Category: Community

Police writes to CRPF, seeks details on why paramilitary vehicle was moving in non-deployment area

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have written to the CRPF seeking an explanation that why a lone CRPF vehicle moved through the Nowhatta area of Srinagar where it was decided that there will be no deployment of security forces on last Friday after clashes left at least 20 youth injured on 25 May. Two youths were run over by an armoured vehicle of the CRPF which left one of them dead and another wounded and the family of the deceased has sought that a murder case should be pressed against…

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Just 3 days went without violence during last 3 weeks

Editor

Since the announcement of the Ramadan ceasefire by the Union Government, the Kashmir valley has witnessed 43 incidents of violence, including 18 grenade attacks and 22 killings. In the first three weeks of the holy month of Ramadan, which started on May 17, only three days have passed when militants did not initiate any action. The militants made their intentions clear on the very first day of Ramadan when they struck in the heart of the city and stole three rifles from a police post near the venue where Prime…

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Sajad Mir & Shahid Bhat arrested for spreading fake news

Editor

Two administrators of these self-styled news groups — Sajad Ahmad Mir and Shahid Ahmad Bhat, residents of Pampore — have been identified and apprehended. Two administrators of social media groups were arrested today for allegedly spreading fake news with the intention of harming the reputation and safety of some youth in Kashmir, police said. “The Awantipora Police received information through reliable sources that some self-styled news groups viz ‘Kashmir Zone’, ‘Hamza Hizbi’ and ‘Quick News’ have circulated photographs of some youth with malicious intention on social networking sites whereby rumours…

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How Kashmir’s youth are caught between a bullet and a CRPF vehicle

Editor

On Friday, three youth were mowed down by a paramilitary forces’ vehicle, which came under heavy stone throwing, just outside Srinagar’s Grand Mosque. One of the injured – Qaiser Ahmad Bhat, all of 21 years of age – succumbed to his injuries later at a hospital. The incident sparked a debate on social media over whether this was an accident — or a murder even. As the debate grew heated, I received hundreds of abuses for sharing a photograph of Bhat getting mowed down under the vehicle. A majority of…

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‘A cult has been born’- former J&K Police chief Kuldeep Khoda on rising militancy

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir police Chief Kuldeep Khoda has warned of a “cult” being born in the state with more educated young people joining terrorism and picking up the gun becoming an “attractive and glamorous” option. The “dimensions and dynamics” of terrorism are changing, Mr Khoda, the longest serving and the most successful police chief of the state, said in a blog. Examining the reasons for increasing number of youths joining terrorism, he said, “When political grid is inactive, even if security grid gets results, a common man on many…

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Ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi

Editor

The happenings in the ongoing month of Ramadan should serve as an ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi about the enormity of the situation in Kashmir. It is headed towards a catastrophe. The place is becoming immune to all sorts of measures initiated to help it come out of the vortex of violence and bloodshed. And, the simple reason is that the anti-peace forces are violently jolting the structure of peace and normalcy that the Centre so painstakingly attempted to build by announcing ceasefire during this month of prayers. New…

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Local recruitment in militant groups rising: Agencies

Editor

The unilateral ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan may have brought a halt to anti-militancy operations in Kashmir but security agencies have warned of a rise in recruitment of local youth into militant groups, that has crossed 80. Security officials said more youth from the highly-volatile Shopian and Pulwama districts in south Kashmir continued to join militant groups, including ISIS-Kashmir and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group which claims support of the Al-Qaeda. As many as 20 more youth have joined the militant groups in May, the officials said. The officials…

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CRPF terms ‘Run over’ charges ‘Baseless’ even as victim’s family presses for murder case

Editor

Ahmed died on Friday after being run over by a CRPF vehicle outside Jamia Masjid—Kashmir’s largest mosque—after he offered prayers. Meanwhile, Ahmed’s family has demanded that CRPF personnel, including a senior officer who was in the vehicle, be booked for murder. Even as Kaiser succumbed to his injuries on Friday, Mohammad Younis Bhat was wounded and is undergoing treatment at the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Ahmed’s family said he had not been pelting stones and was heading home to the nearby Fatehkadal area on his motorbike. Jammu and…

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After inputs of Jaish infiltration Kashmir Valley on High alert

Editor

The Kashmir valley is on a high alert and the security forces are on tenterhooks following inputs that around two dozen battle-hardened Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, believed to have infiltrated recently, have split themselves in smaller groups in south Kashmir. The immediate worry for the security grid is the anniversary of the first battle of Islam — the Battle of Badr — that falls on Saturday. Intelligence inputs indicate that militants may carry out attacks on the day. Last year, the Jaish had carried out six attacks on the anniversary of Badr…

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Top Kashmiri bureaucrats hold insignificant posts

Editor

One way to marginalise Kashmiri presence in the top bureaucracy is to limit the number of officers in the services. Another is to install the remaining officers in positions where their presence is not impactful. The secretariat at present is witness to both. A senior Kashmiri bureaucrat, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said most of the administrative secretaries from the Valley hold inconsequential departments, some of which have less than 500 employees. No Kashmiri officer heads important departments like finance, planning, home, roads…

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