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Chopra and Rajnesh murder cases
Human rights violations across Jammu region |
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Budget discussion harps on
Jammu-Kashmir divide
srinagar DIARY
Kashmir favourite destination for
Bollywood, cricketers
Kashmiri Pandits plead for shrines Bill
Man-animal conflicts assume
serious dimensions
CRPF to rescue of unemployed
Army helps strengthen school infrastructure
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Chopra and Rajnesh murder cases Ashutosh Sharma Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 11 Ruling out CBI investigation, Puneet Chopra, elder son of the deceased cement tycoon, who was murdered along with his wife, daughter and a domestic help and driver at Trikuta Nagar in 2006, recently filed a petition in the court seeking the completion of investigations being carried out by the special investigation team (SIT) headed by Farooq Khan, DIG, Jammu. In written reply on the present status of the Chopra and Rajnesh murder cases, the government stated in the Assembly stated that while a CBI probe had been requested into the Chopra case, Rajnesh had committed suicide in the police lockup. “All accused persons against whom a challan was produced in the court are non-state subjects and belong to the Pardhi tribe based at Khejra village in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. While producing the challan, it was requested that the CBI should investigate the case so that a supplementary challan could be produced after the conclusion of investigation,” the government said. The government said investigations revealed that members of the Pardhi tribe had only been used as contract killers to execute the plan, which was masterminded by someone else. “Keeping in view the fact that the ongoing investigation in the case has hinted at wider inter-state ramifications the state government has again requested for a CBI probe,” it added.
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Rajnesh committed suicide: Govt
In another case of alleged custodial death of Rajnesh Sharma that kept hogging headlines for long, the government said that after inquest proceedings it has been concluded that the deceased had committed “suicide.”
“On October 10, 2009, when the sweeper of Ram Munshi Bagh police station went to the lockup room, he found Rajnesh hanging from the grill of the bathroom window. Rajnesh was immediately taken to hospital where he was declared brought dead,” the government says in the reply. It reiterated the police version that Rajnesh was the main accused in the kidnapping of Amina Yousaf, daughter of Mohd Yousaf Marazi from Abi Korpora, Dal Lake in Srinagar, and he impersonated as Pawan Kumar at the time of arrest to deceive the police. His real identity was established by his mother when the body was brought to Jammu. The inquest proceedings in the case under section 176, Cr PC, have been completed and the case has now been closed as the accused had committed suicide. |
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Human rights violations across Jammu region * Just one case from 2001 to 2010 * Not even one 2008 onward Ravi Krishnan Khajuria/TNS
Jammu, March 11 Found involved in a molestation case, the guilty Army personnel, who belonged to 38 Rashtriya Rifle (Madras), was dismissed from service. The Tribune accessed figures of alleged HR violations by the Army in the Jammu region from 2001 to 2010, which clearly show a marked decrease in such accusations 2004 onwards. From 2001 to 2003, at least 33 allegations of HR abuse were received from the NHRC, SHRC and judiciary against the men in olive while the figures slumped to 14 from 2004 to 2007 while not even a single allegation was recorded from 2008 to 2010. From 2001 to 2007 the J&K Police and judiciary investigated 42 cases of HR abuse while there was no allegation from 2008 to 2010. Army sources said here while five of the 42 allegations made against the Army in the past one decade (2001 to 2007) are still under investigation, only one was found to be true in which exemplary punishment of dismissal from service was meted out to the guilty personnel. If 29 allegations were found fabricated from 2001 to 2003, the figure came down to 12 from 2004 to 2007 while not a single allegation or case was recorded from 2008 onwards. “The Army has been strictly adhering to zero tolerance towards human rights abuse ,” said a senior Army officer. “We know that there are different lobbies at work in this state and certain elements are quick to make a mountain out of a molehill. Hence, we tread very cautiously,” he added. In the Jammu region, the Army primarily operates in the region up to Pir Panjal Ranges and some prominent places like Akhnoor, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Bhaderwah, Banihal, Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Thannamandi, Kalakote, Nowshera, Sunderbani, Poonch, Mendhar, among others. The Tribune reported on November 18 last year about the Army’s alleged involvement in HR violations from 1994 to September 30, 2010. At least 988 complaints of human rights violations were levelled against the Army in the state of which 965 were investigated while 23 charges were still under investigation. While 940 complaints were found to be baseless. Stringent action under the law was taken in 25 of the cases that were found to be correct.
