Daily Excelsior....News Page

Another jawan injured in mine blast
Top LeT ultra, civilian, jawan, killed in Rajouri

Excelsior Correspondent

RAJOURI, Oct 7: A Lashkar-e-Toiba militant, an army jawan and a civilian were killed and a jawan was injured in two separate encounters across this border district overnight. Another jawan was injured in a mine blast at Lam.

According to official sources, a joint search operation was launched by army and police at village Gondi under the jurisdiction of Koteranka police station in Budhal tehsil this afternoon. The encounter was launched on the basis of a specific information developed by police that some militants had taken shelter in the village.

In the gun-battle that followed, security forces eliminated one top militant while a couple of his associates managed to escape. Body of slain militant was recovered from the scene of encounter and identified as Abu Maza Fani, a resident of Bawalpur, Pakistan.

One AK-47 rifle with five magazines, two grenades, one wireless set, 40 rounds, Rs 320 in Indian currency and Rs 20 in Pakistani currency were recovered from the possession of slain militant. There was no casualty on army side in the encounter, which lasted an hour.

Sources said two or three militants, who gave a slip to security forces during the exchange of firing, were being hunted in an adjoining village by troops. So far, they remained untraced.

Another encounter took place between army and militants when a patrol party of former was ambushed by latter at village Morha Tala Chappar at Bei in Nambla area of this district late last evening.

A fierce exchange of gun-battle continued for more than two hours in which an army jawan and a civilian were killed while the militants, who had the advantage of firing from atop a hill, managed to escape without suffering any casualty.

Deceased army jawan has been identified as Rifleman Govind Giri, a resident of Doda district. Sepoy Farooq Khan was injured in the encounter. Body of the deceased jawan was today shifted to his native town in Doda while the injured jawan has been hospitalised.

A civilian, who was on way to his house, was also trapped in the cross-firing and got killed. Identified as Mohd Azam, the civilian was a resident of Morha Tala Chappar. His body was handed over to his family members after post-mortem in the hospital.

Re-enforcement of army has been rushed to the spot to launch a search operation for the militants, who escaped towards a forest area during the encounter, the sources said.

They said another army jawan was wounded in a mine blast at Lam sector in Nowshera tehsil early this morning. He walked over a mine, reportedly planted by the militants, leading to an explosion. He has been hospitalised.

ISI-backed ‘jehadis’ have no affection towards
India Muslims: RSS chie

NAGPUR, Oct 7: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan today said Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI had spread its tentacles across states and engaged in distribution of Arms and RDX to carry out its evil designs to disrupt peace and communal harmony in the country.

Stating that the security of India was of paramount importance to the Sangh, he said any threat to it would be opposed tooth and nail. "Whosoever posed a threat to the nation will be opposed by awakening the masses by the RSS," he thundered at the Vijayadashmi Rally of the RSS, which completed its 75 years today, he said the ISI-sponsored ‘Jehadis’ had no affection towards the Indian Muslims which was evident in the macabre massacres unleashed against them.

"A large section of the Muslim community did not agree with the views of Islamic clerics that their religion was a binding chord for all Muslims across the globe," he said and pointed out that the recent extradiction of 22,000 Bangladeshi Muslims from Saudi Arabia and killings of Mohajirs in Pakistan were the glaring examples in this context.

The RSS supremo said earlier the Sangh was being projected as ‘anti-Muslim’ and in the past two years attempts were being made to portray it as ‘anti-Christian’.

He said the foreign churches which did not believe in equality of religions and were involved in separatist political conspiracies should be evicted from the country and a ‘Swadeshi church’ by the Indian Christians on the lines of China should be established.

Emphasising the need to unite the Hindu diaspora, Mr Sudarshan informed that the Sangh has opened its ‘Shakhas’ in different countries including sixty in the United States, seventy in England, eleven each in Holland and Surinam, four in Guyana and eighteen in Trinidad.

Apart from these, he said, branches of other organisations of the Pariwar including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Hindu Sewika Samiti were also being opened in these countries.

A World Hindu Convention 2000, which was recently organised at Trinidad-Tobogo in Carribean islands saw participation of 700 delegates from 20 countries, he added.

Warning of an economic invasion by the west, Mr Sudarshan said a vast country like India with the help of other developing countries could stop the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from being a puppet in the hands of some developed nations.

The developed countries which had twenty per cent of the world population, were enjoying 80 per cent of resources, he lamented and said organisations like the World Bank, IMF and WTO were formed to serve the former’s interests.

The escalation of petroleum prices in the world market has disturbed the economies of the petroleum importing nations. Stating that the oil pool deficit has gone up from Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 23,500 crore, he said the Government was trying to counter it.

Pointing out that it was the Government, which was doing the maximum misuse of petrol, he said unless it takes some measres to put some curbs, people would not take the situation seriously. The expenditure for maintaining cars and security for every minister of over-blown cabinets in different states was enormous, he said and exhorted them to play a role model in saving the precious petrol and diesel. (UNI)