Category: Community

Had State acted on Kunan-Poshpora, Kathua wouldn’t have happened

Editor

The rape and murder of an 8-year old nomadic girl in Kathua has reopened the wounds of the survivors of the Kunan-Poshpora mass rape of 1991, who came all the way down from their small hamlet to show solidarity with the minor victim. “If the State would have acted in case of Kunan-Poshpora, Kathua would have never happened,” they said. As many as 27 years have passed, but the survivors of the mass rape are still longing for the guilty army personnel to be punished, as the probe has been…

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Bar Council to probe lawyer’s ‘Misconduct’ in Kathua rape & Murder case

Editor

The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday decided to probe the “misconduct” on part of lawyers in connection with the Kathua rape and murder case on a day Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti accepted the resignations of two BJP ministers who had participated in a rally in support of the accused. The resignations of Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, received from BJP state chief Sat Sharma, were immediately accepted and sent to Governor NN Vohra. The BCI decision came after its general body met in the backdrop…

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Kathua Rape & Murder triggers political row, BJP asks Cong to sack its JK chief

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The BJP on Sunday demanded the sacking of state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, claiming that he was seen in a video terming the police probe in the Kathua rape-and-murder case motivated and defending the public protests against it. Citing the BJP’s decision to remove two of its Jammu and Kashmir ministers, who had joined the public protests against the probe, Union minister Prakash Javadekar wondered if Congress president Rahul Gandhi would only point fingers at others but maintain silence on the comments of his party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit…

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Must sit down together to bring peace: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat

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Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said the radicalised youth of the Valley would soon realise that the gun was not the solution to their problem as neither security forces nor terrorists would achieve their goals through it. Peace, he said, was the only way to improve the situation in Kashmir that had been witnessing militancy for about three decades now. “There is hope that the situation in Kashmir will improve…. There are some youths in Kashmir who have strayed and have been radicalised. They think they can achieve…

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Ministers who defended accused in Kathua rape case submit resignation

Editor

Two BJP ministers, who were at the centre of a storm over their participation in a rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case, on Friday submitted their resignations to the party’s state president Sat Sharma. “Yes, the two ministers have submitted their resignation to me,” Sharma told PTI. He said a legislature party meeting of the BJP is scheduled to be held on Saturday in Jammu where the future course of action on this issue will be discussed. “We are going to discuss this…

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Won’t let law be impeded: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said her government would not allow law to be obstructed and that justice would be delivered in the Kathua rape and murder case even as Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JHCBA) president BS Slathia termed the charge-sheet filed by the Crime Branch as lopsided and full of discrepancies. “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,” the…

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People throng Khudwani gunfight site, contribute to rebuild houses

Editor

Hundreds of people thronged the house of Ghulam Mohammad Wani, for the second consecutive day on Thursday at Khudwani, in which the militants had taken shelter leading to a 16-hour long standoff between them and government forces which subsequently resulted in torching of three houses, along with Wani’s. Some 18 family members of Wani family were asked to vacate the house after militants took the position in their house. The stench of burnt petrol still filled in the environs at the encounter site making one feel nauseated. Locals claim that…

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J&K Police competent to probe Kathua rape case: DGP Vaid

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The Jammu and Kashmir police has no objection if the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district is assigned to the CBI but it is as competent as any investigation agency to handle the case, state DGP SP Vaid asserted on Thursday. He also rejected as “misconception” claims that the crime branch team probing the matter had no member from the Jammu region while emphasising that police officers perform their duties rising above regional or religious identities. “If we can we fight terrorism and stone pelting, why…

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

Editor

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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Bubble of celebration in a sea of mourning

Editor

Just as government forces were using an earthmover to search for bodies of three militants under the debris of burnt down houses they believed were killed during a long gun battle Wednesday, the militants appeared at Quimoh market on bikes performing stunts amid a jubilating crowd. All the three militants trapped inside a military cordon had managed to escape with the help of protestors who had thronged the encounter site. As the forces declared the operation over villagers rushed to the spot of the gun battle when locals started talking…

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