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Kathua terror attacks: Army pays tribute to martyr Nirmal Viji
BSF tries to plug new
intrusion areas
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Gupta blames Centre for Kathua attacks
Army joins fight against glaucoma
Farooq blames NDA for ignoring autonomy resolution
ECI issues notification for Anantnag constituency
Poll work reviewed in Reasi, Pouni
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Kathua terror attacks: Army pays tribute to martyr Nirmal Viji
Jammu, March 29 Lance naik V Anthony Nirmal Viji sacrificed his life in the line of duty combating three heavily armed terrorists in the jungles of Janglote yesterday, while Bolero driver Tarsem Singh was abducted by the same terrorists from Dayalachak at gunpoint before his throat was slit by them. His body with his both arms tied was later found from Logate Morh last afternoon. At Pathankot, the wreath-laying ceremony of the martyred soldier was attended by Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding, Rising Star Corps, and other military officers. The mortal remains of lance naik Anthony were flown to his native place Mugiyur in Vellupuram district of Tamil Nadu in an IAF aircraft. At Kotli Mirdian in RS Pura, Tarsem Singh's pyre was lit by his 13-year-old son Amandeep Singh. A follower of the Radha Soami sect at Thandi Khui on the Jammu-Pathankot highway, Tarsem Singh is survived by his wife Gurdeep Kour (32), son Amandeep Singh, daughter Simranjit Kaur (8), father Thoru Ram and mother Channo Devi. "The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of RS Pura today handed over a cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the wife of the deceased and also assured a government job to her under the SRO 43," said Shiv Ram Choudhary, a villager. However, it would have been good had the government provided at least a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family, he added. All the three terrorists were killed by the Army. |
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BSF tries to plug new
intrusion areas
Jammu, March 29 Three heavily armed terrorists, which staged attacks at Dayalachak and Janglote areas of the district yesterday, are suspected to have sneaked into the Indian side on the preceding night of March 27 through this rivulet. The Tarnah Nullah flows into Pakistan and has remained a traditional route for infiltration in
the past. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks on yesterday’s attacks on a micro-blogging site have caught the BSF on a sticky ground. The BSF needs to take a look at vulnerable areas and plug these gaps because these militants haven’t given up and we can’t let them succeed, Omar posted on Twitter. The BSF, which holds the operational responsibility of the 198-km-long international border in the region, has been looking into every aspect to make sure that no infiltration takes place along the fence. However, the ease with which militants exploited the gaps in the fence was a matter of grave concern. The BSF on its part though maintained that so far no tell-tale signs or breach of fence have been found to establish that terrorists had crossed the border via the Tarnah Nullah. “There has been no firing, breach of fence or infiltration bid from the Tarnah. But still we are looking into everything. To be doubly sure we are checking the video recordings of the night vision cameras. Our men are deployed 24x7 on either banks of the Tarnah and in the middle of it we have a mound, which again is manned 24x7. There is also early warning and lighting system in place,” a top source in the BSF said. He added that the BSF was on high alert since March 12 following the inputs that Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed had visited a terror camp near Bada Bhai village opposite the Paharpur post of the BSF. We also received alerts from the RAW and on March 25, the BSF again alerted all its deployments along the fence, the source said to drive home the point that the force was maintaining a high level of alertness in the wake of Lok Sabha elections. “The ultras were carrying a GPS (global positioning system) and if they had switched it on then it would spill the beans…their direction and location,” he said. Soon after the twin attacks, IG, BSF Jammu Frontier, SS Tomar had rushed to the Tarnah Nullah and other areas on
the border. “The bridge over Tarnah Nullah in Dayalachak where three ultras first struck around 4.40 am yesterday is around 9 to 10 km from border. A young and motivated ultra aged 25 to 30 years carrying a weight of 25 to 30 kg on his shoulders can easily cover the distance on foot in four to five hours,” a source in the security agency said. A top police source said the latest strike appeared to be the result of fresh infiltration from across the border. Meanwhile, the police and the Army today launched a fresh search operation in Sar Khud (a dry rivulet) and also scanned the jungles of Janglote. The Army also stationed a combat vehicle with troops in readiness on the bridge overlooking the Sar Khud and Janglote jungles as a precautionary measure. Earlier, it handed over the bodies of three ultras to the Kathua Police, which sent them District Hospital, Kathua, for
post-mortem.
