Reviews security arrangements for DDC elections, Panchayats/ULB By-Polls
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Tuesday reviewed the security arrangements with respect to the ensuing District Development Council (DDC) election and by-elections for Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULB).
Earlier, the Lieutenant Governor received ‘Guard of Honour’ at his maiden visit to the Armed Police Headquarters here Tuesday.
Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, RR Bhatnagar; Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam; Secretary Home, Shaleen Kabra; Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, ADGPs and IG Jammu were present in the meeting. While as IG Kashmir, DIGs, SSPs and other senior Police officers from Kashmir Division attended the meeting via video conferencing.
At the outset, Inspector General of Police Kashmir and district SSPs of Kashmir division briefed the Lieutenant Governor regarding security arrangements and other preparatory measures for the ensuing elections in their respective districts.
Speaking on the occasion, Lt. Governor stressed upon the officers to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.
He emphasized on providing sufficient security to the participating candidates besides ensuring maximum participation of the people in the upcoming elections for DDC and Panchayats and Municipal by-elections.
“People must be facilitated during these elections so that they would feel secured to cast their ballot on the particular Election Day,” Lt. Governor said.
He said that the liaison between the different security agencies should be cohesive and strong for effective actions on the ground.
On the occasion, all district SSPs informed the Lieutenant Governor that all the arrangements have been made to ensure the smooth conduct of polling in their respective districts with deployment of forces and other security arrangements already in place.
While appreciating the role of J&K Police, Lieutenant Governor said that JK Police is one of the finest professional forces of the country besides it has a splendid history of valour and sacrifice.
“I am confident that J&K Police is capable of dealing with emerging situation while maintaining a close watch on all inimical elements to ensure peace in the region,” he maintained. (KINS)
New Delhi: Nearly a month after leading Bollywood filmmakers filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against “irresponsible reporting by certain media houses”, the court Monday said that “no defamatory content” should be uploaded on social media or displayed on their channels.
Representational Picture
Some of the film industry’s biggest names, including Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra and Farhan Akhtar, came together in the unprecedented legal action against two channels – Republic TV and Times Now.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the court said there needs to be some “toning down” and that the media channels were apparently not following the Programme Code. “If you (new channels) do not follow self-regulation, then what is to be done in a matter like this? You are prejudging issues. It is less news and more opinion,” observed the court. The court said there needs to be some “toning down” and that the media channels were apparently not following the Programme Code.
“If you (new channels) do not follow self-regulation, then what is to be done in a matter like this? You are prejudging issues. It is less news and more opinion,” observed the court. “It is disheartening and demoralizing… I mean it demoralizes everyone. Today it is not hurting us (judiciary)… suppose it is your fraternity tomorrow. Surely, you can investigate but it has to be fair reportage,” the court said while addressing a lawyer representing Times Now.
Observing that people are “very scared” of the fourth estate, the court said no one wants to have their private life in public. “Surely, these are people who are public personalities so that element of privacy to an extent gets diluted… but please see what happened when the media chased someone like (Princess) Diana. You cannot go on like this. Courts are the last ones who want to interfere…. but what is happening here… is that you do not want to follow the code?”
The court also commented on debates being broadcasted on news channels and said there was “no civility in (their) discourse”. “Now I am hearing participants in debates are using cuss words because they get so excited. If you keep egging them on, that is what happens,” it added. (Agencies)
Srinagar: A four member Muslim family died of suicide in Andhra Pradesh last week after they alleged police harassment in a video recorded before taking the extreme step.
Screengrab from the video clicked by Abdul Salaam with his family before taking the extreme step (Video shared on Twitter by N Chandrababu Naidu)
On Sunday, the police arrested a CI and a head constable in connection with the suicide of the four-member auto driver’s family due to alleged police harassment in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh following the intervention of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the matter, reported The New Indian Express.
Auto driver Abdul Salaam with his family members. (File Photo)
According to it, Abdul Salaam (45), an auto driver, his wife Noorjahan (38), their daughter Salma (14) and son Dadhi Khalandar (10), died by suicide on November 3. They threw themselves before a running train at Kavuluru village under the Panyam police station limits. They took a selfie video before taking the extreme step, in which they blamed the Nandyal police for their suicide.
