Gurmehar Kaur

New Delhi, February 27

Kargil martyr’s daughter Gurmehar Kaur has moved the DCW, claiming that she has received “rape threats” allegedly from ABVP members after she initiated a social media campaign against the RSS’ student wing.

Twenty-year-old Kaur, a Delhi University student, had started the campaign, “I am not afraid of ABVP”, following the violence at Ramjas College, which went viral and received massive support from students across various universities.

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The women’s body has received a complaint from Kaur, said Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal, adding that the matter is being looked into.

In her complaint to the DCW, the student has said she has received “rape” threats on social media allegedly from members of the ABVP after she condemned “violence in name of nationalism” in the backdrop of Ramjas incident.

Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, had last week changed her Facebook profile picture holding a placard which read, “I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. #StudentsAgainstABVP”.

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Kiren Rijiju ✔@KirenRijiju

Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? A strong Arm Force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded. https://twitter.com/RandeepHooda/status/835889479411867650 …

8:58 AM – 27 Feb 2017

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“The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protesters, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in every Indian’s heart.

“It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation,” she had said in a Facebook status.

The literature student’s classmates and peers started sharing the post, prompting students from various universities across the country to change their profile pictures with the same placard, as the initiative went viral.

Ramjas College had last week witnessed large-scale violence between members of the AISA and the ABVP. The genesis of the clash was an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar on ‘Culture of Protests’ which was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by the ABVP.

Sharp reactions

The campaign of a Kargil martyr’s daughter against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Monday drew sharp reactions from BJP leaders, with Union minister Kiren Rijiju wondering who “polluted” her mind while another leader comparing her to one of India’s most wanted gangsters, Dawood Ibrahim.Pratap Simha, a BJP Parliamentarian from Mysuru, tweeted: “At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father’s name to justify his anti-national stand”.His tweet came as the campaign of Gurmehar Kaur went viral online with her photograph in which she said, “Pakistan did not kill my father. War killed him”.To mock her, Simha also posted a photograph showing Dawood with the message, “I didn’t kill people in 1993. Bombs killed them”.Rijiju also took to Twitter to take a dig at her.”Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? Strong armed forces prevent a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded,” the Minister of State for Home Affairs said.Talking to reporters, he later said: “One should not say things that could demoralise the countrymen and the forces. Everybody has freedom but that does not mean that you raise slogans to weaken the country”. — Agencies

A member of Iraq’s elite Rapid Response Division opens fire against Islamic State (IS) group fighters from an armoured vehicle turret in the northern city of Mosul as they continue the offensive to retake the citys western half from IS, on February 25, 2017. AFP photo

MOSUL (Iraq), February 25US-backed Iraqi forces pushed deeper into western Mosul on Saturday, advancing in several populated southern districts after punching through the defences of Islamic State’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq a day earlier.About 1,000 civilians also walked across the frontlines, the largest movement since the new offensive launched last week to deal the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group a decisive blow.In the capital Baghdad, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday in the first such visit in more than a decade between Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite-led Iraq.The new push in Mosul comes after government forces and their allies finished clearing Islamic State from the east of the northern Iraqi city last month, confining the insurgents to the western sector on the other side of the Tigris river.Commanders expect the battle in western Mosul to be more difficult, in part because tanks and armoured vehicles cannot pass through the narrow alleyways that crisscross ancient districts there.But Iraqi forces have so far made quick advances on multiple fronts, capturing the northern city’s airport on Thursday, which they plan to use as a support zone, and breaching a three-metre high berm and trench set up by Islamic State.The advancing forces are less than 3 km (2 miles) from the mosque in the old city where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria in 2014, sparking an international military campaign to defeat the group.Losing Mosul would likely deal a hammer blow to the militants’ dream of statehood, but they still control swathes of territory in Syria and patches of northern and western Iraq from where they could fight a guerrilla-style insurgency in Iraq, and plot attacks on the West.Federal police and an elite Interior Ministry unit known as Rapid Response have recaptured Hawi al-Josaq along the river and begun clearing the Tayyaran district north of the airport, said Brigadier General Hisham Abdul Kadhim.Islamic State resisted with snipers and roadside bombs, he said. A Reuters correspondent saw the corpses of two militants outside a mosque in Josaq. 

