Media, PDP misleading Assembly: Sagar

Session signs off amid anti-Govt slogans over NC activist’s death

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 4: While contesting reports of two Srinagar-based newspapers, Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, today claimed in Legislative Assembly that Government’s requisition of a sitting judge for holding inquiry into the NC activist Syed Yousuf’s death had been received in J&K High Court on October 1^st. Sagar’s assertion came amid continual ruckus that forced Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone to terminate the proceedings and adjourn the Assembly sine die.

Fighting PDP’s commotion over Yousuf’s death, allegedly due to physical torture at Chief Minister’s residential office, Ali Mohammad Sagar strongly contradicted reports in two Srinagar dailies which, according to him, had misled the House. Sagar referred to two particular reports and alleged that the same had animated PDP and, according him, both were misleading Assembly and the people of the state with regard to proposed judicial inquiry in Yousuf’s death.

Nearly 20 MLAs of PDP had earlier raised voice in support of their fresh adjournment motion while waving local newspapers and claiming that Government’s declaration of a judicial inquiry was “baseless”. While as one newspaper had reported yesterday that Chief Justice had turned down the state government’s requisition, another reported in a front page story today that the request had never gone to J&K High Court. On the basis of these reports, PDP disputed the official claim of a judicial inquiry and sought a full-length discussion on the subject in a fresh adjournment motion.

Like yesterday, Speaker disallowed the motion of 12 MLAs of PDP on his already advanced argument. He maintained that a discussion on the disputed death could hamper the investigation and influence the judicial inquiry. Even as the opposition PDP legislators asserted that, as of now, there was neither an FIR nor a judicial inquiry into this particular case, and, as such, the matter was not sub judice, Speaker retorted that his ruling was irrevocable.

PDP’s uncompromising MLAs protested Speaker’s ruling and the Treasury Bench’s persistent efforts to digress the business. They trooped into the well, played a tug-of-war with the marshals and raised slogans against the 33-month-long Omar Abdullah government. Their slogans: “andha qanoon nahi chalega”, “gunda gardi nahi chalegi”, “qatal ka hisab dau” et al. However, Speaker did not force them out through the marshals.

Significantly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, PDP Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Shia cleric and PDP’s high profile MLA Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari did not attend the proceedings today. PDF Chairman and independent MLA from Khansahab, Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, remained absent with the complaint that Government and NC were “unnecessarily sitting on prestige” over the demand of discussion. Independent MLA from Langet, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, has already declared himself on boycott to register his protest over the ruling parties’ machination on the Afzal Guru resolution.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Sagar waved documents and receipts to substantiate his claim that Law Secretary had delivered a requisition on High Court and same had been duly acknowledged by the concerned. He asserted that the state government was absolutely clear and sincere in holding inquiry by a sitting High Court judge. He claimed that both the reports, on which PDP relied to file a fresh motion, were “misleading and incorrect”.

Even as Congress remained a mute spectator, NC’s MLAs clashed with the PDP and some other parties’ members, including Hakeem Yasin, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Harsh Dev Singh, joined the demand of discussion, Speaker rejected the adjournment motion.

Speaker conducted rest of the scheduled business amid din as the PDP MLAs kept shouting slogans and some opposition members from Jammu, including BJP’s Jugal Kishore, NPP’s Harsh Dev Singh and JSM’s Ashwani Kumar, complained that entire time had been wasted on one or two issues and most of the important issues had remained intact. Amid today’s din, Speaker got two Bills, related to VAT and Financial management, moved and passed with verbal vote in less than four minutes.

As Speaker declared Assembly sine die at 10.40 a.m. PDP MLAs wlaked out while continuing slogans. Speaking to media outside, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti maintained that discussion on Syed Yousuf’s death was more important than any other issue as it, according to her, involved “murder and political corruption”.

Outside the Legislative Complex and J&K High Court Complex, relatives and followers of the influential Shia cleric and PDP’s MLA Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, staged a demonstration against Speaker. They protested Speaker’s humiliation and abusing of Maulvi’s family members while urging Chief Minister to remove Mr Lone as Speaker. Immediately after yesterday’s altercation between the two, Speaker had withdrawn his unparliamentary remarks and apologized to the PDP MLA.

