For today’s Bharat Bandh centre asks states to tighten security

Ministry of home affairs said district magistrates and superintendents of police will be personally held responsible for any violence in their area of jurisdiction. The Centre on Monday advised all states to beef up security and prevent violence during the Bharat Bandh called by some groups on Tuesday. The protest is being reportedly called by people opposed to caste-based reservations in jobs and education, an official said. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also said district magistrates and superintendents of police will be personally held responsible for any violence in…

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Don’t allow Muslims into your houses: BJP MLA Banwari Lal Singhal

BJP MLA from Alwar city Banwari Lal Singhal, known for his communal rants, has courted fresh controversy by urging Hindu families not to allow Muslims to enter their homes. Talking to TOI on Monday, the second-term MLA stated that Muslims were habitually involved in all kinds of crimes. He boasted that he neither allowed Muslims to enter his residence or office nor sought their votes. “Meo Muslims do not vote for BJP. I also do not go after them for votes. Seeking votes from them would mean that I have…

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Farooq Ahmad Dar regrets voting, says Major Gogoi roaming freely

A year after Farooq Ahmad Dar was used as human shield by army, the victim Monday said he regrets casting the vote last year during bypolls to Srinagar parliamentary seat. “It has been a year now since the incident took place. Today I regret and feel ashamed for casting the vote. For casting vote, I was used as a human shield by army and the incident has totally changed my life,” Dar told reporters during a peaceful protest organized by chairman of International Forum of Justice (IFJ) Ahsan Untoo at…

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Kashmir an issue of right to self-determination: Shehla Rashid

Calling for a political resolution of Kashmir, former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) vice president Shehla Rashid Monday said Kashmir was an issue of the right to self-determination of the people. Addressing a news conference here, Shehla said Kashmir was not a human rights issue or an issue of terrorism but an issue of the right to self-determination of the people. Taking a dig at the State government, she questioned why gun was being used as the first response toward youth. Shehla highlighted several issues regarding the academic system,…

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Amid high drama by lawyers, Crime Branch files charge-sheet in Kathua Rape-Murder case

We filed charge-sheet against 7 accused: IGP Crime Kathua lawyers attempt to prevent filing of challan Jammu Bar calls shutdown on April 11 Amid high drama and protests by lawyers in court of Chief Judicial Magistrate to prevent filing of charge-sheet, the Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police Monday filed charge-sheet against seven accused in the rape and murder of 8-year-old minor girl of Kathua. As some vehicles of Crime Branch including a 407 vehicle carrying seven accused entered the court complex in police protection to produce challan against them in…

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Mehbooba meets Modi, seeks help to end violence in valley

Three days after appealing to the country’s leadership to listen to the voices of pain from the state, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. She apprised him about the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir. During the meeting, the Chief Minister stressed finding ways and means to end the cycle of violence in the state by dealing with alienation among the youth. She said the people, who had suffered immensely during the turmoil in the past three decades, were looking up…

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Breakthrough needed to ward off conflict: Abdul Gani Bhat

Stating that India and Pakistan desperately need a breakthrough to ward off the ghosts of war, senior Hurriyat leader and Muslim Conference head Abdul Gani Bhat said an agenda with master strategy was must for generating “propitious political environment” in the region. Bhat made these assertions during a meeting of the executive council members of the Muslim Conference here on Sunday. He said if strategies don’t work out, no breakthrough could happen. “The Kashmir dispute involves two major countries of the South Asian region. Therefore, we will need an agenda…

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Farooq Abdullah bats for Internal Autonomy, calls for converting LoC into line of Peace & Goodwill

Strongly pitching for Indo-Pak dialogue, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said internal autonomy to J&K within the framework of the Indian Constitution and the conversion of Line of Control (LoC) into ‘line of peace and goodwill’ were a pragmatic way forward to herald peace in the region. “India and Pakistan should resume the dialogue process and engage people of J&K in an acceptable solution,” Farooq said while addressing party workers at Balakote in the Mendhar constituency of Poonch district. He said sagacity lay in acknowledging the realities and…

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PHE dept draws up Drought Plan as valley witnesses snow-less winter

In view of the inadequate precipitation during winter, the state’s public health engineering department has drawn up a ‘Drought Plan’ to ensure potable water supply in coming months. The department has sought Rs 131 crore from the state government to augment the supply of water and upgrade infrastructure to meet water demand. “The Valley has received less precipitation over the last 8 months which has resulted in depletion of water sources,” Chief Kashmir, PHE Kashmir division Er. Abdul Wahid told Kashmir Post. The money will be spent on construction of…

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Rains lash Valley, MeT predicts more rains in next 3 days

Rains lashed Kashmir Sunday bringing down the maximum temperature across the Valley with the MeT office forecasting the wet spell to continue over the few next days. Most parts of Kashmir, including summer capital Srinagar, received rains today, an official of the meteorological office here said. He said the downpour brought down the maximum temperature by several degrees across Kashmir. Kupwara recorded a maximum temperature of 16.4 degrees Celsius against yesterday’s 25.6 degrees Celsius, the official said. He said Srinagar recorded a high of 20 degrees Celsius, compared to 26…

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