Incredible: Shoe-thrower was seated in Home Secretary’s chair

IG security was out in Leh, No DIG posted after Wattali’s transfer to Anantnag

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 18: Suspended head constable, Abdul Ahad Jan, who attracted world attention by hurling his shoe on Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, on the Indian Independence Day here on August 15th, has been found seated in the chair reserved for the state Home Secretary Tashi Dorjay in the VIP Pavilion. Dorjay, who was late in his arrival by a couple of minutes, consequently occupied an absentee official’s seat in a different row.

Authoritative sources investigating a security lapse, unparalleled in the insurgency ridden state’s history, revealed to Early Times that the shoe-thrower had not only managed to accommodate himself in the VVIP closure but had also occupied the Home Secretary’s seat. Until Aug 17th, Dorjay remained posted as Secretary in the Home Department that has entire administrative control of J&K Police and all of his organizations, including Security and CID. Senior IAS officer, Sameul Varghese, holding the rank of Financial Commissioner (equivalent to Chief Secretary), has been functioning on the top most position in Home Department.

Investigators have learned in preliminary quizzing of some officials on duty and also some guests of the I-Day event that Jan reached the VVIP closure just three minutes before Chief Minister’s arrival and took a seat in the fourth row just behind senior IAS and IPS officers and a number of Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and judges of J&K High Court. At least six middle and junior rung officials from General Administration Department and Divisional Commissioner’s office were present on duty for proper seating arrangement of the VVIP and VIP guests. Records indicate that four spotters in civvies from CID were also present for identification of the guests.

Over a dozen personnel from Security Wing were additionally posted to ensure that there was no violation of the security blue book rules. While a CCTV arrangement was also in place, central and state intelligence and security agencies had installed some still and video cameras for complete recording of the proceedings. However, one of the premier central agency’s camera failed to work at the eleventh hour. Footage was later acquired from a private television channel.

Television footage shows Jan taking a seat in the left of Director Hospitality & Protocol, Mr Jamwal. He, later, shifts to Mr Jamwal’s right hand side and takes a seat reserved by name for the state Home Secretary. Surprisingly, nobody either questions or escorts Jan to the seat. Dorjay reaches the closure a minute later and adjusts himself in a vacant chair.

On Tuesday, Cabinet shifted Dorjay as Secretary to Government Administrative Reforms & Inspections Department. Official sources, however, clarified that his shifting was in no way related to the security lapse of Aug 15th. “He was earlier Secretary in Home Department and has been elevated now to the rank of a full-fledged administrative Secretary”, a senior bureaucratic source clarified.

With different people on different positions passing the buck of the I-Day security lapse, it has been learned by this newspaper that the seniormost official, IGP Security Ram Lubhaya, had left for Leh on August 13th to assist SSG in making security arrangements for the visits of AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi followed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Taking things lightly around I-Day, year’s second highest threatened event in Kashmir since 1990, Omar Abdullah’s government had not posted anybody as DIG Security after Mr Shafqat Wattali was shifted to the executive Police and appointed as DIG South Kashmir in July. SP Security, Rafeequl Hassan, happened to be the senior most official looking after security arrangements for all 10 chief guests (Ministers) of the I-Day function in the Valley.

Militants have fired rifle grenades and rockets on some occasion on I-Day towards Bakhshi Memorial Sports Stadium from 1990 but these failed to hit the target and cause any damage. Security forces also recovered IED and explosive material in close vicinity of the venue around the I-Day on a couple of occasions. Militants succeeded in causing an IED blast in close vicinity of the stadium, on the highest protected road five years ago. That too failed to cause damage as the explosion occurred over an hour after the VIP cavalcade returned.

First and the last subversive incident, in which a number of schoolchildren sustained injuries, took place five years before militancy erupted in 1989-90, when an underground group caused a blast of minor intensity well on the main entrance of Bakhshi Stadium. Government had blamed and prosecuted then Peoples League supremo Shabir Shah for the explosion.

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