From Sainik School to Hizb: Manan Bashir Wani’s journey

From being an outstanding student to one of the most-wanted militants in Kashmir, Manaan Bashir Wani, a former PhD scholar at Aligarh Muslim University, was among a stream of highly-educated youth who joined militancy since 2016 uprising in Kashmir. A profile of 27-year-old Wani as sketched by security agencies shows Wani was a brilliant student from the beginning and after his initial education, he went to prestigious Sainik School at Manasbal for completing his 11th and 12th class. Wani received several awards during his academic years and had also remained…

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Haven’t seen ‘Such An Election’ anywhere before: CRPF Personnel

Deserted polling booths and lack of poll festivity was a “rare sight” for Central Reserve Police Force personnel deployed for the first time in Srinagar to guard polling booths during the second phase of urban local body elections Wednesday. At least six CRPF men were seen guarding a polling booth at ward number 24 in Chattabal area—which witnessed zero voting—and gossiping about why people in Kashmir don’t turn up to vote. Ramesh Kumar, a CRPF man from Chattisgarh, who was deployed for poll duty for the first time in Kashmir,…

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‘Who is contesting against whom’, This is not election but mystery

As Srinagar’s Batamaloo and Karan Nagar areas went to polls during the second phase of urban local body elections Wednesday, the residents in the twin localities said they neither know the location of polling booths nor the names of contestants. This reporter had to roam for around 20 minutes inside Batamaloo to finally locate five polling booths set up outside the police control room (PCR) where—till 3 pm—only 13 votes had been cast. The poll timing was 6 am to 4 pm. “We don’t know anything about polling booths, election…

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Unique elections in India where voters don’t know who the candidates is?

BJP Lotus to bloom in Kashmir? Srinagar: It is a ghost election with secret candidates and invisible voters. Even before tomorrow’s first phase of polling for Urban Local Bodies, the BJP has already got seven municipal committees in the Kashmir Valley. The party says its 75 nominees have been elected unopposed. 60 percent of 600 municipal wards in 10 districts of the Valley have either a single candidate getting elected unopposed or they remain vacant in the absence of any candidate at all. The civic elections are being boycotted by…

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Ecstatic Bashir Mir, BJP candidate from Bagh-e-Mehtab knows he has ‘Won’

At the end of the polling day on Monday this BJP candidate standing from Bagh-e-Mehtab here knew he had won the election to the ward, even though results of multi-phased civic polls are far away. Ecstatic, Bashir Ahmad Mir broke the news of his “victory” over phone to his family. “Don’t worry. The election is over. I have won,” Mir announced, visibly thrilled. As first phase of election to urban local bodies was held across Jammu and Kashmir, Mir stood outside the polling center set-up inside a community hall, eagerly…

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Why Indians need to cry every time that J&K is India’s integral part: Er. Rasheed

Er. Rasheed reacts to Rajnath Singh’s statement While reacting to Union Home Minister Raj Nath Singh’s statement that no power can snatch Kashmir from us, AIP President Er. Rasheed has said Indian leaders need to answer why they have to cry every time that J&K belongs to India and no power on earth can snatch it from India. While addressing the inaugural function of Langate Premier League in Audoora Langate today Er. Rasheed said “Least Home Minister and others need to answer is that if they need not to cry…

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Rebel candidates hit out at saffron party for ‘Terrorising’ them

For the last one week, Amit Khandari, Independent candidate from Ward Number 10 of the Poonch Municipal Committee, is moving from pillar to post to get security but to no avail. He alleges that his request is being ignored as he dared to contest election as a rebel against BJP’s official candidate. “By abusing power, the local BJP leadership has mounted pressure on the administration against giving security to party leaders who dared to contest as rebels,” Khandari told Kashmir Post. He said, “I have brought this matter to the…

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Post NC worker killings, BJP asks its cadres to be extra vigilant and not to leave safe places

Hours after the killing of two National Conference activists in old Srinagar, Bharatiya Janta Party asked its candidates not to leave the secure places allotted to them by the government. “We have asked the candidates to be extra vigilant,” BJP general secretary (Organizations) Ashok Kaul told Kashmir Post. He condemned the killing of NC workers and termed it “unfortunate”. Kaul dismissed reports saying BJP candidates had resigned from the party or withdrawn from the contest. “Nobody is back tracking, these are rumours,” he said, adding that in the prevailing Kashmir…

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Petrol, Diesel cheaper by Rs 5 per litre across J&K

Petrol and Diesel prices in Jammu and Kashmir have been slashed by Rs 5 per litre, the state government said Thursday. “The state government this evening announced matching cut of Rs 2.50 per litre in fuel prices commensurate with the price cut of Rs 2.50, announced by the central government earlier today,” an official spokesman said. The new fuel prices would be effective in the state from this midnight, he said.

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Recruited under PDP-BJP govt, 10000 SPOs under scanner

After a special police officer (SPO) of the J&K Police deserted the force and decamped with eight weapons to join the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, intelligence agencies are mulling verifying credentials of SPOs recruited during the tenure of the previous PDP-BJP regime. The step is being taken as there are allegations that the recruitment was made on the recommendations of politicians belonging to the ruling parties. On September 28, SPO Adil Bashir Sheikh from Shopian, who was posted at the residence of PDP MLA Aijaz Mir, fled with seven AK-series…

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