Bullets can’t tell difference, civilians responsible for their deaths at encounter sites: J&K Police Chief

Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid urged the state’s youth to stay away from encounter sites to avoid becoming casualties. Civilians thronging encounter sites are responsible for their deaths as bullets don’t distinguish between a stone pelter and a militant, Jammu and Kashmir police chief S P Vaid said on Thursday as he again urged youth to stay away from such places as they were not marriage venues. Nobody wants civilian deaths and the police and security forces are pained at such incidents, he emphasised. “We have been appealing…

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Mehbooba Mufti is at a loss over the shifting public mood in Kashmir

A wave of anger has gripped the Valley anew following an aggressive and bloody counterinsurgency campaign. On March 30, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti told delegates at a convention of the Travel Agents Association of India in Srinagar: “We’ve invited you here for handholding us. Something happens in Kashmir, some encounter [gunbattle between militants and government forces] at a far off place, it appears on TV as if entire Kashmir was burning. Your coming here is like a whiff of spring, a good omen. Our situation is not…

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VK Singh promises justice for Kathua girl, Congress questions ‘Modi’s silence’

The eight-year-old girl was gang-raped thrice by her abductors, including a special police officer, inside a temple. The eight-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district “will not be denied justice”, said union minister V K Singh on Thursday as outrage grew over the crime and split the state along communal lines. “We have failed..as humans. But she will not be denied justice,” said Singh, the junior foreign minister, in a tweet. Hindustan Times is not naming the murdered girl because of legal reasons. The…

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Irresponsible actions, Statements won’t obstruct law: Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Thursday said that the law won’t be obstructed by irresponsible actions and statements of a group of people. In a tweet, Mehbooba said that justice will be delivered in Asifa rape-and-murder case. “The Law will not be obstructed by the irresponsible actions & statements of a group of people. Proper procedures are being followed, investigations are on the fast track & justice will be delivered. #JusticeForAsifa,” tweeted Mehbooba. The tweet comes a day after a bandh call issued by the Jammu Bar association evoked…

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Post Shutdown call, Restrictions imposed in Srinagar

Authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar city on Thursday due to a valley-wide protest shutdown called by separatists against the killing of four civilians in a gunfight on Wednesday. The shutdown has been called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a separatist conglomerate headed by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik. The police said restrictions were imposed in Srinagar’s old city and also in the uptown areas falling under the jurisdiction of Maisuma and Kralkhud police stations. Cancelling a cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday in…

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Abducted, held captive in temple, raped repeatedly: Charge sheet describes atrocities committed on Kathua girl

The eight-year-old girl was continuously drugged and was gang-raped thrice by her abductors, including a special police officer, inside a temple. The charge sheet filed by the crime branch of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police before the chief judicial magistrate in Kathua district on the rape-murder of an eight-year-old girl reveals the depravity of the crime, which has polarised the Jammu region on communal lines. The girl, who belonged to the nomadic Muslim Bakarwal community, was kidnapped on 10 January while she was out grazing horses in a pasture…

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Pre-1953 status demand obnoxious: Chaman Lal Gupta

Chaman Lal Gupta, former Union Minister, on Wednesday termed the demand for the restoration of the pre-1953 autonomy of J&K “obnoxious”. In a statement, Gupta said, “No right-thinking person can even think of having those black days back. Prior to 1953, there was no jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and even the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.” He said the extent of intolerance could be gauged from the fact that in the 1950s, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra, who founded the All-J&K Praja Parishad, was arrested for…

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Jammu observes bandh, Rift in Chamber over Bar Association’s bandh call

Jammu city observed a complete shutdown on Wednesday after a bandh was called by the Bar Association, Jammu, and other organisations over various issues, including illegal settlement of Rohingya refugees, Rasana rape-murder case, tribal settlements and the district status for Nowshera. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed throughout the day. Public transport too remained off the roads, causing problems to commuters. “Though we did not have official support of some key organisations, shopkeepers and transporters backed the bandh, making it complete and successful,” said Bar association president BS Slathia while…

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J&K excluded from India in map distributed at health ministry event

In a faux pas, Jammu and Kashmir was excluded from the Indian map at an event organised by the Health Ministry on Wednesday. The map showed Jammu and Kashmir as distinct from other parts of India and Aksai Chin as part of China. The erroneous map was circulated by an organisation supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Aksai Chin is a disputed border area between China and India. It is administered by China as part of Hotan County but is also claimed by India as a part of the…

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Shopian repeated in Kulgam, 4 Civilians, Armyman killed, Over 60 injured in Khudwani

Army man, 4 civilians killed in Khudwani Over 60 injured in forces firing on protestors near encounter site Locals rescue 3 militants alive from debris of house Sharjeel was killed inside his house: Family An army man was killed in a gunfight with militants while four civilians died in forces firing on protestors during clashes near the encounter site in Khudwani area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday. The three Lashkar militants, who were trapped in the area, were rescued alive by locals from debris of a house damaged…

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