Srinagar, August 1
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that strict action would be taken soon against those responsible for the custodial death of a youth,Nazim Rashid, in Sopore on Saturday.

“Action will be taken against the guilty. We have initiated steps to enquire into the circumstances that led to this death in the custody (of police),” Omar told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

“We are not interested in covering up any facts or protecting anybody. Certain steps have been taken under Section 302.We will ensure that the full force of law is brought upon the guilty to make an example of them so that nobody decides that the law can be treated shabbily,” he said.

Omar said the investigation would be completed soon. It had been only 24 hours and a case had already been registered. “You should give us time so that nothing is done that would compromise the law,” he said.

Meanwhile, the father of the youth, who died in police custody, alleged that his son was brutally tortured.However,he also expressed faith that the inquiry ordered by the Chief Minister would unravel the truth behind the incident.

“The body of my son had torture marks. There was hardly any part which did not tell the story of brutalities committed on him," Abdul Rashid Shalla, a retired police inspector, told mediapersons at his residence in Sopore.

He said his son was innocent and the family had fully cooperated with the Army and the police in their probe into the killing of a civilian by militants in the town a few days ago.

“A Major visited our shop on July 30 around 2.p.m and started questioning my son,who pleaded innocence, but the officer insisted on taking him, promising that he would return home in the evening,” Shalla said.

His son had admitted that he had seen militants killing Mohammad Ashraf on July 28, but he was not involved in the crime.

“When I contacted the Army officer, he told me that my son was handed over to the Special Operations Group of the police. I could hear the cries of my son who was being tortured,” he said.

Shalla said the next morning he came to know about the death of his son in police custody.

“I hope that the case of the killing of my son is not hushed up. I want the guilty to be punished and justice delivered. I hope that the Chief Minister will fulfil his promise and the inquiry initiated by him would yield a positive result,” he said.

Jammu, August 1
The wife of a government employee, who died under suspicious circumstances in Doda four months ago, has accused the local police of going slow on investigation.

“The medical report has contradicted the claim that my husband, Rajinder Singh, was under the influence of liquor at the time of his death,” said Rinku Manhas. She added that, “Even two months after getting the forensic report, the local police has not questioned the person, who saw my husband before his death and claimed in his statement to the police that my husband was under the influence of liquor.”

Rajinder Singh (37), a resident of Batara, Dharmoti, died on February 26 while he was returning home from Gandoh, where he worked as PA to the SDM, on a Tata Sumo. Mehjaj Ali, a resident of Seaie Gowari, who owned the vehicle, was driving it.

The driver of another Tata Sumo reportedly spotted Rajinder’s body lying on the road and informed the police. A case under Section 174, CrPC, was registered at Gandoh police station.

Subsequently, the police recorded the statement of Mehjaj Ali, who claimed that Rajinder was under the influence of liquor when he alighted from the vehicle on February 26.

“ It is amply clear from the forensic report that he was not under the influence of liquor. We can’t understand why the driver is lying,” said Rinku, a mother of two. She added that, “There were bruises over my husband’s body and his skull was fractured. The police is trying to make it look like a suicide case, but we believe he was murdered.”

“The question of his committing suicide does not arise at all,” she said. “The cause of the death, which the police has been assuming before getting the medical report, has been proved false. But still it has not started investigating the matter accordingly. This clearly shows that the police is negligent in its duty and has mala fide intentions.”

Rinku claimed that her husband was an honest employee. She apprehended that some corrupt officials of his office could be behind his death. “The police should investigate the case from all the angles,” she demanded.

“ An investigation is on. We have not closed the case yet. In the light of the forensic report, the driver will be questioned again,” said SHO, Gandoh, Barkat Qureshi. He added that, “We have also asked Airtel for the call details of Rajinder’s cellphone connection.”

Srinagar, August 1
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said here today the state government intended to provide smart cards to residents of Jammu and Kashmir to be primarily linked to the Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) and then to ration cards, MGNERGA job cards and registration cards to make the public service delivery easy.

“The ultimate linkage of smart cards with the Unique Identification(UID) number, ‘Aadhaar’, would undoubtedly ensure timely benefits to the people,” Omar said.

Launching the initiative in Jammu and Kashmir at a function at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here today, the Chief Minister cautioned the people about the misgivings likely to be created by vested interests regarding ‘Aadhaar’.

He said the card would have a simple identification number and was not mandatory or compulsory for the citizens.“It is an optional facility for valid identification proof available to the people for obtaining various services promptly. You have many cards like passport, driving licence, state subject, voter cards, etc and it is up to you to utilise any of these for identification and residential proof,” he said

Omar said at present, even for obtaining a cellphone connection, one had to provide some proof of identification and residence. “Similar is the case for getting other services,” he said.

