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Zero tolerance to human rights violations: Lt Gen Parnaik
Jammu lawyers’ strike extended till December 26
40-day harshest winter period begins in Valley
Three-day Bharat Nirman campaign begins
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Sarpanch killed, Cong leader hurt in mishap
PDP holds protests against corruption
PDP workers protest against the government near the DC office in Jammu on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
First double-storeyed jail to come up in Kishtwar
Tagore’s play Dakghar staged
Gujjar mahasabha team meets Governor
Two booked under PSA in Udhampur
Mines explode due to wildfire near LoC
No headway in Andrabi ‘murder’ case
A Kashmiri youth rock band performs during a music competition organised
by the CRPF in Srinagar on Wednesday. — AFP
Home guards stage dharna
Members of the All Jammu and Kashmir Home Guards Welfare Association hold a protest in Jammu on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
54 RR holds medical camp in Reasi
Arrest warrant against DSP
Magotra gets Sahitya Akademi Award
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Zero tolerance to human rights violations: Lt Gen Parnaik
Jammu, December 21 The theme of the seminar was “Changing concept of human rights in present environment”. It commenced with a keynote address by Lt Gen KT Parnaik, GOC-in-C, Northern Command. Lt Gen Parnaik said in 1993 the Army set up human rights cells at various levels. This happened six months before the creation of the National Human Rights Commission, which indicated the seriousness of the Army regarding human rights, he said. The Army followed the policy of zero tolerance for human rights violation, Lt Gen Parnaik said. He added the armed forces were the last bastion of the country and were responsible for the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state. He said the Army always tried to be as transparent as possible. “The Army operations have evolved over a period of time and a change has taken place in the thinking and operating procedures of the Army, which flow straight from its well-formulated conventional doctrine of “Iron Fist with a Velvet Glove”,” he added. The first session of the seminar was chaired by Justice Syed Bashiruddin, former Chairman of the SHRC. Justice BC Patel, Member of the NHRC; SM Sahai, IGP, Kashmir; Lt Gen Prakash Menon (retd), Military Adviser to the National Security Council of India; Dr Vrinda Grover, human rights activist and lawyer, were the eminent speakers. The second session of the seminar was chaired by Justice Patel, Col SK Sakhuja (retd); and Justice Bashiruddin addressed the audience during the session. The deliberations evaluated the role of the armed forces in upholding human rights and the freedom of people in areas affected by insurgency. The third session of the seminar was chaired by Justice Patel, while Brig MB Anand (retd), Consultant, ICRC; Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma (retd), Member, Union Public Service Commission; Nitin Gokhale, senior editor, NDTV, and Col AK Mohla, Commanding Officer of a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir, were the speakers. |
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Jammu lawyers’ strike extended till December 26
Jammu, December 21 The BAJ also decided to meet again on December 26 to chalk out the future strategy if the government did not concede to its demand for the revocation of the Cabinet order. “The general house of the BAJ has unanimously decided to extend the strike till December 26 when the Bar will meet again to discuss the intervening developments and the future strategy,” a spokesperson for the BAJ said. He added the general body meeting of the association was held on the Court Complex and was attended by all members to deliberate and discuss the future strategy. “The meeting was important in the wake of 28-day lawyers’ agitation against the government move, which is perceived by lawyers to be anti-people and aimed at facilitating land mafia in Jammu province,” the spokesperson said. Speaking at the meeting, general secretary of the BAJ Vikram Sharma thanked the trade, transport, social and political organisations for extending “whole-hearted” support to the shutdown call. BAJ president BS Slathia called upon the lawyers to gear up to defeat the government in its alleged “pursuit of an anti-people move” in transferring the registration powers from judicial to revenue officers.
