BSF SI, 2
militants killed, 3 jawans hurt Excelsior Correspondent POONCH, Nov 17: A powerful time bomb explosion rocked village Madana in Surankote area of this district this morning killing four persons on the spot and critically wounding another. The blast was triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fitted with a timer and planted on the road by the saboteurs. Meanwhile, two hardcore militants were gunned down by the security forces at village Kalalkus near Palma in Rajouri district while a Border Security Force (BSF) Sub Inspector was killed and three constables were injured in another encounter at Tiranga in Mahore area. Official sources said a Road Opening Party noticed a mysterious object lying on roadside at village Bawali in Madana area of Surankote at 0940 hours this morning. The patrol party immediately suspended traffic on Surankote-Poonch road and sounded an alert. However, before the patrol could summon the anti-sabotage and bomb disposal squad to the spot, the explosive device went off killing four passers-by on the spot and critically wounding another. The victims had suddenly appeared on the road from a by-lane without giving the security forces a chance to alert them. In the meantime, a police and security forces team also reached the spot and cordoned off the entire area. The victims were rushed to sub district hospital in Surankote where four of them were declared ‘brought dead’. Condition of injured was stated to be critical. The injured was being shifted to a Military Hospital. Sources identified the deceased as Bashir Ahmed son of Feroz Din, a resident of village Jhalas, Mohd Sharif son of Noor Hussain, a resident of Madana, Rehman Joo son of Mohd Joo of Seri Khwaja and Mohd Bashir son of Kala Din, a resident of Mandi. The injured has been identified as Habib Joo son of Wali Joo, a resident of Seri Khwaja. Sources said Army, security forces and police have sealed Madana and adjoining villages and launched a massive search operation to eliminate the militants responsible for planting the explosive device. Several suspects have been rounded up by the searching parties and were being questioned to reach to the militants. No formal arrest has been made so far. The searching parties ordered suspension of vehicular movement on Surankote-Poonch road to facilitate searches and avoid any further explosion in view of the reports that militants might have planted some more explosive devices on the road to blow up passenger vehicles. Traffic on the road hadn’t been restored till late this evening when the reports last came in. Dead bodies of the victims were handed over to their families this evening after post-mortem in the hospital. The bodies were badly charred which showed the intensity of the explosion. Sources said the device was filled with RDX and a timer and was aimed at blowing up security vehicles. During the last few months, militants had triggered a series of explosions in Poonch district, especially in Surankote area on the roadside. Several other IEDs had been detected and defused by security forces and police. Sources said additional re-inforcement has also been dispatched to village Madana to intensify search operation for the militants and check the possibility of any further strike by them. The village was stated to be tense but sources said situation there was well under control. Our Rajouri correspondent adds: Security forces and police killed two militants in a joint operation at village Kalalkus in Palma area, about 10 kms East of Rajouri this afternoon. A Defence spokesman said Army, BSF and police carried out a joint search operation at village Kalalkus this morning following a tip off about the presence of militants. Two militants were sighted in a hideout at about 1230 hours and were challenged by the security personnel. Militants fired at the searching party with AK-47 rifles. Security jawans retaliated killing both the militants on the spot after an hour long encounter. There was no casualty on security side in the exchange of firing. Bodies of militants were recovered from the hideout and have been handed over to local police for identification, which hasn’t been carried out so far. Two AK-47 rifles, with which militants had fired upon the security personnel, were also recovered from the scene of encounter, the spokesman said. Local people of the area have hailed the role being played by new division of the Army and extended their full co-operation to them in fighting Pakistan-sponsored militancy. Another encounter took place between security forces and militants in Tiranga area, about six kms south of Mahore in Udhampur district this morning. The security personnel, who were marching towards a militants’ hideout in the upper reaches of Mahore, were trapped in sudden firing by the subversives. However, security jawans replied the firing and in the exchange of firing a BSF Sub Inspector Manoj Kumar was killed while three constables identified as Baljit Singh, Devinder Parshad and Naresh Kumar were seriously injured, the sources said, adding the militants managed to escape. More forces have been rushed to the spot to continue search operations and apprehend the militants. No success has been achieved so far. Bodies of the deceased SI has been shifted to a security camp while the injured have been hospitalized in serious condition. Militants also fired upon another party of security forces at Zig Bagh in Udhampur this afternoon. Securitymen retaliated. There was no report of any casualty on either side in the encounter. |
