March 17: Police is taking proactive steps against the peddling of drugs in Bandipora.
Two persons were arrested by the police at a checkpoint for drug supply offences. Both the accused have been taken to the local police station for further investigation and remain in custody. A case under relevant sections stands registered in the matter.
Officers in presence of SDPO Sumbal at the checkpoint have seized 900 grams of brown sugar from these two accused individuals identified as Nazir Ahmad Dar son of Mohammad Jamal Dar and Mohammad Afzal Dar son of Habib-ul-lah Dar, both residents of Shahgund Hajin.
Police has resolved to deal robustly with those seeking to peddle drugs in our society. Our consistent action against such anti-social elements should encourage the locals to come forward with any information pertaining to drug peddling in their neighborhood. We reassure the community members that our efforts to end the menace of drug addiction shall continue.
New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) The Congress Saturday night released its fourth list of 27 candidates, including 12 from Kerala, but denied party ticket to sitting MP and former Union minister K V Thomas from the Ernakulum Lok Sabha seat.
The party renominated its sitting MPs and former Union ministers, Shashi Tharoor and K Suresh, from Thiruvananthapuram and Mavelikkara Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress replaced Thomas with Hibi Eden, the sitting MLA from Ernakulum.
The party also renominated its Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony. It fielded former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki from the Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress dropped former Union minister and sitting MP from Arunachal East Ninong Ering and replaced him with James Lowangcha Wanglet.
Among the 27 Lok Sabha seats declared Saturday, 12 are from Kerala, seven from Uttar Pradesh, five from Chhattisgarh, two from Arunachal and one from Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In Kerala, of the total 20 seats, the party is contesting in 16, but has not declared the candidates for the other four seats.
UDF convenor Benny Bahanan has been fielded from Chalakudy, while Kerala Youth Congress president Dean Kuriakose has been fielded from the Idukki seat.
In Uttar Pradesh, the party has fielded Harender Malik (Kairana), Indira Bhatti (Bijnor), Om Prakash Sharma (Meerut), Arvind Singh Chauhan (Gautam Budh Nagar), Brijender Singh (Aligarh), Pritam Lodhi (Hamirpur) and Bal Krishna Chauhan (Ghosi).
In Kerala, the Congress has fielded Rajmohan Unnithan (Kasaragod), K Sudhakaran (Kannur), M K Raghavan (Kozhikode), V K Sreekantan (Palakkad), Remya Haridas (Alathur-SC) and T N Prathapan (Thrissur).
In Chhattisgarh, the party has fielded Khel Sai Singh (Surguja ST), Laljeet Singh Rathia (Raigarh ST), Ravi Bhardwaj (Jangir Champa SC), Deepak Baij (Bastar ST) and Biresh Thakur (Kanker ST).
Kuldeep Rai Sharma has been fielded from Andaman and Nicobar Islands seat.
CHRISTCHURCH, MAR 17 (PTI) Five Indians were among the 50 people killed by a white supremacist, who opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, in the worst attack on Muslims in New Zealand, the Indian High Commission said Sunday.
The attacker, identified by authorities as Australia-born Brenton Tarrant, 28, reportedly targeted immigrants during Friday prayers. Witnesses said victims were shot at close range. The high commission confirmed on Sunday that five Indians were killed in the attack.
“With a very heavy heart we share the news of loss of precious lives of our 5 nationals in ghastly terror attack in #Christchurch,” it tweeted.
It identified them as: Maheboob Khokhar; Ramiz Vora; Asif Vora; Ansi Alibava; and Ozair Kadir.
In another tweet later, the high commission informed that Immigration NZ has set up a dedicated webpage to expedite visa for family members of Christchurch victims.
On Friday, shortly after the attack, India’s High Commissioner in New Zealand Sanjiv Kohli had tweeted that “there are 9 missing persons of Indian nationality/origin”. But, he had added, official confirmation was awaited.
The high commission said its helpline numbers 021803899 & 021850033 will remain available round the clock to assist families of the those affected by the attack.
“We deeply mourn loss of all other innocent lives including people of Indian origin.”
It also said a group of Community leaders is being constituted in Christchurch and their names and numbers will be circulated shortly.
Meanwhile, it added, those who need assistance while transiting through Auckland may contact 021531212.
In a 74-page manifesto the attacker posted online, he described himself as a white supremacist who was out to avenge attacks in Europe perpetrated by Muslims.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called the attack terrorism.
Expressing India’s solidarity with the people of New Zealand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said hatred and violence have no place in diverse and democratic societies.
About 200,000 Indian and Indian-origin people live in New Zealand. Over 30,000 of them are students, according to the Indian High Commission’s data available on its website.
NEW DELHI, MAR 17 (PTI) The BJP is set to drop sitting MP from Patna Sahib Shatrughan Sinha and he is likely to be replaced by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, sources said.
Prasad’s name was discussed in the BJP’s central election committee here which was attended by party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shatrughan Sinha has been critical of the party’s top leadership on several occasions in the past.
Deliberations continued till late in the night and the name of Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha was also discussed for the Patna Sahib seat.
The meeting was also attended by other senior leaders, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and party’s Bihar unit chief Nityanand Rai.
Wellington, March 17: The death toll from the terror attack on two mosques in New Zealand’s Christchurch has risen to 50 as one more victim was found at one of the shooting scenes, the police said on Sunday.
Investigators found the victim while removing bodies from the Al Noor mosque where more than 40 people were killed as a gunman stormed the mosque and went on a shooting rampage on Friday, Police Commissioner Mike Bush told a press conference.
Meanwhile, the number of the injured people from the terror attacks stood at 50, and 36 of them were still being treated in Christchurch Hospital, with two remaining in intensive care unit and one child at a children’s hospital, Xinhua reported citing the police.
