Hurriyat expects ‘unimaginable turmoil’ after revocation of AFSPA

Both factions say Gen Hasnain is right, Kashmir will separate from India

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 12: Both factions of Kashmir’s premier separatist conglomerate, led by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and cleric-politician Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, are expecting “unimaginable turmoil” in the Valley following revocation of Jammu & Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In two separately issued statements today, they endorsed 15^th Corps Commander Gen S A Hasnain’s purported apprehension that withdrawal of the special powers from armed forces would inevitably lead to Kashmir’s separation from India---albeit with their archaic claim that no Kashmiri would accept Indian sovereignty in absence of military and its extraordinary authority.

According to the statement from Geelani’s faction of Hurriyat Conference, Gen Hasnain has “unwittingly” admitted that the “Indian occupation” in Kashmir is subservient to the country’s military might and impunity. “The Army’s observation has made it abundantly clear that withdrawal of AFSPA would be closely followed by a massive revolt against the (Indian) occupation that would make impossible even a day of the Indian control in Kashmir”, spokesman Ayaz Akbar said.

Hurriyat’s statements have obviously come in quick reaction to Gen Hasnain’s apprehensions carried in a section of the national media on Friday. As reported by Praveen Swami of The Hindu, Gen Hasnain had expressed his opposition to the suggestion of withdrawal of AFSPA from six of the 20 districts in Jammu & Kashmir in a presentation to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other participants of the Unified Headquarters meeting in Jammu early this week. Without any reaction from Army, Hasnain is quoted to have cautioned that revocation of AFSPA, followed by withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan next year and simultaneously increasing OIC influence in the UN, would lead to Kashmir’s separation from India by 2016.

Geelani’s spokesman emphasized that “ending India’s forced military occupation” in Kashmir was the fundamental demand of the Kashmiris which, according to him, could be realized after withdrawal of special powers from the Indian armed forces. He said that by virtue of these powers, troops had been “suppressing and decimating the Kashmiris” and thus sustaining the “rule of occupation”.

“As soon as Disturbed Areas Act, AFSPA and other draconian laws go, India will not find a single individual accepting its sovereignty in Jammu & Kashmir. It will, in fact, lead to unimaginable mass revolt against the Indian military occupation in Kashmir”, Ayaz Akbar said in the Hurriyat (Geelani) statement.

In an identical statement, a Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) spokesman observed that Gen Hasnain’s assertion was an authentic admission of the fact that the Indian military rule would not sustain even for a day in Kashmir in absence of its troops and the special powers enjoyed by them. “In his observation, General (Hasnain) has admitted that Indian rule in Jammu & Kashmir for nearly 70 years is the result of military occupation and that nobody in Kashmir wants to live with India”, the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) statement added.

Both the statements insisted that the ruling National Conference’s campaign for revocation of AFSPA was part of the mainstream political gimmickry and posturing aimed at hoodwinking the party’s votebank in the Valley. They alleged that NC’s, as well as other mainstream parties’ objective was nothing but grabbing the power by hook or by crook. They said that NC could go to any extent in its obsession of sticking to power.

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Despite his apologies, Delhi asks Farooq to fire Kamaal

AICC takes umbrage on ‘unwarranted’ remarks against Rahul Gandhi; Farooq seeks resignation from Kamaal

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 10: In its first assertion of authority and command in the last three years of NC-Congress coalition, Congress high command has asked National Conference patriarch and Minister in Dr Manmohan Singh’s cabinet, Dr Farooq Abdullah, to stop his younger brother, Mustafa Kamaal, from extending his anti-Congress, anti-Delhi and anti-Army tirade to the party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Working obsequiously on the warning from Delhi, Dr Abdullah has immediately asked Mr Kamaal to tender his resignation, both as NC’s Chief Spokesman and additional General Secretary.

Highly connected political sources revealed to Early Times that a senior leader of Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) this evening mailed one of Dr Mustafa Kamaal’s interviews, purportedly given to Kashmir News Service, with a note of caution to All India Congress Committee (AICC). In the interview circulated today, Kamaal is quoted to have rebuffed JKPCC chief Prof Said-ud-din Soz’s revelation that the AICC General Secretary had lately expressed his “unhappiness” over the quality of governance in Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu & Kashmir.

