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LeT commander killed in Lolab
Rajnath fails to rein in rebels
Remarks on stone pelting |
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Assembly losers now vie for LS
Former terrorists under security radar
Lashkar reach grows in Kashmir
Remarks on stone pelting
Leela Karan kickstarts campaign
Patwari, ex-custodian sent to jail
Jobs in central forces no more a taboo in valley
Zargar for proper implementation of
NRHM scheme
On a shopping spree during Navratras
Border Fencing
DRDA meeting reviews rural works
Coalition govt power hungry, says Mufti
Governor for early completion of hospital
Need to popularise farming: VC
Girl’s head found
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LeT commander killed in Lolab
Srinagar, March 29 The encounter took place during a search operation by security forces in the area following information about the presence of militants. The operation is still under way, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, the police has identified one of the two militants killed in Tral yesterday as Azad Ahmad Bhat, a local resident. Both militants were from Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pak-based outfit. Meanwhile, Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed that its militants comprised the group of infiltrators in Gurez, which was detected by the Army. HM said in a statement to a local agency that its militants were engaged in the ensuing fight who “killed” some soldiers. Arms, ammunition seized
Rajouri: The security forces have seized a cache of arms and ammunition in Kandi area here yesterday. A defence spokesperson said on specific information, troops of Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF seized a cache of arms and ammunition in Kandi area here yesterday. The cache comprised one AK 56 rifle, two magazines with 48 rounds of ammunition, six Chinese grenades, one hand-held Radio Set and 15 detonators. |
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Rajnath fails to rein in rebels
Jammu, March 29 The four rebels, including Jagdish Sapolia, Mastar Lal Chand, Duga Das who have been absent in the party meeting earlier also, did not attend the rally of Rajnath Singh at Parade Ground on Friday. Leader for BJP Legislators Party Chaman Lal Gupta was also not present in the rally. They did not meet Rajnath Singh till he was in Jammu. The rebels have clearly shown that they are not going to budge before any pressure, though they are not openly saying anything. The resentment of Chaman Lal Gupta, who has been speaking on the behalf of the party in the elections, is noticeable. His resentment emanates from the decision of BJP’s Central Election Committee not to field his son, Anil Gupta, from the Udhampur-Doda constituency. Chaman Lal Gupta, who had won from this seat in past was hopeful that he would be able to get this parliamentary seat for his son. But the ticket went to Nirmal Singh. In the coming days, as the campaign fever grips up, the Congress might take advantage from the fissures within the BJP by attacking on its solidarity. The skirmishes in the party before the election might show its colours in the coming days. |
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Geelani set to launch anti-poll campaign
Srinagar, March 29 Geelani’s main focus during the anti-election campaign is going to be the concern for human rights violations at the hands of security forces, particularly during the past three months since the Omar government took over. In his first address on his arrival here, he expressed concern over the killing of six persons at the hands of security forces during the past three months. These included a civilian on Gupkar road here, two civilians in Bomai, Sopore, and one each in Nowhatta, Srinagar, Kheegam, Pulama and the Lolab area of Kupwara district. He asked the people to stay away from the elections as it would “dilute the freedom cause”. The two coalition partners, NC and the Congress, have decided to contest three seats each in the state. While the Congress has already announced its candidates for Jammu and Udhampur, the nominee for Ladakh would be announced tomorrow, party sources said here. The Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla seats would be contested by the NC. The PDP has already decided to go it alone in the Lok Sabha elections. Geelani and his separatist associates had either been put under house arrest or jailed during the Assembly elections held during November-December last year. Geelani and moderate APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were kept under house arrest for most of the election period while others like JKLF chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik were jailed to prevent them from vitiating the election atmosphere.
