Srinagar Police kills 14 Pak militants in 5 weeks
Al-Badar "Distt Commdr" killed in Bemina

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Dec 25: In a major operation, Police and security forces today eliminated Al-Badar Mujahideen’s top-wanted "district commander", Waseem alias Jatoi, in Bemina outskirts of this Capital city. With this, Srinagar Police have killed as many as 14 Pakistani militants in the last five weeks. Meanwhile, security forces have killed yet another militant in Anantnag district today.

Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone, K Rajendra Kumar, told the Excelsior that Srinagar District Police had gathered an intelligence input regarding the presence of a top-wanted Pakistani militant in Bemina outskirts on Friday. He said that after identifying his hideout, Police and CRPF swooped on Boatmen Colony in the wee hours today. The militant was traced to the house of one Bashir Ahmed Najjar. As Police, CRPF and an Army unit zeroed in on the target house, the holed up militant lobbed grenades to check their advance. Three soldiers of SOG Srinagar and RR sustained injuries.

The IGP said that the holed up militant shifted to the house of a head constable, Mohammad Amin Wani, and made unsuccessful attempts to escape. Police and security forces pinned him down and finally shot him dead in the afternoon. He was identified as Waseem alias Jatoi alias Sain of Pakistan.

Mr Rajendra claimed that the militant killed in the fierce gunbattle was a "district commander" in his organisation, Al-Badar Mujahideen. One AK-56 rifle was recovered from his possession. Two residential houses were destroyed completely and six more houses suffered minor damage. However, there was no harm to the civilians’ life. The gunbattle took place close to the residential quarters of the State Estates Department, CPWD and the under-construction Hajj Complex.

The IGP Kashmir said that with today’s operation in Bemina, Srinagar District Police had eliminated 14 Pakistani militants, including senior commanders of several guerrilla outfits, in the capital city of Srinagar in the last five weeks. Before the top-wanted Saifullah, who was killed near DAV School in Jawahar Nagar area, Police had killed two important militants in Harwan and Zakoora. The most successful operation was conducted last fortnight, when Police eliminated a group of three Pakistani militants in Soura area. The IGP said that Waseem alias Jatoi of Pakistan, who was killed today in Bemina, had reportedly re-organised his outfit’s units in Srinagar and Budgam districts in the last over a year. He said that the Pakistani militant was also responsible for a number of civilian killings as he had reportedly beheaded his targets.

A CRPF spokesman said that the operation in Bemina was planned and executed jointly by Police and security forces under the supervision of IGP Kashmir and DIG Ops CRPF. He said that one AK-56 rifle, one UBGL besides a mobile phone with two SIM cards, were recovered from the eliminated militant’s possession. Incoming and outgoing calls and messages of the cellphone, as also its directory, were being scanned.

Unconfirmed reports late tonight said that Police and security forces killed yet another militant in Srinagar outskirts.

Meanwhile, reports from south Kashmir said that troops of Rashtriya Rifles 49 Bn killed a local militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, Bashir Ahmed Tantray S/o Mohammad Ramzan Tantray, in an encounter in Dooru area of Anantnag district.

Meanwhile, troops of 161 brigade achieved a major success when they unearthed an arms dump in the October 8 killer quake-ravaged area of north Kashmir, a defence ministry spokesman said today.

He said troops on a specific information conducted a search operation at Pathri Behak near the Line of Control (LoC) in Rampore area where the killer quake claimed several lives and also damaged houses.

It was after a long search that the troops finally reached the area where the militants had dumped arms and ammunition in a specially built hide-out.

Troops later recovered three AK rifles, nine pistols, 21 magzines, about 1000 rounds of ammunition, two pistol silencers, eleven detonators and 10 Kg explosive.

He said the arms and ammunition were dumped by the militants to transport them to towns and use them against security forces and politicians. Police arrested a militant at Drubgam in Pulwama district of south Kashmir and recovered two AK rifles, the spokesman said.