Foreign fighters

Counter-terrorism forces were also advancing on two fronts towards Wadi Hajr and Mamoun districts, said Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, a senior commander.”Clearing operations are ongoing and our forces have entered those areas,” he said on a hill overlooking the battle.Saadi said a suicide car bomb had been destroyed before reaching its target.A Mamoun resident reached by phone said militant fighters had flooded the area in recent days while moving their families to relative safety in other districts.Islamic State was broadcasting messages via mosque loudspeakers across the west of the city encouraging locals to resist the “infidels’ attack”, according to several residents.Several thousand militants, including many who travelled from Western countries to join up, are believed to be holed up in the city with practically nowhere to go, which could lead to a fierce standoff amid a population of 750,000.Ziyad, a 16-year-old living in Hawi al-Josaq, told a Reuters correspondent he had seen foreign IS militants withdraw as Iraqi forces advanced, leaving only local fighters behind.”They were really scared,” he said. “They were calling to each other and saying, ‘Let’s go’.”Abu Laith, 49, said he overheard disagreements between local and foreign fighters.”(The locals) said, ‘Tomorrow you will withdraw and we will be under the hammer’. (The foreigners) said, ‘That’s your problem. We are not in charge, the order is from the caliph’.” Iraq’s counter-terrorism service put a statement online last week offering leniency to local fighters who killed foreigners, though the legal framework for such a deal was unclear.A police spokesman said a Russian member of Islamic State had been captured on Wednesday near Mosul airport.The Iraqi campaign involves a 100,000-strong force of Iraqi troops, Shi’ite militias and Sunni tribal fighters backed by a US-led coalition that provides vital air support as well as on-the-ground guidance and training.Western advisors are increasingly present close to the frontline, helping coordinate air strikes and advising Iraqi forces as the battle unfolds. 

Civilians start to flee

About a thousand civilians, mostly women and children, walked out of southwestern parts of Mosul on Saturday and climbed into military trucks taking them to camps further south.The United Nations says up to 400,000 people may have to leave their homes during the new offensive as food and fuel runs out in western Mosul. Aid groups warned on Friday that the most dangerous phase of the offensive was about to begin.Some of the people fleeing the Mamoun area said they were originally from Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, but were forced to move as Islamic State retreated north into the city four months ago.”They began shelling us arbitrarily, so we hid in the bathrooms. When the security forces came, they yelled to us so we fled to them,” said civilian Mahmoud Nawwaf.The government is encouraging residents to stay in their homes whenever possible, as they did in eastern Mosul where fewer people fled than expected.A Reuters correspondent near the airport saw nine families living in a house where residents with full beards served trays of tea to security forces. Some said Islamic State had forced them to move from Samarra, 250 km (160 miles) south of Mosul.Abu Naba, 37, said he was surprised at how quickly the militants had been driven out.”We could hear their voices outside and 15 minutes later they were gone,” he said.A woman with a baby wrapped in a blanket on her lap said she had given birth in the house 22 days ago because it was too dangerous to reach a hospital. — Reuters

 

An Army officer consoles a relative of the slain soldier in Anantnag district on Friday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, February 24

Army men today gave a gun salute to Lance Naik Ghulam Mohiuddin Rather who was buried at his native Panchpora village in Anantnag district.A few hundred people, including Rather’s relatives and neighbours, attended his funeral prayers today. Most of the mourners were from the Army. Rather was among the three Army men killed in a militant ambush in Mool Chitragam village of Shopian district in the wee hours of Thursday. Five more soldiers, including two officers, were injured in the deadly ambush.On Wednesday evening, Rather (35) had cut short the call to his family, promising to call again in the morning.The family did, however, receive a call on Thursday morning but it was not from Rather. It was a call from his unit in Katho-Halan village of Shopian district, informing the family that Rather was no more.Rather, who was the only son of his parents, had joined the Army in April 2002 at the age of twenty. He was contemplating premature retirement. “He wanted to take care of his ailing parents and marry off his sister after taking premature retirement, for which he would have been eligible in a couple of months,” said Abdul Rehman, Rather’s relative.Rather’s mother is suffering from brain tumour while his father has a physical and mental disability, making him completely dependent on others.“Their son was their only hope and they were looking forward to his retirement to make ends meet,” said Saleem Ahmad, Rather’s neighbour, who described the slain soldier as the humblest soul in the neighbourhood.Locals told The Tribune that Rather was a hardworking family man. They said he had got his sister engaged a week ago, which was also the last time he had visited home.“His aged parents are devastated, but the worst hit are his sister, wife and his two-year-old son, who doesn’t even know what has happened,” said Rather’s another relative, pointing towards his two-year-old son Ahil Mohiuddin who was playing in the courtyard.At their single-storeyed house, where the family has recently moved in, Rather’s wife, Shahzada Akhter, was inconsolable and neighbours took turns to pacify her.

