Journalists, columnists, Govt servants barred to accept foreign hospitality, funding

Excelsior Special Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 22: A Police inquiry panel, set up to arrest the rot of the inflow of foreign funds in the wake of Sayyid Ghulam Nabi’s conviction by an American court, has started its business with a low key profile.
Government has appointed two Police officers-SP Budgam Uttam Chand and SP Counter-Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) Sheikh Junaid Mehmood—for holding a preliminary inquiry into reports that quite a number of Indians, including many from Jammu & Kashmir, had enjoyed hospitality in certain foreign countries and received monetary support from Dr Fai for promoting ISI’s and Government of Pakistan’s multi-faceted disinformation campaign on the Kashmir problem.
Successive governments have conveniently ignored these reports and chosen to be permissive to the foreign visits of these ‘intellectuals’ in the name of ‘democracy’. Action, not even of eyewash, was never initiated till the prosecution in Virginia established serious charges against Fai and an American court not only declared him as an “ISI agent” but also revealed that ‘intellectuals’ like Gautam Navlakha had been put on ISI’s payroll on the recommendations and intervention of Fai.
The American court also dismissed letters of 53 Indians, including Kashmir’s separatist leaders and their intellectual cheerleaders as part and parcel of a Pakistani gameplan. Mercifully, all of these foot soldiers of the Pakistani intelligence agency are still intact in Manmohan Singh’s India and the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu & Kashmir has not ordered even a disciplinary actions against the public servants who have risen to fame and built fortunes against the given task of promoting Fai’s and ISI’s agenda in Jammu & Kashmir.
These people have been overtly teaching separatism and generating hatred for India and its systems through their lectures in University classrooms and prolific columns in newspapers. It is because of this “inaction” that pessimists are dismissing the Police inquiry just an eyewash to offset the embarrassment India has suffered on account of shutting her eyes to the mushroom growth of Dr Fais in the state-controlled organs and institutions.
J&K Government has even ignored suggestions of appointing a senior officer of the rank of IGP or Additional DGP as head of the inquiry. Authoritative sources, nevertheless, insist that the inquiry had begun in a no-nonsense manner and the team functioning under two SPs was collecting necessary evidences and documents related to Fai’s J&K connections and activities. These sources insist that IGP Kashmir, S M Sahai, himself chaired a meeting with the team of investigators and issued necessary actions, making it clear that the action would be completed in a timeframe and taken to its logical conclusion.
“It is, admittedly, a problem that certain individuals have grown larger than life and they are labouring under the belief that nobody would dare to touch them, let alone calling them for clarifications and questioning”, said a senior Police official. He, however, asserted that no delaying or leniency was possible in the Fai inquiry as, according to him, Government of India was firmly monitoring the process.
Sources maintained that the inquiry team had begun to study entire gamut of the inflow of foreign funding, through hawala and non-hawala channels, into the conflict riddled State of Jammu and Kashmir. The team had noticed that most of Fai’s Indian and Kashmiri retailers had carried out anti-Indian activities and worked for Fai despite being totally barred from accepting any foreign hospitality or funding by provisions and rules of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 2010 and Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act.
The Act, enforced in the entire country including Jammu and Kashmir, and covers all Indians in any foreign country, makes it clear that certain persons and organisations were totally barred from accepting any kind of foreign contribution or hospitality. They include candidates contesting any election, correspondents, columnists, cartoonists, editors, owners, printers or publishers of a registered newspaper, associations or companies engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio-visual news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode or form or any other mode of mass communication or company engaged in such type of a business.
Those barred by the law also include judges, government servants, or employees of any entity controlled or owned by the government, members of any legislature including MPs, MLAs and MLCs, political parties or their office-bearers and organisations of a political nature.
Members of the inquiry, according to sources, have developed information that quite a number of the state’s mediapersons, academics, columnists had generously received ISI’s financial support through Fai and other channels in the last 22 years of insurgency. Questions with regard to these mediapersons building empires and becoming multi-millionaires, inspite of their newspapers running on huge losses and circulation being just a few thousand copies, have remained unanswered in J&K. As of now, all these people are unfazed and continuing their activities with the belief that India’s criminals could be unsafe anywhere but not in India.
Reached for his comments, head of the ‘preliminary inquiry’ and SP Budgam, Uttam Chand, said that necessary material was being collected and studied. He made it clear that anybody, howsoever mighty, would be called for questioning as and when his or her involvement in Fai related activities is established prima facie. He said that the PI would be converted into FIR in accordance with the violations of law noticed and all the guilty would be brought to justice.