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2 Jamaat
members, NC activist gunned down in south Kashmir From Ahmed Ali Fayaz SRINAGAR, Nov 17: While as two Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) members and a National Conference (NC) activist have been gunned down by rival militant outfits in south Kashmir since last evening, a powerful explosion at Army's notified fire disposal range at Rainipora in Anantnag district this evening left 6 persons killed and 7 injured, two of them seriously. Meanwhile, the death toll in Monday's grenade blast at Dooru, Anantnag has reached 3 as a critically injured civilian succum-bed to injuries at hospital today. Senior official sources told EXCELSIOR that at 1745 hours this evening, an extremely powerful explosion at the fire disposal range of 21-Field Ammunition Depot of Army at Rainipora, 20 km from Anantnag town in south Kashmir, claimed six human lives while as two more civilians were critically injured. Sources said that immediately after the troops concluded their exercise and packed up at 1720 hours, a number of youngsters rushed to the spot to collect the metal scraps of lead, brass and aluminium. As someone picked up an unexploded shell and perhaps fiddled with it, the same went off with a deafening explosion. While as 5 persons were blown into pieces and died on spot, the 6th persons succumbed to injuries at hospital. Those who got killed on spot were identified as 16-year old Sheeraz Ahmed Ganai son of Abdur Rehman Ganai, 10 year-old Shabir Ahmed Ganai S/o Ghulam Qadir Ganai, Bashir Ahmed Bhat S/o Ghulam Nabi Bhat, Mashooq Ahmed Ganai S/o Abdul Gani Ganai and Fayaz Ahmed Kuchhai S/o Gul Mohd Kuchhai, all residents of Rainipora. A critically-injured Nazir Ahmed Kuchhai S/o Ghulam Hassan Kuchhai R/o Rainipora later succumbed to injuries at District Hospital Anantnag. Two of the critically injured, namely Mohd Sabir Ganai and Nazir Ahmed Ganai of the same village were battling for life at Anantnag hospital late this evening. Atleast 5 boys with minor injuries rushed straight-away back home. Senior Defence sources confirmed the death of six civilians and said that the firing range near Khundroo stood notified and restricted for civilian movement for the last about two decades. However, it has been a routine practice throughout the country that residents of the nearby localities sneak into the firing range after troops withdraw from the site and collect the costly metal wastes. Earlier, this year, a number of children had got killed and injured at a similar site in Kulgam area in the Valley. According to Defence sources, the civilians err inspite of repeated warnings and blasts of unexploded shells at various places. 3 JI, NC activist killed Official sources at Kulgam in south Kashmir told EXCELSIOR that unidentified gunmen, suspec-ted to be the militants of a pro-India militant outfit, shot dead two more JI activists at Watihal near Qazigund this evening. Sources said that two armed passengers of bus No. JKE-8100, on way from Qazigund to Pahloo, got up and asked the driver to stop the vehicle at Watihal, 3 km from Qazigund, at 1800 hours this evening. They forced all the passengers to alight from the bus and selectively shot dead two of the passengers. They were identified as Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Khan S/o Aamir Khan, resident of Yar Khashipora and Abdul Khaliq Mir S/o Ghulam Rasool Mir, resident of Churhat, Qazigund. Both the 45-year old civilians who died on spot, were later identified as JI activists. Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be the militants of a pro-Pakistan guerrilla outfit, appeared at Marhang village in Shopian area of south Kashmir during last night and kidnapped a civilian namely Mohd Aslam Shah S/o Ghulam Hussain Shah. He was later hanged to death and his dead body was thrown in a paddy field. Sources described him as an NC activist. The assassination of two separatist and one mainstream political activist in south Kashmir has spread a fresh wave of terror among the JI as well as NC workers. Over a dozen NC and JI activists have been similarly killed in Pulwama and Anantnag districts in the last three weeks. Meanwhile, with the death of a critically injured Gujjar namely Kalu at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura this evening, the death toll of Monday's grenade blast at Dooru, Anantnag, has risen to 3. As already reported in this newspaper, two civilians namely Ashiq Hussain Wani S/o Abdul Majeed Wani of Wangund and Jana wife of Nisar Ahmed Khan of Sagam, Kokernag, had got killed and 36 civilians injured when an unidentified person hurled a handgrenade at the main market of Dooru last evening. Kalu, who succumbed today, was also a resident of Sagam. Atleast 16 of the seriously injured are still under treatment at two hospitals here. An unidentified person hurled a handgrenade in paddy fields at Dreygam in Budgam district and caused an explosion without harm to anybody. Security forces recovered a quantity of arms and ammunition from Dardpora, Kupwara. Vajpayee’s
performance as PM superb RAIPUR, Nov 17: Union Home Minister L K Advani today strongly defended Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s performance as Prime Minister saying the latter’s handling of the Government in the last eight months had demonstrated that he had the "ability, integrity and capability to lead a country like India". Commenting on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, dubbing Mr Vajpayee as a weak Prime Minister, Mr Advani told newsmen at Mana airport here that the opposition leader’s contention was "nothing but absurd". Stating that there was no threat to the Vajpayee Government, Mr Advani said the difficulty before the Government existed from the day one due to the very nature of the composition of the Lok Sabha wherein the BJP had no clear majority. About the Congress charge that the BJP was inept in running the Government, Mr Advani said the BJP- led Government was not serving its own interests but it had a clear vision to safeguard the interests of the country. About the anti- BJP stand of the Congress and the CPI(M), he drew a parallel with the Communists and Congress joining hands against the movement of late Jayaprakash Narayan 25 years ago. "History was being repeated. Now with the Congress and Communists, despite their differences, joining together on the anti- BJP stand", he said. Asked about the propriety of holding talks with Pakistan even as Pakistan continued the proxy war against India, he said the talks were being held to find a solution on bilateral issues. About the allegations that some members of the Union Cabinet had links with people like Dawood frontman Romesh Sharma, who was arrested recently, Mr Advani said Sharma could not have operated from the capital all these years without the patronage of politicians and officers. The CBI was inquiring into it, he added. Mr Advani asserted that the Vajpayee led BJP Government at the Centre has "kept " the promises it made in the national agenda. He identified Pokhran nuclear blast, demolishing 20 Pakistani terrorist camps, as some of the achievements of his Government in a short span of 8 months. Mr Advani exuded confidence that BJP will win in states of Delhi, Rajasthan, MP. Tracing the pattern of voting since 1952 general elections, the Home Minister pointed out that till 1971 the Congress won all the elections. It was for the first time in 1977 that the Congress Government was toppled due to a negative verdict. Again two years later the people threw out the Janata Party Government of Morarji Desai for internal bickerings within the Janata Party. The pattern of negative vote against the ruling party was seen there after. He quoted 1989 and 1991 as other examples in this connection. "It is for the first time that BJP led coalition came to power on a positive verdict," Mr Advani told the gathering. Refereeing to the opposition charge that his Government has not done much, Mr Advani said "we could have done much more." He said Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the only efficient and clean leader in the country. There are two alternatives left for the country it is either the BJP or the Congress that can rule India. Mr Vajpayee has just completed a clean governance of 8 months , Mr Advani told the meeting. Speaking about the Government achievements he said the then Jana Sangh had resolved way back in 1964, after China exploded its first nuclear bomb, to make India a nuclear power. And within two months of coming to power, the Vajpayee Government achieved this long cherished dream. For this he complemented the allies for extending full cooperation and support. This was the first of the promises fulfilled by our Government, he said. The second achievement was to control the Pakistani added terrorism in different parts of the country. Within these few months we have succeeded in destroying 20 Pakistani terrorist training camps in Kashmir. After 10 long years peace has returned to the Valley. The number of tourists going to Kashmir has increased manifold. Even film shooting units are visiting the Valley. He blamed the Congress Party for what he called vote bank politics for scrapping legal instruments like