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Militant links: Separatist leader’s house sealed
Shrine blaze
Devotees throng the Pir Dastageer shrine in Srinagar on Saturday.
A Tribune photograph
Thousands more pay obeisance at Amarnath shrine
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3rd Mughal Road car rally flagged off
State to get back Salal, Uri-I power projects soon: Minister
A woman pays obeisance at the Pir Dastageer shrine in Srinagar on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
Omar defends curbs in Srinagar city
Police Martyrs Football tourney kicks off
Minister of State for Home and Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani opens the Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Saturday. Photo Amin War
Clash in Chandanwari, 8 CRPF men hurt
Yatri killed in road mishap
Trace family of intruder, Pak
police told
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Militant links: Separatist leader’s house sealed
Srinagar, June 30 Khan, the police claimed, had been acting as a conduit of the banned Harkat-e-Jihadi-Islami and had been providing financial support to the outfit through Hawala transactions. Khan (65), a leader of the Peoples League, a constituent of the Syed Ali Shah Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference, said he, along with his family, was asked to vacate his house in Chanpora locality of the city. “This morning, a police team and district officials reached our home and asked us to vacate the house. They sealed the house later,” Khan said. “The government sealed my house which I had built in 1998. I am being targeted as I am associated with the Kashmir ‘freedom struggle’.” Khan said he, along with his wife and four children, including a daughter, had been left on the road after the government’s action. The police notice, which was served on him, said during the investigation of a 2006 case registered in the Nowgam police station, the investigating officer gathered material and evidence leading him to frame Khan. The police has charged Khan under Sections 120B of the Ranbir Penal Code (for hatching a criminal conspiracy) 489C (dealing in illegal currency), 7/25 of the Indian Arms Act (possession of weapons illegally) and 40/A under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. “After earning huge amounts by acting as a conduit for the banned Harkat-e-Jihadi-Islami, Khan acquired the house at Chanpora for strengthening the designs of the banned outfit in the city,” said the police notice. “The house was being used for terrorist activities.” The police notice, signed by former Director-General of Police Kuldeep Khoda on May 18, accorded the approval for attachment of Khan’s house under Section 25 of the Unlawful Activities Act. Almost 10 years ago, the police had sealed a house of a militant supporter in the old city under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in Srinagar. Police sources said under the Unlawful Activities Act, the police was likely to seal a few more houses of militant supporters and cases had already been forwarded for approval. |
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Shrine blaze
Srinagar, June 30 Traffic was normal and educational institutions re-opened. Government offices functioned
smoothly. Restrictions imposed in the affected areas of the city were lifted today. A spontaneous shutdown to mourn the loss due to the fire at the shrine was observed on Monday. Separatist and religious organisations had called for a two-day bandh call following the blaze. The Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Bashiruddin
Ahmad, had called for a two-day bandh on Thursday and Friday. The authorities imposed restrictions under five police stations of Srinagar city to avoid any law and order problem in the wake of the shrine blaze. Strict restrictions were imposed under the five police stations of Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari, Maharaj Gunj and Kralkhud on Friday to prevent any untoward incident. While the Grand Mufti and other religious and separatist leaders were kept under house arrest, the day passed off peacefully on Friday with stray incidents of violence in different areas. A number of prominent people visited the gutted shrine site during the past few days. They included Governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his ministerial colleagues. The Chief Minister had to cut short his UK visit to visit the shrine site on the second day to take stock of the situation. Senior Congress leaders, including Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, JK Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP
Saifuddin Soz and Dr Karan Singh also visited the shrine and shared their grief and sorrow with
the people, whose sentiments are greatly attached to it. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and other leaders also visited the shrine during the past few days. While Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asghar Samoon is probing the fire incident, the government plans to start restoration work of the shrine immediately and is working on an action plan. The shrine, according to the authorities, will be reconstructed on the existing pattern.
