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BJP, CPM stage protests over diesel price hike
BJP slams UPA for ‘anti-people’ policies
Pak forces fire on posts in Samba
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6 CRPF men injured in grenade blast
Grenade recovered in Budgam
Wamiq Farooq killing case
Pathribal Case
Cop taken hostage in Baramulla, rescued by Army 4 hours later
Family seeks reinvestigation into Shopian killings
Army will be handicapped
sans AFSPA, say veterans
Air Marshal Raha visits Udhampur
NCM for minority status to Kashmiri Pandits
Rural development dept renamed
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BJP, CPM stage protests over diesel price hike
Srinagar, September 20 The BJP took out a procession from the Polo View Road to the Press Enclave carrying a dummy coffin, which they said represented the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government. The dummy was burnt by protesters, who were also chanting Islamic slogans. Talking to reporters, generally secretary of the BJP’s Kashmir unit Altaf Thakur demanded a rollback of the recent hike in diesel price and also the Centre’s decision to allow FDI in retail. The BJP protesters, around 20 in number, were taken into preventive custody after they attempted to march towards the city centre, Lal
Chowk. Later, CPM state secretary M Y Tarigami and his supporters gathered at the Pratap Park here and raised slogans against inflation. Talking to
mediapersons, Tarigami flayed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent statement where he had welcomed New Delhi’s decision to allow FDI in retail. Urging the Chief Minister to withdraw his statement, he regretted that the Centre was “making people believe” that FDI would generate employment. “How will companies like Walmart help in addressing unemployment? If FDI creates one job, it will on the other hand render 17 persons jobless. The burden of FDI will ultimately hit hard the common man,” Tarigami added. He also flayed the Centre for announcing FDI and hike in diesel price after the Parliament session. Tarigami said the decisions should have been taken in Parliament after a consensus with all parties. The CPM state secretary later led a procession but was halted by the police at Regal
Chowk. The protesters were dispersed peacefully but they disrupted the vehicular movement for some time on the busy road. The bandh call did not evoke any response across Kashmir. All shops, offices, educational institutions and business establishments remained open while the traffic was seen plying normally. |
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BJP slams UPA for ‘anti-people’ policies
Jammu, September 20 Addressing a press conference to express her gratitude towards people of the state for extending their support to Bharat
Bandh, Maheshwari said people had given a clear message to the Congress-led UPA that no one was going to tolerate their “anti-people policies” and it would have to withdraw its decision on FDI immediately. If it failed to do so, the country would witness more protests. She said today’s bandh had once again rejected the policies of the UPA which had been designed to benefit a handful of people and harm the interest of crores of retailers and transporters across the country. The BJP leader said the present UPA government was one of the worst governments the country had witnessed after 1947. “The Commonwealth Games scam was followed by the 2G scam,” she said, adding that the latest coal mines allocation scam of Rs 1.86 lakh crore was the biggest-ever scam in the country. “The resignation of the Prime Minister is must to ensure an impartial inquiry into the scam because when coal mines were illegally allocated, Manmohan Singh was also holding the coal ministry portfolio,” Earlier, Maheshwari led a procession of BJP workers in the city. The rally started from the BJP office and passed through different areas. While addressing party workers, she said people were fed up with the wrong policies of the UPA government. She said the Central government was propagating anti-people
policies. Maheshwari was accompanied by state president of the BJP Shamsher Singh
Manhas, Nirmal Singh, Sat Sharma, Satish Sharma, Yudhvir Sethi, Rajesh Gupta, Munish Sharma and other leaders. |
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Pak forces fire on posts in Samba
Jammu, September 20 The BSF had detected a 540-metre-long transborder tunnel near Chalyari post in Chachwal village. “Today around 4.15 pm, Pakistan Rangers opened small arms fire on two to three BSF posts between Chalyari and New SP Khura compelling us to give them a calibrated response,” said a senior BSF officer. He said the exchange of fire lasted till 6 pm before guns fell silent on both sides. “However, there were no casualties or injuries to border guards of the BSF,” he added. He said the latest firing by the Rangers could have been to stall the BSF’s digging work to unravel the transborder tunnel. “Since our digging work had reached close to the Zero Line and apparently the tunnel was entering Pakistan’s territory, they opened unprovoked fire,” said the officer. For the past one week, the work had been suspended because of rains. It restarted a couple of days back, he added. “The Rangers had been objecting to our investigation ostensibly because the tunnel had originated from their territory and perhaps to save themselves from further embarrassment, they opened fire this evening,” said the officer. On September 17, the Pakistan Army had targeted five Indian posts of Chajaman, Ghora, Kirpan and Kranti in the Nangi Tekri area of the KG sector firing rocket-propelled grenades, and LMG and HMG rounds. Over 2,500 rounds had been fired by Pakistan. |
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6 CRPF men injured in grenade blast
Jammu, September 20 The injured were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu, where their condition was stated to be normal. Official sources told The Tribune that six new recruits received injuries in an “accidental” blast of a “stunt grenade” during practice session in the evening. “The jawans were busy training when a grenade exploded all of a sudden,” the sources said. The injured were identified as Arshad Ahmad of Pulwama, Rajeev Kumar of Rajouri, Suresh Kumar of Bishnah, Mohammad Yaseen of Poonch, Arshad Ahmed Rather of Pulwama and Sushil Kumar of Pathankote. A police team from Nagrota police station rushed to the spot and started investigation into the case.
