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Excelsiordaily

REGD. NO. JK-71/18-20RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 54 No. 320 JAMMU, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2018 16 Pages `̀ 5.00

Police crackdown on militantpropagandists on social media

Fayaz BukhariSRINAGAR, Nov 19:

Jammu and Kashmir Policewith the help of serviceproviders have launched amajor crackdown againstthose who are doing militant

propaganda on social media.Speaking to reporters on the

sidelines of a wreath laying of aCentral Reserve Police Forcepersonnel who was killed lastnight at Pulwama in a militantattack, Inspector General ofPolice (IGP) Kashmir, S P Pani,said that with the help of theservice providers police will nabthose who are doing militant

propaganda on social media.Pani said that the propaganda

on social media of recent crimesis equal to these crimes commit-ted by the militants. "Thekillings are the reflection of theterror crimes and these are grue-some crimes of the terrorists andwho else is doing propaganda onsocial media about these killingsis also committing a crime", hesaid.

The IGP said that the Policewill nab these social media pro-pagandists with the help of serv-ice providers. "The case hasbeen registered and whosoeveris propagating the content asthere are some handlers that arepropagating it, we are investi-gating it and I am sure that with

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19: UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhtoday reviewed situation in theaftermath of blast in Amritsar,which reportedly had thebacking of Kashmir militants,in which three civilians werekilled and 10 others, allbelonging to a religious sect,were injured even as reportssurfaced that grenades usedby the militants might havebeen supplied to Punjab fromthe Valley.

Official sources told theExcelsior that top brass of HomeMinistry, Intelligence and secu-rity agencies attended the meet-

ing called by Singh to review thesituation arising out of terrorattack in Amritsar and possiblelink of the attack with Kashmirmilitants and steps required toprevent any flare up of militantactivities in Punjab and Jammuand Kashmir.

They also briefed the HomeMinister on the explosion at areligious gathering. The HomeMinister directed the officials toprovide all assistance to thePunjab Government in theirinvestigation to nab the perpe-trators of the crime, sourcessaid.

Singh was told that a team ofthe National Investigation

Agency has already visited theblast site along with their inves-tigators and explosive experts.

According to sources, securi-ty and Intelligence agencieswere investigating as to whetheran Innova car hijacked byunidentified gunmen atMadhopur after being hiredfrom Jammu Railway Stationcarried the Kashmir militants,who might have supplied con-signment of arms and explosivesto the local militants in Punjab,who executed the terror attack.

Only few days back, four BTech students from Kashmir,studying in Jallandhar college,

Avtar BhatUDHAMPUR, Nov 19:

BJP today received a short inarm after winning the post ofchairman and vice chairmanof the prestigious UdhampurMunicipal Council (UMC)and posts of presidents andvice presidents of twinMunicipal Committees ofChenani and Ramnagar in theUdhampur district.

In a tough contest for thepost of chairman and vice chair-man of UMC, the elections of

which were held here today, BJPhumbled the Opposition NPP-Congress combine.

The BJP candidate, DrYogeswar Gupta was declaredelected for the post of chairman

of UMC by securing 11 votesout of total 21. He defeated hisrival and JK National PanthersParty(JKNPP) candidate, SunilParoch by one vote while for thepost of vice chairman, BJP can-didate, Surinder Singh Khalsadefeated the opposition candi-

date, Preeti Khajuria by fivevotes. Khalsa got 13 votes whilethe opposition candidate goteight votes only.

It may be recalled that BJPwhich had won four seats onlyincreased its tally in UMC tonine after five members of MLAPawan Gupta faction led by DrYogeshwar Gupta joined theparty yesterday. The party alsomanaged to win the support oftwo Independent candidates tosail through in the electionswhich were conducted under the

Party humbles NPP, Cong combine

BJP receives shot in arm, controls all 3 MCs in Udhampur

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Nov 19: In seri-

ous embarrassment forCentral as well as State unitleaders of the party, BJP sen-ior leader from Ladakh,Thupstan Chhewang, who hadrecently resigned from party'smembership as well as LokSabha seat, has shot off twoletters to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and BJP pres-ident Amit Shah charging theparty with let down of the peo-ple of Ladakh by not meetingthe assurance held out to themat the time of 2014Parliamentary elections.

