Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

2012-02-16T08:26:00.000+14:00

NC’s ex-MLC, PDP leader’s kin among JK Bank’s defaulters

JK Bank asks DPS Anantnag owners to pay back debt of Rs 3.43 Cr

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 15: National Conference leader and the party’s former Member of Legislative Council, Altaf Ahmad Wani alias Altaf Kaloo, and brother of PDP leader and former Minister of State for Health, Abdul Gaffar Sofi, are among the owners of Delhi Public School, Anantnag, who have been notified by Jammu & Kashmir Bank as defaulters and asked to pay back debt outstanding of Rs 3.43 Cr in the next two months.

According to officials at JKB’s South Kashmir zonal office, NC leader Altaf Kaloo, PDP leader Abdul Gaffar Sofi’s brother, Abdul Rashid Sofi, and two other businessmen of Anantnag and Sangam towns set up Mars Educational Trust (MET) Sangam in 2004-05. Within a year, they became franchise of Delhi Public School and set up its Anantnag branch at Sangam on the National Highway. They took term loan of Rs 2.00 Cr for construction of the school buildings in 2006, term loan of Rs 63 Lakh in 2007 for expansion of the complex besides procurement of furniture, computers and labs and in the same year another term loan of Rs 56 Lakhs for purchasing school buses.

JKB officials said that promoters of the trust committed serious defaults and irregularities in backing the loan back to the back according to the agreement between the two parties. They said that when the principal amount and the interest thereon accumulated to Rs 3.43 Cr and the party did not honour its commitments and assurances made in response of several notices and meetings with the branch manager, the bank felt constrained to issue the notice through newspapers.

“All these term loans, alongwith the interest, were to be repaid by you through monthly installments of prescribed amounts but you have been willfully neglecting and refusing to pay the same. As a result of your default, the bank has been forced to recall these term loans and after a number of notices and requests, it finally recalled the same in July 2011 whereupon the entire amount outstanding in these three accounts, aggregating to Rs 34325359.57, as on 31-12-2011, has become due and payable to the bank from you”, reads the notice issued through a daily today. Bank has asked the ‘defaulters’ to pay the entire amount in two months to save themselves from further action and made it clear publicly that “said actions of the bank may entail severe hardships to the innocent students of the school but you alone shall be to blame for the same”.

With the things coming to a head between the DPS Anantnag owners and the bank, future of over a thousand students has landed into uncertainty. Classes of LKG to Class 12^th have been operational at this school, first and the last CBSE-affiliated school in south Kashmir. “We are conscious of the sensitivity of the issue but equally constrained to recover the debt in full. People can not hide behind such sensitivities and situations”, said a senior JKB official. He described it as bank’s routine activity of recovery and regularization of accounts.

Former MLC and NC’s leader, Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kaloo), who is one of the four founder members and trustees of Mars Educational Trust disputed that the promoters had committed any ‘willful default”. “We have no intention of running away with the bank’s money. We have already paid back Rs 2 Crore and owe Rs 68 Lakhs to them”, Altaf told Early Times. According to him, bank had done the favour of advancing loan of Rs 4 Crore but also been “unfair” in fixation of the “anomalous” rate of interest as well as execution of insurance.

Altaf explained that JKB had advanced voluminous loan to DPS Srinagar at just 7% while as interest rate of 13% was being arbitrarily charged from DPS Anantnag. According to him, the trust had raised this issue with the former Chairman of the bank but he did not settle it for a long time. Later, the promoters raised the same with the current chairman, Mushtaq Ahmad, who was gracious enough to issue written sanction and orders, asking the bank officials to rationalize the rate of interest and make it same as has been sanctioned in favour of DPS Srinagar. “But, the branch manager is repeatedly denying receipt and knowledge of such orders”, Altaf asserted.

Altaf said that it was not the promoters’ but the bank’s fault that it had insured only the building structures and general laboratory for a lower amount with Bajaj Allianz. He insisted that major reason of the irregularity were two massive attacks by unruly mobs on the school in 2008 and 2010. “In the first attack, we suffered damages to the tune of Rs 1.87 Cr. Due to the bank’s lapse and laxity, Bajaj cleared the claim only for Rs 51 Lakhs. That was deposited in the account. Next time, damages were assessed at Rs 1.62 Cr. Again, the insurance company is pleading to pay a small amount. No claim has been realized till date”, Altaf said. He said it was being projected in defence by Bajaj that different labs and equipments had not been specifically and separately covered in the policy made by the bank.

Known for its “softness” towards defaulters in politics and media, J&K Bank has rarely taken harsh measures to enforce recovery of loans from several classes of customers. It is after a long time that notice has been publicly served on so-called protected defaulters. While as Abdul Rashid Sofi’s brother, Abdul Gaffar Sofi, who is believed to be the real partner, was returned as PDP’s MLA from Homeshalibugh in 2002 and 2008 Assembly elections, he served as MoS Health in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s coalition government. Second partner, Altaf Ahmad Wani alias Kaloo, emerged as NC’s choice and was installed as the party’s MLC in 2009. He held that position for two years.

END

2012-02-16T08:23:00.002+14:00

Kashmiri IAS aspirant’s brutal killing shakes Uri

Lucknow Police files FIR, post mortem confirms murder

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 14: Ruling National Conference’s Lok Sabha member from North Kashmir, Sharief-ud-din Shariq, seems to be programmed to raise hue and cry over the killing of only those of his voters who die at the hands of Police and security forces. Same party’s Rajya Sabha member, Mohammad Shafi Uri, who served several times as MLA of Uri and a Minister in J&K, appears to be more concerned on political news than the crime done to the Kashmiris outside. Sitting MLA from Uri and Congress’ Minister of Irrigation, Taj Mohi-ud-din, is apparently preoccupied with dousing the in-house flames of his party that were fast leaping onto him, Peerzada Sayeed and some other of his Cabinet colleagues. Hurriyat’s tropical plant of Azadi has never taken root in temperate Uri.

So, death of the IAS aspirant, Syed Danish Ali Naqvi of Kamalkote, in extreme brutality in the UP capital city of Lucknow, goes unnoticed, ignored and uncondemned. The story of transportation of the dead body, that took full five days, from Lucknow to Uri, is no less pathetic.

According to his three roommates, one from Poonch and two from Budgam district of J&K, twenty-two-year old Danish walked out of the privately hired accommodation in Sarfarazgunj are of Lucknow at 2200 hours on January 31^st, in informal outfits without telling them that he would draw some money from the local ATM. As he did not return for the whole night, they thought he was participating in a religious function in their neighbourhood.

As the boy remained untraced on February 1^st, Danish’s roommate, Murtaza of Poonch and two others called his cousin Syed Anwar Shah who is a student of Islamic studies at Jamia Imamiya Tanzeem-ul-Makkatib, Golagung. Danish’s three roommates from J&K, one more from Barabanki UP and cousin Anwar continued their search but failed to get any clue. Why didn’t they inform Police? “We thought it is election time here and Police would arrest and harass all the Kashmiri students”, Anwar revealed to Early Times.

Finally, some labourers working at construction of Era’s Medical College hostel informed Police that there was a dead body hanging against a tree in the nursery. Police reached the spot, took the body into custody and recovered Danish’s belongings. These included cash of Rs 10080, an ATM card of J&K Bank besides the Identity Card of M-Tech Academy’s coaching centre, where the slain youth was enrolled in English Speaking Course. He had planned for go for MBA but not before trying his luck in current year’s IAS examination. After completing his BA from Degree College in Uri, Danish had left for the coaching in Lucknow four months ago.

According to Anwar, some shopkeepers revealed to Police that they had spotted some strangers at around midnight of February ½ who were in a Wagon car with its number plate covered by mud. They asked for tea which was not available that time. Then they returned. Police on the spot found tyre marks of a Wagon R from the plantation backyard of the famous Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital. According to eyewitnesses, the body was hanging against a tree, with both hands tied in the back. Gaping wounds in the area of neck and ears indicated forceful strikes of a sharp sword.

Men from Balagunj Police Division and Thakurgunj Police station took next two days in registration of a “death in mysterious circumstances” and completing medico-legal formalities. The inquest proceedings conducted under section 174 CrPC found it a plain case of murder.

Dead body was returned to the young student Syed Anwar with a preliminary post mortem observation that suggested that Danish had died of “asphyxia caused due to strangulation”. With everybody busy in Assembly elections, none among Police or civil administration came to Anwar’s help till his relatives sent him e-tickets.

After a great deal of hassles, that includes a bitter exchange between the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner’s OSD and Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, Anwar succeeded in carrying the body to Kamalkote, close to LoC in Uri sector, for funeral. From February 2^nd to 6^th, the embalmed body remained in unattended rooms, airport mortuaries and transshipment.

Danish’s barbaric murder has shaken up not only the father Syed Rehmat Shah Naqvi and his family but also sent shockwaves all across Uri. “We are completely shattered and are left with no strength to call for investigation and justice. We are broken. How can we approach officers and politicians to seek their help?” 50-year-old Rehmat Shah, who works as Assistant Executive Engineer in Rural Engineering Wing of the state Rural Development Department in Sopore, bemoaned. Danish’s mother, Sayyeda Nazir Fatima, lost her mental balance with the first news of her son’s slaying. After a week of treatment at SKIMS Medical College and Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital in Srinagar, she was carried back to her village today.

Rehmat Ali said that the Investigating Officer contacted him on phone today and informed him that it had been established as a murder case. He told him that the investigation was underway but none of the suspects had been arrested or interrogated in the last over one week. Even the motive of the murder, which was all the more blind after recovery of the entire amount of cash Danish had drawn from the ATM, was found intact. His other belongings, including his cellphone were all in his room, though he made a call to his younger brother Muntazar between 11.00 pm and 1.00 a.m on the fateful night. He wanted to talk to his mother, who was however admitted at SKIMS Medical College Bemina. He put off the call, telling Munatazar that he would call next day.

DIG/SSP of Lucknow, D K Thakur, told Early Times over phone from Lucknow that Police had converted the matter into a murder case but there had been no headway. “We have not been able to do anything substantial so far”, DIG said. He added that the investigation was in progress.

END

2012-02-15T08:30:00.002+14:00

Peerzada: Minister of gain in the coalition of loss

Sonia, Omar have more at stake than this ‘loyalist since Emergency’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 13: In his statement of defence, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed has communicated to Mrs Sonia Gandhi some important things in bullet points: That he has been a Congress loyalist and has never left the party in lurch since Emergency; that he has done much to keep India’s flag high in the strife-torn Kashmir; that he has rehabilitated a ‘militancy-hit family’ in his second marriage.

Those aware of things closely include editor of a vernacular daily in Srinagar. In his complaints to readers through the columns of his daily and Police through applications, he is on record to have observed that much more than the poor Minister it was the ‘militancy-hit family’ that was behind sending JKLF men to his office, getting him kidnapped and thrashed at a hideout in Maisuma. His accusations have gone uncontested in the last 10 years.

When New Delhi needed men to keep its flag aflutter in Srinagar, Peer Hissam-ud-din’s nephew huddled himself into the dungeons of Legislators’ Hostel in Jammu. Those who performed the heroic task in turbulent times and held the fort in Valley without publishing their resignation through paid advertisements in vernacular dailies, are all in oblivion today. Taj Mohiuddin is an exception.

Peerzada read about Ghulam Rasool Kar’s rally of January, 1995, in newspapers. Kar and Taj made the first dent in the Hurriyat’s and the militants’ completely captured Valley with the blessings of Narasimha Rao and Rajesh Pilot. Even as Rao remained just rhetorical with his sky-is-the-limit in Burkina Faso, Pilot kept shuttling between Delhi and Srinagar at a time when men like Peerzada believed that the Valley had been lost for ever.

Pilot left no stone unturned to regain the lost paradise for Delhi. After several visits from 1990 to 1992, he made it a point to drive deep into the interior of Baghwanpora, Lalbazar, to interact with bereaved families when over 50 people died in a house collapse. He met elders to seek their goodwill and doled out things from telephone connections to LPG units among the young, whoever met him and sought favour from the Member of Parliament. Pilot was absent but his portraits were high in the rally Kar and Taj initiated from Uri and concluded three days later at Qazigund.

Those prominently conspicuous in the rally included Ghulam Mohammad Mir Magami, who later became Lok Sabah member in 1996, and died; Former militants Sareer Khan, who was years later ambushed and gunned down in Chandoosa; and, Chaudary Jalal-ud-din, who was later literally pushed back to the wall of ‘Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’. Days after his maiden interaction with Pilot, Jalaluddin appeared on Doordarshan with his famous statement, perhaps first of such against the militants: “Al-Barq, Al-Garq” [Down with Al-Barq] “Eik kutta thaa mere paas, usay bhi naa chhorha [Terrorists didn’t spare even my pet dog].

Jalal’s brother, Salam-ud-din, contested two elections for Congress from Kupwara. He lost both, but not before attracting back into the mainstream politics men like Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, who had led pro-Azadi processions from Kupwara to Lolab in 1990, after serving as NC’s MLA from 1987 to 1990. Then a promising advocate, Mir Saifullah, too was lured into the pro-Indian political activity. In 1996 elections, both became NC’s MLAs from Kupwara and Lolab respectively. Salam-ud-din too vanished into oblivion shortly, alongwith the most imposing Deen Mohammad Cheetah.

While as Ghulam Ahmed Mir remained engaged in distributing petrol pumps with a union Minister in Delhi and Peerzada read Kokernag’s news in the dailies in Jammu, Kar and Taj kept sowing fresh seeds of their party in Valley. The ‘militancy-hit family’ in question remained part and parcel of the bloodshed that commanders like Parvez Billa unleashed in Valley and made thousands of the Kashmiris run for life.

Anyway, that’s not for Congress alone. In NC too, men like Mohammad Sayeed Akhoon, who had the audacity of keeping the red party flag aflutter on their rooftops, perished under the weight of escapists who returned as ‘petty contractors” from Jammu in 1996 and became not only Ministers but also multi-millionaires. In the whole camp, Forest Minister Mian Altaf is the only one who stood back in Valley firmly alongwith his family and survived fatal landmine explosions. In one of such blasts, his foot was nearly amputated.

When Taj grappled with counter-insurgents and declared his own war on the dreaded Ikhwan and Muslim Mujahideen, Peerzada learned about it in Jammu. Later, when “Emergency time loyalists” returned, Kokernag-Dooru had become a safe haven for Congress. Death of NC’s MLA and Parliamentary Secretary (minister without oath) Ghulam Hassan Bhat in an IED blast and poor performance of another MLA, Pir Abdul Rasheed, came as a boon to Congress. Since 2002, Kokernag and Dooru have become bastions of Mrs Gandhi’s party.

Cynics expecting Peerzada’s and Mir’s fall after 2006 sex scandal were pretty wrong in their observation. Both were returned in 2008 and both are continuing as strong contenders in the forthcoming elections too. Peerzada’s involvement and indictment by J&K State Accountability Commission later in the infamous Panchayat Ghar Electrification Scandal became a certificate of his “good performance” for the voters in Kokernag. Even today, after reams of his involvement have been published in newspapers, his constituency stands intact.

If that alone is the yardstick, Peerzada deserves to be promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief Minister.

But, nobody in Kashmir seems to have swallowed Sonia Gandhi’s act of making the mockery of the party’s affairs as well as that of the NC-Congress coalition. Much more than Peerzada has gained in the support and clean chit from Delhi, Sonia and Omar have lost. Having lost their faith in the coalition leadership, unprecedented in last many years, Kashmiris are now satirically suggesting on streets: “Peerzada Sahab should be now given portfolio of Higher Education so that he could help his son in under-graduation examinations!”. Will the morally sensitive Omar Abdullah allow himself to be sacrificed for tainted partners of Congress, remains the biggest question in every drawing room in Srinagar.

END

2012-02-13T08:34:00.002+14:00

Fayyaz asks Governor: Why doesGovt promote unauthorized TV channels in J&K?

In 24 hours, Div Comm orders DCs to take “immediate action” againstcable operators

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Feb12: A day after Srinagar Bureau Chief of Early Times, Ahmed Ali Fayyaz, pointedout to Governor N N Vohra at the IRIIS conference how Government wasencouraging mushroom growth of completely unauthorized Television channels todiscredit genuine media in Jammu & Kashmir, Divisional Commissioner, DrAsgar Hassan Samoon, has directed respective Deputy Commissioners to initiateimmediate action against the defaulting cable operators in Kashmir.

Sundaybeing a gazetted holiday, Kashmir Divisional Commissioner, Dr Asgar Samoon,issued the orders of immediate action against the defaulting cable operatorsthrough a social networking website. “It seems that somelocal cable networks have once again started broadcasting news n views despiteGovt ban n in violation of the Cable Act, in some districts of kashmir valleylike Baramulla and south kashmir. I am asking concerned Deputy Commissionersfor immediate action against them per law”, Dr Samoon posted on his wall onFacebook. “I would also solicit n appreciate considered views of all organisedmedia and public at large on the subject”, he added, requesting thestakeholders and common people to send him their opinion on the operation ofcable TV channels.

DivisionalCommissioner’s orders to DCs in the Valley came a day after eminent journalistand Srinagar bureau chief of Early Times pointed out at a conference that inviolation of the law of 1995, government functionaries, including DCs andMinisters, were encouraging wild growth of unauthorized cable TV channels andgranting them recognition with their own appearance in illegally running “newsand current affairs programmes”.

Governor N NVohra participated as chief guest at the conference organized here yesterday byNew Delhi-based Institute of Research on India and International Studies(IRIIS). Country’s eminent political scientist and Professor of DelhiUniversity, Dr Neera Chandhoke, editor of daily ‘Kashmir Images’ Bashir Manzarand BBC’s Srinagar correspondent Riyaz Masroor, were speakers at the panel discussion.Honorary director of IRIIS and author of two books on Kashmir, Prof Navnita ChadhaBehera, presented findings of a survey on Kashmiri Youth and Media, at theconference which was attended by a galaxy of academics, mediapersons,government functionaries, businessmen, social activists, researchers andpoliticians.

Teachers andstudents of different departments of University of Kashmir, Islamic Universityof Science and Technology, Vice Chancellor of Sher-e-Kashmir University ofAgriculture Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, Peoples Conference chairmanSajjad Gani Lone, former Director of Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar, ShehzadiSimon, editor-in-chief of ‘The Tribune’, Raj Chengappa and DivisionalCommissioner Kashmir, Dr Samoon, were among the participants at the second andthe last conference on the subject organized by IRIIS.

Previously,the first conference and a panel discussion was organized by the IRIIS at IndiaInternational Centre in New Delhion January 27th. While as Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, presided over thatconference and functioned as moderator, senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar,Srinagar-based journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz and NDTV’s Foreign Affairs editor,Nidhi Razdan, were speakers at the three-hour-long panel discussion.

IRIIS is anautonomous, non-profit research institute established in 2008 with an aim tobroaden the understanding of Indiain a globalizing world in an interdisciplinary framework. It researches ondevelopment and rights, democracy and pluralism, knowledge and technology,environment and equity, terrorism and political violence and global powershifts with relation to

India

A group ofhighly acclaimed academics from University of Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia andJawahar Lal Nehru University, besides National Bureau Chief of ‘The Hindu’ andan authority on terrorism, security and strategic issues, Praveen Swami,Supreme Court of India advocate, Madhurima Tatia and Ms Jyoti Grover, founderdirector of Quadrangle Consulting and a specialist in organisation research onpersonality assessment, psycho-graphing and career coaching, are in the CoreTeam of IRIIS.

At the paneldiscussion yesterday, Ahmed Ali Fayyaz referred to the IRIIS survey on KashmiriYouth and Media and asserted it was highly dangerous if uncontrolled,unregulated, unlicensed, unprofessional and completely illegal cable TVchannels were permitted to feed “news and views” to the youth of 15-35 years ofage group who form 48% of the total population in J&K. According tofindings of the survey, 74% of the Kashmiri youth access news on state-runDoordarshan and Radio Kashmir. The survey conducted on sample of 1320 youth inSrinagar, Budgam, Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla and Bandipore districts,indicates that only 41% of the Kashmiri youth watch news on India’s privatesatellite television news channels like NDTV, Times NOW, CNN-IBN, ETV Urduetcetera. On the other hand more Kashmiri youth i.e. 49% watch news on localcable television channels.

Referring tofindings of the survey, sponsored by union Ministry of Home Affairs, Fayyazpointed out that only eight of such channels were registered with the localauthorities strictly for making and providing entertainment programmes to thesubscribers. None of them was authorized by law to run news or current affairsprogrammes. He pointed out that the investigators found as many as 25 of suchchannels without any license, registration, infrastructure or professionalmedia resource. None of them had any knowledge of Cable Television NetworkOperators (regulation) Act of 1995 or regard for programme code, ethics codeand advertising code binding by law on all satellite and cable TV channels in India.

Still, all ofthese channels were found operating so-called “news and current affairs”programmes with the engagement of uneducated, illiterate staff, anchors,editors, programmers and producers. A number of government employees were alsooperating such channels and producing “news programmes” and even interviewingtheir own superior officers and DCs. He said it was all the more surprisingthat after the categorical ban on operation of such unauthorized channels and“ban” on “news and current affairs” programmes of the eight registered cablechannels in September 2010, mushroom growth of such uncontrolled channels hadbeen witnessed in J&K, particularly in the Valley. Over 50 of such channelswere openly operating in Valley alone in 2011. “Ban” on unauthorized newsprogrammes was in force nowhere other than in Srinagar city.

With DCs andMinisters themselves violating the law and appearing in unauthorized programmes,almost all of these channels---particularly in Baramulla, Anantnag andKulgam---had been openly blackmailing hapless, law-abiding citizens. Everybodyin the state and the central government was turning a blind eye to such uncouthbroadcasts and a new menace of “social media” was being promoted by theauthorities with flagrant violation of law. He said that DCs and otherofficials as also politicians, including MLAs and Ministers, were promoting andprojecting themselves through this illegal platform and “reporters” and camerapersonsof these very channels were fast eclipsing bona fide journalists and accreditedcorrespondents at most of the government functions at district level.

According tosome reports, government officials and politicians had fixed their own “hafta” (salaries)to operators of these channels, mostly former militants, and their “citizenjournalists” were being hired by officers, including in Police, to trap theirrivals in “sting operations”. Such matter was being uploaded on Youtube,Facebook and other social media sites without any fear of law andaccountability.

Fayyaz pointedout that when a south Kashmir youth, albeit with no negative reputation, metwith Governor previous evening, Department of Information proudly issued abulletin, saying that CEO of a Pulwama-based “news channel” had a meeting withthe Governor. He asked Mr Vohra as to what law in this country had allowed suchrecognition of quacks as bona fide journalists.

Even asGovernor did not respond, Divisional Commissioner today directed DCs in Kashmir to initiate immediate action against thedefaulting cable operators.

END

2012-02-12T16:16:00.002+14:00

Rafiabad tense as soldier ‘guns down’ civilian

MoS Home, DGP, Corps Commander douse the flames; Inquiries ordered

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 11: On the anniversary of the execution of Kashmir’s separatist icon and JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, troops have allegedly gunned down a youth in Rafiabad area of Baramulla district. Even as senior Police and Army officials and Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, visited the village, apologized to the bereaved family and ordered three separate inquiries, Rafiabad was reportedly tense over the civilian killing that came after a long pause of calm but could generate a fresh demand of revocation of J&K Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Informed sources in North Kashmir told Early Times that last evening troops from D-company of Rashtriya Rifles 32 Bn, alongwith a Police party, moved from their camp at Tragpora and laid cordon around village Lysar. According to Army officials, who approached Police, troops had received ‘specific information’ regarding presence of some militants in the village.

In the very beginning of the cordon-and-search operation, a heated exchange took place between a soldier and retired Assistant Sub Inspector Ghulam Mohammad Rather. During this exchange, ASI’s nephew, 25-year-old Ashiq Hussain Rather S/o Mohammad Akbar Rather, came down from his room at first floor of the house from sidewall staircase. Suddenly a bullet hit him straight at his heart and the youth died on spot. The shootout raised commotion in the village and scores of residents gathered to protest and mourn the youth’s killing. They alleged that troops fired and killed the civilian in cold blood during a minor scuffle between a soldier, two of the youth’s brothers and his uncle.

Troops withdrew the cordon but hundreds of people gathered and began shouting pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans with the demand that the Army camp be shifted from the area and the “guilty” soldiers be disarmed, arrested, prosecuted and punished under law.

As tension began building up, SP Sopore Imtiyaz Hussain Mir, Sub Divisional Magistrate of Sopore, Mohammad Ahsan Mir, SDPO and SHO of Police Station Dangiwacha reached the spot at midnight and made sustained efforts to pacify the crowds. However, the angry mobs persisted with the protest. In the forenoon today, nearly a thousand-strong crowd blocked Baramulla-Langet Road outside Lysar village. They placed the dead body on the road, shouted slogans and conveyed to Police that they would not go for funeral until a murder case was registered and the “guilty” soldiers were taken into custody. Under instructions from top echelons of the state government, Police filed FIR No: 6 of 2012 under section 302 of RPC (murder) against the accused company of Rashtriya Rifles 32 Bn.

Police and the demonstrators clashed for a while as some people pelted stones and Police retaliated with tearsmoke and baton charge. Sources said that four civilians and five Police personnel sustained minor injuries in the clash. Police confirmed that five constables were hurt but maintained that none of the demonstrators was injured.

The demonstrators maintained allegation that troops had killed Ashiq, who worked as a labour at Fruit Mandi in Sopore, in cold blood. However, officers of Rashtriya Rifles insisted that the youth had died in “accidental fire”. They projected their claim with the argument that in case of a scuffle or shootout, bursts or multiple single shots would have been fired. Police confirmed that there was evidence of “just one single shot”. Police further said that FIR had been filed on the statement of the residents and the real picture would emerge only after a thorough investigation and ballistic analysis.

With the tension refusing to die down and independent MLA of Langet, Engineer Rashid shouting slogans “RR Tunnel Paar” and “Hisaab dau hisaab dau, khoon ka hisaab dau”, alongwith the demonstrators, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, flying from Jammu to Srinagar, deployed senior government functionaries for reaching out to the bereaved family and the angry residents. Being in Saudi Arabia on Umra, NC’s Rafiabad MLA and Minister of State for R&B, Javed Ahmad Dar, was not available. Consequently, MOS Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, flew to Watirgam alongwith Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, and IGP Kashmir, Shiv Murari Sahai. At Watirgam, they were also joined by GOC of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain.

Sources said that MoS Home Wani, alongwith senior Police and Army officials, interacted with members of the bereaved family and other residents and pacified them with the assurance that Army, Police and an executive magistrate would conduct three inquiries simultaneously. Anybody found guilty, they assured the gathering, would be arrested, prosecuted and punished under law and service conduct rules of Army. Thereafter, the crowds relented and they conducted the funeral of the ill-fated youth at Lysar. Over 500 people of Lysar, Hadipora and Watirgam participated in the funeral prayers.

Today’s incident of firing happened after months of calm in Rafiabad and other areas in Kashmir. Death of the youth in the disputed shootout came ironically on the anniversary of JKLF leader Maqbool Bhat’s execution when Kashmir valley observed near-total shutdown on the call of separatist leaders. Traffic, however, operated in almost all districts. The civilian killing is likely to generate fresh demand of revocation of AFSPA among the Valley’s political parties.