— TNS |
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Grenade recovered in Budgam
Srinagar, September 20 The Bomb Disposal Squad of the Budgam police was rushed to the area. The police said the grenade was destroyed by the squad on the spot without causing any damage to life or property.
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Wamiq Farooq killing case
Srinagar, September 20 The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, Rajeev Gupta, before whom the complaint was filed on Wednesday, is likely to pass the orders on Friday. Wamiq was allegedly killed by a teargas shell fired by the police on January 31, 2010, in the downtown area of Srinagar. In the application filed by four witnesses namely Farooq Ahmad Wani, Hajira, Rubi Jan and Shakleela, it was alleged that the policemen threatened them of dire consequences by if they did not appear in the SP Headquarters on the 14th of this month. The witnesses claimed in the application that the police was forcibly trying to get their signatures or thumb impressions. The written complaint stated that police personnel from Rainawari Police Station had tried to drag one of the witnesses by his collar. ‘It is prayed that action be taken under law against the SHO of Rainawari police station as he has no locus standi to investigate the case,” the complaint stated. CJM Gupta had on September 9 rejected the progress report submitted by the special investigation team, which was given the task of investigating the case. Demanding an FIR into his killing, Wamiq’s family has been maintaining that he was killed after a tear smoke shell fired by the police hit him on the head while he was playing.The police, on the other hand, has been trying to evade registration of a separate FIR into the boy’s killing. |
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Pathribal Case
Jammu, September 20 However, it refused to share what actually transpired during the
proceedings. “The court martial proceedings were held today but I will not be able to share any information until the legal cell comes up with the draft of the report,” said a senior
Army officer. “We will be issuing a detailed report via the defence PRO late this evening or tomorrow,” he added. The officiating defence PRO, SN
Acharya, however, maintained that the proceedings were on till reports last poured in. “Officially, there are no details with me but we will be issuing a report by tomorrow morning after getting it from the quarters concerned,” he added. The Tribune had reported in its columns on today that families of the slain civilians had decided not to attend the proceedings as witnesses. They had insisted on an open trial of the case besides shifting the Bench to somewhere close to their homes in Kashmir. The Army authorities had summoned family members of five civilians, who were killed in the fake encounter in 2000, for attending the case as witnesses at Nagrota today. The summons had been issued by the General Officer Commanding
(GOC), 16 Corps, Lt Gen AS Nandal, asking the victims’ families to bring all relevant documents or material along with them
to Nagrota. |
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Cop taken hostage in Baramulla, rescued by Army 4 hours later
Baramullah, September 20 Following the kidnapping, protests and subsequent clashes erupted between protesters and the police. As the word spread, panic gripped the town with shopkeepers downing their shutters and people running helter-skelter for safety amid the clashes. Witnesses said Khanday was taken hostage by some local youths, when he was buying vegetables from a shop. “The youths took him to an undisclosed location and made a call to the SHO of Baramulla Police Station to demand release of four persons arrested by the police on Tuesday,” said a source. The kidnappers also demanded the release of Abdul Qayoom Najar of old town who was arrested on the charges of stone throwing this morning. After a deal was struck between senior police officials and the kidnappers over the phone, the police reached the cement bridge in old town with the arrested persons. The kidnappers, sources said, also reached the other side of the bridge with Khandey. A clash broke out when the police threw smoke shells and resorted to lathi charge. Khandey was rescued during the clash. The Army had already sealed the area to ensure the youth did not flee from the spot. Sources claimed a few more youths were later arrested by the police from the old town. Police had on Tuesday arrested at least six persons for stone throwing in Baramullah. The kidnapped policeman is posted at the Baramulla police station. |
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Family seeks reinvestigation into Shopian killings
Srinagar, September 20 Asiya (17) and her sister-in-law Neelofar Jan (22) were found dead on May 30, 2009, at the Rambiara Nallah in Shopian. The victims’ family and people in Shopian had alleged that the women
were “first raped and then murdered”. However, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had described the deaths as “accidental drowning” in its charge sheet before the court. The case had been handed over to the CBI after the Kashmir High Court Bar Association filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the high court in 2009 asking for monitoring of
