Indian and Chinese delegations at a border personnel meeting in Ladakh. tribune photo

Jammu, April 10

The ceremonial Border Personnel Meetings (BPM) were held today at the Indian BPM Hut in Chushul and at the Indian Meeting Point Hut at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) in eastern Ladakh.The Indian delegations were led by Maj Gen Savneet Singh in Chushul and by Maj Deepak Tiwari in DBO whereas the Chinese delegations were led by Senior Col Xhang Jun Yong in Chushul and by Lt Col Duan Yu Gang in DBO.Giving details, PRO (Defence), Udhampur, NN Joshi said the Border Personnel Meetings were marked by both the delegations saluting the national flags of the two countries. “This was followed by the ceremonial address by leaders of the delegations. Thereafter, a cultural programme showcasing the vibrant Indian heritage was organised,” he said. — TNS

New Delhi, April 9

Individuals struggling to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar because of differently spelled names can now simply upload a scanned copy of PAN to get the work done.The tax department is also planning to introduce an option on the e-filing portal through which taxpayers can choose to link Aadhaar without changing the name by opting for a one-time password (OTP), provided the year of birth of the person matches in both documents.With the linking of PAN with Aadhaar being made mandatory, individuals can log on to e-filing website of the Income Tax Department or NSDL, but the seeding cannot happen if the name is differently spelt in two cards—like use of full name in PAN and initials in Aadhaar. In such cases, the government has allowed a simple uploading of a scanned copy of PAN on the Aadhaar website. The tax department would start educating taxpayers from this week through media outreach on ways to link PAN with Aadhaar. — PTI

Show credit, loan payments over Rs 2 lakh in tax return

• All cash payments of over Rs2 lakh for paying loans and credit card bills during the 50-day period after demonetisation will have to be disclosed in the new one-page income tax return form
• Besides providing for declaring income, exemption claimed and tax paid, the forms have a new column providing for declaration for any deposit of over Rs 2 lakh in bank accounts made during November 9 and December 30, 2016.

Monument to be built in village of Ishar Singh who led Army unit; Punjab to hold defence literary fest on Oct 27

Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh interacts with the audience during his book release function in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 8

While it is widely believed that 21 soldiers had made the last stand at Saragarhi in the North-West Frontier Province 120 years ago, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said there was a 22nd man in the fortress whose sacrifice had gone unnoticed.Dedicating his book, ‘The 36th Sikhs in the Tirah Campaign 1897-98: Saragarhi and the Defence of Samana Forts’, that was released here today to the 22nd man, he said the man, a non-combatant and deployed at Saragarhi as a cook, picked up a rifle after others were killed and shot four tribals.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Though his exact identity is unknown, he probably belonged to Noushera and is referred to simply as ‘Daad’. He wanted to join the Army, but was rejected on medical grounds. There is only one edifice dedicated to the battle on which his reference crops up.The Saragarhi battle, where 21 soldiers from 36 Sikh (now 4 Sikh), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought to the last man last round against over 8,000 Afridi tribals, is listed by UNESCO as one of the 10 greatest battles ever fought. British Parliament had risen in unison on hearing about the exploits of the soldiers, all of whom were awarded the Indian Order of Merit, then the highest decoration applicable to Indian soldiers. When they apprised their commanding officer, based in a neighbouring fort, about the situation, they were simply ordered to “hold your position”. When they faced the enemy, they were determined to fight to the death. The remnants of the fort and memorials still lie in Saragarhi.There are three memorials to the battle in India: at the Sikh Regimental Centre in Ramgarh, in Amritsar and one in Ferozepur, for which a regimental trust is being set up for its upkeep. A Bollywood film on the battle is also in the making. The Chief Minister said the government would set up a proper monument in Ishar Singh’s village, Jhorran near Jagran, where at present his bust is installed. A discussion on the importance of the battle as well as the contemporary geo-strategic significance of the area was also held. Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore; GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh; Col of the Sikh Regiment, Lt Gen SK Jha along with a large number of serving and retired service officers and civilian dignitaries attended the function.  The Governor suggested holding of a literary festival exclusively on defence issues in Chandigarh as a large number of senior and distinguished service officers were based in the city. In response, Capt Amarinder agreed that the Punjab Government would host such an event on October 27 this year, the date coinciding with Infantry Day marking the landing of troops of 1 Sikh to defend Srinagar from Pakistani raiders in 1947.

