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3 Hizb men held for threatening panches
Ahead of winter, Army fortifies LoC
Baramulla cop’s kidnappers identified
Azad’s visit boosts morale of his faction
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Autumn Session
Weapons training to villagers takes a backseat in the state
Cross-LoC Trade
2 soldiers killed as vehicle rolls into gorge
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3 Hizb men held for threatening panches
Srinagar, September 23 A police spokesman said one sniper rifle and two pistols were recovered from their possession. The spokesman said a case had been registered against the three arrested militants and further investigation was on. The militants were arrested after the police received specific information about their location. A police source said the three militants were active for the last three months and were operating under Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Shabir, alias Adil, a resident of Hayina village near Tral town who became a militant more than seven years ago. The arrested militants, aged between 18 to 21 years, were involved in printing posters which targeted the sarpanches and panches in the area. Several sarpanches and panches publicly offered their resignation in recent months after posters threatening them with dire consequences were pasted in villages in several districts across the Kashmir valley. The panchayat elections which were held last year were considered a major accomplishment by the state government. The police source said the posters, which were pasted around the Tral area, were printed at a computer centre owned by one of the arrested militants, Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, who also operated the centre. Fayaz’s brother Wasim, who was also a militant with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit, was killed in an encounter with security forces a few years ago, the source said. Another arrested militant Qashif Rashid was working as a passenger cab driver, the source said. |
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Ahead of winter, Army fortifies LoC
The Army, which guards 224.5-km-long LoC in the Jammu region, has put in place all requisite measures to thwart intrusion attempts by militants. “A multi-tier anti-infiltration grid is in place and the foot patrolling has been increased all along the LoC. As part of their (Pakistan’s) pre-winter strategy, we may see a spurt in infiltration attempts in the days ahead,” said a senior Army officer. He disclosed that the entire LoC had been “sensitised” and a complete mechanism had also been put in place. “While surveillance has been increased along traditional routes of infiltration, locals and intelligence agencies have also been geared up. The Army is trying its best to ensure zero infiltration this year as well,” said the officer. It may be stated here that the Army had been successful in ensuring zero infiltration along the LoC south of the Pir Panjal range in the past two years. “The vulnerable areas along the LoC are under constant surveillance of the Army and informers have also been alerted to immediately inform us about strangers, if spotted in forward areas,” he added. A source in an Intelligence agency divulged that in the past two months there were at least seven infiltration attempts by armed militants in the KG sector alone. He said Intelligence inputs suggested that over 300 militants had been moved into various launch pads on the other side of the LoC to try and push them before the winter. It has been learnt that the Army has fortified the LoC deploying more soldiers, particularly in Poonch and Rajouri districts. Intrusion attempt in Poonch
JAMMU: The Army late last night foiled an intrusion bid by a group of six militants in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district. However, the Army has denied any such incident in the KG sector. Official sources said around 9 pm yesterday a group of six militants tried to enter the Indian territory from the KG sector in Poonch district. “In fact they had crossed the LoC but could not breach the barbed fence when soldiers of 3 Grenadiers guarding two forward posts of Dogra and Ghora spotted them,” said a source. Consequently, the troops challenged the intruders and opened preventive fire forcing the militants to escape back to PoK, added the source. When contacted, a senior Army officer said officially there was no such incident last night. |
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Baramulla cop’s kidnappers identified
Srinagar, September 23 “We have identified the five persons who were involved in the kidnapping of the policeman but none of them have been detained so far as we were busy tackling the law and order situation,” said a police officer. A case was registered at the Baramulla Police Station under Section 364 (kidnapping or abducting with an intent to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code against the five accused. The kidnappers had held Mushtaq Ahmad Khanday of the Indian Reserve Police hostage and demanded release of Abdul Qayoom Najar who was detained by the police last week on the charge of stone throwing. “Those who were involved in the kidnapping include two brothers of Najar. Since 2008, over a dozen cases of stone throwing have been registered against Najar in the Baramulla police station. He was also actively involved in the recent stone throwing incidents in the town,” said the officer. The police said Najar was pardoned in 2010 after the state government announced general amnesty to the stone throwers in the Valley. Hawaldar Khanday was kidnapped by a group of youths from the main market in Baramulla on September 20 when he in shopping with another policeman. While Khanday was dragged towards the old town locality by the group, his colleague managed to escape and later informed senior officials about the incident. The Army and police later swung into action and rescued Khandey within a few hours of the incident. |
