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Pak opens fire on 5 posts in Poonch
2 suspected militants attack Army men
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Arms, ammunition seized in Bandipora
Probe into Jammu terror attacks an ‘eyewash’
High alert in Kathua, massive searches on
Fidayeens were desperate to target Army or CRPF camp
Cabinet condemns militant attack
3 more militants believed to be dead in Kupwara
Work at Vaishno Devi varsity should be in harmony with master plan, says Governor
Governor for promoting inclusive ideologies, approaches
‘Certain individuals bolstering morale of anti-India forces’
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Pak opens fire on 5 posts in Poonch
Jammu, September 28 "Pakistani troops opened fire from small and automatic weapons on Indian forward posts along the LoC in the Mendhar-Bhimbher Gali sub-sector of Poonch district around 4:45 pm and stopped the firing around 7:30 pm," said Defence spokesperson SN Acharya. "They opened fire again with small arms and automatic weapons on our posts around 8:30 pm, this time in the Doda Battalion area of Poonch sector," he added. He said Pakistani troops targeted at least five Indian posts with small arms and automatic weapons fire. The spokesperson said the Army retaliated with matching calibre weapons and the exchange of fire lasted till 4 am today. There was no report of loss of life or injury to Indian troops, he said. This was the 20th ceasefire violation along the LoC in September, the spokesman said. There had been daily skirmishes ever since the Pakistani army's border action team killed five Indian soldiers in the Chakan-da-Bagh area on the LoC. |
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2 suspected militants attack Army men
Srinagar, September 28 “Our men were deployed on the bypass for the protection of an Army convoy when the militants opened fire on them in the afternoon. The troops on the road retaliated and the militants fled the spot,” Naresh Vig, spokesman of the Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps, told The Tribune. The exchange of fire continued for a brief period, which created panic on the bypass. Soon after the incident, a large contingent of police and paramilitary forces reached the spot and laid a cordon. A search operation was launched in some areas around the bypass to nab the suspected militants involved in the attack. Senior police and security officials rushed to the area and took stock of the situation. The police said it was ascertaining what the target of the militants was. “Gunshots were heard in the area around 12:30 pm. We are ascertaining who exactly the target was,” the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir said. He said there was no casualty. “One civilian, who was injured when he was hit by a glass in a car showroom, was hospitalised,” he added. No militant outfit had claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The firing created panic in the area and hundreds of vehicles were stranded in a traffic jam for almost an hour. The security sources said the attack was averted due to beefed up security on the highway and high alertness of the Army men. The 14-km bypass stretch had remained vulnerable to militant attacks this year. In the three attacks carried out by militants at different spots since March 13 on this highway, 14 security forces personnel had been killed. They comprised eight Army soldiers, five CRPF men and one BSF personnel. On September 18, suspected militants fired at an Army patrol in the same area, in which no one was injured. The Shuhada Brigade claimed responsibility for the firing, saying two of its activists were involved. “Our two men carried out the attack on the Army at Sanat Nagar in Srinagar,” a person introducing himself as Sami-ul-Haq, spokesman for the group, told Srinagar-based news gathering agency Kashmir News Service over the phone. The group had also claimed responsibility for the fidayeen attacks in Jammu on Thursday. |
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Arms, ammunition seized in Bandipora
Srinagar, September 28 Two AK-47 rifles, five AK magazines, one UBGL rocket, 200 rounds of AK ammunition, two radio sets and one 9mm pistol were recovered from the hideout, the spokesman said. The spokesman said 46 UBGL grenades and two hand grenades were also recovered from the hideout.
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Probe into Jammu terror attacks an ‘eyewash’
Jammu, September 28 The SIT will probe the security lapses at the Hiranagar police station and other aspects, including movement of the fidayeens on border roads in Hiranagar and the Jammu-Pathankot highway, without being intercepted at any place before they carried out the attacks on the Hiranagar police station and the Army camp of 16 Cavalry in Samba district. The inclusion of these police officers has raised a question on the fairness of the probe, with the stakeholders and relatives of the victims demanding the dissolution of the SIT to pave the way for an independent probe to fix the responsibility in the major security lapse. The SIT, which is headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohan Lal Kaith, comprises SHO, Hiranagar police station, Inspector Daljit Singh, in charge, Mareen Police Post, Surinder Raina, in charge, Chadwal Police Post, Braham Dev Slathia and in charge, Dinga Amb Police Post, Zafarullah. The fidayeens covered several kilometres without being intercepted in areas which came under the jurisdiction of the police officers who are part of the SIT. Kant Kumar Sharma, sarpanch, panchayat halqa, Kootah --- a village which lost its brave police constable, Shiv Kumar Sangra, in the terror attack on the Hiranagar police station ---demanded an independent inquiry to fix the responsibility into the security lapses. “The movement of terrorists from the border to the Hiranagar police station and later up to the Army camp in Samba indicated that they were not intercepted anywhere despite several check posts on the border roads and the highway. Had the police officials and officers concerned sounded an alert in time, it would have saved many precious lives,” Sharma said. The sarpanch said it was wrong to include the police officers, under whose jurisdiction the terrorists had a free run, in the investigation team. One of the relatives of the slain constable described the constitution of the SIT an eyewash to save the guilty police officers. “Had there been better coordination among security agencies, these terror attacks could have been avoided. The police officers, who need to be punished for the security lapses, have been asked to investigate the case and it can be well imagined as to how fair the probe will be,” he said. Jammu-Kathua range DIG Shakeel Beigh sought to downplay the issue. “The SIT would work on various aspects of the case and it has been entrusted with the task to investigate it,” the DIG said, adding, “It would not go into security lapses.” Meanwhile, the government yesterday suspended three policemen, including SHO, Hiranagar police station, Raj Kumar Padha, Sham Lal and Darshan Kumar, besides disengaging Special Police Officer Kuldeep Kumar for