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Assembly losers now vie for LS
Udhampur, March 29 Sitting MP and Congress candidate from Udhampur-Doda Lal Singh had unsuccessfully contested the recent Assembly elections. Despite being the sitting MP, he badly lost, securing the fifth position in his home Assembly constituency of Kathua. Lal Singh had secured only 6053 of the total 74070 votes polled. Interestingly, the Kathua Assembly segment falls under the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha constituency. Likewise, PDP candidate Balbir Singh had lost the Assembly elections from Billawar where he had joined the fray as an Independent candidate. Out of the total 62127 votes, Balbir Singh got only 6387 votes, securing the fourth position. This Assembly segment also falls under the Udhampur-Lok Sabha constituency. As far as Panthers Party supremo Bhim Singh is concerned, he had lost even his security deposit from the Jammu East Assembly segment. Prof Bhim Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Udhampur-Doda, had secured only 456 of the total 31364 votes polled during the Assembly election from Jammu East. Among the Lok Sabha candidates, only BJP nominee Nirmal Singh got some respectable votes in the Assembly elections. He had contested the Assembly poll from Gandhi Nagar in Jammu district and secured the second position. He lost the election by over 2000 votes. Dr Nirmal Singh had secured 31223 votes whereas the winning Congress candidate got 33486 votes. Although all these candidates lost the Assembly elections, they are confident of entering the Lok Sabha. They were of the view that issues in the Assembly elections were different from those in the Lok Sabha poll. |
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Former terrorists under security radar
Udhampur, March 29 Recently, three militants, who had rejoined terrorist outfits, were arrested from Doda district. Besides rejoining the terrorist outfits, these militants had assigned the job to regroup all those who have surrendered during the past three years. Sources in the police revealed that terrorist outfits active in Doda and Kishtwar districts, facing shortage of cadre and active militants, had been directed to lure the surrender ultras. “Fresh recruitment has almost been stopped as majority of the people in these two districts have realised that militants are responsible for their miseries,” sources said, adding that in the prevailing conditions militant groups have started luring surrendered militants to intensify their activities during the electioneering in the state. Sources further disclosed that following their failure to disrupt the last year’s Assembly elections, militant groups, this time, are desperate to create disturbance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Recently two surrender militants namely Javed Ahmed and Rashid Hussain were arrested for their involvement in a grenade-throwing incident. Police sources said a number of militants who were released from the jails due to non-availability of sufficient proofs against them had rejoined the rank and file of some outfits. |
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Lashkar reach grows in Kashmir
Srinagar, March 29 Mir’s story is no exception. Officials said Latif Dar, younger brother of dreaded Hizbul militant Rayees
Kachroo, who was killed in an encounter in December last year after escaping from police custody, joined the
LeT, preferring puritan jehadi ideology of Lashkars over vacillation of HM commanders. They said the recent infiltration bid by the
LeT, which resulted in the killing of 18 militants and eight Army personnel, was an indication of attempts made by the outfit, preferred by the ISI over other terror groups, to reinvigorate its network in the valley. “Violence has fallen over some time due to killing of many old militants. But I do not think we have stopped their spread. Their numbers have definitely come down but Pak outfits are growing at HM’s expense,the ” an Army official posted in Pulwama told The Tribune. In distant areas like
Tral, Jaish-e-Mohammad has firmly entrenched itself over the years even as HM remains a formidable force while LeT has grown in the plains of
Pulwama, Awantipora and Shopian. Official sources said Rehman, an accomplice of killed top LeT commander Atif and now his replacement in south Kashmir, has been actively seeking new recruits. Even Jaish is making its presence felt in
Pulwama, where it did not exist earlier. Officials said the relative economic wellbeing in south Kashmir compared to other parts of the valley, courtesy flourishing fruit business, and a thinner presence of security personnel have come handy for militants. In villages like Naina
Batpora, Littar, Nowpora, Panchgam, termed most dangerous by officials, most people openly flout their affection for militants as long as security forces are not around. Once-dominant HM cadres, officials said, are playing foot soldiers for Pak-based outfits, who are resource-wise much stronger. “We will see more coordination between different outfits in coming months but the action would be dominated by Pak-based outfits like
LeT,” an official said. If officials engaged in counter-terrorism operations are to be believed, some commanders of these outfits have even invested in local fruit and transport trades to strengthen their local network. |
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Geelani flays Maulana Showkat
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, March 29 Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Asiya Andrabi have criticised maulana and said stone-pelting was a justified weapon for “the oppressed people” to vent their anger against their “oppressors”. Andrabi even termed those who toe the line that Islam forbids stone-pelting as “enemies of freedom movement in cahoots with Indian forces” without naming the maulana, whose sect has grown remarkably in Kashmir in recent years. Though Ahle-Hadith is an orthodox sect, Maulana Showkat has been a thorn in the flesh of Jamiat-e-Islami leaders like Geelani who have been mentors of militant outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen, whose many commanders were drawn from Jamiat. The maulana has also been lobbying with the state government for land for opening an Islamic institution, thus, becoming an easy target for his rivals. An enraged maulana, who is a close associate of JKLF leader Yasin Malik, has challenged those sanctioning stone-pelting for a public debate. Attacked twice in the past by militants for his independent views, he said those opposing his views were using religion conveniently.
