registration of a case. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal and senior police officers, including the SP, North, SDPO, Bakshi Nagar, and the SHO, Bakshi Nagar, rushed to the hospital with a heavy posse of police force to avoid any untoward incident. They also tried to pacify the angry mob.

The Divisional Commissioner also assured the protesters that stern action would be taken against the guilty doctors.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case under Section 307 of the RPC at the GMCH police post against three doctors, who were involved in the attack, said a police officer. He said the names of the doctors were being ascertained though an FIR under Section 307 of the RPC had been registered.

The Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMCH, Dr Manoj Chalotra, refused to comment saying he was busy in the emergency wing.

Jammu, May 14
Seven MLAs of the BJP, who were suspended for allegedly violating the party whip, have taken the party high command to task for adopting discriminatory parameters in identifying those involved in cross-voting.

Virtually landing the BJP in an embarrassing situation, three of the seven suspended MLAs today lambasted the party for implicating legislators belonging to weaker sections in the cross-voting episode to tarnish their image. “We have been repeatedly asking the party leadership to disclose what parameters have been adopted to identify those who voted against the party candidates,” asked Prof Garu Ram Bhagat, MLA from RS Pura, a reserved constituency.

Flanked by two other Scheduled Caste (SC) MLAs, namely Bharat Bhushan and Durga Dass, Bhagat regretted the fact that instead of adopting a judicious approach in identifying those involved in cross-voting, the party high command had suspended seven MLAs, including three belonging to the SC category, without looking into various aspects.

“Instead of recognising the services of the MLAs belonging to weaker sections, we are humiliated, segregated and implicated in the cross-voting scam,” Bhagat said.

He added that the party high command had not listened to the viewpoints of all MLAs and had given clean chit to four despite being the fact that some of the “loyal” legislators had played a dubious role in the Legislative Council elections.

“In the cross-voting episode, our names had been attached with four other MLAs in an attempt to harass us and compel us to admit that we have indulged in cross-voting and force us to speak against other suspended MLAs,” Durga Dass said.

“We have been repeatedly asking the high command to conduct a narco test and brain mapping of all 11 MLAs to identify the real culprit, but our suggestions have not been taken seriously,” he added.

Durga Dass said he would retire from politics if the allegation of cross-voting was proved against him. Claiming that they were the real representatives of the BJP, the SC legislators pointed a finger towards the four MLAs who were given clean chit by the party high command.

“The dubious role played by one of the MLAs in the Legislative Council elections is known to everybody in the town. We failed to understand why the party high command has not taken note of it?” they asked. They added that they were loyal to the BJP and would work for strengthening the party. 

Jammu, May 14
The state unit of the All-India Backward Classes Union (AIBCU) has criticised the coalition government headed by the NC for its failure to fulfil its commitment for implementing the Mandal Commission report in the state.

Addressing a joint press conference here today, union leaders regretted the fact that the state government had done nothing to implement the Mandal Commission report. They demanded that like other parts of the country, 27 per cent reservation must be given to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the state also.

The union said the issue was repeatedly taken up with the government, but no action had been taken so far.

AIBCU leader Kali Dass said all over the country OBCs were getting 27 per cent reservation, but in Jammu and Kashmir they had been denied their constitutional rights, as the successive state governments had ignored the wishes of the weaker section. 

Srinagar, May 14
Governor NN Vohra presented awards to 71 people for excellence in various fields at an investiture ceremony organised by the General Administration Department today.

The function was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre and was attended by ministers, legislators, Chief Secretary, DGP Kuldeep Khoda, and senior citizens.

Those who received the awards are Tabasum Mumtaz, Shiv Nath, Tashi Rabgyas, Prof Abdul Rashid Nazki, Khadim Hussain, Uttam Kumar, Sahyog, Help Foundation/Shehjar, Sudhanshu Panday, Ghulam Ahmed Peer, Mithun Manhas, Mehraj-ud-Din Wadoo, Arun Malhotra, M/S Kashmir Kesar Mart, M/S Hall Mark, Dr Rafeeq Masoodi, Surinder Kumar Spolia, Dr Ved Kumari Ghai, Fida Mohammad Khan Hassnain, Prof Lalit Magotra, Sadiq Ali Sadiq, Pran Kishore, Raj Begum, Ghulam Mohammad, Mitali, Gul Mustafa Dev, Ram Singh Salathia, Ajay Sharma, Masood Hussain, Nazir Masoodi, Sumir Kaul, Late Ashok Sodhi (posthumously), Shashi Kumar Kesri, Ahmadullah Shah, Rukhsana Kosser, Ajaz Ahmad, Padam Shri Prof Rehman Rahi, Prof Sewa Singh, Prof Veena Gupta, Padam Shri awardee Shameema Azad, Kailash Mehra, Pradhuman Singh Jindrahia, Ustad Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz, Mohammad Shariq Farooqui, Viklang Chhatra Trust, BR Sharma, Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Nisar Ahmad Shah, Ishfaq Ahmad Khan, Chhering Angchok, Bilquis Mir, Sonaullah Bhat (posthumously), Sofi Ghulam Mohammad (posthumously), Dr Arun Joshi, Nidhi Razdan, Mahrukh Inayat, Iftikhar Geelani, Maqsood Ahmad, Taranveer Singh Gujral, Sheherbeen, Syed Rasool Pompur (posthumously), Mishal Sultanpuri, Wali Mohammad Bhatt, Krishna Kumari, Abhay Rustum Sopori, Dhruv Lakra, Kuldeep Handoo, Mohammad Saleem Pandit, MK Bangroo, Dr Ghanshyam Dev Gupta and Jigmet Takpa.