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Budget discussion harps on
Jammu-Kashmir divide
Jammu, March 11 Participating in the discussion on the second day after the presentation of the budget by Finance Minister AR Rather, Harsh Dev Singh, leader of the Panthers Party on the floor of the Assembly, vehemently countered the allegation that injustice was done to Kashmir in the budget proposals in the coming fiscal. Initiating the discussion on Tuesday, PDP leader and a former Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh had alleged that Kashmir was neglected in terms of funds allocation. Harsh too accused the Finance Minister of causing regional imbalance. But in a politically loaded reaction, he was equally unrelenting in attack on the PDP leader’s reaction on the budget. He gave an example that though Rs 356 crore were earmarked for the development of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the Finance Minister adopted an ostrich-like approach on the issue of developing Mansar and Surinsar lakes in the Jammu region. Differing strongly with Beigh, he alleged that real discrimination was meted out to the Jammu region. He lauded the concession to the agriculture and allied sectors as well as the newly introduced scheme “Beti Anmol” under which all girl students of the BPL category would be given incentive of Rs 5,000 on passing class XII. But he termed the amount as insufficient and urged for increasing the limit of the amount. He added that concessions given to other sector were mere cosmetic in nature as these would not benefit a larger section of people. He criticised Rather for ignoring the backward areas though his government always talked out them before the budget. The budget showed the dependence of the government on the Centre’s charity as it failed to identify resources to generate income. Continuing in the same vein, the leader of the BJP legislature party, Chaman Lal Gupta, came down heavily on the government for allocating more funds to Kashmir in several sectors as compared to Jammu. He wondered what criteria was adopted by Rather in preparing the budget, especially as the problems like shortfall in food production, water harnessing, industrial decline identified in the economic survey did not find any mention in the budget. Similarly, liabilities and non-plan expenditure were shown to be increasing as compared to the budget estimates of 2010-11. Gupta also demanded an enquiry into the allegation levelled by Beigh about the mismatch in the figures given in the budget. Maintaining that the budget should have been people-friendly, he gave suggestion that a regional development board should be constituted to ensure the identification of problems and requirements of all areas. This way, the distribution of resources could be made in a transparent and equitable manner and help remove regional imbalances. |
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Waiting for tulips in bloom
With sunny days over the past one week after the harsh winter this year, Kashmir is preparing for flowers in full bloom. The first to bloom are tulips in the famous Tulip Garden, which has come up as the first attraction for tourists in spring over the past five years. As the weather conditions having been normal this winter, with optimum snowfall at regular intervals, the bright sunshine carries a clear message of a full-bloom spring. The multi-coloured tulips in the sprawling lawns of Siraj Bagh in the Cheshma Shahi area overlooking the Dal Lake are expected to be in full bloom by the end of this month. Over 12 lakh tulips are in their initial stage of blooming as the buds have started protruding. The Tulip Garden has been the centre of attraction for tourists to Kashmir and Bollywood shootings in recent years. The blooming tulips are expected to lure tourists in thousands to Kashmir. LPG shortage
Even as residents in the Kashmir Valley are facing a shortage of cooking gas due to the disruption in supply following the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway intermittently during the past two weeks, the hotel and restaurant owners in the Valley continue to violate the norms by using domestic LPG cylinders for commercial purposes. The government gives a huge subsidy to the people on domestic gas cylinders that available at much lower rates as compared to the commercial ones that enjoy no subsidy. Despite flagrant violation of the rules, the law-enforcing agencies have failed to check the malpractice by hotel and restaurant operators. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili and Tejinder Singh Sodhi) |
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Kashmir favourite destination for
Bollywood, cricketers
Srinagar, March 11 While Rhodes has camped in the famous skiing resort of Gulmarg where he would be staying for one week to enjoy snow skiing, snow boarding and other winter sports on the slopes of Gulmarg, Rahman is camped in Pahalgam and Nageen Lake in Srinagar where apart from enjoying the serene and chilly atmosphere, he would be composing music for the upcoming Bollywood flick “Rockstar”. “The presence of Rahman and Rhodes here is good news which will send a good signal to attract more tourists to the Valley,” said Farooq Shah, director, Tourism. He said: “The celebrities have come to Kashmir on their own, but the department will be extending all assistance and facilities for making their stay comfortable”. Rhodes, who arrived in Srinagar recently, first drove to the Royal Springs Golf Course in the city. He relished Kashmiri Wazwan and later drove uphill to Parimahal where he stayed for sometime. He also met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah before leaving for Gulmarg. “I Met Jonty Rhodes in Srinagar. He is in Gulmarg for a few days for skiing,” Omar Abdullah tweeted. Rahman, who arrived in the Valley for two days, is putting up in a houseboat in Nageen Lake. “Rahman first went to Pahalgam where Ranbir was shooting for his upcoming film “Rockstar”. In the evening, he returned to the houseboat where he spent the night,” said an employee of the houseboat where Rahman is staying. “Though Kashmir has been a desired destination for Bollywood stars as for decades they have been coming here for shooting films, the encouraging thing is that international cricketers are also being attracted towards Kashmir. Last year, Gary Kristen, the present coach of the Indian cricket team, had also visited and stayed in Gulmarg,” said an official of the Tourism Department. |
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Kashmiri Pandits plead for shrines Bill
