RAJOURI
A Major rank officer lobbed grenades at his colleagues and subordinates at a coy station of 48 Rashtriya Riles at Neeli in Rajouri’s Thanamandi area. Five or six soldiers including two officers are reportedly injured. The officer, reportedly mentally disturbed over some development at his home, has been apprehended after nearly eight hours. He is reported to have fired in the air as well. The unit is engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the neighbouring woods. One report said the incident took place during a fire practice session.
Jammu and Kashmir’s anti-graft body, Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered around 270 corruption cases.
KISHTWAR
One of the seven Myanmar refugee women who had married and settled in Dacchan area is being arrested for procuring a domicile certificate. Identified as Anwara Begum, she is the wife of Faiz Ahmed, a labourer. They have three minor children. The seven women arrested between 2012 and 2014 had already been convicted by a Kishtwar court for illegally staying in the country. All seven have already got the Aadhaar card and one got a domicile certificate as well. Police have registered a fresh case and now they will investigate how the Myanmar national got the certificate.
With Rs 563 crore received, Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 32 per cent increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection for September 2023.
DELHI
Almost five years after his arrest, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has banned jailed separatist Shabir Ahmad Shah’s Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) for five years for its “anti-India” and “pro-Pakistan” activities. The ban was ordered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Now banned JKDFP was founded by Shah in 1998 and it became a constituent of the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference. After the group witnessed a vertical split, Shah sided with the Geelani-led faction. Shah is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since July 25, 2017, in a 2005 money laundering case. His Srinagar house was already attached by the ED in November 2022. In 2019, the MHA Jamaat-e-Islami and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Ramban police seized 30 kg of cocaine from two Punjab residents. Its market value is about Rs 300 crore.
SRINAGAR
In an impressive show, the government brought almost 100 GI-tagged product makers from across India to a Srinagar exhibition, the GI Mohatsav. There were interesting innovations and products but the busiest was the stall that was serving Hyderabadi Haleem, a hearty and aromatic dish that has established a distinctive identity throughout the world. Stall promoter Ravi Somi said they have gifted Haleem packets to people and the response is very positive. Haleem is a not-so-distant cousin of Harissa but it uses a different spice set.
Months after taking possession, the Jammu and Kashmir government has transferred 158 Kanals of land to the Ministry of Defence in lieu of Tattoo Ground.
KARGIL
The democratic freeze exhibited an ice break as Kargil polled for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) polls with a record turnout of 77.61 per cent for 26 seats in the fifth council election. The election witnessed a lot of humiliating drama as the administration in Leh attempted to erase the JKNC’s symbol, the plough, from the exercise, a decision rejected by the Supreme Court.
Nine council segments recorded about 80 per cent voting, the Saliskut segment registered 90.07 per cent turnout and the lowest of 69.03 per cent polling was recorded in Cha. It was all peaceful. There are 85 candidates in the fray including 25 independents, 22 from Congress, 17 each from National Conference and Bharatiya Janata Party and four of Aam Aadmi Party. Of 95,388 voters, 74026 exercised their right. The LAHDC Kargil is 30 members body but elections are held for 26 seats while four Councillors are nominated by the administration. NC and Congress have taken 22 of teh 26 berths leaving two each to independents and BJP.
Kashmir is left with 750 houseboats
JAMMU
At a local opposition conclave in Jammu, the leaders of various opposition parties unanimously decided to hold a peaceful protest against the BJP Government on October 10. Dr Farooq Abdullah presided over the meeting and the participants included Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), Vikar Rasool (Congress), Yousuf Tarigami (CPI M), Harsh Dev Singh (Panthers Party), Gulchain Singh Charak (Dogra Sadar Sabha), and Muzaffar Shah (Awami National Conference). Talking to the media, Dr Abdullah said the protest would be “our first step”. They constituted a five-member Committee for coordination with the partners of the opposition alliance and chalking out of future strategy. They also decided to approach INDIA Alliance and requested Dr Abdullah to formally approach them for holding a meeting in Jammu. “While holding G-20 meet the Government claims that the situation is good and when it comes to holding of elections they say that the situation is not conducive,” Abdullah said, insisting the Constitution has been “suspended and the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were under attack.” When asked whether the Democratic Progressive Azad Party led by Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Apni Party headed by Altaf Bukhari were invited to the meeting, Abdullah replied: “They are Government parties.”
