Over than 15 injured in fresh clash, 9 arrested

SRINAGAR : More than 15 persons were injured when security forces and police fired in the air, burst teargas shells and resorted to lathiharge to disperse stone pelting demonstrators at several places in the Kashmir valley.

Hundreds of people took to streets at Nowgam bypass and stopped traffic on Srinagar-Uri road this afternoon, protesting against death of four persons yesterday allegedly in police firing at Palhalan, Pattan, in Baramulla district.

Raising separatist slogans, when the demonstrators refused to allow any vehicle, security forces and police swung into action and resorted to lathicharge to disperse them.

Later, security forces fired in the air and also burst teargas shells to disperse the demonstrators, who continued stone pelting.

Demonstrations were also witnessed at Tengpora where people also blocked the highway, forcing security forces to take action.

A police spokesman this afternoon said that situation across the valley remained by and large peaceful barring few stray incidents of stone pelting at Singhpora, Tappar in Baramulla, Chinkipora, Bomie in Sopore, Kangan Bazaar, near the office of Deputy Commissioner at Shopian and Nowgam and Tengpora by-pass in Srinagar.

He said a group of demonstrators pelted stones on police station, Sopore who were chased away using mild lathicharge and tear smoke shells.

During the intervening night of September 6 and 7, demonstrators pelted stones and hurled petrol bombs on Police Station Nowhatta.

However, exercising maximum restraint Police chased them away.

Nine miscreants were arrested on spot in the incident.

In another incident in the night, about 800 demonstrators pelted stones on police station Karan Nagar.

Police chased them away in which two persons got injured.

A group of demonstrators pelted stones on CRPF deployed at Budshah Chowk. They were chased away without any one being injured, he said. (AGENCIES)

Army Tribunal dismisses petition for review on Kargil order

NEW DELHI : With some harsh words for the Army, the Armed Forces Tribunal today refused to review its order for correction of 1999 Kargil war records which did not reflect the actual role played by the then Brigade Commander Brigadier Devinder Singh.

The Tribunal rejected a review petition against its May 27 order in which the Army was directed to correct the records of the Kargil conflict following contention by Singh that the battle accounts were fudged by his superior Lt Gen Kishan Pal.

Taking a serious view of the review petition, Tribunal Chairperson Justice A K Mathur said the Army should be "thankful" as the previous verdict could have been "worse" as decorations of Lt Gen Kishan Pal could have also been withdrawn.

In its May 27 order, the Tribunal had asked the Army to expunge Singh’s Annual Confidential Report(ACR) written by Lt Gen Pal and directed it to correct certain records of the Kargil conflict.

Singh had moved the Delhi High Court in 2006, complaining that his role as leader of the 70 Infantry Brigade in the Batalik Sector had been underplayed and this had cost him a war medal and promotions.

The Tribunal had accepted his contention that his contribution had been incorrectly represented by Lt Gen Kishan Pal and held that "the ACRs were not written in an objective and unbiased manner".

In view of the adverse ACR by Lt Gen Pal, Brigadier Singh could not be promoted to the rank of Major General.

Among the records which the Tribunal had wanted to be corrected was a paragraph in the After Action Report of the war and two other paragraphs of the Kargil war account.

After the Army filed the review petition, Singh had also filed a plea seeking changes in the Kargil Review Committee report to absolve him and his unit of the "blame" for intrusion by Pakistani Army into Indian territory before the war started. (agencies)

Antony to visit Leh tomorrow

NEW DELHI : Defence Minister A K Antony will visit Leh tomorrow to review the ongoing relief and rehabilitation work of the armed forces in the cloudburst-hit areas of Ladakh.

Antony will visit Tyakshi in Turtuk Sector where 25 army personnel from the Bihar and Rajputna Rifles regiments had gone missing when Ladakh was hit by cloudburst on August six this year.

He would also undertake an aerial survey of Leh, Nimu and Choglamser, which bore the brunt of mudslide, a Defence Ministry official said today.

Army’s 14 Corps officers would brief Antony on the relief work, they said. (agencies)

Antony orders fresh probe into Capt Kohli’s death

NEW DELHI : Defence Minister A K Antony has ordered a re-investigation into the mysterious death of Captain Sumit Kohli in Jammu and Kashmir, heeding to the demands of his family that had maintained that it was a murder and not a suicide as claimed by the Army.

Antony, who had met the family of Sumit a fortnight ago, asked Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar to order the fresh investigation following a representation from the young officer’s mother Veena Kohli, Ministry sources said today.

Veena had demanded a probe independent of the Army or by the CBI, saying she had no faith in the Army that had declared that Sumit had committed suicide.