TADA. That is one of the reasons why internal security had slackened. The provisions in the TRPC are inadequate to tackle the problem of militancy. (UNI) Cong conspiracy will be disastrous: PM KOTA, Nov 17: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said the success of Congress party’s "conspiracy" to create "instability" would be disastrous for the country and sought strengthening of the people’s mandate to him to provide a clean and strong Government. "I have never played the cynical game of power in my long stint in politics and public life. Today I am Prime Minister by virtue of people’s mandate. "I am determined to provide a clean and strong Government. In a democracy, strength of the ruler comes from support by the people. I, therefore, appeal to the people of India to strengthen the mandate they have given me," he said addressing an election meeting here. Vajpayee said it was both unfortunate and condemnable that the Congress leadership should have used the campaign for the Assembly elections to the four states to revive its "plot" to destabilise the Government at the Centre. Congress has joined hands with the Communists, with whom it has nothing in common except lust for power, to mount a "bogus" propaganda about the threat to secularism. He said the Congress party stooped to the level of creating an artificial panic over scarcity of salt and its trenchant criticism of India’s nuclear policy demonstrated that its confrontationist posture has even blinded to the imperative of upholding national interests. Vajpayee said "to allow the Congress to create instability would be disastrous for the country. Several decades of Congress misrule have pushed the country into a system of corruption, criminilisation and neglect of the basic needs of the common people. The success of the Congress party’s conspiracy would mean continuation of this system." He said the opposition parties led by the Congress were trying to use the coming elections as an occasion to hatch a conspiracy to topple the Government at the Centre and create instability in the country. Appealing to the people to foil this conspiracy, the Prime Minister said destabilisation came naturally to the Congress party. He said after Congress "destabi-lised" two United Front Governments in less than 18 months it was roundly defeated in the last parliamentary elections. But unwilling and unable to accept defeat and sit in the opposition, the Congress leadership has now been conspiring to subvert the mandate of the electorate and grab power at the Centre through manipulations and false propaganda. Vajpayee said the Congress and other opposition parties had made several attempts to topple his Government in the past seven months and the Government had thwarted all their destabilisation attempts. (PTI) Enron deal NEW DELHI, Nov 17: The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) today accused former Petroleum Minister Capt Satish Sharma in Delhi High Court of receiving a bribe of Rs four crore for clearing the Panna-Mukta oil fields deal in favour of Reliance-Enron consortium. Opening arguments on a PIL seeking thorough probe into the transfer of Panna-Mukta oil fields to the consortium, CPIL Pashant Bhushan claimed before a division bench of acting Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice K S Gupta that Sharma’s private secretary B N Safaya had made this disclosure in a statement to CBI. Rs four crore were received by Capt Sharma at his farm house from Reliance. His private secretary B N Safaya in a statement to the agency has said. The money was brought by a person named Sethuraman, Bhushan alleged. He said fully developed Panna-Mukta oil fields in Maharashtra with an estimated deposit of over 31 million tonnes of oil worth Rs 20,000 crore was given on 25-year lease to the consortium for a paltry pass over amount of Rs 12 crore towards the end of 1994. Besides, the rich oil, the oil fields had an estimated deposit of ten billion cubic meter gas worth Rs 4,000 crore which was not taken into consideration while finalising the deal, Bhushan claimed adding that ONGC had spent over Rs 546 crore on development of the field earning profit to the corporation. Bhushan said Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its 1996 report had pulled up the Government for the faulty deal and pointed out many irregularities in it. The CAG had said the Government had not assessed the financial implications of the contract properly and referred to various inadequacies in the deal, Bhushan said. The CPIL advocate said the contract for oil extraction to the consortium was given at a fixed rate of Rs 1381 per barrel even before evaluating the financial implications. If the depreciation was taken into consideration during the next 25 years in terms of dollars, the Consortium would be the biggest gainer and ONGC would suffer huge losses, Bhushan claimed. ONGC was made to spend additional Rs 200 crore to creat