Deployment to begin in middle of June

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 22: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved 74 additional companies of para-military for Jammu and Kashmir for deployment along Baba Amarnath ji yatra route, base camps and other places for security of Amarnath yatris during annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva in holy cave shrine of South Kashmir Himalayas beginning June 25.
“The additional companies of para-military would start reaching different parts of the State in the middle of June”, official sources said.
In addition, Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) would mobilize a good number of police personnel from various districts for security of Amarnath pilgrims.
Sources said the State Government and Police Headquarters had taken up the issue of additional companies of para-military personnel for protection of Shri Amarnath ji pilgrims. Annual pilgrimage of Baba Amarnath Ji is beginning from June 25 this year and would conclude till August 2 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
They added that the MHA has formally conveyed its nod for providing 74 additional companies of para-military including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to the State for smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. While some of the companies would be made available from local resources, others would be given from different States.
However, the additional para-military companies would be for exclusive use of Amarnath yatra security and would be withdrawn immediately after completion of pilgrimage as the MHA was reportedly in need of para-military forces for Naxal affected States including Chattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand etc.
Sources said the para-military personnel would be deployed at Baltal and Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camps in Kashmir, Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu, twin tracks of Baltal and Nunwan and National Highways of Jammu-Pathankot and Jammu-Srinagar along with other security agencies including police.
According to sources, the demand for additional para-military companies for Amarnath yatra had been taken up by police authorities with Union Home Minister during a security review meeting here on April 10. It was followed up subsequently, they said, adding the MHA has formally approved deployment of 74 additional companies of para-military forces for yatra security.
Security agencies were engaged in giving final touch to yatra arrangements well in advance even as deployment of security forces would start only after both the tracks (Baltal and Pahalgam-Chandanwari) were cleared of snow and made fit for movement of the security personnel.
The process could take time as both the tracks were covered with snow and clearance operations would start only next month. Sources said deployment of troops, para-military and police was expected to start in the middle of June so that it was completed well ahead of the start of pilgrimage on June 25.
According to blueprint of yatra security, Army would man heights of Shri Amarnath ji cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas while para-military and police personnel would be deployed on both the tracks, base camps of Baltal and Nunwan, Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu and both National Highways of Jammu-Pathankot and Jammu-Srinagar used by the yatris to reach Jammu and Srinagar.
Senior officers of Army, para-military and police would undertake review of security arrangements for yatra after the snow started melting and snow clearance operations were launched by different agencies.
Sources said Jammu and Kashmir Police would also use reserve police from different districts of the State, especially which were free from militancy or where there was very less presence of security forces for deployment of yatra security.
“Though the militancy has gone down in the entire State including Kashmir valley, the Government was not going to take any chance with security arrangements of yatra and would make fool-proof security for the pilgrims coming from different parts of the country”, sources said.
It may be mentioned here that registration of the pilgrims all along the country would start from May 7 through designated branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Yes Bank, Cooperative Banks and Post Offices.

Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Apr 22: A labour couple was crushed to death by a long- truck (Tralla) at Lakhanpur while an unknown person was knocked to death by another vehicle at Barnoti on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway last night.
A police spokesman said that some labourers were sleeping in the open space on the road side near Golden Gate at Lakhanpur. A long truck bearing No. MH-43/4007 which the driver wanted to park at the road side, crushed two sleeping labourers at around 11.30 pm. Both were killed on the spot, the other labourers who had miraculous escape  woke up and dragged the driver out and later handed over to police which rushed to the spot after accident.
The deceased have been identified as Sobin (40), son of Bairo Raj and his wife Narayani, both hailing from Madhubani, Rajasthan. They were working at a project on National Highway. The police arrested truck driver Bablu, son of Mangal  Dass of  Bihar. The vehicle was also seized. A case has been registered in this connection. The bodies were taken to Kathua hospital for postmortem and after completion of legal formalities handed over to heirs.
Meanwhile, an unidentified middle-aged man was hit by an unknown vehicle on the National Highway at Barnoti at around 10 pm last night. The man was crossing road when the accident took place. The locals informed Kathua police which rushed to the spot and shifted the body to the mortuary of District Hospital, Kathua. The police has started investigation.