నంద్యాలలో అబ్దుల్ సలాం, నూర్జహాన్ దంపతులు పిల్లలతో సహా రైలుకింద పడి ఆత్మహత్య చేసుకుని మరణించడం విచారకరం. సలాం కుటుంబ సభ్యుల ఆత్మహత్యకు ప్రభుత్వం నైతిక బాధ్యత వహించాలి. ముస్లింలను వేధింపులకు గురిచేస్తూ, అక్రమ కేసులు పెడుతున్నారు అనేందుకు సలాం కుటుంబం ఆత్మహత్యే నిదర్శనం. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/rh8zb1n2UZ
Blaming the YSRC government responsible for the harassment that eventually led to the suicide of Abdul and his family members, Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu demanded that the government take moral responsibility for the death of the family. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the TDP chief alleged that the incident was enough to show how the ruling YSRC was persecuting the Muslim minorities in the State by foisting false cases against them. His eyes tearing up and his voice shivering, Abdul Salam and his wife Noorjehan cry, while the children wear solemn expressions.
“What should we say?” Noorjehan asks her husband.
Abdul Salam is unsure at first, but goes on to record the suicide note anyway, in his house in Nandyal town in Andhra Pradesh.
In his tearful voice, he declares that he has nothing to do with the two crimes in which the police have implicated him, and that he is unable to bear their torture anymore.
According to reports, Abdul Salam had been working at a jewellery store in Nandyal, where an incident of theft was reported a few months ago. The owner of the store suspected Abdul Salam of having stolen the gold, and he was even sent to jail, according to reports. Even as he was released on bail and started to drive a rented auto, he was continuously harassed by the shop owner and by the police, his relatives allege.
A relative told NTV Telugu that after the gold theft, Abdul Salam was harassed and beaten badly by the police until he bled. “He came out on bail. When he would go (to the police station) to sign every month, he was abused very badly each time,” she said.
According to reports, a few days ago, a person reported that his bag was missing. The police officers alleged that the person had travelled in Abdul Salam’s auto and that he had stolen the bag with help from his associates. According to Abdul Salam’s relatives, they verbally abused him and asked him to return the next day, to be taken to Vijayawada.
In the video that he recorded with his wife and kids, Abdul Salam says, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I have nothing to do with the theft that happened in the auto, or in the shop. I am unable to bear the torture. We have no one to help us. That’s why I hope at least my death will bring peace of mind.” His wife, Noorjehan, was a private school teacher. Their daughter Salma was in class 10, and her brother, Kalandar, was in class 4.
On November 4, Abdul and his family had died by suicide.
His relatives told the media that he was unable to bear the abuse at the police station, and alleged that the police officers spoke inappropriately about his wife to Abdul Salam. They also alleged that the police had seized their family’s jewellery to support their claim that Abdul Salam had stolen the gold from the jewellery shop.
The selfie video taken by Abdul, surfaced on Saturday and it went viral on social media. Taking the matter seriously, the Chief Minister called up the Director General of Police and the Intelligence Chief and enquired about the suicide case.
He instructed DGP Gautam Sawang and Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha to submit a report after conducting an in-depth inquiry into the case.
Following the Chief Minister’s intervention, the DGP directed Shankha Brata Bagchi, Inspector General of Police, APSP Battalions, and Arif Hafeez, Additional SP of Guntur, to investigate the Nandyal suicide case. Nandyal CI Somasekhar Reddy was suspended pending investigation within 24 hours of the intervention of the Chief Minister. (KINS)
Srinagar: Politicians in Kashmir have welcomed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for electing president and vice president of the USA.
Following the US election results, former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah welcomed Biden and Harris to be elected new president and vice president of the USA, respectively.
Mehbooba Mufti as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) said, “Their win gives hope to the rest of the world that Right-wing extremism and those who sow division and hatred will sooner or later be relegated to the pages of history like Donald Trump.”
While Omar Abdullah said, “To lose Bihar and the White House within days of each other would make for a pretty bad few days.”
Last October, Harris had said: “We have to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.”
Further, in a policy paper posted on Biden’s campaign website in June this year, titled ‘Joe Biden’s agenda for Muslim American community’, the President-elect had asked the Indian government to take “all necessary steps to restore the rights of all the people of Kashmir”.
The paper also stated: “Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the internet, weakens democracy.” (KINS)
Srinagar: Administration is all set to implement the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) where people can get information about ownership details of land in Jammu and Kashmir.
An official told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that the move is aimed at making land acquisition easier for public projects besides ending dubious land ownership.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir office has written a letter to Director Land Records Kashmir, a copy of which lies with news agency KINS, asking suggestions and inputs for implementation of ULPIN in J&K.
“The ULPIN shall provide flow of hibernation on any parcel of land or property to provide integrated land services to the citizens as well as stakeholders,” it reads.
The official said that ULPIN will have ownership details of the plot besides its size and longitudinal and latitudinal details.
“The unique number ULPIN would subsequently be linked to the Aadhaar and revenue court system,” the official said.
