Category: Union Territory

After a complaint by the army, the Jammu and Kashmir police have registered an FIR against two news portals for a story of a school in south Kashmir’s Shopian alleging that it was forced to hold a Republic Day function on January 26.

The army in the complaint on Saturday has alleged that the reports by the news portals were baseless and ‘fake-news’. A letter by the principal of the school named Jamia Sirajul Uloom, that was submitted along with the army’s complaint also stated that there was ‘no pressure’ by the army to organize Republic Day celebrations.

Police officials said that they have filed the FIR on Saturday under sections 153 and 505 after receiving a complaint from the Company commander of the army’s 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) at Imam Sahib in Shopian against online news portals The Kashmir Walla and Kashmiriyat.

“Army has said it is fake news and the school authorities have also denied any force by the army. We have filed an FIR against the two portals after the complaint by the army,” Shopian’s superintendent of police (SP), Amritpal Singh said.

The Kashmir Walla and Kashmiriyat had carried byline stories on January 27 quoting the chairman of Jamia Sirajul Uloom, a private school in Shopian, that they were allegedly pressured to celebrate the Republic Day event by the army. Attempts to contact the chairman M Yousuf Mantoo on his phone did not succeed.

Editor of The Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah said that they stood by their story. “We stand by our reporting and we have ample evidence to prove that when the time will come. We spoke to the senior most official of the school who said everything on record. Now after three days they have remembered that it was ‘fake news’. The school authorities have also become unreachable,” Shah said.

He said that after they broke the story, the other news portal also talked to the school authorities and reported it. He said that they are used to getting calls and summons from the authorities for the work they are doing.

News editor of Kashmiriyat, Qazi Shibli said that they were honest in their reporting. We reported what the school authorities said and also attempted to get the reaction of the army officials who were not immediately available for comment. We had even mentioned updating the story in case the army responds but nobody called us from their side,” he said.

The school was in news in October last year after three teachers were booked under the Public Safety Act after reports emerged that a few of its students and alumni were found involved in militant activities over a period of time.

Inspector General of Police, Vijay Kumar had said that three of the institution’s teachers were booked under PSA and action under section 107 CrPC was also taken against six of its teachers.

The IG had said that the school was affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami which was denied by the chairman of the school, M Yousuf who had said that it was an independent institution. (HT)

With inputs from The Hindustan Times

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.).

PTI

Srinagar: Two newly recruited militants and four militant associates of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and its offshoot Lashkar-e-Mustafa (LeM) were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

Acting on specific inputs regarding militant attacks being planned in Anantnag and Bijbehara towns by the LeM, the police along with the Army established special checking points at multiple locations and conducted intensive checking, a police spokesperson said.

At one of the checkpoints at Donipora in Bijbehera, officers intercepted a car with two persons onboard. The two tried to flee but were apprehended tactfully by the alert forces, he said.

“They have been identified as Imran Ahmed Hajam, a resident of Nathpora Khanabal, and Irfan Ahmed Ahanger, a resident of Nandpora Khanabal. Both had recently joined militant ranks and were affiliated with proscribed militant outfit LeM/JeM,” the spokesperson said.

Incriminating material, arms and ammunition including two pistols, three magazines and 116 rounds were recovered from their possession, he said.

The spokesperson said during the questioning, the arrested persons revealed that the LeM was recently floated to give an impression that militancy in Kashmir is home-grown and not sponsored by Pakistan.

“They further revealed that they are close associates of Hidayat Malik alias Hasnain, a resident of Sharafpora Shopian and the self-styled chief of LeM; Umer alias Wahid Khan, a resident of Shopian; and Aftab alias Ali Bhai, a resident of Dachipora.

“They said they were conducting recce of the area to plant an IED in order to target security forces and the police,” he said.

During the course of investigation, four militant associates of JeM were arrested from different locations, the spokesperson said.

They have been identified as Bilal Ahmed Kumar, Tawfeeq Ahmed Lawey, Muzamil Ahmed Wani and Aadil Ahmed Rather.

Incriminating material, ammunition including two grenades, 30 AK-47 rounds and 1 kg of explosive material were recovered from their possession, he said.