Jammu, MARCH 11 Alleging encroachment and desecration of over 500 temples and shrines in the Valley during the past two decades, the community leadership has once again sought strict laws to protect all such structures which are age-old symbols of their socio-religious and cultural identity. Kashmiri Pandits have been forcefully raising the issue since 2005 following the reports that the land around a number of temples, shrines and cremation grounds has either been encroached upon or sold by a well-organised land mafia operating in the Valley. Kundan Kashmiri, president, Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC), addressing a function in connection with Maha Shivratri recently, made a fervent appeal to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to introduce the Bill so as to meet the long-pending demand of the community. Kundan argued that since the National Conference had credentials of being a secular organisation, it had a responsibility to table this Bill in the Assembly session and also ensure its passage. It was in fact the same party when in 2006, it sprang a surprise in the Assembly while moving a private member's Bill, seeking protection of the temples and shrines of the Kashmiri Hindus, located in the Valley. It was then expected that the Bill would be adopted at once. But it did not happen for some unknown reasons. However, the Congress in power had assured then that it would bring its own legislation on the subject. An exercise was undertaken in March, 2007, when then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad declared that his government would draft legislation to protect and preserve temples in the Valley. Azad had urged Kashmiri Pandit associations to come forward with suggestions so that a comprehensive Bill could be drafted. However, the move still hangs in the balance as encroachments continue unabated. Kundan, however, said it was never too late. He hoped that in addition to coalition partners, members from opposition parties would this time also come out in support of such a Bill. He, however, alleged that some politicians and influential persons were not in favour of the Bill for their vested interests. The All-India Kashmiri Samaj has also been raising the demand for passage of such a Bill. Its president, Moti Kaul, last year blamed the government for resorting to delaying tactics in this connection. Kashmiri Pandit leaders have been demanding a probe into the leasing out of agriculture land around shrines, cremation grounds and temples located in Kashmir. They have blamed both government as well as the land mafia for encroaching upon hundreds of kanals of such land. |
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Man-animal conflicts assume
serious dimensions
Jammu, March 11 According to official sources, while 119 persons lost their lives in such conflicts during the last few years, hundreds of cattle too were killed by beasts. Not only this, 1072 persons were injured in attacks by wild animals . As many as 98 of the total casualities were in Kashmir division, the rest were in Jammu province. With the problem acuiring serious dimensions, the government at a meeting held last month directed all wings of the Forest Department to forge good coordination to stop incidents of man-animal conflict. Replying to a calling attention notice of Ashok Kumar in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad said the reasons for a heavy toll of human lives in conflicts with wild animals, especially leopards and black bears, in the state were an increase in human and livestock population, change of land use and encroachments and fragmentation of natural habitats. He said two boys, Joginder Singh (12) of Assar in Doda district and Aman Dubey (9) of Chenani tehsil in Udhampur district were killed by leopards on February 20 and March 3, respectively. He said the field officers concerned of the Wildlife Protection Department were directed by Chief Wildlife Warden to rush to the spots immediately and issue the ex-gratia relief on the spot to next of kin of both deceased boys. A sum of Rs 1 lakh each had been given as ex-gratia to next of kin of the deceased boys. |
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CRPF to rescue of unemployed
Srinagar, March 11 As part of this initiative, 52 youths were selected for imparting computer training, motor driving and electrician course at ITI, Tral, in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Wednesday, said Prabhakar Tripathi, PRO, CRPF, Kashmir. The course was being organised with financial assistance from 180 and 185 BN, CRPF, of Tral. After taking over as IGP (Ops), CRPF, Kashmir, B N Ramesh undertook this innovative programme for finding some livelihood means for the unemployed Kashmiri youth. The initiative has been appreciated by local youth and people of the area. People have requested the IGP to start such programmes in other parts of the Kashmir valley as well. |
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Army helps strengthen school infrastructure
Jammu, March 11 Commanding Officer Col Ashok Yadav of Skyarchers formally presided over the welfare project involving provisioning of school material, drinking water arrangement, laboratory equipment and furniture to GHS, Dhandal. Around 300 villagers and students of the school and its staff were present on the occasion. As per an Army spokesperson, the school management had approached the unit with its requirement. Last year, the school was provided classrooms, power supply arrangement and an innovative water irrigation scheme by the Army under its Operation Sadbhavna. Vimal Anand, school principal, highlighted the change in the village ever since the construction of the school began in 2008. Besides ensuring quality education in such a remote area, the school premises is being used for various gatherings. Children who earlier had to travel more than 15 km to attend the school, are now getting education in their village, thanks to the Army. The school is now equipped with a modern laboratory as well. Sonakshi, a senior teacher, remarked that the school had become a pivot around which life in the village revolved. Besides ensuring quality education, the school now has excellent infrastructure which enable students to attend school without interruption. The school also provides clean drinking water through an electric cooler, a stable power supply system through a three-phase 16 KVA transformer and education through DTH system. Ramel Singh, a member of the village committee, also praised the Army for ensuring quality education for village children. He was also grateful to the Army for the earlier irrigation project which ensured better returns to farmers in the village.
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Continuing its endeavour to win hearts of the local population through development works under Operation
Sadbhavna, the Army recently contributed to infrastructure requirements of Government High School,
Dhandal, in Udhampur district. Earlier, a similar contribution was made at Government Middle School, Chapper Khoo in the district.