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Govt submits report to rights panel on unmarked graves
Pak-returned militants’ families complain about financial woes
Militants escape during gun battle in Kulgam
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Former interlocutors back in Valley
5 months on, little done to check highway accidents
NC worker’s custodial death
Former minister gets clean chit in impersonation case
Minor alleges he was forced to clean toilets at juvenile home
J-K to reduce ‘qualifying service’ for promotions
Bus falls into gorge, 25 injured
Health care delivery system discussed
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Govt submits report to rights panel on unmarked graves
Srinagar, August 29 The government in its action taken report (ATR) submitted to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on the unmarked graves in three districts of north Kashmir has claimed that all the “unidentified” militants buried in the “unmarked graves” were “combatants and terrorists.” The Commission in its inquiry had found 2,156 unidentified bodies buried in unmarked graves at 38 places in Baramulla, Bandipore and Kupwara districts of north Kashmir. “The identity of foreign terrorists has always remained a problem and the bodies of these terrorists were accordingly categorised as unidentified. However, it is clear beyond doubt that all those killed were combatants. The bodies of all the slain terrorists that could not be identified were handed over to the concerned local Auqaf committee, which carried out the burials as per the religious rites,” the state government stated in its ATR to the SHRC. A division bench of the SHRC had in its judgment delivered on September 16, 2011, suggested that all methods, including DNA profiling, should be used to identify the bodies buried in 38 places in Kashmir. The bench had made six recommendations to address the issue and linked it to cases of disappeared persons in the state. The ATR stated that the police could not maintain the complete identification profile of the slain militants as they operated under various code names. “The impression that these bodies might be of the persons/civilians who have been reported to be victims of alleged forced disappearance is not correct and is far from truth,” said the government in its ATR. The ATR further said that the DNA examination of all bodies in the unidentified graves would be a huge exercise in a state with “non-existent facilities” for such testing. “The steps (DNA testing) will call for a huge requirement of resources in terms of forensic facilities, availability of professional expertise and economic and social costs”, the government said in its report to the SHRC. The DNA testing of all unmarked graves in Kashmir will “hurt local sentiment” and the “same will attract undesired media attention”, the report observed. “The reopening of unidentified graves and then getting the sample profiled will take months and years to complete and cause prolonged mental trauma to the people. It can also act as a trigger point/event for causing serious law and order disturbances,” the government pointed out while expressing its reservations for opening up unmarked graves. What the Report Says
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Pak-returned militants’ families complain about financial woes
Srinagar, August 29 Former militants, some of whom were teenagers when they crossed over to Pakistan for arms training in the beginning of 1990s, said they were facing financial problems and unemployment crisis, as they had no source of income to feed their families. Most of the former militants have returned with their Pakistani wives and children. Javaid Ahmad, a resident of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, had gone to Pakistan in 1990 for arms training and returned via the Wagah border months before the rehabilitation policy was implemented. He said he was thinking of “selling” his kidney to earn some money to sustain his family. “Our families will go mad here,” said Javaid, who now works as a bus driver in Srinagar. He now earns Rs 3,000 to sustain his family of six. Saira, Javaid’s wife, who is from Karachi, regrets coming to Kashmir and wants the government to allow them to visit Pakistan at least twice a year so that they can meet their families. “If it will not allow us to go (to Pakistan) twice a year, then we will not stay here. We will go back, at any cost,” said Saira, who has two daughters and two sons. Muhammad Ashraf Mir-Gilkar, a resident of Srinagar, who returned home after two decades with his Pakistani wife and four children this winter, earns nothing and had to sell his wife’s ring to buy her a sewing machine and a fan. “I told my children that if nothing changes, we all may have to consume poison,” said Ashraf. Ashraf’s miseries have been compounded because his daughter has not been allowed admission in a school. “The Board authorities are saying they don’t have the permission to admit her in Class XII,” he said. The Pakistan-returned families have now formed an organisation called the POK Return Families Forum POKRFF to press for their demands, which includes proper residential accommodation and employment options. “We were invited to Kashmir. But now there is nothing for us,” said POKRFF president Ahsan Kashmiri. Ahsan (52) had left Kashmir in 1990 to undergo arms training in Pakistan. He returned via Nepal under the rehabilitation policy two months ago, but says situation for them here is dire. He leads more than 100 families under the POKRFF banner. “We contacted the government indirectly over these issues, but we have not got any response so far,” he said. The state government’s rehabilitation policy was approved in November 2010. The policy is meant for all those who had crossed the Line-of-Control for arms training between 1989 and 2009 in Pakistan, but had not indulged in militant activities and were ready to return, surrender and settle as normal citizens. |
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Militants escape during gun battle in Kulgam