Several cases of Avian Flu commonly known as Bird Flu have been reported in Udhampur district of Jammu division among domestic fowls for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. 

Wildlife Warden Jammu, Anil Arti told KNO that samples of some domestic birds were taken in Udhampur area some fifteen days ago which have now returned positive for bird flu.

He, however, said that there is “no need to worry as the cases have not been reported on major scale”.

The newest cases have been confirmed among “few domestic fowls and one peacock in Udhampur”.

It is for the first time that bird flu has been reported in domestic fowls in Jammu and Kashmir, which had so far reported the avian flu among migratory birds or dead crows only.

Nodal officer for Bird flu in J&K, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Shah also confirmed to KNO that cases of bird flu have been confirmed in some domestic birds in Jammu division.

No such case has been reported among domestic fowls so far in the Kashmir division, he added. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab have confirmed the outbreak of the avian influenza in poultry birds so far.

Cases of bird flu have also been reported among crows, migratory and wild birds in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar.

New York: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on nuclear-armed India and Pakistan to “come together and seriously discuss their problems” stemming from the unresolved Kashmir dispute, saying his good offices were always available for mediation.

Responding to a question from an APP correspondent at his first press conference of 2021, the UN chief warned that there was no “military solution” to the decades-old conflict.

“It is clear when seeing Pakistan and India, any military confrontation between the two would be a disaster of unmitigated proportions for both countries and for the whole world,” he warned.

“I do believe that [it] is absolutely essential to have a de-escalation of the situation, namely in the Line of Control,” Guterres said, adding, “I think it’s absolutely essential for the two countries to be able to come together and seriously discuss their problems.”

He further responded to a question about the continuing human rights abuses in Kashmir and said, “I think it’s essential that human rights are fully respected in all territories that you mentioned.”

He said he stood by his statement of August 8, 2019, which called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute based on UN resolutions and the UN Charter.

“Now, things have not moved in the right direction, our good offices are always available, and we will insist within them on finding peaceful solutions for problems that have no military solution.”

“We have taken position about the need for Security Council’s resolutions to be implemented for effective de-escalation.

“Another important aspect, which needs full respect of human rights and continental freedom in Jammu & Kashmir, is that people should have free movement. I hope this will also be achieved on the other side. I have offered my good offices in relation to the situation and our position is that the Security Council’s resolutions be implemented,” he said at the time.

He also previously addressed revocation of Article 370 and ending Kashmir’s special status and urged India “to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir”. A statement from his office had said, “The position of the UN on this region is governed by the Charter of the UN and applicable Security Council resolutions […] the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter of the UN.”

PTI

Jammu: The Pakistani army has violated the ceasefire again by resorting to unprovoked firing along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Saturday.

The firing from across the border started around 10.10 pm on Friday in the Bobiyaan border outpost area of Hiranagar sector, prompting an effective retaliation by the Border Security Force (BSF), the officials said.

They said the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 3 am but there was no report of any damage on the Indian side.

The BSF detected two cross-border tunnels, one each in the Bobiyaan and Pansar areas of Hiranagar sector, on January 13 and 23 respectively, frustrating Pakistan’s attempt to push terrorists into India.

Both the 150-metre tunnels were detected during an anti-tunneling drive along the IB by the border-guarding force.

PTI

New Delhi: The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted a new officer to head its frontier in Ladakh, official sources said on Saturday.

Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo, a 1999-batch officer of the Manipur cadre, will be replacing ITBP Inspector General (IG) Deepam Seth, who was commanding the force troops deployed along the LAC with China in Ladakh.

Seth, a 1995-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, has been transferred to the ITBP Headquarters in Delhi, as per an order issued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Headquarters here.

Lhatoo had recently joined the border guarding force. He has earlier served in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Special Protection Group (SPG).

“The transfer has been done on administrative and strategic grounds. IG Seth has been posted in the same capacity and will handle the personnel and vigilance charge at the ITBP Headquarters in Delhi,” a senior officer told PTI.

The new IG is expected to take charge in Ladakh in the next few days, he said.