26-year-old Sumit, who was serving with 16 Rashtriya Rifles in Lolab in north Kashmir, was found dead with gun shot wounds in his room in the military residential facility in April 2006 on the last day of posting in counter-insurgency operations in the border state.

It had been just two months since he had won the Shaurya Chakra, the country’s third highest peacetime gallantry medal, for a brave act in the Kashmir operations and his sudden death had shocked his family.

On receiving the news of his son’s demise, Sumit’s father suffered a stroke. He died a day after the officer’s cremation.

Veena, in her representation to Antony, had said that Sumit was a brave officer and could never have committed suicide. She also denied Army’s claim that the young officer killed himself with a service rifle due to family troubles.

His family alleged that he was murdered because he knew who were behind the killing of four porters in a fake encounter in Lolab in Kashmir in April 2004.

In August 2005, the Army had ordered a probe into the allegation that its personnel killed four natives of a border hamlet in Jammu in a fake encounter claiming them to be militants to get gallantry awards.

Refuting Veena’s contention, Col Rahul Pandey, who was the then commanding officer of Sumit’s unit, had maintained that it was a case of suicide due to family troubles.

The Defence Minister had assured the family, based in Chandigarh, that Summit’s death would be re-investigated and he would get back to them on it soon.

Sumit’s family had appealed to the Minister to provide justice to it, noting that its suspicion over the mystery over Sumit’s death had only strengthened on perusal of documents due to contradictions in the autopsy and medical reports.

Demanding access to original documents, Veena had said, "it should be found out how he died. I had earlier thought that whatever Army was saying was correct, but I want his post-mortem report so that I can be fully satisfied. I can’t believe he had committed suicide." (AGENCIES)

Curfew clamped in Srinagar, restrictions imposed in the Valley

SRINAGAR : Authorities today clamped curfew in Srinagar city and imposed restrictions elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley after mobs went on a rampage attacking two police stations to protest killing of four persons allegedly in firing by security forces.

Curfew was clamped in eight police station areas - Rainawari, Maharajgunj, Safakadal, Khanyar and Nowhatta in old city, and Maisuma, Batamaloo and Kralkhud in civil lines area - in view of the violent protests and stone pelting incidents in many parts of Srinagar last night, police sources said.

As reports of overnight protests came in from other areas, the curfew was extended to the entire city, they said.

Srinagar District Magistrate Ahmad Kakroo said that restrictions on the movement of the people has been imposed across the city.

"We are monitoring the situation and will take a decision as per the requirements of the situation," Kakroo said.

All curfew passes issued by the district administration were cancelled last evening. However, fresh passes were issued to employees working in essential services departments and to mediapersons.

The sources said youths came to the streets of Nowhatta in down city soon after the ‘Taraweeh’ special prayers during Ramzan and started pelting stones at the local police station.

Police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesters but in vain. They, then resorted to firing in the air to chase away the mob, the sources said, adding no one was hurt in the incident.

Similar protests were also held in Rajouri Kadal, Karan Nagar and some other areas in the old city and Rawalpora and Maisuma areas in the civil lines area.

One person was injured in police action against protesters at Karan Nagar after the police station there was set on fire, the sources said.

Police have imposed severe restrictions under section 144 CrPC on the movement of the people in other nine districts of the Valley as a precautionary measure to prevent any further loss of the life or damage to the property.

The late night protests erupted in the city over the fresh killings at Palhalan in Pattan area of Baramulla district.

Four persons were killed and 12 others injured yesterday when security forces allegedly opened fire on a stone-pelting mob that had attacked inspector general of police SM Sahai’s convoy in Pattan area.

Police have initiated an enquiry into the incident.

The Valley was rocked by violence following the death of a teenager on June 11 after he was allegedly hit by a tear smoke shell near Rajouri Kadal area of the old city. With yesterday’s deaths, the toll in the ongoing unrest has now gone up to 69. (agencies)

Goods worth over Rs 3 cr traded at Chakan-Da-Bagh

POONCH : Goods worth over Rs 3.32 crores were traded through 50 trucks between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) along Line of Control (LoC) at Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch district today, officials said.

As many as 25 trucks rolled out from the Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) at Ranger in Poonch district of J&K to POK today, they said, adding these trucks carried bags of coconut, red chilli and cardamom worth Rs 1,16,96,352.

From POK, as many as 25 trucks carrying bags of almonds, dates, herbs and dry fruit crossed to this side and these were worth Rs 2,16,00,000, they said.

The officials from both the side monitored the transportation of these goods at Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point. (AGENCIES)