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Srinagar, January 13: Police on Thrusday identified slain militant as Babar Bhai of JeM, who as per police was active since 2018 in Shopian- Kulgam belt.

Kashmir Police Zone on its official Twitter handle wrote, “Killed JeM militant identified as Babar bhai of Pakistan, active since 2018 in the areas of Shopian-Kulgam. One AK rifle, one pistol and two grenades recovered,”.

Yesterday in intial exchange of fire, JeM militant, cop Rohit Chib were killed and three armymen and two civilians were also injured.

A joint team of Police, army and CRPF had on Wednesday evening launched cordon and search operation in the area.

As the joint team of Police approached towards suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the forces triggering off a gunfight. (GNS)

The enforcement teams are realising fine of more than 1 Lakh Rupees each day from the COVID-19 protocol violators.

District administration is refraining from lodging FIRs in order to give people a chance to mend their behavior.

Amidst the resurgence of COVID-19 positive cases and detection of Omicron cases across the Jammu and Kashmir, authorities on Wednesday said they are monitoring the situation closely and if the need arises a ‘strict weekend lockdown’ will be imposed in the district.

Srinagar being a hub, witnesses the movement of a huge population every day, however, the district administration is monitoring the situation keenly and will not let the situation slip out of hands.

“Lockdown always decides by State Executive Committee (SEC). Earlier when the situation turned out disastrous, the district administration recommended SEC impose weekend lockdown and if there will be a continuous surge in positive cases we will then again recommend for another weekend lockdown in the district to bring positive cases down”, the official said.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and the state administration on a petition filed by the father of Amir Magray, one of the four people killed in an encounter in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area last year, seeking the return of his body for last rites, the PTI reported.

The court has given 10 days’ time to the respondents and set January 27 as the next date for hearing for the case.

Magray’s father Mohammad Latief had filed a petition on December 30 last year after his repeated pleas for the return of the body were turned down. A special investigation team (SIT) of police probing the encounter revealed that while one civilian was killed by a foreign militant, two others, including a local “militant” (Magray), died in crossfire after being used as human shield by the hiding ultra.

However, Latief rejected the police’s version and knocked the doors of the high court to press for the return of his son’s body, mentioning his “innocence” and the family’s long contribution in the fight against terrorism in his 18-page petition.

Latief’s lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat told PTI that the petition came up for hearing in the Srinagar-wing of the high court before a single bench headed by Justice Mohan Lal who issued a notice to the Union of India and others to file their response within 10 days.

Rajawat said the next date of hearing in the case was set on January 27.

A Pakistani militant and three other people were killed in Hyderpora on November 15, 2021 and the police claimed that all the slain men had links to militancy. The families of the three, alleging foul play, had claimed that they were innocent, prompting the police to order the inquiry. Separately, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.

“…That being close to Amir, the petitioner knew everything good and bad about him, thus can state on oath that his son was never involved in any anti-national activities nor was he associated with any such outfit that conspires to bring harm to the nation,” Latief, a resident of Gool area of Ramban district, said in his petition.

Invoking Article 21 of the Constitution, which extends the right to have a decent burial according to religious ceremonies, for his son, Latief said he was instrumental in fighting and curbing militancy in Gool and Singaldan areas by working as a civilian volunteer with the Army.

He referring to an incident of August 6, 2005 when he, along with his wife and other family members, killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant who had entered his house and fired indiscriminately upon the inmates. The petitioner said he was given the State Award for Bravery for 2012 by the Jammu and Kashmir government for showing exemplary courage despite being injured in the firing which also resulted in the death of his cousin.

“That apart from the same, the petitioner has been well appreciated by the Indian Army for his service towards the nation in eliminating militancy in his area i.e. Gool Sangaldan, Ramban,” the petition said, enclosing copies of appreciation letters and certificates given to him by authorities in acknowledgement of his services.

The plea said that in view of the family’s open support to the Army by going against anti-national forces, the petitioner has remained vulnerable to attacks, owing to which security was provided to them, which is still in place outside their house.

“…it is obvious that Amir was groomed in an atmosphere of patriotism and away from anti-national activities and forces, thereby associating Amir with terrorism is not justified to any stretch of imagination and shall also discourage all those who hold India close to their hearts and are fighting terrorism in difficult situation in Jammu and Kashmir, without caring about their lives and families,” the petition read.

Referring to the exhumation and return of the bodies of two others, a building landlord and a doctor with whom Amir was working as an office peon on November 18, the petition pleaded the court to direct the respondents, including the Union Home Ministry, J&K administration and the director general of police to hand over Magray’s body to the family.

“The magisterial probe was time-bound and was supposed to submit its report within 15 days but despite passage of more than one month, no such report has been submitted so far,” the petition said.

It said the petitioner met the Lt Governor on December 7 to press for the return of the body and to make magisterial probe public, for which two days’ time was sought to make the report public, but “since then two weeks have lapsed, giving cause of action to the petitioner to approach this court by way of filing the present petition”.

The petitioner said he and his wife are grieving and restless as the respondents have not even given them a chance to see their son’s face the last time.

