Mohinder Verma

JAMMU, Jan 22: As the ways and means of corruption have changed with the spread and outreach of the administration, the State Government has decided to overhaul the existing anti-corruption laws and appoint a watchdog for exclusively investigating the charges of corruption and maladministration in the Panchayati Raj Institutions. To achieve this objective, the Government will introduce two significant bills during the Budget Session of State Legislature beginning from next month and approval to these proposed legislations would be given by the State Cabinet, which is meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on January 24, 2014 (Friday) afternoon.
Highly placed official sources told EXCELSIOR that Government has decided to carry out several amendments in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 and make appointment of an Ombudsman for Panchayats and draft bills prepared in this regard by the General Administration and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments will be placed before the State Cabinet on January 24 for its approval for introduction in the State Legislature during the forthcoming Budget Session.
“The amendments in the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 are aimed at making the offences cognizable and non-bailable, insertion of new provisions to prevent exercise of personal influence with public servants to show favour or disfavour to any person(s) or to influence the decision making by such public servant or for authorizing payment in respect of contracts, for execution of a work or supply of goods when the work done or goods supplied are not in accordance with the contract”, sources informed.
Stating that punishment of offences under the Act has also been proposed to be enhanced, sources said, ‘several offences, which are presently not covered under the existing Act, will also be brought within the ambit of the amended legislation”. The proposed amendments have been worked out by a High Powered Committee.
“Due to incorporation of the non-bailable provision the proposed amendments will make the Act more stringent”, sources said while disclosing that in the proposed amendment minimum and maximum punishment has been enhanced in order to tighten noose around the habitual offenders. They said that more time limit has been proposed for passing order regarding seizure or attachment of the properties. Even lesser time period has been proposed for filing an appeal from the date of receipt of order of the Special Court in order to make the law more stringent.
It is pertinent to mention here that High Court, in a Public Interest Litigation, had also issued directions for overhauling the anti-corruption laws. For examining and suggesting amendments in the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, a committee comprising Chief Secretary and four other members was constituted in January 15, 2013 and the Committee decided that the amendments be suggested by the State Vigilance Organisation. In addition, some suggestions were made during the hearing in the PIL.
About the appointment of Ombudsman for Panchayats, sources said, “since the State Government has devolved some of the powers of 14 departments to the Panchayats, the possibility of Panchayats not performing their functions either strictly as per the Panchayati Raj Act or indulging in certain practices detrimental to the public interest cannot be ruled out”.
“There is a need to have an institutional mechanism for the purpose of investigating charges of corruption and maladministration in the Panchayati Raj Institutions so that transparency and accountability is ensured in these institutions”, sources said, adding “the Ombudsman would meet this requirement. The institution of Ombudsman is further important for attracting grants under General Performance Grant of 13th Finance Commission”.
It is pertinent to mention here that the State Government has not been able to assess the performance grant of Rs 363 crore already allotted in absence of the institution of Ombudsman.
According to the sources, the Cabinet will also take decision on Kashmir and Jammu Universities (Amendment) Ordinance prepared by the Higher Education Department and J&K Para-Medical Council Ordinance of Health and Medical Education Department.

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Jan 22: The huge quantity of narcotics recovered by Jammu and Kashmir Police from a Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) truck last week in Salamabad, Uri in North Kashmir has been found as brown sugar, says Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
The Director Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Inayat Khan, told Excelsior that they have tested all the 12 packets of the narcotics that were handed by police to their team in Salamabad and it was found to be brown sugar.
“We received 12 packs of narcotic substance from Police for testing the narcotic substance and it tested positive for brown sugar. We have sent a report to the Inspector General of Police Kashmir in this regard this evening”, said Khan.
The Director said that the expert team of the department led by Hamid Shiekh and Shakeel Ahmad Wani after the investigation of the seized material found it to be brown sugar.
It may be mentioned here that last Friday police recovered 114 packets of narcotics from a trans-LoC trade truck of PoK at Salamabad that were concealed in Almonds bags.
The driver of the truck, Mohammad Shafiq Awan of PoK, was arrested and truck seized. The narcotic substance was sent for forensic examination. However, police from the beginning was suspecting the recovered narcotic substance was brown sugar.
The trans-Line of Control (LoC) trade and bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and Poonch and Rawlakote remained suspended since the recovery of the narcotics last week.
The standoff followed arrested of driver Mohammad Shafiq Awan week by Police. Pakistani authorities detained 27 trucks and drivers of these vehicles at Chakoti across the LoC since last Friday following recovery of the narcotics.
