Category: Union Territory

Budgam, May 29: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday visited the house of TV artist Amreena Bhat, who was shot dead at her residence in Hushru village of Chadoora on last Wednesday.

A top official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that Sinha accompanied by senior officials met Amreena’s family at Hushru in Chadoora area of Budgam district and expressed his condolences to his parents and the family.

Amreena Bhat from Hushroo Chadoora along with her 10-year-old nephew were fired upon by the gunmen, leaving them wounded. However, Ambreena succumbed to her injuries on way to the SMHS hospital—(KNO)

Says, J&K terror ecosystem on last breath

SRINAGAR MAY 28: Senior BJP leader Mr Devender Singh Rana today said that Jammu and Kashmir in general and the Valley in particular is on the path of recovery, peace and normalcy due to pro-people and the pro-development policies of the Centre, pro-actively being pursued and implemented by the UT Administration, notwithstanding targeted attacks by desperate terrorists, who are on run for their lives in the wake of sustained anti-terror operations by the valiant security forces with the active public cooperation.

“Pakistan sponsored Militants, supported by chosen few sympathisers including irrelevant and disgruntled political actors are destined to fail in their machinations on the face of strong resentment by the people and resolute strategy of the forces”, Rana said while welcoming Choudhary Showkat, who heads an NGO Saaf Suthra Movement into the BJP at a function held at Panchayat  Chibba.

Asserting that the terror ecosystem was on the last breath, Rana said zero tolerance strategy for terrorism is delivering positive results with  terrorists finding their space shrinking. Decisive war against terror has unnerved  the entire eco-system, especially the vested interests, who have based their politics on dead bodies and have unfortunately benefitted from the cult of terror. The people are appreciative of the fast improving situation with stone pelting and the culture of shut downs becoming nightmare of the past. The economic activities have gained momentum and tourism is picking up much to the delight of the people in general and those engaged with tourism trade in particular, he said and referred to the advance bookings and cent percent occupancy in hotels and lodges. This has raised hope among the stakeholders as also varied segments of the society associated with trade and tourism directly or indirectly, he said, asking how can this scenario be acceptable to those believing in boiling Kashmir for furtherance of their political agenda, which is why they are questioning the parameters of normalcy with barbaric acts of terror incidents that have claimed the lives of innocent civilians in recent weeks, triggering shock and grief across the nation.

Rana exuded confidence that the people will continue to support the initiatives of heralding peace and normalcy in J&K, which is imperative for overall development of all the regions and sub regions, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, as per the cherished agenda of Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi seeking Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas. He said peaceful Jammu and Kashmir will also lead to massive investments, a key to growth and job generation.

The BJP leader cautioned the people against myopic political leaders, who do not hesitate in sacrificing public interest for personal benefit to remain relevant in politics. He said normalised J&K is against their scheme of things and political manveouring that’  has kept them closer to power corridors by indulging in deceit, deception and double speak.

“Time has come to call their bluff and work for realising prosperous, peaceful and progressive J&K where equitable opportunities are available to all, with discrimination or appeasement to none”, he said, adding that  the people of this part of the country too have the right to grow and become part of the country’s growth story.

Srinagar, May 28: Kashmir University is once again abuzz with academic and sports events after Prof Neelofar Khan assumed the charge as first woman VC of the highest seat of learning on May 20.

In one week, the new VC has chaired more than a dozen meetings and directed that all teachers and officials should be punctual and dedicated, otherwise action against them will be initiated, sources told news agency KNT on Saturday.

The VC also interacted with students in Gandhi Bhawan Hall and promised them that all their issues will be addressed by her very soon.

The VC also met Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on Friday afternoon and, according to a Raj Bhawan press release, she briefed the Chancellor about issues and academic and administrative importance.

Sources said Prof Neelofar is now expected to make changes in the administration to sack those administrators who have been accused of indulging in malpractices and irregularities in the last three years.

Sources said ACB, Crime Branch and CBI have launched preliminary investigation into many complaints against some top university administrators and if these complaints are found to be true, then formal investigation will be taken up after FIR is lodged into these complaints.

“Everyday officials from one or the other investigating agency visit KU to seek documents related to complaints like alleged financial irregularities, alleged DOB frauds, alleged false degrees of officials, alleged over-age of some employees and other complaints,” the sources said.

Insiders in the University are now demanding transparent administration by the new VC without any more delay.