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NC activist’s death raises political storm

Speaker, Ansari trade filth over PDP’s motion

Justice impossible till accused are CM, MoS Home: Mehbooba

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Speaker Mohammad Lone today dismissed PDP’s adjournment motion over death of a National Conference (NC) activist in Legislative Assembly even as he locked horns with the principal opposition party and the PDP’s MLA and the Speaker exchanged filthy adjectives and invectives. PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, persisted with her demand of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s resignation with the argument that no credible investigation was possible as long as the accused held the highest offices in the state government.

With his arrival in the House, Speaker initiated the proceedings of Question Hour without regard to an adjournment motion moved by a group of over one dozen MLAs of PDP. Leader of the Opposition and PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, got up to assert that her party’s adjourn motion was of “extremely serious nature” as fingers were being directly raised over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah in the alleged custodial killing of one Syed Mohammad Yousuf.

Speaker insisted that he would deal with the adjourn motion but not before completion of Question Hour. He asserted that there were “very important questions” in the list and pointed out that Question Hour had remained fully disrupted since beginning of the autumn session on September 26^th. However, Mehbooba, joined by all of her party’s MLAs, remained unrelenting and made it clear that PDP would not allow any business until a full-length discussion was conducted over its motion.

Finding the Speaker not receptive, Mehbooba shouted that a political activist had been “murdered” at the Chief Minister’s house. “It’s a murder on money”, she yelled with full backing of her camp. Suddenly, members from the Treasury Benches also got up and there was a complete ruckus. Speaker, as well as Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, failed to pacify the PDP members with their arguments.

With that PDP MLAs began shouting slogans like “Yousuf Ke Qatiloon Kau Pesh Karo” (‘take Yousuf’s killers to task’). As soon as PDP’s outspoken MLA, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, began shouting and gesticulating in support of the motion, Speaker unleashed a no-hold-barred volley of filthy adjectives and invectives on him. Arguably unprecedented in over 50 years of J&K Legislature’s history, altercation between Speaker and Ansari went on air live through dozens of cameras of different television news channels. Indecent vocabulary and gesticulation raised eyebrows among people in Speaker’s Gallery, Officer’s Galley and Press Gallery. Even the marshals and officials of Assembly Secretariat were seen hanging their heads in shame. An incensed Ansari even threw a fan-stand towards Speaker but the missile was intercepted by a marshal.

Later, in another sitting, Speaker apologized for his behaviour and treatment meted out to Ansari. He claimed that he was a “clean and straightforward politician with all ordinary human weaknesses and emotions. He said that he held Maulvi Iftikhar in high esteem but his objectionable behaviour and gesticulation had invoked a reaction that was unwarranted by every argument. He ordered expunction of the entire spat between him and the PDP MLA but not to the satisfaction of the opposition.

Former Minister of Law and Deputy Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, got himself recorded on several television news channels with his bitter reaction. “All of us must hang our heads in shame. We can tolerate everything from this Speaker but not publicly abusing of the daughter of our senior colleague who is also a prominent religious leader with tremendous following in the state”, Baig asserted.

Amid three adjournments of 20 minutes to one hour each, Speaker attempted to carry forward the scheduled business but failed to restore order in the face of slogans and counter-slogans between NC and PDP. In the initial round of clash, Congress MLAs joined hands with NC but later it was purely NC versus PDP. NC’s MLAs, including some members of the status of Minister, raised slogans holding the PDP supremo and former Chief Minister responsible for his Ministerial colleague Dr Ghulam Nabi Lone’s “killing” in a militant strike in Tulsi Bagh. “Lone Ke Qatiloon Kau Pesh Karo Pesh Karo”, they kept on shouting.

Speaker declared that some MLAs of PDP had submitted an adjournment motion under Rule 56, seeking adjournment of business and discussion of the death of Syed Yousuf on September 30^th. He pointed out to Chief Minister’s assertion and said that Chief Justice was being asked to appoint a sitting judge for the investigation. According to him, discussion on the motion could “hamper and hinder the investigation”. His argument was strongly rejected by PDP. Thereupon, Speaker announced that the motion was being disallowed.

