AWAITING: The State Vigilance Organisation is still awaiting sanction to prosecute 64 government and Private Sector Undertaking (PSU) officials from the General Administration Department of the government. The state government has declared 2011 as the ‘Anti-corruption year’. The SVO claims to have proved cases of misappropriation of funds and other irregularities against two IAS, three IFtS and three KAS officers, 15 Block Development Officers (BDOs), six engineers and other senior officers.
FOUND: The body of a newborn girl, partially eaten up by stray dogs, was recovered from general bus stand area in Jammu. A passerby notified the police, who removed the body to GMC hospital where it has been kept in the mortuary.
WANTED: At least 1160 youth are wanted by police across the Kashmir Valley for their alleged role in the 2010 summer unrest. The policemen are calling the relatives of the accused to police stations, where they are asked to reveal the whereabouts of their wards besides conducting nocturnal raids to arrest them. Most of the wanted youth have been charged with “attempt to murder, prevention of unlawful acts, burning and rampage, and for unlawful assembly.” The figure of 1160 does not include absconding youth in Sopore area where officials refused to divulge the details. Police sources said the accused are wanted in various cases lodged against them for creating law and order problems last year. The youth, they said, are yet to be arrested and the cops are looking for them to close the pending cases and also produce the charge-sheets.
REVEALED: The government told the state assembly that 5255 persons, including 799 students, were arrested between January 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011 across the state for allegedly resorting to `stone pelting’ during summer unrest. Out of total number of people detained on charges of stone pelting, 5009 were released, it said. Earlier Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, had said in the Assembly on March 5, that 4064 people were arrested across the state between June 2010 till date and out of them 3900 were released. He had said that only 164 people were presently under custody on the charges of stone pelting.
CHARGESHEETED: Two doctors of SKIMS have been formally charge sheeted for conducting private practice. The decision was taken after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave the go ahead for the action. A disciplinary committee, headed by chief secretary will take a decision on the erring doctors. Recently raids were conducted by the administration in various private hospitals, nursing homes and private consultations chambers against medicos not allowed to carry out private practice.
DREAMS: An alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba militant facing trial in several cases wants to write the civil services exams. Srinagar District Judge Sanjeev Gupta directed the superintendent of Central Jail Srinagar to facilitate the applicant Shabir Ahmad Bukhari in submitting his form. Bukhari, a resident of Kreeri village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and a law graduate, has earlier applied twice in the state civil services. He once cleared the preliminary exams but could not sit for the mains as he reached the examination centre late due to non-availability of escort party. Bukhari was arrested in 2006 and has six cases of militancy filed against him including plotting to kill former Minister of State for Education Ghulam Nabi Lone.
GUARDED: Seventeen separatist leaders (including Sajjad Lone) are being provided with security cover while five others have refused the facility, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the State Assembly. JKLF Chief Yaseen Malik, Fazal Haq Qureshi (Chairman of PPF), Shabir Shah, Nayeem Ahmed Khan and Syed Ali Shah Geelani have refused to take security from the police.
CONVEYED: The state government has conveyed to the Centre that it would not be possible for it to remove the Disturbed Area tag from some areas without the support of the Centre. The proposal to partially withdraw the AFSPA from some peaceful areas of J&K hit another roadblock when Omar Abdullah government decided against acceding to the Home Ministry’s request to bring some areas out of the purview of the Disturbed Areas Act to ensure security forces don’t enjoy AFSPA cover any longer.
CAPTURED: The policeman of SOG Budgam captured by villagers during an armed robbery in Aarizal Budgam has been found to be involved in another gunpoint heist, in which over Rs 2 lakh in cash besides Jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh was looted from a Srinagar family. Special Police Officer (SPO) Muhammad Ibrahim Bhat, was identified by one Yasmeen, as the one who had robbed her on gunpoint.
ANNOUNCED: Forest Minister Mian Altaf today announced setting up of a Jungle Resort Corporation in the State this year to develop tourism, generate employment and promote eco tourism.