dereliction of duty at Londi Naka, crossed by the fidayeens. |
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High alert in Kathua, massive searches on
Jammu, September 28 After over nine hours of the massive search operation, that began around 9 am and was on till the time of the filing of this report, the security forces, including the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the CRPF and the Army, did not find the suspected terrorists. While the region was trying to come to grips with the situation after the twin terror attacks that left 10 persons dead, the news spread like wildfire, triggering panic among the people. The suspected militants were spotted near the Government Primary School at Chajarth, near Patwal village, in the Dayalachak area of Hiranagar tehsil. “It began when mid-day meal cook Preet Kaur of the Chajarth school spotted two men in uniform near a tube well where she went to fetch water for cooking the meals,” said an official source. “The woman scurried back to school and informed a woman teacher, who called up her husband over the phone and herded all children in a room before locking it from inside. Her husband informed the police and by then, rumours like the killing of the teacher and students being held hostage triggered panic among the people,” he added. While teachers at the school made frantic calls to their families, panicked parents rushed to the school, fearing that another group of militants had attacked the school, said the source. Jammu Zone IGP Rajesh Kumar said, “Soon after getting the information, we launched a big search operation in the area because we did not want to take chances, but no militants was found so far.” He said the police had got inputs like attacks on the Hiranagar stadium and in Chadwal, which turned out to be untrue. He urged the people to inform the police if suspicious people were spotted in their area. Kathua Deputy Commissioner Jatinder Kumar Singh said some students of a school claimed that they saw some men in uniform drinking water from a water point near their school this morning and they thought they were militants. “The word soon spread like wildfire. We did not want to take chances following the twin terror attacks on September 26. We closed all educational institutions in Kathua district, including Hiranagar tehsil, as a precautionary measure,” he said. A massive search operation was immediately launched in the area, but the information had turned out to be a rumour so far, he said. He added that the Jammu-Pathankot highway was sealed for some time. Jammu-Kathua Range DIG Shakeel Beigh said no militant was spotted by the forces in the searches so far. A Defence spokesperson said the Army, which was a part of the search operation, called it off, but the area was being sanitised. Kathua SSP Mohan Lal said nothing was found so far. |
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Fidayeens were desperate to target Army or CRPF camp
Samba, September 28 Their desperation could be gauged from the fact that after spraying bullets on policemen inside the Hiranagar police station, they drove in a hijacked truck towards Samba and wasted no time in carrying out the attack as soon as they spotted the Army camp of the 16 Cavalry. Being fidayeens, they had no concern about their safety, but their desperation came to the fore when they stormed the Army unit from the first gate without giving a second thought to their plan. “They were very desperate to attack an Army or CRPF unit anywhere in Hiranagar or somewhere else. It was judged from the fact that they covered a distance of almost 17 km to reach the Army camp of the 16 Cavalry from the Hiranagar police station after killing six persons, including four policemen and two civilians,” a police official said. The official said the police station or civilian killings were not their target, but when they didn’t find the CRPF camp in Hiranagar to their ‘liking’, they reached the Hiranagar police station. “They were brainwashed by their handlers in Pakistan and their target was security forces. They hijacked a truck from the Hiranagar police station after killing six persons and entered the Army camp of the 16 Cavalry via a gate which was the first entry point to any Army camp between Hiranagar and Samba,” the official said. He said there were many highly-populated areas between the Hiranagar police station and the Army camp in Samba, but they didn’t target any of these localities as their “desperation” was just to reach an Army or CRPF camp. Yesterday, an auto-rickshaw driver Roshan Lal, who ferried the fidayeens on gunpoint from Haria Chak, a border village in Hiranagar, had also stated that the terrorists had asked him to take them to some Army or CRPF camp on the highway. “In Army combat fatigues, they asked me to take them to any Army or CRPF camp on the highway. I first took them to Sanji Morh hoping that police check posts en-route may spoil their nefarious designs, but the check posts were not manned and then I brought them to Chadwal on the highway,” the driver said, who was fired upon by them on his leg before entering the Hiranagar police station. Another policeman, who was posted in Hiranagar police station, said he had a narrow escape in the attack as it was a matter of just five minutes that he saved his life. “I came out from the police station to get tea prepared for my colleagues. I was at a tea stall when I saw the terrorists firing indiscriminately and entering the police station. “Had I been in the way, they would have killed me,” the policeman said, adding that they were desperate to kill the security forces and what they did inside police station was a part of their strategy. |
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Cabinet condemns militant attack
Srinagar, September 28 “The Cabinet condemned the recent terrorist attacks at Hiranagar and Samba and condoled the loss of lives in the attacks,” the spokesman said. The spokesman said the Cabinet expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and those who were injured in the violence. — TNS
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3 more militants believed to be dead in Kupwara
Srinagar, September 28 Sources said the intermittent firing between the militants and the troops continued on Saturday. The troops are fighting a group of 30-35 militants at various areas near the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector, 130 km from Srinagar, who had tried to sneak in on Tuesday. “Three more bodies were seen in the area, but no body has been retrieved so far as they are lying between the LoC and the fencing,” sources said. The troops of various units, including 5 Assam, 57 Rastriya Rifles and 3/3 Gorkha Rifles along with Army’s elite para-commandos, are involved in the counter-infiltration operation.