Two LeT commanders shot dead in Poonch
*IED defused near Ziarat

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 25: Three foreign mercenaries of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit including two ‘area commanders’ were gunned down by Army and police in two separate encounters in Mendhar and Surankote tehsils in Poonch district today while security forces defused a powerful IED outside Sain Ganji Ziarat in Rajouri district.

All three slain militants hailed from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and two of them were ‘area commanders’. Two killed militants were operating in Mendhar for last seven to eight years, SSP Poonch S D Singh said.

He said troops of 39 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operations Group (SOG) and police launched a joint search operation at Barnoi, Salwa in Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district at 9 am today after developing a specific information that a group of three militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit had taken shelter in the area.

A contact with the militants was established in a small forest area at 10 am today. A heavy exchange of gun-fighting continued between the two sides for about two hours in which two militants were killed. The third militant managed to escape. Army and police have launched an operation to apprehend him.

Slain militants have been identified as Abu Suhail, an ‘area commander’ of LeT and Mohd Farooq alias Abu Umar, both residents of PoK. They were operating in Mendhar tehsil for last seven to eight years and were involved in a series of militant activities. Their killing has dealt a big blow to the outfit, the sources said.

Recoveries made from the scene of encounter included two AK-56 rifles with four magazines and 44 rounds, two pouches, one Kenwood radio set, four hand grenades, three holy books, two diaries, one compass and one watch.

Another ‘area commander’ of Lashkar-e-Toiba was eliminated by troops of 31 and 45 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG at village Sollian in Marhote area of Surankote tehsil in Poonch district this afternoon. He has been identified as Abu Umar, also a resident of PoK.

From his possession, security forces recovered one AK rifle, two magazines, 30 rounds, one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), one radio set and 10 grenades.

Police party in the operation was led by DySP P R Shan.

In both operations, security forces didn’t suffer any casualties.

Security forces detected a four kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Sain Ganzi Ziarat in Rajouri last night. Area was cordoned off by the security forces. A Bomb Disposal Squad was rushed to the spot and the IED was defused safely.

ADB to fund Rs 1470 cr sewerage project for Jammu

By Gopal Sharma

JAMMU, Dec 25: A prestigious sewerage plant project worth Rs 1470 cr for the winter capital city is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its first phase including most of the areas of old Jammu city, will be completed with an estimated cost of Rs 340 cr in four years.

Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation Dheeraj Gupta, disclosed that Union Ministry of Urban Development has identified 63 cities in the country where drainage system is being improved. In Jammu and Kashmir State, Srinagar and Jammu cities have been selected to be covered under the project.

Referring to the status of sewerage plant under execution at Bhagwati Nagar where more than Rs 12 cr has been spent in last nine years, the Commissioner said that funding was the main problem earlier when the project was being looked after by the Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED). That was the main reason behind the delay. But now, the work will be taken up with great pace and results will be before the people. Funding will not be any problem now and first division of the project comprising two phases for Jammu East and Jammu West is likely to be completed in next four years.

Responding to a question, Mr Gupta disclosed that for this specific project the funding will be under National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) and Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) will be an expertise agency taking up the project. But for some works global tenders will be floated and the agencies having expertise in the field will be preferred. He said Rs 24 cr for the initial project was not sufficient as sewerage related projects are highly expensive. The complete sewerage plant with four divisions will have the capacity to treat 90 million litres of sewerage water per day (90 MLD). The first phase of Division-I will have the capacity of hardly 10 MLD, he maintained.

In response to yet another question on Sewerage Board, Mr Gupta said UEED was working under Corporation but Sewerage Board is yet to be constituted. "It will not be fair on my part to comment on this issue as it was the prerogative of the Government to constitute such a body," Mr Gupta said adding that UEED was earlier getting the job done through UP Jal Nigam.

Giving figures, Joint Commissioner (Works) of the JMC, Mr Jamwal said that out of the total project cost of Rs 1470 cr, Rs 341 cr will be spent under Division A, Rs 251.86 cr under Division B, Rs 433 cr under Division C while Rs 159 cr under Division D. This entire amount will be for Sewerage while Rs 62 cr is being spent for improvement of drainage system under Division A and Rs 50 cr under Division B. For C and D divisions Rs 96 cr and Rs 76 cr are kept, respectively.