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Leela Karan kickstarts campaign
Jammu, March 29 Leela said the height of discrimination could be well judged from the facts that there were 16 lakh voters for 46 Assembly seats in the Kashmir valley while the Jammu region which had 21 lakh voters has just 37 seats. Besides, there were only two Parliament seats for 34 lakh voters of Jammu while the valley had three seats for only 31 lakh voters. Attacking the Congress-National Conference coalition, he said despite the coalition’s assurance to end discrimination of Jammu, they have done nothing in this direction in the past three month of their rule.” Recalling the Amarnath agitation, he said, “During this historical agitation people of every caste and creed were united. We need the same unity to force Kashmir leaders, state and the Central government not to ignore Jammu at any level.” Comparing five tenure of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the five year of the present UPA government, the BJP candidate said, “NDA got single opportunity to rule the Centre while the Congress ruled for decades together but the NDA did all which
the Congress failed to do”. Meanwhile, with the filing of their nominations, BJP and Congress candidates have started their campaign in their respective constituencies but the Congress has yet to call top leaders to activate the election mood in favour of the party. The BJP has taken the lead in this matter by making its national president Rajnath address an impressive election rally in Jammu two days ago. However, the Congress campaign committee held a meeting, presided over by in charge of J&K affairs Prithviraj Chauhan, state unit chief Saifuddin Soz, among others, to decide the schedule of public rallies of party president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi. |
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Patwari, ex-custodian sent to jail
Jammu, March 29 Three FIRs were registered on the basis of the judgement passed by a Judicial Member of the J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu, in years 1993 and 1994, wherein evacuees property land was allotted to accused persons on the basis of forged affidavits by Dheru Ram, who was already dead. The land in different khasras was allotted to the absconding accused namely Gurcharan Singh, Darshan Singh and Mathura Kour. The judgement observed, “It is shocking that the custodian of the land, while exercising powers as the Provincial Rehabilitation Officer, Jammu, played a truant with the statute, which vested in him jurisdiction to make and cancel the allotment of evacuees land in favour of bona fide displaced persons of 1947 hailing from the PoK. It is not a case of bona fide discharge of public duty or mere failure of exercising supervisory jurisdiction with a degree of vigil. The custodian of land picked up the third form where the patwari left it. Both pursued the same object of depriving the legal heirs of deceased Dheru — Chuni Lal, Sadhoo and Amir Chand — of their rights in the evacuees property land under their occupation and further vesting of such rights in Gurcharan Singh and others. The cancellation of allotment to an allottee or his legal heirs and thereafter making allotment in favour of some other displaced persons without following procedure under rule and by accepting forged affidavits of such occupants of evacuees land is undoubtedly an illegal act. This brings the accused within the ambit of substances of offence u/s 120-B, RPC. The custodian and the patwari in connivance with Gurcharan Singh, Darshan Singh and Mathura Kour acted in a brazen manner and polluted the stream of justice. |
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Jobs in central forces no more a taboo in valley
Srinagar, March 29 Officials said the number of Kashmiri youths turning up for recruitment in the Army and central police forces like the CRPF and the BSF has steadily gone up over the years as the influence of militants, who issued edicts in past against jobs in these institutions, over the social order has come down over the years. The ever-rising tide of unemployment in the valley has also been a contributing factor. A latest example of this was the big crowd of aspirants, which the Army puts at close to 15,000, who turned up for a recruitment drive in Baramulla on February 18. Brig KD
Malhotra, Deputy Director-General, recruitment, told The Tribune that the "overwhelming" response showed the desire of youths in Kashmir to become a part of the Army. He said they were open about the number of vacancies and would ensure nobody who met the selection criteria went disappointed.When the Army had held a similar rally in the valley three years back, not more than 2000 youths expressed interest. What was more, officials said, the geographic profile of aspirants had widened and many youths came from separatist hotbeds like
