APPOINTED: Considering “Omar Abdullah not too busy” with the state, Farooq Abdullah and the rest of the National Conference has decided to appoint Omar the working president of the party. Farooq Abdullah left the post because as a Union Minister he wasn’t able to look into the party matter effectively, he said.
DECIDED: State government has decided to set up two artificial dams at Dabbi and Phangeri areas in Kathua. Of total budget of 39 lakh, 17 lakhs have been spent. These dams are seen as the efforts to promote recharging of the ground water and will facilitate irrigation of fields, nomads, and their livestock and wildlife habitats.
COLLAPSED: A portion of Qalai, a Mughal monument of 16th century, collapsed near Sangeen Darwazah, Hawal while its repair work was on. Its repair project is taken up by Department of Tourism and the total cost of repaire and development is estimated to be of Rs 38 lakhs. The collapse is believed to happen because of the substandard material used in this repair.
ELEVATED: Sheikh Owais Ahmed, IGP, Personnel and training (KPS, 1977 batch) is the first one from the State Police services (SPS) to become eligible to the position of Additional Director General of Police in J&K. The other two eligible candidates are Dilbagh Singh, IGP Jammu and S M Sahai, IGP Kashmir.
HIRED: In an attempt to minimize the transmission and distribution losses in the power sector, the state government has hired Pricewaterhouse Cooper, a British consultancy. The attempt is made to streamline the generation and distribution system in Power Development Department, authorities say.
SENTENCED: Aijaz and Sajjid, allegedly activists of Jaish-e-Muhammed, are sentenced imprisonment of nine years and are fined of Rs 10,000 each. They were arrested with 15 cartridges of AK 47, a hand Grenade and 8 kg explosives in Shamli town, UP in 2003, prosecution said. Both are already convicted under POTA by a special court and were sentenced seven years imprisonment.
UNEARTHED: Police arrested a retired revenue officer and an ex serviceman and many others in a racket of making fake Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC). 29 fake PRC, seven files for making State subjects, 16 blank forms etc were recovered from their possession. Police suspects more people to be involved in the racket and investigations are on.
MISSING: Abdul Majid Malik, 9, resident of Sarai, Safa Kadal is missing from last five days. Malik had gone to play with his friend and hasn’t returned back since then. Eye witnesses say that while playing Malik was chasing a ball which had rolled down to river Jhelum, drowning the boy. Police is searching for him.
KILLED: Sangram Singh, 32, BSF personnel was killed with an iron rod by his brother Munna at Tilauli, Sikandarpur, UP over a land dispute. Singh was currently posted in J&K and had gone on leave to his native place.
SHORTLISTED: Coordination committee of ruling Coalition, NC and Congress, has nominated Kuldep Khoda (DGP) for the post of state’s Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Khoda, an IPS officer, is due to get retired in May. Formal order will be issued in the next meeting of the committee.
RETURNED: Almost 52 youth from various districts of the state, who had crossed the border to get trained and be a part of the freedom movement in early 90’s, have returned to Kashmir since the rehabilitation policy by the present coalition government was announced, says state’s home secretary. In this policy, Government claims to resettle them in Kashmir as normal citizens.
APPOINTED: Tanvir Sadiq, son of a political figure and legislator Sadiq Ali, is appointed as the spokesperson of the National Conference (NC). Tanvir, a Burnhall and Biscoe alumni, has done bachelor’s degree in IT management from US. Earlier he was a corporator of SMC.
REAPPOINTED: Mustafa Kamal is reappointed as additional general secretary of NC. The move is criticized by many and it is said that NC seems to be ready to confront their coalition partners, Congress, again. Kamaal at many occasions has made it clear that he “cannot be in friendly relations with New Delhi and Congress”.
GRANTED: State High court granted one week’s time to the government to file objections in the Janglat Mandi alleged fake encounter case of 2001 in which four people including two civilian and two Army personnel dubbed as a militant was killed. The petition was filed by Zaituna, who claims that her son, Abdullah Bhat, one of the killed in the encounter, ‘civilians’ was innocent.
FILED: A defamation suit is filed by Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat against Justice (retired) Nisar Ahmed Kakru former Chief Justice Hyderabad high court for using derogatory language against him in the judgment of a PIL number 545 in 2008. The PIL was filed against the Principal of SKIMS for withdrawing a job advertising notice. Bhat is a retired Director physical education Islamia College.