Chhewang came down heav-ily on BJP national general sec-retary, Ram Madhav, who hap-pens to be the party's pointmanon Jammu and Kashmir andState unit chief, Ravinder Rainafor taking what he called"unwise decisions'' pertaining toLadakh Autonomous HillDevelopment Councils, Leh andKargil.

Chhewang’s resignation has-n’t been accepted so far eitherby the BJP or the Lok SabhaSpeaker.

In his letter written to thePrime Minister, Chhewangreferred to the assurance made

by the Central party leadershipfor grant of Union Territory sta-tus to Ladakh "within sixmonths'' during 2014 Lok Sabha

elections and inclusion of Bhotilanguage in eighth schedule ofthe Indian Constitution saying

both the assurances weren't ful-filled though he repeatedly tookup them with the Central leaders

Chhewang writes to PM, Shah;says Ladakh badly let down Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19: Pollingfor Phase-II of Panchayatpolls will be held tomorrow at2179 polling stations acrossthe State, including 828 inKashmir and 1351 in Jammudivision. The timing forpolling is from 8 am to 2 pm.

According to officialsources, 4014 candidates are inthe fray for 281 Sarpanch and1286 Panch seats in Phase-II. Hesaid 90 Sarpanchs and 1069Panchs have already been elect-ed unopposed in Phase-II.

Soruces said 601 polling sta-tions have been categorized ashypersensitive including 490 inKashmir division and 111 inJammu.

They said in the areas goingto polls in the Phase-II, elec-torate of 3,29,818 will be votingfor Sarpanch constituencies and2,07,796 for Panch constituen-cies. He said Photo Voter Slipshave been distributed among thevoters to inform them of theirpolling station.

In the Phase-I of PanchayatPolls, 74.1% polling was record-ed across J&K including 64.5%in Kashmir division and 79.4%in Jammu division.

Repoll was held for WardNo: 3 - Atholi-C of PanchayatAtholi, Block Padder, Kishtwaryesterday. Results have beenannounced for all these by therespective Returning Officers.

Repoll is also being held forSarpanch constituency ofPanchayat Nambla-B, Block Uriin district Baramulla and forSarpanch Constituency ofPanchayat Halqa Upper Sanai,Block Surankote in districtPoonch. Also, in two Panch con-stituencies, namely PC-III &PC-IV of the Panchayat Halqa

4014 in fray for Phase-IIPanchayat elections today

Ranchi court’snotice to Farooq

RANCHI, Nov 19: The Ranchi Civil court

today issued a notice to formerJammu and Kashmir ChiefMinister Farooq Abdullah andasked him to appear before thecourt in person on December 4or present his side through hislawyers.

Principal Judge of the CivilCourt Navneet Kumar issuedthe notice to the former ChiefMinister after lawyer RanjeetKumar Singh had filed a peti-tion against Abdullah's anti-national comments at a function

Suleman shiftedto Home, Jigmetgoes to CentreExcelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Nov 19: The State

Government has repatriated MSuleman Choudhary, SSP Anti-Corruption Bureau, to the HomeDepartment for further posting.

An official order to thiseffect was issued today.

Meanwhile, services ofJigmet Lhundup, DySP, J&KPolice, have been placed at thedisposal of Cabinet Secretariat,New Delhi for his appointmenton deputation basis to the gradeof Senior Field Officer in theJunior Executive Cadre of theCabinet Secretariat for a periodof four years.

HC seeksresponse on food

adulterationExcelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Nov 19: The

High Court today soughtresponse from amicus to the sta-tus report filed by Food SafetyCommissioner about stepstaken by the Government totackle food adulteration in theState.

