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Police teams dispatched to Punjab, Delhi to find drug racket
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Government should work out acceptable path on administrative units: Congress high command
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Lt General Chachra gets PVSM
Effective self-governing bodies to be milestone in governance, says Vohra
Doda civil society demands probe into student’s
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Police teams dispatched to Punjab, Delhi to find drug racket
links Srinagar, January 25 The police suspect that drug traffickers from outside state are allegedly part of the drug racket that was unearthed last week when it detained a truck which was smuggling contraband drugs worth Rs 114 crore from Pakistan through the cross-LoC trade. Two Kashmiri cross-LoC traders Showkat Habib of Bandipore and Tariq Ahmed Sheikh from Baramulla and a truck driver Mohammad Shafiq Awan of Muzaffarabad have been arrested in the case. "The investigation so far has revealed that smugglers from outside state are too linked to the drug racket. We suspect that an intra-state drug mafia or even international drug racketeers may be part of this nexus. We are looking into all the angles," said a police officer privy to the investigations. He said the police were also tracking various phone calls that had been made between the arrested cross-LoC traders and some persons in Punjab, Delhi and Dubai. On January 17, the police had recovered 114 packets of brown sugar that was being smuggled from Pakistan. The drugs were concealed in a truck carrying almonds. The driver of vehicle was arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The consignment was registered in the name of Showkat Habib, the proprietor of Bandipore-based Showkat Habib Trading Corporation. The consignment was sent from Muzaffarabad by Al-Fajar company. The police later arrested Showkat Habib and during his questioning the name of another cross-LoC trader, Tariq Ahmed Sheikh surfaced. Both have been formally arrested in the case and are being questioned. It was during the questioning that name of drug traffickers from Punjab and Delhi have surfaced. "We have sent teams to Punjab and Delhi to trace the smugglers whose name surfaced during the investigations so far," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police for north Kashmir JP Singh told The Tribune. Senior police officers in Srinagar said the investigation was wide open on whether the drug consignment was meant to pump money for the militant activities in the state or it was for the drug mafia operating in the country. The police has already constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, to reach to the bottom of the case and unearth the chain. After the seizure of drugs, not only the cross-LoC trade continues to remain suspended, but also truck drivers from the two sides have been detained on both the sides as Pakistan is demanding the return of its arrested driver and the seized contraband. Meanwhile, the families of the Kashmir truck drivers staged a protest in Baramulla and demanded their immediate release.
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Government should work out acceptable path on administrative units: Congress high command
Jammu, January 25 All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary and in charge of the party affairs in J&K Ambika Soni were also present. The panel, it was pointed out, had not taken into consideration the demand for creation of eight more districts. It was also felt that the “hilly, inaccessible and thickly populated areas have been neglected and not been given proper attention by the earlier committees constituted for such purpose,” said a two-page note prepared by Congress ministers and handed over to their National Conference counterparts in the Cabinet Sub-Committee. The Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) on new administrative units, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, was formed to satisfy people of all three regions of the state. The meeting was held against the backdrop of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s threat that he was determined to implement the Ganai panel recommendations, come what may. The Congress, which has prepared a report, has pointed out that the Ganai panel report was like mass killing of the aspirations of the majority of the people across the state. Sources said meeting, attended by Congress president’s political adviser Ahmad Patel, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and state Congress president Saifuddin Soz, had told the CSC members of the Congress that they should submit their recommendations and get it incorporated in the report and also get them implemented. “We have drawn the broad contours of the report and will try to submit the report by January 31,” said a Cong minister, who is also a member of the Cabinet panel. |
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Need to work towards achieving permanent peace in J&K: Omar
Jammu, January 25 “Though a lot has been done, we have to do more towards achieving permanent peace and moving ahead on the road to prosperity,” Omar said in his Republic Day message. He also reiterated the need for “restoration of internal and external dialogue” for establishing harmony in the state. Giving an account of the coalition government’s achievements in the past five years, Omar said: “Remarkable progress has been achieved, both on peace and development fronts, during this period.” He listed the “path-breaking and historic” decisions taken by the government during the last five years to empower common people. Omar particularly highlighted the initiative taken by his government to hold the panchayat elections in the state, besides enacting legislations aimed at curbing corruption and bringing transparency into the system. The Chief Minister said the administration was made accountable from top to bottom and service delivery in important public service departments was made legally time bound. “Around 80 important public services like issuance of ration cards, driving licenses, water and power connections, revenue papers, Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and Backward Certificates, building permissions, no objection certificates pertaining to passports and other matters, etc… has been brought under the ambit of the Public Services Guarantee Act to ensure time-bound delivery,” Omar said. He further said by implementing the Right to Information Act and constituting the State Right to Information Commission, the government has empowered a common man to question the performance and conduct of all government departments. Pointing out at the employment opportunities generated by the government over the past five years, Omar said: “During the last five years about one lakh youth have been provided employment in government departments.” |