ARMY VERSION

Reacting to allegations of killing by the soldier, Defence spokesman at headquarters 15^th Corps issued the following statement:

“General Officer Commanding 15 Corps along with Minister of State (Home), Jammu and Kashmir Mr Nazir Aslam Wani, DG Police, General Officer Commanding Kilo Force and IG Kashmir visited the area of incident which lead to the death of an innocent young man in village Laser, North Kashmir on night of 10 Feb 2012. Initial investigation of the incident revealed that on the basis of intelligence which indicated presence of terrorists in the village a column of 32 Rashtriya Rifles established a cordon near a group of houses. The presence of the Army created some panic in a house which led to an accidental discharge of a weapon in the hands of an Rashtriya Rifles soldier.

The single bullet which was discharged hit one of the occupants of the house, Ashiq Hussian Rathar son of Muhammad Akbar, who expired on the spot. The General Officer Commanding, Minister of State (Home), Jammu and Kashmir and the DGP met a delegation from the village and confirmed that the unfortunate death was by an accidental discharge of a weapon and consoled the family. They sympathized with the family and while paying their condolences assured them of all compensation, including a job for a male member of the family.

Attempts at escalation of the situation by some elements were defused by the timely visit of the high ranking Military, State and Police officials, admission of the innocence of the deceased and promise of necessary and timely compensation through ex gratia. The General Officer Commanding confirmed the institution of a military Court of Inquiry while the Minister of State (Home), Jammu and Kashmir promised a parallel Magisterial Inquiry to confirm the chain of events and measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents”.

END

2012-02-11T17:44:00.002+14:00

Peerzada resigns as Education Minister

Sheikh Bashir being removed as Chairman BOSE; Naseem or Tanvir may get charge on Monday

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 11: Becoming second successive casualty for Congress in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet after Ghulam Mohammad Saroori in 2010, high profile mainstream politician and Minister of Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, has finally moved out of the Council of Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir, unceremoniously. Responding to directions from AICC, communicated to him through General Secretary incharge J&K Mohan Praskash, Peerzada today submitted his letter of resignation by fax to the Congress and UPA supremo Sonia Gandhi.

In days of submission of its report to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, beleaguered Peerzada today faxed a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Highly placed political sources disclosed to Early Times that within hours of Chief Minister’s discussion with the AICC leadership in New Delhi, party’s General Secretary incharge Jammu and Kashmir asked Peerzada to “immediately” send his resignation to Mrs Gandhi. Facing flak from a number of Opposition parties, including BJP, over “protecting corrupt and tainted Ministers”, AICC leadership agreed with Omar that retaining Peerzada in the Government would prove politically disastrous for the coalition.

According to these sources, there was complete unanimity between NC and Congress leadership that retaining Peerzada and sacking Saroori in identical matters could not be justified. Even after Peerzada had been isolated by both factions of the Congress, promoted by J&KPCC President Saifuddin Soz and union Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad, some of the leaders in the coalition were in favour of “restraint”. They were calling for registration of FIR and a formal investigation by Crime Branch. According to them, Peerzada should have been asked to quit only after his person was found involved in the J&K BOSE Examgate. Interestingly, NC as well as the opposition PDP, did not seem to be enthusiastic over Peerzada’s resignation, for varied reasons.

With a large number of political and non-political organisations, NGOs and several organs of civil society joining hands to pull down the Minister, NC-Congress coalition decided to remove Peerzada from the Council of Ministers. As already reported in the last several days, Peerzada had fallen in the eye of a storm on account of his foster son Imam Souban’s use of unfair means in Class 10^th examination in the year 2009. On January 30^th, Srinagar-based daily ‘Greater Kashmir’ had published material evidence of the unfair means made available to the candidate besides details how BOSE authorities and men in Civil Secretariat had covered up the scandal despite desire of action from Raj Bhawan and Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Following publication of media reports and varied demands of action and investigation from different quarters, Chief Minister had ordered Crime Branch to conduct a preliminary inquiry and check veracity of the reports against Peerzada and his son. Crime Branch found half-a-dozen officials as well as Minister of Education involved in the Examgate. Seeking resignation from the Minister was sequel to Chief Minister’s overnight discussion on the subject with AICC leadership in the union capital.

BOSE RESHUFFLE IMMINENT

Sources revealed that the state government had also decided to go for a “complete reshuffle” in BOSE within next two days. According to these sources, all the officials indicted in the Crime Branch inquiry would be removed and attached to the office of Commissioner-Secretary of School Education. Those being removed include Chairman, Dr Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, one joint secretary, one lady academic officer, besides two teachers of School Education department, namely Tariq Gilani and Imtiyaz Ahmad, who had worked as Superintendent and Dy Superintendent and either provided unfair facilitation or remained mute spectators to Imam Souban’s way of taking the examination.

Crime Branch was being directed to file a formal FIR and conduct a formal investigation to determine criminal and non-criminal culpability of the accused officials and the Minister incharge. Sources said that the Minister’s second wife and Souban’s mother, Dr Tabbasum, who was working in state Health Department, would also be questioned.

Sources revealed that one among Commissioner-Secretary of School Education, Naseem Lanker, and Commissioner-Secretary Higher Education, Tanvir Jehan, would be appointed to also officiate as Chairman of BOSE till appointment of a full-time incumbent. Mrs Lanker, who had headed the search committee that recommended Dr Sheikh Bashir (then Secretary BOSE) for the top position of Chairman last year, is reaching superannuation on February 29^th.

Some men of consequence in bureaucracy were in favour of handing over Chairman’s charge to Commissioner-Secretary Health and Medical Education, Ghulam Ahmad Pir, who is also retiring from service on March 31^st. Registrar of Cooperatives, Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, who has a doctorate and an academic and literary profile, was also said to be a choice. He is due to reach superannuation on October 31^st this year.

ANGRY WITH CM

According to reports from New Delhi, Peerzada has taken umbrage on Chief Minister’s overnight statement to media in which Mr Abdullah was quoted to have said that Peerzada’s fate would be determined in “next 24 to 36 hours”. In his conversation with a news agency, Peerzada has questioned Chief Minister’s prerogative and asserted that he was nobody to determine his fate as Minister. He is quoted to have observed that Mrs Sonia Gandhi was his “boss” and he was AICC’s nominee in Mr Abdullah’s Cabinet. According to him, they alone in New Delhi could ask him to continue or retain his berth. Asked what made him resign, Peerzada, according to agency, said that he had submitted his resignation to the Congress President over Chief Minister’s remarks and she would take her decision.

TRACK RECORD OF SCAMS

Peerzada has a track record of ignominy. Inspite of having functioned as J&K President of Youth Congress and Minister of State for Education in 1987-1990, later as J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief and Minister of Rural Development Department, he was dogged by controversies one after another. His tenure as Minister RDD in Mufti Sayeed-led PDP-Congress coalition in 2002-2005, Peerzada faced serious charges of corruption in Panchayat Electrification Scam. In Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government later, he faced charges of accepting bribe from independent MLA Shoib Lone’s sister for recognition of her ETT school in Baramulla. He was indicted by State Accountability Commission but got the action stayed from High Court.

Azad forced Peerzada to resign both as JKPCC President and Minister of Education following pandemonium on the MLA’s charges against him and his wife. Later, he was yet again inducted as Minister of Education when Omar Abdullah formed NC-Congress government on January 5^th, 2009.

END

2012-02-09T07:51:00.000+14:00

CB finds Minister, BOSE officials involved in Examgate

Peerzada’s son migrated to Humhama school; Budgam office bypassed in appointment of exam staff; SP School’s math expert filled up answers; Lady academic officer absconding in Delhi; Minister’s exit being discussed with AICC

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 8: Senior Congress leader and Minister of Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, and Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir State Board of School Education (BOSE), Dr Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, are among nearly half-a-dozen government functionaries who have been found by Crime Branch involved in the unfair means scandal involving the Cabinet Minister’s foster son, Imam Souban Bhat, in the year 2009. Under pressure from different quarters, including public outcry over the academic scam, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is understood to be taking up the matter of action against the Minister with the Congress high command in New Delhi.

Highly placed authoritative sources told Early Times that Crime Branch (CB) has finally completed and handed over to Chief Minister findings of its “preliminary inquiry” into media reports which alleged that Minister incharge Education Peerzada Sayeed, then Secretary and now Chairman of BOSE, Dr Bashir Sheikh, and other officials had facilitated and later covered up use of unfair means by Imam Souban in the Matriculation examination of November 2009. Even as nobody in CB responded to phone calls from media, sources maintained that involvement of a Minister and senior BOSE officials had been established.

According to these sources, CB’s sleuths seized records and interrogated over a dozen officials of BOSE and Department of School Education, trying to explore how the high-profile candidate had enjoyed the illegal facilitation and how the BOSE officials, as well as bureaucrats from CM’s Secretariat to General Administration and School Education departments, had brushed the whole academic scandal under the carpet.

Investigators inter alia noticed that officials in GAD and School Education had conveniently ignored instructions from both Raj Bhawan as well as CM’s Secretariat and facilitated declaration of the candidate’s result--- even after an in-house BOSE inquiry--- in violation of all rules and norms. Nevertheless, sources said, no specific action has been recommended by CB against the delinquent officials and bureaucrats in two particular departments at Civil Secretariat.

These sources insisted that not more than six people, including Peerzada, Dr Bashir Sheikh, then Deputy Director of Academics Merajuddin Zargar (who is working as Principal of Iqbal Memorial School after his retirement), Academic Officer Ms Aaliya (who is reportedly absconding in New Delhi since the day Examgate was exposed by media), SP Higher Secondary School’s teacher and expert of mathematics Mr Imtiyaz (who was allegedly used to write answers) besides a teacher Tariq Gilani (who was posted as Superintendent of the centre in question), were under the cloud.

Track of the academic scandal has been mapped right from Imam Souban’s unjustified migration from prestigious Tyndale Biscoe School to the newly established Vision Public School at Humhama Crossing, almost at the border of Srinagar Municipality. It has become clear during the course of investigation that a scheme of providing illegal support to the candidate in his Matriculation examination was in place between the Minister, his family and officials of BOSE. One of the well placed sources, quoting CB officials, said that Imam Souban’s “enrolment” in the lousy Government Higher Secondary School Jawahar Nagar for appearing in Class 12^th examination (in which he secured distinction with 77.4% marks last week) was also part of a plan between the BOSE officials and the Minister’s family.

It was not clear whether it has been recorded in the report or not but the CB sleuths, according to these sources, learned during the course of investigation that BOSE’s Budgam Sub Office had been intriguingly bypassed in appointment of staff at Al-Ameen Chinar Valley Secondary School where Imam Souban appeared in Matriculation examination in November 2009.

According to sources, Tariq Gilani, who was posted as Superintendent, engaged SP Higher Secondary School’s mathematics expert, Mr Imtiyaz, as Deputy Superintendent without competence and knowledge of BOSE’s Sub Office Budgam, only to provide illegal favour to the Minister’s ward. Instead of Budgam, a suo moto confirmation of Gilani’s action came from then joint secretary Merajuddin Zargar from the BOSE headquarters at Bemina. Interestingly, nobody questioned Gilani how he had engaged the Deputy Superintendent of his own and that too from a different district i.e. Srinagar instead of the list of staff provided by Chief Education Officer of Budgam.

Sources said that then Section Officer and now Assistant Secretary at BOSE’s Sub Office Budgam, Mushtaq Ahmad Rishi, confronted Mr Zargar in front of CB team and reminded him that Budgam Sub Office had been completely bypassed in appointment of the Deputy Superintendent.

Significantly again, CB sleuths did not interrogate officials of BOSE’s Strong Room and Secrecy Section (custodians of the answer sheets and other records) to learn how photocopy of answer scripts of the candidate had reached newspaper offices in Srinagar after over two years. Two officials, identified as Mr Jalu and Assistant Secretary Secrecy, Nazir Ahmad Siraj, have surfaced as major witnesses, though, of late, they have become known for their clash with the Chairman.

Meanwhile, top ranking political sources disclosed to Early Times that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and others in CM’s Secretariat were deeply studying the CB report. Amid rumours of Peerzada’s resignation, coupled by a Cabinet Minister on some different agenda, Chief Minister was said to be under tremendous pressure from different quarters in taking action against the Minister. However, under tenets of so-called coalition dharma, Mr Abdullah has got to discuss this matter with the coalition partner, Congress.

Sources said that after a possible conversation with J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Prof Saifuddin Soz and union Ministers, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Dr Farooq Abdullah, CM was likely to discuss action against Peerzada with AICC General Secretary incharge J&K, Mohan Prakash, and even the AICC and UPA supreme, Sonia Gandhi.

Even after the CB report, Peerzada has been pleading innocent and dismissing the Examgate as nothing but a conspiracy of his exit from the Cabinet. Without making any specific clarification, he has been asking how the BOSE officials have preserved answer books beyond the mandatory period of six months after declaration of results.

Significantly, Peerzada seems to have been isolated by almost all of his colleagues in the party, including Soz and Azad. The only voices in his support, however feeble, came from some Ministers and MLAs/ MLCs of National Conference who have been the known beneficiaries of the Education Minister’s largesse in sanction and upgradation of schools in their responsive constituencies. Through backdoor of the much infamous Sarva Shiksha Abhyan, RMSA and other centrally sponsored flagship schemes of the UPA Government, a number of J&K’s Ministers and legislators have arranged absorption of their relatives and supporters in government service.

END

2012-02-08T08:41:00.000+14:00

Geelani’s yet another shutdown fails in Valley

Groups upset over hardliner’s meetings with BJP, ‘recognition’ to Maulana Shaukat’s killers

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 7: With some of the separatist outfits publicly flaying Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s “recognition” of the detained ‘killers’ of Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith (JAH) chief Maulana Shaukat and others distancing from his current bonhomie with BJP leadership in New Delhi, the Hurriyat hawk’s call for shutdown against shifting of Kashmiri prisoners to jails outside the state evoked a lukewarm response in Kashmir valley.

Notwithstanding closed shops and business establishments in Srinagar Civil Lines and parts of few towns in South Kashmir, Geelani’s call for shutdown did not evoke a substantial response in the Valley today. Even in the capital city, which has been a nerve centre of the separatist sentiment and politics for the last over two decades, business remained unaffected in most of the segments. Shops, trade centers, groceries, pharmacies, bakeries, restaurants, petrol filling stations, showrooms and workshops worked without paying attention to the call and traffic---public, private and commercial---operated without any disruption.

Reports said that attendance in most of the private and government offices, banks and educational institutions was normal. However, few lawyers and officials attended J&K High Court and subordinate courts in Valley, mainly due to High Court Bar Association’s support to Geelani’s call. Reports from the countryside said that the shutdown was partial in some townships in South Kashmir and had little impact in over a dozen major townships in North Kashmir. According to these reports, traffic operated as usual and most of the shops and other business centers remained open. There was no shutdown in the central Kashmir districts of Budgam and Ganderbal.

Official, as well as independent reports, said that the only incident of a minor clash between some stone pelters and Police took place in downtown interior of Habbakadal in Srinagar. Police forced the thin group of demonstrators disperse with baton charge. Nobody was reported injured or detained in the clash.

Geelani had called upon the Kashmiris to observe total shutdown against the government’s move of shifting detainees and prisoners to jails outside the state of Jammu and Kashmir. HCBA and Pakistan-based guerrilla conglomerate, United Jihad Council, had supported the call. Geelani’s call came close on the heels of reports that a number of detainees, arrested for their alleged involvement in the JAH chief Maulana Shaukat’s assassination on April 8^th, 2011, were being shifting from Srinagar Central Jail to some detention centers outside J&K.

JAH promptly came out with a sharp reaction to Geelani’s call and questioned his act of recognizing the slain cleric’s ‘killers’ as representatives of the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle. According to the JAH statement the other day, it was “surprising” that a veteran separatist leader like Mr Geelani was lending sanctity and recognition to Javed Munshi alias Bil Papa and others arrested by Police for their hand in Maulana Shaukat’s assassination in a bomb blast. Significantly however, almost all over separatist outfits remained non-committal on both, Geelani’s call as well as JAH’s negative reaction to it.

Meanwhile detained hardliner and icon of 2010’s street clashes in Kashmir, Massarat Alam, came back to news when his organisation Muslim League, which happens to be a constituent of Geelani-led faction of the Hurriyat Conference, today distanced itself from the latter’s activities in New Delhi. In a statement, carried by local newspapers today, Muslim League said categorically that it had distanced itself from Geelani’s current activities in New Delhi.

A decade after spurning interaction with Ram Jethmalani-led Kashmir Committee, Geelani has had a series of meetings with the eminent lawyers and BJP-led NDA government’s former Law Minister in the union capital. After calling on Jethmalani, initially with condolences on the death of his daughter, Geelani has unfolded an unexpected political mat. In a significant development, he has also met with Bollywood’s icon of yesteryears and veteran BJP leader, Shatrugan Sinha.

Jethmalani, who called on Geelani in Srinagar few months back, has shown remarkable receptivity to Geelani’s mission of fighting for the release of Kashmir’s separatist detainees. According to reports from New Delhi, Jethmalani has agreed to represent in the Supreme Court of India a number of Kashmir’s separatist prisoners, including Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi’s husband and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen supremo, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Mohammad Qasim. Convicted with life imprisonment, Faktoo has completed his doctorate in Islamic Studies in jail. He has been convicted for killing veteran human rights activist late Hriday Nath Wanchoo.

Geelani’s lengthy shutdown calendars froze the Valley during street clashes and demonstrations in 2008 and 2010. However, his success met with anti-climax on both occasions. After months of clashing with Police and armed forces in Amarnath Shrine land allotment row, Kashmiris en masse participated in the Assembly elections of October 20008, followed by the Parliamentary elections or April 2009. Again after months of similar clashes, that left over a hundred civilians dead, Kashmiris registered the highest ever participation of 80% turnout in Panchayat Elections in 2011. Since that watershed, they have not shown much of enthusiasm to Geelani’s calls for shutdown.

END

2012-02-04T10:32:00.002+14:00

Examgate reveals how VIP children rise to prize positions

‘VIP rooms’ at exam centres are privilege of politicians, paid clients

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 3: Results of all the high and higher secondary examinations conducted by J&K State Board of School Education (BOSE) have become suspect not only with the exposure of unfair means used by the Education Minister’s foster son in Class 10^th in the year 2009 but also by the “Distinction” he got in Class 12^th yesterday.

Son of the slain JKLF commander Parvez Ahmed Bhat alias Parvez Billa, who later became senior Congress leader Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s foster son, was placed in a particular room at Centre No: 822 on “security grounds”. Fellow candidates and members of the examination staff insist that Imam Souban Bhat S/o Parvez Ahmed Bhat was also joined by sons of few other influential politicians and at least one more Minister, again on “security grounds”. Accounts under investigation and scrutiny of Early Times indicate a little different.

Verification process inconclusive, eyewitnesses maintain that rather than providing “security” to the sons of protected politicians, including Ministers, their PSOs, men from the local Police station, as well as officials of BOSE jostled against one another to facilitate copying of the VIP examinees. Books and other published material were kept on the disposal of these special candidates. How much exactly they copied and downloaded from the ‘dutiful’ subject experts is being obtained through an application under RTI.

With the investigation underway, declaration of results of Class 12^th (regular) has brought surprises of sorts to thousands of students and their parents in Kashmir valley. Education Minister’s foster son, who reportedly required two different teachers to write answers of his Class 10^th Urdu paper, has done the veritable miracle. According to the result gazette, Imam Souban Bhat (Roll No: 822260) has secured the highest of 96/100 in Sociology---as many as 78/80 in theory, 4/5 in internal and 14/15 in external.

With 81/100 in Political Science, 73/100 in English, 71/100 in Education and 66/100 in Functional English, the Education Minister’s foster son has secured 387/500 or 77.40% marks in Class 12^th that happens to be the qualifying examination for all professional training courses and Degrees in Medicine, Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture Sciences, Engineering etc. How the sons and daughters of the state’s mainstream politicians and a many bureaucrats crack the Entrance examination later has been already revealed in a separate matter that resulted in dismissal of another Cabinet Minister in 2010. And finally, how they beat all in making it to gazetted services through J&K State Public Service Commission and other channels has been unraveled in detail by Early Times and other newspapers, particularly in the year 2011.

This “distinction” has obviously become all the more sensational due to the fact that the candidate under cloud happens to be a permanent member of the family of Minister incharge School Education. The Minister is said to have an argument that “thousands” of candidates have secured the distinction and his son was not an exception. Fellow candidates and their parents insist that they would withdraw their accusations with unconditional apology if the candidate in question could speak on “ABC of Sociology” for two minutes before an independent panel of examiners.

Well placed sources in BOSE, as well as responsible office-bearers of a representative teachers’ forum revealed to this newspaper that placing “VIP and paid up clients” in special “VIP rooms” of examination centers, particularly in Srinagar and adjoining districts, was the worst kept secret of BOSE. According to them, children of influential politicians and bureaucrats are provided this completely illegal facility “out of goodwill”. Children of well-off businessmen, contractors and others categories are accommodated in “VIP rooms” on cash payment, ranging between Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 from each client.

As per an infamous modus operandi, the “VIP rooms” are often kept locked from outside to escape notice, not of the BOSE vigilance but of Police and common civilians. Teachers and other subject experts write the answers on blackboards and clean the same in a jiffy in case of a stranger entry. Books, published material as well as laptops and mobile phones are also permitted and even provided by the examiners. Sources insisted to make it clear that children of all politicians and bureaucrats were not the beneficiary of this “special arrangement”. “Quite a many of them are really brilliant. They fare well in all examinations and interviews and do not resort to unfair means”, said a senior functionary of the teachers’ organisation.

According to these highly reliable sources, everything from selection of Superintendent to Deputy Superintendent, as also selection of private public schools as examination centers was being done under a scheme. Lists of examination staff are sought from Chief Education Officers of different districts but “select people” are deployed with the argument that the CEO had sent the list very late. It has been pointed out to no less than Chairman, Secretary and Joint Secretaries of BOSE that adequately equipped government schools are being omitted and centers of particular schools are set up at particular private schools so as to carry out the fraudulent system. It has also been brought to their notice that even black-listed examiners and those illegally borrowed by Youth Services and Sports Department were being appointed year after year on particular centers. However, action has been taken in very few cases.

A number of parents , as well as teachers, claimed that conducting of Class 10^th and Class 12^th examinations alone was “a Rs 5 to 10 Crore industry” every year in the Valley. “Hundreds of old students appear only to get a Matriculation certificate as their recruitment in Railway and some other Central government departments remains a fixed deal. They comfortably pay Rs 40,000 each”, said an insider.

Chairman of BOSE, Dr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, however, rubbishes most of these accounts. “I admit there are a number of black sheep in BOSE. I have ruthlessly acted against them and they have all joined hands against me. I rush the vigilance squads to the centers immediately I receive a complaint verbally, written or on telephone”, Sheikh said in a conversation with this journalist. He claimed that he had “closed down” at least a dozen of infamous centers and shifted them to other places in October-November 2011.

END

2012-02-03T09:05:00.000+14:00

MLA demands CBI probe, Minister’s arrest in BOSE scam

‘If Saroori was fired in 24 hours, what’s CM’s weakness in Peerzada?’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 2: Independent MLA and one-time ally of the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, today demanded immediate dismissal and arrest of the School Education Minister, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, in the lately exposed ‘Unfair Means Scam’ of J&K State Board of School Education. Raising questions on Chief Minister’s “double standards”, Rashid desired to know why former Minister of Works, G M Saroori, had been dismissed from the Cabinet before the inquiry and why action against Peerzada, in an identical matter, would depend on the outcome of an inquiry.

Breaking the Opposition’s silence with a news conference, Engineer Rashid pointed out that senior Congress leader and then Minister incharge Works, G M Saroori, had been dismissed from the Cabinet by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah within 24 hours of the exposure of an impersonation case allegedly involving his daughter in 2010. “Now that an identical scandal has been exposed by media and Peerzada Sayeed’s son has been found to be the illegal beneficiary of the Board’s undue favour, why doesn’t Omar Sahab act against the Education Minister?” Rashid asked. He asserted that Omar Abdullah government could not have different standards for different Ministers in identical matters.

Congress party’s MLA from Inderwal, Mr Saroori, had been dismissed as Minister of Works in the middle of 2010 when an impostor had been found to be appearing for his daughter in an entrance test at ASSCOMS (Batra Hospital) in Jammu. Srinagar-based daily, Greater Kashmir, has earlier this week reported that BOSE officials had lodged Education Minister’s son in a special examination room at a centre in Humhama and engaged two teachers to write answers on his answer book.

Rather than dismissing Peerzada on the Saroori pattern, Chief Minister has directed Crime Branch to hold a “preliminary inquiry” into the facts published in the daily about Peerzada. He has indicated that action, if any, could be initiated against Peerzada on the basis of the findings of the preliminary inquiry. Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an official function at University of Jammu on Wednesday, Chief Minister maintained that he had not ordered any inquiry in the matter. This volte face is said to be the result of Peerzada’s threat in which he has reportedly communicated to top echelons of the government that he could expose a junior Minister of National Conference whose son had taken Class 12^th examination in an identically unfair manner.

Separatist-turned-legislator, Rashid asked why Suresh Kalmadis and A Rajas at the Centre were languishing in jails but their counterparts in corruption in the state government were enjoying a field day under the nose of a clean Chief Minister. “Mr Chief Minister, it is not AFSPA in which you need Delhi’s ascent. It is a plain offence in the state in which you have to act without delay in order to retain credibility of your government”, MLA of Langet asked the Chief Minister.

According to Engineer Rashid, CBI investigation had become necessary in the wake of Peerzada having raised fingers on other Ministers in the government. He asserted that a state-level agency like Crime Branch was vulnerable to all pulls and pressures and it was not possible for it to proceed against the Ministers. He said it was surprising that Opposition PDP as well as independent MLAs, like Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Hakeem Mohammad Yasin had chosen to be mute spectators to the worst ever academic fraud exposed by media in Jammu and Kashmir.

END

2012-02-02T09:43:00.002+14:00

‘

Superintendent grilled;

Chairman, other BOSE

officials being arrested

’

Peerzada begins to blackmail Govt over another Minister’s son

‘Crime Branch should also probe Class 12^th exam bungling’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb: In an obvious attempt to get the action against him stalled in the ‘Unfair Means Scam’, Minister of School Education Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, has conveyed to top echelons in the coalition government that Crime Branch’s investigation should extend to recent Class 12^th examination. If well placed sources are to be believed, Peerzada has made it clear that if he was singled out for dismissal from the Cabinet, he would reveal publicly how the son of a Minister of State, known for his proximity to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, had been provided same facilitation, as provided to his son, by officials of J&K State Board of School Education.

Embroiled in his foster son’s act of unfair means in Class 10^th examination in 2009, Peerzada Sayeed is understood to have made it clear to the government that he alone was not the beneficiary of the undue favour from BOSE. Inspite of his two-liner refutation to the Greater Kashmir scoop, Minister is said to have admitted that his foster son had been the beneficiary of “extraordinary favour” from then Secretary and now Chairman of BOSE, Dr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, and other officials. He has voluntarily revealed that similar favours had been enjoyed by his foster son in the recently conducted Class 12^th examination.