Leh is the base for the ITBP north-west frontier and an IG-rank officer, equivalent to a Maj General rank in the Army, commands the formation that is responsible for the deployment of the troops in this part of the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China that runs from the Karakoram Pass in the Himalayas to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.

Seth has been a part of various military talks, as a representative of the Union Home Ministry, being held with the Chinese to move forward on the long-negotiated disengagement process in eastern Ladakh as thousands of troops from both the sides remain deployed at friction points under freezing conditions since May last year.

He also oversaw induction of additional ITBP troops in Ladakh that was undertaken in the wake of the standoff.

The officer was posted to head the newly-created formation in mid-2019 and was decorated with the president’s police medal for distinguished service this Republic Day.

PTI

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday paid homage to freedom fighters including Mahatma Gandhi on Martyrs’ Day, officials said.

Gandhi was shot dead on this day in 1948 by Nathuram Godse. His death anniversary is observed as Martyrs’ Day.

The LG along with staff members of the Raj Bhavan observed a two-minute silence at 11 am as homage to the Father of the Nation and brave Indians who sacrificed their lives during the Indian freedom struggle, an official spokesperson said.

A police spokesman said Director General of Police Dilbag Singh separately led senior police officers, staff of Police Headquarters and Armed Police Headquarters in paying homage to the freedom fighters at Police Headquarters lawns here.

A two-minute silence was observed by the officers and personnel posted at Police Headquarters and Armed Police Complex, Jammu in memory of those who gave the supreme sacrifice of their lives during the freedom struggle, he said.

Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh paid tributes along with senior officers and staff at zonal police headquarters, the spokesman said.

Martyrs’ Day was also observed in all the districts where senior officers led their personnel in paying tributes to the freedom fighters and observed a moment of silence.

PTI

Jammu: In a minor reshuffle, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday ordered transfers and postings of half a dozen officers with immediate effect.

Naseem Javid Choudhary, a Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officer, has been appointed as the new Director Tourism, Jammu, replacing Raj Kumar Katoch, according to an official release.

Katoch has been transferred and posted as Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission, replacing Rajesh Sharma who was posted as Custodian General (J&K).

Suriya Jabeen, Custodian General, J&K, has been transferred and posted as Additional Secretary in Tribal Affairs Department.

Nuzhat Gul, Secretary, Royal Springs Golf Course, Srinagar, holding additional charge of Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Golf Development and Management Authority and Kashmir Golf Club, has been transferred and posted as Secretary, J&K Sports Council in place of Choudhary.

Bakshi Javaid Humayaun, Director, Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), shall hold the charge of Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Golf Development and Management Authority, Secretary, Royal Spring Golf Course, Srinagar and Kashmir Golf Course, in addition to his own duties, till further orders, the release said.

PTI

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 1,24,449 on Saturday with 76 fresh cases while the death toll mounted to 1,936 as three more people succumbed to the disease, officials said.

Of the fresh cases, 58 were reported from the Kashmir division and 18 from the Jammu division, they said.

Srinagar district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 27, including 15 travellers.

Six districts Samba, Kathua, Kishtwar, Rajouri, Reasi and Ramban — did not report any fresh cases and the remaining 13 districts recorded new infections in single digits, the officials said.

There are 761 active cases in the union territory. So far, 1,21,752 people have recovered, they said.

Of the latest fatalities, two were reported from the Kashmir valley and one from the Jammu division, they said.

Srinagar: A delegation of Jammu & Kashmir Fruit Growers Association today called on Director Horticulture Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat to apprise him of the issues faced by them including the import of Iranian apples via Afghanistan.

The association demanded that the import and sale of Iranian Apples via Afghanistan in New Sabzi Mandi Azadpur, New Delhi must be restricted as it severely jeopardizes the interest of fruit growers of the valley.

The Director Horticulture assured the delegation that the issue has been taken up with the UT Government as well as GoI with the request to take appropriate action as warranted.

The delegation was further assured that all their genuine issues shall be redressed.

Later, a meeting of the Sub Committee of SLEC for examination and scrutiny of DPRs related to C.A. Storage units/Reefer Vans under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) was held at the Directorate of Horticulture, here—(KNO)