Samba Tunnel
BSF lodges protest with Pak Rangers
DG may visit Chalyari this week
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 31
The Border Security Force (BSF) today lodged a strong protest with the Pakistan Rangers, asking them to investigate the digging up of a trans-border tunnel near Chalyari border outpost along the international border in Samba sector and inform the Indian force about the findings.

“The BSF today lodged a protest in writing with the Pakistan Rangers during a flag meeting at Octroi border outpost in RS Pura sector. In the letter, we strongly protested the origin of the tunnel, which apparently is in Pakistan,” said NS Jamwal, officiating IG, BSF (Jammu Frontier). “We asked them to investigate the matter and inform us about the findings,” he added.

The BSF has not set any deadline for the receipt of the findings from the Pakistan Rangers.

“In a sealed envelop handed over to the Pakistan Rangers, the BSF has also attached pictorial evidences of the tunnel to substantiate our claims,” said a BSF source.

Since the tunnel was in straight alignment from Lumbriyal post in Shakkergarh sector of Pakistan to Chalyari in India, it was deemed appropriate to send pictorial evidence to the Pakistan side, they added.

The tunnel was detected after the fields belonging to Prem Singh and Sukhdev Singh of Chachwal village started caving in due to recent rains.

The officiating IG said adequate measures were being taken to check such misadventures in future. He added that the BSF currently lacked equipment to detect such underground activity.

“New Delhi is aware of the development and professionals there are taking all requisite precautions,” said Jamwal.

He refused to comment on whether the Centre had plans to equip the BSF with gadgets to detect underground activity in future. “It is a policy matter and I can’t comment on it,” he said.

Sources said the BSF’s DG UK Bansal might visit the spot in the first week of August. BSF (Headquarters) IG SK Mishra had visited the tunnel site at Chalyari yesterday.

“New Delhi has taken a serious note of this breach in security and has taken various intelligence agencies to task for their failure,” they added.

The police has already deployed 40 personnel in and around Chachwal.

Protests in Shopian after youth’s killing
Suhail A Shah

Shopian, July 31
A complete shutdown, amid clashes, was observed in Shopian district of south Kashmir today after a truck driver was allegedly beaten to death by some Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

Widespread clashes between protesters and policemen were witnessed in the town and its adjoining areas after the news of the killing of Aqib Hussain Bhat (20), a resident of Balpora Shopian, spread.

“Bhat had gone to a CRPF camp with a water supply truck, from where he was shifted to the hospital in critical condition, under mysterious circumstances,” a source said. The youth’s family alleged that Shah was beaten to death by some CRPF personnel following an argument inside the camp.

“He was assaulted by CRPF personnel inside the camp. They then told us that he had met with an accident. We want a probe into the killing of my son,” said the deceased’s father, Muhammad Yousuf.

But the police refuted the claims of the family and said Shah had met with an accident inside the camp and he had told the same to his kin on the way to the hospital.

“He had told his mother that he was hit by his own truck after it started moving while he stood in the way,” Shopian SP Mumtaz Ahmad said.

He said the police had recorded the statement of the family on Monday night at the hospital, which corroborated that the boy was hit by his own truck.

A special investigation team headed by the Shopian SP had been constituted to investigate the matter and a post-mortem of the body had been conducted.

Normalcy returns to Bandipore
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 31
Life returned to normal in Bandipore town of north Kashmir today after witnessing protests and shutdown following a youth’s killing last week. The town had been on the boil since July 25, after Hilal Ahmad Dar was killed by the Army. Though shops had reopened on Monday, a stray incident of stone pelting was reported from one area in the town. Business activities resumed in the town after six days today.

Protests had erupted after local residents claimed that the slain youth was not involved in militant activity and was allegedly killed in a fake encounter by the Army. The Army, on the other hand, had claimed that the slain youth was a militant.

The J&K Police had arrested Mohammad Ramzan Lone, alias Rameez, an Army informer, and a former militant, Nazir Ahmad Bhat, who had claimed that the Army had staged the encounter.

The police said Lone had posed as a militant sympathiser to entice Dar into militancy and provided him with a rifle and later informed the Army about his movement.

Following police investigations, the Army on Monday ordered a high-level probe headed by a senior Army officer into the incident.

Defence spokesman JS Brar said the Army had ordered a probe into the youth’s killing in Bandipore.

“This probe will be headed by a senior officer. The investigating officer will consider all aspects of the incident, including inputs from people and the police,” he said.

“An earnest endeavour will be made to bring out the truth,” he added.

Sources said a Brigadier-rank officer will conduct the inquiry.

Govt making efforts to develop infrastructure: Ex-Army Chief
Sumit Hakhoo

Jammu, July 31
Former Chief of the Army Staff and Governor of Arunachal Pradesh General JJ Singh (retd) today said though there was relative peace along the Sino-Indian border, the government was making every effort to develop infrastructure. It had raised new Army mountain divisions to ensure that security was not compromised, he added.

Interacting with mediapersons during a seminar in Jammu, General Singh said though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had shown a statesmanship approach towards the northern neighbour, everything was being done to ensure that the guard was not lowered.

“The situation is peaceful on the border and talks are on between leaders of the two countries to sort out the complex border issue. In the meantime, new Army divisions have been raised and money is being invested in the development of roads and other infrastructure,” said the ex-Army Chief.

The Arunachal Governor, who is in Jammu and Kashmir for the release of his autobiography, “A Soldiers General”, today spoke in a seminar organised at the Model Institute of Education and Research (MIER). The GOC-in-C of the Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu Prof MPS Isher were the guests of honour on the occasion. 