more facilities to the consortium, he said adding that a national asset was thus given to a private party by signing a bad contract. It was not a marginal oil reserve but a vast field and ONGC was extracting oil on profitable rate at the time when the Government took the decision to hand it over to the consortium under the garb of privatisation, Bhushan said. (PTI) CHANDIGARH, Nov 17: Haryana Police have recovered three kilograms of explosives including RDX from near a temple in Shahbad town of Kurukshetra district. A timer and a detonator were also recovered along with 1.25 kg of RDX and 1.75 kg of Petn found hidden near the shrine located on the Delhi-Ambala National Highway, Director General of Police S K Sethi said. The recovery was made within a few hours of the blast at the Haryana Roadways bus stand in Kaithal yesterday in which 25 people had been injured. Sethi said the recovery followed information gathered by the Kurukshetra Police which was on the look out for five suspects who were absconding. (PTI) Warring groups hold
meetings BHUBANESWAR, Nov 17 : The crisis in the Biju Janata Dal, triggered by the split in its legislative wing, deepened today with supporters and opponents of party president and Union Minister Naveen Patnaik staging separate show of strength and dissidents boycotting the party’s executive committee meeting. The dissidents, led by senior BJD leader Bijoy Mohapatra, gathered at the residence of party legislator V Sugnana Kumari Deo to deliberate on the situation arising out of the vertical division in the BJD legislature party and expulsion of five MLAs. On the other hand, a meeting of Naveen loyalists, attended by 27 of the 31 district unit presidents, was held this morning at the residence of the Union Steel and Mines Minister expressing confidence in his leadership. Interestingly, three dissident MLAs — Raghunath Mohanty, Maheswar Mohanty and Madhabananda Behera, who are also district unit presidents, were present at the meeting. The 15 MLAs, who split the 27-member BJDLP, and four of the nine-member BJD Parliamentary party stayed away from the controversial executive committee meeting convened by Naveen Patnaik. The four MPs are Prasanna Patsani, Prabhat Samantray, Tathagat Satpathy and Bhartruhari Mahatab. The dissidents had been demanding cancellation of the meeting pending a solution to the differences among senior party leaders on the issue of organisational shake up carried out by Naveen Patnaik last month. Changes in the organisational set up sparked dissidence with Bijoy Mohapatra and its supporters feeling marginalised and openly criticising Naveen Patnaik’s style of functioning. Meanwhile, Naveen Patnaik made an attempt for a rapproachement with the dissidents but it appeared to have failed. Patnaik, according to highly-placed BJD sources, rang up Sugnani Kumari Deo, at whose residence dissidents met this morning, and suggested a negotiated settlement. But Kumari Deo told the Union Minister that talks could be held only if the executive committee meeting was cancelled, they said.(PTI) One killed, 11 hurt in accidents Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 17: One person was killed and 11 others were injured in separate cases of accidents across Jammu region overnight, police reports received here said. Reports said one person was hit by a negligently driven vehicle at Raya Morh near Vijaypur on Jammu-Pathankot National Highway this afternoon. Identified as Ram Dass son of Munshi Ram, a resident of Raya Suchaini, the victim was shifted to Medical College hospital by local people where he was declared as ‘brought dead’. The erring driver managed to drive away the vehicle and disappeared from the site of accident. He remained unidentified. Local police have registered a case in the accident and started investigations. No arrest has been made so far. Dead body of the victim was handed over to his family after post-mortem in the Medical College hospital. A youth Pushkar Nath son of Shiv Ji, presently putting up at a transit camp in Garhi in Udhampur district was hit and seriously injured by a non civilian vehicle at Garhi this morning. Driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the spot. The injured was shifted to district hospital of Udhampur by the police. He was referred to Medical College hospital in Jammu where his condition was stated to be serious. Meanwhile, a housewife Rani Devi wife of Garu Ram, a resident of Badyal Brahamana sustained 100 per cent burns in a mysterious fire at her resident last night. She has been hospitalised here with 100 per cent burn injuries. RS Pura police have registered a case and was investigating. Reason behind the mysterious fire hasn’t been ascertained so far. Condition of the woman was stated to be very critical in the hospital. A youth identified as Bajinder Singh son of Chanan SIngh of Paloura reportedly consumed some poisonous substance. Doctors washed his stomach in