Anantnag, August 29 Sources said the suspected militants were holed up in a residential house in the village when, probably on a tip-off, security personnel cordoned off the area this morning. “The joint contingent included the Special Operations group of the Kulgam Police, the 9th Battalion of the RR and the 18th Battalion of the CRPF,” There was almost a four-hour-long encounter between the two parties, but the militants were able to escape from the house. The joint contingent of the security forces kept the area cordoned off for some time. “A hideout was found in the residential house, where the militants had been holed up,” a source said. The IG CRPF, D N Ramesh, visited the encounter site and refused to call the incident a security lapse while talking to
mediapersons. |
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Former interlocutors back in Valley
Srinagar, August 29 This is the former interlocutors’ first visit to the state after the three-member team, led by Padgaonkar, submitted its report after a year-long exercise to the Union Home Ministry in October 2011. While the report was thoroughly deliberated upon by the Central government, it was made public on May 24. During the year-long exercise of gathering inputs, the team had met people from different sections of society. The separatists, however, had refused to meet them. On the first leg of the visit, Padgaonkar and Radha called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today. They are also scheduled to meet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, some of his ministers and other political leaders. An official spokesman said Padgaonkar and Radha briefed the Governor about the developments since the interlocutors’ report was submitted to the Centre and about their present visit to Srinagar and Jammu. They planned to meet important segments of society for obtaining meaningful inputs with regard to the recommendations made in the report. The interlocutors’ report had touched almost all political, social and cultural issues in the state. M M Ansari, the third member of the team, has said it is up to the government to implement the recommendations. “Our effort was to talk to people from different walks of life,” he said. |
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5 months on, little done to check highway accidents
Kishtwar, August 29 A drive on the 110-km Batote-Kishtwar national highway was enough to gauge the extent of government apathy. The highway lacked crash barriers, concrete parapets of a specific height and deployment of traffic cops. All five districts are still without “special traffic police posts” and basic life-saving ambulances on the highway. The government had declared Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch districts accident-prone following frequent road mishaps in these areas. It was promised that special focus would be laid on curbing traffic violations like overloading, rash driving and poor condition of vehicles. “The entire highway in the erstwhile Doda district is a ‘danger zone’ in the absence of crash barriers and concrete parapets at vulnerable points. People like me who are travelling for the first time on this highway find it difficult to navigate treacherous and dangerous curves,” Sunil Sharma, a Jammu University scholar, told The Tribune at Thatri town on the highway. He was returning from Gulabgarh after performing the Machail pilgrimage in Kishtwar district. He pointed out the government should expedite the process of installing crash barriers and cemented parapets along the
entire highway. Incidentally, the government while declaring the districts accident-prone had envisaged construction of concrete crash barriers, parapets and speed barriers on all sharp and blind curves. It had also decided to set up model driving schools and strengthen the operations of State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses to bring down the number of road fatalities. The government had made it mandatory for the drivers of all passenger and heavy vehicles plying in these districts to go for “driving test or trial” every six months. Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon said he had discussed the absence of crash barriers and parapets in all accident-prone districts with the Union Ministry of Highway and Road Transport, which had assured full support to the department. “I had a meeting with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways CP Joshi, who assured full support to the state transport department while taking all corrective measures to curb the number of road mishaps,” Akhoon said while admitting to the problems on the highway. He disclosed that Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all districts had been asked to look into the rampant violations, particularly overloading of vehicles and rash driving. Road Fatalities Over 5,000 people have lost their lives in road mishaps across the state in the last five years. The majority of the road accidents took place in the five hilly accident-prone districts of Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch, where over 1,000 people died in three years
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NC worker’s custodial death
Srinagar, August 29 Syed Yousuf, a National Conference worker, died in police custody on September 30, 2011, after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah handed him over to the crime branch of the police on September 29, 2011. Talib Hussain, Yousuf’s son, who was today cross-examined before the one-man Bedi Commission probing the NC worker’s death, opposed the statement of crime branch officials, that the family was informed about Yousuf’s admission to the hospital. “I got Talib Hussain, Yousuf’s son examined before the Commission today, wherein he opposed the statement of the witness, Nazir Ahmad, that he had informed him about his father’s admission to Police Hospital. Nazir is the Munshi concerned at Police Station, Crime Branch,” said Mushtaq A Dar, counsel representing Yousuf’s family. In his statement, Nazir had stated that he had informed Talib Hussain about Yousuf’s admission to Police Hospital and had called him up around 7 am on September 30, 2011, hours before Yousuf’s death. However, while being cross-examined before the Commission today, Talib denied this, claiming that he has “never ever met the witness (Nazir). He also told the Commission that his father was “stout, healthy and without any disease or infirmity”. The Commission is now scheduled to cross-examine other witnesses to be produced by the counsel in the second week of September when it convenes again. The Chief Minister had summoned Yousuf to his official residence at Gupkar after party workers had alleged that he took money from them after promising a legislator’s job to one and a ministerial berth to another. On November 18, 2011, the government had appointed Supreme Court Judge Justice HS Bedi (retd) as the head of the one-man Bedi Commission to probe Yousuf’s death in police custody. A magisterial probe has given a clean chit to the Chief Minister in the case. |