He disclosed that work under Phase-I areas of Panjtirthi, Jullahaka Mohalla, Pacca Danga, Moti Bazar, Purani Mandi, Pir Mitha and other areas of old city will be covered while in Phase II areas of Gurha, Bakshi Nagar, Tope Sherkhanian, Shakti, Nagar Talab Tillo, Bori and many other areas of Jammu west will be covered.

Mr Jamwal said UP Jal Nigam was executing the work on Bhagwati Nagar plant and it has done nearly 80 percent of the task assigned to it. He said the work commenced in early 1997 and the reason behind the delay on the project was non-availability of funds. Initially the funding was agreed by HUDCO but it stopped funding mid way as Government failed to deposit interest money. During the process, infrastructure for first phase was raised, machines installed and even land acquisition process started. Land measuring over 527 kanals was to be acquired. He said as and when the new funding under new Centrally sponsored NURM scheme starts, the work on this pilot project for capital city of Jammu will be launched vigorously.

MPs in caution mode, shun unknown visitors

NEW DELHI, Dec 25: No middlemen or front men and no unknown visitors to be allowed. Instructions to the personal secretaries are clear and unambiguous as Members of Parliament appear to become cautious now to ward off any unwanted visitor in the disguise, thanks to the cash-for-query string operation.

As both Houses of Parliament expelled the members caught on camera by television channels, shocked Members of Parliament issued strict instructions to their secretaries on do’s and don’ts. "I have told my staff not to allow unknown visitors- just tell them Sahib Nahin Hain," a Rajya Sabha MP said.

Stories doing rounds of the North and South avenue where most of the first-timers and back-benchers live said that over 70 MPs were accosted by the scribes on the sting mission. Eleven of these fell to the trap.

It is an open secret that most of the MPs leave blank signed letters, railway reservation slips with their secretaries. Requests come from all and sundry for recommendations to ministries, to getting a railway reservation.

The MPs simply cannot afford to entertain such requests personally nor can he annoy the members of the constituency. The job thus is left to the trusted personal secretary who knows who is to be entertained.

With the "sting" having caused enough damage, these signed letters and reservation slips are being quietly withdrawn, a personal secretary to an MP said.

"No instructions for me," said PS to another Member of Parliament. "I have been in this field for over 40 years and know how to filter the visitors, he said adding that the inexperienced MPs who threw caution and morality to the wind landed themselves in trouble.

There is sudden "silence", said a scribe. The MPs have kind of become introvert. The fallout, first of the sting operation and, the action against the members will be that no MP would now entertain visitors at home, he said.

MPs’ quarters in Lutyen’s Delhi normally are quiet during the inter-session period but buzz with activities once Parliament sessions begin. "Netas" of various levels, voters with various jobs to be done descend on Delhi and as a matter of right camp at the MP’s quarters. With the latest development one does’t know who is carrying a hidden camera and with what intention, an MP said.

On the MPLAD, another MP said that the fund of Rs two crore a year is in fact not enough even to repair a stretch of a road in a constituency.

Given the size of Lok Sabha constituency there are demands from voters that vary from building roads to schools, water supply and so on. MPs now will have to be extra careful in issuing recommendatory letters to the district collectors for utilization of funds from the MPLAD, he said.

Hesitant to talk on record, the deputies, however, are shocked at the stringent punishment that is being meted out to their colleagues who were caught on the camera.

"None is defending those who sought money for raising queries in the House but their suspension from membership is like awarding death sentence to a petty thief," the MP said. The tainted MPs have already been punished- they have no face to show in their constituencies- nor can they face others in the Capital.

Their parties are unlikely to give them tickets in the next polls- the punishment meted out even before any examination is stringent enough, he said.

Banwarilal Purohit, a former MP, however, did not agree. "Those caught on the camera have breached the trust imposed in them by their over 20 lakh voters," Purohit said.

What Parliament has done in expelling them was absolutely essential to send a correct message to others, he said. It is a matter of shame that a member of Parliament is "for sale" for paltry sums of a couple of thousand rupees, he said.