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40-day harshest winter period begins in Valley
Srinagar, December 21
The tourist resorts of
Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg in the upper reaches around the Valley are covered with a thick blanket of snow after these areas witnessed moderate snowfall during the past few days. However, roads leading to these tourist resorts remained open to vehicular traffic. Several parts of the Valley witnessed moderate rain last evening bringing further respite from the freezing cold. With snowfall and rain, the temperatures rose from the below zero level. The day temperature here today was recorded at 5.9°C, about three degrees below the normal level, while the minimum temperature was 0.8°C last night. Weather forecast reveals that light rain or snow may occur at one or two places across the state over the next 24 hours. After days of freezing temperatures, rain during the past couple of days and snowfall in its upper reaches have brought much-awaited respite from the severe cold conditions. The heavy accumulation of snow over high mountains at the stage leads to good stocks for water during the next season. |
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Three-day Bharat Nirman campaign begins
Reasi, December 21 Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the event, Minister for Higher Education Abdul Gani Malik claimed that the programme being vigorously pursued by the Central government had changed the façade of rural India. He said it showed that the programme would go a long way in enlightening the people at the grass-roots level about various schemes and facilities available to them. The minister along with MLA, Reasi, Baldev Raj Sharma, District Development Commissioner PK Pole and other dignitaries inspected the stalls put up by the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry departments. He made a specific reference to the gadgets put on display and wanted the people to have a look at them and try to adopt such modern technologies for their economic and social uplift. Earlier, Director, PIB, Jammu, Obaidur Rehman welcomed the guests. In his address, Rehman said in the next three days lectures could be delivered by resource persons on various flagship and Bharat Nirman package themes, which had been formulated by different departments for the socio-economic development of the people. He added the PIB had so far organised over 500 public information campaigns across India since 2006. Rehman said the goal of social monitoring, accountable administration and transparency at the
grass-roots level could only be achieved by disseminating information about the programme through campaigns. |
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Sarpanch killed, Cong leader hurt in mishap
Jammu, December 21 The police said six persons, including a sarpanch and the Congress
Anantnag district president, were injured when a Gypsy car in which they were travelling collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction around 11:30 pm yesterday. Sarpanch of Shatar village in Anantnag district Ghulam Ahmad Malik was killed on the spot, the police said. The vehicle was on its way from Srinagar to Jammu when it met with the accident. A police team led by the station house officer (SHO), Jajjar Kotli, rushed to the spot and removed the critically injured from the wreckage of the car. The police shifted the critically injured, including Congress Anantnag district president Gulzar Ahmad Wani and his personal security officer (PSO) Ghulam Hussain, to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu. The condition of the injured was stated to the critical. The driver of the truck fled. Bovine smuggler arrested
in Samba
The Samba police today arrested a bovine smuggler and rescued 14 animals being transported illegally. It also impounded the truck in which the animals were being transported. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a naka on the Sumb road in Samba and intercepted a truck. It found 14 animals being transported illegally in the vehicle. Mohammad Sajjad, a resident of Behra in Kathua district, was arrested and his vehicle impounded. A case under the Cruelty Towards Animals Act was registered at Samba police station. A police team headed by SHO, Samba, Sandeep Mahajan performed the operation under the supervision of SSP, Samba, Israr Khan. |
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PDP holds protests against corruption
Jammu, December 21 In Jammu, a protest demonstration was held in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner. Party workers from different parts of the district participated in the demonstration and shouted slogans against the state government. While addressing the protesters, the PDP leaders attacked the coalition government headed by Omar Abdullah for its alleged failure in keeping a check on corruption. They said since the formation of this regime corruption had been legalised. They said the government had been encouraging its leaders and workers to indulge into corrupt practices. While pointing towards the recent incident of mysterious killing of National Conference worker Sayeed Yosuf Shah they said, “this incident is a glaring example of corruption at the higher level.” Coming down heavily on the state government for its alleged casual approach towards strengthening the institutions to curb corruption, they said no step hadbeen taken to bring transparency and accountability in the administration. Rangil Singh, Balbir Singh, Ved Mahajan, Daman Bhasin, Hussain Ali Wafa, Falail Singh, RK Bali, Suram Singh, Abdul Rashid Malik Mohinder Kotwal, Narinder Singh Raina, Ashok Jogi, Rashpal Singh Bittu, Rajinder Manhas, Shohiab Malik and Deepu Chib among others addressed the workers. |