But, according to sources, Peerzada has also made it unambiguously clear to top echelons of the Government that he would expose “many other VVIPs” in case he was singled out for any action by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Peerzada has, according to sources, conveyed to the government that the son of a National Conference leader and Minister of State, known for his intimate relationship with Chief Minister, was among the “VVIP sons and daughters” who had taken Class 12^th examination, alongwith his foster son Aman Sufan, at Centre No: 823 in Srinagar in October-November 2011 and copied all answers from the books and other printed material made available to these candidates. Under the smokescreen of “security”, BOSE officials had placed relatives of some influential politicians, including those of two Ministers, in a particular room and given them full freedom to pick up answers from text books and other published material.

Sources said that after communicating his threat to the government, Peerzada today drove all the way to University of Jammu where he attended a conference on education which was presided over by none other than Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Even as Peerzada’s threat seemed to be working and diluting the government’s resolve, Crime Branch proceeded with its exhaustive investigation into the Unfair Means Scam. Informed sources revealed to Early Times that at least half-a-dozen BOSE officials, who had remained associated with conducting the Class 10^th examination in November 2009, were being grilled. Those who were called through Police Station Rajbagh and later detained for sustained interrogation, include then Superintendent of the centre at Al-Ameen High School, Tariq Gilani. Unconfirmed reports said that Gilani and a BOSE official, who were grilled for several hours, were finally allowed to return to their respective residences.

Sources said that the Crime Branch sleuths conducted a series of raids at different offices of BOSE, both in Srinagar as well as in Jammu, and seized all records of the examination in question. They said that the role of then Secretary and now Chairman of BOSE, Dr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, then Deputy Director of Academics Meraj-ud-din Zargar (who has retired from service and is now acting as Principal of Iqbal Memorial School), besides an Academic Officer, namely Aaliya, was under scanner and all of them were “most likely to be arrested later this week”. Sources said that two officials of the rank of Joint Secretary, namely Mr Jallu and Mr Kanth, besides the head masters of Al-Ameen High School Humhama and Vision Public School Humhama, would also be called in for questioning.

Sources made it clear that current exercise of “preliminary inquiry” would lead to registration of a formal criminal matter and the accused could be arrested immediately after registering of FIR. Much would, however, depend on the orders from Chief Minister’s Secretariat, which could become extraordinarily cautious after Peerzada’s threat to expose an influential MoS of the National Conference.

END

2012-02-02T09:41:00.002+14:00

‘Munna Bhai Matric Pass’ is actually JKLF

commander’s son

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 1: The boy, whose actions have been causing embarrassment after embarrassment to senior Congress leader and Minister of School Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, is actually the son of a slain JKLF commander. Now exposed in the ‘Unfair Means Scam’ of J&K State Board of School Education, Peerzada’s foster son had hogged headlines last year when he had quarreled with shopkeepers in Kokernag area, reportedly in inebriated condition.

With no issues from his first wife, who died in 1997, Peerzada married widow of a slain JKLF commander. Daughter of one-time senior Congress leader, Abdul Aziz ‘Tourist’, Dr Tabbasum had married prominent JKLF commander Pervez Billa in 1990. She gave birth to Aman Sufan next year. A year later, Pervez was stoned to death by militants of Hizbul Mujahideen in Chhattabal area of Srinagar on the allegation that he had planned and carried out the assassination of the outfit’s “Intelligence Chief” Mamoon Rasheed’s father.

According to Police records, Mamoon Rasheed, who had previously worked as a Constable in J&K Police, had also planned powerful IED blast at J&K Police Headquarters on January 25^th, 1992. A number of top ranking Police officials, including then DGP and some ADGs, had sustained injuries in the explosion.

Later, Mamoon’s father was assassinated by JKLF militants in the thick of an internecine clash. The assassination led to the broad daylight killing of Pervez Billa.

Working as a doctor in state Health Department, Dr Tabassum later married Peerzada. Her only son from the JKLF commander was adopted by Peerzada as his own son and he has been continuously living with the couple.

Peerzada shot into negative publicity in Panchayar Ghar Electrification Scam when he was Minister incharge Rural Development Department in then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s government in 2004. Newly created J&K State Accountability Commission (SAC) held him guilty and passed a judgment against Peerzada when Justice (retd) R P Sethi was working as its first Chairman. Like many others, Peerzada later got the action against him stayed from J&K High Court. Successive governments in the state have shown little seriousness in contesting the stay orders and getting these quashed with evidences and arguments. Questions on the subject have been repeatedly coming as embarrassment to all governments in almost all the sessions of legislative business every year.

Peerzada’s second wife, Dr Tabassum, was at the centre of a controversy on recognition of ETT Schools in 2006-07. Then MLA of Sangrama, Shuaib Lone (who is now head of Youth Congress in J&K) had rocked a session of Legislative Assembly with the allegation that Education Minister’s wife had demanded and accepted bribe money worth Rs 40,000 from the MLA’s sister on account of recognition of her ETT school near Baramulla. MLA later alleged that the Minister’s wife had threatened his mother of dire consequences on telephone. Then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, consequently, forced Peerzada to resign as Education Minister and also got him removed from AICC as president of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee.

On AICC recommendation, Omar Abdullah inducted Peerzada again as Minister incharge School Education when he became head of the current NC-Congress coalition government in January 2009. Peerzada’s foster son Aman Sufan was arrested by Police in Anantnag and case FIR No: 271 of 2011 was lodged against him on August 4, 2011, when he and six of his associates allegedly rampaged into residential houses and shops in the Minister’s residential village in Kokernag.

END

2012-02-02T09:38:00.002+14:00

Shutdown, celebrations go together on R-Day in Kashmir

No clashes, stone pelting, demonstration, violence reported in Valley

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 26: Contrary to a many speculations and apprehensions, Republic Day was celebrated today in Kashmir valley without any disruption or violence as Ministers of the coalition government unfurled national flag and took salute at colourful ceremonial parades at all the ten district headquarters. Amid a near-total shutdown, that had been called by separatist leaders and different militant outfits and was ironically enforced by government agencies, the biggest event of the day took place at Bakhshi Memorial Sports Stadium in this capital city where Minister of Finance Abdul Rahim Rather hoisted the national flag and delivered a ceremonial speech.

As usual asking the Kashmiris to observe the Indian Republic Day as a “Black Day”, almost all the separatist politicians and guerrilla groups had called for shutdown in Valley. In contrast to colourful celebrations on this day each year from 1960 to 1988, the people of the Valley have hardly associated themselves with this Indian democracy festival after eruption of militancy in 1989-90. On many occasions in the last 22 years, demonstrations, clashes with Police and guerrilla strikes have marred Republic Day celebrations in Srinagar as well as all rural district headquarters.

For the first decade of armed insurgency, blackout came as a usual feature as hardly anybody mustered courage to put the lights on.

Valley has witnessed a sea change in the last few years. Separatists and militants have been calling for the shutdown in keeping with the routine. However, nobody either calls for or observes blackout. There was undoubtedly a thick security bandobust in entire capital city and all nine rural district headquarters. Yet, the shutdown appeared to be the result of the restrictions on public movement and transport put in place strictly by Police and security forces.

Men in uniform, carrying AK-47 rifles as well as batons and tearsmoke canisters, did not allow anybody, other than the officially invited ones, walk or drive on the streets. For many in Srinagar, it was a curfew without being declared. Rest of the job was done by mother nature as a thin layer of snow overnight had considerably added to intensity of the cold wave. Networks of all government and private telecommunication operators remained fully frozen from 0700 hours till winding up of the functions at 1230 hours.

Even as columns of Police and security forces had serious apprehensions of public demonstrations and stone pelting, just one-odd insignificant incident happened at Habbakadal in the middle of old city. A thin group of youth shouted pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans and indulged in a brief encounter with Police and CRPF. Reports said that Police chased away and dispersed the demonstrators with baton charge and counter-stonepelting. Residents alleged that the men in uniform shattered windscreens and hoods of several cars, both parked and in movement. A journalist associated with English language daily Rising Kashmir, Abid Bashir, complained that he was harassed and abused and his vehicle was damaged by forces.

Situation was reported calm elsewhere. There were no black flags or the green colour Pakistani national flags that were seen on this day on rooftops, treetops and mobile phone towers at several places from 1990 to 2000. There were not even slogans or demonstrations anywhere in the Valley. Groups of youngsters were seen playing cricket on the improvised turfs and brick wickets on main streets in this capital city. Their staple target of yesteryears, Police and CRPF enjoyed the “match” everywhere. Reports said that no anti-national slogans were scribbled on walls or road surfaces as witnessed at many places in the past.

Reports said that schoolchildren in good numbers participated in the Republic Day celebrations not only at ll the ten district headquarters but also at a number of Tehsil and Block headquarters. With the sun coming out of the clouds and the VIPs concluding their speeches and slautes, students in colourful outfits danced and sang patriotic songs. However, at some places, their parents complained that the children did it “under duress” as Principals and Headmasters conveyed it to them in plain terms that their absence would badly affect their academic prospects.

Some people in Kupwara complained that Army forced teachers and students celebrate R-Day at different schools. They alleged that Army officials forced their presence as “chief guests” and hoisted Tricolour on rooftops of school buildings. A Defence spokesman, nevertheless, asserted in a press release that the teachers and students celebrated the R-Day out of their own will and enthusiasm.

At certain R-Day parade venues, folk artists and musicians entertained the organized audiences. Officials at other places announced prizes, awards and honours in favour of people in their respective areas who had achieved excellence in different fields.

At Bakhshi Stadium in Srinagar, Minister of Finance and senior National Conference leader, Abdul Rahim Rather, unfurled the Tricolour, took salute at the ceremonial parade and delivered a speech. Minister of Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir was the chief guest at a well attended R-Day function at Budgam, Minister of Education Pirzada Mohammad Sayeed at Baramulla, Minister of Irrigation and PHE Taj Mohiuddin at Kupwara, Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Qamar Ali Akhoon at Bandipore, Minister of Rural Development Department Ali Mohammad Sagar at Ganderbal, Minister of Forest Mian Altaf Ahmad at Kulgam, Minister of Social Welfare Sakeena Itoo at Pulwama, Minister of Animal Husbandry and information Technology Aga Ruhullah at Shopian and Minister of State Aijaz Ahmad Khan at Anantnag.

END

2012-01-23T11:27:00.002+14:00

SSPs arrested, imprisoned but no conviction in 13 years---- [3]

· Mumbai drug smuggling

· Shopian ‘rape-cum-murer’

· Ganderbal killings

· Srinagar Sex Scam

· Anara Gupta interview

· Pathribal killings

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 22: Even as nearly two dozen gazetted officers of Jammu & Kashmir, both regular recruits (IPS) and state police service (KPS), have been removed from service or posting on complaints, placed under suspension, attached, arrested, imprisoned and subjected to prosecution in the last 13 years, not one of them has been convicted as charges have not been established against them in any court of law.

IPS officer of batch 1995, Saji Mohan, was arrested in Maharashtra on January 24, 2009, when Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Mumbai claimed to have seized 12 kg of heroin from this senior official of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Saji was on central deputation and posted as Chandigarh Zone Director of NCB when he landed in trouble. Before developing relationship with trans-border drug smugglers in Jammu, Saji had served as Assistant Director of SK Police Training Academy at Udhampur, SP of Ramban and Additional SP of Doda.

NCB later booked him in several others criminal matters. Facing prosecution, he has been in jail for the last three years. All 1995 IPS officers, except Saji, have been promoted as DIG in J&K.

Months later in 2009, Omar Abdullah government placed under suspension then SP of Ramban, Javed Iqbal Matoo, who had previously served as SP of Shopian when dead bodies of two young women, Neelofar Jan and Asiya Jan, had been recovered from Rambiara Nullah on May 30^th.KPS officer Matoo was suspended, alongwith former Dy SP Rohit Basgotra, SHO Shopian Inspector Shafeeq Ahmad and Sub Inspector Gazi Abdul Kareem on the charges of destroying evidences and not registering a murder case. They eventually faced charges of committing rape and killing both the women.

After some court directions during the course of investigation and a report submitted by Justice (retd) Muzaffar Jan Commission of Inquiry, all the four accused officials were arrested on July 15th. Even as Jan’s inquiry held them guilty of lapses and called for a thorough investigation, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by DGP Kuldeep Khoda and headed by DIG (now IGP) Rauful Hassan, left no stone unturned to establish the charges against Matoo and others. However, the investigation was assigned to CBI on August 12, 2009, when it surfaced that some doctors had sent wrong samples for DNA testing to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

In the four-month-long investigation, CBI established that all the charges against SP and three other Police officials were “completely baseless and motivated”. It established that the entire Shopian episode was the result of a criminal campaign by a group of doctors and Shopian-based lawyers who wanted to sully the image of J&K Police for criminal motives and intentions. CBI submitted its report on December 13^th,2009, and started criminal proceedings against six doctors, five lawyers and two civilians. It established that neither rape nor murder of the duo had happened. Matoo and others were later reinstated on September 15^th, 2010.

The first ever significant action against (until then) unbridled Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police was initiated by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in January 2007. Even Azad had not acted in tracing and arresting Dy SP Abdul Rasheed Billa, charged with murder of three innocent civilians of Srinagar, and getting the alleged killer of advocate Jaleel Andrabi, repatriated from United States of America. The accused happened to be a Major with Budgam-based Sector 12 of Rashtriya Rifles.

Rather than riding on a refrain of rhetoric, Azad straightaway got then SP of Ganderbal, Hans Raj Parihar, suspended and arrested when it surfaced that men of SOG Ganderbal, under Parihar, had eliminated five innocent civilians of Anantnag and Banihal areas in fake encounters and labeled them all “foreign terrorists” on different occasions in the years 2005 and 2006. Exhumation of dead bodies in Ganderbal, Bandipore and Kangan took place on February 3^rd, 2007, and SP Parihar was arrested alongwith a number of his colleagues on the same day.

A Special Investigating Team (SIT) worked hard and the first interim challan was produced in the court of CJM Srinagar on February 28^th, 2007. It held SP Parihar, Dy SP Ram Bahadur, ASI Farooq Gadroo, one driver, three constables besides then Commanding Officer of Rashtriya Rifles 13^th Bn, Col Vikram Singh, Major Navreen Yadav, Havildar K Mohandas and Naik Manoj Singh guilty of killing a civilian, Abdul Rehman Padroo, on December 8^th, 2006. Identical charges were later established in other killings. Army officials have been claiming immunity under AFSPA and Parihar and other J&K Police officials have been facing prosecution without getting bail in the last five years.

Previously a similar carnage had surfaced in March 2000 when troops of Rashtriya Rifles 7^th Bn got five civilians kidnapped from different places and eliminated them all in a fake encounter at Pathribal while claiming that they were “foreign terrorists, responsible for massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chittisinghpura”. On March 20^th, unidentified gunmen had carried ou mass killing of 35 Sikhs at Chittisinghpura village on occasion of then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India. Five days later, Army claimed to have eliminated the “killers” of the Sikhs in an “encounter”.

On April 1^st, SOG camp at Brakpora, Anantnag outskirts, opened fire on demonstrators who demanded whereabouts of the five missing civilians with the allegation that same could have been eliminated as “foreign terrorists” by the troops. Eight civilians got killed and 15 others injured in the shootout. Dr Farooq Abdullah’s government later ordered removal of then DIG South Kashmir, Raja Aijaz Ali, besides suspension of SSP Farooq Khan on April 4^th, 2000. Retired judge of Supreme Court of India, S R Pandian, conducted a comprehensive investigation into the Brakpora shootout. It indicted the SOG personnel and recommended suspension and other departmental action against head of the camp, a Dy SP, and seven others. Government immediately ordered their suspension.

Founder of the counter-insurgency wing of J&K Police and then SSP of Anantnag, Farooq Khan, was absolved of all the charges against him. Pandian’s report recorded that not a single allegation against him was established. He was reinstated and posted as SSP of Jammu by Dr Abdullah’s government in November 2001.

Khan later got a veritable shot in the arm when CBI too declared him innocent in the Pathribal carnage in which the premier national agency established charges of murder and fake encounter against five Army personnel in 2006. The main accused Major of RR 7^th Bn had by then risen to the rank of Brigadier and is now a Major General. CBI filed the challan at its designated court in Srinagar but Army, as an institution, has challenged the prosecution in Supreme Court with the plea that it enjoyed immunity under AFSPA. CBI and Army have locked horns in a pitched battle on the Pathribal killings.

In the year 2004, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s government placed under suspension then SP Operations Jammu, Deepak Kumar Salathia, SDPO Bakhshi Nagar, Tanvir Jeelani, and two other officials for permitting television crews interview Miss Jammu of 2001, Anara Gupta, who had been in custody and was lodged inside Women’s Police Station in Jammu while facing charges in the matter of a porno CD. They remained under suspension for a long time. Jeelani, whose father had been gunned down by militants at his office in Hazratbal, is the only officer of his batch of Dy SPs whose promotion is still in a sealed cover.

END

2012-01-23T08:02:00.002+14:00

Over a dozen J&K SSPs punished in 13 years

(2)

Irregularity in appointments, fraudulent withdrawal of cops’ GP Fund, misusing official vehicles for construction of private houses, murder of SI caused a dent to JKP’s image

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 21: Nauman Thakur, the son of a senior retired bureaucrat Ghulam Mohammad Thakur, is the only Police officer in a crowd of over 20 who was not punished for any of his faults. Governor’s administration had appointed Engineering graduate Nauman as Dy SP ‘in relaxation of rules and norms’ vide Order No: 207-Home (P) on 6-7-1995. A division bench of J&K High Court, comprising then acting Chief Justice, V K Jhanji, and Justice S K Gupta, quashed his appointment on 28-5-2003 when Nauman was completing eight years in J&K Police and he had been promoted to the rank of SP on completion of five years of service.

Nauman’s appointment was the result of an employees’ agitation that helped then Commissioner-Secretary General Administration Department (GAD), G M Thakur seek a post-retirement package from Governor Lt Gen K V Krishna Rao---his own appointment as a member of J&K State Public Service Commission (PSC) as well as his son’s backdoor appointment as Dy SP. Even as Nauman proved his worth and fought valiantly during a suicide attack on J&K Legislative Assembly on October 1^st, 2001, in which he had a narrow escape and his PSO got killed, he failed to find favour with High Court or Supreme Court in the matter of his backdoor appointment.

Few years later, SP headquarters Srinagar, Mohammad Ramzan Hafiz’s service was terminated by the state government on account of his carelessness and alleged involvement in swindling of GF Fund of the staff in Srinagar District Police. His culpability was taken far seriously than that of SP Abdul Aziz Samoon who was simply placed under suspension years before for allegedly publishing a paid advertisement in local Urdu dailies. In the text of apology, Samoon had declared publicly that he would not act “against my own brothers” (militants) when he was posted in Anantnag and assigned a counter-insurgency task.

Commandant of J&K Armed Police, 3^rd battalion (Security) Mushtaq Ahmad Keenu was placed under suspension and a departmental inquiry was ordered against him on March 22, 2007. On a specific information, State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) had conducted a raid on Keenu’s under-construction house at Luxmipuram, Chinore, in Jammu on March 7^th and claimed to have seized a truck laden with 45 bags of cement and 500 bricks. According to the charges leveled against the SSP, the officer had misused his official position and transported building material from Srinagar to Jammu in the officially hired vehicle. With the charge still under investigation, Keenu has been since reinstated.

In July 1998, then SSP Anantnag, Ashkoor Wani (SPS-99, presently SSP Poonch)) and then DIG South Kashmir, Dibagh Singh, (IPS of 1987, presently IGP Jammu), were removed and placed under suspension on account of their alleged involvement in a constables recruitment scandal. Their suspension followed submission of an inquiry report to the government by then DIG Armed, Dr Ashok Bhan, when some candidates alleged that the officers had collected Rs 60 Lakhs and favoured unqualified candidates. Dr Farooq Abdullah’s NC government assigned the investigation to Crime Branch and a preliminary inquiry, conducted by senior IPS officer R V Raju, reportedly established part of the charges but a formal criminal case was not registered against the duo. Both were later reinstated even as then DGP Gurbachan Jagat appeared to be gunning for them for some time. Though nothing has been made public, insiders in the executive Police insist that charges could not be formally established against the accused.

In September 2005, Jammu & Kashmir Police was rocked by mysterious killing of a civilian, Nitan Sharma of Nagri Parole Kathua, when Commandant of IRP 6^th Bn, Karnail Singh, and his wife, Ratano Devi, were arrested and booked in the murder case. Charges framed by the prosecution later said that the Commandant, alongwith his wife, had planned and executed elimination of the individual who was allegedly in an affair with one of the family members and was planning to tie his nuptial knot to her. Even as the Commandant was later released on bail and he has been an under-trial for the last six years, his wife has failed to get bail. Six of Singh’s subordinate personnel were also arrested for their alleged participation in the crime.

Previously in 1998-99, then SP Operation at Surankote, Poonch, Sevak Singh was removed from service, arrested and placed under suspension for allegedly using two of his PSOs in the murder of Sub Inspector Ajay Sharma. Prosecution has established charges against Singh and the under-trial has been in jail or the last over 13 years.

[To be concluded]

2012-01-22T08:02:00.002+14:00

IAF aircraft carry 1377 Srinagar-Jammu-Srinagar passengers

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Jan 21: Even as weather improved and Srinagar-Jammu highway opened for traffic after several days of blockade, state government today arranged Army and IAF aircraft to carry nearly 1400 stranded passengers from Srinagar to Jammu and vice versa.

Even as nobody in the state government was available to share information with media, Early Times learned from informed sources of Airport Authority of India (AAI) that all the 19 routine flights operated from Srinagar Airport to carry passengers in Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi sector today. Sources said that equal number of scheduled flights from Delhi and Jammu landed at Srinagar Airport while carrying over 4,000 passengers.

Making a special arrangement for over 2,000 stranded passengers in Srinagar and Jammu, state government arranged IL-76 aircraft from Army besides a plane from IAF. Both the aircraft made a total of 10 sorties---six from Jammu and four from Srinagar. The big one carried average of 225 passengers on each sortie while as the smaller one carried 55.

There was huge hustle and bustle at Srinagar Airport where flights of the specially arranged planes operated till late tonight. Last flight of the IL-76 took off from Srinagar Airport at 11.00 pm. Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon, visited the airport twice, first at 11.00 a.m and later at 8.00 p.m.

Even after around 827 passengers were carried to Jammu and 550 from Jammu to Srinagar by the specially arranged aircraft, nearly 400 passengers failed to get a chance to fly to Jammu. They were all accommodated at old TRC complex and few other hotels around for the night. The passengers were told that they would get a flight on Sunday but sources said that the government was planning to carry them free of cost through 40 SRTC buses from Srinagar to Jammu tomorrow.

While as today’s Srinagar-Jammu ticket on routine flights cost a whopping Rs 7,726/-, passengers were charged only Rs 500 each on the specially arranged flights.

Sources said that over a thousand stranded buses and trucks were heading for Srinagar today. They said that two-way traffic had been restored on the highway but only the passenger buses would be permitted to operate on Sunday. Sources said that no light motor vehicles would be allowed tomorrow from Srinagar to Jammu. Opening of the highway after five-day-long blockade came as a big relief to the people in Valley who are facing acute shortage of essential commodities, particularly LPG.

END

2012-01-20T10:13:00.002+14:00

Over a dozen J&K SSPs punished since 1999

IPS, KPS officers faced charges of murder, tampering with evidence, nexus with contract killers, sexual exploitation, drug smuggling, corruption

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 19: 1999-batch IPS officer, Anand Jain, who was removed on January 12^th as SSP of Jammu and posted Commandant of an IRP battalion in J&K Armed Police on account of the leakage of a confidential communication to media, is not one-odd officer of the Police force punished in the last 13 years. Jain is better placed in the sense that quite a number of IPS and KPS officers in the state are either in jail or out on bail for the last many years while facing serious charges including those of murder and corruption.

Jain had unblemished record of previously working as SSP of Rajouri, Reasi and Baramulla, besides having worked as SP East in Srinagar for around five years. An inquiry conducted by Principal Secretary Home, B R Sharma, held him guilty of carelessness in the leakage that embarrassed a Cabinet Minister in a matter of alleged land grabbing in Jammu.

Jain’s immediate predecessor and year 2000 batch IPS officer Basant Kumar Rath, was unceremoniously removed as SSP in State Vigilance Organisation and attached on November 24^th, 2011, when mysterious sources posted a video clipping of the custodial interrogation of an under-trial, Choudhary Nagar Singh, on YouTube. KPS officer of batch 1999, Mubasir Latifi, then posted as SP of Kulgam, was also attached to Police headquarters in the same matter on the same day. Rath and Latifi were identified among the officers interrogating Nagar Singh and purportedly using abusive language against certain politicians. While as Rath functioned as SSP Jammu, Latifi was associated with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) when he was posted as SP Ramban in 2010-11, the period in question.

Rath’s immediate predecessor and KPS officer of 1984/1991, Manohar Singh, was removed as SSP of Jammu, suspended and arrested in September 2009 on the charge of tampering with evidence in a high profile murder case. He was accused of his involvement in facilitating change of weapon of assault in the murder of Amandeep Singh, son of a former female MLC, and thus trying to protect the main accused, Jatinder Singh alias Raja---leading businessman Nagar Singh’s son. Those who were suspended and arrested in the same post-murder crime and have been in jail for the last about two-and-a-half years include then SHO Gandhi Nagar, Inspector Sultan Mirza, Investigating Officer, Sub Inspector Satnam Singh, and FSL official Sarwar Hussain Bukhari.

Manohar Singh, Sultan Mirza, Satnam Singh, Sarwar Bukhari, Basant Rath and Mubasir Latifi are not the only Police officials who have been consumed by this high profile murder case. Superintendent of Udhampur Jail, Mirza Saleem Beg, was arrested on March 24^th, 2011, on the charge of facilitating the under-trial Nagar Singh’s conversations and communications with some alleged ‘supari killers’, reportedly hired from within the Kot Bhalwal Jail for eliminating witnesses in Amandeep Singh murder case. Previously posted as Superintendent of Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu, Mirza Saleem has been in jail since March 2011 and facing charges of corruption and criminal involvement. His rank is equivalent to that of SP in J&K Police.

Name of yet another former SSP of Jammu was seriously mentioned by men of consequence in politics, business and bureaucracy in J&K in the infamous Chopra murder case investigation. However, he escaped the successive governments’ action, mainly due to his central deputation and posting in National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In 2011 again, Government ordered removal and attachment of 2003-batch IPS officer and SP Reasi, Keshav Ram, additional SP Anita Sharma and Dy SP Mohammad Aslam Choudhary on December 11^th when a verbal altercation in public took place between Anita and Aslam at a National Conference (NC) rally, among others addressed by the ruling party supremo and Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. Son of an Udhampur-based NC leader, Ch Aslam had reportedly objected to the traffic restrictions put in place by the female KPS officer in the movement of people towards Dr Abdullah’s public meeting. As the two junior officers were attached for publicly violating the service conduct rules, IPS officer was charged with his failure of command and control. Departmental inquiry is reportedly underway in this matter.