“It would streamline the services and make them fast,” he said, adding that the identification number would also improve governance and essential services delivery mechanism.

Omar said the UID number would prove more efficient in ensuring benefits to the weaker sections of society under various schemes in the Rural Development, Social Welfare, Health and Education sectors.

“Aadhaar is an important initiative in this regard,” he said and asked the Information Technology Department to put in place initiatives for universalising e-governance in the state.

Srinagar, August 1
Amid demands for his resignation for taking part in conferences organised by ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai, veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar said today that he had done nothing wrong and would not step down from the government’s panel of interlocutors on Kashmir.

“If someone goes through the records of the seminars and workshops I have attended over the past 30 years, they might dig out that one was organised by this intelligence agency or that banned group,” Padgaonkar told PTI over the phone.

He said he would not step down from the interlocutors’ panel, a demand made by several groups, including the Shiv Sena and the Panun Kashmir. The BJP had also criticised him for taking part in the events organised by Fai.

“I have not done anything wrong. I knew where his (Fai’s) policies were leaning towards, but I had no idea about his source of funding,” Padgaonkar said. He added that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had fully supported him on the issue.

Padgaonkar’s statement comes days after Chidambaram made light of his participation in conferences organised by Fai, who was arrested in the US for being an ISI conduit for carrying out propaganda on Kashmir. — PTI 

Udhampur, August 1
The District Congress Committee (DCC), Kishtwar, its trade union wing, INTUC, and the District Mahila Congress have hailed the appointment of Sheikh Nasir Hussain,advocate,as the president of the District Youth Congress Committee(DYCC), Kishtwar.

At a function organised at the DCC office in Kishtwar to felicitate the newly appointed DYCC president, prominent leaders, including DCC president Pardeep Singh Parihar, vice-president, J&KPCC, Sheikh Ghulam Haider, president, INTUC, Raj Kumar Badyal, block president, Kishtwar, Haji Ghulam Hassan Mir, block president Padder Nek Ram Manhas, Urmila Devi and youth leader Sandeep Sen expressed happiness over the decision of the Congress high command to give the reins of the DYCC to an educated and dedicated party worker.

Nasir thanked all and said that he was a first-generation politician who was inspired by the leadership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.He gave the credit to the talent-hunt programme started by Rahul Gandhi to induct and promote secular, dedicated and young people in politics for his elevation to the post.

In his address, the DCC president termed the appointment of Nasir as a wise decision as the young lawyer had the potential to strengthen the party and its secular tradition in Kishtwar district.

Jammu, August 1
Calling for the abolition of the discretionary quota and powers being enjoyed by ministers in Jammu and Kashmir on the pattern proposed for Union ministers, BJP chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh today accused the Congress of adopting double standards.

He said while the Congress-led UPA government wanted to take the credit for having initiated the move to curtail the discretionary powers of Union ministers, including the allotment of gas coupons, petrol pumps etc, at the state-level in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress maintained silence and continued to share the booty of loot with its coalition partner, National Conference.

In a statement issued here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said the state Congress leadership owed an explanation and added that the party could not claim to check corruption in New Delhi while simultaneously being a beneficiary of corrupt practices in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Jitendra Singh said in addition to the misuse of the discretionary authority in various spheres, ministers in Jammu and Kashmir had also mastered the art of using discretion in matters where no power was available to them.

He said tenders to execute public works were manipulated and instead of following a fair allotment procedure, these were given to ministers’ chosen henchmen, who, in turn, shared the profits with the minister concerned.

He added that under the oath of office, no minister was entitled to be part of any activity of profit or office of profit.

Dr Jitendra Singh said it should be mandatory for all ministers and top bureaucrats in the state to declare their assets and there should be a mechanism in place to assess and account for the expenditure incurred from the state exchequer on their air travel, telephone, house renovation, transport and other miscellaneous purposes. He also recommended a fast-track disposal of corruption cases against bureaucrats and senior officers on the lines proposed by the Union government.

Jammu, August 1
VHP’s national spokesperson Surinder Jain and Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma formally inaugurated the base camp for the 10-day-long annual Budda Amarnath yatra at Bhagwati Nagar here today.

The first batch of nearly 800 pilgrims will leave the base camp for Poonch tomorrow morning.

The yatra will conclude on August 10.

Addressing a gathering, Jain said the state government would leave no stone unturned to provide every possible facility to the pilgrims visiting the state.

“Every year 1.3 crore pilgrims visit the state for undertaking various pilgrimages, which, in turn, give a major boost to the state economy. Hence, it becomes imperative for the state government to promote all these pilgrimages by raising the requisite infrastructure,” said Jain.