Forty eight PoK drivers and their trucks are also stranded at Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri since the stand-off began last week as Pakistan refused to take back these trucks and drivers unless one of the arrested drivers is released.
On Monday Pakistan suspended bus services between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and Poonch and Rawlakote to press for the release of a Pakistani driver. The trans-LoC bus service was started in April 2005 and Trade in October 2008.
In the meantime, 48 PoK drivers who are stranded at Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri near the LoC due to standoff held protests today. They were demanding that the arrested driver be released and they should be allowed to go back.
The protest took place after night long rains in Salamabad and fresh snowfall on hills in Uri that brought down mercury by several notches making these drivers to shiver in cold weather. However, authorities reached the spot and pacified them.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 22: Police authorities today ordered suspension of three police officials including one Sub Inspector following protests by the people over the death of an ex-serviceman, who had been beaten-up by the police personnel few days back for carrying bottles of Rum from a defence canteen to his house at village Dedpeth under the jurisdiction of Chatru police station in Kishtwar district. A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered into the death.
Reports said 64 years old exe-serviceman—Havaldar (Retired) Raja Ram son of Bishan Dass, a resident of village Tagoot in Dedpeth area was heading towards his house after taking four bottles of Rum from Defence canteen when he was intercepted by the police personnel at a naka at Dedpeth four days back.
He was mercilessly beaten-up by the cops at naka and then taken to police post. Locals said he was released the next day but the cops snatched his four bottles of Rum, Rs 18,000 of pension amount and a mobile telephone.
The senior citizen couldn’t bear the trauma of police torture and reportedly died of cardiac arrest last night in the hospital, where he was shifted after he felt uneasiness at home.
A large number of people took the body of Raja Ram to Dedpeth and blocked Kishtwar-Chatru road shouting slogans against police and demanding action against the police constables responsible for beating-up the senior citizen. The protesters kept dead body of the ex-servicemen on the road for more than five hours till senior police and civil officers rushed to the spot and assured the people of action in the matter.
Authorities later ordered suspension of Incharge Dedpeth Police Post Sub Inspector Madan Lal Sharma and two police constables Shabir Ahmed and Suresh Kumar.
DIG Doda-Ramban range Ashkoor Wani said the civil authorities have also ordered magisterial inquiry into the entire incident.
Following action, the people lifted body of the deceased and took it to his home village Tagoot, where the victim was cremated.
Police said further action against the erring police officials would be taken on the basis of inquiry. Police claimed that the ex-serviceman died natural death. It said the civilian was not arrested or taken to police post but admitted that he was beaten-up by the cops at naka for possession of Rum bottles.
Local people, however, blamed police for the death of ex-serviceman and demanded stern action against the police constables responsible for beating up the senior citizens, which, they said, led to his death.

NEW DELHI, Jan 22:
Asserting that India and Pakistan have “some way to go” before there can be normal trade ties, India today said enhancing trade and investments are “held hostage” to political issues between the two countries.
Addressing a economic think-tank -ICRIER- Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said a business environment free from terror and violence has to be created to enhance trade ties.
“Unfortunately, we seem to have some way to go before getting to the point of the one or of the other, or to the point where we can actually have a situation on the ground of normalised trade relations between Pakistan and India.”
“The exception, unfortunately, has been Pakistan, for a variety of reasons, much of it hostage to political issues between our two countries which are a legacy of our history and the tragic events surrounding partition,” Singh said.
She also said Pakistan’s argument that there are strong non-tariff barriers in India do not stand up to close scrutiny.
“… It can be no one’s serious argument that the lack of flight connections between Delhi and Lahore, the visa regime… Or India’s quality and safety certification procedures that are accepted around the world, are in some way aimed at creating a regime of non-tariff barriers against Pakistan-made-goods,” she said.
The secretary said that both the sides should have to create a business environment free from terror and violence.
“Trade and terrorism are incompatible. The challenge is to create an environment where we can focus on the trade and the economic agenda, and work towards growing connectivity and linkages between our two economies,” Singh added.
Further, she said that political will is important to implement the required measures to boost trade and investment ties.
“The desire is certainly there on both sides, especially at the business level…Pakistan is presently in the middle of its economic reforms and I am sure that economists in Pakistan fully understand the opportunities that are ready to be grasped and the additional policy space that will be created if Pakistan’s economy opens up for trade with the largest economy in the region,” Singh added.
