From Ahmed Ali Fayyaz SRINAGAR, Nov 10: Former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, National Conference (NC) President Omar Abdullah, Chairman Legislative Council Abdur Rasheed Dar, Speaker of Legislative Assembly Tara Chand and five Ministers of the coalition Government are among 30-odd protected VIPs who have been violating the security guidelines and travelling in non-bulletproof cars in Kashmir valley. Number of such violators is believed to be simply double in Jammu. Both Farooq Abdullah as well as Omar are placed in the "Z-plus" category of security. They are always supposed to travel in bulletproof cars provided by the State Government in Jammu and Kashmir. Both have been frequently travelling in their non-BP Scorpios, making themselves vulnerable to attacks from militants. Prior to October 24th IED blast in Anantnag, Omar had escaped three militant attacks this year alone. Militants have fired upon Dr Abdullah’s motorcade at least twice in the last six months. Official statistics, prepared as a mandatory practice by the NSG and submitted to the Union Home Ministry, indicate that Dr Abdullah had breached security guidelines—by driving personally and travelling in non-BP vehicles without proper protection in New Delhi—more than 200 times during his term as Chief Minister in 1996-2002 period. Violations in his home State have not been tabulated. Even as Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has been invariably using a bulletproof Scorpio of the SSG and the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has been travelling either in a BP Scorpio or in a BP Ambassador, a number of their Ministers have been moving in non-BP cars. They are all in "Z" category in view of threat perception. Minister for Irrigation and PHE, Qazi Mohammad Afzal, has been in possession of a BP car provided by State Motor Garages and Security Wing (SW) of J&K Police. His BP car has often remained parked— without reduction in the expenditure on fuel indeed. The Minister has been travelling in a non-BP Bolero, drawn from the subordinate PHE Department. Minister of State (MoS) for Power, Javed Mustafa Mir, has of course been carrying his slain father’s .12 bore gun, as also a "Kirankov" (AK-96 rifle) specially allotted to one of his PSOs. He had requisitioned an official Scorpio—craze of the PDP Government—which was denied to him. The relentless PDP leader made it a point to acquire a private Scorpio. He has been invariably driving the same non-BP vehicle while travelling in sensitive localities in the Valley. Similarly, MoS Industries Raman Matoo and MoS Planning Usman Majeed have been always travelling in their private non-BP Scorpios. Mattoo uses the more vulnerable Honda City in Jammu. Chairman of State Agro-Industries Development Corporation, Mohammad Shafi Bhat, who enjoys the status of MoS in the State protocol and security, has been always spotted on the front seat of his plain Gypsy. All of these Ministers have been provided BP cars by the authorities. Most of them have even spared their official drivers and held the pleasure of driving unto themselves. NC MLAs Ali Mohammad Sagar, Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat, Aga Ruhullah, PDP MLC Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjoora as also the former Ministers Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan and Sakeena Itoo have also been travelling in plain cars and Gypsies. Again, BP cars stand allotted to almost all of them. While as Sagar drives a plain Gypsy allotted to him by the Security Wing, Hanjoora has been often seen in his Maruti-800. One fine morning last fortnight, Sagar was spotted in his non-BP Gypsy, driven by his son Salman on Srinagar-Airport Road. There was not a single PSO with them. Earlier, on August 14th evening, NC’s MLA Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat’s Maruti-800 was intercepted by a BSF column at Baghat Barzullah Crossing. As the MLA failed to apply his brakes at once, a BSF soldier accosted him and applied a slap on his gentle face. It was only when some passers-by pleaded he was an MLA, Dr Bhat was let off. His only companion in the private car was his wife, Dr Rehana. Bhat’s father, who was NC’s MLA in Tral, and two brothers have been gunned down by militants in the present spell of insurgency. Protectees have also been compromising the security guidelines on their routes and timing of travelling. They have categorical instructions that they should never travel beyond 1700 hours when the paramilitary RoPs are normally withdrawn for night. It was late in the evening when MLAs Ajay Sadhotra and Sajad Ahmed Kichloo were ambushed by militants last month on Srinagar-Jammu highway. Again, it was nearly midnight when militants attacked Omar Abdullah near Sheer Bibi on the same highway. On most of the occasions, neither the Security Wing/ SSG nor other organisations of Police and security forces have any inkling of the VIPs travelling on a particular route. It has also been observed that most of the VIPs either assign their domestic works to their PSOs or take them along without weapon. When militants gunned down NC’s leader and former Minister Safdar Ali Beig in Anantnag last month, they first shot dead his unarmed PSO. Another PSO was very much at the VIP’s residence. Chairman of Legislative Council, Abdur Rasheed Dar, has been travelling in his official but non-BP Scorpio, both between Srinagar and his Airport residence and between Srinagar and his home constituency of Shangus in the militant-infested Anantnag. Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Tara Chand, does not often travel in the Valley’s rural areas but he has always used his non-BP Scorpio in Srinagar. Among the highest protected bureaucrats, Chief Secretary Dr S S Bloeria himself has been invariably spotted in his non-BP Ambassador. Justifying his breach of security, Omar Abdullah said that his BP car was withdrawn by the former DIG of SSG Ram Lubhaya. He said that "in order to win the Muftis’ pat and ensure his elevation to the rank of IGP", Ram Lubhaya handed over the same car to Mehbooba Mufti. He said that the car was replaced by a ramshackle BP car "which remains more with the workshop than with me". He said that on the other hand, Government of Delhi and the Union Home Ministry would take every care of his security and provide him a perfectly right BP car while in the Union capital. Sources said that Dr Abdullah continued to be in possession of a BP car, which he had procured when he became Chief Minister of the State in 1996. That car has never been replaced. However, SSG officials maintained that a brand new BP car had been placed at the former Chief Minister’s disposal in New Delhi. Unwilling to identify themselves for technical reasons, they claimed that BP cars have always been in the Abdullahs’ motorcades. "They leave the BP cars behind and travel in their luxury vehicles. They don’t co-operate with us in such matters", said a senior official. He admitted that old vehicles had dominated the SSG’s and SW’s fleets but asserted that "all of these vehicles are very much in good condition". Regarding SW protectees, DIG Security Abdus Subhan Lone claimed that all the Ministers and sitting legislators had been provided with BP cars, alongwith drivers, besides escort vehicles, PSOs, house-guards and escort personnel. He confirmed that most of the protectees were not co-operating with the authorities in terms of tour and travel besides staying at particular places. He argued that SW had no authority to force the VIPs to stick to the security guidelines, though the same were being regularly provided to them. |
