The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	CIVILIAN DEATHS IN 2010 Police says no need for further probe, opposes inquiry commission Claims final reports in 76 cases have been submitted in competent courts Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 22 After evading a direct stand over civilian deaths in 2010 for a long time, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has made it clear that it does not need to further investigate the matter as "investigation in almost all the cases has been completed". It has said that the term of commission of inquiry, which was formed to probe civilian deaths in 2010 has “already expired” and it is “not feasible to restore it” and that “no purpose will be served” by appointing a new commission of inquiry at this stage. This has been stated in the status report filed by Advocate General M Ishaq Qadri on behalf of the Director General of Police before the High Court today. Qadri also represents the state government and other official respondents in the court. Expressing displeasure over the delay in the appointment of new probe penal members, the J&K High Court had on June 6 given the state government the “last and final opportunity” of four weeks to take a clear stand on the commission of inquiry which was formed to probe civilian deaths in 2010. The high court is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by advocate Sofi Imtiyaz seeking investigation and registration of FIRs into 117 civilian killings allegedly by security forces in 2010. "The tenure of the commission of inquiry has not been extended till date and hence the it stands expired. Under the existing laws, it was not found feasible to restore this already constituted commission to start the leftover work,” it has been submitted in the status report which is signed by Director General of Police Ashok Prasad. Stating that out of the total 78 cases registered in 117 civilian deaths in 2010, final reports of investigation in 76 cases have been submitted before the competent courts. In the status report, it has been further submitted that “there are no cases which are under investigation” as was sought in the PIL. As regards to the remaining two cases, the police has said that these are pending before a court in Anantnag as occurrence in one of the cases was disputed. “Since action has already been completed, which fully satisfies the prayer of the petitioner, no case remains which could be referred to the denovo (new) commission of inquiry,” it said. "In addition, the findings of the denovo commission of inquiry, if constituted, would ultimately lead to the proceedings before the courts of competent jurisdiction only. This process has already been completed since cases are pending before the competent courts,” it has been submitted in the status report filed by the Advocate General. "As a result, no useful purpose would appear to be served by constituting a denovo commission of inquiry at this stage,” it further states. Fact file Following the killing of civilians in the 2010 summer unrest, the government had on June 26 in the same year appointed a one-man commission of inquiry headed by Justice (retd) Bashir-ud-Din to probe the killings Justice (retd) YP Nargotra was appointed another member of the commission on July 29. The commission was asked to probe the killing of 17 persons in Kashmir on account of action taken by the police and security forces In October, the state government told the High Court that Justices Bashir and Nargotra had demitted office as members of the commission and the process for finding their replacement was on However, despite the passage of over eight months since October 2012, the government is yet to appoint new members of the commission
	Kashmir reopens after three-day shutdown over Ramban killings Azhar Qadri/TNS Srinagar, July 22 Business establishments were reopened in Kashmir after remaining shut for the last three days in protest against the killing of four civilians by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Ramban district last week. All markets in and around Lal Chowk, the commercial nerve centre of Srinagar, were open on Monday for the first time since Thursday when the four civilians were shot dead. Shops, banks and other business centres remained open in the city while public transport resumed services across all inter-district and intra-district routes as tension began to ease after days of unrest. The region remained under curfew and restrictions since Thursday as residents observed a three-day shutdown which was called by several separatist and religious groups. The shutdown, which lasted till Sunday evening and was marked by stone-throwing demonstrations, was called to protest the killing of four civilians by BSF personnel. According to a police spokesman, more than 100 persons, most of them personnel of the state police and Central security forces, had been injured during demonstrations in the last three days. Several localities were still observing a shutdown and clashes took place between youths and police personnel at a few places. Residents of Tral and Qazigund in south Kashmir and Ganderbal in central Kashmir said the areas remained shut for the fourth day. Bemina locality on the outskirts of Srinagar observed a partial shutdown. A resident of Budgam district in central Kashmir said the town and several adjoining localities were placed under curfew after clashes broke out between two groups in the district. A police officer posted in the area said the situation was under control and eight villages in Budgam were placed under curfew.