Sopore, Baramulla and Srinagar. A Kashmiri, who is in the Railways Protection Force
(RPF), said he used to keep his families out of his village in Shopian district for fear of reprisal in initial years. “I joined the RPF in 93 and those were difficult days for even state police personnel. Things have completely changed now,” he said. Officials of the Army and the
CRPF, which is also actively deployed across the valley, said they often got employment requests from villagers during their interaction. |
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Zargar for proper implementation of
NRHM scheme
Srinagar, March 29 Speaking at a programme - Role of NGO’s in National Rural Health Mission - Zargar said 90 per cent treatment had to be done at primary level. “It is in this respect that basic health centres like dispensaries, first-aid centres and sub-district hospitals are very important. These health institutions hold a very important role in overall health scenario,” he said. Advocating inclusion of locals in health programmes under the
NRHM, Prof Zargar said this would lead to best results as locals could gauge situation in best manner and help in solving a particular health problem. Referring to tremendous rush of patients to the SKIMS, the Zargar said 67,000 patients visited casualty block of the hospital during 2008 as compared to 15,000 in 1991. “Given the present scenario, the institute is no more a tertiary health care
centre. It is not fair to criticise doctors for their performance and they too are under tremendous public pressure. If the NRHM is implemented successfully then patients from outside the state would come to the SKIMS for treatment,” he
said. Saleem-ur-Rehman, assistant director, Health and Family Welfare said NGO’s in the valley were doing multiple jobs without focusing on an exclusive job. He said while as the Jammu and Ladakh divisions were moving ahead with respect of implementation of the
NRHM, the valley was lagging behind. Lamenting about “lack of support” from the Health Department, AM Mir, executive director of the Jammu and Kashmir Voluntary Health and Development Association said funds were not being sanctioned for implementation of various health programmes under the NRHM across the valley. |
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Earth Hour: Jammuites show indifference
Jammu, March 29 Though lights remained on in the entire city but in some areas people observed the day by switching off their light for one hour. Irony of the matter is that the light in the Power Receiving Station, near Vikram Chowk, was also on, which depicts the fact that leave the common people, not even the Power Development Department was aware of the fact that the whole world was observing the Earth Day. Taking to the Tribune, people said due to lack of awareness, they failed to observe the day other wise they could have observed the Day voluntarily. PL Pandita of Patoli area said, due to lack of awareness we could not observe the day. We have not received any information from electronic media too regarding the day. They should have in fact telecast the information as they telecast the information of polio drop or other things to generate awareness among masses. Adding, he said, we should care for our Mother Nature and if the global warming continues to spread rapidly, it will destroy the whole world. |
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On a shopping spree during Navratras
Jammu, March 29 “I have decided to purchase a new car for my family,” said Alok Sharma who purchased a Maruti Swift car on the second Navratra. “The sale of cars during the Navratra season is always at the peak, but due to the global meltdown the car companies have not only reduced the prices of vehicles but are also offering other lucrative schemes to attract customers.” said the manager of a car showroom here. Maruti Suzuki has reduced the prices of almost all its variants ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 42,000. “During the ongoing Navratra season, our company has offered a rebate of Rs 10,000 on Maruti Omni, Rs 12,000 on Maruti 800, Rs 14,000 on Alto, Rs 40,000 on SX4 and Rs 42,000 each on Wagon R and Zen Estilo,” A local Maruti dealer said. Other car companies have also been offering lucrative schemes for their customers during the ongoing Navratras. “I decided to purchase a new car three months ago, but my wife told me that I should purchase one during the Navratras festival,” said Naveen Kumar of Gangyal here.