Sources within KU said everyone is looking for changes in administration because some administrators who are sensing their sacking over misconduct are trying to influence and pressurize the new VC through different quarters to not make changes in administration.

“If changes will not be made immediately, then what was the fun of appointing the new VC. What is the fun of all promises and assurances made to faculty and students by the new VC who is being seen as a role model of transparency,” said a teacher wishing anonymity.

As already reported by KNT exclusively a few days ago, the term of Registrar Kashmir University Nisar Ahmad Mir has ended after he completed three years in January. Later on, Chancellor wrote to the ex-VC Talat Ahmed that Nisar Ahmad Mir will continue till the new VC takes charge in the University. KNT is in possession of this document.

However, insiders are disappointed that changes are not being effected by the new VC despite demands for the same.

It may be noted that winds of change are visible at the University of Kashmir. However, VC should make administrative changes without any delay so that promise of transparency and accountability is fulfilled by the new VC, the sources said.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor Prof Neelofar told news agency Kashmir News Trust that Varsity will definitely witness a change. “I am doing it slowly but of course, there will be change. I have assumed the charge recently and have taken up the issues related to examinations and other things. It will take some time to bring a change in the University,” she said.

When asked that investigating agencies are frequently visiting the Kashmir University seeking details and documents about some officials allegedly involved in malpractices, Professor Neelofar Khan said that action will be initiated against the wrongdoers. “You will see a change in the Kashmir University,” she concluded. (KNT)

The best thing about hajj is people from all over the world arrive to perform hajj. There is no discrimination in Islam Rich or poor, Black or white, Male or female, Arab or ajam all are equal in front of Allah..

KP delegation meets LG Manoj Sinha; demand relocation to Jammu or any other place. Got positive response from LG Admin, Submitted detailed memorandum: Avinash Bhat Spokesman

Srinagar, May 27: A 25-member Kashmiri Pandit delegation Friday met J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and demanded relocation from Kashmir to Jammu or some other place on fast-track basis stating that nothing was worth a life.

“Twenty five members from our community met LG Sinha. Top bureaucrats were also present there. They heard us patiently. We submitted our memorandum and told LG Sinha that we have only one main demand which is to relocate us from Kashmir to Jammu or some other place,” Avinash Bhat, Spokesman of KPs, said addressing media persons after meeting LG, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). He said that they got a positive response from the LG and the officers from the administration who assured them all possible support and help.

“LG Sinha assured us that we will be provided with a secure environment and safe accommodations and safe places of postings,” said Bhat, who was heading the KP delegation. He said that they told LG Sinha that Jaan Hai tou Jahan hai (nothing was worth life) and sought relocation from Kashmir to Jammu or some other place. We told LG Sir that promotions and accomodations can wait as our main demand was relocation from Kashmir.”

“We told LG Sir that we don’t want to stay in Kashmir and that we should be posted either in Jammu or some other place. We also urged LG Sir to allow us to reunite with our families back in Jammu,” Avinash said. He said relocation from Kashmir to Jammu was their main demand during the meeting with LG Sinha.

“To our main demand, LG Sir told us that he along with his team of officers will think over it,” Avinash said, adding that “there was a possibility of more meetings with the LG Sir in the days ahead. Today we were given an appointment at 3 pm.” Bhat said that they will not call-off the protests till their main demand is met.

He said that KPs also presented the detailed memorandum to LG Sinha. The memorandum was titled as “Save Us.” Pertinent to mention is that KPs, especially those working in Kashmir under Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Package (PMRP) are up in arms since the past over two weeks after the killing of their colleague Rahul Bhat inside Tehsil office Chadoora, Budgam. The killing evoked widespread condemnation from all quarters including civil society members—(KNO)

Directs authorities to act with promptitude, don’t waste any further time; If body cannot be delivered, pay Rs 5 lakh to family of deceased; Family says satisfied with Court decision

Srinagar, May 27: The Jammu & Kashmir High Court on Friday ordered exhumation of the body of Amir Lateef Magrey, one of the four persons killed in controversial Hyderpora encounter.

