—Tribune file photo

Srinagar, April 19

One person was arrested in connection with an alleged molestation case of a girl in Handwara, an incident that triggered a cycle of violence for past one week in North Kashmir.

Hilal Ahmed Bandey, one of the two accused identified, was arrested from Handwara by the Jammu and Kashmir Police last night, official sources said, adding he is being questioned.

Bandey was among the two persons named by the girl in her statement before Chief Judicial Magistrate. He is accused of manhandling the girl on April 12 while she was stepping out of a public restroom in Handwara town.

The girl had also denied the allegation by local people that an armyman had tried to molest her.

In her statement before the Judicial Magistrate, “she said that on April 12 after school hours, while proceeding to her home with her friend, she entered in a public lavatory near main chowk in Handwara for answering the call of nature. As soon as she came out of lavatory she was confronted, assaulted and dragged by two boys and her bag was snatched.”

“One of the boys was in school uniform. The production of the girl along with her father before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara was to comply with the order of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court,” police had said.

The sources said that a manhunt had been launched to arrest the other accused named by the girl in her statement to unravel the entire conspiracy. Initial investigation indicates that the girl was spurning offers for a relationship from one of the two boys.

However, the entire case will be solved once the second accused is also arrested, the sources said.

Immediately, after the locals dragged the girl from the public restroom, angry mob started pelting stones and ransacked the Army bunker in Handwara town.

Incidentally, the locals had been demanding withdrawal of the bunker for quite sometime, but the Army had put its foot down, saying it was strategically important for the troops.

Now the state government is likely to hand over the bunker to civil administration for development.

Meanwhile, curfew-like restrictions continued in Handwara and its adjoining areas.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has appealed to the people to help restore peace and promised severe punishment to those involved in the violence in Handwara and Kupwara that left five people dead. —PTI

While we have a lot of respect for our soldiers, we will still talk about the fact that in Kashmir women are raped by security personnel,” Kanhaiya had said.

—Tribune file photo

Jammu, April 19

Pakistani troops on Tuesday resorted to ceasefire violation along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The truce violation came hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Katra.

Pakistani troops fired four-five rounds on a forward post in Samba sector early this morning, a senior BSF officer said.

BSF troops, guarding the borderline, retaliated, he said, adding there was no loss of life or injury to anyone.

BSF troops also picked up suspicious movement near a forward area in Samba sector and resorted to firing thereby forcing the person to flee, he said.

The Prime Minister has arrived at Mata Vaishno Devi University complex where he is scheduled to inaugurate a super speciality hospital, a sports stadium and take part in the convocation after which he is going to address a public meeting today. —PTI

Our Correspondent

Poonch, April 16

An 11-year-old schoolgirl died after a rashly driven Army vehicle allegedly hit a motorcycle near DAV Public School in the Kanoyian area of Poonch district this morning.The deceased has been identified as Payal Devi, a resident of Mangnar village in Poonch.Sources said the Poonch police received information about the accident around 9 am today. The police rushed to the spot and found the girl lying in a pool of blood, they added.At the time of the accident, the girl was going to school with her uncle on a motorcycle.A police officer said the girl died instantly, adding that the police have started investigation into the matter.The driver of the Army vehicle, however, managed to flee.Meanwhile, the police said a hunt was on to nab the erring driver.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 14

The Ministry of Defence has for now deferred a decision on having a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) to coordinate all issues between the three Services and the ministry.At present, the senior-most among the three Chiefs — of the Army, IAF and Navy — also holds the post of COSC Chairman in addition to his regular duties. He notionally coordinates the issues on behalf of the three Services.Sources have confirmed that various aspects of having an additional officer at that level are still under study. “It will take another six months to examine his role, status and duties,” a source said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is studying various aspects related to the creation of the new post.The Naresh Chandra task force, set up by the UPA government in 2011, on higher defence reforms had in its report in 2012 suggested a four-star officer as a permanent chairman of the COSC, who will be equal in rank of the three Chiefs.Sources said the government was planning a permanent chairman for COSC having two-year tenure with equal rank and protocol as the Chiefs of the three Services. The chiefs, because of their retirement age of 62 instead of 60 years, have a tenure that is usually longer than two years.One thinking in the government is that the COSC should be headed by the “first among equals within the Chiefs”. This would entail appointment of the senior-most General as the permanent chairman of the COSC in the armed forces bound by hierarchy.He will be the boss of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), which is presently headed by a Lt General-rank officer in rotation among the three Services.The government’s thinking is that a permanent COSC Chairman, backed by a strong administrative structure, will have ample time to focus on tri-Services’ issues and would be better placed to coordinate between the Army, Navy and Air Force.The officer will be responsible for all military acquisition processes, Strategic Forces Command, cyber command and on promoting “jointmanship” within the forces.A single-point military adviser’s post in the form of Chief of Defence Staff was proposed by K Subrahmanyam-led Kargil Review Committee set up by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government after the Kargil war.

Need for fourth top officer

• The Naresh Chandra task force on higher defence reforms had in 2012 suggested a four-star officer as a permanent chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)
• The senior-most Service Chief currently doubles as Chairman of COSC. He coordinates matters on behalf of the Army, IAF and Navy
• It is felt that a permanent chairman, backed by a strong administrative structure, will allow better coordination between the three Services.

A new the wave of violence has swept northwest Kashmir coinciding with the Chief Minister’s first-ever visit to New Delhi. The violence was triggered by an alleged molestation of a young girl   by a soldier in Handwara town on Tuesday.  She has denied this in a video that itself has invited criticism and charged a group of youths with creating the whole trouble. There obviously is something more than what meets the eye. The Army suspects a conspiracy orchestrated by the separatist-inclined forces  to “malign its image.” The two inquiries, ordered by the Army and the state government, will serve  their purpose only if  allowed to reach their conclusions in  a transparent manner  by applying the principle of accountability. The past experience doesn’t offer much ground for optimism.  This is a testing time for the new Chief Minister to ensure that not only the inquiries are conducted in a fair manner but also appear to be impartial and result-oriented. It is time for her to prove that she is different and that she means business.Mehbooba has a double-task at hand. Her effort should be to seek punishment for those who killed the protesters and also  go deeper into the malaise that has resulted in the current turmoil. There is an attempt by separatists and some other quarters to push her in a  confrontational mode with Delhi, hoping instability in which they do thrive. It is a toxic idea. It would create more trouble and sour the Srinagar-Delhi relationship.  She cannot afford to get trapped in that strategy; not because of the political arithmetic of the PDP and the BJP but primarily because that would produce no gains. She must take control of things  as the Chairman of the Unified Headquarters, the highest policy-making body of the security  affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, and ensure that command-and-control works. Equally important is the  task  of administering the much-needed “healing touch” to the people in the real sense of the phrase. Her test lies in making right decisions. If she insists on wanting to please all, she would please none.