	60,000 children not enrolled in school Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, July 22 Around 60,000 children were not enrolled in school in the trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir in 2012-13, a fact which punctures the state government's claims of achieving 100 per cent literacy. Among them, nearly 50 per cent have never attended school. These figures are alarming considering the liberal funding from the Government of India under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to bring out-of-school children back to schools. According to the School Education Department, in 2012-13, there were 59,760 children - 23,500 boys and 36,260 girls - in the state who were either dropouts or those who had never gone to school. "Notwithstanding that literacy of the state has increased by 13 per cent and is pegged at 68 per cent, nearly 50 per cent (30,000) children, comprising about 16,000 girls and 14,000 boys within the age group of 6-14 years, have never attended school in their life," said an official source. Sources said the department was able to bring just 6,483 children back to schools in 2011. They said such a high number of out-of-school children put a big question mark on the government's claims regarding universalisation of education. "The need of the hour is revamping and restructuring the existing education system to motivate such children to come to schools and get education," said a source. The sources said the state government had also been snubbed by the Government of India, which had doled out crores of rupees for its schemes such as the SSA and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), for its failure to achieve the objective of these schemes and to effectively identify the out-of-school children. As per the 2011 census, the state had about 72.50 lakh literate people, including 43.70 lakh males and 28.74 lakh females. A senior official of the School Education Department posted in the Civil Secretariat, on the condition of anonymity, claimed: "The number of such children has decreased significantly from 3.76 lakh identified during the 2001 Census to 60,000 in 2012. The department has launched a survey called Talaash under the SSA to identify out-of-school children. Besides, these children are being motivated to come back to school under the Special Enhancement Drive." The officer said the Zonal Education Officers had also been asked to conduct four programmes in a week covering five panchayats for motivating parents to enroll their wards in schools. Notwithstanding the fact that the literacy of the state has increased by 13 per cent and is pegged at 68 per cent, nearly 50 per cent (30,000) children, comprising about 16,000 girls and 14,000 boys within the age group of 6-14 years, have never attended school in their life — An official source
	Case registered over rumours on Facebook Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 22 The police has registered a case against unidentified Facebook users for trying to vitiate the atmosphere by spreading rumours about the death of a boy in north Kashmir. A police spokesman said a case under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act and Section 505 of the Ranbir Penal Code was registered at the Kothi Bagh police station. The spokesman said Facebook users who spread the rumours about the killing of a boy at Sumbal in north Kashmir were being identified. “All these Facebook miscreants are being identified and action will be taken against them,” the police spokesman said. “Rumours of a young boy being killed were floated by certain fake identity holders. A person with Facebook identity as Syed Naseem had uploaded the report about the death of a youth at Safa Pora which was not true,” the spokesman said. While some media reports said Naseem was the son of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, a police officer looking after the investigation said they were trying to establish the identity of the users. “We only have uniform resource locaters with us and are working to establish the identities,” the officer said.
	State plans self-sufficiency in food production Submits 125 irrigation schemes to Centre for funding Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, July 22 To make Jammu and Kashmir self-sufficient in food production, the state government has decided to bridge the gap between gross area sown and gross area irrigated to enhance agricultural production. The Irrigation Department has taken up 133 major and medium irrigation schemes which would be completed by March-end next year. Furthermore, 125 new schemes have been framed and submitted to the Union Government for sanctioning and funding. Following the failure of the state government to provide irrigation facilities to gross area sown, the food grain deficiency is increasing each year. According to the official documents tabled in the Legislative Council during the last budget session, the state is expected to face nearly 36 per cent food grain deficit in 2013-14, 40 per cent during 2020-21 and the figure would go up to 50 per cent in 2030-31. The assessment was done on the basis of the population growth projected at 2.5 per cent annual increase beyond 2014 and the food grain production increase by one per cent annually. The latest Economic Survey report released by the state government revealed that out of the 1,223 thousand hectares of gross area sown during 2011-12, only 527 thousand hectares (43.09 per cent) was irrigated and the remaining agricultural land was mainly rainfed. The gap between the available cultivation area and irrigated areas is very wide in the hilly and Kandi areas of Samba, Udhampur, Ramban, Rajouri, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Kathua and Baramulla districts. In Udhampur district, out of total 82,859 hectares of the agricultural land available, only 5,311 hectares is irrigated. Similarly, in Ramban district, only 5.63 per cent of the agricultural land is irrigated. In Rajouri, the irrigation facilities are available to only 8.45 per cent of the total agricultural land. In the mountainous districts of Doda and Kishtwar, only 9.51 per cent and 13.43 per cent of the agricultural land is irrigated through different sources. During the recent meeting with the Planning Commission of India, the state government pointed out that 60 minor irrigation schemes were completed during 2012-13 and 133 major and medium schemes were to be completed during 2013-14. In Jammu and Kashmir, irrigation potential is created under funding through the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, Border Area Development Programme and the State Sector/District Sector schemes (including the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development loan assistance). TOWARDS BETTERMENT The Irrigation Department has taken up 133 major and medium irrigation schemes which would be completed by March-end next year The state is expected to face nearly 36 per cent food grain deficit in 2013-14, 40 per cent during 2020-21 and the figure would go up to 50 per cent in 2030-31 Out of the 1,223 thousand hectares of gross area sown during 2011-12, only 527 thousand hectares (43.09 per cent) was irrigated and the remaining agricultural land was mainly rainfed 60 minor irrigation schemes were completed during 2012-13 and 133 major and medium schemes are to be completed during 2013-14