the case. The PIL, which is still pending before the court, came up for hearing before a double bench on Wednesday. The family’s counsel, GN Shaheen, in his submissions before the bench comprising Justices Jai Pal Singh and Mohammad Yaqboob Mir, said the victims’ family was not satisfied with the investigation of the case by the CBI and therefore, wanted re-investigation into
the case. Shaheen also pointed out that there were contradictions in the individual investigations carried
out by the CBI, the special investigation team of the J&K Police and the Justice Jan (retd) Commission of Inquiry into the incident. Citing several Supreme Court rulings ordering re-investigation in cases such as the 2002 Best Bakery case, Shaheen sought time to file a motion asking for re-investigation in the case. On the other hand, government’s counsel raised the contention that the PIL in the case should be dismissed as it had already been probed by the CBI. After hearing both the sides, the bench granted Advocate Shaheen two weeks time to file an appropriate motion for re-investigation of the case. In the motion, which is a kind of application, a counsel is supposed to raise proper grounds on which he is seeking re-investigation of a case besides specifying the agency which he wants should carry out the reinvestigation. The case file
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Army will be handicapped
sans AFSPA, say veterans
Jammu, September 20 General Parnaik had said that the Jammu and Kashmir was transforming from high-intensity proxy war to lower levels of violence but he had also described the situation as “very fragile”. “Without the AFSPA, the Army will not be able to undertake any anti-insurgency operation. It’s simply not practical for the Army to first approach district magistrates to seek written permission before taking on the militants,” said Brig SS Saini (retd), president of the J&K Poorv Sainik Sewa Parishad. The Army has to be independent in undertaking counter-insurgency operations, he added. “There is no second thought. Going by the situation on ground, geographical location of the state, concentration of militants on the other side of the border and internal situation of Pakistan, the Army simply doesn’t want this Act to go,” said Brigadier Saini. Any plan to withdraw the AFSPA from peaceful areas will also backfire because such areas will become safe havens for militants and the Army will feel handicapped to undertake any counter-insurgency operation there, he added. Major General G S Jamwal (retd) described the demand being raised by the present dispensation as nothing more than a political drama. “Ask any minister, politician or bureaucrat to give up their security. Will they? No, they won’t. If total normalcy has returned then why does the Amarnath yatra need heavy security cover every year?” asked Major General Jamwal. Those who are demanding the withdrawal of the Act should see the situation practically. Remove the Army and see the results the next day, said the retired officer. Over the years, the Army has improved the security situation in the state and now we should not squander away the gains, he added. The retired Army officer said any tampering with the Act, which provides safety to the Army, may spoil all the gains made over the years. “Though the Centre has to take the final call, we cannot afford to ignore the internal situation of Pakistan, which has miserably failed to control terrorism. One wrong move and the situation can turn ugly in a moment, he said. It may be recalled here that during an investiture ceremony of the Northern Command at Akhnoor on January 15 last year, General Parnaik had said that the AFSPA was a necessity for the Army in the state. |
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Air Marshal Raha visits Udhampur
Jammu, September 20 This is his first visit to this premier helicopter base after taking over as AOC-in-C, Western Air Command. The base is of vital importance for air maintenance and support to troops in forward areas of the northern sector. During the visit, Air Marshal Raha interacted with the Army Commander, Northern Command, and air warriors of the Air Force station. He is also likely to visit the Air Force unit at Nathatop and interact with air warriors posted there.
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NCM for minority status to Kashmiri Pandits
Amritsar, September 20 Talking to select mediapersons at the Circuit House here, Dr Ajaib Singh said, “The scourge of terrorism has forced the Kashmiri Pandits to leave their homes in the Kashmir valley and settle at places like Jammu, Chandigarh, Punjab and New Delhi. They have also been victims to human rights violations.” He said the community members, who belong to the service class, were still better off but those who had business in the Valley were in a deplorable condition. He said the commission will soon forward the recommendation to the Centre so that the community could be assisted in some ways, adding that they wish to see renewal of efforts to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits back in the Valley. |
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Rural development dept renamed
Srinagar, September 20 The Cabinet also approved re-designation of the Rural Development Department as the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, an official spokesman said. |
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Even as the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) bandh call failed to evoke any response in the Valley, the state units of the BJP and CPM staged protests here today.
Jammu, September 20
