Major Rajat Chandra at the Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

New Delhi, April 6

President Pranab Mukherjee today awarded Shaurya Chakra to the officers who took part in the surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) last year.He also awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously to Lt Col Niranjan Ek, who died while recovering IED from the bodies of Pathankot terrorists in January 2016.As per the citation against Shaurya Chakra awardees, Major Rajat Chandra killed two terrorists during the surgical strike, while Captain Ashutosh Kumar eliminated four terrorists. Both belong to 4 Para Special Forces, which took part in the surgical strike in September last year.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Major Deepak Upadhyay and Paratrooper Abdul Qayum, both of 9 Para Special Forces, were also awarded with Shaurya Chakra for their role in the surgical strike.Nineteen soldiers of the 4 and 9 Para — units of the special forces —,who undertook the cross-border surgical strike across the LoC, were awarded with gallantry medals, including a Kirti Chakra, on January 25, while their commanding officers have been given Yudh Sewa Medal.Shaurya Chakra was also posthumously awarded to Sanjewan Singh, head constable with the J&K Police, Naib Subedhar Kankara V Subba Reddy, Naik Pandurang Gawande, and Kirti Chakra to Lance Havildar Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar of the Gorkha Rifles. All laid their lives fighting terrorists. Family members of Singh, Reddy, Gawande and Magar received the honour by the President.Lt Gen PM Hariz, one of the two senior most officers superseded by Chief of Army Staff Gen Bin Rawat, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Hariz is the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command.Shaurya Chakra was also awarded to Atu Zumvu, Sub-Divisional Police Officer with the Nagaland Police, who shot down three National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) outfit members, responsible for killing 81 people.Captain Elisen Y Jami of the 12th Batallion Parachute Regiment; Kukudapu Srinivasulu, police constable with the Telangana Police; Lt Col D Vinay Reddy of the Madras Regiment and Havildar Hanuman Ram Saran of the Rajputana Rifles were also awarded with Shaurya Chakra. — PTI

INDIA ARMY KIDS ::VEDIO

WESTERN COMMAND CHIEF CALLS ON CAPT AMARINDER

FROM STRING OF PEARLS TO HEAD VICE: IS CHINA SQUEEZING A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE OVER INDIA? SYED ATA HASNAIN

LIGHT AT END OF J&K TUNNEL PM’S CATCHY SLOGANS INADEQUATE

ARMY JAWANS LEARN PARAGLIDING

J&K: TENSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE UNWANTED KIND BY LT GEN SYED ATA HASNAIN

PAKISTAN TARGETS INDIAN POSITIONS ON LOC IN RAJOURI DISTRICT

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

KASHMIR ATTACK: MARTYR CREMATED

CHADOORA, A NEW KASHMIR TACK LT GEN (RETD) SYED ATA HASNAIN

NOD TO BARAK MISSILE FOR NAVY

ARMY LISTS RULES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT FOR JAWANS

NOW, LIVE BULLET FOUND IN SOLDIER’S BAG AT SRINAGAR AIRPORT

DALAI IN TAWANG: TEST OF INDIA’S WILL SYED ATA HASNAIN

PUNJAB HEADLINES 04 APR 2017

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This is the second incident of an Army soldier caught at the airport with live ammunition. Tribune file photo

Srinagar, April 4

A live bullet was on Tuesday found in the baggage of an Army jawan at the Srinagar International Airport, after which he was detained, a security official said.The soldier, Pandia Raj, who was proceeding to Delhi on leave, was handed over to the Army for further investigation, the official said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Prima facie, it seems that the bullet was left behind in the bag “by mistake”, the official added.This is the second incident of an Army soldier caught at the airport with live ammunition.Yesterday a jawan was arrested after two hand grenades and other ammunition were found in his baggage during the security screening.He had claimed that the grenades had been given to him by a “superior official” for transporting these to Delhi.  — PTI