Army jawans undergo paragliding training in Palampur. Tribune photo

Palampur, April 3

Paragliding pilots of the Army conducted a two-week Simulated Incident in Flight (SIV) course at Ranjit Sagar Dam, which concluded today. A number of Army jawans took part in the event.The course was conducted by the Army Aero Nodal Centre (Paragliding), Alhilal, to train pilots to develop their dynamic reaction capability and skill set required to make a glider recover from unstable or severe situations during flight.The jawans gained confidence on their wings under expert guidance led by Lt Col Neeraj Rana (retd). The course prepared paragliding pilots for participation in cross country and other national and international-level competitions. — OC

The Indian Army retaliated. PTI file

Amir Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 4

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday used small arms and mortars to target Indian Army positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, the army said.“The Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing at 11 am on Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Ghali sector,” Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said.

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The Indian Army retaliated “strongly and effectively”, the officer said. Intermittent firing was still on. With IANS

Court grants bail to jawan held with grenades at airport, hands him to army

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 4

An Army jawan who had been arrested on Monday day after two hand grenades were recovered from his baggage at the International Airport here was on Tuesday granted interim bail by a local court which handed him to the army authorities.Bhopal Mukhiya was arrested at the Srinagar International Airport while he was on his way to catch a flight to Delhi.Granting interim bail to the accused, the court in Budgam handed over Mukhiya to army authorities, who had moved an application to this effect, officials said.The army authorities have informed the court that Mukhiya’s custody was required by them for investigating the case, they added.The court has listed the case for next hearing on April 6.The soldier, who is posted with 17 JAK Rifles at Boniyar in Uri sector of Baramulla district, was arrested after security officials found two hand grenades in his baggage during screening at the main gate of the airport.Mukhiya reportedly told the security officials that a superior officer had handed over the grenades to him with the instructions to hand it over to a person at Delhi airport.The security officials are likely to question the officer named by the accused soldier in connection with the recovery of grenades, the officials said.Army officials refused to comment on the developments in the case saying the investigation was underway.On Monday, a defence spokesman said action as per the due process of law would be taken. With PTI

Hoshiarpur, April 3

Labhpreet Singh (21) of the 20 Sikh Regiment, who died in a terror attack in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir two days ago, was cremated with full military honours at his native Muradpur Abana village.A section of soldiers from his unit and Uchi Bassi Cantonment reached his native village with his body. The martyr’s fellow soldiers gave him the Last Salute by reversing the arms and firing in the air. His father, Lakhvir Singh, lit the pyre.Labhpreet was recruited in the Army a year and a half ago and was posted in the Uri sector after completion of his training a few months ago. Besides Army officials, Mukerian SDM Amit Mahajan, MLA Rajneesh Kumar Babby, former minister Arunesh Shakar and the Ex-servicemen Welfare Officer, Hoshiarpur, paid tributes to the martyr. — OC

Army men are not allowed to have media contact unless authorised

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 3

In January, the Indian Army was alerted about a message on smart phone application ‘WhatsApp’ that had phone numbers of leading TV channels and it exhorted jawans to share videos and audio recording of any act of corruption or exploitation with media houses. Army men are not allowed to have media contact unless authorised in writing.The message was not an aberration, rumours and falsehoods have been peddled on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. In the past two weeks, two fake letters have been circulated listing emoluments of the much-awaited 7th Central Pay Commission. One of these had the complete format of a government gazette. In one case, the Ministry of Defence had to intervene and deny having issued any such letter.The Army, alarmed at the manner in which the social media was being “wrongly” used by its own, has now issued an advisory to all seven Commands spelling out “do’s and don’ts” for the Army men as also their spouses, families and dependents.The Army believes “too much” of wrong information has been flowing on to the Facebook and Twitter accounts of personnel and also through WhatsApp messages.In its letter to the Commands, it has also named a particular ex-servicemen’s group for spreading rumours and falsehood through the social media. These messages are then spread using the family members of jawans. Most are rumours aimed at “dividing” the officers and jawans. The Army has asked its Commands to ensure that its forces are made aware of the restrictions on sharing information relating to Army operations, its style of functioning, false opinions on pay and pensions.These include passing on messages that are detrimental to the functioning of the Army, giving out place of posting of specific battalion (regimental shoulder epaulets are discarded in operations).The Army headquarters says these messages exaggerate issues and tell half-truth. “There have been incidents of individuals and groups with vested interests propagating blatant falsehoods,” says the letter while citing examples of how attempts were made to spread falsehood that “one rank, one pension” was only for officers; how the 7th CPC delayed all benefits to jawans, but not officers; ‘ill-treatment’ of jawans as buddies; and alleged poor quality of food.