A single bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar directed the government to make arrangements for exhumation of the body/remains of the deceased Amir Latief Magrey from the Wadder Payeen graveyard of Handwara in presence of his father. “The respondents shall also make appropriate arrangement for transportation of the dead body to the village of the petitioner for according burial in his native graveyard in accordance with the traditions, religious obligations and religious faith which the deceased professed during his life time provided it is in deliverable state,” reads the order, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

“Since the dead body of the deceased must be in advance stage of putrefaction, as such, it would be desirable that the respondents act with promptitude and do not waste any further time,” the judge directed.

The Court, however said, authorities are free to impose any reasonable terms and conditions in respect of exhumation, transportation and burial of the dead body of Amir Latief Magrey.

The Court said that if the body is highly putrefied and is not in deliverable state or is likely to pose risk to public health and hygiene, his father and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites and the state shall pay to him a compensation of Rs five lakh for deprivation of his right to have the dead body of his son.

“Since the dead body of the deceased must be in advance stage of putrefaction, as such, it would be desirable that the respondents act with promptitude and do not waste any further time. However, if the body is highly putrefied and is not in deliverable state or is likely to pose risk to public health and hygiene, the petitioner and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites as per their tradition and religious belief in the Wadder Payeen graveyard itself. In that situation, the State shall pay to the petitioner a compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs for deprivation of his right to have the dead body of his son and give him decent burial as per family traditions, religious obligations and faith which the deceased professed when he was alive,” the Court ordered.

The Court said the decision of the authorities not to allow the petitioner to take away dead body of his son to his native village for last rites was per-se arbitrary and falls foul of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

The Court observed that authorities have not come clear as to why the dead bodies of two of the four killed in the encounter, namely, Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr. Mudasir Gul were exhumed and handed over to their relatives for their last rites in the graveyards of their choice and why the similar right claimed by the petitioner was denied.

“The respondents have tried to draw distinction by submitting that as per the investigation conducted by the SIT, the deceased son of the petitioner was a confirmed terrorist whereas the other two killed, namely, Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr. Mudasir Gul were only associates of the terrorists. I do not find any logic or sense in distinction so made by the respondents. It transpires that due to public pressure and demand by the relatives of the two deceased namely, Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr. Mudasir Gul, the respondents relented and permitted their dead bodies to be exhumed and handed over to their relatives. Since the petitioner was a resident of Gool, a remote village in Jammu Province and did not much say in the Valley and, therefore, his request was arbitrarily turned down. The action of the respondents is not traceable to any procedure established by law which is just, fair and equitable. At least none was brought to the notice of this Court,” the judge said.

The judge observed that right of the next of kin of the deceased to have their dear one cremated or buried as per the religious obligations and religious belief that the dead person professed during his life time, is part and parcel of right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

“The parents and close relations of the deceased are well within their right to demand the dead body of their dear one to be cremated or buried as per their traditions, religious obligations and religious belief. This right would also include the choice of the relatives to have the dead body cremated or buried at his native place. It is not uncommon that the graves of the dead are maintained by their relatives and are visited by their relations and close friends to pay respect and homage on certain occasions,” the court observed.

Meanwhile, Amir’s father, Muhammad Lateef Magray told KNO that he along with his family are very much satisfied with the decision of the court and hopefully very soon we will bury him here at his native village. He added that no body from government has contacted them so far—(KNO)

He will also be Member of  Commitee on Promotions, Finances & Hajj Arrangements, announcement made at HCoI meet in Mumbai

Srinagar, May 27: Member of Hajj Committe of India (HcoI) Er Aijaz Hussain has been appointed as the Chairman of Sub-Committee Aircharter for HCoI.

Aircharter Sub-Committee will be responsible for accommodating Hujaj in Charterd flights. Officials said that Er Aijaz has also been appointed as the member of various important committees of HCoI that include Sub-Committee for promotions, Finances and overseeing Hajj-2022 arrangements. This was announced  in the meeting of all members of HCoI held in Mumbai on Friday. The meeting  was chaired by chairman HCoI

Thanking the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for assigning him crucial and important role with regard to ensuring smooth and hassle-free Hajj2022, Er Aijaz said that he will work with dedication and zeal to fulfil all his responsibilities. He said that the first and foremost priority of HCoI was to facilitate Hujaj across India in a friendly manner.

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday arrested social activist Waqar H Bhatti for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his ‘shivling’ tweet which caused social media outrage.

Following his tweet, which was later deleted, netizens demanded his immediate arrest.

“FIR was registered following his tweet, which hurt religious sentiments,” a senior police officer told PTI.

