Jammu, June 24
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement regarding the panchayat elections, which was held on a non-party basis, has evoked a sharp reaction from various political parties. While the opposition parties have countered Omar’s claims, the coalition partner Congress has made a veiled attack on the Chief Minister on the issue.

The Chief Minister had claimed that the National Conference (NC) secured the first position in the panchayat elections, the PDP second while the Congress got the third position with regard to the victory of the number of sarpanches and panches supported by these parties. Instead of directly attacking Omar for making such a statement, the Congress made a veiled attack on the Chief Minister, claiming that it got an overwhelming response in the Kashmir valley while it secured the first place in the Jammu region.

“It is a heartening situation that while in the Jammu province an overwhelming number of sarpanches and panches have shown commitment to the ideology of the Congress, giving the party the first position, the support of sarpanches and panches to the party in the Kashmir province was more than expected,” said Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Ravinder Sharma.

Countering Omar’s claims, he said that political observers had suggested that the Congress’ position in Kashmir was second in these elections.

BJP state president Shamsher Singh Manhas also took the Chief Minister to task for claiming that the maximum number of candidates supported by the NC won in the panchayat elections. “The panchayat elections were held purely on a non-party basis and hence there is no logic in making such claims,” Manhas said. He alleged that the NC had been trying to lure newly-elected panchayat members into the party to politicise the panchayati raj institutions.

The PDP ridiculed Omar’s statement saying the Chief Minister was not aware of the ground realities. Former Rajya Sabha member and senior PDP leader Trilok Singh Bajwa expressed surprise over the Chief Minister’s claims and also pointed out that since the elections were held on a non-party basis, there was no parameter to ascertain which party secured the first position.

Bajwa said if Omar was so sure of the NC’s growing popularity, he should immediately announce the civic bodies elections, which were postponed without any reason.

General secretary of the Panthers Party HC Jalmeria wondered how did the Chief Minister count the number of sarpanches and panches, who won the elections, belonged to different political parities when the elections were non-political. “The Chief Minister by his statement has disgraced the panchayati raj system and created mistrust among the people regarding the fairness of the elections and the panchayats being non-political in the state,” he observed.

Jammu, June 24
With much fanfare, the BJP had constituted a team of parliamentarians to conduct a study of Jammu and Kashmir so as to prepare a “comprehensive” report that could be submitted to the Central government for the resolution of the vexed Kashmir issue. This high-profile study group is finding it tough to pursue its agenda as the April 13 cross-voting episode had caused much embarrassment to the BJP and “demoralised” party cadres to such an extent that they were not taking any programme of the party seriously.

Although the BJP had claimed that the study group headed by former president of the party Rajnath Singh would continue touring different parts of the state, activities in the office of the group, which was especially hired for it, belied the claims of the party.

The office wore a deserted look and had remained closed most of the time, as the party workers were disenchanted with the party leadership after the cross-voting episode. When this office was inaugurated on April 11 the BJP leadership had claimed that a group of party workers would work there throughout the day, but these days no party worker was seen there.

“Since our schooldays, we have been associated with the BJP and earlier with the Jan Sangh, but the cross-voting episode has exposed the double standards of the party,” lamented a veteran BJP worker of Nai Basti, whose house is located near the study group’s office. “What is the fun of visiting the office when the party leadership is itself not committed to the party’s ideology?” he said, adding that, “the cross-voting episode has exposed the double standards of the BJP leadership and since then we have maintained a distance from the party.”

During the Legislative Council elections on April 13, seven of the 11 MLAs of the BJP had violated the party whip and voted in favour of the candidates of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress.

It was a coincidence that senior BJP leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Shahnawaz Hussain and Ravi Shankar Parsad, were in the state when the BJP legislators had indulged in cross-voting. “Instead of studying Jammu and Kashmir, it is better the BJP leadership conducts a serious study of its own leaders, who have betrayed the people of Jammu,” another BJP activist said.

He added that the party had lost its credibility and the people were not taking it seriously.

However, state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh Manhas claimed that the study group had been doing its job. “Last month the group conducted a tour of Kargil and submitted a report to the government,” he said. He added that the group would visit the state next month to continue their interaction with a cross-section of society.