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Azad’s visit boosts morale of his faction
Jammu, September 23 Although Azad’s supporters are tightlipped about what transpired in their closed-door meetings with the Union Minister, sources said Azad loyalists pointed out that the “official” PCC has virtually sidelined them in the day-to-day functioning of the party. They urged the Union Minister to play a dominate role in the state politics so as to counter the detractors. Azad, who reached Jammu on Saturday, held a series of meetings with his supporters and met a number of delegations. On Saturday evening, a meeting of Azad confidantes was held in which various issues were discussed. Meanwhile, newly elected chairman of the Jammu Citizens’ Cooperative Bank Limited (JCCBL) Dinesh Gupta along with other board of directors of the Bank met Azad and apprised him about the elections. Since Gupta joined the PDP on Friday, his meeting with the Union Minister this morning has raised many eye-brows. Although Gupta and other directors have termed the meeting as a courtesy call, sources said the board of directors has sought Azad’s intervention to keep a check on the activities of a Congress minister. The Union Minister also paid floral tributes to last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh on his 117th birthday today. In an informal chat with mediapersons after paying the tributes, Azad slammed the Trinamool Congress, saying steps like allowing the FDI in the retail sector, hiking diesel prices and putting a cap on domestic LPG could have been taken earlier if there was no pressure from parties such as the one headed by Mamata Banerjee. He said there was no threat to the UPA government. “Our government has the support of over 300 MPs in the Lok Sabha,” he said. |
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Autumn Session
Srinagar, September 23 His resolution seeking clemency to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in the last autumn session had led to high-voltage drama in the Assembly. “The first resolution pertains to the withdrawal of all FIRs against the youths accused of pelting stones and other charges after 2008 (Amarnath land row agitation),” Rasheed said during anti-India demonstrations and protests. He claimed that the youths were still being harassed by the police stations concerned despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s “reiteration” that the FIRs would be withdrawn. “The government needs to ensure that all these FIRs are withdrawn without imposing any preconditions,” he added. The Chief Minister had last year announced general amnesty for the youths involved in around 1,200 stone-throwing cases. The second resolution seeks the control of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to the local Kashmiri Pandits that would “give them a sense of belonging and self-confidence”. He also seeks to make the Muslim Waqf Board an “apolitical institution, as it does not belong to any political party or family or individual”. The MLA has appealed to all political parties, especially the ruling National Conference and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to vote in favour of his resolutions if “they have any concern towards the people of the state”. Rasheed is known for his vociferous outbursts in the Assembly and has been marshalled out on many occasions in the past. His resolution seeking clemency to Guru had lapsed in September last year after pandemonium broke out in the House, as BJP members, supported by Panthers Party MLAs, demanded that the resolution be dropped from the listed business. While the Congress, too, had created uproar at the same time over the BJP cross-voting row, Rasheed had alleged that the resolution had been “sabotaged” at the “behest of New Delhi”.
Controversial leader
Rasheed is known for his vociferous outbursts in the Assembly and has been marshalled out on many occasions in the past
The demands
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BJP to consider quota for Sikh refugees in party-ruled states
Jammu, September 23 When some participants demanded reservation for their wards in professional colleges in the BJP-ruled states on the pattern in which displaced Kashmir Pandits were getting it, Ahluwalia promised that he would take up issue in the coming national executive committee meeting of the party. Ahluwalia said Sikhs had made several sacrifices for the nation but the rulers had not done justice with the community. Promising to take up all genuine demands of the Sikhs in the state at the highest level, the BJP leader said the party had always been serious about the grievances of the community. He said the Sikhs in the state were in a minority and needed to be extended all benefits enjoyed by minorities in other parts of the country. State BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas, chief spokesman of the party Jitendra Singh, Akali Dal leader Surinder Singh and MLAs Ashok Khajuria, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Sukhnandan Kumar and Sham Choudhary also spoke on the occasion. |
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Bad governance fuelling anti-national sentiment in J&K, says Mufti
