‘Jihad business centre’ running in Srinagar Central Jail

9 cellphones, 15 SIM cards recovered; action underway against jail staff

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 17: While proceeding with the investigation in Maulana Shaukat Shah’s assassination here on April 8^th, Police today conducted a major search operation in Srinagar Central Jail and discovered that a number of detained militants had been freely interacting with their outside contacts through their mobile phones. As many as nine mobile phone sets, alongwith 15 SIM cards and battery chargers, were recovered from about a dozen of the prisoners whose communication system was found operational despite presence of six signal jammers on the premises.

It was exactly at midnight last that Police in Srinagar requisitioned permission from the state Home Commissioner, B R Sharma, for conducting a raid on Srinagar Central Jail in search of “a number of mobile phones” that, according to inputs, were operational with over a dozen militants and separatists on the fortified premises. Mr Sharma completed necessary formality within minutes and faxed the document from his Jammu residence.

Around the same time, Police requested Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar, Meraj Ahmed Kakroo, to provide an executive magistrate for the purpose of supervising a “raid on a house”. At 0620 hours, a thick contingent of Srinagar District Police and CRPF, headed by SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, swooped on the jail to conduct first of its operation in the last 22 years of militancy. SP City South, Shaukat Sarwar, SP Hazratbal, Abdul Waheed Shah, SP City East, Zulfikar Hussain, besides half-a-dozen Dy SPs, were part of the operation supervised by a Tehsildar.

Informed sources, associated with the raid, revealed to Early Times that the search operation was conducted on all twelve barracks of different militant organizations. When the operation concluded at 1230 hours, as many as 9 mobile phone sets and 15 SIM cards had been recovered from about a dozen detainees of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and other guerrilla groups. Surprisingly, the telecommunication devices were found operational inspite of six signal jammers on the premises.

“Use of telecommunication equipment is completely banned in all jails. Still, jammers have been installed to prevent interaction of prisoners with their contacts outside. Just one jammer is normally sufficient to block all such communications but surprisingly all the cellphones were found to have been in use”, a middle rung official revealed. According to him, 15 SIM cards seized from the barracks belonged to the Government of India controlled BSNL besides Aircel, Tata Indicom, Airtel and other private telecommunication companies.

Sources said that Police frisked the bodies and belongings of all the 500-odd prisoners who included 11 Pakistani nationals belonging to three different Jihadi outfits. Even as the process of scanning all incoming and outgoing call detail records, text messages, internet chats and emails conducted by the seized mobile phones was still underway, sources said that a number of the devices carried GPRS facility. These included sophisticated Samsung Galaxy and i-phones from Apple which are as good as computers in handling Internet traffic.

A senior Police official said that smuggling in cellphones, SIM cards and battery chargers would not be possible without involvement of the jail staff. He said that the investigating team was preparing a detailed report that was likely to be sent to the Government on Monday.

While as IGP Prison, Mohammad Amin Anjum, did not respond to a call and Superintendent of Srinagar Central Jail, Dhinesh Sharma, was not reachable for comment, Home Commissioner, B R Sharma, said that government would take action, if any necessary, on the basis of a detailed report from Srinagar. He said that the operation was still underway and he too was heavily preoccupied with today’s Panchayat elections. Mr Sharma is also Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir.

IGP Kashmir, S M Sahai, and SSP Srinagar, Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, refused to comment, though the SSP confirmed that the raid was in connection with the investigation into Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith chief Maulana Shaukat Shah’s assassination. The cleric had died in an IED blast at a mosque in uptown Maisuma locality here on April 8^th.

Yesterday only, Police claimed to have solved the high profile politico-religious assassination. It claimed to have arrested four of the 10 persons, allegedly involved in the killing. According to Police, Pakistan-based Sout-ul-Haq and Tahreek-ul-Mujahideen chief Jameel-ur-Rehman, former TuM chief Abdul Gani Dar alias Abdullah Gazali and detained supremo of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Dr Qasim, had hatched up the conspiracy of Maulana’s killing while as Sopore-based Pakistani chief of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Abdullah Uni, had provided three pistols and three detonators for the operation.