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Gupta blames Centre for Kathua attacks
Jammu, March 29 “Recurrence of such attacks in border areas of Kathua within few months speaks volumes about the security arrangements and failure of New Delhi to tackle the cross-border terrorism,” Gupta said. Three people, including a soldier, were killed in the twin terror attacks in Kathua yesterday. “There is a dire need to review of the security arrangements and policies towards Pakistan, which has become the epicentre and breeding ground for terrorism,” he said. Gupta recalled that in 2003, Pakistan was made to publicly commit that no soil under its control would be allowed to use for spreading militancy across the border. He, however, said: “It was unfortunate that the changed dispensation at New Delhi did not
maintain the required pressure on Pakistan to keep their word.” The senior leader also stressed on immediate steps to plug loopholes
in the security arrangements.
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Landslide damages 31 houses, two schools in Batote
Batote, March 29 Government Middle School at Rakhjadog was also declared unsafe and abandoned following the landslide triggered by incessant rain in the past two days. Government Middle School at Tringla in Batote also developed cracks. Many people residing in the surrounding areas of the most-affected wards No. 2, 3 and 4 have also abandoned their houses and shifted to safer places following the calamity. A red alert has been issued by the administration for the Rakhjadog panchayat having 350 families and a population of about 2,000 in six wards, including Dhamtali, Kava-Mansar, Rafiabad and Usmanabad villages. An ex gratia of Rs 2,000 and 20 kg of rice was disbursed among each of the 31 victim families in the evening today on the orders of the Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mohammad Hussain Malik soon after his visit to the area. A nearby Army unit of counter-insurgency force (Delta) provided 15 tents and food to the victims today. Ramban MLA Ashok Kumar, BSP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections DP Balgotra and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party and other parties visited the area and interacted with Rakhjadog sarpanch Abdul Rashid Choudhary and the
victims. More than 57 houses were reported to have been fully damaged and more than 251 partially damaged in Ramban district due to incessant rain on March 11 and 12. The maximum number of 51 houses were fully damaged in Ramban tehsil while 238 were partially damaged, including 11 fully and 84 partially, in Batote niabat. In Banihal tehsil, six structures were damaged fully and 13 partially. The Army provided 22 tents to the shelterless families of the Dharmoond panchayat after the damage caused by landslide on March 11. |
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Army joins fight against glaucoma
Jammu, March 29 The theme of the camp this year is ‘beat invisible glaucoma’. The month-long awareness campaign is a venture wherein Command Hospital (Northern Command) has joined hands with the global crusade against glaucoma (Kala Motia). Maj Gen Bipin Puri, Commandant, Command Hospital, thanked the president of the Family Welfare Organisation for attending the workshop. Major General Puri said the aim of the awareness and diagnostic camps was to aware the people with the disease, which, if not, diagnosed may result in blindness. Col VK Baranwal, Head, Opthalmology Department, Command Hospital, said glaucoma was one of the leading causes of blindness and could affect all age groups. — TNS |
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Comments against Modi act of frustration, says BJP
Jammu, March 29 “With the growing popularity of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and widespread anger and resentment against the Congress-led UPA, attempts are being made to attack Modi by using undemocratic and unsocial language,” former Inspector General of Police (IGP) and BJP representative Farooq Khan said while condemning the comments made by Congress candidate for Saharanpur parliamentary segment Imran Masood. Khan alleged that the Congress had a habit of “communalising” the politics. “It has been a routine practise in the Congress to communalise the politics to mislead and seek votes, particularly from the Muslim community,” Khan told reporters. “Whatever Imran Masood said in the open against Narendra Modi was not just by chance, it was part of the Congress’ strategy to paint the BJP and Narendra Modi as anti-Muslim,” he said, adding that Congress leaders have been making such communally motivated and provocative statements from time to time. “Even Congress president Sonia Gandhi had used the phrase ‘maut ka saudagar (merchant of death)’ for Modi,” Khan said. He said the repeated and baseless allegations against Modi were a “reflection of the frustration” among the entire Congress leadership, which feared defeat in
the coming elections. “All the allegations against Modi have been proved to be false and baseless. Even the highest courts have given clean chit to Modi. The Congress cannot digest this. It wants to arouse Muslim sentiments to fetch votes,” said the former police officer. He added that the Congress should come out of its dreams and accept the fact that people across the country, including Muslims, have made up their mind to make Modi the next Prime Minister. Asked why he joined the BJP, the former cop said: “As a police officer I was on duty to safeguard country’s unity and security. Now after retirement I wish to serve the motherland with the same nationalist ideology. I found the BJP as a true nationalist party with very clear principles based on the zeal to work for the nation and strengthening the social fabric.” |
