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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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‘

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