Poonch, June 24
Residents of villages near the Line of Control (LoC) allege that the Army has been using innocent villagers as a counter-strategy to fight militants. In the process, there have been serious human rights violations and the civil administration have been unable to fix responsibility in such cases, besides providing justice to the victims.

Fatima Jaan, whose husband Hakim Din, a resident of Kaiyan Gontrian village, was allegedly killed by the Army, is awaiting justice for the past 11 years. Police investigations so far have revealed that Hakim, a source of the 8 JAKLI, was taken by Army personnel from his home to a nearby post in July, 2000. However, he never returned. Though belated, the police registered an FIR against the Army in 2009 under Section 302 and 364 of the RPC.

Till date no challan have been produced in the court of law against the accused Army personnel. Besides, Fatima, who has six daughters and a mentally-challenged son, has not received any compensation from the government. With no source of income, Fatima and her daughters beg for alms at the general bus stand of the city. “It was morning. Many people were cutting grass in their fields while my husband was having tea. Some Army men led by Subedar Balveer Raj came to our house and asked my husband to accompany them to their post. When he refused, the Army men took him away forcibly in full public view,” says Fatima.

“Thereafter, I visited the Army post many times. The Army men would tell me that my husband was away on an important assignment. Eventually, when I started believing that they (Army) had killed him, the Army restricted my movement to my house and warned me against filing a missing report with the police,” she alleges.

The SSP, Poonch, had corroborated Fatima’s allegations in his rejoinder to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in 2008. “Hakim Din, son of Kalu, was a working source of the Army. The personnel of the 8 JAKLI took him with them and till date he had not returned. Fatima never filed a complaint with the police about the kidnapping or lifting of her husband by the Army men. She has six daughters and her family has no source of income. There are no male members in the family. She is living in a miserable condition,” the police rejoinder says.

The State Human Rights Commission, in its recommendation on June 26, 2008, described the case of the petitioner as genuine. “The SSP, Poonch, in his report has accepted that the 8 JAKLI personnel had lifted Hakim Din and he mysteriously disappeared from their custody,” it says, adding that, “This is a clear case of custodial disappearance caused by the Army personnel.” The commission directed the police to register a case of “custodial murder” against the 8 JAKLI personnel.

Considering her miserable condition, the commission further recommended to the government to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to Fatima, besides benefits under various welfare schemes. “I cannot reveal the exact number of such FIRs registered against the security forces for extra-judicial killings. But during the course of investigation in such cases, we do not get witnesses to such killings,” said a senior police officer. He added that, “In Fatima’s case, investigation is on. A challan will be produced only when we get any witness.”

A local human rights activist, Sardar Kamal Jeet Singh, who had filed the case in the commission in May, 2007, however, refutes the police claim. He says that he has already given two witnesses to the police.

“The police is not doing a proper investigation. The commission in its judgement has clearly termed it as a custodial murder. It is height of injustice that she has not been provided any relief so far,” he said. “Those responsible for Hakim’s disappearance and killing should be arrested immediately. Such cases should be considered on priority,” he added.

Srinagar, June 24
The state government has allocated 22 hectares to the Higher Education Department for setting up the Central University of Kashmir. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here yesterday, an official said.

The state land measuring 438 kanals (approximately 22 hectares) was in Kurhama village in Ganderbal district, he said.

The Cabinet also approved the transfer of 1.5 hectares in Jammu district to the Technical Education Department for the construction of a sports stadium. The use of forestland for non-forestry purposes was also approved by the Cabinet. It also approved the allotment of land belonging to J&K Industries Limited to the Finance Department for setting up the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of polytechnic institutes in 17 districts of the state at a cumulative cost of Rs 221 crore, the official said.

The polytechnic colleges would be established in Baramulla, Anantnag, Shopian, Budgam, Bandipora, Ganderebal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Doda, Reasi, Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Kishtwar, Samba and Ramban, he added.

It also approved the creation of 396 posts in different categories for these polytechnic institutes, the officials said, adding that the construction for the 17 polytechnic institutes would be undertaken by the JK Project Constructions Corporation. The Department of Technical Education would ensure that the specifications and type designs were suitably adjusted so as to keep the cost within Rs 13 crore per polytechnic, he said.

In other decisions, the Cabinet also approved the proposal that all state government departments should purchase their requirement of cement in the Kashmir valley from government-owned J&K Cements Limited, the official said.