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Former minister gets clean chit in impersonation case
Jammu, August 29 As kin of some influential persons were allegedly involved in the case, the matter was handed over to the CBI for an impartial investigation. The medical entrance examination was held on August 21, 2010, and Saroori was forced to resign within a week. Two years after he was forced to resign, Saroori got a clean chit because his name did not figure in the challan produced by the CBI in the court on Tuesday. Although Saroori is not directly claiming the Ministry, he reminded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about his words on the floor of the Assembly. “The Chief Minister had announced on the floor of the House that I (Saroori) would be taken back into the Cabinet whenever I get a clean chit,” said Saroori. He, however, said the decision in this regard would be taken by the Congress high command. “I will accept whatever decision the high command will take,” he said. Sources close to Saroori said the former minister had intensified his efforts to take back the Ministry. Saroori, who owns allegiance to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, is likely to visit New Delhi soon to convince the Congress high command. The Chief Minister has been handling the R&B Department since Saroori’s resignation despite the portfolio being allotted to the Congress as per the agreement between the two coalition partners. For the last two years, state Congress leadership has been trying to get back the R&B portfolio. |
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Minor alleges he was forced to clean toilets at juvenile home
Srinagar, August 29 The boy alleged he was not provided dinner and was forced to clean bathrooms and toilets at the Juvenile Home. The juvenile home is administered by the Social Welfare Department at Harwan on the outskirts of the city. “When I was taken to the Harwan police station (referring to the juvenile home), they made me clean bathrooms and toilets. They also made me clean the floor with a cloth. I was not given food at night,” he said. The boy is currently out on bail. A student of Class VI, the boy said he was also forced to spent a night in isolation “in a dark room” on the third floor of the Home and was “verbally abused” by policemen. A local court had on Tuesday granted bail to the minor boy after he was arrested on Sunday from his house in the Ganderpora area of the city. He was lodged at the Safa Kadal police station before a remand court on Monday ordered that the boy be sent to the juvenile home. The boy also alleged he was “severely beaten” by policemen at the police station, who demanded that he disclose the names of other boys who had participated in stone-throwing on Eid. An official of the Social Welfare Department, however, denied that the boy was treated badly and added that they would investigate into the allegations. “We care for them like we care for our own kids. I am sure nothing of that sort happened. Still, I will investigate into the matter and ask the staff about the boy’s complaint,” said Ghulam Ahmad Mapnu, in charge, juvenile home. He, however, said cleaning of toilets and bathrooms was “part of the timetable” for minors who were lodged at the juvenile home. “This keeps them busy,” said Mapnu. The minor boy was booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 152 (assaulting or obstructing a public servant when suppressing riot), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage). |
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J-K to reduce ‘qualifying service’ for promotions
Jammu, August 29 “It has been observed that in the initial gazetted cadre, posts in various services remain vacant, as officials in the feeding cadres do not possess the required qualifying service,” said a circular issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. It stated that all administrative secretaries had been requested to furnish information to the GAD with copies to the ARI and Trainings Department within a week. Ram Kumar Sharma, president, J&K Employees’ Joint Action Committee (R), said the decision would benefit employees who were eagerly waiting for their promotions. Sharma said there were some bigger employees’ issues which needed to be settled by the government without delay. |
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Protest held against Assam violence
Jammu, August 29 Addressing the demonstration, leaders of the Manch said the tragic circumstances through which Assam was passing was a matter of concern for all countrymen. They expressed anguish and pain at the suffering and losses faced by people of Assam in the recent violence in Bodoland Territorial Area District and Dhubri. They said the tension between Bangladeshi infiltrators and local communities had prevailed in the region for many years. The Manch leaders asked the state government and the Centre to identify Bangladeshi infiltrators living in various parts of the state. They also demanded deletion of their names from voters lists. |
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Bus falls into gorge, 25 injured
Jammu, August 29 As many as 20 injured people were shifted to the district hospital in Udhampur and four others were taken to the Public Health Centre in Panchari. Reports said that no one had sustained serious injuries. |
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Health care delivery system discussed
Srinagar, August 29 The Governor stressed the vital importance of ensuring effective delivery of satisfactory medical and health care services to all the people of the state, an official spokesman said. Matters relating to the advancement of the horticulture and floriculture sectors, which have a high potential for generating surpluses and enlarging employment opportunities in the state, were discussed during the meeting. |
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