Registering its protest with statements, slogans and walk-outs, PDP maintained that it would not relent until Chief Minister, MoS Home Nasir Aslam Wani and even union Minister and NC’s President Dr Farooq Abdullah would step down. Mehbooba claimed that there was every possibility of their interference, influencing the inquiry and tampering with evidences as long as the accused held high government positions. She also dismissed Speaker’s argument and claimed that till date there was neither any FIR in the “custodial killing” nor any Government order of judicial investigation, let alone appointment of a judge as head of the inquiry.

Mehbooba alleged that Yousuf had been “eliminated” after he resisted beating by Chief Minister’s security guards and threatened to expose members of the Abdullah family, including Farooq Abdullah. She claimed that Yousuf was “very close” to the family, flew in helicopters with Chief Minister, conducted political transactions and also knew “much about the family”.

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Govt maintains Yousuf died of ‘cardiac arrest’

Omar claims innocence, initiates defamation suit against PDP chief

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Breaking his silence after four days, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asserted that PDP’s accusation of the NC activist Syed Yousuf’s custodial killing was “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated”. He said that on his suo moto action, a sitting judge of Jammu & Kashmir High Court would hold a thorough and credible investigation into the entire episode but, at the same time, he would file a defamation suit against the PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, for the allegation of “murder” she had leveled against him and his father Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Addressing a crowded news conference after the final adjournment of today’s sitting on the Legislature lawns, Chief Minister said that he had decided to remain tightlipped on the death of his party activist as he feared it could impact the judiciary inquiry he had ordered suo moto. “But when I realized that my silence was being used against me, I decided to make a statement to make things clear”, Chief Minister said. He, however, added that he would not take any questions, either at today’s news conference or thereafter until the judicial inquiry was completed.

Claiming that neither he nor anybody of his family, party or government had even an iota of involvement in Yousuf’s death, Omar Abdullah said that in so-called rape-cum-murder case of Shopian in 2009, politicians and media had used his utterance (regarding prima facie observation) against him but, contrarily, today his silence was being used as a tool against him. He said that he would expect no good from his political detractors but made a passionate appeal to media not to report anything “merely on assumptions and unfounded allegations” or editorialize anything without substance.

According to him, there was no scope for the demand of his and his colleagues’ resignation as he had immediately after Yousuf’s death at Police Hospital asked IG Crime to investigate the allegation of two of his party workers against the third party activist. “As soon as the death occurred, I thought it necessary to order a judicial inquiry and directed my government to requisition a sitting judge of J&K High Court for conducting inquiry into the circumstances that led to our worker’s death”, he added.

Chief Minister said it was unfortunate that instead of appreciating his action, politicians and mediapersons carried stories, creating an impression as if Yousuf had been tortured to death at his home. He said that a judicial commission alone would dig out the reality and he would have no hesitation in producing himself before the inquiry. “If anything indicating death (by torture) is established in post mortem or the investigation, anybody found guilty would have to face punishment”, he said.

“I have full faith in our judicial system and I’m sure that all the serious allegation leveled against me and my colleagues would prove to be baseless”, Omar said. He said it was utterly unfortunate that PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had leveled serious allegation of “murder” against him which he would not contest in public. He disclosed that he had directed his lawyers to prepare and file a defamation suit in a court of law against Ms Mufti. He said that leveling baseless allegations and later revoking the same with apologies was characteristic of Ms Mufti’s party.

Chief Minister was flanked at the news conference by a number of his Cabinet colleagues, advisors and senior officials, including DGP Kuldeep Khoda.

Within hours, DGP Khoda and Principal Secretary Home, B R Sharma, disclosed at a hurriedly press conference this evening that the death certificate issued by doctors had also established Yousuf’s death as the result of “cardio respiratory arrest”. They said that the final medico-legal opinion was expected to become available from FSL in a few days.

Sharma and Khoda revealed that a case under section 420 RPC (cheating) had been registered and Crime Branch was investigating the allegation of the two NC activists against the third one who later died at hospital. They said that District Magistrate had already ordered inquest proceedings under section 176 CrPC. They made it clear that a murder case could not be filed in absence of indicators in the inquest. According to them, murder (section 302 RPC) could be added to Section 420 RPC in the same FIR if any evidence of Yousuf’s killing was found in the inquest or the judicial inquiry.