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Farooq blames NDA for ignoring autonomy resolution
Srinagar, March 29 Farooq, who is the NC candidate from the
Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, was addressing workers at the party headquarters, Nawa-i-Subh Complex, here today. The Srinagar constituency is going to the polls on April 30. The meeting was attended by all MLAs from Srinagar and senior leaders. Addressing the workers, Farooq said the autonomy resolution was the best solution to the political issue of Jammu and
Kashmir. He reiterated the party’s stand on Article 370 and held that the party would continue to defend it. The NC president said his party had repeatedly asked the NDA government at the Centre to consider and act on the document to resolve the political issue of the state. “However, despite repeated proposals at the highest levels, the NDA refused to consider the autonomy document and chose to ignore it. Now, the same party is out to launch an assault on Article 370 and dilute the state’s special status. However, the National Conference will never let this happen,” Farooq said. In an overt attack on the opposition, the National Conference president said the Peoples Democratic Party had “ironically chosen to join hands with those who have inflicted the most grievous wounds on the secular fabric of this country”. Speaker Mubarak Gul, Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, National Conference additional general secretary Mustafa Kamal and National Conference provincial president for Kashmir division Nasir Aslam Wani were present on the occasion. |
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Govt has failed on every front: Mehbooba
Pulwama, March 29 Mehbooba started the campaigning from Wanpora village and later visited Parigam, Wurwan, Newa, Malwarda, Narabal and Hakripora villages. Speaking to people at various places, Mehbooba said the state government had failed to redress their problems. She said the government had failed on every front. “The villages are without basic amenities, but the government is claiming that it has put every effort to redress the problems of people in Jammu and Kashmir,” said the PDP
president. In an apparent attack on National Conference (NC) candidate for the Anantnag constituency, Mehbooba said the current MP had not visited the constituency in the hardest times. She said the NC patron Farooq Abdullah had humiliated the people of Kashmir by calling them ‘maha chor’ and added that he should be taught a lesson for degrading the image of Kashmiris. “It is not the first time that Dr Farooq has overstepped the emotions of Kashmiris. Earlier, he had said ‘Kashmiriyon ko goli maro’ (shoot the Kashmiris),” she said. She also alleged that the National Conference had been ‘tyrannical’ as it allowed the use of pellet and pepper guns against protesters which had been banned against animals. While listening to the grievances of various residents, she said their problems could be solved after there was a change. She said those people should form the government who could change the fate of J&K from worst to at least good. Mehbooba was accompanied by Pulwama MLA Mohammad Khalil Bandh and PDP in charge of the youth wing Waheed-ur-Rehman Para. |
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ECI issues notification for Anantnag constituency
Srinagar, March 29 Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Mehboob Beg are in the fray from the Anantnag constituency. As per the notification, the last date for filing of nomination papers is April 5 while the scrutiny of papers would be held on April 7. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 9. The Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency is the first constituency in Kashmir division which will to the polls. Srinagar will go to the polls on April 30 and the remaining two seats of Baramulla and Leh are going to the polls in the last phase on May 7. The Anantnag constituency of south Kashmir comprises 16 Assembly segments spread over four districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. There are 12.72 lakh voters in the constituency which also include over 6 lakh women voters. |
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Poll work reviewed in Reasi, Pouni
Katra, March 29 V Abrahum told the officers to adhere to the Model Code of Conduct. He also told them to ensure adequate security and poll arrangements before April 17. He said some electronic voting machines (EVM) should be kept at stand by so that they could be used if any EVM breaks down. — OC |
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Jammu, March 29
While a befitting tribute was paid to martyr lance naik V Anthony Nirmal Viji of Artillery Regiment at a wreath-laying ceremony conducted as per the highest traditions of the Army at the Pathankot air field, Bolero driver Tarsem Singh was cremated at his native village Kotli Mirdian in the RS Pura subdivision of Jammu district this afternoon.
