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Bank account: Beg calls Mehbooba’s action criminal
Army prepared to handle infiltration bids, says Corps Commander
Modi a threat to secularism: Soz
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Molestation
Case
Rights body directs police to rescue missing boy
Ratanpuri makes U-turn, to campaign for NC
Farooq to file nomination papers on Monday
Geelani calls for ‘fresh’ probe into Babri demolition
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Bank account: Beg calls Mehbooba’s action criminal
Anantnag, April 5 “This is blatant misuse of power and it tantamount to a fraud,” said Beg, while addressing a press conference at his ancestral residence here. He said her actions, if looked at in legal frame work, were nothing short of a crime. He said he and his party had approached the EC seeking stern punishment for Mehbooba Mufti. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, had filed her nomination papers for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat on April 1, when she was left embarrassed for failing to produce bank account details as made mandatory by the Election Commission. She, however, managed to open a fresh account at a bank in Anantnag, despite the day being a bank holiday across the country. Later on April 4, she filed her nomination papers afresh. Beg while maintaining that filing nominations afresh was well within Mehbooba's legal rights said her earlier actions could not and should not be over looked by the Election Commission. "Besides, her casual approach towards the nomination-filing process made the other candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Awami Ittehad Party wait unnecessarily," said Beg. He urged the Election Commission to seek explanation from the Returning Officer concerned as well. "If she had been given a particular slot for filing her papers, how come she managed to consume more than three hours at the expense of other candidates," asked Beg. |
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Army prepared to handle infiltration bids, says Corps Commander
Srinagar, April 5 “We have effective counter infiltration grid in place and our intelligence network is also effective and there is an excellent coordination. We are prepared for any attempt of infiltration,” Lt Gen Gurmit Singh said on the sidelines of a passing-out parade of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment. The officer added, “Security situation along LoC (Line of Control) and hinterland is absolutely under control.” On the occasion, the GOC complimented the 311 youths of J&K, who completed the Army training and took part in the passing-out parade. “I am proud of these boys and their parents who motivated them to join this profession,” he said. Earlier, 311 fresh recruits from J&K were inducted in the Army’s J&K Light Infantry (JAK LI) Regiment at a colourful passing-out parade, reviewed by the Commander. A Defence spokesman said the recruits were inducted after 49 weeks of arduous training. “Their passing-out parade was attended by over 2,500 parents and relatives of the young soldiers along with a number of civil and military dignitaries,” he said. In the investiture ceremony, recruit Vicky Singh, who distinguished himself in all disciplines of training, was awarded the Sher-e-Kashmir, Sword of Honour and the Triveni Singh Medal, for being adjudged as the overall best recruit in the course. He was also conferred the Chewang Rinchen Medal for being the “Best Recruit in Firing”. Qadar Khan, who won the Bana Singh Medal for being “Best in Drill”, commanded the parade. |
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Modi a threat to secularism: Soz
Jammu, April 5 Addressing a meeting of intellectuals at Kunjwani, Jammu, Soz said because of Modi's style of functioning and his ideas based on extreme sectarianism, even the BJP's top brass was feeling threatened. "The BJP top leadership is feeling the growth of a personality cult at the cost of the party itself," he said. He felt that the BJP had started understanding the implications of a strange phenomenon of a personality cult, which could endanger the prospects of the BJP's growth in future. Soz said there was no doubt that Modi was hell bent to build a "Hindu Rashtra". "I am confident that the secular India would defeat Modi in his designs of establishing the basis for fascism in India," he said. — TNS |
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Molestation
Case