Sources said troops of various other units in the nearby areas had been kept on standby to ensure that no militant manages to break the cordon. Army continues to use helicopters to locate the heavily-armed militants. Army sources said the militant group is believed to be highly trained and equipped with latest weapons and maps. The bad weather in the upper reaches of Kupwara was also hampering the operations to flush out the militants. Naresh Vig, Defence spokesperson, said the operation against the militants was going on.
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Work at Vaishno Devi varsity should be in harmony with master plan, says Governor
Srinagar, September 28 The meeting was held in New Delhi yesterday under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra, who is Chancellor of the University. Vice-Chancellor Sudhir K Jain was advised to present a critical analysis of all existing courses so that courses which were no longer market relevant could be stopped. The council gave in-principle approval to various infrastructure projects, including the construction of new boys and girls hostels, residential quarters for faculty and non-teaching staff, sewage treatment plant, water treatment plant and other works. The Governor directed that these works and future constructions on the University campus should be in complete harmony with the approved master plan of the University. Regarding the need for the revision of the original master plan, it was decided that an experienced consultant may be engaged and the revised master plan should be presented before the Council for its approval to any change. The council recognised that because the university was a residential institution, it would not be in a position to introduce many new courses till an additional accommodation was built. In this context, the Vice-Chancellor informed that new hostels for boys and girls would be completed by 2014. The council emphasised the importance of introducing suitable modules for imparting moral and philosophical education to the students, in addition to the technical courses they were pursuing, for providing balanced and wholesome education. Sudhir K Jain, Vice-Chancellor of the SMVDU, gave a detailed presentation on the functioning of the university. Others who attended the meeting included Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir; MPS Ishar, Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University; RS Pawar, chairman, NIIT Ltd; RP Aggarwal, former Secretary, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development; Vinayshil Gautam, and Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor and CEO of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. |
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Governor for promoting inclusive ideologies, approaches
Srinagar, September 28 The Governor, who was the chief guest on the occasion, observed that Kashmir has remained a seat of knowledge and learning since centuries where religious and spiritual discourses used to take place among the saints, scholars and preachers of various faiths.He stressed the need for continuous efforts to restore the pristine glory of the state as an abode of peace, harmony and knowledge. Referring to the unfortunate phase through which the state had passed in the past years, the Governor stressed the importance of adherence to the high traditions of inclusiveness, which Kashmir had propagated. The Governor emphasised the need for promoting inclusive ideologies and approaches, which he said was the need of the hour. He recalled the contribution of Swami Lakshman Joo towards the propagation of the philosophic, religious and spiritual traditions of Kashmir Shaivism, which has inherent traditions and values of inclusiveness. The Governor released a souvenir and a CD on Kashmir Shaivism. He was presented a memento. Eminent Shaivite scholar Prabha Devi spoke about the contribution of Swami Lakshman Joo Maharaj in promoting Kashmir Shaivism. Navjivan Rastogi, chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board, Ishwar Ashram Trust, dwelt on various aspects of Kashmir Shaivism. In his welcome address, Anusheel Munshi, trustee, Ishwar Ashram Trust, dwelt on the activities of the Trust and aims and objectives of organising the seminar. He thanked the Governor for taking a keen interest in the activities of the Trust. Eminent scholars from within the country and abroad, intellectuals, functionaries and members of the Trust and a large number of participants were present. |
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‘Certain individuals bolstering morale of anti-India forces’
Jammu, September 28 The Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control claimed that the irresponsible and controversial statements had been bolstering the morale of forces inimical to India. The reaction came close on the heels of Omar's interaction with a delegation of the European Union, wherein the Chief Minister had said the accession was conditional. "If you still consider Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, why are you enjoying power in the government? Come out of the government and fight for a solution to this dispute," he said. "For enjoying power, you take oath of the Indian Constitution. You are raising questions over Jammu and Kashmir's merger with India," he said. He said such statements were encouraging secessionist forces. He said controversial statements which raised doubts over Jammu and Kashmir's integration with India invited intervention from external forces. He took the opportunity to say the Kashmir issue was resolved when the Congress handed over power to Omar's grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1975 after the Indira-Sheikh Accord. |
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Suspected militants attacked Army men on the Srinagar bypass this afternoon. The Army said two scooter-borne youths opened fire on an Army deployment.