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First double-storeyed jail to come up in Kishtwar
Udhampur, December 21 The existing sub-jail has a sanctioned capacity of 20 inmates which is woefully short to accommodate all inmates, especially undertrials and militants facing criminal charges in Kishtwar courts, who have consequently been lodged at jails in Jammu and Udhampur. Besides facilitating an expeditious trial, the increase in the sanctioned capacity, courtesy the new jail building, will also help reduce the burden of the Kishtwar police in escorting the undertrials frequently between Jammu and Kishtwar for regular appearance in court cases. Moreover, this will facilitate meeting of prisoners with their relatives, as the prisoners, otherwise, have to travel from Kishtwar to Jammu for the purpose. “Sometimes, the escort is not available at the required time of court appearance as the police concerned is overly burdened. Hence, the undertrials languish in jail, which causes delay in the process of justice delivery. The idea of having a multi-storied jail building comes handy in mountainous areas like Kishtwar where it is not always possible to have one chunk of land at one place,” added Agarwal. Frequent movements are not safe from the security point of view as the undertrials also include hardcore militants. At present six militants are lodged in the sub-jail, Kishtwar. As compared to the existing jail having only one barrack, the new one will have four barracks. Moreover, a reformatory will be in the jail and the inmates will not have to be brought out of the barracks for imparting vocational skills to them. Agarwal also said land had been acquired in Bhadewah for another jail to cater to the requirements of neighbouring Doda district.
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Tagore’s play Dakghar staged
Jammu, December 21 Farooq Nazki, adviser to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, was the chief guest on the occasion while additional secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Savita Bakshi was the guest of
honour. The play originally written in Bangla and translated into Dogri by Dr Sudhir Mahajan narrates the story of a young boy, Amol, who is condemned to seclusion and immobility because of poor health. When a new post office opens in his village, Amol, the protagonist, starts weaving imagery around it. He starts believing that the king of the land will send him a letter. In this way he creates an imaginary world around himself. The cast of the play included Aditya Bharti, Avinash Lakhotra, Mukesh Bawa, Shubam Sharma, Vikram Khatri, Lucky Gupta, Rahul Raina, Harishta Jamwal, Sahib Vaid, Aryan Vaid, Manik Sharma, Vishal Sharma, Sandeep Thakur, Mridul Raj and Rohit Chib. The play was assisted by Vikram Khatri while Surinder Singh Manhas composed the background music. |
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Gujjar mahasabha team meets Governor
Jammu, December 21 The demands projected by the 13-member delegation led by Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal, state president of the mahasabha, included a provision for political reservation for the Scheduled Tribes in the state, special recruitment drives by the Central paramilitary forces for the youth of the Gujjar community residing in the border areas, strengthening the Directorate of Tribal Affairs in the state, the creation of a Tribal Affairs Ministry in the state and ensuring all-round socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes. The Governor assured the deputation that he would discuss their demands with Social Welfare Minister Sakina Ittoo. The delegation comprised Naik Alam, Hameed Kassana, Bashir-ud-Din Banya, Allah Din Khatana, Mohammad Shabir, Tariq Manzoor, Munshi Khan, Mohammad Sadiq, Abdul Majeed Kohli, Mohammad Faiz, Salah Mohammad Kohli and Mohammad
Farooq. |
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Two booked under PSA in Udhampur
Udhampur, December 21 The accused have been identified as Rahul Paba, a resident of Chabutra Bazaar, Udhampur, and Rakesh Kumar, alias Raku, a resident of Sailan Talab, Udhampur. They were reportedly involved in keeping arms and ammunition illegally, wrongfully restraining and intimidating innocent people, theft, robbery and burglary cases added Beig. Meanwhile, the SSP has issued directions to all territorial police officers of the district to furnish information about the anti-national and anti-social activities of some more criminals and gangsters, who could also be be detained under the PSA.