While talking to mediapersons, Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma said the government had decided to bring the pilgrimage tourism on the map of tourism.

He assured the Baba Amarnath Yatri Niyas and its constituents that the government would try its best to raise the required infrastructure for the annual Amarnath yatra from Lakhanpur to the cave shrine in south Kashmir.

“The government has been promoting the pilgrimage tourism in a big way and existing deficiencies will be removed with the passage of time,” Jain said.

The inaugural ceremony of the base camp was also attended by Bajrang Dal national convener Subhash Chauhan, Bajrang Dal co-convener Rajesh Pandey, president ,Baba Amarnath Yatri Niyas, Surinder Mohan Aggarwal, state VHP president Ramakant Dubey, Jammu Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal and Director, Health Services, Dr Madhu Khullar.

Over 2 lakh pilgrims are expected to visit the shrine in Mandi tehsil of Poonch
district.

“It may be stated here that Swami Vishwatmanand has been installed at the religious seat of Dashnami Akhara in Mandi since 2009,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 33rd batch of pilgrims comprising 555 people left here today for the Amarnath shrine amid tight security, the police said.

As many as 304 men, 100 women, seven children and 144 sadhus left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp early this morning in a cavalcade of 18 vehicles for the cave shrine.

Jammu, August 1
The All-Jammu and Kashmir State Roads Transport Corporation Workers Union held a rally in support of its demands here today.

The protesting employees assembled at the SRTC office at Vikram Chowk and from there they proceeded towards the Divisional Commissioner’s Office, Jammu, to register their protest.

The protesters were demanding that the SRTC should be run on the pattern of the Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, besides the implementation of the Road Transport Corporation Act 1950 and the recommendations by the Sixth Pay Commission.

They accused the state government of being apathetic towards the employees. They served an ultimatum on the government to accept their demands till the Amarnath yatra ended, failing which they would go on an indefinite strike.

Meanwhile, the All-Jammu and Kashmir SRTC Voluntarily Retired Employees Association held a protest outside the Press Club, Jammu, and condemned the SRTC authorities for not clearing their dues.

They alleged that the authorities concerned were not fulfilling the promises made to them at the time of their voluntary retirement.

Baramulla, August 1
The Army is helping the youth in Baramulla get rid of the drug menace.

Earlier,the police had said a large number of youth, who indulged in stone throwing last year, were doing so under the influence of drugs or to earn money to buy drugs. “A large number of youth in Baramulla are indulging in drug abuse.We, along with their parents, are trying hard to help them resume normal life,” said a doctor at the drug rehabilitation centre, Baramulla.

He said everyday, a large number of youth, mostly motivated by the Army, visited the rehabilitation centre.

“I wasn’t aware that my son was using drugs, but when I came to know about it, I took him to the camp of the 46 Rashtriya Rifles. The Army officers took him to a doctor, who started his rehabilitation immediately. Now, my son leads a normal life,” said Ghulam Nabi, a resident of old Baramulla town.

Besides helping the youth get rid of drugs, the Army was holding seminars, lectures and rallies in the town to spread awareness among the people about the ill-effects of the drugs.

Speaking to The Tribune, the GOC, Dagger Division, Baramulla, Maj-Gen Bipin Rawat, said, “The Army is working for the welfare of the youth in the Kashmir valley and in Baramulla, we want them to lead a healthy life. So, we have taken various measures to help them here.”

He said the Army had been working to channelise the energy of the youth to positive activities. “We give them sports equipment and training in various fields so that they can use their energy in positive things,” he said.

The Commanding Officer of the 46 RR, Col Dalvinder Singh, who had been playing a key role in the drug de-addiction programme, said, “Our aim is to help the youth of Baramulla lead a healthy lifestyle. For this, we educate them about the ill-effects of the drug abuse”

He said the Army’s initiative had been appreciated by the people of the town and his battalion was planning to increase the scope of the programme.

Jammu, August 1
Employees of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) enforcement wing, who were on an anti-encroachment drive, were thrashed and chased away by angry shopkeepers on the Old Janipur road here today.

The JMC employees had gone there to remove encroachments from roads and pavements, but were chased away by the shopkeepers, who outnumbered them.

While the JMC employees were silent over the issue, officials at Janipur police station said the corporation had not lodged any formal complaint against the shopkeepers.

However, sources said none of the JMC employee was seriously injured. They added that the situation took an ugly turn when they seized the articles placed on footpaths and the main road by the shopkeepers and started dumping them on a vehicle.

They were opposed by the irate shopkeepers and soon the two sides entered into a verbal duel. The number of shopkeepers soon swelled and they started beating up the JMC employees, who had to run for their lives.

Meanwhile, the police intervened and pacified the shopkeepers, enabling the JMC employees to take away their vehicles. However, a JMC driver was injured in the clash and was taken to hospital. He was discharged later.