Killed in Shopian ambush

• Lance Naik Ghulam Mohiuddin Rather was among the three Army men killed in a militant ambush in Mool Chitragam village of Shopian district in the wee hours of Thursday. He had joined the Armyin April 2002
• A few hundred people, including Rather’s relatives and neighbours, attended his funeral prayers on Friday. Most of the mourners were from the Army

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 22

The Army today rescued two patients, including a pregnant woman, who were stranded at a remote mountainous pass at an altitude of 10,000 ft in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.The two patients, along with seven others, were travelling in an ambulance from the Tangdhar area last evening when the vehicle got stranded at Nastachung Pass – located at an altitude of 10,000 ft — due to a landslide, the Army said in a statement.“The ambulance could not move to Chowkibal or return to Tangdhar because of landslides on either side,” it said.Tangdhar is a remote mountainous area in Kupwara district and is located along the Line of Control.The Army said the decreasing temperature at the mountainous pass could have proven fatal for one of the patients, Waheeda Mir, who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy and suffers from anaemia. The second patient, 15-year-old Madsoor Ahmad, had to undergo a surgery for a stomach ailment.The Army said its rescue team reacted swiftly and cleared the way for the ambulance to return to Tangdhar. It said the rescue team also provided medical relief and care to the patients.

Four missing skiers rescued

• Four skiers, who had gone missing from the upper reaches of the Gulmarg skiing resort, were rescued on Wednesday by a joint team of J&K Police and Tourism Department, a senior police official said.
• SSP, Baramulla, Imtiyaz Hussain said, “At around 7 pm on Tuesday, the Gulmarg police station received information that some skiers had gone missing from the Affarwat-Kongdori-Drang area. Soon, a rescue team, comprising police and Tourism Department personnel, was dispatched for a search and rescue operation,” .
• The skiers were traced to the Kharnala area at around 1 am and rescued by the team. They were brought to Gulmarg and admitted to a hospital. — PTI

PoJK refugees want relief process simplified

Jammu, February 22

Refugees from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) today alleged that displaced people are facing problems as their family records are not available with the Revenue Department, leaving many out of the ambit of Rs 2,000-crore relief package announced by the Central government.A large number of refugees today took out a rally, urging the government to simplify the procedure for the PoJK refugees to get relief.“Ration cards for those living in camps set up for the displaced of 1965 and 1971 are not available. About 30 per cent families are unable to provide state subject documents. The procedure for the legal heir certificate should be simplified,” said Capt (retd) Yudhvir Singh Chib, president, PoJK Displaced Front.He demanded that Rs 2,000 crore should not be treated as the full and final amount as many other components of the package had been ignored. There is a confusion over the quantum of relief and it should be clarified, he added.He also sought Rs 30-lakh compensation for each displaced family. —TNS

Srinagar, February 20

The Army has lost 26 soldiers in the line of duty in Jammu and Kashmir in the first two months of 2017 while the security forces have stepped up the heat against militants, killing 22 ultras in 50 days — the highest since 2010.While 20 Army personnel, including an officer, lost their lives in avalanches in the Valley, six soldiers were killed during the counter-insurgency operations across the state that led to the killing of 22 militants as well, the security officials said.Among the security force personnel killed was a Major who laid down his life while battling militants in Handwara area of Kupwara district on February 14. Three militants were killed in the operation, the officials said.Earlier that day, three soldiers were killed in a gun battle with militants in the Hajin area of Bandipora district while one ultra was also killed, they said.The Valley had witnessed a bloody day two days earlier, too, on February 12 when four militants were gunned down in an encounter in Kulgam district of Kashmir while two soldiers also laid down their lives.One civilian was killed in exchange of firing between the militants and security forces while another civilian died in the security forces firing on protesters who were pelting stones after the operation ended.Intelligence reports suggest that many youths — approximately 100 — have joined militancy after the killing of Hibzul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last year, prompting security forces to launch proactive operations in recent times.Of the 50 operations conducted in Kashmir since January 1 this year, 16 operations have resulted in either killing (22) or arrest (three) of militants, the officials said.The security forces have also been able to bust the module of over-ground workers of militants, especially in north Kashmir.More than 40 over-ground workers (OGWs) have been arrested since the start of this year, they said. — PTI

Protesters outside the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on Friday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

Two days after stone-throwing youth had interfered with Army operations in Handwara, a high-level review committee has laid down fresh guidelines to deal with stone-throwers.The review committee that met on February 15 has circulated a fresh set of rules for all stakeholders – Army, Central forces like the CRPF, J&K Government and the J&K Police. This comes against the backdrop of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s warning that people obstructing Army operations would face tough action.Top sources confirmed to The Tribune that a four-step procedure had been laid down.First, a joint control room (located within an armour protected vehicle) will be set up at the encounter site. Encounters, mobilisations to end ‘mopping up’ can usually last for few hours. The joint control will ensure greater coordination between the Army, CRPF and the J&K Police.Second, Deputy Commissioners of the state have been asked to prevent the assembly of people at the encounter site where the security forces engage with militants. In Handwara, where four soldiers, including Major Satish Dahiya, lost their lives, a huge crowd pelted the Army convoy with stones. This aided the terrorists, who opened fire on the soldiers. In the ensuing melee, two terrorists escaped.Third, the police will pro-actively start identifying people who are providing shelter to militants in urban areas. Due to the severe snowfall and cold in the Valley, militants cannot remain holed up in their jungle hideouts and take shelter in villages and towns.Fourth, the police will earmark and identify the stone-throwers and further action under law will be taken.