In a significant development today, spokespersons of all the three guerrilla groups besides Sout-ul-Haq and Faktoo’s relatives rebutted the accusation. They all invariably described the Police statement as “baseless” and claimed that it was only with the purpose of defaming the separatist movement and creating a wedge of mistrust between the groups participating in the “freedom struggle”.

Srinagar Central Jail insiders revealed to Early Times that during today’s search operation, Faktoo shouted on SSP Bukhari that he was being fabricated in baseless cases. He claimed that Gazali had never visited him at the jail or interacted with him through any other means. His relatives complained that Faktoo, who was serving a life term for allegedly ordering killing of human rights activist, H N Wanchoo, had been made a target of the “vilification campaign” just a day before a Double Bench of J&K High Court was expected to release him on parole. Once head of dreaded Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Faktoo has completed his Ph D in detention and the jail authorities have described his conduct as impressive. He is the husband of detained Dukhtaraan-e-Millat Chairperson, Asiya Andrabi.

END

Police claims to have cracked Maulana’s assassination

Dukhtaraan chief Asiya’s husband, former TM chief Gazali booked for murder

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 16: Police today confirmed the Early Times scoop dated April 13^th and declared that Jameel-ur-Rehman’s organisation ‘Sout-ul-Haq’, in coordination with radical cadres of Lashkar-e-Toiba, had assassinated Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith chief, Maulana Shaukat Ahmed Shah, in an IED blast at a mosque in Maisuma on Friday last. According to Police claim, detained Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi’s husband, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, septuagenarian Ahl-e-Hadith activist and one-time “Chief Commander” of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TUM), Abdul Gani Dar alias Abdullah Gazali, besides the Valley’s most wanted militant and Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Abdullah Uni, were key characters behind the cleric’s killing.

During its weeklong exercise, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of District Police Srinagar has discovered that Maulana Shaukat Shah’s intimate relationship with JKLF Chairman, Yasin Malik, besides his role in making Jamia Ahl-e-Hadith (JAH) as a part of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith of India, became the key reasons of his assassination on April 8^th. Sources associated with the investigation revealed to Early Times that Karachi-based chief of Sout-ul-Haq, Maulana Jameel-ur-Rehman, JAH ideologue and former TUM chief, Abdul Gani Dar alias Abdullah Gazali and detained Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM) chief, Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Dr Qasim, had played key role behind the assassination.

According to these sources, LeT’s Kashmir chief and Sopore-based commander Abdullah Uni, had provided arms and ammunition while as a radical breakaway group of six to eight youth, carried out the operation. Sources said that, on the basis of various leads and inputs, SIT had succeeded in arresting Abdul Gani Dar alias Abdullah Gazali of Russu (Beerwah), Budgam, Javed Ahmed Munshi alias Bila Papa R/o Methan Chhanpora (both TUM activists), besides Nisar Ahmed Khan alias Ishaq R/o Khan Colony Chhanpora and Altaf Ahmed Rather R/o Galwanpora Hyderpora (both JUM cadres).

Search was still underway for Tariq Ahmed Wani alias Maulvi Tariq of Naqashpora Barbarshah, Farooq Ahmed Sofi of Rampora Chhattabal, Maqsood Ahmed Shah of New Colony Soura, and Sajjad Ahmed alias Khanda of Methan Chhanpora, besides the Pakistani commander of LeT Abdullah Uni.

Quoting interrogation reports of the three detained persons, sources revealed that cadres a radical breakaway group, headed by Bila Papa and promoted in Pakistan by Jameel-ur-Rehman, who is Sout-ul-Haq chief and representative in United Jihad Council, had developed serious differences with Maulana Shaukat over the latter’s close association with Yasin Malik. Men of the group were also disturbed over Maulana becoming JAH chief for four successive terms.

On several occasions, they confronted him openly over his association with a “secular leader” (Malik) and his public utterances and speeches in which Maulana had emphasized on “brotherhood among all Muslims”. On more than one occasion, they had questioned Maulana’s role in promoting harmony between different sects of Islam and restricting his sermons to just propagation of Islam without laying any emphasis on Jihad and militant Islam.