Jammu, September 23 While addressing a gathering of Jammu residents, Mufti said unlike other parts of the country, bad governance in the state was fuelling separatists and anti-national sentiments, especially in the Kashmir valley. Although Mufti did not make a direct attack on the present regime, he seized the opportunity to highlight the “blunders” committed by the successive NC regimes in the state since 1947, which he said were reasons for the growing anger and mistrust among people. Mufti, who had been the president of the Pradesh Congress Committee for 15 years, also took a dig at the Congress leadership for ignoring the sacrifices made by workers when the party entered into an alliance with the National Conference (NC) in 1987. “The workers at the grass-roots level felt cheated when the Congress formed an alliance with the NC, ignoring the fact that party workers were fighting on the streets to facilitate an alternative in the state,” he said, claiming that the infamous “rigged” Assembly elections of 1987 was the main reason of the eruption of militancy in the state. Mufti said their party was committed towards removing regional disparities. “During our tenure, we treated all regions and sub-regions equally. We would further facilitate the process of bridging this gap to ensure justice and equality to all regions and sub-regions of the state,” he said. Mufti also stressed the need for initiating sustained dialogue between India and Pakistan focusing on the Kashmir issue. He opined the dialogue should not be related to events but should be process-driven and result-oriented so that elements detrimental to peace are sidelined and the process of reconciliation could be taken to a logical conclusion. blames nc
for mistrust
Although PDP patron Mufti did not make a direct attack on the present regime, he seized the opportunity to highlight the “blunders” committed by the successive National Conference regimes in the state since 1947, which he said were reasons for the growing anger and mistrust among people
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Weapons training to villagers takes a backseat in the state
Jammu, September 23 But the village defence committees (VDCs) formed by the state government in 1995 to combat militants remain intact and are being imparted refresher courses from time to time. “Though the Army in the past had been training villagers in handling weapons, since the situation has improved over a period of time, the scale of pace has come down. But we have been providing arms training to the VDCs,” said a senior Army officer. “We are still available to train them. The training is still on but not on a large scale,” said the officer. The Army had organised a special arms training camp in Rajouri for students, including girls, he added. The officer recalled how the Army had trained a VDC in Kulali village, near Hill Kaka, where Operation “Sarp Vinash” was carried out by the Army in 2003 when over 60 terrorists were killed. Before 2003, over 300 terrorists had made the Hill Kaka region, near Surankote tehsil of Rajouri district, their safe haven. “This VDC, which has women members, remains effective even today and is working in tandem with the Army. It is the most successful VDC,” he said. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had provided weapons to the Kulali VDC and 16 Rashtriya Rifles had trained it. Some members of this VDC were even given AK-47 assault rifles to counter terrorists. In Poonch district, the Army has almost stopped training villagers in handling weapons because of the improvement in situation. The presence of the Army has also thinned over the years. It is now more visible on the frontiers than in the hinterland, said a source. IGP (Jammu zone) Dilbag Singh said though the situation had improved because of the efforts of various security forces, VDCs continued to function as before. “In the past six months, VDCs in Doda, Rajouri and Poonch districts were visited by senior police officers and their weapons were inspected,” the IGP said. “We had recently conducted firing practice for the VDCs in Ramban and Doda districts,” he added. “Militancy is down but not out and hence VDCs need to remain alert. Their role can be modified later on,” he added. Combating militancy
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Cross-LoC Trade
The president of the Cross-LoC Traders' Association, Pawan Anand, told The Tribune that due to the delay by the custodian officials at Chakka-da-Bagh, the bananas rotted on the Zero Line, incurring losses to the tune of Rs 1 crore to the Indian traders. Absence of custodian Hamid Sheikh cost the traders dear after twenty vehicles full of this fruit stood at the Zero Line for three days for documentation clearance from him. On the other hand, Pak mangoes are flying off the shelves in the Indian market, reasons being the high quality of the fruit, and the timing. These mangoes have reached the Indian market when local mango season was over, said Anand. These mangoes are selling at a price of Rs 80 per kg which is quite high when compared to the rate of local mangoes. Bhola Ram, a local fruit vender, said, “We earn a handsome amount by selling these mangoes, as people are eager to buy these without much bargaining.” The Cross-LoC Traders' Association chief expressed concern over decline in the trade items. “We received nine vehicles of mangoes in the recent trade at Chakka-da-Bagh, 20 more vehicles of mangoes would reach here if timely clearance is given by the custodian,” he added.
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Musical concert against ragging held in Srinagar
Srinagar, September 23 Soulful Kashmiri folk songs, Sufiyana and instrumental music wee performed by renowned Kashmiri musician Dhananjay Kaul and his troupe. Governor N.N Vohra, the chief guest, witnessed the concert along with his wife Usha Vohra. Writers, intellectuals, social activists, school and college students from various districts of the Valley attended the concert. “I would like to express my gratitude to the J&K Governor as he has always been a great support,” said Dr Kachroo. “Violence in colleges is not a myth as is evident from the daily ragging incidents. There are many more such incidents that go unreported,” said Dr Kachroo. He said coordinated efforts of teachers and students were needed to stop the menace. |
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2 soldiers killed as vehicle rolls into gorge
Jammu, September 23 The vehicle was on its way to Rajouri from Mandi to fetch ration for the soldiers of the 40 Rashtriya Rifles, said a source. The deceased have been identified as driver Signalman Shiv Kumar and his co-driver Vinod while the injured soldier has been identified as Basooda, who was taken to the Garrison Hospital in
Rajouri. |
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Jammu, September 23
Rajouri, September 23