These deer heads were among the things seized from the retired Colonel’s house. ANI photo

Meerut, April 30

At least 117 kg nilgai meat, animal skin, ivory and 40 guns have been seized from the house of a retired Army officer here during a 17-hour-long joint raid conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the forest department.

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A team of DRI officials reached the Civil Lines residence of Colonel (retd) Devindra Kumar yesterday in the afternoon and the raid continued till 3:30 am.

Kumar’s son Prashant Bishnoi is a national-level shooter.

A DRI official said the raid was conducted in connection with a disproportionate assets case. Five skulls of deer, horns of sambar deer, antlers of antelopes and black bucks, animal skin and ivory were seized from a makeshift warehouse in Kumar’s residence.

Chief Conservator of Forests Mukesh Kumar said: “The meat of blue bull was seized from a refrigerator. A sample was taken and it will be sent to laboratory for testing”. Action will be taken against the retired army officer and Bishnoi under relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, though no case has been registered against them yet, he said. — PTI

Barring the forces, all central employees have got 7th pay panel hike

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

Faced with criticism on social media, the Army has asked its personnel to report back any “vitriolic, abrasive or negative” posts against the force or its individuals.The message has been posted on internal website ‘Army wide area network’ (AWAN). Additional Director General Public Interface, a senior officer under the Military Intelligence wing stationed at South Block, New Delhi, has been listed as the person to be contacted. A WhatsApp number has also been provided where the “offensive” messages can be reported. Posted earlier this week, the message also provides an email-id — of the official Army web-server — and two Delhi-based MTNL landline numbers.Sources said posts on WhatsApp groups in recent weeks airing “discontent” over the pending 7th Central Pay Commission proved to be the trigger. These messages reportedly questioned the government as well as top brass of the three forces for their “failure” to sort out the matter, pending since September last year.Barring the forces, all central government employees have received hiked salaries. The forces had raised six objections, including disability pension, risk area allowance, increased pay and accordance of status, but the matter could not be resolved despite several meetings with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).Last week, the MoD approached the Supreme Court to contest a lower court’s verdict okaying the grant of non-functional upgrade hike in salary without getting promoted. This has been given to all central staff minus the forces. The moment the appeal was filed in the SC, messages started doing the rounds on WhatsApp groups naming “three officers who were behind the appeal”. 

The attack on the Kupwara army camp has heralded the start of the killing season in Kashmir. It is not as if the situation was under control when snow made movement difficult. Subsequently, the 7 per cent polling in Srinagar, the postponement of the Anantnag bypoll and the turbulence in the streets are clear signs that the situation has hit an air pocket. And from available signs the turbulence is going to be a prolonged one if the Central Government continues to give simplistic and superficial responses and reasons for the unrest roiling Kashmir since Burhan Wani was gunned down nine months ago.In November, the Prime Minister touted demonetisation as the panacea for all national security ills such as drug trafficking, counterfeit currency, Maoist violence and unrest in Kashmir. The first two manifested themselves within days and the Maoist violence never abated. Rather than demonetisation, it was the onset of winter that provided a temporarily lull in Kashmir. When stone-throwing resumed, the Prime Minister told Parliament that this was an aberration: the money for the provocation came from a bank robbery in Srinagar! The embarrassingly poor polling in Kashmir that left eight dead demonstrated the pitfalls of facile reasoning. It was the same with surgical strikes. While the partisans cheered from the sidelines, the country was told that Pakistan had been taught a salutary lesson for the cowardly attack on an army camp.Now that the political ground is slipping and PDP MLAs are showing signs of unease with the governing arrangement, Mehbooba Mufti has outlined a three-month plan to bring the situation within manageable limits. She is hoping that a relative lull will create the atmosphere for talks. But she may well be talking to a blank wall. The Centre believes that the PM’s Rs 80,000-crore package will bring around the emotionally lacerated populace. Instead of scoring points with their Hindutva supporters with simplistic jumlas, the PM needs to think of out-of-the-box responses. He can begin with encouraging civil society missions. Yashwant Sinha, who has travelled this road before and has volunteered for the job, may be a good start.