In the interview carried in today’s Greater Kashmir, Prof Soz is quoted to have said: “I will tell you honestly that even Rahul Gandhi is not happy with governance here and he expressed his disapproval when he visited the state last month. He was not satisfied with what is happening here. Many young entrepreneurs talked to him during the visit and raised the issue of a kind of ‘disconnect’ between the youth of the state and the government”.

Soz is further quoted to have said: “Coalition is a compulsion and we have to be in coalition but we have fallen short of expectations. There are many things that could have been done better in the governance and action against corruption. There is lot of corruption in the system which has made the life of common man difficult. But this is not to suggest that blame can be passed on to NC only. Governance is a joint responsibility”.

The KNS bulletin, that stirred a hornet’s nest at AICC, quoted Kamaal to have asserted that Rahul Gandhi’s displeasure was immaterial. “What has Rahul’s happiness or unhappiness to do with the functioning of the state government?” Kamaal is quoted to have asked. “If Soz has any specific corruption case, he should refer it to State Accountability Commission or State Vigilance Commission. He is part of the government and shouldn’t level such allegations in public”, Kamaal is quoted to have rebuffed Soz through KNS.

Sources said that men of consequence in AICC took umbrage on Dr Kamaal’s remarks and dismissed them as “completely unwarranted”. After taking 10-Janpath into confidence, Congress high command intensified its snub on the NC top brass. If these sources are to be believed, Dr Abdullah was categorically asked to “discipline your unbridled brother and stop him, at once, from extending his anti-Congress, anti-coalition, anti-Delhi and anti-Army tirade to the person of Mr Rahul Gandhi”. It was pointed out that with his “virulent statements”, Kamaal had not only violated the “coalition dharma” but also generated ill-will against the Centre and its armed forces.  

Even as Dr Abdullah is understood to have refreshed his last week’s apologies, he was tersely directed to remove Dr Kamaal from the key positions in his party at once. Last month only, Dr Abdullah had installed Kamaal simultaneously on the two important positions in the party. A Minister in Dr Abdullah’s coalition Government in 1987-90, Kamaal has been functioning as NC’s MLA from Hazratbal constituency since April 2009.

Amid flurry of political activity between New Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar, Dr Abdullah not only directed Dr Kamaal to tender his resignation from both the party positions but also made his embarrassment public through NC’s Media Cell.

NC’s press release this evening read: “President Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah has asked Dr Mustafa Kamaal to resign immediately as the Additional General Secretary and Chief spokesman of the party. Dr Farooq Abdullah said that he had to take this difficult decision because Dr Mustafa Kamaal has been making certain statements which are not in tandem with the policies of the National Conference and are against the Coalition Dharma. Dr Abdullah said Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is committed to the National Conference-Congress coalition government and its smooth functioning and any indiscipline in this regard within the National Conference will not be tolerated”.

Sources revealed that Dr Abdullah’s political detractors scored today’s point only after making Congress high command believe that Kamaal’s tirade was actually “NC’s drama” and it was not without sanction from NC top brass including President Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad. Significantly, both, Dr Abdullah as well as Omar Abdullah, had last week publicly distanced themselves from Kamaal’s statements and dismissed them as “unfortunate” but neither stopped him nor initiated any action against him.

In a quick succession, AICC’s snub to the NC has come close on the heals of an embarrassment caused to J&K Chief Minister on account of not permitting him to withdraw AFSPA on the eve of Durbar Move.

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Coalition’s ‘Deewali-Eid gift’ to unemployed youth is patently absurd, whimsical and nonsense

Ministers, who raised their own salaries from Rs 40,000 to Rs 90,000 in 2011, have no moral ground to slash salaries of inferior services by 75%

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 8: They call it a ‘revolutionary reform’ and claim that it has been done under pressure from the central Planning Commission but leaders of the ruling National Conference (NC) have little hesitation to admit privately that the coalition government’s new recruitment policy could prove to be the proverbial last nail in its coffin. “We are in shackles. Our lips are tight. But we are pretty aware that this nonsense recruitment policy is diagonally opposite to our Vision Document as well as NC’s Election Manifesto of 2008”, observed a senior functionary of the ruling party whose inputs had enriched the promises made to the electorate three years ago.

