Will protect panchayat members, says Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday promised security to sarpanches and panches amid reports of mounting resignations by them in the wake of attacks by militants.

The government will not remain a silent spectator to these attacks and would take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security, particularly in vulnerable areas, he told reporters in Srinagar.

Referring to the killing of three panchayat members this year, Mr Abdullah said the state government would not allow the ultras to disrupt ongoing efforts to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system in the state.


Dubbing militants as cowards for attacking panches and sarpanches, Mr Abdullah dared the ultras to target him, saying they would not do so fearing a befitting reply. He also asserted that attempts to derail the Panchayat process by the militants would be thwarted.

"These (militants) cowards are attacking defenseless people. If they have the courage let them carry out an attack on me. But they will not do it as they know they will get a befitting reply," Mr Abdullah said.

In the aftermath of the killing of a panch in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Sunday, reports said that nearly 100 panchayat members wanted to opt out fearing for their life.

Militants have targeted several panches and sarpanches since the landmark panchayat polls were held in the state last year after a gap of 30 years.

Posters have surfaced in many areas of Kashmir since early this year, asking the panches and sarpanches to resign from their posts or face dire consequences.

"So far, we have only received 50 resignations since the panchayat elections were held last year," Mr Abdullah said, adding "none of these resignations had been accepted so far."

"I have convened a meeting on October 1st to discuss this issue. We have to increase the deployment of security forces or change the deployment pattern according to the threat perception," he said.

He said devolution of power to the panchayats had not gone down well with a section of politicians and bureaucrats.

"Many MLAs and even two ministers from our coalition partner have come to me asking not to transfer block level powers to panchayats," in an obvious reference to Congress.

Opposition PDP lashed out at the state government accusing it of failing to provide security to Panchayat members. 

Mehrajuddin Dand, Kandahar hijack suspect, arrested in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar: Thirteen years after the audacious Kandahar IC-814 hijack, a man suspected to have provided logistical support for it, Mehrajuddin Dand, has been arrested in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir. The militant, the J&K Police say, is a major catch; he had been operating for the last 20 years.

There are very few details of the arrest available yet as the police double-check that the man they have arrested is indeed Dand. He goes by the alias Javed and is also alleged to have been involved in several blasts across the country. He had been living in Nepal for many years now, the police said, and had married a Hindu girl there.

The police claim that Dand provided fake travel documents to the five Pakistani men who hijacked the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 on December 24, 1999. The plane, with mostly Indians on board, had taken off from Nepal that Christmas Eve evening and just as it entered Indian airspace, the gunmen hijacked the flight to Kandahar in Afghanistan after fueling stops at Amritsar and Lahore in Pakistan and a stop at Dubai were they freed some passengers. The hijackers killed one man in the seven-day stand-off that ended controversially with the Indian government releasing three notorious terrorist leaders for the safe return of the rest of the passengers. Among those freed by India were Maulana Masood Azhar who later founded the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is accused of later killing American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The police say Dand is suspected to be a key man of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and an important fund raiser for terror activities. He is believed to have been among the first group of Hizbul Mujahideen that crossed over into Pakistan for training and is said to be the longest surviving militant in the state. Dand is also believed to have been a key lieutenant of Hizbul chief  Syed Salahuddin for many years before becoming an independent operative who coordinated between various terror groups, the police said.

Traffic cop beaten up by senior J&K minister's escorts in Srinagar

Srinagar: In a blatant abuse of power, a traffic policeman was beaten by a senior Jammu and Kashmir minister's escorts on Monday.

The incident happened allegedly after the traffic policeman stopped the convoy of Taj Moihuddin, J&K's Irrigation and Flood Control Minister, from jumping a traffic signal at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

The injured traffic cop was admitted to a hospital, and the two escorts were arrested. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that strong action will be taken against the escorts.

"The cops who beat the traffic police officer have been arrested and booked. I have asked for strongest possible action under law," Mr Abdullah tweeted.

Mr Moihuddin was not available for any comments.

From: NDTV