They released a statement of facts according to which Yousuf had come out without any marks of injury or complaint of physical torture from CM’s house, cooperated with IG Crime in the preliminary questioning but had later complained uneasiness following which he was treated at Police Hospital. They revealed that all medical investigation, including USG and ECG, were found alright but next morning Yousuf’s condition deteriorated suddenly and he was declared dead at 9.45 a.m.

END

Minister, IG may be sacrificed over Syed Yousuf

Guards deployed at truncated NC leader’s house in Ganderbal

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 2: Even as the ruling National Conference (NC) has put up a brave face and images of a smiling Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, were played up on television, Government is understood to be considering some action to blunt PDP’s campaign of seeking resignation of CM, MoS Home and union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times late tonight that the NC top brass was seriously weighing the suggestion of “voluntary resignation” of MoS Home, Nasir Aslam Wani. According to these sources, transfer and attachment of some senior officials in Crime Branch, between SP and IG, “pending inquiry into Syed Yousuf’s death in mysterious circumstances” was also in consideration as a damage control exercise.

Sources revealed that NC’s District Secretary in Ganderbal, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, who is now known to have collected and handed over to late Syed Mohammad Yousuf huge amount of Rs 84 Lakh, could be dismissed and terminated permanently from primary membership of the party. After a communication from Chief Minister’s Secretariat, DC Ganderbal Showkat Ahmad Mir has directed all line officers not to entertain any of Bhat’s recommendations and references, written or verbal, from yesterday. It has been notified to all concerned that Bhat was no more representative of MLA Ganderbal (Chief Minister) in the constituency.

Fearing mischief by trouble-makers, Government has, however, deployed four Police guards at Bhat’s residence in Repora village of Ganderbal. Besides, none of his six security guards has been withdrawn. Bhat has shifted back to his house after staying at his officially allotted flat in Tulsi Bagh in the capital city for over two years.

It has now become clear that he had collected sum of Rs 5 Lakh from one of his PSOs and the major part of Rs 50 Lakh from one Manzoor Ahmad Mir of Beehama, Ganderbal. With Bhat’s intervention, Manzoor had succeeded in getting the allotment of three major toll posts at Ganderbal and Sonmarg in 2010 and Tangmarg-Gulmarg in 2011. Known for overcharging from hundreds of tourist buses from different Indian states, Bhat is estimated to have earned profit of more than Rs 2 Crore in the last two years.

A junior Minister, who is known for his intimate relationship with Chief Minister, is known to have helped Manzoor Mir, on Bhat’s persuasion, in getting the toll post annual contract for very low rates at the three major tourist passages. Two Deputy Commissioners of Ganderbal, one SP and two Directors of Local Bodies, Kashmir, are known to have collected Rs 10 Lakh each as their “share” from Manzoor Mir through Bhat. However, incumbent DC, Showkat Mir, and a former SP, Imtiyaz Mir, threatened the contractor to arrest him when he went to them with an amount “fixed for DC and SP”. They also played a key role in getting two of his allotments---Ganderbal and Sonmarg---terminated from April this year. However, his contract in Tangmarg and Gulmarg is still continuing.

END

CM won’t step down on PDP’s “political drama” over NC activist’s death: Rather

‘Govt has announced judicial probe; PSO’s transfer is a separate issue’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 2: Minister of Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, today made it unambiguously clear on behalf of the state government that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would never step down on the “political drama” PDP, according to him, had enacted over the death of a National Conference (NC) activist, Syed Mohammad Yousuf, here on Friday last. He strongly refuted media reports and some opposition parties’ statements which have created an impression that the NC activist had died due to perpetration of physical torture on him at the Chief Minister’s residence.

In the government’s first frontal response to PDP’s accusation of custodial killing against Chief Minister and Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, Finance Minister and senior NC leader, Abdul Rahim Rather, made it clear at a hurriedly organized news conference that there was no question of Mr Omar Abdullah’s resignation.