Purohit, however, said that those who fell in the trap were the small fish. "What about the sharks?" he asked saying that lobbies of MPs work regularly for their corporate connections.

Purohit felt that the media operation and subsequent expulsion of the guilty members of Parliament would prove to be a deterrent. Although this would not weed out corruption, he said. Those people’s representatives who are honest and transparent should have nothing to fear, he said.

Former Director General of Police Maharashtra A S Inamdar who was known for his drives against officials when he headed the state’s anti-corruption department said this was the fastest action ever taken against corrupt public servants- the real fast track.

He said hands of anti-corruption wings of the Government machinery were tied because of procedures involved. A police constable caught while taking a bribe of Rs 200/- in 1991 was awarded punishment by a court in 2005!. He said delay in trial of corruption cases made a mockery of cases filed by the police. (PTI)

Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries to discuss Kashmir

NEW DELHI, Dec 25: The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet here on January 17-18 to launch the third round of the Composite Dialogue Process between the two countries, official sources said here today.

The two countries have successfully completed two rounds of the Composite Dialogue.

Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will head the Indian delegation at the two-day talks with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan to kick-start the third round of the dialogue process and will discuss Kashmir and peace and security issues, among other things.

Although no official announcement has been made about the beginning of the third round of the Composite Dialogue Process, the sources said the dates had been suggested by Islamabad.

Apart from discussing Jammu and Kashmir, the Foreign Secretaries will also review progress achieved during the previous two rounds.

They will announce the schedule for discussions on various subjects under the Dialogue Process so that these meetings can be held before the Foreign Ministers of the two countries meet sometime in the middle of next year.

Some of the subjects which would be included in the schedule besides Kashmir, include, Sir Creek, Siachen, drug trafficking and terrorism and confidence-building measures on nuclear and conventional weapons.

The Foreign Secretary-level meeting will mark the first high-level official contact between the two countries in 2006.

This will be the fifth meeting between Foreign Secretaries of the two countries under composite dialogue framework since 2004.

The Foreign Secretary-level meeting acquires special significance in the backdrop of the proposals of "demilitarisation and self-governance" in Kashmir mooted by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

The over-riding message from Pakistan to India at the upcoming meeting will be to move forward from the "dispute management mode to the dispute resolution" mode and address all bilateral issues head-on, sources said.

The sources said the opening of Consulates in Karachi and Mumbai and the launch of the Khokrapar—Munabao train route connecting Pakistan’s Sindh province and Rajasthan, in January would give a major boost to the Dialogue Process .

India has already named Mr Navdeep Suri as its Consul General for Karachi while Pakistan is considering Mr Jauhar Salim to head its consulate in Mumbai, the sources said.

Although the opening of the consulates has not yet been officially announced, arrangements were being made to open them in January, the sources added. The consulates were closed in 1992.

"January is going to be a landmark month in Indian-Pakistan relations," the sources said adding that the Amitsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service will start from January.

A bus will start from Amritsar to Lahore on January 20 while the trial run of the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus will be held on January 27 from Amritsar.

The Amritsar-Lahore bus service will be the third bus service between the two countries. Bus services between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Delhi-Lahore are already carrying passengers.

On December 20-21, talks betwen the two sides on Sir Creek, a marshy land on the Western border between the two countries, ended in a deadlock and both sides said they would report the conclusion to their respective Governments.

During the talks held in Islamabad on July 26-27, both countries had agreed to expand the 1974 bilateral Protocol to increase the number of shrines.

India had presented a draft proposal on increasing the number of pilgrims and pilgrimage centres in both the countries. The visit of pilgrims is covered under the bilateral "Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines-1974."(UNI)

 

Tourism infrastructure to be rebuilt: Azad

 Excelsior Special Correspondant

Srinagar, Dec 25: For being bulwark of state’s economy, the tourism development will be focus of attention of the Government and massive tourist infrastructure will be re-built during next two years, said the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Speaking to media persons at Gulmarg on the occasion of release of CDs and calendar of tourist events prepared by Tourism Department, today, the Chief Minister said that 16 years turmoil in Valley has put tourist industry into shambles, depriving thousands of people of their main livelihood earning resource.