Srinagar, April 5 This has been established by the police after a scrutiny of the call detail records (CDRs) of the woman doctor’s phone number. The doctor in her complaint before the police had alleged that Khan had made provocative advances and tried to molest her after she was summoned to his officer chamber on January 28. “To get the details of the conversation with the private secretary and personal assistant (of Khan), the call details of the complainant (doctor) on January 27 and 28 were obtained from the BSNL authorities with her consent,” the investigators have submitted in the chargesheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, a copy of which has been accessed by The Tribune. The CJM’s court accepted the chargesheet on April 3 and directed Shabbir Khan to present himself before the court on May 6. “It was found that the prosecuterix (complainant doctor) had received calls from the said numbers (from private secretary and personal assistant) at her mobile phone,” the Investigating officer (IO) concluded in the chargesheet while charging Khan with offences committed under Sections 354 (use of criminal force against woman with the intent of outraging her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). In her complaint to the police, the doctor had alleged that on January 27 she had received a call on her mobile. “The caller identified himself as Muzaffar Khan, currently working as special assistant to the Minister of State for Health. The caller directed the complainant to attend
the winter secretariat, Srinagar, along with the report,” read the complaint. As disclosed by the police in the chargesheet presented against Khan before the CJM, Srinagar, on April 3, it has been submitted that the IO along with his team visited the office chamber (Room No. 106) of the minister in the secretariat in Srinagar after the complaint was received from the woman doctor on March 6. The investigators also questioned the peon and other staff members in minister’s office and recorded their statements. To further verify that the woman doctor had visited the minister in his office chamber, the police checked the entry book (of visitors and guests) with the security wing of the secretariat and sealed it after preparing a proper seizure memo. As revealed in the chargesheet, the persons whose statements were recorded by the investigators included security personnel, principal and private secretaries of the accused ex-minister. The police also obtained the certified copies of the log book of the official vehicle allotted to Khan and also recorded the statements of the driver of his vehicle to authenticate that the minister was present in the old secretariat on January 28, when the alleged molestation happened. Along with the chargesheet, the police have also attached statements of 13 persons, including the statement of the complainant doctor and Khan’s special assistant and private secretary. |
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Azad launches veiled attack on BJP, urges people to vote for Cong
Poonch, April 5 Azad said he never believed in the regional or communal politics, which divides people. “People who don’t have any programme and lack confidence should not be voted to Parliament,” Azad said. The senior leader added that Parliament was supreme and above the regional or religious bias. “Parliament treats all religions and regions equally,” Azad emphasised. The Congress representative was addressing a gathering at Mandi in support of coalition candidate for Jammu-Poonch seat Madan Lal Sharma. Azad said people should be extra careful in electing people. The Union Health Minster, meanwhile, said he had announced a medical college for Rajouri district recently, adding that the institute would benefit the people of twin districts. He also highlighted various initiatives taken by the UPA government in the state. Azad added that there was a need to strengthen the cross-LoC trade on both the Poonch-Rawalakot and Uri-Salamabad routes. The Congress leader appealed to the people to vote for Madan Lal Sharma, who was a young and dynamic leader of Jammu and Kashmir. Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma, besides other NC and Congress leaders also addressed the gathering on the occasion. |
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Rights body directs police to rescue missing boy
Srinagar, April 5 The commission has also directed the SSP, Jammu, and the SHO of the police post concerned to file a compliance report within a week. The orders of the rights body came following a complaint by Allam’s parents yesterday. They say Allam was abducted by a person hailing from the Jammu region from their home in Gurgaon a year ago. “The allegations made in the complaint are grave and serious in nature and amount to child abuse and violation of child rights, which need to be dealt by the police station concerned immediately,” SHRC acting chairman Rafiq Fida observed in his orders made available today after admitting the complaint of Mohammad Abid and his wife, who hail from New Palam Vihar, Gurgaon. As a clue about the whereabouts of their missing son, the parents in their complaint could only provide a phone number of the “still unknown” person, who they believe has kept their son in captivity in the Bathindi area of Jammu. “In the first instance, the SSP, Jammu, and the SHO of the Bathindi police station are under directions to depute a team, take immediate steps and ensure that the boy is immediately rescued from the illegal and forcible possession of the person(s) whose contact number is available with the complainant,” the SHRC observed in its orders. The commission further observed that “such persons need to be dealt with sternly” under law. The next hearing of the case before the SHRC is on April 11.
