Grenade Lobbed at Telecom Tower in Srinagar

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Cop inspecting the telecom tower in Srinagar after grenade attack. Pics: Bilal Bahadur

Panic gripped Gadood Bagh area of Srinagar’s Habba Kadal Monday when ‘suspected militants’ lobbed grenade at telecom tower in the area, which missed the target, exploded close by and left one person injured.

Police, however, has turned down the incident, which has already triggered a great panic in the area.

Monday’s attack on telecom tower is the first incident in summer capital after grenade attacks on mobile towers were reported from Sopore and Handwara areas of north Kashmir.

Grenade damaged windowpane of vehicles.

Notably, panic spread in restive Sopore town earlier when spate of threats were issued to telecom operators, offices and tower owners, asking them “to wind up the services”.

Later the threats turned deadly when two men associated with telecom services in the town were killed by suspected militants. In fact, the state’s top cop, DGP K Rajendra said Hizb was behind the attacks on mobile service providers in the valley. Though the Hizb supremo Syed Salahudin termed the act “handiwork of Indian agencies”, separatist leaders like Muhammad Yasin Malik and Syed Ali Geelani asked Hizb chief to unmask the assailants.

Amid all this, J-K Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said “threat won’t deter peace”.

On Monday, similar spate of threats was reported from the parts of south Kashmir—following which, many telecom employees have stopped maintaining the mobile towers and those having franchise of telecom companies started distancing themselves from such services.

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Tangdar Encounter: Civilian Killed

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SRINAGAR

In ongoing encounter in Bakhiya village of Tangdar sector along the line of control, a civilian has been killed in the exchange of fire between suspected militants and army on Monday.

The civilian death has taken death toll to four after three suspected militants were killed in the fierce encounter that broke out Sunday morning between army and a group of heavily armed gunmen trying to storm an army hospital in the sector.

While conforming the civilian killing, the police official said the unidentified civilian has died in the exchange of fire.

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Police Flex Muscles on Gujjar Caravan on Highway; Situation Tense

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Representational Pic.

Situation turned tense Monday on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway between Chenani and Udhampur when several nomadic Gujjars were taken to custody by the police while they were escorting their cattle from Jammu to Kashmir Valley on Highway, said the Panthers party spokesperson.

The Gujjar activists on the road told Prof Bhim Singh, Panthers Party Supremo that police demanded money on the way and when they refused they were assaulted, their women were beaten by the police on the Highway, the spokesperson said.

“The Highway has been blocked by the Gujjar children and women as they are demanding immediate release of their male members arrested by Udhampur Police,” the spokesperson said. “There is no senior male member in the entire caravan as they have been put in police station illegally, unconstitutionally.”

The spokesperson said Prof Bhim Singh have communicated to the Prime Minister, the Governor Shri NN Vohra and DG Police to intervene in the matter, take stern action against the police, the compensation to the Gujjar families for illegal arrest so that the innocent Gujjar families which are on their routine movement from Jammu to Srinagar in summer.

Thousands of tourists with their vehicles have been stranded on the highway due to the police action.

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Three Killed in Ramban Road Mishap

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Police Monday said three persons were killed on Jammu-Srinagar Highway, when a Kashmir-bound truck skidded off the road near Nashri belt of Ramban district and fell on the parked WagonR car on the highway. The trio died on the spot.

Among the deceased—two are women, identified as Mahinder Kour and Pushpinder Kour, and their driver, Sukhwinder Singh.

Monday’s accident is another addition in the series of road accidents happening in state on regular basis. The official figures on road accidents present a grim picture. And, the frequency of road mishaps on Srinagar-Jammu Highway is high due to its fair-weather nature.

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On June 3, KU to Host ‘Talk’ on Agha Shahid

Riyaz Ul Khaliq 

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Come June 03 – Wednesday, valley’s highest seat of learning, Kashmir University, shall discuss critiques of Kashmir’s ‘forbidden’ poet – Agha Shahid Ali.

The English Department of Kashmir University is scheduled to hold a ‘talk’ and later an ‘Open Discussion’ on writer, academic and poet – late Agha Shahid Ali, famous for his literary compilation, ‘The Country without a Post Office’.