Members of the group sought written opinion from Madani clerics of the organisation about a puritanical Muslim’s Muslim’s courtship with a “secular leader”. The clerics issued a Fatwa, saying it was “un-Islamic” but they did not issue a specific opinion in endorsement of death sentence to such a “delinquent”. Bila Papa tried to motivate Nisar Ahmed Khan but every time he refused to carry out the assassination in absence of a written Fatwa from the clerics.

Meanwhile, Gazali met Dr Qasim three times in Central Jail Srinagar where the duo planned and approved the assassination. LeT chief Abdullah Uni was contacted in Sopore. He sent his man “Bashir” three times to Bila Papa in Chhanapora. Subsequently, Uni provided three Chinese pistols and equal number of detonators for killing Maulana. Eight gelatine rods were acquired from a quarrying worker in Panta Chowk. It was strictly made clear that only the target, Maulana Shaukat, should get killed and nobody else should be harmed.

Before the April 8^th fatal blast, Bila Papa and Nisar Khan made two attempts on two successive Fridays. On March 25^th they planted the IED on the bicycle but could not trigger off the blast as Maulana was accompanied by his “lovely son”. On April 1^st, they again failed to cause the blast as Maulana was closely escorted by two youngsters. They finally got the opportune time on April 8^th when Maulana was all alone entering the mosque from its rear door as usual.

According to these sources, the radical combine of TuM-JuM-LeT was strongly opposed to Maulana’s “growing association” with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, several other mainstream politicians and a number of officials and political leaders in New Delhi with his mission of ‘integrating” JAH with India and seeking an Islamic University for the organisation. However, they did not seem to be aware of Maulana’s two secret meetings with Dileep Padgaonkar-led three-member team of interlocutors in New Delhi in January this year.

IGP Kashmir, S M Sahai, flanked by DIG Central Kashmir Abdul Gani Mir and SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, today revealed at a news conference that Maulana’s killers had been identified and three members of the group had been arrested. They said that Bila Papa fabricated the IED on his own bicycle and Nisar Khan activated the IED with a remote control device.

IGP stated that on 08.04.2011, Moulana Showkat Ahmad Shah, President Jamiet Ahl-e-Hadith was killed in an IED Blast near Masjid Ahl-e-Hadith at Maisuma Srinagar. Immediately, investigation was set into motion, during which the criminal conspiracy behind the killing has been unearthed. Members of a radical religio-political out fit namely Sout-ul-Haq and some other radical elements have been found behind the conspiracy. Moulana Showkat was perceived as one against sectarianism and helping to defuse sectarian clashes. His work in education field, especially trying to get a university from the government was perceived by them as a compromise with the government when they failed to dislodge him through elections, conspiracy was hatched to eliminate him. Also his proximity with certain separatist leaders was not liked by them.

He said that, one Abdul Ghani Dar @ Abdullah Gazalli and Ashiq Hussain Fakhtoo @ Dar Qasim who is presently lodged in central Jail Srinagar discussed the broad contours of the plan during a visit by Gazalli to Dr Qasim. However, the actual execution of the plan was left to one Javaid Ahmmad Munshi @ Bill Papa resident of Chanapora Srinagar who sought help from Lashkar Commander Abdullah Uni. He received some material from Abdullah Uni and arranged some of it locally. Various parts of execution were done by various other members. However, the actual triggering of the IED was entrusted to one Nissar Ahmmad Khan @ Ishaq R/O Chanapora. Abdul Gani Dar@ Abdullah Gazalli, Javed @ Bill Papa and Nissar Ahmmad Khan have already been arrested.

END

Omar should not entertain BJP’s political prostitution

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 15: He may have done it out of an apprehension for his National Conference in late 1970s but Sheikh Abdullah in history enjoys the distinction of having pioneered the anti-defection law in India. If the Department of Law has slept over the need of an amendment to J&K Peoples Representation Act of 1957, that governs the conduct of elections for Legislative Council, Sher-e-Kashmir’s successors should share the responsibility.

Owing to the absence of the amendment, that would have brought the state law at par with the central Peoples Representation Act of 1951, the prospect of cross-voting and horse trading exists in Jammu & Kashmir. It is because of this difference between the two that the whips issued by political parties are implemented in the elections for President of India and members of Rajya Sabha while as there is no mechanism to check whether a voter has observed the order in faith or breach.

