Tribune News Service,Jammu, February 15

The Corps of Signals today celebrated its 106th anniversary at the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur.In his message, Northern Army Chief Lt Gen DS Hooda urged the Signallers to continue to excel in their respective roles and further hone their skills to face challenges of future warfare and live up to their motto of “Teevra Chaukas”.Signallers of the Northern Command have kept the flag of the corps flying high by ensuring reliable, seamless, responsive real time and secure communications for all operational facets.

Tributes being paid to two slain soldiers at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on Sunday. The soldiers were killed on Saturday during an encounter with militants in Kupwara district. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Srinagar, February 14

The Army today said infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) into Kashmir was down to a “trickle” when compared to earlier years, as the Valley was seeing a decrease in the number of militants with less than 100 ultras in terrorist launch pads.“There has been no increase in the presence of terrorists. Their numbers are decreasing,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua, said here.The Army Commander was addressing the media after paying floral tributes to two jawans who were killed in an encounter with militants in Kupwara.The General Officer Commanding said the terrain on the Line of Control was such that infiltration does take place, but the Army had been able to limit the numbers.“I will not deny that (infiltration is taking place). In 2015, there were more than 600 inputs of infiltration. However, because of the counter-infiltration grid and our alertness on the LoC, we have been able to limit their numbers. You all know, 10-15 years ago, the kind of infiltration that used to take place. Today, that is down to a trickle,” he said.He said the number of militants waiting in the launch pads across the Line of Control had also come down. “The numbers that are waiting across in the launch pads used to be higher during summers. Presently, the numbers have come down. They are little under 100,” he said.He said there were higher numbers of inputs about infiltration attempts in Kupwara, but the success of the counter-infiltration grid was that militant groups were not allowed to move into the hinterland.“Since about the last three months, we had many intelligence inputs about infiltration taking place and several operations were conducted in the area of Kupwara.“The militant groups have not been able to move to the hinterland because of an effective and robust counter-infiltration grid. That is the reason that you are seeing that these killings are taking place in the area of Kupwara,” he said.“Due to the treacherous terrain in that area, terrorists who manage to cross over are trapped in the reception areas just behind the LoC,” he said.He said the Pathankot incident did not necessitate any changes for the Army in the Valley as they constantly kept improving their measures.“Our measures on the LoC and in the depth of it were already very strong and have been like that for years. We constantly keep improving them. The Pathankot incident did not have to bring about or necessitate any changes for us. We are constantly improving it and we have a robust grid on the LoC,” he said. —PTI

‘e-war’ by terror outfits sets alarm bells in J&K

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria,Tribune News Service,Jammu, February 14

Terror outfits such as the ISIS and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) have set alarm bells ringing across the militancy-infested state by targeting Kashmir in the ‘e-war’ being waged in the cyber world.The Army strongly wants to have a counter system in place to tackle such terror outfits and at the same time “plug” local Kashmiri militants and their sympathisers in the virtual world.“Firstly, the situation in the Valley, especially south Kashmir, is a matter of concern to us. We should not go into the statistics of how many (ultras) have been killed and how many injured. There is much more on the ground than statistics,” said a top source in the Army.The second half of last year had seen a spurt in militant attacks and activities, especially in south Kashmir, which emerged as the new hub of militants.“Local youth took up guns and that is a disturbing trend. And, the websites of ISIS and the JuD have come up as effective tools for them to radicalise youth and pursue their subversive agenda,” a defence source said.“To counter their nefarious plans, we should also have a system in place on the lines of the US which has the National Counter Terrorism Center for the purpose, said the defence source.“The Army has already discussed the issue threadbare and the government has also accepted that social sites were being misused by terror outfits to radicalise Indian youth. However, the Home Ministry has to take a call,” he added.“The new breed of militants in Kashmir led by Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani has used social media like WhatsApp and Facebook to attract Kashmiri youth to militancy and they were successful in their plan. Terror outfits are also spewing venom on social sites. So, unbridled freedom to such terror outfits and insurgents should cease. The sooner it happens, the better it will be,” he said.

South Kashmir emerges as militant hub

• The second half of last year had seen a spurt in militant attacks and activities especially in south Kashmir, which emerged as the new hub of militants.
• Defence sources said the new breed of militants in Kashmir led by Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani has used social media like WhatsApp and Facebook to attract Kashmiri youth to militancy and they were successful in their plan

Students affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protest outside the office of the vice chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi on Wednesday to vent their ire over a programme describing the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as ”judicial killing”. PTI photo

New Delhi, February 12

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy for organising an event in the institute protesting the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

“Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested in connection with the case,” a senior police official said.