WHY THIS TUNNEL WILL BECOME JAMMU AND KASHMIR’S LIFELINE

REDUCING OBESITY IN THE INDIAN ARMY ::ORDERS

HOW ‘BROWN BAG LUNCHES’ WHET APPETITE FOR LEADERSHIP IDEAS BY LT GEN SYED ATA HASNAIN

THIS IS HOW WE CAN DEFEAT IS

WATER WASTAGE TO COST YOU DEAR FROM TODAY

BHAKRA WATER LEVEL PLUMMETS GOOD SNOWFALL OVER HIMALAYAS EXPECTED TO OFFSET WATER DEFICIENCY

FAZILKA JAWAN FOUND DEAD IN KASHMIR

‘EX-SERVICEMEN WILL REQUIRE AADHAAR TO AVAIL PENSION BENEFITS’

NEW ITR FORMS, CAP ON CASH DEALS CAN’T RECEIVE OVER RS 2L IN CASH; RETURN ON SMALL SAVINGS CUT BY .1%; AADHAAR MUST FOR TAX RETURNS

Returns simplified for 20 m taxpayers

PUNJAB HEADLINES 01 APR 2017

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Yash Goyal

Our Correspondent          

Jaipur, March 29

The massive fire that broke out in the forests near Sisarma village in Udaipur has been contained after firemen along with forest officials and the armed forces battled the blaze for hours with an IAF chopper on Wednesday dropping over 25,000 litres of water.

Army troopers spotted the fire to the south of Eklingarh Military Cantonment in Udaipur and quickly alerted the administration, forest officials and fire services, a Defense PRO Lt Col Manish Ojha said.

Indian Air Force’s modified MI-17 V5 helicopters were dispatched from south Western Air Command headquarters at Gandhinagar to survey the fire on Tuesday evening.

“Prompt and effective fire fighting operation was carried out by army troops with guidance from officials of the Forest Department and assistance from fire fighting services,” Lt Col Ojha said. “The operation continued throughout the night, with all agencies working in coordination on the ground to ensure no loss of life and property.”

Troops created fire lanes to staunch its spread. (With agency inputs)

Before approaching the Armed Forces Tribunal, the veteran soldier who retired from Army in 1978, had approached the Chief of Army Staff for recognition of his services.

Almost 52 years after late Param Veer Chakra winner Abdul Hamid destroyed Pakistani Patton tanks in the famous battle of Asal Uttar on his jeep, his “driver” in the epic battle has demanded his contribution and valour in the war to be recognised by the country and the Army.

Grenadier Mohammed Naseem, 72 has claimed before a military court almost five decades after the battle with Pakistan that he was detailed to drive the rocket launcher-mounted jeep of Hamid and he assisted him with his full ability and exemplary courage.

“I have also prayed that the outstanding performance and gallantry shown by me in the war should be recorded in his service record with all consequential benefits,” Naseem, who lives in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, told Mail Today.

Before approaching the Armed Forces Tribunal, the veteran soldier who retired from Army in 1978, had approached the Chief of Army Staff for recognition of his services but his claims and plea were apparently not accepted by the force.

IF CLAIMS TRUE, APPLICANT TO BE AWARDED SUITABLY: BENCH

To support his claim, Naseem had attached a certificate issued to him by a former unit officer but that was not accepted as a proof as it was issued only in 2012, almost 50 years after the war. The military court bench headed by justice DP Singh and Air Marshal Anil Chopra also took a sympathetic view of the plea condoning the huge delay in filing of the petition by Naseem.

“There appears to be delay, but the fact remains that in case the respondents find applicant’s work and conduct and entitlement with regard to gallantry and outstanding performance shown by him in Indo-Pak war, then it shall be life-time achievement for him and he may be benefitted throughout his life,” the court said.

The court said the unit commander of Naseem is still alive and the Army should investigate the claims made by the soldier for recognition of his efforts and valour. “It shall be appropriate to the respondents to hold a fact finding inquiry after recording statements of persons who are surviving at the present and participated in the Indo-Pak war as a member of the unit of late Abdul Hamid and submit a report,” the court said in its directions to the Army.