Sources said the department of land resources, under the ministry of rural development, had roll-out the pilot project in various states in September last year and following the successful completion of the pilot projects.
Sources said this would facilitate real estate transactions, help resolve property taxation issues and improve disaster planning and response efforts.
“Henceforth, all issues related to collection of taxes and ownership of the plot can be traced using one single number,” they said.
Land disputes, validity of titles and records and rightful ownership account for two-thirds of the cases pending in the country’s courts and it takes over 20 years on average to resolve them, impacting sectors and projects, shows some estimates.
Besides, land is often used as collateral for loans taken by farmers and unclear land deals inhibit their capacity to do so. Once implemented, the ULPIN will help genuine farmers to avail loans against their land.
The government has been implementing the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme for several years now that aims at digitisation of the land records and property registration process. (KINS)
Has taken oath of both J&K constitution and India as well, will hold both flags together
Jammu: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday accused New Delhi of fanning militancy in J&K after taking “anti-people” and “undemocratic” steps viz abrogation of Article 370 and 35(A) in last year.
Mehbooba who was addressing a packed press conference at party’s Jammu office said that BJP has fanned the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir while abolishing special status of J&K under Article 370 and 35(A). She said the “undemocratic” decisions of BJP government at center led to surge in militancy related activities here.
She asserted that BJP will have to return everything snatched from people of Jammu and Kashmir including rights that were taken away on August 5, 2019.
“We want every right back to J&K that were snatched by BJP Government so far including Article 370”, Mehbooba said.
The PDP chief said that Article 370 and other provisions of special status of J&K were not meant for Muslims of Kashmiris alone but were for all shades of life and were indeed brought by Maharaja rule to save the Dogra culture.
Resembling decisions of August 5, 2019 with “darkness”, the PDP chief said that the uncertain and chaotic situation that J&K witnessed after August 5, 2019 has engulfed Jammu also and people here are too much worried with the sequence of events.
To a query, Mehbooba said that the present BJP government is following an iron-fist policy and whosoever speaks against them is being booked under “frivolous” charges.
She said that youth of Kashmir is preferring to hold gun rather than going in jail forcibly. “The highhandedness of Government has pushed youth of Kashmir towards militancy and the extremism has also witnessed a rise in BJP rule”, PDP chief said.
In reply to a question related to her controversial remarks over holding national flag, Mehbooba Mufti said that she took oath of both Jammu and Kashmir’s constitution and constitution of India and will hold both flags together.
She further suggested Government of India to learn from foreign policy adopted by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and to restore normalcy on borders with Pakistan where innocent people are dying due to firing.
“I reiterate the slogan of Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for opening of more and more border routes on Indo-Pak borders”, she said while giving reference of Late. Mufti’s statement for unification of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Pakistan Administered Kashmir besides solution of Kashmir issue.
She also said that Late. Mufti upheld national flag in Jammu and Kashmir at a time when he was socially boycotted.
While hitting hard over BJP and Government of India with allegations to snatch resources of Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that even the sand and clay from rivers of Jammu and Kashmir are being snatched with local people here are getting sand to the cost of twenty one thousand per vehicle and this all is due to anti-people policies of BJP.
She said that local people of Jammu and Kashmir are not getting place in employment now which is cause of concern and is worrying everyone here in Jammu also.
Regarding PAGDs decision to contest DDC polls unitedly, she said that Congress’s decision to contest polls with PAGD has already been announced by Chairman PAGD Dr Farooq Abdullah.
She however added that modalities of distribution of tickets for DDC polls under PAGD banner are yet to be finalized. (KNS)
Pfizer Inc on Monday said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over 1 million people, roiled the world’s economy and upended daily life.
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside Pfizer Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. emergency use authorization later this month.
If authorized, the number of vaccine doses will initially be limited. Many questions also remain including how long the vaccine will provide protection. However the news provides hope that other vaccines in development against the novel coronavirus may also prove effective.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”
Pfizer expects to seek broad U.S. emergency use authorization of the vaccine for people aged 16 to 85. To do so, it will need to have collected two months of safety data on around half of the study’s roughly 44,000 participants, expected in late November.
“I’m near ecstatic,” Bill Gruber, one of Pfizer’s top vaccine scientists, said in an interview. “This is a great day for public health and for the potential to get us all out of the circumstances we’re now in.”
Pfizer said the interim analysis was conducted after 94 participants in the trial developed COVID-19, examining how many of them received the vaccine versus a placebo.
The company did not break down exactly how many of those who fell ill received the vaccine. Still, over 90% effectiveness implies that no more than 8 of the 94 people who caught COVID-19 had been given the vaccine, which was administered in two shots about three weeks apart.