“Chief Ministers don’t step down on unsubstantiated allegations. Without getting into the controversy of circumstances that led to (Yousuf’s) death, Chief Minister promptly announced a judicial inquiry as a party worker, called to his camp office, had died. Government immediately requested Chief Justice to spare a sitting judge of J&K High Court for conducting the investigation. What else does PDP want?” Rather asked. He asserted that neither Chief Minister nor MoS Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, had any involvement in the NC activist’s death.

Contrary to Government spokesman’s first statement on the death on Saturday, Mr Rather, however, did not claim that Yousuf had died of “massive cardiac arrest”. He asserted that truth would prevail at the end of the day as an independent judicial inquiry by a senior judge of High Court would make everything crystal clear. He gave a carbon copy of the official spokesman’s narration that Yousuf had been called for the settlement of a dispute with two other NC activists, all the three passed on to CM’s camp office, went through a confrontation, came out without any sign of physical torture and faced questioning at an office of Crime Branch.

According to Mr Rather, Yousuf later complained of nausea, went for a medical check up to Police Hospital and was also treated at SMHS Hospital. His death occurred next morning. He said that the authorities constituted a team of the forensic medicine experts of Government Medical College who conducted post mortem under audio-visual coverage. Cause of the death would become clear only after compilation of the post mortem report. “If the crime of death in custody is established, our government would take necessary action against whoever, howsoever powerful, involved in it”, Rather clarified.

While as after his return from Chennai, Chief Minister attended a tourism-related event at Gulmarg in company of his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and MoS Home and Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani, Rather was flanked at the Banquet Hall news conference by CM’s advisors, Mubarak Gul and Devinder Singh Rana, besides Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar. Immediately after the press conference, NC’s top leadership remained closeted to draw strategy as to how the party in the hot seat of power would respond to PDP’s aggressive campaign on this particular issue. By this evening, it became clear that PDP would be moving an adjournment motion in Legislative Assembly on Monday, seeking a detailed discussion on Yousuf’s “custodial killing” besides Chief Minister’s and MoS Home’s resignation.

Rather at the press conference charged PDP with “playing politics” over the death of the NC activist. “He was dear to us all. He belonged to our party. We are all shocked over his death”, Rather said. Referring to PDP’s legal luminary and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s statements, Rather said: “He is a lawyer by profession and he has every right to raise such issues. But it does not behove a high profile politician of Mr Baig’s stature to make mountain out of a molehill”. He asserted that PDP’s demand of CM’s resignation was in no way acceptable to his party and government.

When it was pointed out to him that even an FIR had not been registered by Police, Crime Branch and any other organisation, Rather argued that the judicial commission would take all necessary action according to its observation. In reply to another question as to why several of CM’s security guards and radio operators had been shifted to other places dramatically on Friday itself, Rather insisted that there was no correlation between Yousuf’s death and transfer of CM’s PSOs. “It’s CM’s discretion as to who should be his PSO and who should not”, Rather asserted and urged media not to read too much in “routine administrative matters”.

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NC kingmaker’s death exposes political corruption in J&K

BJP’s cross-voting, NC’s and PDP’s tickets to defeated candidates and businessmen, freezing of action against corrupt officials and reducing Commissions to post-retirement rehabilitation centres are a few indicators

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 1: Clamour over a custodial death is paramount to all issues in a conflict area. It quite often eclipses issues and concerns of equal or more importance. That is exactly what has begun to happen over the death of National Conference’s kingmaker Syed Mohammad Yousuf. Death of an accused at Chief Minister’s residence, whether natural or by torture, is undoubtedly unprecedented. But, should the politicians and representatives of other institutions restrict their concern to only the investigation of ‘torture killing” and punishment to the “killers”?

Even on the presumption of torture killing, political corruption remains the fundamental concern. It is arguably not a matter of only human rights abuse as witnessed in hundreds of fake encounters, custodial killings and torture deaths in interrogation centres. Had Yousuf not collected money, he would not have died. Had there been no system of collecting money under different excuses in political parties, Yousuf would not have raised the fund---for himself, his party or the party leaders is still shrouded in mystery.