Educated at the KU, and later at Hindu College, University of Delhi, Shahid earned doctorate in English Literature from Pennsylvania State University in 1984, and later an MFA from University of Arizona in 1985, in the United States.

He went to on hold various teaching positions in nine universities and colleges in Indian mainland and the US.

Interestingly, being Shahid’s Alma mater – the KU – at one point in time ‘declined’ to let its students learn from this scholarly Non Resident Kashmiri.

Prof R Raj Rao from Pune University shall present his paper on Euro-American Critiques on Agha Shahid Ali. Noted writer and poet, Prof Rao has formerly headed department of English at Pune University.

The discussion shall be held in the ‘Seminar Hall’ of Humanities Block in the main campus of Kashmir University from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Besides expressing love for his homeland in The Country Without a Post Office, Shahid was a translator of the noted Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz (The Rebel’s Silhouette; Selected Poems); more so, he also edited the Middle East and Central Asia segment of Jeffery Paine’s Poetry of Our World.

Setting his collection of English poems in a book form – Call Me Ishmael Tonight – his poems are being featured in American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006) and other anthologies.

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Chopper-borne ‘Bharatis’ Landed in Controversy

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Glitzy marriage of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s junior minister has come under scanner in a cash-starved state after some high-profile bharatis in who’s who in the marriage party took state chopper rides to be present on the occasion.

The matter got highlighted after all ministers and senior bureaucrats of the State turned up for the marriage of Sunil Sharma, MoS Roads and Buildings and Revenue, preferred air than road to attend marriage.

Sunil Sharma

Among those who travelled in state chopper to reach Kishtwar residence of Sharma were deputy CM, Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh, his wife Mamta Singh, besides MoS Education, Information and Culture, Priya Sethi. And then came Choudhary Lal Singh (Health Minister), Altaf Bukhari (R&B Minister) and Bali Bhagat (Social Welfare and Forest Minister).

In the cash-starved state of Jammu and Kashmir—ministers using state chopper with their families has set off concern in certain sections, questioning: Why is BJP silent on the issue now if till tomorrow they used to hound former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Congress ministers for misusing State Chopper?

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After North Kashmir, Telecom Crisis Moves Down South

Sheikh Hilal

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

After north Kashmir, telecom operators have reportedly started winding up their services in many parts of south Kashmir after “some men barged in many mobile recharge outlets” and warned the retailers of “dire consequences” if they won’t wind up their services immediately.

After restive Sopore in north Kashmir, fresh spate of threats have started coming from Kulgam district, where reportedly many mobile recharge retail shops have been closed down in view of threats. “Some men showed up at my shop and sternly warned me of consequences if I wouldn’t wind up my services,” one frightened mobile recharge retailer said.

On face of threats, several towers and telecom offices have been shut in the town. “We are not able to contact with our family members and relatives due to weak signals,” said one Kulgam local working in Srinagar. The weak signals have apparently set off an impression that many cellular towers in the area have been rendered defunct.

Similar threats have also been reported from Shopian where locals say only BSNL and Aircel networks are working. “Even the signal in both these networks is very weak,” said one local in Shopian. Though the retailers are still recharging mobile phones, but the threat, many said, is looming large over the town.

From Keller belt of Pulwama, similar threats have been reported—“warning telecom operators to wind up their services or face consequences!”

In Islamabad district, reports say, the distributors have stopped recharging their retail vendors’ main recharging Sim-card (or Lapus)—thereby triggering a sense of unease in public and forcing many telecom offices to close their service operations.

Notably, earlier panic spread in north Kashmir’s Sopore town when spate of threats were issued to telecom operators, offices and tower owners, asking them “to wind up the services”.

Later the threats turned deadly when two men associated with telecom services in the town were killed by suspected militants. In fact, the state’s top cop, DGP K Rajendra said Hizb was behind the attacks on mobile service providers in the valley. Though the Hizb supremo Syed Salahudin termed the act “handiwork of Indian agencies”, separatist leaders like Muhammad Yasin Malik and Syed Ali Geelani asked Hizb chief to unmask the assailants.

Amid all this, J-K Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said “threat won’t deter peace”.

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