The efficacy rate is well above the 50% effectiveness required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus vaccine.
To confirm its efficacy rate, Pfizer said it will continue the trial until there are 164 COVID-19 cases among participants. Given the recent spike in U.S. infection rates, that number could be reached by early December, Gruber said.
The data have yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. Pfizer said it would do so once it has results from the entire trial.
Pfizer and BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million vaccine doses beginning this year. They have also reached supply agreements with the European Union, the UK, Canada and Japan.
To save time, the companies began manufacturing the vaccine before they knew whether it would be effective. They now expect to produce up to 50 million doses or enough vaccine to protect 25 million people this year.
Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.
GLOBAL RACE
The global race for a vaccine has seen wealthier countries forge multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers like Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson Inc, raising questions over when middle income and poorer nations will get access to inoculations.
The U.S. quest for a vaccine has been the Trump administration’s central response to the pandemic. The United States has the world’s highest known number of COVID-19 cases and deaths with more than 10 million infections and more than 237,000 fatalities.
President Donald Trump repeatedly assured the public that his administration would likely identify a successful vaccine in time for the presidential election, held last Tuesday. On Saturday, Democratic rival Joe Biden was declared the winner.
Vaccines are seen as essential tools to help end the health crisis that has shuttered businesses and left millions out of work. Millions of children whose schools were closed in March remain in remote learning programs.
Dozens of drugmakers and research groups around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, which on Sunday exceeded 50 million infections since the novel coronavirus first emerged late last year in China.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more rapidly than conventional vaccines.
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of biopharmaceutical company BioNTech in Mainz, Germany July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
Moderna Inc, whose vaccine candidate employs similar technology, is expected to report results from its large-scale trial later this month. The mRNA technology is designed to trigger an immune response without using pathogens, such as actual virus particles.
Pfizer alone will not have the capacity to immediately provide enough vaccines for the entire United States. The Trump administration has said it will have enough supply for all of the 330 million U.S. residents who wish to be vaccinated by the middle of 2021.
The U.S. government has said the vaccines will be provided for free to Americans, including the insured, uninsured and those in government health programs such as Medicare.
The confirmation on Saturday that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States will reshape the nation’s relationship with countries around the world. Biden has pledged that he will restore the U.S.’s “respected leadership on the world stage” and bring together representatives of democracies around the world to “honestly confront the challenge of nations that are backsliding.” This is in stark contrast to President Donald Trump, who for the last four years has taken an isolationist approach to foreign policy and undermined decades-old alliances.
But Trump has forged a few friendships overseas—including with India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the face of a rising China, the two countries have drawn closer together militarily, too. So, for the world’s largest democracy, the stakes are high for the future Biden Administration.
The pressure goes both ways: Kamala Harris will be the first Indian American Vice President of the United States, a position that has the potential to change Indian engagement with American politics, as well as the United States’ response to issues in India. The relationship between the countries is also especially crucial for India, where the economy shrank by 23.9% in the first quarter of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the largest drop in decades and the greatest setback a major economy has experienced from the coronavirus pandemic.
On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both Biden and Harris on Twitter. “As the [Vice President], your contribution to strengthening Indo-U.S. relations was critical and invaluable,” he wrote in a tweet addressed to Biden. “I look forward to working closely together once again to take India-U.S. relations to greater heights.”
To Harris, Modi wrote: “Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis [a Tamil family term that Harris used in her VP nominee acceptance speech], but also for all Indian-Americans. I am confident that the vibrant India-U.S. ties will get even stronger with your support and leadership.”i
Here’s what to know about what the Biden-Harris victory might mean for the U.S.-India relationship.
Biden’s India Policy
Since his re-election in 2019, Modi has pushed through a series of policies seen by many in the country as unduly targeting India’s Muslim minority, including the revocation of Muslim-majority Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and a new citizenship act that makes it easier for adherents of most large faiths practiced in South Asia, except Islam, to claim citizenship in India. Modi’s government has also sought to suppress dissent, most recently forcing the Indian branch of Amnesty International to shut down through legal pressure, which the rights group said was part of a “deliberate attempt by the government of India to stoke a climate of fear and dismantle the critical voices in India.”
Biden and Harris have both spoken out against India’s human rights violations and Modi’s nationalist leadership. In his Agenda for Muslim-American Communities, Biden condemned the Modi government’s new citizenship act and a separate attempt to build a population register that could provide future justification to expel or intern foreigners, calling the projects “inconsistent with the country’s long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy.”