	Former minister, legislators call on Governor Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 22 Former minister Bashir Ahmad Nengroo, PDP MLA Nizam-ud-din Bhat and MLC Shehnaz Ganai called on Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhawan here today. Bhat raised the issues of bringing Bandipora district under the Border Area Development Programme, more funds for the district under Tribal Sub-Plan, widening and upgrade of the Srinagar-Bandipora-Gurez road, expeditious upgrade of the Bandipora-Sopore road and construction of a hospital building at Bandipora. He took up the issues of other infrastructure development projects in the district and speedy implementation of social security schemes and programmes in the area. The Governor and Bhat discussed issues relating to the importance of ensuring the integrity and functional efficiency of public institutions. Ganai presented to the Governor a memorandum of development-related demands of Poonch and Rajouri districts. She urged the launch of special drives for the recruitment in Central paramilitary forces of the youth from Rajouri and Poonch districts, facilities for pilgrims visiting Buddha Amarnath shrine and speedy implementation of socio-economic development schemes and programmes. Nengroo discussed with the Governor various issues related to rapid economic advancement and implementation of major welfare and development schemes and programmes.
	Indian Science Congress 2014 Vohra for close coordination among stakeholders Tribune News Service Jammu, July 22 The University of Jammu - the country’s first ISO certified institute of postgraduate studies and higher learning - is quite enthusiastic about hosting the 101st Indian Science Congress from February 3 to 7 next year. The theme of the proposed science congress would be “Innovations in Science and Technology for Inclusive Development”. Around 12,000 scientists, including top scientists from within and outside the country, are likely to participate in the event. This is for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that the state would host the science congress. The main activities of the event would comprise the inaugural ceremony, 14 parallel sessions on identified themes, science communicators meet, women science congress, children science congress, science exhibition, book exhibition and the valedictory function. Official sources said the authorities of the University of Jammu were in constant touch with various government departments and had held detailed discussions relating to boarding and lodging of the delegations which would come from various parts of the country and abroad, transportation, traffic regulation, medical facilities, upgrade and creation of infrastructural facilities, security and general cleanliness. Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chancellor of the university, has also been showing a keen interest in the event and has called for close coordination among various stakeholders and agencies to make the scientific event a grand success. The Governior suggested that climate change and global warming could be among the areas of focus of the science congress. On July 20, the Governor reviewed arrangements being put in place for the event in Srinagar and held a high-level meeting of the Vice Chancellors of all nine universities of the state, the Director of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Director, Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine, Jammu, Director, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, principals of medical colleges at Jammu and Srinagar, principal of the College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu, and Director, Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Srinagar. The Governor earlier held discussions with RC Sobti, president of the Indian Science Congress Association. He asked all of them to join hands to organise the scientific event in a most befitting manner.
	NGO for special children presents its demands Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 22 A deputation of Al-Habib Foundation, Shalimar, Srinagar, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and informed him about their difficulties and demands. The demands presented by the five-member delegation of the NGO, led by its chairperson Tasleema Kounsar, were pertaining to financial support, accommodation and transport facilities for the school run by the foundation for educating special children. The delegation briefed the Governor about the aims and objects of the foundation, which was set up in 2010. Presently, 10 differently abled and special children are being provided day care at the Kounsar Special School-cum-Rehabilitation Centre for Physically and Mentally Challenged Children, to reduce their dependency. Apart from this, home-based care to five other children is also being provided. Kounsar said the foundation has identified 150 special children who would be enrolled in the school in a phased manner. The Governor informed the delegation about Rs 1 lakh being sanctioned to support the foundation for the welfare of special children. He said their demand relating to accommodation and other issues would be taken up with the concerned authorities. The deputation comprised Ghulam Qadir Bhat, Mehdi Parvaiz Khan and Mahvish Rashid, who are trustees of the foundation, and Nazir Ahmad, parent of a special child. Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor, was also present on the occasion.