He said tourisms is the main sector in J&K which not only provides ample employment opportunities to highly qualified professionals, MBAs, and graduates, but also has the vast capacity of providing jobs to unskilled and semi-skilled directly and indirectly.

The Chief Minister said that prevention and protection of world famous Dal Lake is one of the top priorities of his Government.

Mr Azad agreed with media that stern efforts are required to be taken to protect Dal Lake, the soul of Srinagar, from gradual shrinkage.

He said Centre Government has approved schemes aimed at providing financial assistance for protection of Dal Lake and other water bodies.

He said that Dal Lake, is the charm of the Valley and if God forbid, it vanishes the beauty and tourism of Srinagar is lost. He appealed the people in general and the concern in particular to realize the threat endangering this world famous fresh water lake, and rise to the occasion to work for its protection, preservation and conservation.

He said that concerned agencies for Dal protection have to render their duties with missionary zeal with redoubled efforts to protect the Lake.

He said that he will ask the full report about the funds made available for the Dal Development Programme, utilization of funds, physical achievements registered and other related aspects.

The Chief Minister said pilgrim tourism has attained greater significance since recent past and has become yet another hub of economic activities in the State, saying that 3.88 lakh yatries visited Amarnath cave in 2005 and over 60 lakh to the Mata Vaishno Devi.

He said six lakh domestic and foreign tourist visited the State this year and in the coming years the State expects huge tourists influx.

He said enemies of peace have wrecked the industry destroying the very basic tourist infrastructure. To revive the fame and name of this heaven on earth and create comfortable, adequate and befitting tourist infrastructure in the State we have to go for all out efforts to rebuild, expand, renovate and modernized it, he added.

The Chief Minister said that under the Prime Minister’s package special attention has been paid towards this aspect also. He said soft loans worth Rs.10.5 crore have been provided to 141 hoteliers and guest house owners while Rs. 34.75 crores to 913 house boat owners to help them renovation and creation of tourist accommodation.

He said the newly constituted tourist development authorities would be made functional to achieve the purpose of their constitution.

He said about 25 crores are being spent on tourism development related activities at Patnitop, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Jammu.

On this occasion Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Anil Goswami, Senior Officers of Tourist and Information Departments and known film producer and actor Sanjay Khan was also present.

Tremors rock J&K, PoK, Pak

SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: An earthquake of mild intensity jolted parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and several towns in Pakistan today, causing panic among people who rushed out of their homes, with memories of the October 8 killer quake still fresh in their minds.

However, there were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

The tremor with an intensity of 5.8 on the richter scale occurred at around 1330 hours in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.

It was felt in Srinagar and its adjoining areas. The quake rattled doors and windows of the buildings prompting residents to run out of their houses.

The tremor was severe in border areas which were the hardest hit in the October 8 temblor, the sources said. In Pakistan, the magnitude of the quake was 5.2 and it was felt at 1302 hours in Islamabad, Peshawar and other areas devastated by the October 8th earthquake, state-run PTV reported.

The epicenter of the quake was in Hazara division in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), it said.

The jolt was also felt in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pak-occupied Kashmir, and Mansehra, Balakot and Abbotabad, the cities hit by the October 8 earthquake which had killed some 80,000 people.

Reports from the quake-hit areas suggest that the tremors caused landslide in different places in some of the areas affected by the October 8 quake, which has blocked roads in the mountainous areas. With memories of October’s monster quake still fresh, people in Islamabad ran out of their homes in fear and remained out for a while. (PTI)

Jet flight cancelled, trains delayed

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 25: Jet Airways Jammu and Srinagar bound flight couldn’t take off from New Delhi for second straight day today due to fog in the capital while flights of Indian Airlines, Sahara Airlines and Deccan Air operated on time.

Spice Jet flight operated with a delay of some house. Spice Jet flight reached here from New Delhi via Srinagar at 5.45 pm and left for New Delhi at 6 pm.