Chief Minister could conveniently get a benefit of doubt in matters where “coalition compulsions” are understandable. Tolerating brazen corruption of Ministers of the coalition partners and freezing departmental action against powerful bureaucrats and officers enjoying high political clout could be all ignored as the subjects beyond his reach. But, shutting eyes to his own flock and reducing the system to an unclean government headed by a clean leader would be hardly acceptable.

Does the coalition constraint prevent Chief Minister from taking action against eight Ministers of his Council who have placed their close relatives, including serving and retired officials, in their personal sections. It may not require CCTV surveillance to know what these “experienced” aides of Ministers are doing at their offices and residences. With due respect to makers of high claims in the past, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad included, files do disappear in Civil Secretariat in 2011. Files not followed by concerned remain folded for months and years on tables. Movement Register, first promised by Mufti and Azad, continues to be a dream.

It needs to be clear that NC alone is not to blame. Omar Abdullah undoubtedly suffers from the dubious distinction of keeping vital positions in different Commissions vacant for years. Equally negative against him goes the fact of his dumping a brigade of defeated candidates in what used to be called the ‘House of Elders’. Some of the nincompoops rejected by their electorate in 2008 Assembly elections were pushed to the House of Lords through fixed-match election. Others were introduced to Governor Vohra as “intellectuals”. Without a mild question, Raj Bhawan did what none of the gubernatorial offices in India could imagine.

Raj Bhawan would have found it easy to trample the Constitution on the precedence of men like Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri having passed off as “scientists, academics and intellectuals” in the past! Taking advantage of the “rubber stamp”, Government has now distributed three top positions in State Information Commission (SIC) between NC, Congress and PDP or at least Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Even a member of the selection committee has publicly expressed pride that Ladakh had got a representation. Civil society has interpreted it as a classic case of political expediency. In other words, many of these much-hyped Commissions have been reduced to rehabilitation centres for retiring or retired officials and blue-eyed boys of politicians.

Few years back, allotment of NC’s ticket to a leading transporter in Jammu for a seat in Legislative Council had raised eyebrows as the businessman had overtly bought MLAs to ensure his victory. Selling and buying of MLAs touched its worst level when as many as seven MLAs of BJPs indulged in cross-voting in this year’s elections for some seats of Legislative Council. Volumes have been spoken and reams have been written on their violation of anti-defection law. Fact of the matter is that none of them has been disqualified till date.

Around the same time, NC ignored many of its meritorious and high profile aspirants and granted tickets to nonagenarians businesspersons whose contribution to the House has been and would be zero. It was just the high publicity to a murder case that stopped another businessman from Jammu to become MLC for next six years.

PDP has been second to none in promotion of businessmen and “fund raisers” in political and democratic institutions. First, it allotted a ticket to a businessman for Rajya Sabha. He reportedly spent huge amounts of money but still failed to cross the target. This year too, it ignored everybody from intellectual Naeem Akhtar to senior and high profile leaders like Dilawar Mir and Tariq Hameed Qarra and instead picked up the green horn son of a rich businessman. He was lucky enough to make it to Upper House.

Until the ambit of judicial investigation is extended to know who paid money to Yousuf Bhat of Ganderbal and for what purpose did Salam Rishi and Yousuf Bhat forward it to Syed Mohammad Yousuf, demon of political corruption would not die in Jammu and Kashmir. Deaths in custody would be only an off-shoot.

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NC’s ‘king maker’ dies in Crime Branch custody

PDP demands resignation of CM, MoS Home; CM announces judicial probe, shunts out security officers

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 30: Death of a prominent National Conference (NC) activist, who was known for collecting huge amounts of money from political aspirants and had free access to top corridors of power, allegedly in custody of Crime Branch (CB) of Jammu & Kashmir Police has stirred a hornets’ nest in the summer capital today. Even as Government admitted that the NC activist had collected whopping sum of Rs 1.18 Cr from two other NC activists and a judicial inquiry was announced immediately, opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demanded resignation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, “to facilitate an expeditious and credible investigation”.