Former ultras may be deployed as spotters

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI, Apr 22:
In an attempt to plug the Nepal route used by Kashmiri militants to re-enter the Valley using the new surrender policy as a cover, the Centre has decided to depute Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel along with the Sashastra Seema Bal, a para-military force guarding the Indo-Nepal border.
At a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary R K Singh in the national Capital, the decision to depute the police personnel from the State was taken. These men will assist the SSB in identifying the Kashmiri youth who have been using Nepal as an alternate route to enter into the Valley, official sources said today.
The J and K Police may also deploy “spotters”, former militants, who will help in nabbing such youths who enter into India through the Nepal border, which became an entry route after the State Government announced Rehabilitation Policy in 2010.
Former militants who crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) between 1989 and 2009 will be considered for safe return through the special policy.
The personnel, besides being deployed at 15 points from where the people from India and Nepal enter, will also be part of patrolling parties to man areas used for illegal infiltration, the sources said.
Under the policy, the parents of the youth will have to apply to the district police chiefs of their respective districts certifying that ‘their wards want to return and live a normal life’. The district police chiefs will scrutinize the applications and then issue orders after clearance from various agencies concerned.
Government has identified four entry points – Poonch-Rawalakote (Poonch), Uri-Muzaffarabad (Uri), Wagah (Punjab) and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi from where the youth, given clearance, can enter the State.
However, some cases were detected during the past few months in which former militants holed in PoK were entering into the Valley through Nepal route and then claiming that they had returned as per the policy of 2010. Some of the youths were later found to be re-cycled into militancy as well.
The issue was flagged at a meeting on Internal Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah which led the Centre to direct the Home Secretary to take urgent steps in this matter.
While favouring a mechanism to ensure safe return of former militants to the State to facilitate their transition for leading peaceful lives, rejoining the national mainstream and contributing towards peace, Omar had said that there are reports that some youth are using Nepal route for returning to Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is a growing concern about the possibility of the recycling of the surrendered and released militants as well as these prospective returnees from PoK. This needs attention of the Government,” Omar had said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Apr 22:
After the successful launch of Agni-5 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles.
As part of plans to develop reusable ballistic missiles, Defence Research and Development Organisation will test indigenously developed scram jet engine next year, DRDO Chief V K Saraswat said in an interview to Doordarshan.
“We have propulsion technology, we have re-entry technologies, we have the technology which can take a re-entry system which will deliver a payload and have yet another re-entry system which will bring the missile back when it re-enters the atmosphere on its return journey,” he said.
“We have demonstrated the performance of a scram jet engine operating at Mach six speed (six times the speed of sound),” he said.
On the range of Agni-5 missile which was scuccessfully test-fired recently off Odisha coast, the DRDO chief said with moderate modifications, “it can be extended to any range which is of our interest.”
On technological capability available with the agency, he said, “DRDO has built the necessary technologies, production infrastructure and design capability for developing a booster or a sustainer… We have the capability to develop a re-entry nose cone which can withstand higher temperature and velocity.”
Reacting to reports that India does not possess sufficient indigenous technology for missile guidance systems, Saraswat said Agni-5 has used a completely indigenous and high precision missile guidance system with “0.001 degrees of per hour accuracy.”
On criticism that DRDO sometimes does not live up to expectations, he said the agency was as good as its counterparts in advanced countries.
“Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), F-18 and Eurofighter took similar number of years and cost wise they were three times more than what we have put in our LCA,” he said.
On development of Kaveri engine, Saraswat said it too has performed well and was, “flown an IL-76 aircraft in Russia, 55 hours of successful flight… We are going to upgrade it so that it can be used in India’s LCA Mark-II and future systems.” (PTI)

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 22:   Police today arrested two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) from north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Police said that acting on a specific information Handwara police apprehended Masood Ahmad Geelani son of Mohammad Maqbool resident of Laribal Handwara and Zahoor Ahmad Dar son of Gulam Nabi resident of Saderkot Bandipora from Laribal, Handwara and recovered Rs 45,000 Indian currency from their possession.
Police said that the money was supposed to be delivered to militants in Bandipora and Srinagar area. Handwara police has registered a case in this regard.
It may be mentioned here that 10 militants were killed by the security forces during last one month in the Handwara’s Rajwara forests.