The JMC employees had gone to remove encroachments from roads and pavements

The police said the corporation had not lodged any formal complaint against the shopkeepers

Sources said none of the JMC employee was seriously injured

Srinagar, August 1
The militancy-hit Bangus Valley in the state may soon become a tourist hot spot as the state government is initiating various projects for the development of tourism in the area.

“Steps are being taken to develop Drangyari and Sat-Barryn as tourist spots. The step will boost the local economy and generate employment opportunities for the youth,” a tourism department spokesman said here today.

“The Lolab-Bangus-Drangyari Development Authority (LBDDA) has invested Rs 1 crore for the purpose,” LBDDA Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Yassin said.

In the last 20 years, the Bangus Valley has been a transit for militants infiltrating from across the LoC. However, with the militancy subsiding in the state, the administration is now looking towards transforming Bangus Valley into a tourist hub, the spokesperson said.

There are nearly 50 rare animal species, including musk deer, antelope, snow leopard and red foxes in the region. — PTI

Srinagar, August 1
Governor NN Vohra has emphasised the need for taking all initiatives for the rehabilitation of orphans and other children in any kind of distress to enable them to grow as balanced and productive members of society.

The Governor was speaking after inaugurating a photo exhibition, “Moments: A Chronicle of Childhood”, organised by the Child Nurture and Relief (CHINAR), Kashmir, here last evening.

The organisation is working for the psychological rehabilitation of orphans and vulnerable children in the Valley and running a home for a group of orphaned boys and girls in Srinagar.

The photographs displayed at the exhibition had been taken by the children themselves during a month-long workshop organised to impart photography skills to them. The Governor went around the exhibition and lauded the visible potential of the children.

The Governor said the state had suffered a huge loss of life and property in the past two decades of violence and a large number of women had been rendered widows and children orphans. While lauding the CHINAR’s noble initiative for the rehabilitation of such children, he hoped that there would now be sustained peace and normalcy in the state.

He added “all of us should think seriously about the initiatives to look after children who became orphans in extremely unfortunate circumstances as witnessed in Kashmir”. He hoped that affluent people and organisations would come forward to give a helping hand to such children.

The Governor announced Rs 1 lakh for the organisation and presented awards to six children for their laudable achievements.

Srinagar, August 1
Governor NN Vohra has greeted the people on the commencement of the holy month of Ramzan and hoped that the auspicious occasion will be a harbinger of peace, amity, communal harmony, progress and prosperity in the state.

In a message, the Governor said Ramzan was a period dedicated to fasting, prayers and service to fellow human beings and society and it highlighted the values of patience, self-restraint, tolerance and austerity, which promoted compassion and respect for others.

Jammu, August 1
The Department of Students Welfare, University of Jammu (JU), and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sunjuwan, in association with Spic Macay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Bharatnatyam) organised a dance recital by Rama Vaidyanathan, an exponent of Bharatnatyam at the Brigadier Rajinder Singh Auditorium today.

The programme commenced with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp by Rama Vaidyanathan, Usha Shamendra, Principal, KV, Sunjuwan, Prof NK Tripathi, Dean, Students Welfare, and Prof Jasbir Singh, Chairman, Campus Cultural Committee, University of Jammu.

In her keynote address, Rama Vaidyanathan said Bharatnatyam was one of the ancient classical dance forms of India. “Devdasis used to perform it in the temples of the south,” she said.

Rama started her performance with ‘Anjali’, offering prayer to the Almighty. It was followed by ‘Mayur-Allaripu’, ‘Navrasa Mohana’, depicting nine types of emotions. ‘Durga Vandana’ was another highlight of her presentations.

Dakshina Vaidyanathan, daughter of Rama Vaidyanathan, held the audience spellbound with her performance ‘Shambhu-Natnam’, the cosmic dance commonly known as ‘Tandava’.

She was supported by India’s noted artists, Indu Nair, vocalist, Arun Kumar, Mridangam player, VSK Chakrapani, violinist and Dakshna Vaidyanathan as dancer and Nattuvangam player.

Jammu, August 1
The security forces smashed a militant hideout in the Sabjiyan area of Mandi tehsil in Poonch district today and seized arms and ammunition, including two kg of deadly RDX.

Official sources said the security forces unearthed the hideout during the course of a search operation in the Sabjiyan area. They added that the search of the hideout led to the seizure of a haul of arms and ammunition, including one AK-56 rifle, one magazine, 56 rounds of AK 56, two RPGs, one Chinese pistol, two magazines and six rounds, seven boosters, four Chinese hand grenades, three UBGL grenades, 2 kg of RDX, one IED and 20 detonators.