New guidelines

• A joint control room (located within an armour protected vehicle) will be set up at the encounter site
• Deputy Commissioners of the state have been asked to prevent the assembly of people at the encounter site
• The police will pro-actively start identifying people who are providing shelter to militants in urban areas
• The police will earmark and identify the stone-throwers and further action under law will be taken.

District administration officers seal the open air cafe near war memorial in Dharamsala on Wednesday. Photo: Kamaljeet

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 15

The impasse over the eating joint at the war memorial in Dharamsala ended today with the district administration finally sealing it after a three-day struggle.The duty magistrate, along with a heavy contingent of policemen, came to the spot this morning and sealed the premises. Unlike the last two days, the person running the eating joint did not provide any resistance to the duty magistrate.For the last two days, the duty magistrate was not allowed to seal the eating joint by BJP leaders, led by HPCA spokesperson Sanjay Sharma. The person running the eating joint had also alleged that he was being victimised by leaders of the ruling party since he was a Dalit.Meanwhile, the martyrs memorial society that was running the affairs of the war memorial had condemned the move to politicise the issue of eviction of the tenant from the premises of the war memorial.In a press note here today, Col GB Thapa (retd) said the eating joint was being run on the property of the war memorial. The eviction of the tenant was ordered by the Dharamsala SDM court. Some elements were trying to politicise the issue which was unfortunate, he said. Sources here said the evicted tenant had meanwhile moved court for relief.Though the administration and the police have take action in the present case, it remains to be seen if other culprits who have illegally occupied government properties also face similar action.

LUCKNOW: Army officers from Lucknow Cantonment and their wives visited the Masala Mathri Kendra run by the Akanksha Samiti in Butler Palace and took stock of the processing.

HT PHOTOWomen preparing dishes at theMasala Mathri Kendra run by the Akanksha Samiti in Butler Palace.

The visitors praised the high quality of products as well as the effort of online sale, enabling people living in far off areas to get quality stuff.

President of A kan ks ha Samiti Kavita Bhatnagar said that for online purchase, an order could be placed on www.akankshasamiti.com. Payment options include debit card, credit card and cash on delivery.

The army officer were also told about the model which Akanksha Samiti follows. The Samiti takes care of its employees in a big way, giving them bonus three times a year out of its profits.

The wives of army officers praised the Akanksha Samiti model and quality of products.

Akanksha Samiti is also running a school for slum kids where children are give free uniforms and stationery.

It also helps orphan kids and gives tricycles and other gadgets to the disabled. The Samiti also runs a computer centre for poor children

Ludhiana, February 8

Recruitment of youngsters for the Army will be held from Ludhiana, Moga, Roopnagar and Ajitgarh (Mohali) districts from April 18 to April 24.The recruitment will be held for the posts of soldier (general duty), soldier (clerk/ storekeeper technical), soldier trade man (except soldier nursing assistant) and soldier technical posts.Director Recruitment, Col Kamal Kishore said to be a part of the recruitment, the youth would have to apply online from February 17 to April 2 on the website www.joinindianarmy.nic.in.After the completion of the online process, the eligible candidates would be intimated about the recruitment process. He said the recruitment would be on the basis of the tehsils of the above mentioned four districts. —TNS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 8

The Chief Judicial Magistrate today awarded two-year rigorous imprisonment to Col BS Goraya (retd) for selling his attached property in Punjab. Judge Akshdeep Mahajan also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him. He was convicted under Section 206 (fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution) of the IPC on Saturday.In 2011, the court of special CBI judge had ordered initiation of criminal action against the former Army officer and had filed a complaint against him in the court of the then CJM. Proceedings against him under Section 340 of the CrPC were started in the court of the CJM.His property was attached during the investigation of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The court had directed that he was not entitled to sell his land. However, he sold off one of the attached properties.A case was registered by the premier investigating agency under Sections 13(2) and 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. It was stated that between January 1987 and August 1990, the accused and some others had acquired properties worth Rs 82.58 lakh. The properties were disproportionate to his known sources of income. The CBI court, during the trail, had also attached the Sector 9 house of the former Army officer. He had several properties in his as well as his family members’ name in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana.