SHOT DEAD: Army and state police claims that they have killed Shakir Ahmed alais Chota Haafiz, a top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander at Qadara, Kishtwar. He was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with September 7, 2011 blast outside Delhi High Court in which 14 people died and 80 were injured. Ahmed carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh.
HANGED: A 22-year-old girl, a resident of Soibugh, Budgam, was found hanging at her home. She was shifted to the hospital but was declared dead by the doctors. A case under section 174 CrPC has been registered and investigations are on.
INJURED: Gulzar Ahmad Mir, 39, resident of Iskenderpora, Khag, was attacked and injured by a bear. Mir was later shifted to a hospital in Srinagar for treatment.
DAMAGED: A government middle school building in Sheeri, Baramulla, was damaged in a fire incident. However, there was no loss of life or injury reported. The cause of the fire is not known yet. The police say they are investigating the matter.
LAUNCHED: State’s Power Development Department has launched a Rs 160 crore project across the state to identify the loopholes and reduce the losses. The project is a centrally sponsored scheme ‘Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme’ and is being looked after by IT giant, WIPRO, which bagged the contract in January 2011.
SUBMITTED: Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) submitted in High Court that killing dogs is the only way to get rid of them and rejected the report by the six-member expert committee constituted by the government. The committee had ruled out killing of dogs as “legally untenable” and instead advocated curtailing food waste availability for them.
FOUND: Taking note of the long delay and cost escalation in the Kashmir rail link project, the government auditor CAG has found “poor” planning by Indian Railways and lack of due diligence before its execution. The 290-km long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line project’s originally estimated cost of Rs 3,077 crore in 1999-2000 has escalated to Rs 19,565 crore and the project is still not complete.
DIRECTED: State legislative council has directed the government to submit an interim report on the findings made by the three-member panel investigating into the partial collapse of the Assembly complex in Jammu. A wall of the historic Legislative Assembly complex collapsed on December 10, due to digging work taking place close to the complex for construction of new Legislative complex in Jammu. The committee also directed R&B to submit a status report on the ongoing road projects in Jammu.
INAUGRATED: Abdul Rahim Rather, J&K’s finance minister inaugurated HDFCs 49th branch in the state at Narwal, Jammu. The bank is planning another 10 branches besides adding 30 ATMs to its 130 ATM network by March 2013. HDFC Bank has reported deposits worth Rs 909 crore and advances of Rs 365 crore that makes a 37% Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR) up to November 2012 against an assigned target of 40% CDR, a statement issued by the J&K government said.
DETAINED: State police detained two former Kashmiri militants, their wives and 13 children from Channi, Himmat after they reached J&K from Kathmandu, Nepal via Patna. They reached Nepal after taking a flight from Karachi. They had crossed over to Pakistan administered Kashmir from Keran sector in Kupwara district about two decades ago. The duo hailed from Kupwara.
ESTABLISHED: State government has established Adalats in majority of the Panchayat halqas across the state and these judicial bodies will start functioning within next two months. The government will shortly start educating the Chairmen and members of the Panchayati Adalaat about their powers at IMPA and state judiciary.
ACCUSED: A division bench in state High Court has taken serious note of the functioning of the General Administration Department and accused it of maintaining ‘blissful’ silence on the alleged encroachment of 92 kanals of state land by Ch Lal Singh, Member of Parliament. The bench has made this observation while hearing a publicized PIL highlighting organized land grabbing by certain police officers, politicians and bureaucrats in connivance with land mafia.
SACKED: Minister for Health and Medical Education, R S Chib sacked Dr Aniece Choudhary, Principal Government Medical College, Jammu from the post of HoD, ENT, where he has been facing serious charges of neglecting an infant for four days which lead to her death. Chib, in consultations with concerned official of the department, has appointed Dr Sunil Kotwal as new HoD of ENT Department.
SURRENDERED: 4,081 militants, including 279 commanders have surrendered in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 22 years of militancy in the state, a report compiled by the state home ministry said. The highest number of 655 militants surrendered in 1996, followed by 612 in 1991, 601 in 1995, 444 in 1992, 270 in 1997, 187 in 1998, 109 in 1999, 98 in 1993 and 32 in 1994, the report added.