However, NC’s Rajya Sabha member, Ghulam Nabi Rattanpuri, has not succeeding in forcing action against 2006-batch IPS officer and SSP of Pulwama, Amit Kumar, in the last several months. The young IPS officer and the NC MP have been at daggers drawn leveling charges of arrogance and ‘shielding criminal elements’ against each other. When the MP’s media statements did not work and everybody from Chief Minister to DGP remained unmoved, Rattanpuri moved a privilege motion in Rajya Sabya against the SSP, DGP and Chief Secretary Madhav Lal. Proceedings of the motion are in progress as notices have been served on the respondents.

[To be concluded]

2012-01-15T16:21:00.002+14:00

Gynecologists asleep, surgeon removes 17 uteruses a month

Candlelight surgeon arrested, USG machine, DNC kits seized near Budshah Flats

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 14: Directorate of Health Services Kashmir has launched a major campaign to seal unlicensed nursing homes, hospitals, clinics and laboratories in Kashmir valley but scores of these illegally running centres have never stopped their business. At one of such centres, authorities on Friday found a surgeon to have conducted as many as 17 uterus removals a month. Officials today caught a dismissed doctor red handed while performing a surgical procedure on a young woman near Budshah Flats in this capital city.

Authoritative sources said that a team of the Department of Health, led by Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Srinagar, Dr Farooq Ahmad, was proceeding to seal an illegally run untrasonography centre on Friday when it was tipped off about an illegally run hospital, close to the reputed Khyber Hospital, at Khayyam Chowk. The team conducted a raid and caught the staff of the 10-bed private hospital red handed while running an authorized USG centre. It was astonished to learn that the authorities had sealed an unauthorized USG unit at the same ‘hospital, some time back.

Investigation revealed that some technicians, medical and paramedical staff had broken the seal of the USG machine and they were operating the same unit without fear of the authorities. Some people insisted that the hospital staff had resumed business only after greasing the palms of some officials of Department of Health. They alleged that the teams had been raiding and sealing such centres but other officials of the department were asking the owners to pay them some money and resume their business.

Officials of Directorate of Health Services told Early Times that they had received some of such complaints which were being verified. They asserted that stern action would be initiated not only against these illegally running units but also the officials who had been allegedly fleecing the owners and operators. They said that a criminal case was being filed against the people involved in breaking the seal and operating the illegal and unauthorized business. They revealed that one of the surgeons was found to have carried out as many as 17 hystectomy procudures at the same hospital without proper diagnosis and professional support.

“Only a trained and well qualified gynecologist is competent and by law authorized to conduct such kind of a surgery. He too needs a professional anesthetist and several machines after proper diagnosis of the patient. But, in this case, we found an inexperienced surgeon to have conducted 17 uterus removals in a month. We are proceeding against the guilty”, Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Sameem-ur-Rehman said. He added that complete medical audit of the private hospital was underway.

A senior medical practitioner said that removal of uterus was an “extreme action” which needed to be avoided as far as possible. He said that removal of uterus subjects a female to numerous medical complicacies including ostoporosis (loss of calcium), psychotic depressions and other side effects. “But the young surgeon had been running a brisk business as he would advise hystectomy in almost all cases in order to charge a huge amount of money as fee from the patients”, said an official.

Sources said that in the forenoon today, Director of Health Services received specific information regarding a “candlelight surgeon” who had been allegedly running an illegal “abortion centre” near Budshah Flats. With the assistance of SDPO Shaheed Gunj, Imtiyaz Ahmad Parray, CMO Srinagar conducted a raid on the spot. Front door of the centre was found closed but it became clear within minutes that one Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat was operating his business through a rear door.

One individual, who later identified himself as Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat of Bumai, Sopore, presently living at Kralpora (Chadoura), attempted to escape from another side. He was soon taken into custody. SDPO Shaheed Gunj said that the joint team of Department of Health and Police found a young woman in an unconscious position. “Her abdomen had been cut. The accused later said that he was conducting only a ligation but there are complaints that illegal abortions and miscarriages at exorbitant costs were being conducted there. We have registered case FIR No: 02 of 2012 under section 3/8 of Nursing Homes and Clinical Establishment Act against the accused, evacuated the woman to Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Hospital Rainawari, seized two or three DNC kits and an aunthorised USG machine. Further investigation is in progress”, SDPO Shaheed Gunj said.

Sources at Directorate of Health Services Kashmir revealed further that Dr Nabi’s illegally run Jhelum Diagnostic Center near Budshah Flats had been sealed on a barrage of complaints last year. Case FIR No: 41 of 2011 had been registered against him at Police Station Shaheed Gunj. However, immediately after being enlarged on bail, the accused resumed business at the same center and installed a fresh USG machine and other equipment used in conducting abortions.

The accused doctor, who had earlier been dismissed from service on a similar charge and booked under case FIR No: 10 of 2003 at Police Station Chadoura, was arrested afresh today. He was being subjected to extensive questioning. Sources said that in today’s procedure, Dr Ghulam Nabi had charged a sum of Rs 2,000 from the young woman (wife of Mohammad Ayub Baba of Chattabal). She was reportedly operated later at a government hospital at Rainawari and was reportedly stable.

Sources said that scores of such centres were running in the capital city and huge amounts of money were being charged from the patients. Acc0ording to these sources, anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 (depending on marital status and economic background of a woman) was being charged for each illegal miscarriage which could not only cause extensive damage to a patient but could also lead to her death in absence of a trained anesthetist and other medical and paramedical staff besides machiney. They said that the doctors arrested today was known as “candlelight surgeon” as he had been caught in Chadoura while conducting a surgical procedure under candlelight and without electricity.

END

2012-01-13T00:50:00.000+14:00

Govt was caught napping on all three---sadak, bijli, paani

NHAI was sleeping, we were called on Jan 7^th: CE Beacon

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 11: Top ranking officials of Border Roads Organization (BRO) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation of India (NHPC) today revealed that authorities were caught napping when the season’s first snowfall in Kashmir valley plains sent life out of gear last week.

Chief Engineer of BRO’s Projection Beacon in Jammu & Kashmir, Brig TPS Rawat revealed to Early Times that under orders from Government of India and Government of Jammu & Kashmir, his organisation was supposed to completely hand over 294-km long Srinagar-Jammu national highway to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) by March 2011. In the year 2010, Government of India had approved the ambitious Rs 10,000 Cr project of four-laning of the highway and the work was assigned to NHAI.

“We were ready from day one to hand over the highway to NHAI. But even after floating tenders for six major patches, including two major tunnels, they had certain difficulties in taking over the highway. As they had allotted works for execution, we made it clear to them that we could not continue maintenance works beyond March 2011 as two different organizations could not simultaneously work on the same highway”, Brig Rawat said. He disclosed that due to such difficulties, NHAI was ready to take over only 100 Km distance in the year 2011.

“Earlier last year, they took over 59 Km from Jammu to Udhampur and also 40 Km from Chinani to Batote. Chinani-Batote patch on either side of Patni Top was handed over to NHAI as they were going to start execution of a major tunnel”, Brig Rawat said. He revealed that until January 6^th, when the heavy snowfall happened at Patni Top, NHAI had no preparedness to keep the highway through.

“NHAI as well as J&K Chief Minister’s office and Deputy Commissioner of Ramban approached us in the morning on January 7^th and requested us to carry out snow clearance on Chinani-Batote patch. We made it clear to them that we could not do it in absence of a written requisition as we were supposed to charge the bill from the client, NHAI. The requisitions from NHAI came to us by fax at 1300 hours on January 7^th. By that time, we had mobilized our men and machinery. Thereafter, it took us around 40 hours, to make the highway through. It remained blocked for 50 hours, from 1800 hours on January 6^th to 2000 hours on January 8^th”, Brig Rawat said. He said that on January 8^th in the evening, he came all the way from Doda to Batote and the first caravan of 80 vehicles crossed the troubled patch from Ramban to Jammu at 2000 hours.

Brig Rawat said that Project Beacon would completely hand over the highway to NHAI by May 2012. He made it clear that thereafter the four-laning of the highway, as well as its maintenance, would be fully the responsibility of the NHAI. According to him, Project Beacon had maintained the highway with its own engineers and staff while as NHAI would possibly outsource the maintenance to private contractors.

Meanwhile, highly placed sources in NHPC revealed to this newspaper that even in the field of power transmission, Government of Jammu & Kashmir had no infrastructure to directly utilize the power generated at 480 mw Uri plant as it had no carrier. “They have been boasting of the competence and hard work of their bureaucrats and engineers and granting them extensions in service after retirement without asking them why a transmission line had not been laid for directly receiving power from Uri in such crises”, a senior NHPC official said. He made a significant disclosure that Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, Bharat Bhushan Vyas, and incumbent Principal Secretary Power, Sudhanshu Pandey, learned it only on their recent visit to Uri that the state government had never laid a transmission line, capable of taking power directly from NHPC’s Uri plant, in the last several decades.

The NHPC officials, wishing anonymity, revealed that till date power from Uri plant was flowing directly to the northern grid through a 400 kv transmission line of Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI) and the same was returning to the Valley through another transmission line. “They are holding us guilty of everything and creating an impression that NHPC was averse to supplying power to them directly. We are, in fact, ready for it. Sometimes we have to simply shut our systems as the state government’s PDD has not created any infrastructure of taking it directly from us in such crises when the PGCI link between Uri and Jammu develops a fault”, said an official.

“We told Messers Vyas and Pandey that we were ready to supply power directly from Uri. They returned after learning, rather surprisingly, that their PDD had never created a carrier for it”, he added.

END

2012-01-10T09:30:00.002+14:00

PDD claims to have restored 1000 mw supply in Valley

Darkness prevails in rural areas, consumers cry but Govt says crisis is over

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 10: Notwithstanding continued darkness in many of the rural areas and consumers complaining no-power no-voltage, officials of Power Development Department (PDD) today claimed that almost all the transmission and distribution systems had been fully repaired and entire 1,000 mw electricity supply had been restored in Kashmir valley.

Highly placed sources in PDD revealed to Early Times that the four-day-long power breakdown in Kashmir valley was the result of multiple faults caused to the Power Grid Corporation of

India

’s 400 kv Kishenpur-Wagora transmission line by heavy snowfall on Friday last. They said that faults of varied kinds and intensity occurred when PGCI’s Optical Fiber Cable, that runs over the high altitude pylons, got snapped and caused faults to the transmission line in Ramban area. On Saturday, PGCI authorities requisitioned a state helicopter for air dropping a team of its engineers for necessary repairs. The helicopter was provided immediately but it failed to drop the engineers at the desired spot.

Thereafter, PGCI requisitioned a specially trained pair of pilots and a helicopter from the Indian Air Force (IAF) which successfully carried out the ladder dropping despite extremely hostile weather conditions. In the next 24 hours, the team of PGCI engineers and technicians repaired the transmission lines as well as the OFC that is being used for earth wiring purposes as well as a carrier of telecommunication data. Capable of high resolution digital data transmission, including audio-visual data, PGCI’s OFC is being used by the corporation as well as a number of other government and private clients.

“400 kv transmission line as well as OFC have been fully restored by PGCI. Our engineers are, however, still repairing the faults on the state-run 220 kv Kishenpur-Pampore transmission line over Battery Chashma and other high altitude areas in Ramban”, a senior PDD official said. He said that the entire 1000 mw power supply had been restored in the Valley with the repairs of PGCI’s 400 kv line. According to him, repairs of 220 kv line would also provide a cushion. He claimed that PGCI’s line was capable of carrying power upto 900 mw.

Chief Engineer Maintenance and Rural Electrification Kashmir, Mohammad Muzaffar Matoo, confirmed that entire pre-crisis supply of 1,000 mw had been restored by this evening. He told Early Times late tonight that all grid stations, receiving stations and sub stations in the Valley had been charged by this evening, though the distribution system had been restored “only partially in south Kashmir”. He claimed that the system had been restored 100% in Srinagar, 90% in Budgam and over 80% in north Kashmir. He was hopeful that 90% restoration would be achieved in south Kashmir by Tuesday evening.

Mr Matoo revealed proudly that PDD had also restored the “highly challenging” transmission line from Kupwara to Tanghdaar that passes through the snowbound Sadhna Pass. He said that the faults on PGCI’s 400 kv and the state government’s 220 kv transmission lines over Ramban were not of very high intensity. “It became a crisis for two reasons. First, the problem occurred simultaneously to both the lines for the first time and, secondly, the terrain was inaccessible and highly snowbound”, he said.

Mr Matoo said that 720 to 730 mw of power was now again flowing into the Valley through the PGCI’s 400 kv line. He said that in addition to NHPC’s 120 mw from Uri, PDD was currently in possession of 120 mw to 140 mw from other power projects, mainly LJHP, Upper Singh and Gas Turbine of Pampore. “The crisis is over now. Supply would be restored upto 90% of areas in south Kashmir in next 24 hours”, Mr Matoo asserted. He said that in Bandipore district, only Arin and Athwatoo areas were still uncharged.

Notwithstanding the refrain of official claims, situation did not improve drastically in most of the areas in the Valley. Even in the capital city of Srinagar, not a single locality was provided power for 24 hours on Monday. Subscribers in many of the urban neighbourhoods in the fully metered areas complained that on the fourth day of the breakdown today, they got supply for not more than 12 hours. In non-metered areas, subscribers complained that the supply was “high erratic” and did not remain available for aggregate of more than 8 hours.

On the fourth day of the breakdown, mobile telephony remained badly disrupted as neither the calls nor SMS and internet services operated smoothly. After GPRS, BSNL’s Broadband too collapsed in most of the urban and rural localities. Internet failure affected ATMs, credit card utility and other banking services, private cable television networks (which are fully shut since Friday last). Most of the internet services operated through Tata’s Photon and data cards of other private cellular operators.

Reports from rural areas said that power was provided intermittently on rotational basis but it was nowhere available for more than 8 hours a day. Consumers from over a dozen villages, all over the Valley, complained to this newspaper that transmission and distribution systems were unaffected there but the authorities did not still restore supply. In certain areas, supply was provided for just one or two hours in the last 24 hours. Voltage was extremely low in entire Valley wherever the supply was restored.

CE M&RE Kashmir admitted that the voltage in “entire Kashmir is lowest of the season today”. He, however, attributed the fault to the Northern Grid and claimed that it could be due to shutdown of a power plant in Punjab or adjoining states.

Meanwhile, yet another respite came when over a hundred stranded trucks and other modes of transport arrived in Srinagar from Ramban and Banihal this evening. Beacon officials said that the highway had been fully cleared but it would remain operational only for one-way traffic from Jammu to Srinagar for initial few days. They said that extremely low sub-zero temperature had made the road surface dangerously slippery in Patnitop area besides some spots around Jawahar Tunnel.

END

2012-01-10T01:42:00.002+14:00

Govt remains buried under 3 inches of snow

Power, water supply, drainage, communication systems collapse in Kashmir

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 8: With the near-total breakdown of power, water supply and communication systems, life has been thrown completely out of gear in Kashmir valley even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is camping here alongwith senior bureaucrats and making desperate attempts to restore services. This situation of crisis and chaos has nailed the administration’s false claims of disaster management and preparedness ahead of winter.

Less than three inches of snowfall on Saturday, which had been predicted in repeated statements from Divisional Commissioner’s office since last week, has thrown life completely out of gear in entire Kashmir valley. All claims of disaster management and preparedness for the natural calamity by the administration have proved false as the entire Valley has been reeling under total darkness since Friday afternoon and all the services and systems dependent on electricity have gone awry.

Notwithstanding Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s camping here alongwith a team of Ministers and bureaucrats and making desperate attempts to restore the systems, there was little improvement on day three of the catastrophe today. In the one-odd soothing development, Srinagar Airport remained fully operational and all flights, excluding one morning flight of Go Air, operated today. Even on the worst day on Saturday, most of the afternoon flights had operated but proceeded directly to New Delhi while skipping Jammu due to poor visibility there.

Surface communication between the Valley and the rest of the word remained cut off on the third consecutive day as Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained badly affected by accumulation of snow from Qazigund to Banihal. Besides, acute slippery conditions on Batote-Patnitop patch made operation of all types of traffic impossible. Landslides on Ramban-Banihal patch also blocked the highway at several places.

Addressing a news conference here this evening, Chief Minister said that the highway had been fully cleared of snow from Qazigund to Banihal. He said that operation of traffic was still very difficult in Patnitop area due to acute slippery conditions and freezing of water on the road surface. He was hopeful that one-way traffic on the highway would be restored by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.

Power breakdown has caused the worst crisis as the Valley has been continuously reeling under darkness since Friday evening. Chief Minister’s much hyped orders of freezing the power supply to his home and other VIP clusters until restoration of electricity to the ordinary population has failed to minimize the miseries, today at least. However, after more than 36 hours of total breakdown, electricity was supplied to Srinagar and some rural areas on rotational basis but not for more than aggregate of three hours in 24 hours in any area.

Power was supplied to these localities for intermittent durations of 20 to 30 minutes by rotation. It only helped the telephone subscribers to recharge batteries of their mobile phones. Some of the consumers could also recharge their fully discharged inverters and car batteries. Those having unaffected water supply could also fill up their overhead tanks with electric motors.

Due to the power breakdown, dependent telecommunication, healthcare, water supply and drainage systems also collapsed. BSNL’s Broadband and landline services operated without much disruption but the mobile phone systems remained badly hit with indication of “NO SERVICE” in most of the areas. BSNL’s GPRS internet system remained completely shut since Friday last. However, Tata Indicom’s Photon remained unaffected in most of the areas. It had little relevance as computers and laptops of over 90% of the population remained frozen due to total exhaustion of batteries.

Doctors failed to conduct many of the scheduled surgical and diagnostic procedures at all hospitals. Cable television networks too have been fully dysfunctional since Friday last. Reports said that most of the ATMs too failed to work yesterday and today in the Valley. Water supply and drainage systems remained badly affected due to non-availability of power and freezing of GI pipes under sub zero temperature. Srinagar recorded the coldest day of the year as the maximum temperature here was 0.6 degree Celsius and the minimum plummeted to the lowest of the season i.e minus 5.5 degree Celsius. Conditions were worse in high altitude areas like Gulmarg which recorded the lowest of the decade at minus 16.5 degrees.

Addressing the press conference in the evening, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that as against the total availability of nearly 1000 mw until Thursday last, not more than 155 mw was available today. He said that the breakdown was the result of a major transmission disruption in Chanderkote-Ramban area. He said that both the key transmission lines---440 kv Kishenpur-Wagora as well as 220 kv Kishenpur-Pampore had got cut off. According to him, just 60 mw of water was available from the 480 mw NHPC-run Uri project and just 15 mw from the 105 mw state-run LJHP. In addition, 90 mw was available from the twin gas turbines of Pampore which had been operated last week only. He said that hospitals, water plants, dewatering stations, telecommunication installations besides Radio Kashmir and Doordarshan were the government’s top priority and rest of the meager availability was going to the ordinary population.

Chief Minister said that a team of engineers had been called in from New Delhi and pressed into service to restore the transmission lines at Chanderkote. He was hopeful that the supply would be partially restored by 2100 hours tonight or till Monday morning. According to him, additional 200 mw of power would be available by Monday morning and full of 1000 mw till Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

Nobody from the Government has so far explained why the disruption was not restricted to only the inflow of nearly 400 mw that came through the two particular transmission lines. Until yesterday, PDD authorities had been claiming that out of 950 mw power pool, nearly 550 mw was coming from the local hydroelectric generation besides two 50 mw gas turbines at Pampore.

Highly placed official sources revealed to this newspaper that the NHPC authorities on Saturday made it clear to a high level visiting team of officials, comprising Principal Secretary Planning B B Vyas and Principal Secretary Power Sudhanshu Pandey that the corporation would not provide any more quantity of power to the state government.

END

2012-01-09T06:57:00.003+14:00

Civilian killed, 3 cops injured in Sopore

Series of strikes on Police on anniversary of 1993 massacre

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 7: A shopkeeper died and three Police personnel sustained injuries, two of them critically, when militants carried out a series of broad daylight strikes on Police in the north Kashmir township of Sopore on the 19^th anniversary of massacre in which nearly 50 civilians had died and scores of commercial establishments and residential structures had perished in 1993.

Informed sources in north Kashmir told Early Times that two militants carrying AK-47 rifles fired towards Police Station at Sopore when the apple town bustling with business at 1050 hours. Guards on duty fired back in air but with the advantage of a human shield, both the militants vanished into a narrow alley.

Even as most of the shopkeepers and pedestrians ran for life and Police launched a minor search operation, three to more militants in ambush at Main Chowk fired indiscriminately on a passing Gypsy. It was carrying SP Sopore Imtiyaz Hussain Mir’s escort personnel to the Police Station. SP Sopore was on way to Jammu to attend an official meeting with Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, and other senior officers. However, re returned from Srinagar when the meeting was canceled due to overnight snowfall and none of the flights operated at Srinagar Airport.

While SP Imtiyaz was in Srinagar and driving back to Sopore, militants targeted one of his escort vehicles that had stayed back. According to sources, almost the entire unit of SOG Sopore was busy with an operation outside the township when the militants struck in a big way, after weeks of calm in Sopore.

Sources said that three of SP’s escort personnel, including his Personal Security Officer (PSO), sustained injuries in the ambush at Main Chowk. With a lightning speed, militants made good their escape after leaving three personnel wounded. A 31-year-old shopkeeper, who was walking towards his work place, was hit in the crossfire. He died on spot. He was identified as Meraj Ahmad Sheikh S/o Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh R/o Gulshan Mohalla, Shah Gund, Sumbal.

SP Sopore, Imtiyaz Hussain Mir, told Early Times that in the first incident at Police Station, guards did not retaliate for fear of civilian casualties as large number of people were in movement when the militants struck from an alley, some 50 yards away. He said that the second strike was clearly an ambush. A Police Rakhshak passed by few minutes earlier but militants did not target the armoured vehicle. However, as soon as they spotted a non-BP Gypsy, they opened indiscriminate fire. Three of the escort personnel, including one of Mir’s PSOs, sustained injuries.

SP Sopore said that all the three injured personnel were evacuated by a Police party led by SHO Sopore. While one of them, selection grade constable Mudassar Ahmad of Srinagar, was treated at Sub District Hospital of Sopore and later in the day discharged, two more with critical injuries were admitted to 92 Base Hospital at headquarters 15 Corps in Srinagar. Both were battling for life and had not been declared out of danger till late tonight. They were identified as selection grade constable Shabir Ahmad of Shopian and constable Altaf Ahmad of Ganderbal.

Mir claimed that the civilian was hit by the militants’ fire. He said that one of the fleeing militants was identified as Hizbul Mujahideen’s Javed Matoo of Mohalla Khushaal Matoo who was hit in his hand but managed to escape under the cover of civilian concentration. He claimed that Matoo’s short barrel AK-47 rifle was seized by Police.

Third successive strike of the day happened 20 minutes later near the Bus Stand when militants fired a couple of rifle grenades. Both exploded in the air and failed to cause any damage in the cluster of Police and CRPF installations in the town.

Some of the residents contested Police claim that the shopkeeper died in the militants’ firing. At least one of them alleged that Police fired indiscriminately minutes after the militant strike. He suggested that the shopkeeper died in that over-reaction. However, immediately there were no such pointed allegations against Police by the traders’ community.

Residents claimed that at least four civilians sustained minor splinter injuries and three more got injured due to falling in the stampede. They said that the series of militant strikes led to virtual panic and stampedes at the crowded places. Shopkeepers, who were at work in defiance of chilly winds and moderate snowfall overnight, downed shutters and left back to their places of residence. Within minutes, the business hub turned into a ghost town.

Officials claimed that they were already on high alert as certain intelligence inputs had indicated “major trouble” on the 19^th anniversary of the massacre of January 6, 1993, when around 50 civilians had got killed and equal number of commercial and residential structures had perished in an inferno allegedly set off by Border Security Force.

“We were actually expecting it yesterday”, SP Sopore said. “Hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who is actually from Sopore, had been repeatedly mentioning the 1993 carnage in his statements since last month. We had also inputs from our planted sources that Hizbul Mujahideen could strike on January 6^th in a big way. But it came a day later when our Special Operations Group was busy with an operation outside the town and I was myself on way to an official meeting in Jammu”, Mir added.

END

2012-01-08T04:58:00.000+14:00

6 IGs, 11 DIGs become eligible for rank promotion

Sahai, Dibagh being promoted as ADGs; Javed, Gani, Farooq as IGs

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 6: Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Shiv Murari Sahai, as well as IGP Jammu, Dilbagh Singh, are among six IPS officers of 1987 batch who are shortly being promoted to the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADG). Half-a-dozen IPS officers of 1994 batch---including Javed Mujtaba Gilani, Abdul Gani Mir and Farooq Khan--- are among eleven DIGs who have become eligible for promotion to the rank of IG, subject to the rating of their APRs and vigilance clearance, on January 1^st, 2012.

Completing 25 years of service in IPS in the current year, six senior officers of Jammu & Kashmir cadre, currently holding the rank of IG, have become eligible for promotion to the rank of ADG on January 1^st. They include V K Singh, who has been on Central deputation since June 2007 and is currently posted in Singapur (in RAW). Others in the group include IG Kashmir S M Sahai, IG Jammu Dilbagh Singh, IG Crime Raja Aijaz Ali, IG Personnel & Training at Police Headquarters Sheikh Owais Ahmad and Director at Sher-e-Kashmir Police Training Academy Udhampur Ashok Gupta.

While as V K Singh is on Central deputation and likely to seek extension of two more years beyond June 2012, two IPS officers of 1987 batch, namely Raja Aijaz and Ashok Gupta, are reaching superannuation on February 29^th. In addition of them, three more officers of State Police Service, currently functioning as IG, are also retiring from service in 2012. They include Managing Director of J&K Police Housing Corporation Mohammad Amin Shah, IG Railway Zahoor Ahmad Chisti, both having 1988 as their year of allotment, and IG Armed/IR Jammu Gulzar Singh Salathia (1993). None of the three will be having qualifying service for rank promotion until their retirement on February 29^th, May 31^st and September 30^th, 2012.

With V K Singh being on deputation and Raja Aijaz and Ashok Gupta retiring at the end of February, all the remaining three of 1987 batch---SM Sahai, Dilbagh Singh and Sheikh Owais, are certain for promotion as ADG within a few weeks.

Highly placed sources in the state Home Department revealed to Early Times that a Departmental Promotion Committee, comprising Chief Secretray Madhv Lal, Principal Secretary Home B R Sharma and DGP Kuldeep Khoda, would soon consider rank promotion of the four IGs. Messers Sahai, Dilbagh and Owais are likely to be elevated to substantive posts of ADG and VK Singh would be promoted on proforma basis. According to these sources, currently there was only one substantive vacancy of DG and all the five sanctioned posts of ADG stand filled up. However, the government had powers to create ex cadre posts equivalent to the number of substantive posts as a special arrangement.

APRs of the incumbent officers for the previous five years, which should be ‘Outstanding/Excellent’ for 2 years and ‘Very Good’ for 3 years, as also clearance from State Vigilance Organisation, determine all these time-bound rank promotions in IPS, IAS and IFS.