On the agreed roadmap to normalise trade relations, she said that India did not insist on reciprocity on the road map but Pakistan have to take the first step towards that direction.
According to the Commerce Secretaries a fully normal trading regime between the two countries would look something as follows: There would be normal trade along all trading points including the Attari-Wagah land border post; Pakistan would confer ‘non-discriminatory market access’ status to Indian goods entering Pakistan, as India had done for Pakistan in 1996.
Both sides would undertake a significant reduction in their SAFTA ‘sensitive lists’ that governs bilateral trade, to only 100 items each. Finally, both sides would reduce tariff limits to 5 per cent, for all tradable goods.
To achieve these aims a sequential road map was also worked out, according to which Pakistan would announce the normalisation of trade on Attari-Wagah followed by India introducing a ‘first tranche’ of reductions in the present SAFTA sensitive list of 614 items by 30 per cent.
Pakistan would confer ‘non-discriminatory market access’ to Indian goods, accompanied by India introducing a second tranche of reductions of its SAFTA sensitive list to bring it down to 100 items.
She said it was now for Pakistan to take the first step as specified, in order to trigger the subsequent actions that have been agreed to by both sides.
Ms Singh India saw  the election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in May 2013, with a strong mandate to reform the Pakistani economy, as an opportunity to move ahead on this positive agenda.
The Foreign Secretary, however, said Pakistan had not been moving forward as desired.
“In August last year when we received a suggestion to move ahead with bilateral trade in gas and electricity, we responded rapidly by sending a technical team to Lahore, and readied ourselves for a return visit from Pakistan which did not take place. This month (January 2014) we responded positively when Pakistan expressed readiness to lift all restrictions on trade at the Attari-Wagah border. Meetings were thus scheduled for both the Commerce Secretaries and Commerce Ministers on the margins of the recent SAARC Business Leaders Conference to prepare for its modalities. Once again we were disappointed,” she said.
She pointed out that India also recently discussed the possibility of accelerating the pace of normalisation of bilateral trade- of compressing all the steps of the September 2012 Road Map into one grand announcement, and exploring the possibility of compressing the time taken to reduce tariffs on tradable goods faster than the 3 years allowed under SAFTA to a shorter period of 6 months or 1 year.
She said the recent announcements made by the two Commerce Ministers to accelerate trade normalisation and achieve implementation of the agreed measures before the end of February 2014 were welcome developments.
The Foreign Secretary did not agree with those in Pakistan who were arguing that India was creating some non-tariff barriers.   “While it is true that India must take more steps to liberalise its external sector, it can be no one’s serious argument that the lack of flight connections between Delhi and Lahore, the visa regime operating between the two countries, or India’s quality and safety certification procedures that are accepted around the world, are in some way aimed at creating a regime of non-tariff barriers against Pakistan made goods,” he said. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, Jan 22:
BJP is projected to make a near sweep in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with Narendra Modi remaining the top choice for Prime Ministership, according to an opinion poll.
In Maharashtra too, the poll conducted by CNN-IBN and CSDS projects BJP-Shiv Sena combine ahead of Congress-NCP coalition with 25-33 seats as against 12-20 seats out of 48 seats.
The survey shows BJP getting 23-27 seats out of a total of 29 in Madhya Pradesh and 20-25 of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.
Congress is projected to get 2-5 seats in Madhya Pradesh and 1-4 seats in Gujarat.
In terms of poll percentage, BJP is projected to get 50 per cent in Chhattisgarh.
Among the PM candidates, Modi continues to be the top choice leaving Rahul Gandhi a distant second.
46 per cent of those polled in Gujarat wanted Modi to be PM, while only 16 per cent support Gandhi.
40 per cent respondents in Maharashtra prefer Modi as PM, a jump of 19 per cent in a year, while 14 per cent prefer Gandhi as PM, almost the same as last year, the poll said.
Interestingly, even in Madhya Pradesh 46 per cent preferred Modi over their Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the post of PM.
Debutant Aam Admi Party is projected to fare decently in these polls. The party is likely to get 7 per cent voteshare in Gujarat and 5 per cent in Maharashtra.
45 per cent of the respondents said UPA government is very corrupt while a high 69 per cent gave credit to Team Anna for passage of the Lokpal Bill. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 22:
BSF will soon begin trial of its six men who were allegedly involved in last year’s firing incident in Jammu’s Gool area in Ramban district, where four people were killed and many others were injured.
The force has also found certain “administrative lapses” on the part of its personnel involved in this incident and it will now begin the recording of evidence after a Staff Court of Inquiry (CoI) has recently been concluded in the case.