Two policemen in plain clothes came to the JNU campus on Friday to pick up Kumar for questioning.

He was arrested later, sources said.

Police had booked some unidentified people after BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP complained.

‘It’s a witch-hunt’    

JNU students’ union condemned Kumar’s arrest and claimed it was a “witch-hunt”.

“The police is mindlessly patrolling the campus and the students are being witch-hunted and demonised for doing nothing. What is the proof that Kanhaiya was there among those raising anti-India slogans? Has he been spotted in any picture or video? Why are all JNU students being given ‘anti-national’ certificates,” JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid Shora said.

Students gathered outside vice-chancellor’s office to demand he intervene.

“Why is the administration not protecting students against this selective targeting by ABVP? Why police have been given such a free hand to rashly pick students from campus? Why were the cops not uniformed? If there has to be an inquiry, why no protocols are being followed,” said a member of the All India Students Association (AISA).

‘Anti-national activities’

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said earlier in the day that he had told the Delhi Police to take the “strongest” action against those involved in the case and said activities will not be tolerated.

“If anyone raises anti-India slogans, tries to raise questions on country’s unity and integrity, they will not be spared. Stringent action will be taken against them,” he told reporters here.

Some students have been accused of raising anti-India slogans at an event held on the JNU campus on Tuesday against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.

The administration had cancelled permission for the event after ABVP members objected it for being “anti-national”.

The JNU administration has already begun a disciplinary enquiry over the event and said it would await its report before acting.

Union Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani denounced the protests.

“I only want to say that today is the day of worship of Goddess Saraswati. Saraswati blesses every family that whatever they speak is for progress and strengthening the nation. Let mother India be praised. Nation will never tolerate insult to mother India,” she told reporters when asked to comment on the incident at JNU earlier in the day.

In her speech at an event organised by an RSS-linked body working in the field of education earlier in the day, Irani hinted at the protests saying that when she heard ‘Vande Mataram’ and “prayers to the mother” being recited, she ‘felt satisfied that there are teachers who teach children to pray for the nation and not anti-India slogans”.

Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said: “During that day’s sloganeering, some objectionable things were said. Those were transgression of the Indian Penal Code, for which we registered an FIR,” he said. — PTI

The army has raised an alarm after an officer,Captain Shikhar Deep, who was travelling to Delhi from Katihar on Mahananda Express, went missing on February 6.

The army has raised an alarm after an officer went missing from train while on his way to Delhi.

Captain Shikhar Deep, who was travelling to Delhi from Katihar on Mahananda Express, went missing on February 6.

“The officer did not reach his destination and went missing during transit. Any information with regard to where about of the officer may please be conveyed to Lt Col Anant Kumar, Mob No 9128724351,” said a press note released by the army.

Captain Shikhar Deep’s family had arrived at Old Delhi railway station to receive him on February 7 but he was not on the train.

His father, Lieutenant Colonel Anant Kumar, who is posted in Ranchi, has claimed that Captain Deep’s disappearance could be linked to some terrorist organisation. A case of suspected abduction has been filed by the railway police.

According to the police, his luggage was found intact in the coach he was travelling in, but the officer was nowhere to be found and his mobile was also switched off. The officer’s father said Rs 20,000 was also missing from his son’s wallet.

The ticket examiner and the man who provided bedsheet in the coach, said he was last seen at Kanpur during the journey.

Meanwhile, the army officer’s friends have started a campaign on the social media asking people to share any available information about his whereabouts.

Actor Akshay Kumar takes a selfie with army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag and others on board the INS Sumitra New Delhi, Feb. 6: A series of changes introduced by the military in formal public ceremonies have confused veterans who worry that the new elements detract from the gravitas and solemnity of the events. The latest is the inaugural of the international fleet review (IFR) where the Indian Navy saluted President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, at sea off Visakhapatnam today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and the chiefs of the army, navy and the air force, Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, Adm. Robin Dhowan and Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, respectively, were also on board the INS Sumitra, that was designated the “Presidential Yacht”. Who else was there? Actor Akshay Kumar and his son. On board the ship, from which the President reviewed a fleet of 92 ships that included 24 foreign warships from 21 countries, Akshay clicked a “selfie” with Gen. Suhag, the army chief. Prime Minister Modi playfully pulled the ears of Akshay’s son. The actor proudly posted the picture on photo-sharing social website Instagram. Last evening, at the INS Satavahana, a land station of the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam, actor Kangana Ranaut shared the dais with Adm. Dhowan, the chief of naval staff, and the chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Vice-Adm. Satish Soni. Akshay and Kangana have been designated “brand ambassadors” for IFR 2016. At the event, organised mainly for visiting foreign naval personnel, Shiamak Davar’s dance troupe gyrated to Bollywood music. “Next time, it will be bar girls,” a former soldier, Arun Govil, wrote sarcastically on Facebook in a comment on a post that questioned the “Bollywoodisation” of the military. An international fleet review is being held in India after 15 years. The navy believes that the occasion demands that visiting sailors be treated as honoured guests and be given a glimpse of what Indian culture has to offer. Not only did Davar perform, the guests were also shown performances of classical dances like Kuchipudi, said navy sources. The evening was a time to relax after the labours of the day and before the next day’s demanding routine. Today’s events showcase the Indian Navy’s capabilities, said navy sources. They included, apart from the steam past, a display by Marine Commandos, water skiing and overflights by fighter planes and helicopters. “As the Presidential Yacht passed between the review anchor columns, each ship dressed in full regalia, saluted the President. Each ship was manned by her ship’s company, dressed in white ceremonial uniform. In a moment that stood still in time, white caps were doffed in unison in a grand salutation,” a navy statement said describing the review. This was the 11th fleet review for the President by the Indian Navy – only the second that is “international”. An international fleet review is an assembly of warships without belligerent intention, says the official brochure for IFR 2016. A picture posted on Instagram by Akshay Kumar shows Narendra Modi playfully pulling the ear of the actor’s son on board the INS Sumitra during the international fleet review in waters off Visakhapatnam on Saturday In the first IFR in 2001, there were more foreign warships – 29, as compared to 24 this year. The representation from navies, 54, this time is significantly more. Most of the foreign navies sent delegations, not ships. Also, the Indian Navy is hosting the Chinese Navy, with two frigates, in such a ceremony for the first time. Pakistan was invited to the IFR but did not respond. The waters in which the IFR is being held are the same where the Pakistan submarine, PNS Ghazi, was destroyed in the 1971 war. There are conflicting accounts on how that happened. Some navy sources insist it was sunk by Indian Navy depth charges. Others say it hit the ground for not having mapped the coastline. It was not till some of its debris floated that the Indian Navy knew there was a Pakistani submarine lurking just outside Visakhapatnam. The navy’s current showcasing of India’s military might and Indian culture apart, military veterans are most indignant over the “Beating Retreat” ceremony on January 29. The ceremony owes its tradition to the end of a day’s battle rituals where the armies would return to camps picking their way through the dead and the wounded. In India, “Beating Retreat” usually signifies the end of the military ceremonies surrounding Republic Day. This year, “Beating Retreat” included for the first time “non-martial” instruments such as the sitar and the tabla, performed by uniformed soldiers who were in a static position. They were seated in rows on ramps. This is highly uncharacteristic for marching contingents that play martial music in honour of the dead, to build camaraderie and to enthuse soldiers for the hardships ahead. Former vice chief of army staff, Lt Gen. Vijay Oberoi, was so aghast that he wrote an open letter to the three service chiefs that was titled, “Sirs, I am disillusioned and devastated”. Lt Gen. Oberoi lost a leg in the 1965 war with Pakistan and rose to be vice-chief of the army in the years 2000-2001. He heads an association of the war wounded. He wrote that the “Beating Retreat” ceremony was reduced to a ” tamasha” of sorts. “I need not remind you worthies that traditions are the core of the Indian military and flouting them on account of pressures/requests from political and other bosses amount to letting down the troops whom you lead,” he wrote to the chiefs. He said that soldiers would do whatever their superiors wanted “but please do note that they will do so only if the orders are legitimate and legal and not to please your bosses or others”. If military musicians adept at playing symphonies had to play popular tunes, they should do so on an occasion that was not a military ceremony like “Beating Retreat”. The former vice-chief was also angry that a marching contingent of retired soldiers was not included in the Republic Day parade this year. This is a particularly sensitive issue for the Modi administration that this week notified “one rank one pension” but is still unable to convince former soldiers that it has kept an election promise. Lt Gen. Oberoi wrote to the service chiefs: “You may be fully committed to your bosses, but why have you become such ‘Ji Huzoors’ that you have now forgotten even your comrades in arms, who incidentally were at least partly responsible for assisting you to reach the present high appointments you hold!”

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