Bakhshi Stadium
Even at the peak of militancy, Mufti Sayeed had maintained the tradition that he would essentially attend the August 15 and January 26 functions in Srinagar. There were a few instances in which he would fly to Srinagar only for these functions. But not anymore! This Friday, it seemed, the father-daughter were so busy that they did not show up. But it was not noticed because for the first time Dr Farooq Abdullah had come with his entire family: three daughters and kids of two of them. The first family was seen together for the first time. Many said it was a rare sight. So rare that neither the politicians nor the officials could identify most of them!
SRINAGAR
Anyways, treading the ‘path of peril’ isn’t acceptable anymore to those who lost their ilk while obliging the state and the centre. With India’s 68 Independent Day days away, Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Movement had asked the Government not to involve members of Panchayats in the 15 August functions in view of the ‘disputed’ nature of the state. The reaction came after Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked all the state governments to ensure that Sarpanchs should deliver a speech to explain the significance of August 15. Indeed, valley’s panchayat members have learned a hard lesson to, at least, have their say.
KISHTWAR
Sonu, the police officer accused of manufacturing militants for his personal benefit, is finally out of jail. Currently busy receiving congratulations from friends and relatives, he has landed in another case, again, a serious one. A young lady has got directions from the court to the police for investigations into repeated rapes on her by Sonu. The rapes have allegedly taken place shortly ahead of his arrest last summer. She has even accused him of using her at gunpoint and later promising her a marriage. The lady has proved conclusively that Sonu’s high ups blunted her rights to seek justice. Now police has no option other than investigating their colleagues FIR in another heinous crime.
RAMBAN
It was a typical Bollywood style wherein two men hired a taxi only to hijack it. The unfolded drama was soon dubbed as militant handiwork and consequently pushed authorities to put the entire state on high alert. The driver of the hijacked taxi (which was on way to Srinagar from Pathankot Punjab) was later found by a CRPF patrol party tied to a tree at a secluded place in Ramban district. The authorities feared that the hijacked car could be used by militants for subversive activities later learnt that it was only case of car theft. In the times of hyper surveillance, perhaps, speculations shouldn’t have a free ride!
SRINAGAR
While their vociferous leader was pitching out his maiden (yet boisterous) I-Day speech from Delhi’s Red Fort, the Kashmir BJP leaders gave a glimpse of topsy turvy moment in Srinagar. Some say, the local faces of the ruling party in Union were in a mad rush when they unfurled Green on the top instead of Saffron! Now, toying with national flag is indeed a seditious act, many stormed with their comments on the social networking sites. In fact, a good chunk of netizens called for Modi’s intervention on the matter. Now, the local act (aimed at) to please the master has simply gone wrong on big occasion.
SRINAGAR
Never ever was the balance sheet of J&K’s only listed company contested so publicly as this quarter. The day the bank stated a profit of Rs 130 crore, its former chairman Dr Haseeb Drabu published its autopsy. He suggested bank has recorded a phenomenally low profit by declaring Rs 1100 crore as bad assets and reducing the NPA provisioning to much below the RBI norms. Though he has appreciated the auditors for not toeing the management line completely, yet he has asserted that an in depth evaluation of performance might have exhibited a loss, perhaps for the first time. The performance is linked to certain bad assets that were not formally declared till it become a front page news. The premier financial institution’s return of assets has touched an all time low. Bank has skipped reacting to the scathing analysis suggesting grievous managerial issues as key to questionable performance.
20 Indian troops posted in border areas, most of them in Jammu and Kashmir, have gone missing from 1996 to 2010, according to an RTI reply.
JKP gets 30 President’s Police Medals for “distinguished service, meritorious service and gallantry” for the year 2014.