The Division Bench ofJustice Ali Mohammad Magreyand Justice Sanjeev Kumarwhile hearing a Public InterestLitigation against the food adul-teration asked the amicus to thePIL to respond the status report

Govt taking HCorders casually

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Nov 19: High

Court today took serious note ofcasual approach of theGovernment towards its direc-tions and directed the ChiefSecretary to take effective stepsfor ensuring compliance ofdirections/orders.

The order was passed in acontempt petition filed by KiranSharma.

After hearing AdvocateSudershan Sharma appearingfor the petitioner whereas AAGRavinder Gupta appearing forthe State, Justice Tashi Rabstanobserved, "vide order datedApril 7, 2018, two weeks timeas last indulgence was given tothe respondent to file compli-ance report, failing which hewas directed to appear in personbefore the court on26.04.2018".

"On 04.05.2018 time wasagain extended for filing com-pliance report and personalappearance of the respondentwas also exempted. However,the Drawing and DisbursingOfficer concerned was directednot to release the salary ofrespondent for the month of

Ex-CS Khandeypasses away

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Nov

19:Former Chief SecretaryMohammadI q b a lK h a n d a ypassed awayhere todayafter battlingcancer. Hewas 63.

Khanday,a 1978-batch IAS officer, tookpremature retirement from serv-

ice just few months before hissuperannuation in 2015. He issurvived by wife, Judge Kaneez

A poll party which was deployed in Lingshed block of districtLeh for Phase-I of Panchayat polls on its way back to Khaltse.

JAMMU : Partly cloudy

TEMPERATUREMax: 27.4 Degree C Min: 12.5 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 80.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 70.0 per centSunset on Tuesday: 05.29 p.m.Sunrise on Wednesday: 07.06 a.m.

SRINAGAR:Possibility of light rain/thundershowers

TEMPERATUREMax: 15.6 Degree C Min: 4.6 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 81.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 54.0 per cent

LEH: TEMPERATURE

Max: 6.9 Degree C Min: -1.9 Degree C

WEATHER

(Contd on page 6 Col 3)

HC shoots self atDGP residence

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Nov 19: A police-

man deployed on guard duty atofficial residence of DGP atBikram Chowk was injuredtoday after he shot self with his

service weapon."Head Constable Subash

Chander (Belt No 183/IR, PIDNo: 871535-ARP) of IRP 12Battalion, shot self with hisservice rifle today at about10:30 am, when during conver-sation with one of his familymembers on phone, he lost histemper and became aggressive",

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)

BSF officer killed, 4 hurt in blast

Excelsior CorrespondentSAMBA, Nov 19 A BSF

Assistant Commandant waskilled and four others wereinjured in a blast at a BorderOutpost (BOP) Mangu Chakalong the International Border(IB) in Samba district today, anofficer said.

“A blast has taken place at aBOP in Samba sector. One BSFofficer has died and four otherswere injured,” he said.

An Assistant Commandantwas killed and four jawans wereinjured in the blast in ManguChak, said Additional DistrictDevelopment Commissioner

(Contd on page 6 Col 1)

Leh NH closedExcelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Nov 19:

Srinagar-Leh National Highwaywas closed for traffic afterheavy snowfall in Zojila whileMughal road was re-opened fortraffic after one week today.

Police launched a massiverescue operation after a freshspell of heavy snowfall at Zojilaand evacuated several strandedvehicles and passengers.

Rescue teams of policeassisted by the Beacon person-nel started the rescue operationson Srinagar- Leh NationalHighway at Zojila after severalvehicles and passengers gotstranded due to heavy snowfallin the area.

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)

HC stays transferof A&PP Divn toFinance Deptt

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Nov 19: High

Court has stayed theGovernment order wherebyArea and Perspective PlanningDivision of Planning (A&PP)Development and MonitoringDepartment has been trans-ferred to the FinanceDepartment.