Failure to provide jobs to the unemployed youth was indisputably NC’s strongest criticism to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP-Congress regime in 2002-2005. More than anything else, NC accordingly made employment as its biggest election plank in 2008. In its first year, the coalition floated the much-hyped SKEWPY which is miserably still a non-starter. Even the MOU between Department of Labour & Employment and Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd could not be inked for over a year. And when the contentious issues were finally resolved, hiccups continued to be galore.

Notwithstanding competent and high integrity officials, both in Department of Labour & Employment as well as the nodal agency, Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Government has hardly a success story to showcase. Authorities have failed to create an alternative to the ‘madness’ of the state youth to hanker after the government jobs.

Towards the end of its first year in office, the coalition government began exposing its moral and intellectual bankruptcy. It withdrew the social security of the entire Generation Next with the decision that nobody joining government service from January 1^st, 2010, would be entitled to pension and other post-retirement perks.

After two years of sustained struggle by a host of trade unions, Government finally surrendered before the employees’ leaders and announced to pay sixth pay commission arrears to all employees in five equal annual installments, beginning this year. If rumours are to be believed, superannuation cap is also being raised from 58 to 60 years. Nobody really knows, whether these “revolutionary measures” are the brainchild of Mr Jaleel Khan, Economic Advisor to J&K Government, or someone else in the high profile Department of Finance. At least three Ministers, who participated in the crucial Cabinet meetings on the subject, confided to Early Times that the “purely bureaucratic exercise” was passed without discussion of even five minutes.

Finally the fatal blow to the already alienated and depressed Generation Next was struck by the state Cabinet in its meeting on October 19, 2011, mercilessly on the eve of a convergence of festivals---Maha Navmi, Dussehra, Deewali and Eid-ul-Azha. Prisoners of the personal promotion, who did not rest until raising their own salaries from Rs 40,000 to Rs 90,000 a month, decided to reduce salaries of Class 3^rd and 4^th employees (joining government service after Nov 1^st, 2011) by 60% to 75%.

According to the Cabinet Decision No: 193/23/2011 Dated 19-10-2011, followed by Government Order No: Government Order No: 257-F of 2011

Dated: 27-10-2010, a Class 4^th employee, whose salary would be otherwise fixed at gross of Rs 13,000 a month, would now be paid a paltry Rs 3,170 for the first two years and thereafter Rs 4,610 for the next three years. Similarly, a high-end non-gazetted official in the Pay Band-2 of Rs 9300—Rs 34,800 (with grade pay of Rs 4,200) would get nothing more than Rs 7,050 a month for first two years, followed by Rs 10,430 for subsequent three years. Without the Cabinet Decision of 19-10-2011, same official’s salary would have been fixed at total of Rs 25,000 on 1-11-2011 while as his emoluments on 1-11-2016 would have been around Rs 34,000.

Civil society has already dismissed this decision as “begaar” (forced labour) and the opposition parties have begun to make it a major issue around this Durbar Move. “This is definitely absurd, irrational and without precedence in any of the Indian states in the last 64 years of Independence. But, our mandarins in the Department of Finance have their own logic. They insist that this decision would not only de-glamorize government jobs but would also cause savings needed to pay to the in-service employees as the arrears”, said a highly placed IAS officer. He did not contest the argument that it would directly promote absenteeism, corruption and other evils in the state services.

Socio-political analysts have no divergence over the apprehension that the so-called ‘Fixed Salary Mode’ recruitment policy would not only aggravate alienation, frustration and despondency among the educated youth trying their hands at a government job but would also sustain depression of even those who succeed in getting a job. “All those of us who were enamoured and enthusiastic by the glamour of RTI, Public Service Guarantee Act and anti-corruption campaign, would now feel constrained to make good their salary deduction of 75% by receiving bribes and other unfair means. Make me a Forest Range Officer and I am ready to accept zero-salary for 10 years. I will rather pay Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 a month to the Government from my earnings”, an RTI activist, with post-graduation in Forestry, said sarcastically.  

The ad hocist policy, framed over the NC-introduced ‘Rehbar-e-Taleem” pattern is blatantly in contravention to all existing labour laws in this country. High Court has already got it stayed. Even a complete rollback would not fully neutralize damages of the government’s intellectual bankruptcy. Interestingly, the state bureaucrats, who ensured that Ministers’ salaries remained pretty lower to those of Commissioner-Secretaries and above, have kept all superior services out of the ambit of new “Gareeb Hatao Recruitment Policy”.

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Minister, IGP among 50 VIPs accommodated by Hajeej

Owner of fraudulent travel agency arrested in Mumbai while boarding a Jeddah-bound flight

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 4: Owner of a high profile travel agency has been arrested by J&K Police in Mumbai for cheating nearly 550 Kashmiri Hajj aspirants even as he has accommodated 50 VIPs, including a Cabinet Minister and an Inspector General of Police (IGP), and arranged their pilgrimage.

Informed sources revealed to Early Times that entire group of 50 VIPs from Kashmir boarded a Delhi-Mumbai-Jeddah flight SV-745 of Saudi Airlines on Wednesday last at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Fugitive operator of the travel agency Hajeej, namely Arsalan Wahid Gilkar S/o Abdul Wahid Gilkar R/o Chandpora, Harwan, Srinagar, was also booked on the same flight from Mumbai to Jeddah. Since J&K Police had circulated a look out notice to all domestic and international airports in India last week, Arsalan was identified at immigration and customs check and handed over to SHO of Police Station Khanyar.

Fifty of the highly influential VIPS, whose pilgrimage had been arranged by Arsalan while cheating 550 ordinary Kashmiri Hajj aspirants, included senior Congress leader and Minister for Irrigation and PHE, Taj Mohiuddin, IGP Railways Farooq Ahmad and Additional Advocate General Ali Mohammad Magray. Sources said that the flight proceeded to Saudi Arabia as per its schedule and there was immediately no intervention to pre-empt Arsalan’s arrest. Two of the well-connected contacts of Arsalan, however, made unsuccessful attempts to rope in DGP Kuldeep Khoda and other senior functionaries of the state government.

Reports from Saudi Arabia said that the entire group of 50 VIP pilgrims, carried by Hajeej, landed in trouble when nobody from the company reported to provide the services promised. They later established contact with Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi which further managed their rapport with Consulate in Jeddah and the Indian Embassy in Riyadh with the direction that accommodation and traveling of the pilgrims be arranged on war footing basis as just few days were left to beginning of Hajj at Mecca.

Detainee Arsalan was brought back to Srinagar by a party of Police Station Khanyar on Thursday and immediately subjected to sustained interrogation. He is being interrogated as to how he cheated 550 Hajj aspirants and grabbed nearly Rs 11 Cr from them. Sources said that search was still underway for Arsalan’s brother, namely Fabyan Wahid Gilkar.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, confirmed Arsalan’s arrest as also the fact that he had grabbed a huge amount of Rs 11 Cr from nearly 550 Hajj aspirants. He said it was surprising even for Police that the company had been operating in Srinagar without being registered with Directorate of Tourism besides the Central Hajj Committee and union Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

Quoting complaints of the cheated Hajj aspirants and the information subsequently gathered by Police, SSP said that Hajeej had collected Rs 2 Lakh each from 600 aspirants since last year for Hajj-2011. Even as Hajeej arranged visas, air tickets and other travel documents for 50 VIP aspirants, it failed to make similar promised arrangement for remaining 550 aspirants. Until last week, Hajeej continued to assure them that their visas and travel documents were being arranged. They accordingly completed all formalities, enjoyed invitations and made personal arrangements for the traveling for pilgrimage.

It was last week only that 550 aspirants learned that they had all been cheated by Hajeej. As the angry and outraged aspirants staged protest demonstrations and sit-in, Police Station Khanyar registered case FIR No: 58 of 2011 under sections 420 and 406 against the Hajeej operators. A Police party, headed by SHO Khanyar Inspector Raashid, flew all the way to Mumbai, circulated look out notices for the accused Arsalan and Fabyan and finally succeeded in detaining Arsalan at Mumbai International Airport.

SHO Khanyar, Inspector Raashid, said that Police obtained remand of nine days custodial interrogation from Second Additional Munsiff Srinagar on Thursday. He said that Police were looking for Fabyan and quizzing Arsalan how Hajeej had cheated 550 gullible Hajj aspirants and grabbed money worth Rs 11 Cr from them. He said that the money seemed to have been transferred to overseas accounts but the matter was still under investigation. According to him, Hajeej had been extensively projected by official electronic media and newspapers while operating from Rambagh, Srinagar, for five years before shifting office to Munnawwarabad, Khanyar, last year.

Enquiries made by Early Times revealed further that nearly 30 travel agencies, based in Kashmir valley, have been conducting package Umra and Hajj tours of aspirants. While as only nine of them are registered with the authorities, others have been operating illegally with the support of certain influential individuals---politicians, bureaucrats, Police officials etc. J&K State has got 8300 official Hajj seats this year as per its Muslim population plus a special quota.

In addition to that 250 seats have been allotted by MEA in favour of nine registered private travel agencies. Unregistered agencies have been illegally buying seats from Delhi and Mumbai-based authorized agencies and subsequently selling same to other groups who charge exorbitant rates from gullible Hajj aspirants.

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Why does NC’s bedfellow become gutter worm overnight?

Kamaal’s no-holds-barred continues against Congress; Soz takes matter to Delhi

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 2: By all indications, maverick Mustafa Kamaal appears to be programmed by his party National Conference in his no-holds-barred tirade against Delhi, read Indian armed forces and the coalition partner Congress. While directly blaming Army for current spurt in grenade blasts, Dr Kamaal has gone unusually whole hog against the party that installed NC back into power in 2009. Significantly, his tantrums began within days of his induction as his party’s ‘only spokesman’ and additional General Secretary last fortnight.

If well placed political sources are to be believed, Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, has now taken up the matter of Dr Kamaal’s virulent campaign against Congress---more significantly against Army---not only with the AICC leadership but also with two union Cabinet Ministers in New Delhi. Prof Soz, according to these sources, has carried with him press clippings Dr Kamaal’s statements made in the last one week. Soz is said to be gunning for Kamaal---telling Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s as well as the UPA Chairperson and AICC chief Sonia Gandhi’s confidantes in the party and the government that J&K Chief Minister’s uncle was fast emerging as a “security threat”.

Even as the NC President and the union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has been telling everybody around in New Delhi that Dr Kamaal would be pacified by the party in a couple of days, those conversant with his behaviour for decades are said to be highly skeptical. “Munna bhai lage raho” is reportedly the pat from the party. At least two of Soz loyalists, both Ministers in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet, are understood to have sweared to AICC General Secretary incharge Jammu & Kashmir that NC’s enfant terrible had “full support” from key members of the Sheikh dynasty---Dr Farooq Abdullah, General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Even after Dr Abdullah purportedly called his younger brother in the morning today and advised him against creating any space for Congress-PDP patch-up, Dr Kamaal continued to fire his salvos on Congress with total impunity. “Farooq sahib was angry with me. He spoke to me on phone and told me not to speak against Congress. But I have no hesitation in saying that Congress is a problem”, Dr Kamaal reportedly told Kashmir News Service.

In the same interview, Dr Kamaal dug into the roots of the NC-Congress bonhomie while disputing existence and authenticity of so-called Indira-Abdullah Accord of 1975. According to him, it was never inked as the Congress chief Indira Gandhi played tricks with Sheikh Abdullah. “If version of Congress is right on 1975 agreement then why then Chief Minister Mir Qasim wrote in his book that the exercise wasn’t complete. Sheik and Indira had nominated G Parthasarthy and Mirza Afzal Beg to look into those laws which were passed between 1953 to 1975 in violation of autonomy which J&K had. And they prepared a document on 86 laws out of 92. Rest of the five which included jurisdiction of Supreme Court, CAG, Election Commission, Wazeer-e-Azam and the Sader-e-Riyasat were left to Indira and Sheikh to decide,” he is quoted to have said.

“Sheikh smelt rat in it. He was supposed to go to Delhi but when he didn’t get the assurance he refused to sign the document. Let them (Congress) show me signatures of Indira and Sheikh on the 1975 accord,” he said. “They are insulting a political party which has been at forefront for the emancipation of people from 1938,” Dr Kamaal is reported to have assailed Congress.

Unfazed by the flak from several JKPCC and AICC leaders, Dr Kamaal continued to hold Army responsible for throwing grenades “so as to create an impression that militants were in place and AFSPA must not go”. A day after publicly castigating Prof Soz and Congress party’s Cabinet Minister in Omar Abdullah’s Council of Ministers, Taj Mohiuddin, Kamaal overtly charged Congress with impeding and denying autonomy to J&K. “They don’t seem to have reconciled to the tragedy which happened with people and NC from 1953 till date. They are trying to erase the history. It will haunt them today and tomorrow. They should no longer play tricks with us”, Kamaal is reported to have warned and remarked on Congress.

Political observers here are unanimous that none of the spokespersons in the Indian political parties could make such policy statements of far-reaching consequences without a green signal from the top leadership. “Why doesn’t Farooq Abdullah make a public statement on Dr Kamaal’s tantrums? Why doesn’t Omar Abdullah tweet on it?” a senior political leader and legal luminary pointed out. He insisted that by fielding the unbridled Kamaal into the arena, NC was attempting to save the face it had lost in its failure to withdraw AFSPA “before this Durbar Move”.

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Court declines to order CBI probe in Yousuf death episode

Gupkar Road heaves sigh of relief but petitioner to file appeal in HC

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 1: Notwithstanding Supreme Court notices to the State and the Central governments on Monday, an anti-corruption court today dismissed a petition seeking orders of CBI probe into the death of the ruling National Conference (NC) activist Haji Mohammad Yousuf and the accusations of political corruption leveled indirectly against the NC President and union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. Yousuf had died in controversial circumstances hours after being interrogated at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residential office on September 29^th.

Special judge at designated anti-corruption court, Mr Mohammad Yousuf Akhoon, dismissed the petition of Syed Mohammad Talib, son of the deceased NC activist, Haji Yousuf of Loktipora, Bijbehara, with the observation that a subordinate court had not competence and jurisdiction to order an inquiry to CBI. Petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad, had offered his arguments on October 28^th and 29^th.

While Talib’s petition was under hearing in Srinagar, National panthers Party patron and senior advocate, Prof Bhim Singh approached Supreme Court of India with the identical prayer of registration of a murder case and a detained investigation by CBI. On Monday, a two-judge Bench of the apex court issued notices, returnable within two weeks, to the state government as well as the union government, asking why FIR be not registered and the inquiry be not assigned to CBI. Admission of the PIL, filed by state President of NPP and MLA of Udhampur, Balwan Singh Mankotia, through counsel Bhim Singh, would depend on the response from Government of Jammu and Kashmir and Government of India.

Supported by a number of the mainstream opposition parties, petitioner Syed Talib had underscored the accusations of the political corruption leveled indirectly against the top corridors of power, including union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah. During the course of two interactions with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, complainants Mohammad Yousuf Bhat of Ganderbal, who also happened to be the CM’s Constituency representative in Ganderbal, had alleged that he had paid an amount of Rs 84 Lakh to the NC patriarch through Haji Yousuf on account of making him MLC and Minister of State for R&B in Omar Abdullah government.

Another NC activist and complainant, namely Abdul Salam Rishi of Akingam Anantnag, had alleged that he too paid Rs 34 lakh to the NC top brass for becoming MLC. Both had told Chief Minister that Haji Yousuf assured them that the money was being collected for Dr Abdullah. However, neither of them claimed to have directly talked to Dr Abdullah on the subject though they claimed that deceased Yousuf made them talk to Dr Abdullah over telephone. When neither of them got NC’s ticket in the Legislative Council elections in March 2011, they began demanding the money back. His failure led to the complaint going directly to Chief Minister on September 29^th.

NC as well as the state government have heaved a sigh of relief over today’s judgment of the anti-corruption court in Srinagar. Petitioner Talib as well as his counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, however told mediapersons that they would go in appeal to J&K High Court.