The man in the hot seat today is not a run-of-the-mill politician. He did not lose a second to announce his resignation when Muzaffar Hussain Baig leveled an allegation involving the Chief Minister’s person in 2009. Omar Abdullah returned to dignity with vengeance. Again, when PDP leader Nizam-ud-din Bhat went aggressive in Assembly to prove the CM wrong over the facts of a gunbattle in Bandipore, Omar took the challenge boldly. Once again, Omar’s detractors had to eat the humble pie. He has been unquestionably standing high on the moral ground.

Omar deserves greetings on the victory of five coalition candidates in the April 13^th elections for Legislative Council. That none from NC or the coalition partner Congress resorted to infidelity, speaks volumes about Chief Minister’s popularity and trust within the ruling coalition. However, cross-voting of as many as seven MLAs of BJP made it a tarnished victory for the coalition. The defaulters deserving dismissal did vote for the two parties they have been holding responsible for every evil in India. Ideologically, there is no meeting ground between the NC-Congress fold and the right wing BJP. Much more than cursing Pakistan and militants, BJP has spent time and energy in lambasting on the mainstream twins.

Just a day before the polling, BJP leader and Chief Whip in Assembly, Ashok Khajuria, had described NC and PDP far more “harmful” to India than Hurriyat and Pakistan. In castigating NC, BJP has been serving as PDP’s counterpart in Jammu where it got 11 seats on a virulent regional and communal divide in 2008 Assembly elections. The strange bedfellows, BJP and PDP, voted for the Panthers Party candidate, Rafeeq Shah, in 2009 Upper House elections but that did not form a brazenly immoral axis. Later, one of the BJP members also voted for Dr Farooq Abdullah in the Rajya Sabha elections.

All eyes remained focused on PDP for the fact that it gave its mandate to two businessmen and ignored a galaxy of political stalwarts and intellectuals---from Tariq Hamid Qarra and Dilawar Mir to Naeem Akhtar. There were wild speculations that businessman Bharat Bhushan had been preferred to leaders of high political standing in Jammu with a purpose---of buying three MLAs from different parties. Everybody proved wrong when the results came out.

That the BJP whip defaulters voted out of conscience on April 13th is nobody’s claim. Everybody knows it is not always money that is paid to win a vote. This is also a matter of common knowledge that nobody keeps proof of buying the voters in these election. Chief Minister can not challenge his detractors on the “proof”. The fact remains that the pudding has been eaten. Was it cash or promises of privileges from the government in future, may never be established. This will be like asking Muzaffar Baig to come out with audio-visual footage in support of his accusation.

Notwithstanding maintaining the image of the state’s cleanest ever Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has already bent under party or coalition pressure in extremely serious matters in the last over two years. With the exception of G M Saroori’s dismissal, he has not acted against any of the corrupt politicians or bureaucrats. Legislative Council has already been reduced to a rehabilitation centre of defeated candidates, retired bureaucrats and controversial businessmen.

Many of those who were rejected by the people in Assembly elections of 2008, have been rehabilitated on the seats vacant by law for intellectuals and men and women of high profile in social service. This all under the nose of a leader who rushed to Governor with a caveat when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted Rafi Ahmed Mir to grab such a seat in brazen disregard to Section 50 of J&K Constitution. Now Omar has been forced by his party to do five times what Mufti did in 2006. He would be the better judge what Noor Hussain and nonagenarian Dharam Vir Singh Oberai would contribute to lawmaking in this poor state.

Farooq Abdullah and Mufti are OK but when it comes to the intellectually and morally sensitive Omar Abdullah, there is no question of courthouse debate and mathematics in entertaining the political prostitution of a party that spits on autonomy and has been Omar’s target from the day of his historic speech in the Parliament in July 2008. Clearly, losing one-odd seat in Jammu would have been far less harmful than relishing the victory on an ideological rival’s promiscuity. It is high time, Chief Minister should take another big challenge of his career and favour fresh elections on the two seats in Jammu.

END

‘Two Ministers contested 2002 polls on Rs 1 Cr Pak money’

Delhi hawala operator makes sensational disclosures; woman arrested

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 13: If a Delhi-based property dealer, who has been arrested by Srinagar Police as a ‘hawala operator’, is to be believed, two Ministers of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s Council of Ministers had contested the 2002 Assembly after receiving Rs 50 Lakh each from Pakistan. A prominent political family in Srinagar is in for a trouble if the ‘sensational disclosures’ made by the detainee turned out to be true.