— TNS
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Mines explode due to wildfire near LoC
Jammu, December 21 However, no casualty or injury to any person was reported in the incident. Official sources said the fire had spread in one square kilometre in the Chitiali Ziarat area, close to Goi, Lanjiote and Dheri Dabsi villages. A villager told The Tribune over the phone that the area was under the jurisdiction of 11 Kumaon, which had its 120 Brigade stationed there. “Around 8 am today I noticed big blazes in the forward area close to Chitiali Ziarat and they soon engulfed the mined area. Subsequently, 15 to 20 mines close to the LoC exploded,” he said. It may also be stated here that the Army has installed night vision cameras on the barbed fence to keep an eye on the intruders.
— TNS
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No headway in Andrabi ‘murder’ case
Srinagar, December 21 The trial court here yesterday reserved order on the application seeking the arrest and trial of the accused, who had managed to sneak into the US to evade arrest after Andrabi’s death in March 1996. Counsels for the complainant said the government had not shown “seriousness” in getting Major Avtar extradited despite court orders. Incidentally, in March this year, when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was asked to comment on the case on the social networking site, Twitter, he had said “papers are ready and the police is pursuing Major Avtar’s extradition”. However, the delay in the accused’s extradition is the main reason behind the delay in the progress of the case. A murder case was registered against Major Avtar and the victim’s family pursued the matter in the High Court alleging that the government was “covering up the murder”. After leaving the country Major Avtar was reportedly arrested by the police in California in the US in February this year in a domestic violence case. He, however, was released on bail later.
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Rock bands battle it out in Kashmir
Srinagar, December 21 Organised by the CRPF and Valley Youth Expression, the competition is being held at the only Indoor Stadium of the city. Thirteen bands performed on the first day and the remaining will perform tomorrow. Some of them performed without drums, which forced the judges to disqualify them from the competition. Many bands constituted teenage school-going boys and many were performing live for the first time in their life. “It is good to see new bands have come up and young boys are showing interest in music. It was nice to hear some new music and I am happy that some bands even played metal,” Adnan Mohammad Mattoo, founder of the Bloodrockz band and one of the judges of the event, told PTI. Mattoo said the Kashmiri rockers were aware of the challenges they faced from a conservative society here. “It is not impossible to change the mentality of the people here. We have to make efforts and we are doing it,” he said. At the Battle of the Bands contest, most performers played rock and Sufi-rock genres. — PTI
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Home guards stage dharna
Jammu, December 21 Later, they handed over a memorandum to the staff of Raj Bhawan as they were not allowed to enter the premises. Home guard jawans had met several ministers regarding their demands and they had been
assured by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah twice that he would be address the issue. |
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54 RR holds medical camp in Reasi
Reasi December 21 Medical, ENT and dental services were provided at the camp and doctors from the district hospital also provided necessary help. A woman medical officer carried out a health check up of girls and women. Medicines were given and vaccination for typhoid, tetanus and cold were administered free of cost. Residents of Bidda, Thanpal, Pouni and Kheral villages took part in the camp. The villagers appreciated the efforts of the Army in providing free medical facilities on their doorsteps.
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Srinagar, December 21 Sources said the SHRC issued an arrest warrant against the DSP yesterday and asked its police wing to execute the orders. The warrant was issued after the DSP failed to respond to four SHRC notices in connection with a disappearance case that had taken place in Anantnag district in 2007. The SHRC had received a complaint in 2008 from Ghulam Muhammad Mir, who had sought the whereabouts of his son who had gone missing in 2007. The SSP, SHRC, had been asked to produce the DSP before the rights body on the next date of hearing in the case. A special investigating team that was probing the case earlier was headed by the DSP concerned. — OC
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Magotra gets Sahitya Akademi Award
Jammu, December 21 The book is a collection of 65 short personal essays, which show Magotra as a cosmopolitan author rooted to the soil of his birth. The content of the essays is absorbing, informative and instructive. Of the 65 essays, 30 are a commentary on the state of affairs around us. Of special interest are his autobiographical pieces, in all 20 of them.
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Jammu, December 21
Jammu, December 21