The departments could make purchases from the open market only if J&K Cements Limited was unable to supply the requisite quantity and the non-availability certificate was obtained by the purchasing department, he added. — PTI

Doda, June 24
From Batote, the leopard scare has spread 56 km away to Doda. Fear has gripped local residents after a leopard was sighted in the Batti Mohalla area last night. The wildlife authorities have sprung into action to trap the beast.

The wildlife authorities do not rule out the presence of the same leopard in the Doda area which had attacked children and cattle in Batote. Some days ago, residents of Ganika village, 12 km from Doda, had sighted a leopard along with its two cubs. Before this, a forest guard Lehar Singh was injured by the leopard near Dachnan village, 5 km from Doda.

“The presence of a leopard is unprecedented in Doda. But we are trying to trap it. A cage was being sent from Kishtwar yesterday for the purpose. It will be placed in the area where the leopard was sighted. We believe it might be the same leopard that was sighted in Batote, as leopards move in a radius of 40 to 60 km,” AR Malik, wildlife warden, Kishtwar, told The Tribune.

The nodal officer, forest division, Doda, Sagar Hussain, said the leopard was sighted around 10.30 am by the area residents, who informed the Police Control Room (PCR). A team of the wildlife, forest and the police reached the spot and burst crackers to scare it away.

“We are taking all measures to prevent the recurrence of the incident. An awareness drive has been started, make the people in and around Doda city aware about the safety measures. Besides pasting posters telling people about the preventive measures, these were being dispatched to the rural areas as well as schools,” added Hussain.

Ironically, the awareness drive has created more panic among the people. “The Wildlife Department lacks manpower and sophisticated apparatus to trap the animal. We want that a team of wildlife experts from Jammu should be summoned for the purpose because people are feeling insecure,” said Mehboob Kraipak, a local resident.

Jammu, June 24
On International Day against Drug Abuse and illicit Trafficking, the Department of Students’ Welfare, University of Jammu, organised an exhibition of posters on the theme “Think Health, Not Drugs” in the department today.

Prof NK Tripathi, Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW), inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of Prof Jasbir Singh, Head of the Department of Economics and programme coordinator of the NSS. He exhorted the youth to shun drugs in life, touch new horizons and aim to march ahead with their books.

He said, “Most of the drug addicts get drugs for the first time from a friend or an associate in the form of a favour. Almost all drug addicts start by trying just once. So students should stay away from all such things and focus on their studies.”

The students of various departments of the university and its affiliated colleges had prepared the posters.

Those present at the inaugural ceremony of the exhibition included Dr Anupama Vohra, Vijay Atri, Dharampal Sharma, Gurpal Singh, Kulbushan Thakur, Balwant Singh Slathia and Surinder Singh Bhalla.

“The grenade exploded on the premises of the police station and five civilians, who had come to meet a detained person, and a head constable posted with the Telecommunication Wing were injured,” they said. —TNS

Jammu, June 24
The police recovered 13 shells of rocket launchers, mostly empty, from the Greater Kailash area here today.

Rajinder Sharma, SHO, Gangyal, said the shells of rocket launchers were found at the same spot from where the police had recovered around 22 shells on June 10.

The shells had emerged from a garbage dump in the Greater Kailash area because of the overnight rain. Most of the shells were empty, which scrap dealers had bought from the security forces, said Sharma. A bomb disposal squad was also called to defuse the shells.

Srinagar, June 24
Governor NN Vohra has said by utilising the available scientific knowledge and adopting improved techniques without much larger investments, Jammu and Kashmir can become a prosperous state in the next few years.

He called for engendering close coordination between the research and extension agencies to effectively transfer new techniques and know how from laboratory to land to make the state self-reliant in agriculture and all allied sectors.

The Governor was addressing the gathering after launching a “Organic Agriculture Programme” at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, here yesterday.

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, said all regions of the state had the potential and tremendous opportunities were available for enhancing agricultural productivity. He added that the transformation of the sector could have a cascading effect for a greater economic activity and employment opportunities.

He emphasised the need for optimally benefiting from varied climatic zones by taking area-specific initiatives in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, apiculture, floriculture, mushroom cultivation, dairy farming, poultry and sheep husbandry.

He added that the agricultural universities of the state had to play a crucial role in securing the desired results.

The Governor complimented Sompal, former Union Minister of State for Agriculture, for his learned keynote address.