Authoritative sources disclosed to Early Times that one Syed Mohammad Yousuf S/o Syed Ghulam Ahmad R/o Loktipora, Bijbehara, died in mysterious circumstances at SMHS in the wee hours today. He had been called by Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, yesterday to reach Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence “to settle a dispute” with NC’s Block President of Ganderbal, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat S/o Ghulam Rasool Bhat R/o Repora, Ganderbal, and another NC activist, Abdul Salam Rishi R/o Gul Mohammad Rishi R/o Akingam, Anantnag.

Earlier on Thursday, Yousuf Bhat had approached Chief Minister at his office in Legislative Assembly with the complaint that Syed Yousuf had taken from him an amount of Rs 84 Lakh with the assurance that he would be appointed as a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) to represent Panchayats of Kashmir division and thereafter inducted as a Minister of State. Abdul Salam Rishi too approached Chief Minister with the complaint that Syed Yousuf had taken from him an amount of Rs 34 Lakh with the assurance that he would be inducted as MLC.

Chief Minister, according to informed sources, learned that some officials from his personal security had granted free access to Syed Yousuf to all corridors of power from Chief Minister’s Secretariat to his residence on Gupkar Road “for dubious reasons”. He turned furious, called his close aide and MoS Home Nasir Aslam Wani with the direction that the matter be investigated “by this evening”. He was also directed to collect the money back in full, if the charge was established, return the same to Bhat and Rishi, hand over the accused to CB and ban the entry of all such persons of dubious antecedents to his office and residence.

MoS Home assured Chief Minister that he would obey strictly as desired by him. He called Syed Yousuf as well as both the complainants for resolving the crisis at CM’s residence in the evening. Syed Yousuf reportedly called on MoS Home at his official residence in Sonwar. He admitted to have collected money and assured Wani that he would return it in full to the complainants.

Even after the money was collected back almost fully from the accused and returned to complainants, MoS Home called IG Crime, Raja Aijaz Ali, to CM’s residence and handed over Syed Yousuf to him for further action and also to see if he had committed similar cheating with other people. Reports awaiting confirmation said that Syed Yousuf was beaten up either at CM’s party office or at CB headquarters. He began vomiting and was rushed to Police Hospital. Doctors referred him to SMHS Hospital where he remained under treatment for several hours and finally breathed his last in the morning.

While as many people believed that Syed Yousuf died due to severe beating at NC’s camp office, other were of the opinion that he died due to torture by interrogators at CB headquarters. IG Crime Raja Aijaz did not respond to phone calls. However, later this afternoon, an official spokesman claimed that Syed Yousuf “suffered a massive heart attack and expired”.

END

Syed Yousuf: Militant-turned-NC’s kingmaker

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 30: Without regard to situation, turmoil or peace, Syed Mohmmad Yousuf of Loktipora, Bijbehara, mastered the art of living---little knowing that he would die one day on the state’s most protected premises.

A Government school-teacher, Yousuf lost no time in switching his loyalty to Hizbul Mujahideen when secessionist militancy was at its peak in early 1990s. With waning of Hizb’s influence, he built a network of the officials of School Education Department that included over a dozen headmasters, Principals, Zonal Education Officers and at least three Chief Educational Officers in Anantnag district. His network meticulously managed to absorb 100 to 150 youth as teachers at different schools. Rate of Rs 50,000 stood fixed for each absorption.

Crime Branch sleuths later learned that the modus operandi was unique. ZEOs and CEOs would issue “transfer orders” shifting “teachers” (who had never been appointed) from one school to another. Fake LPCs followed and all of them took home salaries. In 1995, then Director of School Education, Mohammad Amin Khan, made all possible efforts to dismiss the fraudulently absorbed teachers. He was silenced by Ikhwan guerrilla cadres. Khan had disadvantage of being a resident of Mattan, in the same district.

And when both, militants as well as counter-insurgents, were marginalized in 1996, Yousuf lost no time to gain proximity to NC’s patron Dr Farooq Abdullah. He influenced distribution of tickets to some extent in 2002 Assembly elections. Six years later, Yousuf was a veritable kingmaker in the party that returned to power after Amarnath turmoil.

According to well-placed insiders, Yousuf had ultimate say in distribution of NC’s tickets in Assembly elections on 2008 in south Kashmir. “Contributions” ranged between Rs 7 Lakh and Rs 30 Lakh.