As against the sanctioned strength of two posts of DG, J&K has currently only one in Mr Kuldeep Khoda who is due to reach superannuation on May 31^st, 2012. In addition to three IPS officers (proforma/ ex cadre), namely Commissioner Vigilance P L Gupta (1984), S K Mishra (1985) and Gopal Reddy (1985), five IPS officers of J&K cadre are currently functioning on substantive posts of ADG. They include ADG Armed/ Law & Order K Rajendra Kumar (1984), ADG Security Ram Lubhaya (1985), ADG Headquarters Dr Shesh Pal Vaid (1986), ADG Home Guard & Civil Defence D R Doley (1986) and ADG Prisons Navin Agarwal (1986).

None of the eight ADGs will be having the qualifying service of 30 years for elevation to the rank of DGP on Mr Khoda’s superannuation on May 31^st this year. Senior most, K Ranjendra Kumar, would attain it on 01-01-2014 and the runner-up P L Gupta on 01-01-2015. Ram Lubhaya would retire in just the 28^th year of his IPS on March 31, 2013.

Among the total of 37 DIGs, eleven IPS officers of 1994 have become eligible for promotion to the rank of IG on January 1^st. Only one of them, namely Javed Mujtaba Gilani, is currently on Central deputation. He too is returning to the state after completion of seven years of deputation with CBI at the end of next month.

Others, who have attained eligibility for promotion to IG by reaching 18^th year of service in 2012, include DIG Kashmir (Central Kashmir and Ladakh) Abdul Gani Mir, DIG Vigilance Mohammad Sulaiman Salaria, DIG CID Jammu Sunil Kumar Sharma, DIG Jammu-Kathua Farooq Khan, DIG IR Jammu Kamal Kumar Saini, DIG Security P R Manhas, DIG Crime Yoginder Kaul, DIG Administration Alok Puri, DIG North Kashmir Munir Khan and DIG Training at Armed PHQ Abdul Qayoom Manhas (retiring on 31-08-2012).

According to sources Messers Javed Gilani, AG Mir, Sulaiman Salaria, Sunil Sharma, Farooq Khan and Dr Kamal Saini have bright chances of the rank promotion as a minimum of six posts of IG are likely to be available by later this year.

Seven SSPs, who have 1998 as their year of IPS allotment, have also become eligible for promotion to the rank of DIG on January 1^st. They include RP Resutra (SSP CID SB Jammu), Parminder Singh (SSP SSG), Dr Showkat Ahmad Malik (SSP CID SB Kashmir) Syed Ahfadul Mujtaba (SSP Vigilance), Abdul Hamid (CO IR-1st Bn) Mushtaq Mohammad Sadiq (Principal PTC Manigam) and Shakeel Ahmed Beigh (SSP Udhampur).

END

2012-01-04T17:05:00.000+14:00

DG CISF orders another inquiry into Boniyar shootout

Omar calls on bereaved family, douses a flame but seen off with stone pelting on cavalcade

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 3: Even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called on the bereaved family and described the 18-year-old student Altaf Ahmad Sood’s death as “an unacceptable murder”, Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) ordered a departmental inquiry into yesterday’s shootout. CISF inquiry has been launched after the force officials pleaded that the guards had opened fire only when “a violent mob of over 1,000 people” refused to respond to several warnings and attempted to set the buildings on fire.

Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that on express directions from union Home Minister P Chidambaram and union Home Secretary R P Singh, DG of CISF Mr NR Das today visited the spot of yesterday’s shootout. He had an extensive interaction with the Commanding Officer of the battalion guarding different NHPC colonies and installations, Mr Chaturvedi, and others posted at the camp involved in yesterday’s firing.

According to these sources, officers and other personnel of the battalion maintained that the CISF guards had opened fire only after a violent mob of over one thousand people resorted to stone pelting and attempted to set the buildings on fire while ignoring three repeatedly made warnings. Contrary to the peoples’ statements and the state Police version, CISF officials told Mr Das that opening the fire had become “inevitable”. “Otherwise the violent mob would have destroyed the camp and lynched our men’, one of the officers is reported to have told the DG CISF.

The CISF officials described registration of a murder case and arrest of five guards by Police “unwarranted” and insisted that the central force had neither batons nor tearsmoke and other Police equipment to protect themselves, their camps and the installations they were supposed to guard.

Sources said that DG CISF immediately ordered a departmental inquiry that would run parallel to the murder case registered at Police Station Boniyar against the guards on the directions of Chief Minister and Director General of Police, Mr Kuldeep Khoda. Third inquiry is being simultaneously carried out by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla. According to informed sources, DG CISF made it clear that the departmental inquiry be completed before his retirement from service on January 31^st.

SP Baramulla, Dr Haseeb Mughal, said that Police investigation was underway. He said that five CISF guards had been arrested and three more personnel of the camp detained for questioning as Police were investigating what exactly led to opening of the fire by the guards. He declined to endorse the CISF version at its face value and revealed that 80 to 100 rounds had been fired on the spot.

Hours before DG CISF’s arrival, leaders of different mainstream and separatist political parties today made a beeline to Boniyar. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was the first who landed at Brigade Headquarters of Rampur at 0915 hours and drove all the way to Altaf Ahmad Sood’s residence at Sakin Brinet. He was accompanied by Congress party’s MLA of Uri and Minister of Irrigation and PHE, Taj Mohi-ud-din, MoS Home Nasir Aslam Wani besides DGP, Kuldeep Khoda. IGP Kashmir, S M Sahai, DIG North Kashmir, Munir Khan, DC Baramulla Bashir Ahmad Bhat and SP Baramulla, Dr Haseeb Mughal, were also in attendance.

Omar extended condolences to members of the bereaved family and assured them that his government would leave no stone unturned to provide relief to them and punish Altaf’s killers. On his return, Chief Minister addressed a gathering of nearly 1,000 residents of Boniyar and adjoining villages close to the spot of yesterday’s firing. He called the 18-year-old student’s death in the shootout as “murder, least acceptable to me” and asserted that his government would get the killers punished. He said that Altaf could never return from death to life but his family would get all possible support, including a road to the village, from his government.

Officials escorting Chief Minister told Early Times that proceedings at Brinet and Boniyar went on smoothly but a crowd of nearly 300 people pelted stones on the rear end vehicles of the cavalcade while shouting anti-Government slogans. However, the cavalcade proceeded without any significant disruption. SP Baramulla confirmed the stone pelting and said that the crowd targeted vehicles of local Police which were in the tail end of Chief Minister’s motorcade. He said that Police dispersed the crowd with mild baton charge and tearsmoke. He added that there was total shutdown in Boniyar, Gingal, Brinet as also at Uri. However, there was no incident of clash between residents and Police or security forces, he said.

SP Baramulla said that PDP President Mehbooba Mufti and JKLF Chairman, Yasin Malik, too visited Boniyar and called on the bereaved family. He said that Police or security forces did not prevent anybody from visiting Boniyar. Residents of several villages, who attended Yasin Malik’s public meeting, said that the JKLF chief blamed mainstream political parties for Altaf Sood’s killing and claimed that the “Indian forces” were unbridled only due to incompetence and non-representative character of mainstream political leaders and the J&K Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

END

2012-01-04T16:57:00.000+14:00

DG CISF orders another inquiry into Boniyar shootout

Omar calls on bereaved family, douses a flame but seen off with stone pelting on cavalcade

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

END

2012-01-04T07:09:00.002+14:00

Taj’s anti-NHPC tirade takes first life in Uri

Student killed, 5 injured as CISF opens fire on demonstrators

Murder case registered * 5 CISF men arrested * Taj, Nasir, Khoda visit spot

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jan 2: Senior Congress leader and Minister of Irrigation & PHE Taj Mohi-ud-din’s six-month-long tirade against National Hyd0relectric Power Corporation (NHPC) entered a dangerous phase with the beginning of year 2012 today when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guards opened fire on a demonstration, killing an 18-year-old student on spot at Boniyar in Uri. Even as the coalition government ordered registration of a murder case, got five CISF personnel arrested, deployed a high level team to Baramulla and claimed to have sent a note of protest to New Delhi, tension had not substantially receded in Baramulla-Uri belt.

Informed sources in north Kashmir told Early Times that residents of nearly 20 villages around NHPC base at Gingal, Boniyar, gathered in the forenoon and began staging a demonstration. They demanded that NHPC should immediately fulfill its year 1989 promises with the local population. The promises made at the time of setting up 480 mw Uri Civil power project, according to the demonstrators, included free power supply to the villages affected by the project, one job to each of the families who provided land besides free education and free medical treatment to all patients in the locality.

Sub Divisional Police Officer Uri, Sub Divisional Magistrate Uri and Station House Officer Boniyar appeared at the spot and persuaded the demonstrators to disperse peacefully. They assured the gathering that they would take up the matter with DC Baramulla who, in turn, would ensure that free power was provided to the area by NHPC. Even as the gathering relented and decided to defer their agitation by a couple of days, CISF guards opened fire at around 1300 hours. A class 12^th student, namely Altaf Ahmad Sood S/o Bashir Ahmad Sood, died on spot and five others sustained injuries.

While as two of the injured demonstrators were treated at a Public Health Centre at Boniyar, two more with gunshot wounds were evacuated and rushed to Baramulla. By late tonight, both the persons treated at Boniyar as also one admitted to District Hospital Baramulla had been discharged. However, one person was still under treatment at DH Baramulla.

Sources said that the demonstrators went panicky with the firing at Boniyar, 29 Km from Baramulla on the National Highway leading to Uri and further to Muzaffarabad in PoK. They shouted anti-NHPC and anti-Government slogans and some of them even pelted stones from a long distance towards NHPC installations. None of the senior officials from Baramulla visited the spot till late in the afternoon when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Jammu deployed a high level team of Ministers and officers by helicopter.

Within two hours, a helicopter landed at an Army encampment at Rampur and dropped Minister of Irrigation & PHE, Taj Mohi-ud-din, who also happens to be Congress party’s MLA of Uri, Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani and Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda. The high level team drove straight to Boniyar and arranged a meeting with local representatives. Sources said that Taj Mohi-ud-din succeeded in pacifying the delegation with the announcement that a murder case would be filed against CISF guards and all the delinquent officials would be arrested and a magisterial inquiry would also be ordered within today.

Residents conducted the burial of the youth killed amid official announcement that Rs one lakh would be paid as ex gratia relief to the bereaved family alongwith one government job or compensation of Rs 4 lakhs. Within hours, DC Baramulla ordered a magisterial inquiry that would be conducted by Additional DC of Baramulla. Police simultaneously registered FIR No: 01 of 2012 under section 302 RPC at Police Station Boniyar and got five of the CISF guards arrested.

At a hurriedly called press conference in Jammu, Principal Secretary Home, B R Sharma, identified the detained CISF guards as Sub-Inspector Krishan Thapa, Havaldar Dwarka Prashad,Constable Raju Ranjan, Constable Ajay Singh and Constable Mohammad Shabir.

Sharing details with media, Mr Sharma said that the residents of Rampur and Guntamula villages of tehsil Uri were protesting against NHPC at Boniyar. He said that the firing incident occurred at around 1300-1330 hrs which resulted in death of Altaf Ahmad Sood. He said that two persons, namely Parvaiz Ahmad S/o Ghulam Hassan and Abdul Majid S/o Wali Mohammad, residents of Boniyar, sustained injuries in the shootout.

Mr Sharma said that Deputy Commissioner and SSP of Baramulla rushed to the spot immediately. DC Baramulla had been directed to provide immediate ex-gratia to the family of the deceased besides Rs 50,000 to each of the injured, he said.

He asserted that the CISF troops, who opened fire, were not part of the Counter Insurgency Grid in J&K and they had been deployed by the NHPC directly for the security of its installations across the State. He said that the State Government had taken up the matter with the Union Home Ministry, lodged “serious protest” and demanded stern exemplary action against the delinquent officers.

He said the protest was against the NHPC which should have sought the assistance of the local law and order machinery rather than dealing with the situation on its own.

Sarpanch of Bela Salamabad, Raja Javed, who was among the representatives dealing with the officials, told Early Times that NHPC had signed a written agreement with residents of nearly 20 villages of Boniyar area in 1989 that it would provide free electricity, free education and free medical treatment to the local population. According to him, it was recorded and duly signed by both the parties in the agreement that one job would be provided to each of the families who provided land, though on compensation, for construction of the prestigious 480 mw Uri Civil power project. Even as the residents raked up the issue, made all possible efforts to get the promises fulfilled and staged demonstrations, NHPC remained unmoved in the last 22 years.

Raja Javed said that on Friday last, residents gathered and staged a demonstration to press their demands--- particularly that of the free power supply. He said that they deferred the agitation till January 2^nd when SDM, SDPO and SHO assured them that they would get their demands realized with the intervention of DC Baramulla. When nothing came through, residents gathered again today and decided to take their agitation to logical conclusion. He said that inspite of no action by the authorities in the last five days, residents agreed to further defer their agitation.

“When we were dispersing and returning to our homes, CISF guards came out of a bunker without any provocation. They opened indiscriminate firing on the peaceful demonstrators. We saw them out on the highway and firing indiscriminately. One boy, namely Altaf Ahmad Sood, who was a class 12^th student of Govt Higher Secondary School Boniyar and was returning to home from tuition, was shot directly and killed. Five others sustained injuries”, Raja Javed said. He said that announcement of ex gratia relief and registration of murder case, besides arrest of five CISF guards, had assuaged the feelings of one family but not solved the real problem of the vast area.

Raja Javed said that the agitation would continue till all the peoples’ demands were conceded and implemented. He said that inspite of the NHPC’s 480 mw power plant, Boniyar area was getting paid electric supply from state government for just one or two hours a day. He claimed to be in possession of the agreement that makes NHPC bound to provide uninterrupted, free power supply to the area.

SP Baramulla, Dr Haseeb Mughal, claimed that tension was receding remarkably after the high level delegation’s visit to Boniyar. He said that the burial of the youth took place peacefully. He said that Police had registered a murder case, got five of CISF men disarmed and arrested. He said that the matter was under investigation as to what forced CISF to open fire.

Efforts to contact General Manager of CISF at Boniyar failed as his phone was continuously not reachable.

END

2012-01-01T09:05:00.000+14:00

Sopore girl denied passport 20 years after her militant father’s death

CID’s questions to Rehana: When did CM assure passports to militants’ relatives? Why should you have a passport? Which ‘maharram’ will travel with you?

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SOPORE, Dec 31: Rehana of Baba Raza mohalla, Sopore, was born with the birth of Kashmir militancy in 1990. Her father, Abdul Rashid Penchoo, was among hundreds of youth who deserted their aging parents, young wives and children to “liberate” Kashmir. He joined the Islamist guerrilla group Hizbul Mujahideen and assumed the codename of Zahid Ali. Rehana was two-year old and her brother, Tahir, in fourth month when Zahid Ali died alongwith some of his associates in a fierce encounter with the armed forces in nearby Chhankhan locality on July 15^th/16^th in 1992.

Twenty years later, Rehana is completing her Bachelor of Arts at Government Degree College Sopore. Tahir is awaiting results of class 12^thexamination. Both are ambitious to seek scholarship from Delhi-based NGOs to pursue higher studies abroad. Rehana too wants to liberate Kashmir---not from “Indian occupation” but from corruption, social injustice, poverty and ignorance.

Like many of Kashmir’s young, revolting female television watchers, Rehana’s role models are Barkha Dutt and Mahrukh Anayat. St Stephens and Columbia are nowhere in her reach. Her strong will of serving the society as a journalist drives Rehana to Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Alongside her BA at Sopore, she completes a virtual degree in journalism through distance mode with IGNOU. New Delhi-based NGO, YAKJAH wants to sponsor her studies abroad after making her participate in a conference in Sri Lanka in 2012. For this all, she needs to have a passport.

One of Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s much trumpeted announcements encourages Rehana to apply for passport. On the floor of Legislative Assembly, as well as at press conferences and public meetings, Omar refrained: ‘Family members and relatives of militants will no more suffer on account of the actions of others. Like all other citizens, they will get passports, government jobs without facing any stigma’. Omar had made his statements after it was pointed out to him that Police and intelligence agencies had incorporated hundreds of thousands of names---mostly those of the close and distant relatives of active or dead militants--- in so-called red index.

Scoring a point over arch rival Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s “healing touch regime”, Omar said with pride that family members of militant commanders were for the first time getting travel documents. One of Information Department’s press releases announced boastfully that the beneficiaries of Omar Government’s justice included the wife and children of Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salah-ud-din. Soon it became public that all of the top militant commanders’ families, including those of the Pakistan-based Salah-ud-din, slain Operations Chief Burhan-ud-din Hijazi’s and another slain Operations Chief Riyaz Rasool’s, were shuttling between Srinagar and Rawalpindi like lakhs of Kashmiris between Srinagar and Jammu. In Omar’s regime, Salah-ud-din even imported a slain commander’s wife all the way from Srinagar to Islamabad and acquired her as his second wife.

In months of the Chief Minister’s reassurance, that came as veritable boon to thousands of families in Kashmir, Rehana submitted her application No: A 031934/6503193411 at Regional Passport Office Srinagar on 03-10-2011. Within days, RPO Srinagar sought verification of Rehana’s antecedents from IGP CID. Without wasting any time, CID headquarters sought the applicant’s field verification from SP Sopore and SP CID Special Branch, Kashmir, vide No: CID/PP/2011/1268-77/11/Spr Dated 28-10-2011.

Even as Executive Police completed its process within next few days, SP CID SB has not received the verification from Baramulla in the last two months.

On 07-11-2011, CID’s verification staff paid their first visit to Rehana’s home. Rehana, as well as her 42-year-old mother, Rubeena, made every possible effort to convince the officials that the passport was needed for the applicant’s higher studies. Not satisfied with the family’s response, the officials began asking for Rehana’s Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC), Date of Birth Certificate, a letter of intent from the sponsoring NGO and many other documents. Not one of them is required by law.

Thereupon, an outspoken Rehana asserted on the officials that getting an Indian Passport was her constitutional and birth right. “Even if I don’t possess a PRC, I have not studies at school and I don’t want to go for higher studies, I am entitled to passport”, Rehana argued with the CID officials. They left with the advice that the “needful” be done and they be informed. “Otherwise, you will never get a passport”, they shot on the young hostess.

54 days later, one of the CID officials tripped in on December 30th. “He is now asking for more details and documents. He told me that since I was young and unmarried, I could not travel abroad without a maharram (close blood relations). I told him that he was confused as maharram was a Shariat rule requirement during a holy pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia alone. He did not listen to anything and claimed that Chief Minister had never declared free passports to members of the militants’ families. Thereupon, I called Yakjah and sought their intervention”, Rehana narrated to Early Times.

“When I tried to make it clear to the CID official that company of maharram was only a visa requirement of Saudi Arabia and it had got nothing to do with an Indian Passport, he argued that I was from a different religion and could not understand the Shariat rules. He refused to accept that passport was every Indian citizen’s birth and constitutional right. Then he dropped the phone”, Yakjah functionary Ashima Kaul said by telephone from New Delhi.

Middle-aged Rubeena’s tribulations don’t seem to end. While the families of most of the prominent militant commanders and separatist politicians continued to get passports and free flow of monetary support from different countries, those of the ordinary guerrillas continued to bleed through nose.

Victim of Army’s, BSF’s and SOG’s wrath, Rubeena migrated to Karan Nagar Srinagar in months of her husband’s death. She worked hard and brought up both of her children at her brother’s home for the next 10 years. She disposed off the family’s only source of income---a sawing machine. In 1996, her house was blasted in an IED explosion, allegedly by Army. It was only during Mufti’s “healing touch regime” in 2003 that Rubeena returned to Sopore alongwith both of her children. Running an embroidery workshop, with engagement of ten artisans, she stoically made their schooling possible.

“We have thousands of similar cases. CM has indeed made the announcement but the relief is practically restricted to only the families of few high profile commanders. Almost all the separatist leaders have valid passports. Some of them have even two, courtesy their contacts in Delhi. They have been traveling at will all over the world”, an officer of the rank of SSP explained. He added: “One of the top separatist leaders openly held a two-hour-long meeting with the ISI chief at Amsterdam Airport. But their ordinary followers, even those who have invited them once over a dinner fifteen years back are labeled as men of anti-national connections and denied passports. Same is the story of the families of ordinary militants, dead or alive. Rehana is one among thousands”. He observed that CM’s announcement was just on papers as the verification staff had no accountability.

END

2011-12-28T08:37:00.002-10:00

Ranjan tipped to take over as next PCCF

Kundal-backed IFS lobby blocking Tiwari’s pension settlement case

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 28: Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1977 batch, Vinod Ranjan, is likely to succeed R D Tiwari as the next Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) in Jammu and Kashmir. After putting in 34 years of service in J&K cadre, Mr Tiwari is reaching superannuation on December 31^st.

Well placed sources in the political establishment insisted that Vinod Ranjan, who has headed several key departments in Forest sector and has been functioning as Director Forest Protection Force (FPF) since 01-05-2010, was “most likely” to take over as PCCF on December 31^st evening. He would be tried on experimental basis and confirmed as PCCF by the Cabinet in a few months subject to the satisfaction of Minister incharge Forest Mian Altaf Ahmad.

1975-batch IFS officer Jagdish Kishwan, who functioned as PCCF in J&K prior to his central deputation on 01-10-2010, is currently the seniormost officer of J&K cadre. He has been functioning as Additional Director General Wildlife in union Ministry of Environment and Forest since October 2011. Since he has already served a term as PCCF and is reaching superannuation on 30-09-2012, he is unlikely to be recalled to succeed Tiwari.

Ranjan stands at number three on the top of the seniority list. In addition to Kishwan’s central deputation, he has a couple of other advantages. His immediate junior and 1978-batch IFS officer, Pritam Chand Kapur, who has been serving as Director of J&K State Forestry Research Institute (SFRI) since October 2010, is due to retire in next two months---February 29^th, 2012.

Ranjan has not enjoyed enviable reputation throughout his career. However, unlike many in the department, including Kapur and Tiwari, he does not have any departmental inquiries or corruption related matters pending against him in State Vigilance Organisation. He has been calling himself a “victim of whisper campaign”. Ranjan, nevertheless, has a veritable headache. A high level committee, headed by Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, has lately elevated two additional PCCFs, namely A K Srivastava and Lal Chand, to the grade of PCCF (Rs 75,500---Rs 80,000).

In case the state government decided to give more weightage to “suitability” than seniority, both, Srivastava as well as Lal Chand, could emerge as a threat to Ranjan. Chief Minister obviously has the final say and the Cabinet would only perform a formality, but men of consequence in the government insist that Mr Omar Abdullah had ‘no particular likes and dislikes” in Forest sector.

“Chief Minister is normally in favour of maintaining seniority. He favoured Mr Madhav Lal as Chief Secretary last year when several Ministers in the Cabinet and other political leaders had a variety of other choices. This time around, he is most likely to go by the choice of Forest Minister Mian Altaf Sahab”, a highly placed government functionary observed.

1980-batch IFS officer, Srivastava, has been functioning as Inspector General of Wildlife in union Ministry of Environment and Forest since 01-04-2009. In J&K, he last served as Chief Wildlife Warden. Reaching superannuation on 30-11-2014, he is left with three more years of service. Among all competitors, Srivastava alone is a serious threat to Ranjan in case Minister of Forest did not favour Ranjan during his “probation”.

The last in the PCCFs’ list is none other than son of the soil, Lal Chand, who has been serving as Chairman of J&K State Pollution Control Board since 01-05-2010. Retiring on 31-01-2013, he is still left with over a year of service. According to authoritative sources, his candidacy would heavily depend on strenuous lobbying of SC/ST lobby of Jammu that has been simultaneously projecting him for the vacancy of a member in J&K State Public Service Commission.

Minister of Forest, Mian Altaf Ahmad, told Early Times that a decision with regard to the appointment of the new PCCF would be taken only after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s return from overseas on Wednesday. “I am having an open mind. I’m sure, the picture would become clear after my discussion with Chief Minister tomorrow”, Mian Altaf said. He said that the incumbent would be picked up from among Ranjan, Srivastava and Lal Chand, all holding the grade of PCCF.

Meanwhile, bureaucratic sources revealed that a particular lobby of IFS officers, allegedly enjoying support of former Chief Secretary and today’s MLC of Congress party, B R Kundal, was at work to block settlement of Mr Tiwari’s pension case. According to these sources, efforts were underway to trouble the outgoing PCCF as certain officials were stressing on the fact Vigilance clearance to Mr Tiwari could not be granted until he was cleared in a departmental inquiry. Government had exonerated Mr Tiwari in a matter of alleged misuse of official position, in the matter of promotions in Department of Wildlife Protection over a decade ago but ordered a departmental inquiry. The inquiry did not proceed as Mr Tiwari got it stayed from court with the argument that the nominated inquiry officer was “biased” against him.

Mr Kundal, who headed an inquiry in Ghulam Nabi Azad’s regime, held Mr Tiwari guilty in several matters and recommended detailed investigations by SVO and Crime Branch. However, SVO and CB failed to establish any charges against him during his functioning as head of IWDP and PCB. Interestingly, Mr Tiwari is facing his career’s last official meeting with none other than Kundal at Legislative Council tomorrow. Almost all officers of the rank of PCCF, additional PCCF, CCF and Conservators of Forest (CF) would be present in the House committee meeting.

END

2011-12-28T08:35:00.002-10:00

On retirement, Mehboob diverted Rs 18 Cr NRDWP funds to Doda

Meticulous planning of constituency development before joining Congress

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 26: Obsessed with his ambition of joining Congress party, senior IAS officer and Commissioner-Secretary PHE & Irrigation, Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal, has diverted Rs 18 Cr of centrally sponsored drinking water scheme to his home district of Doda. Diversion of the funds has been ordered in violation of the guidelines of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

Highly placed bureaucratic sources disclosed to Early Times that Mr Mehboob Iqbal created a reserve of funds and diverted it fully to his home district of Doda with such a mechanism that the funds would be almost fully utilized on water supply schemes in Bhaderwah Assembly segment. According to these sources, Joint Director (Planning) in Education Department, Mr Matoo, who has been holding additional charge of PHE & Irrigation, played a key role in the diversion on the Commissioner-Secretary’s insistence.

Minister of PHE & Irrigation, Taj Mohiuddin, happens to be Iqbal’s political mentor and close relative but it was not immediately clear whether the diversion of NRDWP funds had happened with or without his approval. Sources said that allocation and diversion of the centrally sponsored scheme’s funds could not ordinarily happen without the concerned Minister’s approval. According to these sources, diversion of the funds took place days before Mr Iqbal’s retirement from service on November 30^th, 2001, when Taj Mohiuddin had returned from Hajj and was very much present in the state.

Almost fully sponsored by Department of Drinking Water Supply of the union Ministry of Rural Development, NRDWP is being implemented in different states, including Jammu & Kashmir, with a central monitoring system. Inter-State allocation of NRDWP funds depends on total rural population according to 2001 census (40% weightage), rural SC and ST population (10% weightage), rural population managing drinking water supply schemes (10% weightage) and States under DDP, DPAP, HADP and special category Hill States in terms of rural areas (40% weightage).

“Ministers and bureaucrats can not allocate, pool or divert funds at their whims and sweet will. Guidelines of this and many other centrally sponsored schemes have been drafted so meticulously that nobody can utilize the funds for personal benefits or development of a particular constituency”, a top ranking official asserted. According to him, funds could be distributed strictly in accordance with the genuine demands put forward by Executive Engineers, Superintending Engineers and Chief Engineers.