But Biden has also committed to strengthening the U.S.-India relationship. “The U.S. and India will stand together against terrorism in all its forms and work together to promote a region of peace and stability where neither China nor any other country threatens its neighbors,” Biden wrote in an op-ed in an Indian-American newspaper in October.
Calls for opening of Indo-Pak border routes, says Kashmiri youth preferring gun over jail, militancy on rise in BJP rule
Jammu: People’s Democratic Party President and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that militancy has witnessed a sharp rise during BJP rule and youth of Kashmir is preferring to hold gun rather than going to jail.
She also stated that ted that they want 370 back in Jammu and Kashmir and added that BJP will have to return everything snatched from the people of J&K.
Talking to media persons at her party office in Jammu, Mehbooba Mufti according to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that Article 370 and other provisions of special status of Jammu and Kashmir were meant for Muslims of Kashmiris alone but were for entire Jammu and Kashmir and were indeed brought by Maharaja rule to save the Dogra culture.
“We want 370 back and they (BJP) will have to return everything snatched from us on August 5, 2019,” Mehbooba Mufti said.
“The darkness that started here post August 5, 2019 has engulfed Jammu also and people here are too much worried with the sequence of events,” she further said.
In reply to a question, Mehbooba said that present government is following an iron-fist policy and whosoever speaks against them is being pushed to jail.
“It is only because of such highhandedness of Government that youth in Kashmir is preferring to hold gun rather than going in jail forcibly and militancy has also witnessed a rise in BJP rule,” she further said.
In reply to a question related to her controversial remarks over holding national flag, Mehbooba Mufti said that she took oath of both Jammu and Kashmir’s constitution and constitution of India and will hold both flags together.
She further suggested Government of India to learn from foreign policy adopted by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and to restore normalcy on borders with Pakistan where innocent people are drying due to firing.
“I reiterate the slogan of Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for opening of more and more border routes on Indo-Pak borders.” she said while giving reference of Late. Mufti’s statement for unification of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Pakistan Administered Kashmir besides solution of Kashmir issue,” she said.
She also said that Late. Mufti upheld national flag in Jammu and Kashmir at a time when he was socially boycotted.
While hitting hard over BJP and Government of India with allegations to snatch resources of Jammu and Kashmir, Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that even the sand and clay from rivers of Jammu and Kashmir are being snatched with local people here are getting sand to the cost of twenty one thousand per vehicle and this all is due to anti people policies of ruling unit.
She said that local people of Jammu and Kashmir are not getting place in employment now which is cause of concern and is worrying everyone here in Jammu also.
Regarding PAGDs decision to contest DDC polls unitedly, she said that Congress’s decision to contest polls with PAGD has already been announced by Chairman Dr Farooq Abdullah.
She, however added that modalities of distribution of tickets for DDC polls under PAGD banner are yet to be finalized—(KNO)
Says 250 to 300 militants at launch pads across LoC
Srinagar: Additional Director General of BSF Surinder Pawar Monday said that the operation in Machil area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district is still underway and that this year only 25 to 30 militants managed to infiltrate into this side compared to 140 last year.
Speaking to media men at BSF Headquarters at Humhama on Srinagar outskirts on the wreath laying ceremony of slain BSF constable, the ADG BSF said that at 1 am (on Saturday), BSF men noticed suspicious movement of three militants at Machil sector after which a team of BSF led by two constables—Constable Sudir Kumar and Constable Abdul challenged the militants. “One of the militants fired at Constable Sudir injuring him badly. The exchange of fire continued till 4:30 am. The injured BSF constable succumbed to his injuries,” Pawar said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
He said that with the first light on Sunday, army reinforcements launched an operation in which two militants were killed. “In the exchange of firing, army captain Ashutosh Kumar and two soldiers were killed,” the ADG BSF said. He said the BSF had already an input about possible infiltration bid. “Our ambush-cum patrolling party noticed the movement of militants on the intervening nigh to November 7 and 8,” he said.
Asked the status of infiltration this year, he said this year only 25 to 30 militants managed to enter into this side compared to 135 to 140 last year. “Our counter infiltration grid is very strong. Machil was obviously a big infiltration bid that was foiled by alert troops,” he said.
He said the operation at Machil is still on. “The area comprises tough terrain and uneven ground. To rule out the presence of any other militant, sanitization and mopping operation is on in the area,” he said.
He said alert troops are maintaining highest level of vigil to foil further infiltration bids along the LoC. “In view of the snowfall prediction in mid-November, there may be more attempts. But our troops are alert to foil all bids,” the BSF officer said. He said that there are 250 to 300 are still present at the launch pads across LoC, who may try to infiltrate before the snowfall—(KNO)