Police officials refused to make comment but Early Times learned from reliable authoritative sources that Srinagar Police has arrested one Hira Lal of Delhi when it had laid a trap to catch some fake currency operatives red-handed. During sustained interrogation, Hira Lal identified himself as a resident of Tatesar village in Delhi outskirts and claimed to be a property dealer.

When sleuths conducted verification of Hira Lal’s statement, he turned out to be the confidante of a slain separatist leader. His disclosures also led to the arrest of a woman, namely Hajira Banoo of Lolab, Kupwara, who was also suspected to be part of the fake currency racket and subjected to sustained interrogation.

According to informed sources, Hira Lal disclosed that two particular businessmen-turned-politicians had contested 2002 Assembly elections after receiving Rs 50 Lakh each through him from Pakistan. Both the Independent candidates, who successfully contested their maiden elections from Handwara and Habbakadal respectively, were later inducted as Ministers by then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Dogged by controversies, one of these politicians later landed in the infamous Srinagar Sex Scandal after he was dropped by Mufti’s successor Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. He was arrested and released on bail after several months of imprisonment. While as CBI conducted raids on his Srinagar residence, Income Tax sleuths raided his Green Belt house in Jammu while investigating his earnings in a pharmaceutical company.

According to sources, Hira Lal has revealed that he had come into the contact of a separatist leader and a Srinagar-based businessman hailing from Handwara in early 1990s when he sold a property to the politician in Delhi. When he demanded the outstanding amount, the politician asked him to contact one ‘commander Bilal Rahi’ in Islamanad who owed him some money and would manage to send it to the Delhi-based property dealer.

Hira Lal has claimed that he received an amount of over Rs 5 Crore from the channel in Pakistan and later passed it over to the Srinagar-based businessman who, according to him, delivered the money on the politician’s family. He has claimed that the politician’s sons later spent the same money on acquiring land and houses at Punjab Khour village, Chermud village and Greater Kailash in Delhi besides a house in Srinagar. He has revealed that, as advised by the Srinagar-based businessman, he contacted a former J&K Chief Engineer’s family in Gurgaon and later transferred his house through a gift deed to one of the politician’s sons after deducting a part of a money consignment that was handed over to the seller.

Even as Police declined to either confirm or contradict Hira Lal’s arrest and his sensational disclosures, informed sources maintained that the detainee’s statement was being verified in close coordination with Delhi Police.

END

Maulana killed for proximity to JKLF, meeting with interlocutors?

Police suspecting Jameel-ur-Rehman’s Saut-ul-Haq for cleric’s assassination

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 12: Government has constituted a Special Investigating Team (SIT), headed by SDPO Kothibagh Abdul Jabbar, to identify and apprehend the killers of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith chief, Maulana Shaukat Ahmed Shah. Even as Police are still groping in the dark, the “moderate” cleric’s proximity to JKLF Chairman, Yasin Malik---that had remarkably grown in the last two years--- besides the former’s two secret meetings with the Government of India’s interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi, are believed to have caused the assassination here on April 8^th.

Ballistic analysis of the substances, according to informed sources, has not led Police to any clues with regard to identity of the killers, their organisation or objective. According to these sources, the SIT headed by the young IPS officer, was almost certain that the IED blast on Friday last had been caused by an “insider” with the help of his mobile phone. All incoming and outgoing calls, handled by towers of different telecommunication companies in Maisuma and adjoining areas between 1100 hrs and 1400 hrs on the fateful day, are currently under scanner.

Officials of extensive counter-insurgency exposure in Srinagar are hopeful of a breakthrough in next one week. Sources said that the investigators were working on a host of theories, including the Maulana-led outfit’s hostility with two radical organizations over his proximity to JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik, and Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith’s in-house factional feud.

Officials are also attempting to know whether the slain cleric’s two secret meetings with the interlocutors in New Delhi earlier this year had become any reason behind his assassination. Interlocutors Daleep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari had interacted twice with the cleric in New Delhi to get a first-hand account of his “moderate ideology” on the Kashmir problem, well-placed authoritative sources disclosed to Early Times.