Since digging of wells is a major component of the programme, there is remarkable prospect of the distribution to strengthen votebanks. Even as Government of India has been meticulously conducting the monitoring, nobody till date seems to have questioned the state government as to how Ministers and retiring public servants, having political ambitions, could utilize the NRDWP funds for personal promotion or electoral gains of a particular political party.

Interestingly, Congress party’s MLA from Bhaderwah, where the funds are intended to be utilized, Mohammad Sharief Niaz has been completely kept in the dark in this particular diversion of funds. Mr Iqbal, who was conspicuously present in the forefront of Mr Taj Mohiuddin’s recent visit to Doda district, is said to be claiming “direct support” from his Minister-relative as well as union Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Notwithstanding his involvement in Gulmarg Roshni Scandal, in which State Vigilance Organisation has established charges and produced challan in an anti-corruption court, Mehboob Iqbal has attained the image of an extremely competent government official. He is also a man of extraordinary public relations, having his admirers in almost all the political parties.

Many in political circles describe his possible foray into active politics as Congress party’s answer to PDP’s induction of Asgar Ali. Also hailing from erstwhile Doda district, Asgar Ali retired as Director of Rural Development Kashmir and much like Iqbal landed into a corruption-related episode months before his retirement. He is now PDP’s MLC.

Sources in bureaucracy insist that under tremendous pressure from certain political quarters, Law Secretary did not process sanction to Mr Mehboob Iqbal’s prosecution until he reached superannuation on November 30^th and got his pension case settled without any hitch.

END

2011-12-25T07:32:00.003-10:00

Pir inquiring why SKIMS became a hell for “CM’s man”

Proposal to dismiss surgical oncologist Altaf Gauhar turned down

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 25: Commissioner-Secretary for Health and Medical Education, Ghulam Ahmad Pir, on Saturday started an inquiry to find why authorities at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) allegedly compelled Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s favourite and eminent surgical oncologist, Dr Altaf Gauhar Haji, to quit “in protest”. Chief Minister, in his capacity as Chairman of the highest decision making Governing Body of the tertiary care hospital, has not only turned down the proposal of terminating Dr Altaf’s service and his replacement by General Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary but has also asked the senior bureaucrat to investigate why that particular file had moved from SKIMS to Chief Secretary to Chief Minister with lightning speed.

According to informed sources, Mr G A Pir drove all the way to Soura and remained closeted with Director SKIMS, Dr Shaukat Ali Zargar, for over an hour. Sources called it a ‘closed door meeting”. It was not immediately clear as to what transpired between the two in today’s one-on-one. It was, nonetheless, widely believed by well placed sources that Pir actually started the inquiry he has been asked to complete within two weeks. Earlier this month, Chief Minister had assigned the investigation to Pir after he turned down Director SKIMS Dr Zargar’s proposal to terminate the service of eminent surgical oncologist, Dr Altaf Gauhar.

Direcor SKIMS, according to bureaucratic sources, had initiated extreme action against Dr Altaf and also appointed General Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary as head of the lately created Department of Surgical Oncology. Dr Zargar had demonstrated keenness in Dr Altaf’s dismissal and Dr Nisar’s appointment with the argument that only a Professor was “qualified” to head the department. After his super-specialty in surgical oncology in England and having working with hospitals of reputation overseas, Dr Altaf had returned to his home state of J&K earlier this year and joined as Assistant Professor at SKIMS.

Sources insist that Dr Altaf returned and joined SKIMS on Chief Minister’s persuasion. Being the only faculty in his discipline, he was appointed as Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology. However, within weeks, Dr Altaf began complaining that a “mafia of General surgeons and private practitioners”, allegedly enjoying Director’s patronage, had created for him “extreme hostile conditions”. In one of his strongly worded representations, he complained to Chief Minister that he was being “demoralized and marginalized” as his job profile was being encroached upon. According to the complaint, he had been given neither a ward nor a patient.

With the skirmishes between Dr Zargar and Dr Altaf snowballing into a crisis at SKIMS, the former asserted in meetings and communications that anybody not holding the rank of Professor was ineligible to head a department. Director reportedly overruled several members of the Governing Body, including Director of AIIMS Dr Deka, who maintained that Dr Altaf could well head the department which had currently no Post Graduation programme. They insisted that only departments with PG programmes were supposed to be headed by a Professor. Eventually, Dr Zargar appointed Dr Nisar as head of Surgical Oncology department.

When things came to a head, Dr Altaf in protest proceeded on leave. Since his leave had not been sanctioned, SKIMS authorities described his “protest leave” as “unauthorized absence”. Unlike in hundreds of identical cases, SKIMS dashed off explanations and got a series of notifications published in newspapers, asking Dr Altaf either to report for duty or face dismissal of service. Finally, Director SKIMS proposed termination of his services under Civil Service Rules and Regulation in vogue and submitted the file to the competent authority (CM and Chairman of Governing Body of SKIMS) through the office of Chief Secretary.

Chief Minister, according to sources, wondered how an eminent cancer surgeon, who had a high profile job at a British hospital and was being wooed by several corporate Hospitals all over India, had been pushed to the wall at SKIMS. It was all the more surprising that Dr Altaf had returned to Srinagar on none other than Chief Minister’s persuasion. According to sources, Chief Minister even pulled up Chief Secretary Madhav Lal and asked him how that particular file had traveled to him from SKIMS with lightning speed even as scores of top priority files and communications had gathered dust in red-tapism.

Sources said that Chief Minister turned down Director SKIMS’ proposal of terminating Dr Altaf’s service and his replacement by Gen Surgeon Dr Nisar Chaudhary. He also ordered an inquiry by Commissioner-Secretary Health and Medical Education who was asked to investigate as to why Dr Altaf had proceeded on “protest leave” and why Director SKIMS had shown “extraordinary interest” in getting him dismissed and replaced by a General Surgeon. Thereafter, Dr Altaf’s joining report was entertained and he was allowed to resume duty as Head of Department.

While Director SKIMS was not reachable for comment and Medical Superintendent Dr Syed Mohammad Tabish did not respond to repeated phone calls, Mr G A Pir declined to share any details. He confirmed to Early Times that he had been asked to hold an inquiry regarding complaints of two doctors of SKIMS and SMHS Hospital, both named Dr Altaf. In his overnight conversation, Mr Pir said that he had not yet started the inquiry into the SKIMS episode. “As of now, we have just informal, prejudiced versions of both the parties. I have not yet recorded any statements or examined any witnesses or evidences”, Mr Pir asserted.

Mr Pir further said that the process of inquiry would take “some days”. He said that he would submit his findings to Chief Minister as and when completed. When it was pointed out to Mr Pir why similar action (termination of services) had not been taken against doctors like Dr Manzoor Thokar, Additional Professor Microbiology, who was working at Bin Gazi University in Libya for the last over three years, he said that Dr Thokar had got the process stayed from a court of law. “We have taken action against a number of doctors who are absconding in violation of Civil Service Rules and Regulations and working in foreign countries”, Mr Pir added.

END

2011-12-25T07:30:00.002-10:00

3 drivers killed in paramilitary fratricide; killer identified

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Dec 25: In a routine incident of paramilitary fratricide in Kashmir valley, three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel got killed last night and yet another is battling for life at a hospital. The shooter has been identified after sustained questioning of six CRPF men of the camp late tonight.

SP Kulgam, Maqsood-uz-Zaman, told Early Times that at 2220 hours last night, residents at district headquarters of Kulgam, in south Kashmir, heard over a dozen gunshots. SP himself heard the volley of gunfire and Police rushed quickly towards a camp of CRPF 18 Bn. The Police party found two persons dead and two more lying in a pool of blood with critical injuries. The dead bodies were taken into custody and the injured personnel rushed to hospital. One of them succumbed to injuries when he was on way to hospital.

SP Kulgam said that the injured CRPF man was referred to SKIMS by doctors at District Hospital of Kulgam. He was operated upon in a five-hour-long surgical procedure. Doctors said that he was battling for life but claimed that he was out of danger. Death of the three CRPF personnel caused panic in Kulgam area. SP Kulgam said that the militant strike was quickly ruled out as the shootout had occurred deep inside the barrack of a camp.

Those killed in the shootout were identified as P Sibbu, Suman Pillai and Javed Hussain. Sources said that they were drivers, painters and fitters etc. Police learned from its sources that the altercation between two groups of the camp led to opening of fire by a aspirant `

SP Kulgam Maqsood-uz-Zaman said that Police registered a criminal case and took into custody remaining six personnel of the barrack for sustained questioning. He revealed that after questioning the detainees for over 12 hours, Police succeeded in getting the real shooter identified as Head Constable Fitter S K Rai. He said that the delinquent CRPF official was being arrested for legal proceedings. SP said that one among the men on duty at the camp claimed to be the eyewitness.

END

2011-12-22T04:34:00.002-10:00

Hasnain views 2012 as another year of peace in J&K

‘Because of US elections, ISI would not go for any adventurism’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 21: AFSPA or no AFSPA, Kashmir will continue to be the Paradise on Earth for second consecutive year in 2012. This is not Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s wishful thinking but, conversely, the belief of the country’s most ardent advocate of the controversial law and commander of Srinagar-based 15^th Corps Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain.

According to an illustration of Gen Hasnain’s PowerPoint presentation at the Unified Headquarters meeting at Chief Minister’s Jammu residence on November 9^th, which has been exclusively accessed by Early Times, 2012 would be a peaceful year in Jammu & Kashmir. In a professional analysis of situation in near future, which is known as ‘scenario building’ in Defence circles, Hasnain gave credit to neither armed forces nor politicians for the next year’s tranquility in Valley. He attributed the rosy picture to the US Presidential elections.

Hasnain’s classified slide presentation titled “Who Wants Revocation of AFSPA?” claimed that Directorate General of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) would not take any major decisions or risks in the year the people of the world’s biggest superpower would be electing a new head of the state. According to him, ISI would also be mute as the Nato forces would begin their withdrawal from Afghanistan and

Pakistan

towards the end of the same year.

Contrary to the claims of Police and political leaders of the three-year-old coalition Government, Hasnain asserted that 2011 was the “Rest Year for ISI and the separatists” as they wanted the fatigue factor to fade away from the people of Kashmir.

Gen Hasnain, however, apprehended a turning point in the year 2013. This particular year, according to the Corps Commander, would witness India’s exist from the United Nations Security Council and its immediate replacement with

Pakistan

and some rabidly anti-Indian Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries. He claimed that towards the end of Year 2013, Islamabad and her friends in the OIC would trigger off a major campaign of internationalizing Kashmir. He expected veritable turbulence and mass uprising in Kashmir in 2014 when the strife-torn state would be holding general elections for Legislative Assembly as well as Lok Sabha and the separatists, with Pakistan’s and OIC’s support, would be encouraging “mass protests and sacrifices of a couple of thousand young lives a la Arab Spring style”.

Making his averments in support of continuance of AFSPA in J&K, Gen Hasnain warned in his “scenario building” that the demand for Plebiscite would be spiraling to its highest point in the last several decades in 2015 and the following year could mark the end of Kashmir’s integration with India. According to him, this scenario would be taken to its logical conclusion by Pakistan and ISI only after creating an impression that Government of India had completely tied the hands of her security forces in Kashmir under the world pressure. Revocation of AFSPA, according to him, would serve as the watershed.

Focusing on four entities in the presentation, Hasnain claimed that after “remarkable corrections” in observing human rights by armed forces in Kashmir, revocation of AFSPA was no more a peoples’ issue. He asserted that in today’s Kashmir people wanted good “bijli, pani, sadak and governance”. While completely ignoring the sentiments of Omar Abdullah government as well as the much familiar views of the union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Dileep Padgoankar-led team of three interlocutors, Gen Hasnain claimed that only “terrorists, separatists and ISI” were dying for AFSPA’s revocation.

“Terrorists? Yes, it helps them dilute the Army's effectiveness; Separatists? Yes, because it enables their separatist activities; ISI? Yes, because it helps in weakening the Army's hold”, Gen Hasnain concluded. It was in this eventful meeting, first of its kind with the state government in J&K, that Chief Minister reportedly took umbrage on the General’s views and asked him to wind up and drop a copy of the slide so that he could “see where I fit in.”

END

2011-12-19T10:10:00.000-10:00

DDK Srinagar crippled by Rs 42 Cr backlog; Rs 27 Cr liability created in 2 months

Officials shifted on complaint basis lobbying for Kashmir posting

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 19: Embroiled in unprecedented backlog of Rs 42 Cr, Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar has completely shut its doors for hundreds of private producers, drama artists, singers, musicians and other talents who gave their sweat and blood to keep this station functional in the last 21 years of insurgency. It has been astonishingly found that just four particular officials of the station have created huge liability of Rs 27 Cr while clandestinely approving so-called in-house programmes of their favourites and relatives, allegedly on receiving bribe money, from May to July in 2011.

In a startling disclosure, Directorate General of Doordarshan in New Delhi has learned that some unscrupulous officials have burdened DDK Srinagar with meteoric liability of Rs 42 Cr in just one calendar year. Three particular producers, including two DDPs, in tandem then Director of the station, have created a sizeable liability of Rs 27 Cr by approving scores of in-house programme proposals of their favourites from middle of May to middle of July in current year. Programmes approved without any budget allocation or special outlay include drama serials and multi-episode musicals.

Even as three of the four tainted officials have been removed on complaint basis and posted at different stations, at least one of them has been assiduously lobbying to return to DDK Srinagar with the support of some officials at Mandi House and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Those roped in by his lobbyists in New Delhi reportedly include a senior official of union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that immediately after learning about the transfer of then Director, Rafeeq Masoodi, to DD headquarters in May 2011, three of his confidante producers began secretly receiving and approving tons of proposals for so-called in-house programmes. All of these programme proposals, channelised through the three ‘executive producers’, actually belonged to private producers who were favouvered on advance payment of bribe. Their family members, relatives, friends and others, including domestic helps and drivers, were being shown as the “facility providers” and paid huge amounts of money.

Sources revealed that tapes of some of these scandalously approved programmes were received from the beneficiary private parties. While as some of these programmes were expeditiously scheduled and some others telecast, tapes of scores of these programmes were still lying on cupboards of DDK Srinagar. Nevertheless, 90% of these programmes were still under production when Mandi House learned about this scandal. Then DDG North, Ashok Jailkhani, got the process stalled with a direction to DDK Srinagar.

With a communication received from incharge Director of DDK Srinagar, Shami Shair, Mandi House learned the three senior officials of DDK Srinagar had got programme proposals to the tune of Rs 27 Cr approved from the outgoing Director in less than two months.

Mandi House initiated strong action and got then Director of DDK Srinagar unceremoniously removed and posted on an insignificant position at the headquarters. It was closely followed by transfer of two DDPs. Fourth one continues to be posted in Srinagar but not holding any key assignment.

Officiating Director, Shami Shair, declined to make comment or share details. When insisted to reveal whether it was a fact or merely a wild allegation that three particular officials had created huge liability of Rs 27 Cr in just two months around the transfer of then Station Director, Rafeeq Masoodi, she confirmed that she had sent a detailed liability statement to Directorate General of Doordarshan. She confirmed that DDK Srinagar was faced with stupendous backlog of Rs 42 Cr and much of it had been created in the middle of 2011.

However, another DDK official, who is said to be privy to the communication, confirmed that just three particular officials had approved hundreds of proposals of their favourites clandestinely and thus created Rs 27 Cr worth liability. “But, all these tapes and programme files are now decaying in sealed gunny bags. This fraudulent process has been stopped under orders of Mandi House”, he added.

Sources revealed that Masoodi’s transfer was followed by shifting of two of

his key confidates. One of them, according to sources, was transferred when Deputy Director General of Engineering at DDK Srinagar and then Head of Office, Anuradha Agarwal, furnished a memorandum to Mandi House in August 2011. In the memorandum addressed to the accused DDP, with a copy to Mandi House, Mrs Agarwal recorded that the official had misbehaved with her and “tried to disrupt the National Flag hoisting ceremony on August 15, 2011”.

“Your action indicates deliberate attempt to sabotage the National Flag Hoisting ceremony on the Independence Day as well as smooth functioning of the Kendra and raises doubts about your integrity”, DDG Engineering recorded in the memo addressed to the DDP. Sources today insisted that the same official was lobbying hard to return to DDK Srinagar. He has reportedly spread word in Mandi House that a senior official of J&K Affairs in union Ministry of Home Affairs had assured him that he would be shifted and posted back at DDK Srinagar.

According to sources, all the four tainted officials, including three shifted earlier this year, were under tremendous pressure of their favoured private producers to return the money they had collected from them on account of approving their in-house programmes. “Now that Mandi House has got the process stalled, why should they retain our money?” asked a freelance producer who had no hesitation to admit that he had paid a handsome amount as “advance payment”. He asserted that in case his payment was not returned, he would approach CBI and CVC and reveal all details of Rs 27 Cr scandal”.

END

2011-12-18T08:48:00.000-10:00

Chairman doesn’t want any more members in PSC

Basharat likely to get 3-year extension as MD PDC; other aspirants upset

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 17: After receiving a communication from Chairman S L Bhat that Jammu & Kashmir State Public Service Commission (PSC) was not currently in need of any more members, Omar Abdullah’s government has shifted well-connected bureaucrat Basharat Ahmad Dhar to the State Power Development Corporation (PDC)---clearly to pave way for ‘extension’ of his service for the next three years. Mr Bhat’s communication is understood to have brought disappointment to nearly half-a-dozen senior government officials who had been pulling all possible strings for their appointment as members in PSC.

While the search was underway for incumbents to fill up four vacancies and a number of retired and retiring public servants were trying all pulls and pressures, Mr Bhat is said to have communicated to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that PSC did not require any more members as it was not currently overburdened. Highly placed bureaucratic sources revealed to Early Times that immediately after receiving the communication from PSC, Government began finding alternative opportunities for post-retirement rehabilitation of certain well-connected bureaucrats and officials.

Standing at top of the list, high profile Sheikh Mehboob Iqbal, who retired as Commissioner-Secretary PHE & Irrigation on 30-11-2011, was not inclined to hold any position in the government. His inclusion in a group of officials, facing charges in a corruption-related matter, is said to be a reason. However, sources close to him insist that he had long back communicated his desire of joining the Congress party to union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. His reception rally in Bhaderwah the other day has only strengthened speculations of his joining politics.

Next in the line was none other than the equally high profile Commissioner-Secretary Power, Basharat Ahmad Dhar, whose appointment as a member of PSC was being rated as a forgone conclusion. But, immediately after the negative communication from PSC, Basharat’s political patrons began looking for his rehabilitation in an alternative domain. Decision was taken to shift IAS Officer Shaileen Kabra to Animal Husbandry Department and appoint Basharat in his place as Managing Director of PDC.

Just two weeks before his date of retirement, Cabinet yesterday accorded sanction to the already taken decision. Sources said it was “merely a formality”. With this, state’s entire power kingdom will function under Basharat and the renowned NC loyalist and former Chairman of J&K Bank Ltd, Mohammad Yousuf Khan. Mr Khan has been lately appointed as head of a newly floated government company that would soon launch Rs 10,000 Cr power generation operations in J&K. IAS officer Sudhanshu Pandey would be the third key partner as Principal Secretary Power.

From Kashmir valley, three more senior officers of Kashmir Administrative Service, now all in IAS, were being rated as top aspirants for the vacancies in PSC.

They include Commissioner-Secretary of the all-important General Administration Department (GAD), Mohammad Sayeed Khan (who is retiring on 31-01-2012), Commissioner-Secretary of School Education, Mrs Naseema Lankar, (retiring on 28-02-2012) and Commissioner-Secretary of Health, Ghulam Ahmad Pir (retiring on 31-03-2012).

Messers Khan and Pir are widely rated as officers of high integrity and competence, though they do not have the history of resisting bad and flawed orders of their political bosses. They also share the distinction of having no charges of corruption against them throughout their career.

From Jammu division, retired Director of Health Services, Dr Jasbir Singh, 1981-batch IAF officer and Chairman of J&K State Pollution Control Board, Lal Chand, (retiring on 31-01-2013), Chief Engineer of PHE, B R Dogra, Chairman of J&K Subordinate Services Recruitment Board, Bua Ditta Bhagat, (retiring on 31-05-2012) besides Commissioner-Secretary Animal Husbandry, Dr Bishen Das Sharma, (retiring on 31-10-2012), who was appointed yesterday as full-fledged Commissioner-Secretary PHE & Irrigation, were all believed to be top aspirants for three of the four three vacancies in PSC.

Two more of KAS-turned-IAS officers, namely Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah (Kashmir) and Dr R.K. Jeerath (Jammu) and were also likely to be considered for two vacancies, one each from Kashmir and Jammu. Both are known for their integrity but neither of them has gained proximity to politicians. Both are reaching superannuation within a year.

Under SRO-52 of 2007, PSC comprises Chairman and eight members. However, there is no binding on the authorities to ensure that all the nine are in place. After the retirement of Dr Tara Singh (in December 2010), Dr H L Goswami, Roop Lal Bharti and Mohammad Manzoor Bhat (on 29-05-2011), PSC’s total strength has reduced to just Chairman and four members. Only one of the five, namely K B Jandial, belongs to Jammu division.

Chairman S L Bhat is due to retire in September 2014. Among the existing members, Javed Makhdoomi is retiring in January 2013, Khizar Mohammad Wani in January 2014, Masood Samoon in September 2014 and K B Jandial in November 2014. Bureaucratic sources said that the Government was not bound by law or precedence to act on Chairman’s advice but believed that it could further delay appointment of fresh members for PSC.

END

2011-12-18T08:46:00.002-10:00

Mehbooba demands white paper on madrasa funding

‘J&K Govt has discredited the institution of madrasas’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 17: Principal opposition party, PDP, has demanded a ‘white paper’ on the controversy over Government of India’s funding to Madrasas in Jammu & Kashmir.

“This is a very serious issue as it involves not just huge financial transactions of dubious nature but also the reputation of one of the most respected institutions of our society,” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in a statement here today.

Mehbooba said like all other centrally sponsored schemes the state government seemed to have made a mess of the financial assistance released by New Delhi for the Madrasas in J&K which are established institutions of religious instruction. She pointed to the huge gap between the amount received from the government of

India

and figures released by the state government. “Where has the money gone?” she asked, saying someone in the government had to explain.

Mehbooba also said the obvious inconsistency in the financial allocations by the centre and its devolution to the ultimate users has a criminal implication and the govt must fully investigate it and come out with facts and figures immediately. But, of equal importance is the fact that the highly respected institution of Madrasas in the state has been brought into disrepute.

She said many leading institutions have already distanced themselves from the funding row and have categorically denied any receipts on that account. However in the process the prestige and reputation of the madrasa as an institution has suffered for which the govt is solely responsible. “Though this government has caused immense damage to almost all institutions of the state, the latest victim, the madrasas should have been spared as they are generally run with community participation,” she added.

Mehbooba said it apparently looks that some of the institutions which have benefited from the funds might even be non existent. How and under whose authority have they received govt money and whether any utilization certificates have been obtained needs to be known? She said the govt must come out with the particulars of every institution that has been shown as having received funds from the government.

END

2011-12-16T05:16:00.000-10:00

Kashmir cleric demands probe in Delhi’s funding to madrasas

Maulana Hami: We never applied for grants. It’s a plot to ban genuine madrasas. List includes non-existent schools. Govt officials have swindled Crores

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 15: Promoters of hundreds of madrasas receiving Government of India’s funding to operate their schools in Jammu & Kashmir are tightlipped over the disclosure made by the state government. An alliance of Islamist organizations has, however, demanded thorough investigation into the entire episode while leveling allegations that officials of the state Education Department had obtained money without applications from many of the schools even as a number of the beneficiary madrasas did not exist anywhere in J&K.

Within a day of the sensational disclosure that New Delhi had already released Rs 3.47 Cr in favaour of 362 Islamist madrasas in J&K for current year, Muttahida Ahl-e-Sunnat (MAS) today held an emergency meeting for a detailed discussion. The list of the beneficiary madrasas includes a number of schools operated by senior MAS functionary Maulana Ghulam Rasool Hami’s organisation Karwaan-e-Islami.

What precisely prompted Omar Abdullah government to make the list public through Commissioner-Secretary School Education, Mrs Naseema Lankar, is still unclear but it has clearly stirred a hornets’ nest as the beneficiaries include clergymen who have been issuing anti-Delhi statements on daily basis. At the end of today’s deliberations, MAS held a news conference and alleged that Government officials had swindled Crores of Rupees in the name of providing financial support to madrasas in J&K.

Head of MAS and Karwan-e-Islami, Maulana Hami, alleged that disclosure of the list of 362 beneficiary schools was a “sinister plot” to close down genuine Islamist schools in Jammu & Kashmir. He claimed that his Karwan-e-Islam had neither applied for Government funding for its madrasas nor planned it for the future. According to him, many of the madrasas figuring in the list had neither applied for the state or central funding nor received it. He complained that a number of schools, shown as the beneficiaries in the list, did not exist anywhere in Jammu & Kashmir.

Maulana Hami demanded thorough investigation into the entire episode but made it clear that his organisation would not object to the madrasas who believed in seeking and accepting funding from the state or the central government. However, he said, his organisation would approach J&K High Court to seek justice and get itself cleared from the highest judicial forum. He said that the organisation would engage a prominent Kashmiri lawyer to pursue its case assiduously in the court of law.

“As a matter of fact, fake Darul Ulooms have been provided Central Government grants through State Education Department. But we have never taken any money, even a single penny in past nor do we intend to seek it in future” Hami asserted. He said law should take its course against the “fake madrasas” not existing anywhere but taking government funding in league with officials. He said that money worth around Rs 7 Cr was believed to have been already withdrawn and swindled. “Government is bound to order and conduct a thorough investigation”, Hami said.

Maulani Hami urged the state and the central governments to also release the list of the madrasas who had already grabbed funds worth Rs 7 Cr in Jammu & Kashmir.

While the clergymen have tossed the ball back in the state government’s court and a clarification from Commissioner-Secretary School Education is still awaited, authoritative sources insisted that forging documents of the centrally sponsored scheme was “impossible”. They made it clear to Early Times that the applicant madrasas were bound to sign and file as many as eight different sets of forms while seeking Government of India’s funding under the Scheme for Providing Quality Education to Madrassas (SPQEM). These sources maintained that the grants had been sanctioned after a laborious official procedure for over seven months and same had been released with publicly notified terms and conditions.

Sources said that only the Minister and Commissioner-Secretary of School Education Department were authorized to explain as to how SPQEM funds had been sanctioned without constituting State Madrassa Board and seeking its mandatory recommendations. They claimed to have no knowledge when it was pointed out that villages like Ichhikoot (Budgam) and Kreeri (Baramulla) had just one or two madrassas but the state government’s list had shown six to eight madrassas functioning in each of such villages.

END

2011-12-15T05:59:00.002-10:00

Beaten up ruthlessly by stone pelters, shopkeeper dies at SKIMS

CM’s Twitter silent but traders register protest, strike against stone pelters

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 14: In their first ever public assertion against stone pelters in downtown Srinagar, traders today called for two-day shutdown after one of their colleagues, who had been mercilessly beaten up on December 3^rd, succumbed to injuries at SKIMS, Soura. Police have registered a murder case and arrested four of the accused persons in the current year’s first civilian death allegedly caused by stone pelters.

Authoritative sources told Early Times that 30-year-old shopkeeper Tariq Ahmad Bhat S/o Abdul Salam Bhat R/o Ranga Hamam (Nowhatta), who ran a jute-mating shop between Nowhatta Chowk and Gojwara Chowk in the core of downtown Srinagar, succumbed to injuries at Surgical Intensive Care Unit of SKIMS today. According to eye-witnesses, Police and family members, Tariq had been beaten up into his head ruthlessly with a cricket bat by a group of stone pelters who were forcibly imposing shutdown in the area on December 3^rd. The group of stone pelters was reportedly demonstrating against introduction of “chilly grenades”, a non-lethal anti-riot tool, by Police.

Doctors who attended on the patient at Surgical ICU of SKIMS said that Tariq Ahmad Bhat breathed his last at 3.00 pm today. He was under treatment and observation for eleven days. “He was operated for contusion”, records said. Recordings on his death certificate mentioned ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) with sepsis with refractory hypotension with cardiac arrest” as the cause of death. Doctors from the Department of Neurosurgery, who had admitted Tariq on December 3^rd and looked after him, told Early Times that the patient had sustained very critical head injury as he had been beaten up with a hard object.

SKIMS authorities handed over dead body to Police which arranged the post mortem with the cooperation of family members and traders at another hospital. Sources said that the detailed report of autopsy would be available in a few days and the medico-legal opinion could be framed accordingly.

SHO Nowhatta, Inspector Mohammad Iqbal, said that Police had already registered case FIR No: 84 of 2011 under sections 307 (attempted murder), 148, 149, 336 (rioting) and 336 RPC (collective intention of causing death) and arrested four of the key accused. He said that the FIR was converted into murder case with addition of section 302 RPC after Tariq died at SKIMS today. He identified the detainees as Suhail Ahmad Bhat S/o Maqsood Bhat, Rayees Ahmad Bhat S/o Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, Haroon Bhat S/o Ab Rashid Bhat and Ghulam Hassan Bhat S/o Ab Wahab Bhat, all residents of Rajouri Kadal.

Even as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is known for his habit of posting Tweets quickly on such incidents, chose to remain a mute spectator, visibly outraged traders downed shutters in protest immediately after their colleague’s dead body reached Nowhatta Chowk for funeral prayers. Eyewitnesses said that over a thousand traders and residents participated in the mass funeral prayers. Later today, Central Traders & Manufacturers Association called for two-day long shutdown on Thursday and Friday in entire Nowhatta-Gojwara belt.

Speakers at the funeral and later at a condolence meeting with the bereaved family asserted that killing of the poor shopkeeper by urchins and stone pelters was “completely unacceptable” for the traders community. They strongly condemned the innocent civilian killing and demanded “strong and quick action” by Police. Some of them went to the extent of hanging the killers of Tariq Bhat to death at Nowhatta Chowk.

Tariq was from a poor family of nearby Ranga Hamam locality with his elderly parents, two unmarried brothers and a married sister. “He was the sole bread-earner for the family. We are completely shattered”, his bother Showkat Ahmad exclaimed in grief. He revealed to Early Times that sometime back he had been operated upon and a valve had been put into his heart. He too worked as a vendor at the marketplace beside Jamia Masjid but his earnings were too meager.

Tariq had set up a shop of jute mating in Nowhatta area. Two months back, he had been engaged to 27-year-old Lali Jan of nearby Bahauddin Sahab locality. Showkat said that Tariq’s wedding had been fixed in July next year. He observed that enforcing hartal, beating up poor traders and killing innocent civilians was not justified under any circumstances. “We demand Police to act and ensure exemplary punishment to the hooligans who have ruined our family”, he said.

Asked if anybody from Government, mainstream political leaders or separatist politicians had called on the bereaved family with expression of solidarity, Showkat said: “We have absolutely nothing with politics. We are not in favour of making it a political issue. It is reassuring enough for us that the traders community and leadership has outrightly condemned this barbaric incident, demanded action against the killers and expressed solidarity with us”.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, said that Police would arrest everybody who figured as an accused and the prosecution would be taken to its logical conclusion. He said that almost all the participants in the group had been already identified. While as four of them had been arrested, search was underway to take others into custody.

SHO Nowhatta said that the group of hooligans had marched to Gojwara Chowk after enforcing shutdown in Nowhatta and Rajouri Kadal on December 3^rd. For over an hour, they even detained a busload of the students of Oak Hill School. When a student began trembling with cold and seemed to be dying, some residents forced the group to let the bus proceed to its destination. Thereafter, the hooligans struck with a cricket bat on the head of Tariq who had put up a mild resistance and was not inclined to shut his shop.

END

2011-12-13T10:26:00.000-10:00

Kashmir wants Azadi and Delhi’s funding for Madrasas too

Govt releases list of 362 Madrasas receiving Rs 3.47 Cr in year 2011

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Government of India’s funding to 362 Madrasas, that has already stirred a hornets’ nest in Valley, became public for the first time today when Commissioner-Secretary of School Education, Naseema Lankar, released complete list of these religion-based educational institutions for publication in newspapers today. Even as many people here suspect that the financial support to the non-state schools in the Valley has been introduced by India as a tool to neutralize the separatist ideology, a number of religious leaders sought an investigation and alleged that the funding has been conducted scandalously. According to them, many of the empanelled Madrasas do not exist anywhere in the localities mentioned by the government.

According to the details made public by the state government today, an amount of Rs 3,47,85000 has been released in favour of 362 madrassas who had applied for the funding under the centrally sponsored scheme in current year. Government Order No: 692-Edu of 2011 Dated 09-12-2011 makes it clear that the funding has been provided by Government of India vide GOI No:- F.8-9/2010-E.E.19 Dated:-28-03-2011 & Finance Deptt. U.O. NO:-FD/Res/17/SPQEM/2011-12/265 dated:-06-07-2011.

“Sanction is hereby accorded to the release of central assistance of Rs3,47,85,000.00(Rupees Three Crore,Forty Seven lac and Eighty Five Thousand only ) in favour of Directors of School Education of Kashmir/ Jammu for further release to 362 madrassas of Kashmir and Jammu Province as Grant-in-aid under centrally sponsored Scheme for providing of Quality Education in Marassa(SPQEM) for incurring expenditure on salary, Teaching learning material, establishment of library and Science/Computer labs/workshops”.

Of 362 madrassas in 17 districts of Jammu & Kashmir, highest number of the beneficiaries,71, are situated in the hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s home district of Baramulla, followed by 44 in Anantnag and 41 in Srinagar. In addition to these, funding from New Delhi has been released in favour of 30 madrassas in Budgam district, 14 in Kulgam, 12 in Pulwama, 11 in Ganderbal, 7 in Kupwara, 6 in Shopian and one in Bandipore. Jammu division has been a reasonable beneficiary with 35 madrassas in Rajouri, 33 in Doda, 21 in Ramban, 11 each in Jammu, Poonch and Kishtwar districts and 2 in Reasi.

Commissioner-Secretary School Education, Mrs Naseema Lankar, elaborated to Early Times that the scheme had been introduced by Government of India in 2010-11. She said it was for the first time that the Centre had released funds under this scheme in favour of beneficiary madrassas in Jammu & Kashmir. Thereafter, she dropped the line and informed by text that she could ‘call later’.

Knowledgeable sources in the state bureaucracy, however, informed that under the Centrally sponsored Scheme for Providing Quality Education to Madrassas (SPQEM) as many as 712 teachers of the 362 madrassas were being provided monthly remuneration of Rs 6,000 (Rs 72,000 per year) from current year. Maximum of three teachers of a particular madrassa are entitled to this benefit. While as Rs 1.28 Cr is being provided as salary of the teachers, they are additionally getting a total of Rs 26 Lakh for acquisition of study material. Besides, Rs 1.14 Cr is being provided for acquisition of science kits and books for libraries.

Precise reason behind Government’s decision to make these details public is not known. It is, however, significant that the state government has released this information at a time when a number of Valley’s religious leaders and organizers of Islamic educational institutions are accusing one another of “making comprises on freedom struggle” and receiving Government of India’s funding “secretly” for imparting “controlled education” to Muslim students in Kashmir.

One particular cleric, who has been professing Sufi-orientation of Islamic education and has firmly asserted under violence but has lately issued strongly anti-Indian statements over liquor and cinema promotion, has become key target of critics. In the last few days, he had been demanding an inquiry into the alleged Central funding to madrassas and claiming that he or his organization had neither sought nor received any such assistance from the state or the central government.

However, when the list became public by way of an official press release today, a number of schools run by this particular cleric’s establishment were found in it. He issued a fresh statement, admitted to the funding but alleged that a number of such madrassas, which according to him did not exist anywhere, had been favoured by the government.

Without mentioning any names, Geelani has been charging “Sarkari Maulvis” with working contrary to the interests of Kashmiris’ “freedom struggle”. Frequency of the Hurriyat hawk’s statements against state-funded educational institutions has remarkably increased in recent past. Government has now, wittingly or unwittingly, provided him a tool to strongly assert against the madrassas running on Government of India’s “secret funding”.

Officials in Department of School Education refused to accept that there was anything “secret, surreptitious or scandalous” in releasing of Central funding to 362 madrassas in Jammu & Kashmir. They insisted that the funding was being provided under a national scheme for madrassas throughout the country.

A senior official, however, admitted on the condition of anonymity that “a lot of politics” was attached to this scheme in J&K. He revealed that the list included dozens of unnamed madrasses and mentioned only the name of locality like Chrar-e-Sharief, Numbalhar etc. He claimed that the funding was supposed to be granted on recommendations of State Madrassa Board (SMB) and State Grant-in-Aid Committee (SGIAC) but neither of two existed in J&K.

Sources said that an expert committee of National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education (NMCME), constituted by Government of India in 2004, had suggested that madrassas be provided a linkage with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to provide for certification of academic levels, linkages with vocational education, improving the quality of education in modern subjects, introduced teacher training, enhancement of teacher salaries, strengthening of State Madarssa Boards for monitoring and raising awareness about education programmes for the Muslim community.

An amount of Rs 325 crore has been proposed for the scheme as per budget

provision made by Planning Commission in the 11^th Five Year Plan in

India

. It will cover a total of 4,500-6,000 Madrassas and provide honorarium to about 13,500--18,000 teachers in Madrassas all over the country during the 11th Plan period.

Graduates engaged for teaching Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Languages, Computer Application and Science, subject to availability of

a minimum of ten students in each subject, will be paid salary for 12 months @ Rs.6000/-p.m. and post Graduate/B Ed. Rs 12000/- For strengthening the libraries/book banks and providing teaching learning materials at primary/middle/Secondary and senior secondary levels, one time assistance upto Rs 50,000/-followed by an annual grant of Rs 5,000/- will be provided to each Madrassa. Upto Rs 15,000 is being paid to each beneficiary madrassa on account of purchasing Science kits, Maths kits, and other essential pedagogical equipment for teaching modern subjects.

Financial assistance will also be provided for establishment of

Science/Computer Labs/work shops in Madrassas at the Secondary/Senior

Secondary levels upto the a maximum of Rs 100,000 for each of the labs followed by an annual grant of Rs 5,000 for maintenance/ purchase of consumables.

END

2011-12-11T10:43:00.002-10:00

Sagar has close shave in militant strike at Zaldagar

PSO killed; 3 escort cops, civilian injured in firing at Minister’s old home

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 11: Senior National Conference (NC) leader and Minister for Rural Development, Law & Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, had a narrow escape when militants attacked his cavalcade at his old residence of Zaldagar in Srinagar downtown. One of the Minister’s Personal Security Officers (PSOs) got killed and three more escort personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in the guerrilla attack that happened in this capital city after a long spell of peace.

Informed sources told Early Times that Ali Mohammad Sagar reached Zaldagar, in densely populated Nawab Bazar area of Srinagar downtown at arounf 7.00 p.m this evening to attend the engagement ceremony of his niece. Even as Sagar traveled alongwith his PSOs and escort and many of his relatives were waiting for his arrival, he had informed neither District Police nor Security Wing of J&K Police about his scheduled programme in the evening.

While the Minister was busy inside his brother’s house and was about to leave back for his secured official residence at Church Lane, Sonwar, some unidentified militants came close to his parked cavalcade and fired bursts of AK-47 gunfire. Four of his PSOs and escort personnel sustained injuries. Minutes after the guerrillas vanished into dark alleys, Police and civilians present on the spot evacuated the injured. All the four injured Police personnel and the civilian were rushed to nearby SMHS Hospital where Sagar’s PSO, selection grade constable Gulzar Ahmad (610/JKAP 12^th Bn) succumbed to injuries. He was a resident of Gulgam village of Kupwara district.

Official sources identified the injured Police personnel as Constable Yaqoob, Constable Hashim (residents of Kupwara) and Constable Feroz Ahmad of Chadoura, Budgam. The injured civilian, reportedly a driver, was identified as Ali Mohammad of Haihama, Kupwara. Sources said that Constable Yaqoob, who sustained critical injuries, was referred to SKIMS and subjected to surgery at the tertiary care hospital. Remaining two personnel and the civilian were under treatment and declared out of danger at SMHS Hospital.

Sagar is a resident of Zaldagar, near SMHS Hospital, who has been living at protected official houses in Civil Lines since his return from Jammu in 1995. He had migrated to Jammu in the face of secessionist militancy and termination of Dr Farooq Abdullah’s NC-Congress coalition government in January 1990 where he stayed for the next over five years. However, two of his brothers and other relatives have been continuously staying at Zaldagar, Nawab Bazar.

A senior official in CID of J&K Police, SSP Srinagar Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari as well as SSP Police Control Room Srinagar Sheikh Mehmood confirmed to Early Times that the authorities, including all wings of state Police, had no knowledge of Minister’s visit to Zaldagar, Nawab Bazar. They invariably maintained that nobody in Police had been informed about the Cabinet Minister’s visit.

SSP Bukhari said that Police rushed to the spot within minutes of learning about the guerrilla strike and got the injured evacuated. He said that the Minister, alongwith his aides and associates, was escorted to his official residence at Church Lane, Sonwar. Sagar’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Illyas, said that everybody was shocked and surprised over the attack. He said that the Minister escaped unhurt as he was inside his brother’s house. He said that the attack happened at around 7.35 p.m and the Minister reached his Church Lane house safely at around 8.00 p.m.

Present in the capital city and holding official meetings here since Wednesday last, Sagar was scheduled to attend the engagement ceremony of his niece at Zaldagar this evening. Earlier today, he attended a lengthy meeting with senior officials at Deputy Commissioner’s office. He was scheduled to fly from Srinagar to Rajouri in helicopter on Monday. However, official sources said that the programme was unlikely and Mr Sagar would continue to stay in Valley for the next one or two days.

SSP Bukhari said that Police learned from its sources and residents that two to three militants emerged from a dark and narrow lane and they fired three AK-47 bursts on the Minister’s parked cavalcade. According to him, the Minister’s cavalcade comprised an escort Gypsy, a bullet-proof Ambassador car and a Scorpio. He said that the VIP was properly protected and escorted on his visit but extraordinary security arrangements were not in place as Police had no information about the programme.

Known for his exceptional courage to visit hypersensitive downtown interior, Sagar has seldom entertained advice from Police or security agencies in touring Srinagar localities. Even while staying at a protected house in the high security Sonwar, he has been frequently visiting every nook and corner in Srinagar. On account of his audacity, he has been a special target of militants ever since he successfully contested Assembly elections and was inducted as Minister of State for Home in Dr Farooq Abdullah’s NC government in October 1996. In 1989, Dr Abdullah had inducted him as MoS Information. During his extensive traveling, official and political activity, Sagar has been attacked by suspected militants over a dozen times in the last 15 years.

Over a decade ago, militants did not spare him even when his father’s funeral prayers were in progress at a community graveyard in Karan Nagar area. Nobody was, however, killed or injured in the broad daylight guerrilla strike. Later, militants planted a huge IED inside a three-wheeler and detonated it yards away from Sagar’s official residence at Gupkar Road. The deafening explosion that day happened near a security barrier, a stone’s throw from what is now Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s house. Later, Sagar had another narrow escape near Bijbehara in Anantnag when suspected militants targeted his car with grenades and firing while he was returning from inauguration of a bridge and a public meeting.

END

2011-12-11T05:50:00.002-10:00

PSGA too a non-starter in J&K

Public and public servants equally ignorant about CM’s most referred achievement

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 10: March 17^ththis year became a historic day of Omar Abdullah-led coalition government when Cabinet accorded its sanction to the draft of a revolutionary legislation called Jammu & Kashmir Public Services Guarantee Bill. Until that day, just a couple of states in India had introduced the law. On July 30^th, 2010, Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s government in Madhya Pradesh had pioneered the legislation and Nitish Kumar had made it a key election promise in Bihar.

Even as Omar’s Cabinet drastically reduced the number of services to be brought under its purview, this legislation was widely appreciated as an effective tool---like Right to Information Act---to eradicate red-tapism and to ensure quick delivery of ordinary services to the people. The law was passed in Budget session but it did not come into force for the next five months. Its rules were notified vide SRO No: 223 and SRO No: 224 on July 21^st and finally the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Guarantee Act (PSGA) of 2011 came into force on August 10^th.

On August 23rd, Commissioner-Secretary of General Administration Department, Mohammad Sayeed Khan, issued Circular No: 25-GAD, making it clear for all public servants, as well as the people at large, that the law had taken effect and any state subject could take its benefit. The circular made it adequately clear that the concerned departments would have to designate appellate authorities and those failing to issue documents like Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) and Income Certificate would be liable to punishment like under RTI Act.

According to the state Information Department’s news releases, Chief Minister, his colleagues in the Council of Ministers and other senior functionaries of the government have over a hundred times in the last four months claimed credit for creating the pro-people law. Statistics on the graph of implementation, however, do not support their claims.

Well placed authoritative sources insist that not a single public servant has received any application or issued receipt thereto under the new law. The decades-old system of paying fixed amounts of bribes to the public authorities, mostly through their orderlies and clerks, is continuing intact. A survey through three revenue districts in Kashmir valley fails to find even a single applicant who has sought and obtained justice or a single public servant who has been punished on account of delinquency under PSGA since August 10^th, 2011. And hold your breath, not a single appellate authority has been designated by any of the government departments.

“PSGA rules make it clear as to who are the appellate authorities. For example, if a Tehsildar (Territorial) is accused of violation, the Assistant Commissioner Revenue in his district automatically happens to be the appellate authority. It is a little different from the Public Information Officers under RTI Act”, said a middle-ranking official at GAD. He attributed zero-action under PSGA in the last four months to “lack of awareness” among the people as well as the public servants.

Nevertheless, another higher ranking official has no hesitation to admit it off-record that either the regime was deficient either in delivery or its will. He illustrated that Government of Punjab had floated this law months after Omar Abdullah piloted it in Assembly. “We have few services in few departments here under PSGA. Government of Punjab has brought as many as 65 services under its purview. Appellate authorities have been notified there by name and in many cases action has been taken against the defaulters”, he added.

Under SRO-224, Government has specifically mentioned several common services under PSGA’s ambit in departments of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (ration card, shifting of Fair Price shop from one place to another), Power Development (domestic and commercial electricity connections), PHE (domestic water connection), Revenue (Permanent Resident Certificate, Reserved Category Certificate, Dependent Certificate, Income Certificate, extracts of Fard Intikhab, Girdawari, Akas masavi/ latha, mutation, inheritance mutation, tatima shajra, chula, demarcation of land), Transport (Learners License, Driving License, Registration of Vehicles) and Housing & Urban Development (Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, NOCs for Construction of house from concerned departments, Building Permission).

Under PSGA officials are bound to issue such documents and provide the specified services within a particular timeframe and their default makes them liable to punishment, including fine and compensation to the aggrieved applicant, by appellate authority much like RTI Act. As of now, none of the officials even entertains an application under the law that is being mentioned every second day by Ministers and bureaucrats as a key achievement of the coalition government.

END

2011-12-09T05:20:00.003-10:00

News Analysis

AFSPA: Omar’s do-or-die despite round one fiasco

But the law will never go until politicians stop playing to the gallery

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 8: Much like in Ghulam Nabi Azad’s regime, withdrawal of AFSPA and the politics over withdrawal of AFSPA have mixed again. New Delhi did not oblige the frontrunner PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed mainly for two reasons: Not for once did it hear the former J&K Chief Minister publicly eulogize the Indian armed forces for their sacrifices and role---howsoever controversial---in restoration of peace in the strife-ravaged state; one-time union Home Minister also seemed to have ignored that political opinion in this country was essentially subservient to professional analysis by armed forces and other security agencies in all security-related matters. That is why Prime Minister, as well as the UPA leadership, sought the last word from union Defence Minister whose opinion, obviously, was based on the inputs from the country’s principal security organization---Army.

Despite the fact that in 2007-08 Omar was a Member of Lok Sabha, who watched these developments closely and is suspected to have subscribed to PDP’s headache, he seems to have forgotten certain fundamental lessons on the subject. He has repeated the mistake of the beaten track ad nauseum, particularly in the last few weeks. After 21 years of insurgency, one does not need to be either an active politician or a political analyst to realize that courtroom argument does not work in sensitive matters concerning this country’s “sovereignty and integrity”.

Who doesn’t know that Defence Minister A K Antony’s ‘United Headquarters’ and ‘United Command’ have no mention in this country’s or the state’s law books? Who doesn’t know that revocation of Disturbed Areas notification, that automatically makes AFSPA inapplicable, is prerogative of the civilian government in Jammu & Kashmir in case there is not a declared war or the state is not under Governor’s or President’s rule? But, at the same time, who doesn’t remember that the Congress-led Centre got a Wazeer-e-Azam of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah’s stature dismissed and handcuffed in a jiffy in the Pakistani style of “protecting the state”?

So, Antony might not be labouring under ignorance. He might be knowing well that after the 1953 trauma, no head of the government in J&K---let alone one holding the chair courtesy Congress--- would have the spine of revoking a security-related law in confrontation with the Centre. And, the Generals in Army are in no confusion to believe that under the existing system Defence Minister would be nothing but rubber-stamp in their “professional analysis”. This is exactly where Omar erred when he agreed to “discuss” AFSPA revocation with the field commanders at his Jammu residence. He should not have interacted with anybody below the person of Antony.

Srinagar Corps Commander Gen Hasnain’s audacity of clubbing the Chief Minister, his government and party with the “Government of Pakistan, ISI Directorate, terrorists and Kashmiri separatists” would have been acceptable only to the level of Home Secretary and DGP or, for that matter, upto Messers Mubarak Gul and Devender Singh Rana.

“No is not an option”, Omar asserted next day. Hours later, he came out with the courtroom argument: “Governor has the authority (to withdraw AFSPA) and in this case he has to act on the advice of the state government”. Ultimately, the chain of errors, that began with CM’s publicly fixing the deadline of “next few days” and “before Durbar Move”, got an undesirable ring when Mr Azad ignored Antony as Mr Nobody and argued that the issue would be settled by “J&K Chief Minister and union Home Minister”. National Conference under anti-Soz euphoria failed to perceive applicability of Newton’s Third Law of Motion in India’s politics. Antony didn’t wait a day to assert that the matter would be settled by “Unified Command, not the Chief Minister alone”.

Be that firebrand Ali Mohammad Sagar or the foot-in-the-mouth Mustafa Kamaal, NC had never dearth of men cursing and demonizing Delhi and her armed forces while, paradoxically, enjoying all fruits of the “occupation”. Mr Kamaal kicked his nephew’s applecart when he outstretched his claws to the forbidden fruit---Rahul Gandhi. He seemed to have also forgotten that Assembly elections were around the corner in five states in the Indian Hindi belt and Congress had high stakes in all the five.

Revoking AFSPA under threat from NC---Kamaal’s parabola of blaming Army for grenade blasts in Valley and demonizing the institution of armed forces publicly in a hyper-Hurriyat style---has every potential of giving the much-needed handle to BJP.

On the other hand, Hurriyat fired the ultimate salvo with identical statements from both of its factions. In obvious reaction to Gen Hasnain’s apprehension that withdrawal of AFSPA would lead to Kashmir’s separation from India within 2016, statements from Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (which are used as a barometer by New Delhi in such situations) confirmed that revocation of “draconian laws” would inevitably lead to an “unimaginable mass turmoil” in Valley. Who on earth in this country would now run the risk of reviving the separatist movement? This automatically makes Antony heavier than all of his colleagues in Cabinet Committee on Security.

Even if Chief Minister wants to be politically correct for the Valley’s unmeasured separatist constituency and he does not sing a song in Army’s praise for hundreds of its “supreme sacrifices in restoring the peace”; even if he does not acknowledge that Army alone held the throat-slitting Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Haqqani Network away from Kashmir; even if he doesn’t muster courage to call the militants as “terrorists”, he may have to employ reconciliation to achieve his goal.

And, finally Chief Minister may have to remember other part of his statistics: Scores of Police Stations are still the company headquarters of CRPF and BSF; incidents of rape and killing by armed forces have fallen close to zero in the last five or six years; more youths in Valley are asking for a job than asserting against AFSPA and PSA, which are vanishing as nightmares of yesteryears.

Peace has really returned and troops have not been deployed in operations in Central Kashmir in last few years. Better remove camps and bunkers without the 24x7 cursing of AFSPA, seek Centre’s sanction to prosecution of delinquent soldiers and assign all counter-insurgency operations in the hinterland to Police and civil administration. But that will not happen until every single individual in J&K Police becomes a soldier of accountability and commitment and the armed forces are seen off by the state’s politicians with moist eyes and sense of gratitude. Building prestige, ego and jingoism would only be counterproductive. One has seen how Omar’s suggestion of amending CrPC has been assailed by all and sundry from PDP and Hurriyat to BJP and Army.

END

2011-12-08T07:32:00.002-10:00

Geelani demands blanket ban on liquor in J&K

Hurriyat leader also calls for post-prayer demonstrations at mosques

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 7: Churning out a loud reaction to Dr Farooq Abdullah’s advocacy of cinema and liquor in Jammu & Kashmir, separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani today demanded blanket ban on circulation of alcohol in the Muslim-dominated state. Even as the Hurriyat hawk has not yet served his typical ultimatum on Omar Abdullah’s government, he has called for anti-liquor demonstrations after Friday prayers at all mosques in Kashmir valley on December 9^th.

Seeming to be taking diktats in quite a many matters from Geelani, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has, for a change, confronted the Valley’s Islamist icon over seeking total closure of cinema and liquor in the state. Without talking much about liquor, Omar has put a straight poser to the Hurriyat chief. Bollywood movies and dances, according to his averment, are not available to viewers through the big screen alone. “This is all available also through cable and dish. Should he (Geelani) next demand ban on cable and television ?” Chief Minister has desired to know.

Geelani is yet to respond to Omar. He has, nevertheless, begun efforts to mobilize the Kashmiris against production, import, trade and circulation of liquor. Getting the peg from Farooq’s December 5^th statement, Geelani has lashed out at the National Conference patriarch and held him responsible for promoting “cultural aggression” and “social evils” in Kashmir. According to him, New Delhi has been using her “foot soldiers” to undermine the value system of the Kashmiris and thus strengthening “forced occupation” on the state.