The order was passed in apetition filed by Kamal KumarSharma and others, who chal-lenged the Govt Order No. 470-FD of 2018 on various grounds.

(Contd on page 6 Col 5)

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, Nov 19: Union

Ministry of Drinking Waterand Sanitation has soughtAction Taken Report fromJammu and KashmirGovernment on theComptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) of India find-ings whereby it had painteddismal scenario vis-à-visimplementation of NationalRural Drinking WaterProgramme (NRDWP) in thisState.

In its Report No.15 of 2018relating to performance audit ofNational Rural Drinking WaterProgramme of the Ministry ofDrinking Water and Sanitationfor the period between 2012 and

2017, which was tabled in theParliament on August 7, 2018,the Comptroller and AuditorGeneral had pointed out short-comings in 34 paragraphs inrespect of Jammu and KashmirState.

The supreme audit institu-tion of the country had alsomade a number of recommenda-tions so as to overcome deficien-cies by the Jammu and KashmirGovernment and to achieve theintended objective of thescheme.

“Thereafter, the UnionMinistry of Drinking Water andSanitation vide communication

dated August 21, 2018 hadasked the State Government togo through the report, take nec-essary corrective and preventiveactions and send Action TakenReport (ATR) on 34 audit parasto the Ministry by September 4,2018”, official sources toldEXCELSIOR.

However, neither the StateGovernment acted on the rec-ommendations of the CAG norsubmitted Action TakenReport to the Union Ministrywithin the stipulated time-frame. Now, taking seriousnote of the same the Union

Union Ministry seeks Action Taken Report on CAG findings from J&K

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19:Ridiculing the oft repeated

statementsof NationalConference(NC) lead-ers thatparty wantsto preventBharat iyaJ a n a t aParty (BJP)

from backdoor entry andhence they will not boycottAssembly and Lok Sabha elec-tions in the State, UnionMinister in PMO with inde-pendent charge of NorthEastern States, Dr JitendraSingh today said that NC ruleof last three decades was"through backdoor entry" asthe party monopolized thedemocratic scene in the State

over these years.Talking to media persons

here today, Dr Jitendra Singhasked the NC leaders to have anintrospection instead of makingallegations against BJP and gothrough their past record.

He said the grass rootdemocracy has been strength-ened in the country afterNarendra Modi took over thereigns in 2014 and spell a doomfor dynastic parties. He said thepeople of Kashmir in the recentUrban Local Bodies (ULB) elec-tions have not only voted forstrengthening of grass rootdemocracy but also dynastic freedemocracy.

He said in future such apolitical combination is evolv-ing in the State in which thedynastic parties will have norole to play and common masseswill be at the helm of affairs and

power will vest in their hands.He said the NC and other

parties who claim to stop theentry of BJP are challengingthe democratic credentials ofIndia, the authority ElectionCommission of India andmandate of the people.

Lambasting the NC leadersfor taking U turn on Article 35A, Dr Jitendra Singh said thatthe party which boycotted theULB and Panchayat polls bytaking a stand on Article 35 Atook a U turn suddenly and saidthat they want to stop BJP fromabrogating Article 35 A.

This is totally a contradictorystatement. Earlier they said thatthey are boycotting the ULB andPanchayat elections to protectthe 35A and now they say thatthey will take part in Assemblypoll regardless whether 35A is

NC rule of last three decades wasthrough backdoor: Dr Jitendra

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*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

HM reviews situation as Intl agenciessee Kashmir-Punjab ultras’ nexus

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(Contd on page 6 Col 1)

Probe on into supply of grenades from Valley

(Contd on page 6 Col 3)

Pic on page 6

Another kidnapped in Shopian

(Contd on page 6 Col 3)

Launches direct attack on Madhav, Raina

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)

Flaws in implementation of Rural Drinking Water Programme

Expresses concern over noresponse to earlier communiqué

(Contd on page 6 Col 5)

Text of the letter written by Thupstan Chhewang to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

(Contd on page 6 Col 5)