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Thousands more pay obeisance at Amarnath shrine
SASB CEO Navin K Choudhary, SASB Additional CEO Preet Pal Singh and other officials were present in the meeting. Meanwhile, 14,884 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave till 4 pm today. Long queues of pilgrims were seen waiting to pay obeisance at the shrine. With this, the total number of devotees crossed the mark of 1.15 lakh till today afternoon. The meeting chaired by the Governor here last evening was held as part of the regular monitoring and review of all yatra-related matters. The CEO said that as per the policy of the board, every possible effort is being made by civil and police officers to check that no unregistered yatri is allowed to proceed towards the holy cave. The CEO yet again appealed to the devotees not to embark on the yatra without securing a valid registration as this may cause inconvenience not only to them but also to the other devotees. For the convenience of the tourists arriving in the state, the SASB has set up spot registration counters at Vaishnavi Dham, Jammu; Yatri Niwas, Jammu; TRC, Jammu; TRC Srinagar and close to the Nunwan and Baltal base camps. The CEO reiterated that any person wishing to undertake the yatra shall have to furnish compulsory health certificate for securing a spot registration permit. Lamenting the death of 13 persons in the past five days, the CEO again urged the pilgrims to take adequate precaution while embarking on the pilgrimage. He cautioned the yatris to follow the health advisories issued by the SASB. He also advised them to immediately contact the nearest medical camps to obtain timely medical help if they felt uneasy. For this purpose, a large number of doctors and medical staff have been posted at the yatra area equipped with more than 1,000 oxygen cylinders. |
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3rd Mughal Road car rally flagged off
Srinagar/Rajouri, June 30 The over 600-km long car rally passes through the historic Mughal road. With seven individual teams from Kashmir, the rally has participants from the Valley for the first time. Overall, the representation of women is also higher in the event this year. There was a huge list of entries for the Mughal rally this year. Starting from 28 teams in 2010 and 48 teams in 2011, the rally has clocked over 100 teams in its third edition this year. “This is a big step towards promotion of adventure tourism in the state. Such events prove beneficial in exploring areas like Simthan Pass, Peer Ki Gali, Bafliaz and the picturesque medieval Mughal Sarai at Aliabag along the historic Mughal road, a heritage road that connects the Kashmir Valley with Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division,” Wani said. Wani added the rally also encouraged the youth of the state to come forward and participate in adventure tourism. As the minister flagged off the rally, 186 adventure lovers hit the historic road in 93 vehicles including motorcycle riders. The rally has two categories- Xtreme and Enduro. This year, Xtreme has 132 km of competitive stretches on Day one, with two stages of 66 km each. The event has been organised by the Himalayan Motor Sport Association, Shimla in association with J&K Tourism Department and sponsored by the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. The event has generated a lot of interest among motorsport lovers with big teams like Mahindra, Tata and Maruti participating in the rally. Meanwhile in Rajouri, the car rally was flagged off from Royal Spring Golf Course (RSGC) yesterday and it passed through Shopian, Heer Pur, Pir Ki Galli and Chatta pani. A total of 92 participants, including 75 motor sports vehicles and 17 bikers, participated in the rally, representing different states of the country. Gourav Gill secured first position by covering the track in only 59:55 minutes from Heer Pure to Bafliaz. One of the sports car bearing number UP80AL 9127 crashed and its driver Namarta and her associate Ira Ayar sustained minor Injuries. Hundreds of villagers witnessed the Rally. Poonch SP Shamsheer Hussain along with other officials supervised the security arrangements.
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State to get back Salal, Uri-I power projects soon: Minister
Srinagar, June 30 Addressing a public meeting at Salamabad in Uri, the minister said on being transferred back, the two power projects would earn the state a revenue of Rs 3,500 crore annually. He said the Cabinet Sub-Committee report on the transfer of power projects, which had been ratified by the state Cabinet, was a historic document which had clearly laid down guidelines for power-use agreements for the future. Taj said the state government would vigorously follow the transfer of these power projects back to the state. He said the keenness of the state government could be gauged from the fact that the Water Resources Act - 2010 had been implemented in the state in letter and spirit and it had enhanced the state’s income by a whopping 30 per cent. Lauding the local people for facing difficulties, including loss of land, during the construction of these projects, Taj said a meeting held in New Delhi between him and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had taken care of their grievances. He appealed to people to end their 105-day-long strike at the project site. He said their efforts had borne fruit and within a month’s period, the NHPC, the project-executing agency, would recruit local youth to Class III and Class IV vacancies in the project. He said the company would also train these youth at the ITI, Uri, for their absorption in the company. The minister said as a sequel to the decisions at the meeting held in New Delhi, free power from these projects would be provided to all BPL families in the catchment area. He added that the company would spend 1 per cent of the project cost on the development of the area.Ghulam Muhammad Khan, alias Sopori, for his alleged links with the Harkat-e-Jihadi-Islami militant outfit. This is for the first time that the house of a supporter of the separatists has been sealed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in Kashmir. |
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Devotees throng shrine