None of the prominent separatist leaders has publicly met with the team of interlocutors ever since it was constituted by the union Home Ministry over Prime Minister’s advice in October 2010. Most of the separatist leaders have laid preconditions like declaring J&K as a “disputed territory”, releasing of all political detainees and relocation of troops---something not acceptable to New Delhi at this stage.

Based on “rough findings” of an investigation into a grenade attack on Maulana’s residence at Lal Bazar in 2008, Police officials are understood to be scanning the activities of a radical group of militants. Militants had thrown red colour and scribbled “Saut-ul-Haq” on the floor before lobbing the grenade on Maulana’s house three years back. The breakaway group’s head, Jameel-ur-Rehman, who is  a resident of Pulwama district, according to officials, was based in Karachi, Pakistan, for the last over three years.

Meanwhile, Jamiat’s officiating Chairman, Ghulam Rasool Malik, has organized an “all-party meeting” at the organisation’s headquarters here on Wednesday. All the separatist leaders, including heads of both factions of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik, and heads of almost all the religious organizations have been invited for participation. The meeting would pay tributes to the slain cleric and discuss security related issues concerning the religious leadership in Kashmir.

On the host’s request, Government has made elaborate security arrangements for the meeting that would be followed by a news conference.

END

Men who shouted for Azadi, attacked cop were from NC

CM orders release of Bar chief, declines to relent on the ‘enemies within’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Apr 11: A group of lathi-wielding youth, who shouted for Azadi and attacked a Constable of Jammu & Kashmir Police ruthlessly on Srinagar-Baramulla last year, have turned out to be sons of the members of ruling National Conference (NC). Even as a senior NC leader and Minister applied maximum possible pressure for the release of the cop-attackers, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has made it clear that he would release detainees of Hurriyat and PDP but not the “enemies within”.

Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that men in the violent mob, who acted on the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call of “Sopore Chalo” on June 28^th, 2010, and attacked a Constable of J&K Police near Hokersar Wetland Reserve, have turned out to be members of the ruling NC. Almost all of the accused have surfaced as residents of Zainakadal and other downtown localities who came from the NC families.

The key accused in FIR No: 159 of 2010, booked by Police Station Parimpora, Umar Hamid Hanga, has turned out to be the son of a senior NC activist and right hand man of a Cabinet Minister. The Minister’s Azadi shouting followers had attacked the Constable within 24 hours of the Minister’s publicly made charge that the Indian paramilitary CRPF was an “unbridled force” in Kashmir.

Highly placed sources in the state Home Department said that the Minister had applied “maximum possible pressure” to get the accused released but Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also happens to be the Minister incharge Home, had declined to relent on the “enemies within”.

Sources said that Police had arrested as many as 29 persons on the charges of attacking the Police constable and resorting to violence with an anti-national agenda in case FOR No: 159 of 2010. Six of the key accused, namely Umar Hamid Hanga S/o Abdul Hamid Hanga R/o Zainakadal, Murtaza Manzoor Panzoo S/o Manzoor Ahmed Panzoo R/o Maharaj Gunj, Farooq Ahmed Mir S/o Ghulam Mohammad Mir R/o Parimpora, Muzaffar Jan Itoo S/o Mohammad Yousuf Itoo R/o Safakadal, Shariq Lateef Bhat S/o Mohammad Lateef Bhat R/o Mustafa Abad Zainakot and Mohammad Maqbool Sofi S/o Mohammad Abdullah Sofi R/o Soura, have been detained under Public Safety Act (PSA) and detained at different jails in Jammu.

These sources said that Srinagar District Police had completed its investigation and a challan was being produced separately in a court of law against the arsonists, who nearly killed a Constable, but some of the key accused had been detained under PSA to prevent move of the defence to get them released.

In its exhaustive dossier, Police had attached explicit video clips of the attack on the Constable besides call detail records of the accused as well as their tower locations at the time of the incident. Sources said that in view of strong material evidence against the accused, Chief Minister refused to relent and desired that the investigation be completed and the trial conducted in a routine court of law.