Omar reviews restoration work of Sufi shrine
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 31
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a meeting of the J&K Muslim Waqf Board here today to review restoration works of the Pir Dastageer Sahab shrine, which was gutted on June 25. Omar stressed the launch of immediate construction works, tenders of which would be opened in the last week of August.

Matters relating to expansion, internal design of the shrine in consonance with the original heritage characteristic were also discussed in detail. A PowerPoint presentation about the restoration of the shrine was made by the Chairman of the Indian National Trust for Art and Heritage (INTACH), J&K Chapter, Saleem Beig. He said INTACH had preserved the digital maps and designs of the shrine, which would help reconstruct it in its original form.

The Chief Minister announced Rs 1 crore for the construction of a shop-line at Charar-i-Sharief in Budgam district for the rehabilitation of shopkeepers.

Matters pertaining to the beautification of the Hazratbal shrine, polishing of the dome and expansion of the mosque also came up for discussion. The Chief Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Muslim Waqf Board, directed the officials concerned for early formulation of a blueprint for the expansion of the mosque at the Hazratbal shrine complex.

NHRC notice to Centre, J&K
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 31
The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, and Secretary, Ministry of Defence, on the alleged killing of a youth by the Army in an encounter in Bandipore district recently.

The commission has sought for reports within four weeks on the complaint quoting media reports that an encounter had taken place between the Army and militants in Bandipore, in which Hilal Ahmed Dar was killed. 

March to protest fire incidents at shrines foiled
M Aamir Khan
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 31
The attempt of the Mutahida Ulmayee Aehlay Sunnah (MUAS), an amalgam of various religious organisations, to take out a procession towards the Pir Dastageer Sahab shrine was foiled by the police today. A group of MUAS members gathered at the Tourist Reception Centre ground here in the morning from where they had planned to march towards the shrine in the Khanyar area, which was gutted recently. The police took the protesters into preventive custody to foil the march.

MUAS chairman Maulana GR Hami and general secretary of the organisation were detained last night, as the “Khanyar chalo” march had been planned to protest the series of fire incidents that took place across shrines in the Valley recently.

After the Dastageer Sahab fire incident, Hami had said he did not rule out a “conspiracy against Sufi Islam”.

“The fire could have been caused by chance…we do not know the reality….but it can also be a conspiracy against the Sufi sects. Many shrines have been targeted in the past as well and we want to ask the government why it happens to our (shrines) only,” he had said.

Later in the afternoon, a few MUAS members staged a protest at the Press Enclave area.

Talking to mediapersons, MUAS member Maulana Bilal Ahmad regretted that the government had not yet made public the probe into the gutting of the Dastageer Sahab and other shrines.

“We do not want the government money….we can construct the shrines on our own…..we only want that the persons responsible for such incidents be brought to book so that such incidents are not repeated. If no action is taken, it will lead to dire consequences,” he said.

In a statement issued here, MUAS spokesman condemned the detention of its members and subsequent foiling of their scheduled march.

Kashmiri director’s film on mangroves makes it to Osians’s-Cinefan
M Aamir Khan
Tribune News Service

Abdul Rafia Fazili

Srinagar, July 31
A film directed by a Kashmiri filmmaker on dangers posed to the environment by the destruction of mangroves will be screened at the ongoing 12th Osians’s-Cinefan Film Festival in New Delhi tomorrow.

“This is the first ever global film on mangroves, which act as a barrier against tsunamis. It has been observed that places having mangroves report less damage during tsunamis. My film is an effort to save these vulnerable ecosystems and restore them to their former glory,” said Abdul Rafia Fazili, director of “Mangroves guardians of the coast”, over the phone from New Delhi.

The 10-day festival, which will conclude on August 5, will screen 175 films, including 61 short films and 15 world premieres, from 38 countries.

While Fazili’s film on the Western Ghats in Karnataka, showing how global warming had given birth to new varieties of insects and fungus thus affecting people and greenery, was screened at several film festivals earlier. International recognition of his works came through his film “Building safer communities in south Asia”, which was nominated in the “best director” category of the recent International Gold Panda Awards for Films.

Though he did not win the award, Fazili said nomination was quite rewarding for him.

He is currently working with well-known filmmaker Mike Panday and they recently shot a film on the water bodies of Srinagar for “Earth Matters”, a series of environmental programmes.

“The decay of the Dal lake is obvious. Everybody says they feel bad for the lake, but little is being done to reverse the damage. And this is what I want to do — make people do their bit. The film will also explore the threats to the Wular lake,” Fazili said.

The 45-year-old filmmaker is a former mass communication student of Kashmir University.

Vaishno Devi pilgrim killed in landslide

Katra, July 31
A pilgrim was killed following landslides en route to the Vaishno Devi shrine late last night. The pilgrim was killed when a landslide hit the new track near the bhawan.

The yatra was suspended after the incident, said Reasi SSP Thakur Raghubir Singh. The yatra resumed this afternoon after remaining suspended for over 13 hours, he added. The victim, Sushant Anand Sharma, a resident of Motihari, Bihar, was heading towards the shrine with his relatives when the incident happened. — OC

Cop injured in grenade attack

Srinagar, July 31
A constable was injured after some unidentified militants hurled a grenade at a patrol party near Iqbal Market Town Hall, Sopore, in Baramulla district of north Kashmir today, the police said.

The injured has been identified as Anil Kumar of 7th Battalion of the Indian Reserve Police (IRP). Kumar was taken to a hospital. A case has been registered. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. — TNS