While emphasizing that moral values of any nation were superior to its economic interests, Geelani has urged the Kashmiris to gear up for a massive agitation against the “social evils so audaciously promoted by politicians like Farooq Abdullah’. He has demanded blanket ban on sale and circulation of liquor in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Kashmiris to stage demonstrations after concluding Friday prayers at the mosques on December 9^th.

In contrast to Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather’s announcement on floor of Legislative Assembly in April 2011---‘our government will not issue any more licenses”--- NC’s President and union Cabinet Minister Dr Abdullah has described J&K as a tourist state and called for setting up of liquor shops and cinema theatres. Almost all of the Valley’s clergymen and separatist leaders, including the pseudo-separatist MLA Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, have immediately shot off their negative reaction to Dr Abdullah. However, efforts of getting him declared as “excommunicated” by way of a Fatwa, which a mainstream opposition party had once clandestinely initiated, are not visible at this stage. Maintaining his self-confidence, Dr Abdullah has refused to withdraw or dilute his statement.

Advocates of ban on liquor have been referring to Hindu-dominated and BJP-ruled Gujarat and asking if that state could afford to ban liquor, why a state like J&K couldn’t. Those favouring sale and circulation of liquor argue that the excise revenue of over Rs 350 Cr a year accounted for over 10 percent of the state government’s total receipts. They have also been emphasizing that J&K was a tourist state which had attracted over a million of domestic and foreign tourists in the current year.

END

2011-12-06T07:58:00.003-10:00

Ashura observed with massive Zuljanah processions in Valley

Main procession disallowed in Srinagar in 22^nd year of armed conflict

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 6: Like every year since outbreak of the armed insurgency in 1989, authorities today disallowed the main mourning procession on Ashura in this capital city. Notwithstanding persistent ban on the principal remembrance congregation, Shia Muslims in large numbers participated in massive Zuljanah, Taziya and Alam processions all over Kashmir valley to pay their typical tributes to Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, Hazrat Imam Hussain, and his 72 companions martyred at Karbala, in Iraq, nearly 1400 years ago.

Prominent Shia cleric-politicians, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari of All Jammu & Kashmir Shia Association (JKSA) and Aga Syed Hassan Al-Moosavai Al-Safavi of Anjuman-e-Sharee Shia’an (ASS), have been alternately holding license to Kashmir’s main Zuljanah procession in Srinagar for the last over 30 years. Until eruption of secessionist militancy in 1989, this historic procession on 10^th of Moharram every year used to originate at Abi Guzar, near Lalchowk area of Civil Lines, and culminate in the evening in the Shia-dominated localities of Zadibal and Hassanabad in downtown Srinagar.

With the authorities declining permission to this particular procession on “security grounds” since 1989, Maulvi and Aga have shifted the solemn religious rally to Zadibal area. On yearly rotation, Maulvi’s JKSA has been taking out the Ashura procession from Lalbazar. It culminates in Majlis-e-Shaam-e-Gareebaan at the historic Imambargah of Zadibal. Next year, Aga’s ASS takes it out from Gulshanbagh, Baghwanpora, in the forenoon and winds it up with a Majlis in the evening at the revered Mir Shamas-ud-din Araki shrine, not far away from Imambara Zadibal.

Both Maulvi as well as Aga have been politically associated with Janata Party, mother of today’s right wing Bharatya Janata Party, and have unsuccessfully contested Assembly elections on that party’s ticket and symbol against Sheikh Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) respectively from Pattan and Budgam segments in 1977. While as Aga’s ASS has been a key constituent of the separatist amalgam, ‘All-Party Hurriyat Conference’ since 1993, Maulvi has been associated with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s pro-India Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 2005 after years of his association with Congress party and NC.

This year being the turn of JKSA, Maulvi Iftikhar led the main Ashura procession in Srinagar from Lalbazar. JKSA put the figure at 100,000 but authorities maintained that over 50,000 Shia Muslim mourners participated in this Zuljanah procession. Holding the tradition, it culminated in a late night tributes and prayers session at Imambara Zadibal. Maulvi delivered his traditional sermon on the philosophy of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his handful army of 72 companions at Karbala. Typically emotional scenes of mourning were witnessed amid total blackout.

Before the concluding Majlis, the Ashura procession passed through different localities in downtown Srinagar for about 14 hours. Majority of the participants restricted themselves to self-flagellation and recitation of Nowha and Marthiya in praise of the martyrs of Karbala in 1,000-strong groups, called Daiyaras, but hundreds of the male participants also practiced the traditional form of mourning while striking sharp-edged knives on their bodies. Some of them were seen bleeding profusely. Groups of women, mostly covered with Hijab, were seen separately paying their tributes to the martyrs and survivors of Karbala in traditional Kashmiri verse. They, however, dominated the Majlis-e-Shaam-e-Gareebaan with their huge presence in the evening at Zadibal.

Even as the procession passed peacefully, young followers of some separatist leaders shouted pro-Azadi and anti-India slogans and also engaged Police and CRPF in intermittent clashes in Rajourikadal area. This stronghold of the Hurriyat Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was tense since last evening when scores of youngsters resorted to stone pelting on Police and moving vehicles. Three vehicles, including an ambulance of Hussaini Relief Committee, were damaged in these clashes. Reports said that thin groups of youth from Zadibal area rushed all the way to Islamia College area and damaged window panes of several houses in retaliation.

However, Mirwaiz Umar and his followers swung into action immediately and succeeding in restoring calm. Again, this particular area remained tense today as the youngsters engaged Police in ding dong clashes. Police used baton charge and tearsmoke to break down the rioters.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, told Early Times that despite some intermittent clashes in the Sunni-dominated Gojwara and Rajourikadal, Police controlled the situation. He said that the Ashura procession went on smoothly and there was no incident of disruption. SSP said that other relatively thinner Zuljanah and Alam processions in Srinagar district also passed peacefully. Reports said that Police imposed undeclared curfew in Lalchowk and other Civil Lines area inspite of DC Srinagar Meraj Ahmed Kakroo’s overnight announcement on Radio Kashmir and Doordarshan that there would be no curfew in the capital city on occasion of Ashura on Tuesday. SSP Bukhari declined to call it curfew and maintained that Police created certain barriers only to ensure that a separatist-religious leader’s call does not cause any trouble in Civil Lines.

Another major procession of Zuljanah and Alam came out from Imambara Mirgund under the auspices of Aga Syed Hassan’s Anjuman-e-Sharee Shia’an at 1100 hours today. Thousands of mourners, drawn from Budgam township and other Shia population villages of the Central Kashmir district, participated in this procession. As per its 200-year tradition, it concluded at the historic Imambara of Budgam at around midnight. Sub zero temperature by night failed to dampen the spirits of the mourners.

Aga Hassan addressed the gathering of mourners after leading the afternoon prayers at Bihisht-e-Zahra, a public park created by the state government and decorated by Army beside Deputy Commissioner’s office at Budgam. He lashed out at the administration and complained that no adequate arrangements had been made by the authorities. He was accompanied by prominent separatist leader Shabir Shah.

Reports said that over 20 other relatively thinner Zuljanah and Alam procession in Shia-dominated areas in Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Bandipore, Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam districts were taken out and concluded smoothly.

Devout Sunni Muslims too organized remembrance and tribute paying mass assemblies at several mosques and monasteries in Kashmir valley. Speakers illustrated on significance of the martyrdom of Karbala and said that the good would always triumph over the evil, howsoever mighty and unconquerable, in the world.

END

2011-12-04T08:14:00.002-10:00

Undeclared curfew, clashes in Srinagar over Moharram procession

100 processionists detained, 10 injured in ding-dong clashes

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 4: Nearly a hundred processionists were detained by Police and about a dozen sustained minor injuries in ding-dong clashes when authorities imposed undeclared curfew in Civil Lines areas under five Police stations and groups of Shia mourners violated restrictions on occasion of 8^th of Moharram in this capital city. Like in last 22 years of separatist armed movement, authorities have decided not to permit any Moharram processions in Srinagar Civil Lines in Kashmir valley while quoting “security reasons”.

Sole licensee of the traditional 8^th Moharram Zuljanah and Alam procession in Srinagar, Yaadgar-e-Hussain Committee Guru Bazar Shaheed Gunj, which is not led by any prominent religious or political leader, had failed to get District Magistrate’s permission for the procession like in all 22 previous years of armed strife in Valley. It had, consequently, decided to organize a local mourning session at Guru Bazar wherefrom the procession used to originate every year on 8^th Moharram since the middle of last century till 1989. Thousands of Shia Muslim mourners, alongwith a number of people from majority sect and even non-Muslims used to participate in the procession to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain and his 71 followers at Karbala nearly 1400 years back.

Main procession of the solemn month of Moharram used to come out on 10^th of Moharram, known as Aashoora, alternately under the auspices of Aga Sahab Budgam’s Anjuman-e-Sharee Shiaan and Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari’s All Jammu & Kashmir Shia Association. Like the procession of 8^th Moharram, Ashoora procession too has not been permitted by the authorities in Civil Lines of Srinagar since 1989. Organisers have consequently changed its route and restricted the main Ashoora procession to the Shia-dominated localities of Zabibal, Lalbazar and Hassanabad.

Even as the organizers have been consistently applying, authorities have been denying permission to either of these religious processions since 1989 while quoting “security reasons”.

Like in last several years, authorities today imposed undeclared curfew in areas falling under jurisdiction of five Police Stations of Maisuma, Kothibagh, Ram Munshi Bagh, Kralkhud and Habbakadal. Thick Police and CRPF columns had put in place Concertina wire barriers and no pedestrian or civilian vehicular movement was allowed in Civil Lines.

Notwithstanding these restrictions, thin groups of Shia mourners appeared at several places in their attempts to take out the procession. However, Police and CRPF swung immediately into action and forced dispersal of the youth with baton charge, tearsmoke and pepper gun shelling. In all, 10 processions sustained minor injuries and nearly a hundred of them were detained by Police for the day. Police confirmed detention of 60 persons and claimed that they were taken into custody when they violated the restrictions and turned the religious event into a political show with pro-Azadi and anti-national slogans.

END

2011-12-03T07:22:00.000-10:00

Omar, Farooq may stay away from SKIMS event

Director’s appointment challenged in High Court

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 3: Reportedly not satisfied with the quality of functioning of the state’s only tertiary care hospital, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also happens to be the Chairman of the highest decision making Governing Body, is unlikely to attend the SKIMS annual day function at SKICC here on its founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birth anniversary on December 5^th. If highly placed sources are to be believed, National Conference President and union Minister of New & Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah, would not be a guest on the occasion either. All of Sheikh’s sons and daughters, including Dr Abdullah, and grandson Omar Abdullah would, however, perform Fatiha at his mausoleum after paying obeisance at the nearby revered shrine of Hazratbal early in the morning on Monday.

Coming parallel to Ashoora, the 10^th Moharram martyrdom anniversary of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hazrat Imam Hussain, Sheikh’s birth anniversary on December 5^th would be a lackluster event this year in Kashmir. Government has already either preponed or postponed or canceled most of the official functions, including public meetings, inaugurations and foundation laying ceremonies previously scheduled on December 5^th. These include the ground-breaking function of Rs 350 Cr conservation and development project of Wullar Lake in Sumbal-Bandipore belt.

Sources said that inauguration of a guest house and hotel block of Entrepreneurship Development Institute at Pampore, which is expected to be attended by Chief Minister as well as Minister incharge Industries Sujit Singh Salathia, had also been postponed to December 7^th.

National Conference circles today insisted that Sheikh’s birth anniversary would be restricted to the solemn ritual of offering Fatiha and recitation of verses from holy Quran. They said that there be neither a public remembrance meeting at the mausoleum nor any political speeches by leaders of the party.

However, unmindful of the solemnity of Moharram, SKIMS authorities have made all arrangements to hold the Annual Day function of the super-specialty hospital and deemed university on December 5^th. If Chairman of the SKIMS Governing Body and union Cabinet Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah chose to stay away, it would be for the time in the last 28 years of age of the hospital that no member from Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s family would be present on this occasion.

Even as Minister incharge Medical Education, Mr R S Chib, is said to have communicated to the SKIMS authorities that he would try his best to be present there for 10 minutes, as of now Minister of State for Health, Javed Dar, is the one-odd political figure who has confirmed his attendance. According to sources, Chief Minister’s Secretariat has conveyed that Mr Omar Abdullah would be “too preoccupied to attend” the SKIMS event on December 5^th. Conformation of this communication was not available immediately.

Even as the reason behind Omar Abdullah’s and Dr Abdullah’s reported absence on the event is not precisely known, sources believed to be close to the ruling family maintain that both were “unhappy” with the quality of service at SKIMS. According to these sources, litigations have marred the academic and research atmosphere at the hospital for the last many months. Things have deteriorated to the extent that Professor and Head of Cardio-Vascular and Thorasic Surgery, Dr A G Ahangar, has not only challenged the incumbent Director of SKIMS Dr Shaukat zargar’s appointment in April this year in J&K High Court but has also leveled serious allegations on the competence and integrity of the members of the Search Committee. Dr Ahangar has, inter alia, asked how Members of the Search Committee could interview and recommend their own close relatives and personal physicians.

Having failed to submit his response to the writ petition by its fixed date of November 16^th, incumbent Director is understood to have filed a detailed rejoinder to the petitioner last week.

Faculty has also begun to raise questions over the re-employment of a retired woman official (Deputy Registrar) who has been brought back within a month of her retirement and re-employed as Registrar, albeit with a non-cadre nomenclature of the post. Mrs Mehjabeen Banday would function as Registrar but hold the post of “Consultant Academic” against a handsome salary.

Yet another high profile litigation has come up between Additional Professor of the Department of Urology Dr Saleem Wani and Professor Baldev Singh, who has functioned as Professor and Head of the Department for over two decades but has been now designated as a Professor of General Surgery, on recommendations of a committee constituted under court orders, allegedly to pave way for Dr Wani’s headship.

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2011-11-30T08:48:00.002-10:00

Haji Yousuf death inquiry

Bedi Commission to start proceedings after Dec 15^th

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 30: National Panthers Party patron Prof Bhim Singh’s petition before Supreme Court of India, seeking CBI investigation in the National Conference (NC) activist Haji Mohammad Yousuf’s death in controversial circumstances, has come up as an impediment in kick-starting proceedings of Justice (retired) H S Bedi’s Commission of Inquiry on the same subject.

Justice H S Bedi, who reached here on Monday last, has set up his office-cum-residence at Hari Niwas Palace. This historic building had been renovated during Ghulam Nabi Azad’s regime in 2006-08 at a staggering cost and declared as Chief Minister’s residence. However, carrying the image of a jinxed premises, Azad’s successor, Omar Abdullah, did not establish his residence at Hari Niwas. Azad’s government had fallen within weeks of his shifting from J&K Bank’s Guest House near famous Zethiyar Temple to Hari Niwas in 2008.

Informed sources revealed to Early Times that Bedi set up his office and residence at Hari Niwas. On advice from the state government, staff of nearly half-a-dozen officials was provided to Justice Bedi by J&K State Human Rights Commission and Department of Law while as few more officials are also being deployed for his assistance by J&K High Court.

Law Secretary, according to sources, had a detailed meeting with Bedi at Hari Niwas. Sources revealed that during the course of the meeting, Bedi expressed surprise over the fact that he had not been informed about Bhim Singh’s petition being under consideration of Supreme Court of India for admission. The apex court is expected to declare its verdict on the petition’s admission on December 15^th.

Consequently, Bedi made it clear on the state government that even if there was not a specific bar, it would be contrary to propriety to hold parallel judicial proceedings on the same subject. He is understood to have asserted that he could kick-start formal proceedings of the Commission of Inquiry only after declaration of Supreme Court’s verdict on a PIL filed by Prof Bhim Singh on behalf of NPP President and MLA of Udhampur, Balwan Singh Mankotia.

According to these sources, Mr Bedi would be flying back to New Delhi tomorrow to have a detailed discussion with Registry of Supreme Court of India and top bureaucrats at union Ministry of Law and Justice. Officials maintained that he would be visiting New Delhi only to get some of his family members to Srinagar.

Sources said that Mr Bedi would return to Srinagar in the next couple of days. Until December 15^th, he would be obtaining and examining material evidence like CCTV footage of Chief Minister’s residence, post mortem report prepared by doctors of Police Hospital and Department of Forensic Medicine Government Medical College Srinagar, forensic opinion prepared by Forensic Science Laboratory besides the text of FIR filed by Crime Branch, newspaper reports and press conferences of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior government functionaries like Principal Secretary of Home, B R Sharma, and Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda.

Notification, inviting all concerned who had any first hand knowledge about the sequence of events, would be subject to the disposal of Mr Mankotia’s PIL at Supreme Court of India.

END

2011-11-29T09:57:00.002-10:00

NC’s MP targets Govt’s most powerful---Omar, Rana, Nasir, Vyas, Khoda

But Mr Rattanpuri spares Farooq, other oldies of his party; calls J&K a Police State

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 29: In an unprecedented embarrassment for his party National Conference (NC) and Omar Abdullah-led coalition Government, broadcaster-turned-politician and Member of Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Rattanpuri, has called Jammu & Kashmir a ‘Police-run state’. It is for the first time in the last three years that someone, holding the position of a Member of Parliament, has not only raised fingers on functioning of the ruling party and its regime but has also bluntly targeted the state government’s most powerful---Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Political Advisor to CM Devender Singh Rana, Minister of State Home Nasir Aslam Wani besides Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bharat Bhushan Vyas and Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda.

The in-house strife within the NC came to the fore when maverick Rattanpuri chose media proactively to make it public that unrest among the principal ruling party’s cadres was leading to disillusionment and discomfiture. It is still not a left, right and the centre offensive but Rattanpuri’s audacity in directly assailing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his powerful coterie, that sent him to Parliament in 2009, is widely being perceived as meaningful. And the timing is no less significant: beginning of a judicial inquiry that could for the first time have a head of the government in the dock.

As if Omar Abdullah’s and his political and administrative coterie’s tribulation in Haji Yousuf episode was not enough, Rattanpuri timed his salvo with Justice (retired) H S Bedi’s arrival in Srinagar and a quick reaction from Chief Minister’s advisor Mubarak Gul suggested that it had hit the proverbial hornets’ nest in the top echelons of power. Remember that Rattanpuri is not Omar’s “most respected uncle” (Dr Mustafa Kamaal) whose escapades---impromptu or planned---could be condoned by Gupkar Road and Nawa-e-Subah.

Rattanpuri’s revolt is perceptibly sequel to the “humiliation” he faced at the hands of SP in his home district of Pulwama earlier this year. Shortly after Minister of Social Welfare Sakeena Itoo taught Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Afzal Bhat a lesson and got him removed from Pulwama when he declined to oblige her in certain ‘objectionable’ matters, NC’s MP declared his war on IPS officer Amit Kumar. Like Sakeena, Rattanpuri began to assert against the “impolite behaviour” of a Junior Engineer in PHE Department. Unlike DC, this time around it was SP who had the last laugh.

Months after the clash, Rattanpuri went public through a Srinagar-based newspaper followed by local news agency KNS. Even as men in the Government wasted time in digging call detail records between the NC’s MP and a senior leader of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee, the successful broadcaster-turned-failed politician bull-dozed straight into the CM’s turf. He told KNS that CM’s Political Advisor (Mr D S Rana) was providing patronage to arrogant and “anti-Kashmiri” officers in Police and civil administration.

Seeking to draw comparison, Rattanpuri pointed out that Government had lately fired two of the senior Police officers (SSP Basant Rath and SP Mubassir Latifi) on account of their “indecent language” against some Jammu-based politicians. But the same dispensation, according to him, chose to be a mute spectator to the Pulwama SP’s “public humiliation of an MP” and a spillover of insult on him from “the emboldened and unbridled” Police department. He went wild to allege that DGP Kuldeep Khoda was a man of “poor command and control” of his organisation. If Rattanpuri is to be believed, DGP recently supplied SPOs to thicken PDP patriarch Mufti Sayeed’s public meeting in Srinagar

According to the MP, J&K is a state fully ruled by Police and nobody, from a street boy to a sitting nationalist MP, carried any relevance. Everybody in Kashmir, he says, is “insecure”. NC cadres, including Ministers, according to him, are “disappointed and disillusioned”. Holding Rana responsible for the “growing unrest among Kashmiris”, Rattanpuri does not spare even his top boss.

“When I narrated things in detail in a Working Committee meeting and demanded an inquiry into discrimination (against the Kashmiris), CM’s Political Advisor took it upon himself and began to speak in defence. He was soon silenced by CM who began aggressively defending his aide. When I objected, CM silenced me with uncharitable phraseology. Though I have forgotten those bad moments, he hasn’t. He doesn’t see eye-to-eye with me”, Omar’s favourite for Assembly and Rajya Sabha elections said. He added that CM’s aides had spent “all of their ammunition” to make him uncomfortable in the party. He attributed it to “well designed discrimination”.

Having berated Chief Minister, his Political Advisor and DGP, Rattanpuri outstretched his anger to MoS Home Nasir Sogami, albeit without mentioning any names. “Those very people whose families conspired against Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and did the worst of treason, are now calling the shots in National Conference”, Rattanpuri said obviously to assail Wani who has grown closest among all politicians and Ministers to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Wani’s legendary grandfather, Ghulam Nabi Wani Sogami, had sided with Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad who rewarded him with induction as Minister of Forest after Sheikh’s dismissal and arrest in 1953.

Again, with an obvious reference to Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, B B Vyas, Rattanpuri has complained that the all-important Department of Planning was “without a full-time head” for the last over a year. Mr Vyas has been simultaneously holding the charge of Principal Secretary of Planning and Development, Information, Estates, Civil Aviation, Hospitality & Protocol. Few of politicians and newspapers have been raising the issue of his being “overburdened” when they want to fire an effective missile on CM’s courtyard. Rattanpuri has not spared even this beaten track.

END

2011-11-26T08:07:00.002-10:00

CM’s order observed in breach to lend credibility to Geelani

Replacement of extortionist SHOs brings little relief to victims of 2008 madness

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 26: Forty-five-year-old pharmacist Meraj-ud-din Bhat was among hundreds of residents of this capital city who heaved a sigh of relief over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s announcement and began to dream about peaceful days ahead. Without calling it a healing touch, Chief Minister had declared that detention of no innocent person would be tolerated; that relatives of militants and stone pelters would not suffer on account of the involvement of others; that even the detained or wanted stone pelters, if not booked in heinous offences, would be released on an undertaking from their parents and mohalla elders.

To the worst of their disappointment, they soon realized that the relief was restricted to only the family members of high profile militant commanders like Syed Salah-ud-din and Burhan-ud-din Hijazi and the ordinary victims of turmoil would continue to suffer. Meraj-ud-din was one among them who approached this newspaper in 2010 with the hope that an intervention would force Police to implement Chief Minister’s order in letter and spirit.

Early Times conducted its own investigation and found this middle aged man completely innocent. During week-long investigation, it surfaced that Meraj-ud-din was among dozens from his locality from whom SHO concerned had collected money by way of harassment and extortion--- Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 from those who had been captured on camera while participating in a demonstration or pelting stones on Police and Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 from those who were completely innocent and uninvolved. With no history of his---or any of his friends’ or relatives’---involvement with militancy or street turmoil, Meraj-ud-din belonged to category No:2 of the SHO’s targets.

SHO extorted cash worth Rs 2,000 from Meraj-ud-din and permitted him to enjoy freedom. But when the turbulence began rising and SHOs were given free hand to pick up ‘urchins’ at their sweet will, SHO began to demand more from his known victims. Not ready to cough up more, Meraj-ud-din decided to seek the relief Chief Minister had announced on television. Rather than doing a story on the Police extortion, Early Times forwarded Meraj-ud-din’s complaint verbatim to the new SSP of Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari.

SSP sought a written and signed application from the complainant and ordered a departmental inquiry without losing a minute. Within two days, it became crystal clear to him that the SHO had extorted a sum of Rs 2,000 from Meraj-ud-din and threatened him with implication in a matter of unlawful activity if he failed to pay another installment of Rs 2,000. Perhaps first time in Srinagar, SSP made the SHO not only apologize but also return the amount in full to Meraj-ud-din in presence of his family members, neighbours and other mohalla elders. Within days, SHO Inspector Bashir was removed and shifted to an insignificant posting.

Residents of not one but three mohallas gave a written undertaking to SSP that the SHO’s victim Meraj-ud-din was not only a peace-loving citizen, with not an iota of involvement or sympathy with militants, demonstrators or stone pelters but also helpful to all patients in the locality. His father had died 20 years back and he was the bread-earner for his 77-year-old mother and three children. His eldest daughter, Shafqat, was a Class 11^th student and youngest son, Adil, a class 9^th student but 17-year-old daughter, Saboo---a mentally deranged---was the veritable liability.

When complainant Meraj-ud-din refused to succumb to continued threats and harassment of the extortionist SHO and he did not withdraw his charges, the Inspector moved out disgracefully but not before inserting Meraj-ud-din’s name in as many as three FIRs. A year later, Meraj-ud-din learned last week that he was still a “wanted stone pelter” as the departmentally indicted and punished SHO had put his name among a group of 12 ‘urchins’. Even after learning about Meraj-ud-din’s innocence and the indicted SHO’s guilt, SSP as well as new SHO are now helpless.

“We are aware that he is innocent and, in fact, a victim of previous SHO’s excesses but we can’t release him until he gets bail from a court of law”, the incumbent SHO asserted. He confirmed that there was neither a verbal evidence nor a photograph or video or any other material evidence of Meraj-ud-din’s involvement in any unlawful activity. Meraj’s colleagues in Budgam district insist he attended duty even on the worst turbulent days and curfew in 2008 as well as 2010.

Even after his continuing as a victim of Police atrocity, Meraj’s family members, relatives and neighbours describe the new SSP as well as the new SHO as “angels”.

“We have for the first time seen the human face of Police. Previous SHO was more cruel than Gabbar Singh. He arrested scores of innocent men like Meraj-ud-din, extorted money from them without anybody’s fear. He would publicly tear out the bail orders and manhandle the detainees. Things changed completely when new SSP and new SHO took over. Until last year, Police Station was like a slaughter house for us.When we enter the Police station today, we feel we are entering our home. Everybody is incredibly kind and compassionate. We must be proud of such Police officers”, detainee Meraj-ud-din’s relative Bashir Ahmed and 30-year-long friend Mohammad Shafi, both small time businesspersons, maintained.

They said that Srinagar has witnessed a watershed since the day Government removed many of the old rankers, known for their cruelty and corruption, and appointed young, highly educated Inspectors and Sub Inspectors as SHOs. “This is a wonderful lot. Almost all of them are hardworking, humane, merciful, professional and committed against corruption and traditional Police atrocities”, they echoed the popular perception in a downtown locality on the road to Hazratbal.

Contrary to Bashir Ahmed’s and Mohammad Shafi’s observation, Hurriyat (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, in his yesterday’s statement, described J&K Police officers as “cruel, corrupt, unprofessional, guilty of jailing innocent youth, involved in custodial killings”. He is incontrovertibly right as long as Inspectors like Bashir exist as SHOs in J&K Police. But, neither Bashir nor Geelani should worry as this coalition government has neither history nor habit of taking cognizance of newspaper stories!

END