Sources said the Border Security Force (BSF) took over the trial from the State Government recently for conducting the proceedings against them under the BSF Act.
The incident had occurred in July last year when BSF personnel fired on a crowd near the forces’ company base in Ramban district.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had condemned the firing saying such incidents had the potential to jeopardise peace in the State.
BSF had last year defended its men saying they fired in self defence.
The force had claimed that Mohammed Latif, a resident of Dalwah in the area, had instigated the mob leading to the situation in which four people were killed and 44 others, including security personnel, injured in stone-pelting and resultant firing.
BSF said its troops had “restrained themselves from firing and informed local police of the likelihood of deterioration in the situation due to violence by the locals.” (PTI)

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 22: The Government today constituted a Committee headed by Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey as its chairman to review the cases of suspension of All India Services officers.
Principal Secretary to Government, Planning and Development Department will be a member of the Committee while Secretary General Administration Department (GAD) would serve as Member Secretary.
A Government order said the Home Secretary/Director General of Police should be co-opted as members of the Committee if the case pertained to an IPS officer.
Similarly, the Secretary Forest/Principal Chief Conservator of Forest should be co-opted as members if the case pertained to an IFS officer.
“The Committee would discharge the functions and follow the procedures for review of the cases placed before it as laid down in the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969. The concerned departments would submit agenda note with full details of the case for consideration of the Committee,’’ the order said.

NEW DELHI, Jan 22:
Police may ask Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and others to join the “probe” into the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, a day after it was directed by a Magistrate to investigate suicide and homicide angles in the high-profile case.
Investigators are “examining” the report by the Sub- Divisional Magistrate to chalk out future course of action in the case following the autopsy report mentioning “poisoning” as the cause of the “sudden and unnatural” death of 52-year- old Sunanda, sources said.
They said police may issue notices under Section 160 of CrPC (which entails witnesses to join probe) to Tharoor and 11 others including Sunanda’s brothers and son asking them to join investigations.
Asked specifically if Tharoor will be questioned, the sources said police was looking into the circumstances and the factors which caused Sunanda’s death and if required, the Union Minister may be asked to clarify certain things.
Meanwhile, Shiv Menon, Sunanda’s 21-year-old son from a previous marriage, said his mother was “too strong” to commit suicide and she died due to an “unfortunate combination of media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medication”.
However, he ruled out that there was any foul play, saying both Tharoor and his mother were “very much in love” despite their “occasional differences” and that he did not believe the Union Minister was capable of harming her physically.
“What the media reports have been alleging and implying in regard to my mother’s death are not just untrue, it’s outrageous. Anyone who knew my mother would simply know that she was too strong to commit suicide,” he said in a statement.
“I also do not believe that Shashi was capable of physically harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life,” he said.
Sunanda was found dead in a 5-star hotel in South Delhi on Friday night, a day after her Twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Tharoor.
“It was an unfortunate combination of media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medication. Her death was peaceful, she passed in her sleep. Please let her soul rest, I think there has been enough attention drawn towards her life,” Menon said.
Meanwhile, sources said autopsy report has identified the mix of two drugs -Alprazolam and Excedrin, which was consumed in overdose by Sunanda. Excedrin is a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine.
The autopsy report also mentions a “deep teeth bite” on the edge of the left palm apart from mentioning over a dozen injury marks.
However, the report ruled out Sunanda’s death due to these injuries. It said she died between 1 pm and 7 pm.
The five-page report also includes the search and seizure memorandum of the police (concerning search and seizure).
Doctors said Excedrin contains 65mg of caffeine and its overdose causes caffeine intoxication leading to the weakening of liver while overdose of aspirin may cause bleeding of intestine.
They said an overdose of Acetaminophen may damage one’s liver and even cause death. Alprazolam slows down the movement of chemicals in the brain and an overdose can lead to comatose situation, low blood pressure and shallow breathing.
According to the autopsy report, no trace of alcohol was found in Sunanda’s body.
The SDM, in his report, said Sunanda could have died in “just three ways, homicidal, suicidal and accidental” and police should investigate further to ascertain the reason of her death.
Sources said what caused the poisoning and what sort of drug was involved will be clear after the viscera report.
They said the viscera samples have already been sent to the CFSL and their analysis will reveal what was it and in what quantity.
The SDM in his report said under Section 176 of CrPC his job was to determine cause of the death which has been established as poisoning.
Any death within seven years of marriage is legally required to be investigated by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.(PTI)