	Air Commodore meets Guv Srinagar, July 22 Air Commodore B Balachandran, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Srinagar, called on Governor NN Vohra here today. The Governor lauded the role which the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been discharging in the Western Sector, besides providing valuable support in carrying out rescue, relief and evacuation operations and enabling the civil authorities to deal with emergencies and natural calamities. The Air Commodore briefed the Governor about the IAF’s initiatives in further securing the frontiers and issues relating to the Leh and Srinagar air bases, an official spokesman said. — TNS
	3,554 pilgrims leave for Amarnath cave shrine Ehsan Fazili/TNS Srinagar, July 22 As the movement of pilgrims from Jammu resumed yesterday after remaining suspended for two days due to the curfew in Ramban district and the Kashmir valley, the number of pilgrims offering prayers at the Amarnath cave shrine has started increasing. A fresh batch of 1,240 pilgrims left Jammu in a convoy of vehicles for the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps today. The movement of yatris from the base camp in Jammu remained suspended following the killing of four persons and injuries to 42 others in the Gool area of Ramban district of the Jammu region last week. The incident evoked protest demonstrations prompting the authorities to impose curfew in Ramban district and major towns of Kashmir. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which passes through parts of Ramban district, was closed for traffic due to the tension and resultant restrictions in the area. At least 3,554 pilgrims left the Nunwan (Pahalgam) and Baltal base camps this morning, officials here said. They included 2,037 pilgrims via Baltal and 1,517 pilgrims via the traditional Pahalgam route. The least number of 1,500 pilgrims had left the two base camps for the holy cave shrine on Saturday, after the yatra movement from Jammu was suspended for two days. Meanwhile, the situation en route to the holy cave remained peaceful amid fair weather conditions. Most of the pilgrims arrived in the Valley by air or by private transport. Since the yatra began on June 28, 2,93,008 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine till Sunday. At least 4,035 pilgrims paid their obeisance by 3 pm today. Many waited in long queues to offer prayers at the cave shrine till the reports last came in. The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has been strictly maintaining the number of pilgrims (7,500 via Pahalgam and 7,500 via Baltal each day) on the two tracks to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.
	Hurriyat approaches SHRC, seeks commission of inquiry Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, July 22 Demanding the registration of first information reports (FIRs) against the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police for the killing of civilians in Ramban, the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has approached the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) with a petition, seeking directions to the state government for appointing a commission of inquiry (CoI) to probe the incident. In the petition filed through Manan Bukhari, heading the Hurriyat's legal cell, it was sought that the state government should be directed to appoint a CoI within one week and the Director-General of Police be directed to register an FIR against the BSF and the J&K Police personnel involved in the killings. It was sought that the state government and other respondents be directed to constitute a CoI headed by some competent judicial officer and should file its inquiry report within two weeks. Stating that the Ramban killings had caused annoyance and resentment among the public, the petition termed as shocking the alleged desecration of the holy book. Directions were sought for issuing orders for the suspension of the J&K Police and BSF personnel concerned. The petition sought that the CoI should seek an explanation from the Centre about civilian killings at Ramban so that such an incident did not take place in the future. Bukhari said he expected the listing of the case before a Division Bench of the SHRC this week.