Electricity Act bars PDD from continuing with existing practice

By Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 22: About 4.5 lakh non-metered electricity consumers across the State will not be entitled for the power supply beyond April 28, 2012. These include 3,99,697 domestic and 43,339 non-domestic/ commercial connections.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) in its first Tariff Order for 2007-08 financial year and subsequent Tariff Orders for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 had directed Power Development Department to complete 100 per cent consumer metering as a step towards energy accounting and reduction of power losses.
However, the time-limit in this regard was fixed when the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act was enacted by the State Legislature in 2010. Under the provisions of Section 49 of the Act, deadline of two years was fixed for metering all the un-metered connections across the State .
But despite this, no serious attention was paid by the Power Development Department (PDD) towards chalking out comprehensive metering plan and the deadline of two years is now expiring on April 28.   “This was the response of the Department despite the fact that un-metered supply has been one of the factors responsible for such high loss levels in the State”, sources said.
In the prevailing circumstances, about 4.5 lakh un-metered connections across the State will not be entitled to get power supply beyond April 28 as per the provisions of Section 49 of the J&K Electricity Act. The Section 49 mandates that no licensee shall supply electricity after April 28, 2012 except through installation of a correct energy meter.
These un-metered 4.5 lakh connections, which will be legally not liable to get power supply after six days, include 3,99,697 domestic, 43,339 non-domestic/ commercial, 3,022 agriculture, 249 public street lighting and 598 LT public water works. These un-metered connections are consuming connected load of 344.86 Mega Watts (MW).
“The casual approach of the department towards metering of un-metered connections can be gauged from the fact that Power Development Department in its Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) petition for 2012-13 financial year has submitted that nearly three lakh un-metered consumers are targeted to be metered in 2012-13 financial year and approximately 1.5 lakh consumers will remain un-metered and efforts would be made to cover them by the end of 2013-14 financial year”, sources said.
Stating that State Electricity Regulatory Commission has also expressed grave concern over the approach of the Power Development Department towards metering exercise, which is otherwise very vital to check the losses, sources said, “the Commission has suggested the Department to approach the competent authority with a metering plan to get the deadline under J&K Electricity Act, 2010 extended”.
“But this via-media is not so easy as the State Legislature, which has the powers to amend the relevant Section of the Act, is not in session at present”, they said, adding “it is not understandable as to why this issue was not seriously pondered upon well in time and necessary step taken during the Budget Session”.
Responding to a question, they said, “now the Department has only left with option of amending Section 49 of the Act by virtue of an Ordinance, which is also going to take sometime”.
Had serious attention been paid by the Department towards the directions of SERC since 2007-08, such a situation would have not been erupted, sources said, adding “the submission made by the Department in the ARR petition for financial year 2012-13 that metering process will continue till the end of 2013-14 financial year indicates that there will be no appropriate loss reduction strategies and schemes, which are otherwise based on correct energy accounting”.
The SERC, in its order on Annual Revenue Requirement and Determination of Retail Tariffs for current financial year, has also observed, “it is unambiguously clear that PDD has not made any serious effort to reduce loss levels”.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 22: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and National Conference president, Dr Farooq Abdullah has fully recovered from pneumonic and chest infections and the doctors in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) would take a decision tomorrow on his discharge from the hospital.
Dr Abdullah today spent seventh day in the AIIMS.
“Condition of Farooq has considerably improved. Injections have been stopped. He has been put on oral medication. He was responding very well to the treatment”, the doctors attending on the Union Minister said.
Sources said the doctors treating Dr Abdullah would take a decision on his discharge from the hospital.
Farooq was admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi on Monday last after complaints of chest and pneumonic infections.

BALLIA, Apr 22:
Chief of Army Staff General V K Singh today hinted at implementation of one rank one pension and said all information regarding ex-army men would be collected and their problems would be sorted out.
Addressing a conference of ex-army men Gen Singh said that all efforts were being made to implement one rank one pension from the last two years.
Stating efforts were also being made to remove disparity in the family pension scheme, the COAS said it may take time, but there would certainly be one or the other good outcome.
Implementation of one rank one pension scheme would involve an expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore, but it was less from the point of the welfare of the soldiers, Singh said.
He was here to unveil the statue of former Prime Minister Chadrashekhar at Devsthali.
Assuring soldiers after becoming pensioners they would not be forgotten, Gen Singh said both unit and headquarters have been directed to speedily redress pension related and other complaints of ex-army men.
He said that all details of ex-army men, including that of their families, were being gathered and they would include whether any family member of an ex-army man was aggrieved and what his problem was.
Though the media was kept away from his programme some reporters managed to enter the venue and enquired Gen Singh whether he would hand over documents related to the bribery case to the CBI.
Gen Singh refused to comment and said that media should gather information from the CBI in this regard.
At a public function later, Singh emphasised on setting up of better educational institutions in rural areas and said they should focus all round development of students.
“It is the responsibility of the younger generation to take the country forward,” he added.
Chandrashekhar’s son and MP Neeraj Shekhar and MLC Ravishanker Pappu were also present at the event. (PTI)

SRINAGAR, Apr 22:
Drawing a parallel with insurgency in Maoist-infested areas, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said his State should be given a choice on revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from some areas.
“If Maoist-infested states can choose not to use the army, why can’t my State choose not to use it in some areas?” Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.
“I want to know why no one is demanding AFSPA in these areas when they are so keen to see it continue in J&K,” he said.
The Chief Minister, however, dismissed suggestions that he was supporting the use of army to tackle Maoists.
“I’m not. I’m asking why those making a big deal about it in my State are happy to be quiet in this case with a worse problem.” (PTI)