Army called out, curfew in Kishtwar after communal riots; 2 killed

August 10, 2013

srinagar

Srinagar, Aug 10: Authorities imposed curfew and called out the Army to control the situation as two persons died and around 80 sustained injuries in the worst communal riots to shake Jammu and Kashmir at Kishtwar on Friday.

Official sources said people from the peripheral villages of Bandirna, Hullar and Kuleed were heading for the spacious Chowgan Grounds to join congregational Eid-ul-Fitr prayers around 10 a.m., when a section of local Hindus objected to their pro-azadi slogans. What began as an altercation culminated into a major clash in which people from both sides resorted to intense stone-throwing.

Even as over 10,000 people performed Eid prayers, some miscreants ransacked commercial properties and set shops and vehicles on fire. The district headquarters turned into a battlefield with even government-controlled Village Defence Committee (VDC) members and Special Police Officers joining the violence in some cases using firearms. Private firing with .12 bore guns was also reported.

IGP (Jammu) Rajesh Kumar said from Kishtwar that the four-hour-long riots left two persons of the two communities dead and 23 civilians injured. However, independent sources claimed that around 80 persons, including 40 police and CRPF personnel, sustained injuries. They said 23-year-old Arvind Kumar Bhagat, son of the local BSP leader Desraj Bhagat, died of gunshot wounds. Some reports said he was hit when the police opened fire on a mob. However, some officials insisted that Mr. Bhagat was found hit by a private weapon as there was evidence of .12 bore ammunition on his body.

Sources said one unidentified person of the other community was manhandled, set on fire and burnt to death. His body was lying on the Chowgan Grounds till late on Friday night.

One petrol tanker, one police bunker, a number of buses and cars were among the 60 vehicles destroyed in fire. As many as 70 shops, one hotel and one residential house were destroyed in the arson as the police and the civil administration failed completely to control the situation.

Shaheedi Road, Malik Market, Kuleed Chowk, Dak Bungalow Chowk, Amar Market, Bus Stand and Hospital Market witnessed the worst of arson. Reports said some peripheral villages were also engulfed by late afternoon.

While Minister of State for Home and Kishtwar MLA Sajad Ahmad Kichloo is already in town, Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday and Director-General of Police Ashok Prasad flew in to Kishtwar from Srinagar. Divisional Commissioner (Jammu) Shant Manu and Inspector-General of Police Rajesh Kumar also reached the spot. They called out the Army even as the Deputy Commissioner imposed indefinite curfew. After a flag march by the Army, situation was reportedly under control.

Tension also spread to Jammu, Samba and Udhampur district headquarters as some markets closed in protest and some people staged demonstrations.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that neither is anyone inside India's territory nor has any of its posts been captured, alleging that the PM has "surrendered" Indian territory to Chinese aggression.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, "At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured."

Tagging PM's remarks with his tweet, Gandhi said, "PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression."

"If the land was Chinese: 1. Why were our soldiers killed? 2. Where were they killed?" Gandhi said.

The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.

Soon after Gandhi's tweet, Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted video of father of a soldier, who was injured in Galwan face-off, and hit out at the Congress leader, accusing him of indulging in "petty politics".

"A brave armyman’s father speaks and he has a very clear message for Mr. Rahul Gandhi. At a time when the entire nation is united, Mr. Rahul Gandhi should also rise above petty politics and stand in solidarity with national interest," Shah wrote.

The prime minister's assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at the all-party meet, questioned the government's handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure, and seeking assurance that China will "revert" to its original position.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused senior ministers in the government of "lying" to protect the prime minister and that the Centre was "fast asleep" while martyred jawans paid the price in Ladakh.

The former Congress chief also tagged a one-minute video of a jawan's father saying the Indian soldiers were unarmed when they were attacked by Chinese troops.

He has been questioning the government on the LAC standoff and asking how the Chinese occupied Indian territory and why Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

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News Network
May 11,2020

New Delhi, May 11: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is stable and under observation at the AIIMS here after suffering reaction to a new medication and developing fever, hospital sources said on Monday.

The 87-year-old Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness. He has now been shifted out of the ICU.

The sources said that Singh had developed a reaction to a new medication and further investigation is being carried on him to rule out other causes of fever.

"Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," the sources said.

"He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided care as needed. He is stable and under care of a team of doctors at the Cardiothoracic Centre of AIIMS," they said.

"All his parameters are fine. He is under observation at the AIIMS," a source close to him has said.

Singh, a senior leader of the opposition Congress, is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS. A number of leaders expressed have expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Against the backdrop of the attack on JNU students, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that what they wanted was happening, and said such "brutal politics" was never seen before in the country.

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' further alleged that the BJP wanted to see "Hindu-Muslim riots" over the Citizenship Amendment Act, but that did not happen.

Since the BJP has been cornered over the issue of CAA, several things are happening out of "revenge", it said.

Comparing the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students to the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, the Shiv Sena said: "divisive politics" was dangerous for the country.

It said the Union Home Ministry's decision to file cases against "unknown" attackers at JNU was laughable. "Those who entered JNU with masks are not unknown," it claimed.

On Sunday, a mob of masked young people stormed the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in south Delhi and targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings.

Nearly 34 people were injured in the violence.

"The fallout of JNU attack is being seen elsewhere in the country...what Modi and Shah want is happening. The country is in danger. Divisive politics is dangerous for the country," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

Terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, were also masked and the same was seen at JNU. Such elements need to be exposed, it said.

"Allowing blood stains in universities, colleges and beating up of students and indulging in politics over the burning situation...such brutal politics was never seen before," the Marathi publication said while terming the attack on JNU students as a "blot" on the law and order situation.

Lashing out at Amit Shah, the Sena said he his in Delhi and busy distributing official pamphlets door-to-door to promote the Citizenship Amendment Act.

There is "confusion and unrest" in the country over the new citizenship law, it pointed out.

"The BJP wanted to see Hindu-Muslim riots over the issue, but that did not happen. The nationwide protests are not being done by Muslims alone. Hindus will also be affected due to the new Act," the Shiv Sena said.

It said the BJP has been cornered over the CAA issue.

Since the prevailing situation is "BJP versus the rest", hence "out of revenge", several things are happening, the Marathi daily said, adding that "there is room for doubt if the JNU attack was part of the revenge."

The BJP has condemned the violence and said universities should stay away from politics, it noted.

"Who brought violence and politics in universities in the last five years? Who is implementing the policy of destroying those who don't agree with your ideology by use of power?" it asked.

Without taking any name, the Sena said those who call students opposing the CAA as anti-nationals, are themselves anti-national.

"When Amit Shah accuses Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi of inciting violence, he admits that the Gandhi siblings have that much power to create mass awareness against a law brought in by the Centre and bring people to streets," the Sena said.

One cannot say if the Gandhi siblings incited violence, but one thing is sure that the Union Home Minister and his party are forced to distribute pamphlets to "clarify" on the new citizenship law, it said in sarcastic comments.

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