The legendary battle of Asal Uttar started on September 8 in 1965 when Pakistan’s 1 Armoured Division, with some 200 Patton tanks, invaded Punjab and captured the border town of Khemkaran. The Indians flooded the sugarcane fields in border town with water and took position behind the plants.

Thanks to the flooded fields, the Pakistani tanks were trapped in Mahmudpura and became sitting ducks for the Indian tanks and recoilless guns. It was in one such field that Abdul Hamid along with his driver Mohammed Naseem and two others had taken position in a RCL jeep and turned the area into a graveyard of the Pakistani tanks.

CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh International Airport has released its summer schedule, which will come into effect from March 26. The schedule will last till October 28. With this, the airport will have 38 flights arriving and departing on a daily basis. These 38 flights include two international flights to Dubai and Sharjah. Now, 17 flights will fly on the Chandigarh-Delhi sector. Till last year, only 26 flights were operational. The watch hours have also been increased, with the first flight arriving at 7:40 am and the last flight departing at 9:45 pm. In the domestic sector, two new destinations will be connected to Chandigarh. Indigo Airlines and Jet Airways will start flying directly to Jammu and Jaipur.

The Union Government’s move to force citizens to quote the Aadhaar number in the filing of income tax returns has raised certain issues which have not been adequately dealt with. A failure to link Aadhaar and tax filing can lead to the cancellation of the user’s permanent account number (PAN). Citizens are being asked to make their personal details public by a government which itself is becoming increasingly non-transparent. The surreptitious way the government slipped in crucial changes in the Finance Bill 2017 at the last minute is intriguing. There was almost no debate.  There are obvious advantages of bringing in transparency in financial deals. Income tax officials can compare citizens’ spending with income tax paid and find out evasion, if any. But there is a downside to it. Government machinery will gain access to personal user information such as bank details, education data and health records. The law allows official tapping of phone calls and data usage. The Aadhaar Act has not been subjected to sufficient judicial scrutiny. It permits surveillance of citizens on the pretext of “national security”, which is a vague term undefined in the Act. A citizen suffering the loss of privacy or personal data has no recourse to justice as Section 47 of the Act allows only the Unique Identification Authority of India to file a criminal complaint for the theft of data. The crucial twin issue of privacy and security of personal data has been sidestepped.  Besides, one of the amendments to the Finance Bill apparently violates the Supreme Court’s recent order that had directed it not to make Aadhaar mandatory for citizens except in case of certain specific services. The court is yet to judge the constitutionality of Aadhaar and decide whether privacy is a fundamental right. The government stand on the issue of privacy as stated in the Supreme Court is troubling. Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi had contended in the court that “violation of privacy doesn’t mean anything because privacy is not a guaranteed right”. The government’s open violation of the Supreme Court order and Parliament’s failure to flag concerns on Finance Bill amendments should be a cause of concern to all those who value democracy and the rule of law.

AN ARMY VETERAN’S HOMAGE JOURNEY REACHES CITY

IAF CHOPPER MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AT RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE

FORCES SHOULD BE READY FOR CONVENTIONAL WARFARE ALONG BORDERS: ARMY CHIEF RAWAT

PAK ARMY UNLIKELY TO ALLOW STRATEGIC SHIFT IN TIES WITH INDIA

ISLAMIC STATE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRITISH PARLIAMENT ATTACK

Ashok Chaudhary (seated), husband of minister Aruna Chaudhary (R), at an Education Department meeting in Punjab Secretariat. Tribune photo

Tribune news service

Chandigarh, March 23

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said he would talk to Minister of State Aruna Chaudhary on the reported interference of her husband in her official functioning.Read: ‘Mantri pati’ does it all: From chairing meets to perusing files

In response to a question during a television interview, the Chief Minister agreed that such behaviour was not proper and could not be condoned.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Captain Amarinder said he would personally speak with Aruna, who handles Higher Education and School Education in the newly-constituted council of ministers. He said he was sure the minister would be able to control any such interference in the future.The question related to media reports indicating that Aruna’s husband had chaired meetings and had been handling other office work along with her since she took over the education portfolio in the Punjab Secretariat.