For the time being, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant was charged with murder. The terror suspect appeared briefly in the Christchurch District Court on Saturday.
The charging document showed the maximum penalty will be life imprisonment. He will be in custody until April 5, according to the High Court in Christchurch.
Pulwama, March 17 : Government forces on Sunday launched a Cordon and Search Operation in South Kashmir’s Pulwama village.
Reports reaching Kashmir Despatch said a joint team of forces including Army, Police and CRPF launched searches at Chewa Khurd area of Pulwama this morning.
Reports said forces conducted house to house search operation in the area and sealed all entry and exit points in the area.
Official sources told following specific inputs about the presence of militants search operation has been launched.
Searches in the area was on when last reports came in.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said the Friday massacre of Muslims in New Zealand once again highlighted the need for an all-out international fight against Islamophobia fueled by certain Western governments, Press Tv reported.
According to report Rouhani made the remarks during a Friday message, the Iranian president where he condemned the “terrorist and racist” attack on Muslim worshippers, and described the massacre as a “barbaric and painful” incident which broke the hearts of all Muslim people in the world, especially the Iranian nation.
49 people were killed while as more than 40 were wounded during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism.
“This barbaric crime, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a number of innocent and defenseless worshippers, is another proof of the need for an all-out fight against terrorism and hate-mongering toward other religions and ethnic groups, and the Islamophobia which is common in the West, and unfortunately fueled by certain Western governments,” Rouhani said in his message.
“This crime indicated that terrorism is still among the important issues of the world, and needs an integrated fight and a united approach by all countries against violence and extremism in any part of the world,” he noted.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is still committed to decisive fight against terrorism and racism, and is sure that, thanks to the unity and solidarity of Muslim people, such blind and aimless plots by the enemies would result in nothing but further disgrace for them,” he added.
Rouhani also called on the international community, particularly Muslim states, to show serious reaction to these anti-human crimes, and “disgrace the overt and covert sponsors of such moves.”
The Australian gunman behind the massacre, identified as Brenton Tarrant, broadcast live footage on Facebook of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants, calling them “invaders”.
In his manifesto, Tarrant said he saw US President Donald Trump as “symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”
The annual US report on human rights has cited widespread human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, both by government forces and militant groups.
The 2018 US State Department’s country report notes that an estimated up to 145 civilians were killed by government forces between July 2016 and April 2018, with up to 20 other civilians killed by armed groups in the same period.
The report shows that during 2018, various domestic and international human rights organisations continued to express serious concern at the use of pellet guns by government forces for crowd control purposes in Jammu and Kashmir.
The report citing official government figures said that 17 individuals died from pellet gun injuries between July 2016 and August 2017.
Adding that former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti told the state legislative assembly that pellet guns injured 6,221 people in Kashmir between July 2016 and February 2017.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
The report notes that the Public Safety Act (PSA), permits state authorities to detain persons without charge or judicial review for up to two years without visitation from family members.
According to the report which refers to a state government report, states that more than 1,000 prisoners were detained under the PSA between March 2016 and August 2017. According to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, political prisoners made up one-half of all state detainees.
India also enforces the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in a central government-designated “disturbed area,” which authorises forces in the state to use deadly force to “maintain law and order” and arrest any person “against whom reasonable suspicion exists” without informing the detainee of the grounds for arrest.
The AFSPA remained in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts of Mizoram, and a version of the law was in effect in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative noted in its 2016 report that, of 186 complaints of human rights violations reported against the armed forces in states under the AFSPA between 2012 and 2016, 49.5 percent were from Jammu and Kashmir.
The US report also notes that the state government in Kashmir reported 9,042 injured protesters and 51 persons killed between July 2016 and February 2017. The report called for the repeal of the AFSPA in all states and territories, and an international probe into the human rights situation in the Indian state.
The US report notes that disappearances attributed to government forces, paramilitary forces, and insurgents occurred in areas of conflict during the year 2018. The association of Parents of Disappeared Persons submitted inquiries for 639 cases of alleged disappearance in the occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The US report also refers to allegations that police failed to file required arrest reports for detained persons, resulting in hundreds of unresolved disappearances. Such reports also indicated that prison guards sometimes required bribes from families to confirm the detention of their relatives.
It also reports about Rising Kashmir editor in chief Shujaat Bukhari and two police bodyguards were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Srinagar as they departed the office. A police investigation alleged militants targeted Bukhari in retaliation for his support of a government-backed peace effort, the report noted
In February the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances informed the government about 16 newly reported cases of enforced disappearances that allegedly occurred between 1990 and 1999. (with inputs from Dawn newspaper)
To express solidarity with the victims of terror attack on Christchurch mosques, Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern on Saturday wore a hijab and donned black clothes
Mourners gathered across New Zealand and the globe to honour the worshippers, who were defenceless when they were shot at by Australian citizen Brenton Tarrant.
Jacinda Arden arrived at Hagley College in Christchurchto greet hundreds of survivors, family members and mourners.
Shespoke with families at Hagley Park who were desperately trying to locate their missing relatives.
She also spoke with Musliam leaders at the refugee centre.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, she said that authorities were focusing on returning victims to their families so they could properly mourn.
“Hagley Park, very much the focus on them was being able to access their loved ones,” she said, adding, “Front of mind for them, of course, is fulfilling their religious expectations and that is burial.”
Ardern told reporters that the country’s gun laws will change in the aftermath of Brendon Terrant causing a large-scale massacre at a Christchurch’s mosque on Friday, killing 49 Muslim worshippers.
At least 50 people were killed and dozens others were left wounded in mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand’s eastern city of Christchuch on Friday afternoon, marking one of the “darkest” days in the country’s history.