Close to Farooq Abdullah and NC General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed—later also to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah through his intimate coterie, it was Syed Yousuf who ultimately decided who would be picked up as MLC and who would go to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. According to party sources, he cleared two young NC aspirants, who were both defeated candidates of Assembly elections, for two vacancies in Legislative Council in March 2009 only after receiving cash payment of Rs 30 Lakhs. One of the duo was picked up as MLC inspite having dubious past and shared business with PDP’s MLA of Home Shalibugh and former Minister of State for Health Abdul Gaffar Sofi.

In NC, many believe it was none other Yousuf who managed to get over half-a-dozen defeated candidates nominated or elected as MLC, all on cash payment. Nobody is sure whether the huge amounts of money went upto the top brass in NC or Yousuf held it fully to himself. He is believed to have comfortably handle transactions of over Rs 10 Crore in the last three years of Omar Abdullah’s government.

Official confirmation of Yousuf having received Rs 84 lakh from NC’s Block President of Ganderbal, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, (reliably for making him MLC and MoS) and Rs 34 Lakh from Abdul Salam Rishi of Akingam (for making him MLC) is said to be just a tip of the iceberg.

Yousuf was known for his free access to who is who in top corridors of power. They include everybody from union Minister and NC Patron Farooq Abdullah to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, all other Ministers and Advisors belonging to NC, besides most of the senior officers of Police and civil administration. He was prominently in control of arrangements when an IGP Farooq Ahmad managed to regain his grace through a court case and later arranged a grand Wazwan at his home for most of the influential politicians, bureaucrats and Police officers. Significantly, both Dr Farooq Abdullah as well as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, besides everybody in Police and bureaucracy attended the feast.

Yousuf is believed to have settled things between IPS officer Faroooq Ahmad, whose service had been terminated earlier for discrepancy in date of birth, and the state government that wasted not a second to entertain Farooq back at Police headquarters. Meaningfully, Government did not go in appeal against the order of the single judge of J&K High Court. Party cadres, as well as reliable official sources, insist that even the most powerful Police and civil officers would manage their prize postings through Yousuf, who carried the reputation of being “the most trusted service provider”.

Few months back, Yousuf assured NC’s top brass that it would take him just 24 hours to engineer a split in PDP. However, the proposal was not approved by the party high command and the government. He was strongly suspected of a role in secretly winning liaison of five MLAs of PDP with the NC.

Yousuf would manage everything from allotment of contracts and supply orders to arrangements of seats for the sons and daughters of his clients---mostly politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats---in professional colleges. In 2009, he collected a sum of Rs 28 Lakh from PDP’s MLA of Tral, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, with the assurance that he would arrange two MBBS seats in non-resident Indian quota at ASSCOMS (Batra Medical College of Jammu) for the politician’s two daughters through the good offices of his “boss in NC”.

When he failed to honour the commitment to his client, the MLA asked him to return the money. As Yousuf resorted to dilly dally, MLA got him under tremendous pressure from a many quarters. He even threatened to sell off Yousuf’s newly acquired residential house at Kadalbal, Pampore.  After a great deal of trouble, MLA managed to get back his money but less by Rs 4 Lakh. Yousuf returned to him just Rs 24 Lakh.

NC’s lately elected MLC, Dr Bashir Ahmad Veeri, is also known to have paid a considerable amount of money to Yousuf before he was picked up from among a dozen of aspirants in the NC in South Kashmir.

Yousuf finally landed in trouble when his collection of Rs 84 Lakh from NC’s Ganderbal Block President, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, on account of making him MLA and Minister of State leaked in the organisation as well as Government. In separate inquiries, CID and Intelligence Bureau found that Yousuf had also collected Rs 34 Lakh from Abdul Salam Rishi of Akingam for making him MLC. Elections to fill up four Panchayat vacancies in J&K Legislative Council are likely to be held in the next two months. Yousuf has died but at least four to five more Yousuf’s are still believed to be calling the shots in Chief Minister’s organisation and the Government. With or without his knowledge? Only a thorough investigation could reveal.

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