Jammu and Kashmir’s nursing training capacity has reached 1300 in 55 nursing colleges.
BASHOLI
The Basholi Pashmina has been granted the GI tag. Earlier Basholi painting, a rare art, also got the tag. Basohli Pashmina is a hand-spun coarse and thick product known for softness, fineness and lightweight. The only thing that it has in common with Kashmir Pashmina is that the raw material is the same and they are two completely different produce. Basholi Pashmina shawls are for men and women besides mufflers, blankets and baskets. Rajni Sharma and her husband Venkatakrishna Kunduru have been running Discovering Roots to get Basohli pashmina back into fashion. The product is facing a machine-made challenge.
Kashmir’s Health Department has collected Rs 1.5 lakh fines from smokers.
PULWAMA
This year, the apple production is low and it has improved the process. Even the C-category gets good prices. This has encouraged gangs to resort to loot. In one recent case, thieves struck at an orchard located between the villages of Goosu and Deeri villages of Pulwama district and took over Tanveera’s entire harvest. A resident of Rohmu, she lost her husband last year after a serious illness that left the family in a lot of debt. They expected the 200-crat apples would help them out and the crop was looted by thieves. Police said they are investigating the case.
In the last few years, Kashmir has lost nearly 15,000 hectares of paddy land to construction and crop diversification. Right now, only 1.3 lakh hectares grow rice.
SRINAGAR
The government has put under suspension, the services of two police officers – Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Budgam Gowhar Ahmad Khan and Deputy Superintendent of Police Adil Mushtaq. The latter is in custody. An official said that Khan is accused of extorting around Rs 17 lakh from an OGW of militants whose terror funding case he was investigating. He had actually accompanied the OGW to Dubai in August 2023 without obtaining permission from the Government. The official had allegedly faked the illness of his wife to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Budgam but the SSP later visited his residence in Police Housing Colony Bemina and found his wife there. To his wife, he had said he was deputed to Dubai by the police for training. DySP Adil Mushtaq is in custody for another case of corruption involving another terror funding case. Police are investigating ten officers in vehicle hiring cases as well.
PARIMPORA
As many as 17 families are literally living under the sky after their shanties went up in flames last week. The devastating fire was so quick and fast that everything was burnt well before the firefighters would reach the post. The Kashmiri-speaking families said they have been living in the ramshackle homes for more than half a century and the authorities have been making them promises that they will get 5 marla plots for creating dwellings. Apparently, the loss assessment would be made on the basis of the shanties but the fact is that they had everything in them – from the gold of their daughters to the small new luxuries of life. There were not many details available about these families living between a wall and the river.
KULGAM
An ethical hacker and an engineering student Muneeb Amin Bhat, 21, from Zungalpora village has joined Apple’s ‘Hall of Fame’. He got his place as a security researcher, in recognition of his role in detecting a vulnerability within Apple’s systems that had the potential to lead to an iCloud data breach. Initially, he detected 50,000 users’ data compromised and a further investigation took it to a much larger user base. “I reported this to Apple promptly three months ago, and they acknowledged my findings,” Bhat told reporters. “After confirming the successful implementation of the fix, Apple recently acknowledged my efforts and featured me in their Hall of Fame on their official website, acknowledging my contribution as a security researcher. They also mentioned the possibility of a bounty, which is currently under review by their team.” Over the years, Muneeb has established himself as a bug bounty hunter, ethically uncovering vulnerabilities in numerous companies, including industry giants such as Apple, Oracle, Intel, McDonald’s, and USAA Bank. A BTech student, he shifted to cyber security.
SHALIMAR
Two innovators – Owais Ali Wani and Bushra Naaz – from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K) have bagged first and second prizes at the National Agri Innovation Contest at Bhatinda in Punjab. The contest has received 112 applications from across the country of which 18 were shortlisted to pitch their innovations in the final contest. Among the 18 shortlisted candidates, who pitched their ideas in front of the jury, six were from SKUAST-K.
