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Mehbooba Mufti Tweets On Hyderpora Encounter Enquiry Report

Says Dr Mudasir Gul killed by foreign militant; Amir Magray was close aide of foreign militant, lied about presence of foreigner in building; slain foreign militant Bilal was using Dr Mudasir Gul’s apartment as his hide-out, Altaf Bhat’s family hasn’t given satisfactory reply about those living on rent

Srinagar, Dec 28: Jammu and Kashmir police Thursday said that apart from a foreign militant, a local youth from Jammu had been staying with the foreigner since long while as both were staying in the room of Dr Mudasir Gul. Police said that the local youth Amir Magray was a militant and had lied about the presence of foreign militant in the building and that the building owner was made a human shield by foreign militant who got killed in a cross-fire.

Addressing a press conference at police control room (PCR), DIG Central Kashmir Sujit Kumar Singh, while giving a detailed presentation about the investigations carried out into the Hydeprora encounter said that the CCTV footage and other evidences show that building owner Altaf was used as a human shield by the foreign militant Bilal Bhai, who was living in Dr Mudasir Gul’s chamber along with Amir Magray.

The DIG, who was heading the SIT into the Hyderpora encounter, said that CCTV footage shows that Dr Mudasir Gul was traveling with the foreign militant in his vehicle in Srinagar city. “The footage and other evidence show that Amir Magray had accompanied the foreign militant during Jamalata Srinagar attack. Amir would often travel to Bandipora and Gurez, an angle which is still under investigation,” DIG Sujit Kumar Singh said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

He said that prima-facie evidence shows that Dr Mudasir Gul was shot dead by the foreign militant on the directions “possibly from across.”  “The investigations reveal that building owner Altaf Bhat was made human shield by foreign militant and that he was killed in a crossfire,” said the DIG, who was flanked by Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh and IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar.

He said that Amir Magray was a militant. “Two pistols and four magazines were recovered from the encounter site,” the DIG said. He said that the family of the building owner hasn’t given them proper reply as to who was living on the rent, what was their rent payment system, rent deed etc. “There are no satisfactory details from Altaf’s family,” he said—(KNO)

(Detailed story in Evening Bulleting)

Kulgam, Dec 28: A bike-rider was killed on the spot while his two brothers sustained injuries after a bike they were travelling on met with an accident at Chatabal area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam on Tuesday morning, an official said.

An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the biker died on the spot while his two brothers suffered injuries after the bike (DL9S-AA3391) they were travelling on had a collision with a tipper (JK04A-5847) at Chatabal road.

The official identified the deceased as Altaf Ahmad Sheikh, son of Ghulam Rasool and his two injured brothers as Sameer Ahmed and Kifayat Sheikh—residents of Mirhama.

The duo injured was taken to hospital from medical treatment while a case has been registered and tipper driver has been arrested—(KNO)

Srinagar: A short sermon on the importance of ‘sadaqah’ by a cute Kashmiri girl Aalima is going viral on social media.

Clad in a pheran, Aalima can be heard quoting the ‘Hadith’ of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on the importance of ‘sadaqah’ with great confidence.

Srinagar, Dec 27:  National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said that “true intentions” of the government are brought to the fore as latter held a real estate summit in Jammu, the first of its kind, to encourage people from across India to buy land, or a second home, in Jammu and Kashmir.

“J&K’s special status was illegally revoked to dehumanise, dispossess & disempower the only Muslim majority state in India. GOIs brazen loot & sale of our resources shows that the sole motive is to annihilate our identity & change the demography,” PDP chief and former Chief Minister of erstwhile state of J&K said in a tweet.

“Once again the true intentions of the government are brought to the fore. While offering to secure the land, jobs, domicile laws & identity of the people of Ladakh, J&K is being put up for sale. People of Jammu should beware,“investors” will buy up land in Jammu long before Kashmir,” tweeted National Conference leader and former chief minister  Omar Abdullah. 

National Conference in a statement to GNS also denounced the real estate summit, saying the proposed measures will inevitably imperil the rights of locals over their land and natural resources.

Calling the conference as yet another “despicable measure” to deprive people of Jammu and Kashmir of their rights, party Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said, “Such measures expose the sinister plans which the ruling dispensation is up to in J&K. sadly, Jammu and Kashmir has the atrocious appellation of being a highly dispossessed region of the country. The priority of the government should have been to give a sense of entitlement to people and not shear them of their exclusive land rights,” adding, “It is yet another deliberate attempt to obfuscate the history, culture, land and democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for political and ideological agendas.”