	Army gets ready to tackle suicide bombers along LoC Ravi Krishnan Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, July 22 The Army has initiated precautionary measures along the 778-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in the state to effectively deal with a new threat ---suicide bombers trained by the ISI. General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 16 Corps Lt Gen DS Hooda recently said Pakistan had raised suicide bombers to attack Indian posts and soldiers along the LoC. “Following the new trend, we have strengthened our forward posts along the LoC and there is a high degree of surveillance. Now, our troops are more watchful along the LoC,” said a top Army source. Pakistan’s Border Action Team, an amalgam of Pakistan army regulars and Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, had planted explosives in the Indian territory, a fact even admitted by the then GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik. On January 8, the Border Action Team of Pakistan had brutally killed two Indian soldiers, Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar, in the Balnoi sector of Poonch district. “Following this new strategy of sending suicide bombers, we have now placed better sensors along the LoC and there is now better integration for real time information,” said the officer. On flood lights along the border, he said the Army was working on it. “We are improving our lighting technology on the border,” he said. The source also said there were at least 300 militants in various launching pads on the other side of the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He said, “Once the Army gets six Border Surveillance Management Systems (BSMS) for deployment along the Line of Control, surveillance for real time information would really help us.” “We are improving our existing grid such as the three-tier fencing, floodlights, sensors and thermal imagers,” he said. Intelligence agencies working in the border areas had been issuing alerts about mines laid by Pakistan and suicide bombers raised by the ISI. “A militant was blown to pieces in a bomb explosion in the Poonch sector in June when alert soldiers fired on him. We came to know from our probe that he had tied explosives to his body and wanted to storm a forward post,” said the source.
	Police ‘thrashes’ pregnant woman in Rajouri Ranjit Thakur Rajouri, July 22 The police yesterday allegedly beat up a seven-month pregnant woman and her husband Suresh Kumar, and brother-in-law Sanjeev Kumar at Potha village of the Kalakote area in Rajouri district. They are now undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Rajouri. Ravi Kumar, the elder brother of the victim, Suresh Kumar, had lodged a complaint with the police over a family dispute. “The police beat up my family mercilessly. Although, we had settled the dispute amicably, the police changed the complaint into an FIR of its own,” Suresh Kumar alleged. “I got the bail orders from the court, but the police kept on harassing me and my family on one or the other pretext,” he said. “I was taking a bath at a natural spring in my village when eight policemen, including two sub-inspectors, came in a private vehicle. They asked me to come with them. I was already bailed out by the court but they kept dragging me naked in full public view. I pleaded to them to let me go, but they thrashed me, kicked my pregnant wife in her abdomen who is now bleeding profusely. They then beat up my elder brother Sanjeev Kumar,” Suresh Kumar said. Sanjeev Kumar said, “We are too scared of the brutality of the police in Kalakote that we are ready to leave our village. Policemen usually come in civvies and misbehave with our women at home, which is not tolerable. They even demand bribe.” Station House Officer (SHO), Kalakote, Vikram Parihar said, “Yesterday, when our police party reached the village to investigate the case registered against one of the family members, they attacked the police party with stones, resulting in injuries to our two sub-inspectors. They also tore off their clothes.” “Nearly four cases are registered against them, including thrashing of a Junior Engineer of the Public Works Department in Kalakote,” the SHO said. However, he denied that the policemen had attacked the pregnant woman.
	BJP to meet Shinde over Ladakh violence Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, July 22 The state unit of the BJP has decided to vociferously take up the issue of the Zanskar violence to create a political niche in the mountainous region of Ladakh as the incident has created strong resentment among Buddhists. A curfew was enforced at Zanskar following massive protests by local Buddhists against the alleged abduction of an 18-year-old girl. The police had, however, stated that the girl had eloped with a man but had been later handed over to the family. “We have decided to take up this matter with Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde because the Buddhists have no faith in the state government headed by Omar Abdullah,” state BJP president Jugal Kishore Sharma told The Tribune. He said the BJP high command had already been informed about, what he alleged, were atrocities being meted out on Buddhists in Zanskar. “Fear has gripped Buddhists as the local police has let loose a reign of terror in Zanskar to accomplish the dangerous agenda of the Hurriyat Conference,” Jugal said, adding, “Very soon, a delegation of Buddhist leaders from Ladakh, accompanied by senior BJP leaders, will meet the Union Home Minister to apprise him of the deteriorating law and order situation in Ladakh.” The BJP has also decided to send a fact-finding team to Zanskar so as to interact with the local Buddhist leaders there. The team is likely to have a senior leader from the Central leadership. Sources in the party said the BJP had been looking for an appropriate opportunity to strengthen its base in the Ladakh region and so, the main agenda of the party was to make inroads in Buddhist-dominated areas. The party has managed to rope in veteran Buddhist leader Thupstang Chewang. Meanwhile, a delegation of state BJP leaders led by Jugal Kishore Sharma today called on Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and apprised him about the situation in Zanskar.