The awards were given under the categories of bravery, literature, performing art, arts and crafts, social reforms and empowerment, meritorious public service, lifetime achievement, sports, media, environment, industrial entrepreneurship and special awards for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Jammu, May 14
On the eve of the interlocutors’ visit to the state, state chief spokesperson of the BJP and national executive member Dr Jitendra Singh has demanded that the report of the interlocutors be made public and open to a wider debate before the UPA government takes any decision on the implementation of their recommendations.

Jitendra Singh made serious objections to the reported contents, including the change of the nomenclatures of Governor to Sadr-e-Riyasat and Chief Minister to Wazir-e-Azam, in the final part of the interlocutors’ report ready for submission to the Union Home Ministry. He warned the government that the party would launch a mass movement across the country to expose this conspiracy and oppose any such proposal that was Kashmir-centric or ignored the interests of Jammu and Ladakh regions or “tends to weaken the state’s relationship with the rest of India”.

Jitendra Singh alleged that the interlocutors had followed a biased approach from the beginning and their report failed in its avowed goal of projecting an objective view of every section of polity as well as civil society. Substantiating his charge, he said during their every visit to the state, the interlocutors had deliberately avoided establishing a contact with the BJP leadership.

He said during their very first visit to the state the interlocutors did not seek a meeting with the BJP leadership while during their second trip they visited the BJP headquarters in Jammu on January 17 and apologised for their inability for not having met it earlier. During the meeting, the BJP leadership placed before the interlocutors the main issues of “delimitation of Assembly constituencies, discrimination against Jammu and Ladakh regions, implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendments before holding the panchayat elections, rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits as well as refugees from PoK and West Pakistan, unemployment among youth etc. According to Jitendra Singh, Dileep Padgaonkar told the BJP leaders that they needed time to further study these issues and had promised that they would get back in the next 20 to 25 days.

He said the interlocutors deliberately avoided any future contact with the BJP in utter disregard to the courtesy deserved by a national party.

Jammu, May 14
Following pressure tactics by the security forces coupled with the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the top militants in Jammu and Kashmir are now spreading rumours about their death through their overground network.

Official sources said the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had started spreading canards about its top commander of the Rajouri-Poonch border region, Abu Huzefa.

Since the security forces had launched several operations against Huzefa, his overground network had been spreading rumours that he had drowned in a rivulet in Poonch district, they said.

“We intercepted some messages recently that two commanders, Huzefa and Umer, had drowned in a rivulet during an operation in the Surankote belt of Poonch, but surprisingly there was no rivulet in the area,” they added.

Huzefa, who belongs to the Punjab province of Pakistan, is the backbone of the LeT. “We feel that after suffering heavy casualties at the hands of the security forces last year, the LeT has adopted a new strategy to buy some time for the remaining militants in Rajouri and Poonch districts,” said an intelligence official.

Their leadership was wiped out and the cadre strength grossly reduced. The LeT’s overall commander for Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Doda districts, Abu Samas, was eliminated at Sheruwala, near Thannamandi, on August 16 last year, while his successor Abu Huzefa had a narrow escape in the forest area of Bufliaz on November 25 last year.

However, three of his high rung accomplices, including one area commander, were eliminated. Thereafter, Huzefa went underground for over four months and reports about his presence in the area started coming once again only from April this year, he said.

Based on intelligence inputs, a special team tracked him to the Chamrer forest and then to the Dogrian forest areas, said the official. However, Huzefa was lucky to escape the dragnet.

“We are also getting reports of a rift within the LeT, primarily over the control of large amounts of unaccountable funds being received through hawala transactions and couriers,” the intelligence official said.

On April 27, the group reportedly escaped from the Dogrian forest area with a special team of the security forces chasing them. But further intelligence inputs revealed that Huzefa suddenly vanished while three members of the five men group moved to safer areas, perhaps along the Pir Panjal range, he added.

The LeT’s network of overground workers started a propaganda saying Huzefa and his accomplice Umer had drowned and got washed away in a fast flowing stream near Bufliaz, said the official.

Jammu, May 14
Moulana Sayeed Athar Hussain Delhavi, chairman of the Anjuman Minhaje Rasool (S), supported surgical strikes in Pakistan if it failed to take action against those who were involved in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

Addressing a press conference here today, Delhavi said dialogue with Pakistan should be continued as it was in the interest of both countries. “If Pakistan failed to act against terrorists hiding there, India has all the right to conduct surgical strikes there,” he said.

He emphasised the need to adopt an independent foreign policy. “Instead of depending on America, we have to formulate our own independent foreign policy, as America is not a reliable country,” he said.

“Like the US troops killed Osama in a raid at Abbottabad in Pakistan, India, too, reserves the right to hit terrorists training camps across the Line of Control,” he said.

Delhavi said it was wrong to associate the slain Al-Qaida leader with a particular community. He added that Osama had never been the identity of Islam and the Muslim world.

He advised the separatists, especially Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to stop looking through the prism of Pakistan for the restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley.

Referring to the prayer meeting held by Geelani in the Valley for Osama, he said through such acts, the Hurriyat leader was doing no good to the people of Kashmir.

“Such acts are bound to spoil the fragile peace in the Valley, where both Hindus and Muslims are yearning to live together in peace and amity,” he added.