Rail traffic was also affected due to fog in New Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Several trains arrived and left Jammu Railway Station with a delay of couple of hours.

People to cross from Chakan-Da-Bagh
Tata Pani closed due to mines

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 25: Tata Pani in Balnoi area of Mendhar sector, one of the point on Line of Control (LoC) for people’s movement, wouldn’t be opened tomorrow as scheduled. Instead, movement of the people would be facilitated from Chakan-Da-Bagh, another point meant for crossing, in Poonch district.

Official sources said a decision to keep Tata Pani crossing point closed for tomorrow was taken by the Defence authorities as some mines had come out due to rains. Process to de-mine the area was on and could take some time.

"Not to risk lives of the border crossers, the authorities decided to keep Tata Pani point closed tomorrow", the sources said, adding the authorities tonight decided to open Chakan-Da-Bagh in place of Tata Pani.

Six residents of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) including a cousin of PoK ‘Prime Minister’ Sikander Hayat Khan are scheduled to return to their houses tomorrow. No fresh exchange of people is expected to take place from either side as per the reports available with the administration tonight.

Vajpayee turns 81

NEW DELHI, Dec 25: Former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee turned 81 today and was greeted by a number of party leaders and activists at his residence here.

Outgoing BJP president L K Advani and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh, who is tipped to succeed him, were among the early callers to greet Vajpayee.

Advani, accompanied by wife Kamala, arrived at the former Prime Minister’s residence at around 1000 hours and left after ten minutes.

Several senior BJP leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ananth Kumar, B C Khanduri, Harsh Vardhan, Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan and Sahib Singh Varma, also greeted Vajpayee wishing him a long and happy life.

Priests and party activists from Uttaranchal performed prayers for the long life of the octogenarian leader.

Children from a few schools in Delhi also turned up to wish Vajpayee. Some of them were dressed as Santa Claus.

In Lucknow, which Vajpayee represents in Lok Sabha, the party celebrated his birthday as ‘Sankalp Diwas’ with workers taking a pledge to oppose "criminalisation of politcs".

State party spokesman H N Dixit told reporter that several programmes were held throughout the State in which the people were apprised about the dangers of criminalisation of politics.

Sweets and fruits were distributed in Uttar Pradesh capital and special prayers were held by supporters of the veteran leader in temples.

Two tons of laddoos were distributed as ‘prasad’ among the people. (PTI)

Direct Haj flights to Mumbai

Excelsior Special Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 25 : Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad contacted Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation Praful Patel on telephone today and suggested him to deploy aircrafts from Mumbai to Srinagar as some Haj flights could not be operated due to fog at Delhi Airport.

The Union Minister agreed with the suggestion and assured the Chief Minister that he will issue instructions for sending aircrafts from Mumbai to Srinagar so that Kashmir based Haj pilgrims could be flown everyday from Srinagar to Jeddah. He also assured Chief Minister that additional Haj flights will be operated from Srinagar to Jeddah to carry those Hajjis whose departure was delayed due to delay of aircrafts from Delhi as a result of fog.

The Chief Minister issued instructions to Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir to immediately coordinate with Airlines and Haj authorities to clear the back log of Hajjis with the help of additional flights. He also advised him to frame the schedule for departure of Hajjis through these flights and inform the Hajjis in advance accordingly.

Govt to seek Dawood tapes

NEW DELHI, Dec 25: Minister of State for Home, Sri Prakash Jaiswal, has said the Government would ask for tapes from the TV channel which showed politicians and film stars in a party with mafia don Dawood Ibrahim.

"We will study the tapes," Mr Jaiswal told a TV channel after the tapes were shown on the ‘Star News’.

The Samajawadi Party’s Maharashtra unit present and Rajya Sabha member Abu Azim Azmi, who was shown in a party, said he was not aware of the presence of Dawood Ibrahim. "I went to a wedding on the invitation of the parents of the bride," he said.

He said he was not concerned whether Dawood Ibrahim was present at the wedding or not. "I was invited by the family not by him," Mr Azmi added.(UNI)

 

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