Expressing his wish to bury his son close to his house, Latief said the burial would be ensured within a prescribed period after exhumation and in an atmosphere required to maintain peace.

Srinagar, Jan 12: With the detection of 5 cases of Omicron in Kashmir valley, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday advised people to take precautions to protect themselves from the new variant of Covid-19.

“Simple precautions would help prevent the spread of the variant,” said DAK President and Influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

Dr Hassan said people should continue wearing masks as they are effective at reducing the risk of contracting or spreading Covid-19 including Omicron.

“Masks act as barrier, trapping and filtering out virus particles from the air we breathe,” he said.

“If the infected person wears a mask, that reduces the risk of infection to those around them. If the uninfected person wears a mask, that reduces the risk of infection to them from the infected person,” he added.

The DAK President said people are advised to avoid crowding and gatherings.

“Crowding puts you at higher risk of getting Omicron and it increases the chances for the virus to spread in the community,” he said.

“If you are down with respiratory symptoms, self isolate and get tested,” said Dr Nisar.

“If your test turns positive, report to the health authorities for tracing your contacts,” he said adding contact tracing is an important tool to prevent the virus from spreading in the community.

General Secretary DAK Dr Arshad Ali said vaccine remains the single best tool against Covid-19 and its variants including Omicron.

“Fully vaccinated people have significant protection against Omicron infection, serious illness and death,” he said.

“Those who are unvaccinated should go and get it now. People who are eligible for boosters should take them as soon as possible to protect themselves, their families, loved ones and the community,” he added.

Spokesperson DAK Dr Riyaz Ahmad Dagga said Omicron is more contagious than delta which devastated us in the second wave. We don’t know how Omicron will impact our senior citizens and immunocompromised.

“Even though Omicron causes less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm our hospitals,” he said adding that healthcare capacity including ICUs, ventilators and staff need to be strengthened at all levels.

Sd/
Office Secretary
DAK

Srinagar, Jan 11: Following the government directives to switch the online mode of teaching in view of rise in COVID-19 cases, some private coaching institutes in Kashmir are forcibly asking the students to pay the hefty amount.

The news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) has leant that the students are being forced to pay the hefty amount in the name of tuition charges that too at the time when the government has ordered the private coaching institutes to switch the teaching to online mode.

One of the students said, “I am pursuing NEET coaching in one of the leading private institutions wherein the management is forcing us to pay the charges at earliest. The compulsions were made after the government ordered them to change the mode of teaching from offline to online.”

The student said that earlier there used to be no such compulsion. “But, now they (management of coaching centers) seem to be insecure about the fee they collect from the students.”

Meanwhile, another 11th standard student told KNO that she is pursuing private coaching in one of the leading institutes.

“I have been pursuing coaching for only the past few weeks. For the past two days, concerned officials of the management at the coaching institutes have been entering class only to announce that they are collecting 60 percent of the charges,” she said.

In the meantime, when KNO tried to contact the concerned officials at Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), they did not respond to the calls from the reporter.

Pertinently, the government earlier this week has ordered the private coaching institutes of Jammu and Kashmir to adopt the online means to teach the students in view of steep rise in COVID-19 cases—(KNO)

‘Avoid unnecessary travel, switch to online mode of education, work to prevent spread of Covid; Omicron; Lockdowns shatter economy’

Srinagar, Jan 11: As Covid cases have shown a sudden spurt with Valley reporting five Omicron cases too, the Divisional Administration Kashmir Tuesday urged people to impose self-restrictions so that the region’s economy is saved from further shock.

In an exclusive chat with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole said that his fervent appeal to people of Kashmir amid Covid case spike is that they should impose self-restrictions to prevent spread and further damage.

“The best way to prevent further spread is that people should impose self-restrictions. Lockdowns shatter economies and we don’t want to go for lockdowns at a time when Kashmir economy has started to revive,” Pole told KNO.

He said people must go for self-imposed restrictions and follow Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) in spirit. “People must avoid unnecessary travel and switch to online mode of education, work to prevent spread of Covid and Omicron,” the Divisional Commissioner said.

He said that the administration has already sealed some coaching centers for violating the CAB and in view of the spurt cases. The Divisional Commissioner said that lockdowns shatter economies and there is no plan with the government to impose lockdown as of now. “The imposition of lockdown is the sole prerogative of Lieutenant Governor and top officials in the government. At this juncture when Kashmir economy has started to revive after back to back jolts, lockdown will further shatter it again,” he said, adding that people must themselves take measures to prevent spread so that their livelihood doesn’t suffer.

Pertinently, J&K reported over 1100 Covid positive cases on Tuesday while Kashmir region witnessed five fresh cases of Omicron variant. With Omicron making its entry into Kashmir, the Divisional Administration wants people to go for self-imposed curbs that entails, avoiding unnecessary, travel and venturing out of homes, mingling with people, social and religious gatherings and following CAB whenever out of homes—(KNO)

Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is four times more transmissible than the Delta variant, it has a potential to infect persons who have recovered from an attack of COVID-19 and who have received one or two doses of the vaccine: Dr M.S Khuroo