Month: July 2018

Basant Rath, Kashmir’s real-life ‘Singam’ in trouble

Editor

Some call him Singam, some call him Dabang, senior IPS officer Basant Rath has been caught on the wrong side of the law. Rath, inspector general of police, traffic, was caught on camera, slapping a young man in Srinagar, sparking anger across Kashmir. The 44-second video shows Rath, in civvies, arguing with a youth at Partap Park in Srinagar’s nerve-center of Lal Chowk and then slapping him repeatedly. Later, another version of the same video with 1.50 minute duration surfaced on social media, in which the youth is appreciating his…

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Fear of poaching gives sleepless nights to Kashmir’s Politicians

Editor

Beware of predators and poachers, take care of your flock. This is the classic warning for shepherds while they graze their flock in the Himalayan meadows. In Kashmir’s political meadow of expedient opportunities, the same warning is now visiting mainstream politicians. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew from the ruling alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, the politics of make and break is back with a vengeance. Dissident MLAs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including the influential Shia leader and former minister Imran Ansari and his uncle, Abid Ansari,…

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Govt cancels Wular dredging contract to Indo-Sino company

Editor

Nearly a year after a ministerial panel cleared an Indo-Sino company to dredge the Wular Lake, the Governor’s administration has cancelled the contract that had run into controversy over some financial issues. A source said one of the reasons that led to cancellation of the contract to a joint venture between Kolkata-based Reach Dredging Limited and China-based Hubei Hongyan Engineering Company Limited was the lack of a clear source of funding to undertake the Rs 389-crore project This issue, according to the source, had become raised many an eyebrow after…

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Lal Singh to float apolitical pro-Dogra outfit tomorrow

Editor

Choudhary Lal Singh, former minister and BJP leader, is all set to float a pro-Jammu apolitical outfit on Sunday to intensify his fight to “restore the dignity and honour” of the Dogra community of the state. Since April 13, when he was forced by the party high command to resign from the council of ministers for supporting the demand for a CBI probe into the Kathua rape-murder case, Lal Singh has been addressing rallies across the Jammu region, raking up Dogra sentiments to emerge as a pro-Jammu leader before the…

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Over dismissal of accused cop in Kathua rape and murder High Court issues notice to state

Editor

Asks Chief Secy, DGP to file response in two weeks The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday issued a notice to the state government seeking its reply within two weeks over a petition filed by a policeman, one of the eight accused in the Kathua rape and murder case, challenging his dismissal from service, a defence lawyer said. High Court Judge Justice M K Hanjura issued the notice to the Chief Secretary and the DGP after hearing the argument over the petition filed by Constable Tilak Raj. Besides Raj,…

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Minor boys dismembered body sends shockwaves across Valley, Kupwara shuts in protest

Editor

The body of a 10-year-old boy with a chopped arm was recovered from a nullah at Gushi village in Kupwara district on Thursday evening. Umar Farooq Malik, a class III student of Gulgam, Kupwara, had gone missing on July 16. The J&K Police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to be headed by the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Kupwara, to probe the murder. “It is a brutal murder and we will reach the bottom of it,” Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kupwara, told Kashmir Post.…

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Shopian villagers accuse Army of thrashing civilians, vandalizing houses

Editor

Residents stage protest against ‘Army’s highhandedness’ Army went on a rampage in Mochwara village on south Kashmir’s Shopian district Tuesday night during which around 11 people including two sons of a retired police official and a 10th standard student were mercilessly thrashed, and five houses and some vehicles vandalized, locals said. Aged Ghulam Mohuiddin Shah, a retired police official, informed Kashmir Post that Tuesday evening at around 11:15 pm when they were already asleep, they were awakened by sudden smashing of window panes. “We noticed shreds of window glasses falling…

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J&K Govt orders ban on 30 Islamic, Pakistani channels, Cable operators threaten shutdown if ban not revoked

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday ordered for an immediate ban on 30 Islamic and Pakistan-based religious and spiritual channels across all cable television networks. A notification, issued by the Additional District Magistrate, Srinagar to the owner of a private cable television network based in the city, said that the operator has three days to suspend the “banned religious and news channels”. The list of channels also includes controversial Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik’s Peace English and Peace Urdu Channels and Pakistani channels such as GEO News, ARY, QTV and…

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BJP seeks abrogation of Articles 370, 35-A, Dineshwar Sharma on mission

Editor

After snapping ties with the Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP has again started raking up the issue of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution. During a meeting on Wednesday with Centre’s special representative on J&K Dineshwar Sharma, a delegation of the BJP led by district president Prem Nath Dogra strongly advocated abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, which impart special status to the state. Dineshwar arrived in Kathua this morning and met over a dozen delegations from a cross-section of society, including members of political parties…

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Violence sees new high across Kashmir Valley in last three years: MHA

Editor

A total of 256 incidents of violence — a steep hike from 2017 and 2016 — have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir in just six months of 2018, Home Ministry data presented in Parliament on Wednesday revealed. Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir told the Rajya Sabha that 100 militants, 43 security personnel and 16 civilians have been killed in the 256 incidents in the strife-torn state between January 1 and July 8. The data mentioned that 342 and 322 incidents of violence were reported in 2017…

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