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Pampore Police cracks sensational murder case

Siblings behind bars over cold blooded killing of youth

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 1: Pampore Police have recovered the dead body of a mercilessly slain youth and also cracked the blind murder case within four days of occurrence. The criminals had kidnapped the youth while stealing away his valuables---including an iPad and Blackberry mobile phone set---and making an unsuccessful attempt to extort ransom of Rs one Crore from his father.

SP Awantipora, Mohammad Irshad, and SP East Srinagar, Shiekh Zulfikar, revealed at a news conference today that a youngster, namely Kaleem Qadiri of Gausiya Colony, Pampore, had disappeared in mysterious circumstances on October 28^th.  He was a 2^nd year graduation student at Amar Singh College, Srinagar.

His father, Javed Ahmed Qadiri, filed a missing report at Police Station Pampore same day at 2100 hours. They said that Police immediately launched a search to trace and recover the youth. Soon it became clear that Kaleem had driven towards Panta Chowk, Srinagar, in his Ford Figo, bearing registration No: JK01Q-1711, at 1730 hours after dropping his father at Frestbal, Pampore.

At about 2230 hours, father of the missing youth informed Police that he had received a phone call from the mobile number of his son and the caller identified himself as a kidnapper associated with the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. The caller warned Javed Qadiri against informing the Police. He demanded a ransom of Rs one Crore in exchange for Kaleem’s release.

Consequently the missing report was turned into FIR No. 169/2011 under section 365, 387 RPC. A joint team of Awantipora and Srinagar Police was constituted to investigate the case. During investigation of the case, the finger of suspicion went towards one Nazar Muhammad Dar S/o Late Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Dar, resident of nearby Rakh Shalina village, who was last spotted with the missing youth in the car. Nazar, who has been operating a mobile servicing shop at Pampore, was called to the Police Station and subjected to sustained interrogation.

During the course of questioning, Naza revealed that he was close friend of Kaleem Qadri but had not met or talked to him on phone for the last over one week. That strengthened the suspicion against him. During further questioning, Nazar disclosed that sometime back he hatched up a conspiracy with his brother, Younis Ahmed Dar, who runs a small time chemist’s shop in Shalina and a friend, Javed Ahmed Bhat of Wahabpora, Budgam, who has settled in Tengan Shalina, to kidnap Kaleem and extort a hefty ransom from his opulent father.

Acting upon the conspiracy already hatched, the missing youth was lured by Nazar to move towards Panta Chowk, Srinagar, where he promised him to sell his iPad against a considerable amount. Waiting for Kaleem at Lasjan bridge, Younis and Javed also boarded the Car and moved towards Nowgam. After driving a distance in the deserted Bypass area, they strangled Kaleem to death near Silver Star Hotel with a waist belt they had carried along. Thereafter, drove all the way to Wahabpora village in Budgam district via Hyderpora and Budgam.

Near Wahabpora, all the three accused wrapped the dead body in a bed sheet and put it in the dickey of the vehicle. They moved towards Bemina, Shalteng area to wait for total darkness. At about 2130 hours, the killers brought the body back to Sheerbagh Lasjan where it was loaded on a boat and dumped in the middle of the river Jhelum after tying some stones of 25 Kg weight to it.

The car of the deceased was taken to Jawahar Nagar and was parked on The Bandh near Foot Bridge Lal Mandi. Having parked the vehicle, the accused Nazar Muhammad Dar made a phone call to the father of the deceased telling him that the vehicle was parked near the foot bridge in Lal Mandi, Srinagar. He was warned against informing Police and asked to arrange ransom of Rs one Crore by next morning. The father in distress, however, informed Police who later recovered the car from the identified spot.

Kaleem’s iPad and Blackberry mobile phone set were also recovered from Nazar Muhammad’s house. Strenuous efforts were made to fish out the body from the river on October 31st but it could not be recovered till late evening and the search was suspended due to darkness. It was finally fished out in the morning today from the same spot where it had been dumped into Jhelum near Sempora.

Siblings Nazar and Younis have been arrested and the third accused Javaid Ahmad Bhat S/o Mohammad Ishaq Bhat R/o Wahabpora, presently Tengan Rakh Shlaina is still at large. Another suspect namely Abid Hussain Bhat son of Ghulam Muhammad Bhat resident of Tangan is also being questioned to ascertain his involvement and further details.

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