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Lt General Chachra gets PVSM
Jammu, January 25 Prior to taking over the reins of the Northern Command on July 1 last year, the General headed the Western Command where his tenure was marked by an upsurge in technological up gradation in war fighting prowess and infrastructure. Meanwhile, awards and medallions were also conferred on officers and men of the Northern Command for displaying exemplary courage and dedication. The awards include a Param Vishisht Seva Medal, a Kirti Chakra, five Shaurya Chakras, four Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, three Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 13 Yudh Seva Medals, 28 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 10 Sena Medals (Distinguished), one Bar to SM (Distinguished) and nine Vishisht Seva Medals. While Naib Subedar Bhupal Singh, Chhantel Magar, was awarded the Kirti Chakra for foiling an infiltration bid by six heavily armed foreign terrorists and killing two of them during a close fire-fight, Rifleman Ran Bahadur Gurung, who achieved martyrdom while ensuring safety of his comrades involved in a fire fight with terrorists in treacherous high altitude area along the Line of Control, was conferred the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. Major Gaurav Thakur, who chased and killed a fleeing terrorist during a fierce encounter along the LoC, has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his exemplary leadership and selfless devotion to duty. Captain Sandeep Bhartiya, who spearheaded an operation along the LoC, was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Captain Mahabir Singh, who tracked down and killed a terrorist at Samba on September 26 last year, was conferred the Shaurya Chakra while Gunner Lallawmzuala, who played a major role in the elimination of Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Kari Yasir on July 23 last year, was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra. President medal for cops Eleven police personnel, including three top-level officers, from the state were today conferred the President’s Police Medals While Dr B Srinivas, Inspector General of Police (IGP), CID, Jammu, Prithvi Raj Manhas, IGP, Jammu, and Shakeel Ahmad Beig, Deputy Inspector General of Police were conferred the prestigious medal for distinguished service, eight others were awarded President’s Police Medal for Gallantry. Superintendent of Police Tahir Sajad Bhat, sub-inspector Pankaj Sharma, head constable Imtiyaz Mohammad, head constable Sher Mohammad, constable Lateef Ahmad, follower Mohammad Majnoon, Deputy Superintendent of Police Fayaz Ahmad and head constable Showkat Ahmed were awarded President’s Police Medal for Gallantry. |
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Effective self-governing bodies to be milestone in governance, says Vohra
Jammu, January 25 He said this would provide an exciting opportunity for all people to become closely and productively involved in planning and implementing various development schemes. Greeting the people on the eve of 65th Republic Day, the Governor said effective rural and urban self-governing bodies in all three regions of the state would be a milestone in the governance of the state. The 2011 panchayat elections were held after nearly three decades and witnessed a turnout of 80 per cent. He said, “I have strongly believed that the empowerment of the people at the grassroots level would result in promoting the welfare of the entire rural population." Observing that the parliamentary and Assembly elections are due in a few months, the Governor hoped maximum participation of the people in these polls. He said the state must pay tributes to the great national leaders for their sacrifices. He said many of these leaders also served as members of the Constituent Assembly and made invaluable contribution to the drafting of the Constitution. He paid tribute to the state and the Central police forces and the Army for their devotion to duty and paid homage to the brave officers and men who laid down their lives for the country. Militancy caused miseries The Governor said terrorism has resulted in huge losses and caused prolonged miseries for the common man. The long period of unrest had also adversely affected the functioning of the administrative machinery and public institutions. "It is necessary to fill this gap and regain the required momentum. The people at large are getting increasingly impatient and restive and are no longer willing to bear with defaults and deficiencies in the functioning of public delivery systems, much less accept the continuance of corrupt practices," he said. Unemployment problem The Governor said a number of Central and state schemes were being implemented, among which are Udaan, Umeed, Himayat, Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for the Youth, J&K Self-Employment Scheme and the Seed Capital Fund Scheme." In the rural sector, the Union Ministry of Rural Development was assisting the state to train rural youth for upgrading their skills and enhancing their employability, he said. The Governor said if satisfactory growth and development was to be achieved, it was of crucial importance that all the three regions of the state and the various difficult areas in each region were well-connected with a reliable network of roads, bridges and tunnels. It was a matter of satisfaction that the historical Mughal Road, which would connect the Rajouri and Poonch areas with the Valley, was almost complete, the four-laning of the National Highway-1A was progressing and the National Railway Project, which would provide rail connectivity between J&K and the rest of the country, was also making progress. Breach of ceasefire He said, "The repeated breach of ceasefire and infiltration attempts across the international border and the Line of Control in the past year have yet again disrupted normalcy and caused problems for our people living along the border. It is hoped that our neighbour shall respond positively to the initiatives which have recently been taken by the Centre to once again urge it to maintain calm." |
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Doda civil society demands probe into student’s death Doda, January 25 Protesters alleged that it was the fifth such incident since 1996 where a Doda youth had died mysteriously outside the state. They said the government had never taken the issue seriously. The rally started from the old bus stand and concluded at the Deputy Commissioner’s office. — OC
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cross-LoC trade continues, the J&K Police have sent teams to Delhi and Punjab after names of a few alleged drug traffickers from outside state emerged during the questioning of two arrested Kashmiri traders.
Governor NN Vohra today said Panchayati Raj and the corresponding devolution in the arena of municipal administration would lead to a decentralised democratic framework at grassroots.