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Border Fencing
Kathua, March 29 Farmers of Kathua district have thanked the government for fencing realignment. “Earlier, almost half of our land was wasted due to fencing near border areas...Now we are feeling happy after realignment of fencing...The government has done a good job for us,” said Maggar Singh, a farmer. Now nearly 1100 acres is available for cultivation. “There is a lot of development in the work of fencing realignment from Kathua to Asapura. We can re-claim around 1100 acres after re-alignment,” AK Sharma, DIG (BSF), Jammu, said. “Over 50 per cent of the realignment work has been completed and work is going on for the remaining portion,” he added. The BSF had started fencing work almost a decade ago after reporting heavy infiltration of armed militants from Pakistan. Due to regular exchange of fire between the troops of the two nations, it was not possible for the BSF to fence the LoC that divides Kashmir. Therefore, fencing was raised one to three km behind the LoC, which took a major portion of cultivated land from farmers. The Indian Army decided to shift the fencing at the LoC with the reduction in cross-border firing after India and Pakistan began peace talks, commonly known as composite dialogues in 2004.
— ANI
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DRDA meeting reviews rural works
Rajouri, March 29 Reviewing the pace of development activities under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, it was said 819 rural works stand completed during current fiscal, whereby generating 22.49 lakh mandays. Similarly, 247 low cost houses were constructed under IAY and work is in final stage on remaining such houses, which are expected to be completed during the current month. Among others, Poonch MLA Aijaz Ahmed Jan, additional district development commissioner Syed Anwar Hussain Shah and district officers associated with the schemes attended the meeting.
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Coalition govt power hungry, says Mufti
Jammu, March 29 Addressing a public meeting in support of party candidate from the Doda-Udhampur parliamentary constituency Thakur Balbir Singh, he said the alliance was formed just for the lust of power. He reminded people that it was the same Congress-NC alliance that had brazenly rigged the 1987 Assembly elections, which led to the decade-long bloodshed in the state. “Had the Congress and the NC not rigged the 1987 Assembly elections and allowed the democracy to flourish at that time, situation would have been different in the state,” he said. He warned the new dispensation against repeating the 1987 blunder in the forthcoming LS elections.
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Governor for early completion of hospital
Jammu, March 29 He was addressing the second governing council meeting of the institute here today. He emphasised the
need for the time-bound completion of the hospital to avoid time and cost overrun. Vohra said a chart should be drawn up so that all components like completion of infrastructure, purchase and installation of equipment, positioning of the staff etc. synchronise and the entire project becomes functional by the targeted date. |
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Need to popularise farming: VC
Srinagar, March 29 He said agriculture would face serious consequences if use of land for non-agricultural purposes was not stopped. He said this practice would affect agriculture productivity and ecology. Addressing mediapersons at the university, Shalimar, here on Friday, Alam said the university had developed 17 hybrid crop varieties that had a high yielding potential. He urged people to make use of these varieties to enhance production and productivity of agricultural products. |
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Girl’s head found
Srinagar, March 29 Locals’ anger was assuaged to some extent after the local MLA, Javed Dar, reached there and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh.
— TNS |
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