Srinagar, June 30 She is one of those people from across the Valley and even outside who have come to the shrine five days after it was destroyed by a fire. Today, the shrine is a makeshift structure of corrugated tin sheets, tarpaulin, black flags and half-burnt wood and concrete. But that hardly mattered to Amina and hundreds of devotees who came to the 250-year-old shrine after the state government opened it to public after five days. “I have been coming to the shrine since my childhood days. On Monday, when I came to know about the shrine fire, I tried to visit the revered place but could not. Even if the structure is now in ruins, I will continue coming here,” said Amina. Mehboob Alam, a resident of Bijnoor in UP, was among the devotees who visited the shrine today. “When I came to know that the restriction had been lifted, I rushed to the shrine early morning to pay obeisance,” Alam said who is putting up in a rented accommodation in Rainawari. Few devotees were also seen crying when they saw the shrine in ruins. Some of the visitors were offered refreshments by the locals. There was also anger against the local shrine management. “Despite the fact that the shrine management had enough finances, they could not save this heritage shrine. They should be asked as to why a fire extinguisher was not installed at the shrine,” said Ghulam Rasool, a resident of Kupwara district in north Kashmir. “The fire at the shrine indicates that we do not value our heritage,” Rasool rued. Syed Khalid Jeelani, caretaker of the shrine, said they had a tough task of reconstructing the shrine. |
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Omar defends curbs in Srinagar city
Jammu, June 30 Tweeting on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Omar said, “I make no apologies for the administrative measures used over the past few days in a handful of police stations. The situation demanded it.” “So while I have no hesitation in apologising to people inconvenienced by the restrictions, we did what we had to do to keep the peace,” his tweet says. In another tweet, the Chief Minister says, “The ones making the most noise about the restrictions in downtown would obviously have been happier to see a repeat of 2010.” The revered two-century-old shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani, popularly known as Gaus-ul-Azam Dastageer Sahib, was gutted in a mysterious fire on the morning of June 25. After the incident, the administration had imposed a restriction on the movement of people in some areas, which was being opposed by many organisations, including the separatist Hurriyat Conference. After the fire incident, stone-throwing mobs had attacked firefighters and the police and even thrashed senior Hurriyat leader Shabir Ahmed Shah, who had reached the shrine along with his followers. The blaze had destroyed antique chandeliers and invaluable wood carving panels, besides the entire old wooden structure that housed the mausoleum. |
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Police Martyrs Football tourney kicks off
Srinagar, June 30 “J&K police has been contributing in sports arena and has carried out various sports and cultural activities under its civic action programme which has helped to chanalise the energy of the youth. Besides its excellence in professional policing, the force has also stood high in promoting sports activities in the state,” Wani said. The minister said that tournaments like Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament provide an opportunity to the sports lovers to watch matches between good teams. The Director General of Police (DGP), K Rajendra Kumar said this tournament has gained much popularity among sports lovers. Kumar said that 56 teams were participating in the fortnight-long tournament including 10 football teams from outside the state. He said that all the 56 matches of the tournament would be played on knock-out basis Last year, J&K Forest had won the tournament while Punjab police were the runners up. |
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Clash in Chandanwari, 8 CRPF men hurt
Srinagar, June 30 A CRPF spokesman told the Tribune that agitated group of taxi drivers attacked the CRPF men and indulged in stone pelting in which at least eight of them were injured. Sources said the CRPF men retaliated and smashed the wind screens of the vehicles. This further agitated the drivers leading to a protest demonstration in the Pahalgam town. Meanwhile, an official spokesman said that a minor altercation took place between some taxi drivers and CRPF men. Soon after the incident, Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmad Shah and Anantnag SSP rushed to the spot. The CRPF contingent posted there was removed with immediate effect. Sources said business resumed as usual soon after. |
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Yatri killed in road mishap
Udhampur, June 30 The deceased has been identified as Roop Chand (45) of Ajmeri Gate, New Delhi. Four other occupants of the ill-fated vehicle, including the driver, sustained minor injuries. They were given first aid at a local hospital. The mishap took place this morning when their Tavera car (JK 02 B 8476) coming from the Valley to Jammu rolled down the highway after its driver failed to negotiate a sharp turn. The police reached the spot and took the victims to the local hospital where Roop Chand was declared brought dead. SHO of the Kud police station Ajit Singh said the victim was suffering from some respiratory problem and due to this, he cancelled his pilgrimage at Baltal while his companions went ahead. He was returning from there when he met his fate, said the SHO, adding that the family of the deceased had been informed about the mishap. |
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Trace family of intruder, Pak
police told
Chamliyal June 30 Israr Khan, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sambha, told mediapersons here that he raised the issue with his Pakistani counterpart during a meeting on the occasion of
the annual fair of Baba Chamliyal. “I have given a photograph and other details of the intruder to my Pakistani counterparts and have asked them to trace his family,” he added.
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Srinagar, June 30
Jammu, June 30
Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani today inaugurated the 14th Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament at Bakshi Stadium here. On this occasion, the minister said that sports activities carried out by J&K police were proving effective in promoting sports culture besides inculcating moral values among the youth in the state. Wani said the police has been helping the state youth to excel in national level competitions.
Srinagar, June 30