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Ratanpuri makes U-turn, to campaign for NC
Ratanpuri said his differences with the NC have been addressed and he would campaign for the party. “I am going to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. I will attend a road show scheduled to be held across various villages of Pulwama district tomorrow,” the NC leader said on the sidelines of a workers meet here. Pulwama, which is a part of the Anantnag parliamentary segment, goes to polls on April 24. “I do not have differences with the party, but I have differences with some of the leaders who do not want me because of my audacity,” Ratanpuri said when asked about the differences with the party leadership. Meanwhile, launching a scathing attack on the Opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ratanpuri alleged that PDP leaders were trying to remain in headlines by making all type of false and baseless claims. “The PDP is following the publicity model of (BJP prime ministerial nominee) Narendra Modi and is trying to use media to fetch votes,” the NC leader said. He also rubbished the claims made by the PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed that working towards resolving the Kashmir issue. Ratanpuri said Kashmir issue was “complicated” and cannot be solved overnight. He also praised NC’s candidate for the Ananatnag Lok Sabha seat Mehboob Beg, saying the leader was “one of the best parliamentarians” and stood for the rights of Kashmiris in Parliament. Drawing a parallel between Beg and PDP candidate from Anantnag Mehbooba Mufti, Ratanpuri said, while the NC leader eloquently raised the issues concerning the people of Kashmir time and again in Parliament, the PDP president delivered just 11 speeches in the Lok Sabha revolving around Palestine, Bangladesh and other countries. |
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Day 1: Tulip Garden sans flowers disappoints visitors
Srinagar, April 5 Many visitors alleged that the authorities misled them about the presence of tulips in the garden. “We were very excited to visit Asia’s largest tulip garden, but got disappointed as there were no flowers,” said a tourist who had visited the Tulip Garden for the first time. Although the tulips are yet to reach full bloom, the Floriculture Department has planted 6.5 lakh bulbs over an area of 12 hectares with 25 new varieties of the flower added this year that have been imported from Holland, officials of the Floriculture department said. This year the opening of the garden was delayed due to continuous precipitation in the Valley. Formerly known as Siraj Bagh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden was the brainchild of the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Divisional Commissioner Shalinder Kumar today opened the garden for visitors. The garden was developed with the motive to provide tourists another reason to visit the Valley. The tulip cultivation has since been started on a commercial scale. The delicate flowers in different hues and colours are sent to markets across the country, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad. The exotic flower - tulip - has a short life span of 20 to 25 days. They bloom in March and stay till April end. “If the day temperature remains between 15 degree Centigrade to 18 degree Centigrade with little rains then the tulips can survive for a longer time,” said a florist in the Tulip Garden. |
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Farooq to file nomination papers on Monday
Srinagar, April 5 Senior National Conference leaders, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saifuddin Soz are expected to accompany the veteran leader to the office of the Returning Officer. Farooq is seeking re-election for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat. He is pitted against PDP nominee Tariq Hameed Karra. The BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party have also fielded their candidates on the seat. |
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Geelani calls for ‘fresh’ probe into Babri demolition
Srinagar, April 5 In a statement, Geelani said the “real culprits” behind the incident should be “brought to justice and punished.” “The sting operation of Cobrapost proves that Muslims in India are being treated as second-rate citizens, with no safety of their religious places,” he said. Geelani also criticised Shahi Imam Syed Bukhari for his statement wherein he had exhorted the Muslims to vote for the “secular” Congress. He said, “Persons like him and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have always bailed out parties such as the Congress, which is equally anti-Muslim in nature as that of the BJP and the RSS.”
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senior National Conference (NC) leader and parliamentarian Mehboob Beg today said he had approached the Election Commission (EC) of India seeking stern action against her.
Pulwama, April 5