Calling the real estate summit a  theater of the absurd, Imran said  NC would not remain silent to this authoritarian and accelerated transformation of Jammu and Kashmir, which comes straight from “RSS’s vision and agenda”. It is also a brazen attempt of RSS-BJP to use Jammu and Kashmir for scapegoating widespread economic failures,  farmer issues, and raging unemployment across the country,” he added.

Imran accused the ruling dispensation at center for putting J&K up for sale. “The main idea behind these exercises is to textually bury J&K’s particularistic or special identity, which New Delhi has promised to protect at the time of J&K’s accession. They had promised to preserve Kashmir’s identity within what is now popularly called the idea of India. This new move is yet another story in the saga of never ending injustices and of historical injustices with Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

Organised jointly by the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs and the J&K administration, the Jammu and Kashmir Real Estate Summit (2021) was held at Jammu today. 39 Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) were signed and 19 dealt with construction of residential homes.

Calling it a “historical transformation in J&K”, the government said it had changed laws to allow external investment in J&K – including the purchase of non-agricultural land.
Lt Governor Sinha has said a similar event will be held in Srinagar in May next year.

“Under the new J&K Development Act, the term ‘being a permanent resident of the State’ as a criteria has been omitted, paving the way for investors outside J&K to invest,” the agenda for today’s conference said.

“As a result, any citizen of India can buy non-agriculture land in J&K,” it said.

Last week the J&K administration, headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, changed land use laws and allowed re-classifying agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. The decision triggered strong criticism from regional parties, who said the land would be used to settle non-locals.

Recently the centre told Parliament that only seven plots of land had been purchased in J&K following the scrapping of special status. Allowing people from outside J&K to buy land in the UT was one of the major talking points for the BJP and the centre, but so far that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Opposition parties have urged the government to focus on job creation rather than investment, given J&K is facing a massive unemployment crisis.

According to a recent Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) unemployment survey, J&K’s unemployment rate is over 21 per cent. The all-India average is 7.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, just a few kilometres down the road there were protests against the summit and demands for the restoration of constitutional safeguards and statehood.

“This will not be acceptable to my party or the people of J&K. Having said that, the moot point is (to ask) what necessitated the government to omit the domicile requirement…” Altaf Bukhari, President, Apni Party, said.

“J&K is being put up for sale. They are trying to change our demography, history, identity and culture. We don’t accept any such development which changes the character of J&K. They are auctioning J&K,” Sunil Dimple, President of Mission Statehood J&K, said. (GNS)

46 cops killed alone in year 2018; 24 SPOs among slain, Dec 2021 records three big strikes on policemen, records killing of ASI, five cops

Srinagar, Dec 27 : At least 125 policemen including 47 constables and 24 special police officers were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in militancy related incidents since 2017, official figures accessed by news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), revealed Monday.

The figures read that constables and senior grade constables comprised highest number of victims who fell to the bullets of militants in various attacks across J&K in the past five years.

The data reveals that two deputy superintendents of police (DysPs), four inspectors, five sub-inspectors, six Assistant Sub-Inspectors, 24 senior grade constables (Sgcts) and 47 constables were killed in militancy related incidents in J&K since 2017. Highest number of policemen were killed in 2018 at 46, figures suggest.

“The slain also include 24 SPOs and five followers,” data reveals. As per the year-wise break-up, in 2017, 32 policemen were killed, in 2018, 46 policemen were killed and in 2019, 11 policemen were killed. “In 2020, 16 policemen were killed while in year 21, 20 policemen were killed,” the figures reveal.

August 29 of 2018 saw the deadliest attack when four policemen were killed in a militant attack. The policemen had gone to an automobile workshop near Arhama fruit mandi in Shopian district to repair their vehicle but they were ambushed by the militants. Earlier in January 2018, four policemen were killed in an IED attack in Sopore area of Baramulla district.

The year 2021 also saw a deadliest attack on police when militants attacked Armed Police battalion vehicle at Zewan on December 14 killing three policemen and leaving 11 others injured. The month also saw killing of two policemen in northern district of Bandipora on December 11 and also the killing of ASI Muhammad Ashraf in Bijbehera attack on December 23—(KNO)

Jammu  December 27 A day after the Centre instituted a committee to examine whether Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) can be withdrawn from Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday ruled out the possibility of the Act being repealed in the Union Territory.When asked whether a committee would be set up to examine if AFSPA can be repealed in Jammu and Kashmir, Sinha said, “I am well versed with the situation and there is no need for it…You need not worry about it.”The committee instituted for Nagaland will submit its report in 45 days, based on which a decision will be taken on whether AFSPA will repealed from the northeastern state and its “disturbed area” status withdrawn.The body was formed after six civilians were killed in an Army ambush on December 4, and eight more in the clashes that followed in its aftermath in Nagaland’s Mon district.( KINS)