Interestingly, a number of NC’s politicians, including Ministers, have been holding the separatist Hurriyat Conference and the mainstream opposition party, PDP, responsible for staging last year’s street turbulence and violent demonstrations.

Officials had no hesitation in sharing details of the ruling party activists’ involvement in the incidents of arson and separatist demonstrations but they sought to make it clear that there was no organizational support to these urchins. They refused to be on record with the argument that they were not authorized to speak to media.

END

Whips that won’t be cracked on defaulters in Jammu

NC, Congress, PDP worried over infidelity of ‘alienated’ MLAs

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Apr 4: The anti-defection law in practice in Jammu & Kashmir makes all MLAs bound to vote in accordance with the directions of their respective party whips in the elections for Legislative Council. However, the parties have no legal mechanism to ascertain whether a voter has gone by direction of the whip or contrary to it. In other words, any MLA belonging to any political party would be bound to vote for the choice of his or her party but at the same time free to practice it according to his personal choice and commitment. This difference in conducting of elections for the Upper House of the Parliament and Upper House of the State Legislature keeps Jammu & Kashmir open to horse trading on at least one unreserved seat in Jammu division in the Legislative Council elections on April 13^th.

Chief Whips of National Conference (Mubarak Gul), Congress (Ghulam Ahmed Mir), PDP (Abdul Gaffar Sofi), BJP (Ashok Khajuria) and National Panthers Party (Balwant Singh Mankotia) would obviously direct members of their respective political parties to vote for the choice of the party. But, till date, there is no instrument in Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Representation Act of 1957 to find whether a particular MLA has obeyed the direction of his or her party whip or not.

“If shown to anybody, including a chief whip or an authorized polling agent, the ballot would become invalid”, Chief Electoral Officer and Principal Secretary Home, B R Sharma, clarified to Early Times. He said that the elections for Legislative Council of Jammu & Kashmir were being held under the procedure laid down in J&K Peoples Representation Act of 1957 that had no provision of open voting. On the other hand, elections of Rajya Sabha members and President of India were being held throughout the India, including in the special status state of Jammu & Kashmir, under the central Peoples Representation Act of 1951, that makes members of the electoral colleges bound to vote in open in accordance with the whips of their respective parties.

The provision of secret ballot was replaced by the provision of open ballot for Rajya Sabha and Presidential elections by way of an amendment in the central act when horse trading among MLAs and Lok Sabha members became a subject of national concern in the last 10 years. Owners and nominees of major corporate houses were known for “buying” the votes for huge amounts of money. An amendment in the Central law was finally introduced and adopted by the Parliament when Law Commission as well as Supreme Court of India asserted that members of the central electoral colleges could not assert their personal choice or commitment in the matter of electing members of Rajya Sabha and President of India. Under this law, MLAs of different political parties were asked by respective party whips to vote in open in the Rajya Sabha elections of 2009 when MPs, including the NC supremo Dr Farooq Abdullah, were elected.

This did not apply to election of MLCs that were held around the same time in 2009 under J&K Peoples Representation Act of 1957. Since the state Act has not been amended and brought at par with the central Act in the last two years, yet again the elections to fill up six vacancies in Legislative Council are being held with secret ballot.

Returning Officer and Secretary of Legislative Council, Mohammad Ramzan, told Early Times that in case a party whip established that a particular MLA of his party had gone in violation of the party direction, the defaulter would be subject to disqualification as MLA. However, he too elaborated that there was no legal or scientific system in vogue to find whether the member had observed the direction of his or her party whip in affirmation or breach.

With the prospects of a close contest between the ruling coalition and the possible PDP-NPP combine brightening up on one unreserved seat in Jammu, all the three major political parties are currently reframing their strategies. Notwithstanding factional warfare, little possible of cross-voting is existing in Congress. NPP is said to be divided in 2:1. However, arch rivals, NC and PDP, are both worried over disenchantment of at least six MLAs in each party. Criss-cross vibrations were palpable during the lately concluded budget session of the state Assembly.

Political sources revealed that the strategists in both the parties were currently toying with the idea of seeking oath on holy scriptures from respective MLAs of their parties to ensure that their votes did not cross the floor. But, at the same time, NPP as well as BJP were not in favour of “extra-constitutional measures” like forcing the MLAs to take oath of allegiance to the party.

END