the hospital and his condition was stated to be improving. Seven persons were injured in other accidents in the region. They have been admitted in the hospital. MADURAI, Nov 17: A bomb hoax today held up the Kanyakumari-Chennai Express train for seven hours at Palayam station in Tamil Nadu, with a State Minister on board, while a few other trains were delayed by 45 minutes to several hours. Police said Railway officials this morning received an anonymous call suggesting that a powerful bomb had been planted in the Kanyakumari-Chennai Express prompting them to hold it up at the station. A thorough search of the train however yielded nothing but caused the delay in the departure of the train by seven hours, police said. Tamil Nadu Rural Industries Minister I Periyasamy, who was on board the train, left for Chennai by road. Railway officials said due to the hoax, several trains were delayed which included Chennai-Kanyakumari Express by 195 minutes, Bangalore-Madurai 45 minutes, Chennai-Madurai 147 minutes, Chennai-Tirunelveli 57 minutes. (PTI) Thackeray blames Pawar for problems PUNE, Nov 17: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today squarely blamed the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar for the law and order problems of the state and alleged that the underworld elements were "pampered" when he (Pawar) was in power. Talking to newsmen here, Thackeray alleged that when Pawar was the Defence Minister he intervened after the notorious goon Pappu Kalani was arrested to put pressure on the then Chief Minister Sudhakar Naik asking him to see to it that Kalani was not inconvenienced in the lock-up or jail. He said Pawar also owed an explanation as to what connection he has with Anees Ahmed, the brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, as Anees had been quoted in Telegraph newspaper as saying that he has a "good rapport with Pawar". Thackeray demanded that Pawar should also explain how two criminals who were involved in the J J hospital shoot-out in Mumbai managed to board his plane when he was the Defence Minister. The increase in extortion cases was due to the fact that most of the underworld dons had left India and were operating from other countries so the young hoodlums have increased their activity in the name of their "bosses", the Sena chief said. To a query Thackeray said, "I fully endorse encounter killings to weed out the underworld gangsters who are making the lives of people difficult." (PTI) MUZAFFARNAGAR, Nov 17: Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is active in at least 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh, a senior state police official today said. The state administration has taken a serious view of the rising crime graph in Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Noida and Lucknow where additional police force has been deployed to check it, the state DGP, K L Gupta told newsmen here. The police, he added, have been maintaining a strict vigil in all the districts where the ISI was active. (PTI) Hakkim remanded to police custody COIMBATORE, Nov 17: Twenty-year-old Hakkim, a key accused in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case, who was arrested from a place of worship here last evening, was remanded to police custody by judicial magistrate S T Tamilselvi today. Hakkim was a "hit man" of the banned Al Umma and carried out the orders of the leaders of the banned outfit. He was also a prime accused in a murder case in Nagore in October 1996, police said. The Tamil Nadu Government had announced a reward of Rs two lakh for information leading to his arrest. The serial blasts, which rocked this textile city on February 14, claimed 60 lives and left more than 200 injured. (UNI) ISI hand suspected in blast KAITHAL, Nov 17: Haryana police recovered three kilograms of explosives including RDX in Shahbad town of Kurukshetra district even as investigations continued in the blast at the Kaithal bus stand of Haryana Roadways where the number of injured today rose to 31. The involvement of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence can not be ruled out in the blast as well as in the recovered explosives, Inspector General of Police John V George told newsmen here. Police said the recovered explosives were similar to those recovered in Punjab from time to time. A timer, a detonator along with 1.25 kg RDX and 1.75 kg PETN explosives were found within a few hours of the blast during mopping operations against five suspected militants, Director General of Police S K Sethi said in Chandigarh. George declined to disclose whether any suspect had been rounded up in connection with the blast saying the investigations would be hampered. Police sources said some local sympathisers had been interrogated in connection with the explosion. Meanwhile, the number of injured in the blast rose to 31 after six injured persons reported in the civil hospital here today. (PTI) |