Bhatti was later arrested, he said.

Facing a backlash on social media, Bhatti had sought to clarify his tweet with another tweet saying, “I did not target any religion and why should I target when the matter is in court.” A few days ago, Delhi University Associate Professor Ratan Lal was arrested for his alleged objectionable social media post on claims of a ‘Shivling’ at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. He was granted bail a day later.

On May 16, a local court in Varanasi directed the district administration to seal a spot in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex after counsels representing the Hindu petitioners claimed that a Shivling was found during a court-mandated videography survey.

A mosque management committee spokesperson disputed the claim, telling a television channel that the object was part of a “fountain”.

A day later, the top court directed the district magistrate of Varanasi to ensure the protection of an area inside the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex where a ‘Shivling’ was said to have been found and allowed Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ and perform “religious observances”.–(PTI)

Srinagar, May 27: With monkeypox cases reported in more than 20 countries, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said there is no need to panic over the virus as it does not spread easily between humans.

“The virus spreads through close skin to skin contact and the risk of spread to the general population is very low,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

Dr Hassan said monkeypox is not Covid. The virus doesn’t spread easily through the air because it requires close contact with an infected person. And the virus is unlikely to become a pandemic like Covid-19.

He said monkeypox is by no means new. The first human case was detected in 1970 and since then most monkeypox cases have been found in central and south Africa where the disease is endemic.

Cases outside Africa have been linked to travel history or imported animals from the endemic area. However, in the current outbreak there are cases who have no history of travel.

The DAK President said monkeypox is a mild illness and most cases recover on their own without treatment.

“The virus is closely related to smallpox. Evidence suggests that the smallpox vaccine can help prevent monkeypox infection and decrease the severity of symptoms. Since smallpox has been officially eradicated, routine smallpox vaccination for general population has been stopped in 1980. Older people who were vaccinated against smallpox decades before will still have some protection against monkeypox,” he said.

“Symptoms of monkeypox disease begin with fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and feeling tired. This is followed by a rash that forms blisters and crusts over. The bumpy rash characteristically first appear on the face and spread to other parts of the body including genitals,” said Dr Nisar.

“The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is usually 7 to 10 days. The duration of symptoms is typically 2 to 4 weeks,” he said.

“While no suspected case of the disease has been detected in Kashmir so far, the valley being the most favorite international tourist destination, we need to be vigilant especially for those travelling from countries which have reported cases of monkeypox,” he said 

4 newly recruited militants killed in twin Kashmir gunfights

Srinagar, May 27: Four newly recruited militants affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in two separate encounters in last few hours in Awantipora Pulwama and Soura Srinagar.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar said that two newly recruited militants namely Shahid Mushtaq Bhat resident of Hafroo Chadoora Budgam and Farhan Habib resident of Hakripora Pulwama were killed in Awantipora encounter.

He said that the slain militants are involved in killing of TV artist Amreen Bhat and the attack was carried out on the instructions of LeT commander Lateef.

“Both killed newly joined local militants identified as Shahid Mushtaq Bhat R/O Hafroo Chadoora #Budgam & Farhan Habib R/O Hakripora #Pulwama. They had #killed TV artist on the instruction of LeT Cmdr Lateef. 01 AK 56 rifle, 4 magazines and a pistol recovered,” Kashmir Police zone tweeted while quoting IGP Kashmir.

Meanwhile, in seperate encounter, two newly recruited militants from Shopian were killed in an encounter at Soura area of Srinagar.

A senior police officer told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that two newly recruited militants affiliated with LeT identified as Shakir Ahmad Waza and Afreen Aftab Malik were killed in an encounter in Soura Srinagar on Friday morning.

“The two killed militants of LeT have been identified as Shakir Ahmed Waza & Afreen Aftab Malik, both residents of Trenz #Shopian & ‘C’ categorised. #Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition recovered. Further details shall follow,” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

IGP Kashmir said that ten militants including three from JeM and seven from LeT have been killed in last three days in Kashmir valley.

He added that heinous murder case of Amreen Bhat has been solved in 24 hours.

“10 militants including 3 from JeM & 7 from LeT #terror outfits killed in 3 days in #Kashmir valley. Heinous #murder case of late Ambreen bhat solved in 24 hours.” Kashmir Police zone tweeted while quoting IGP Kashmir—(KNO)