Kashmiri student missing from AIIMS Bhubneshwar, police on a lookout

Police have recovered a note from the hostel but refused to elaborate on its content

A 23-year-old Kashmiri student from Jammu and Kashmir, studying at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar, is reportedly missing since February 9.

Suhail Aijaz, a resident of Kupwara district and pursing MBBS at the institute since 2016, left his hostel on February 9, and has been missing since then. According to reports, Aijaz had told his friends that he was leaving for a marriage in Chandigarh and would return in a week’s time.

The student had informed the administration that he would be back on February 17, Commissioner of Police Y B Khurania said.

The missing complaint was lodged by the college authorities on February 18, a day after the student’s scheduled date of return to the institute.

Police have recovered a note from the hostel but refused to elaborate on its content. “Efforts are on to trace the student. We are questioning the institute officials and the friends of the missing student,” Khurania said. He said the youth’s last known location was somewhere in Howrah in West Bengal.

“We are in contact with the Howrah police and the CID West Bengal. The particulars of the student have also been shared with them,” he said. Suhail’s father Aijaz Ahmed, who is in Bhubaneswar, told reporters that he had spoken to Suhail over phone for the last time on February 7.

He said that the institute authorities were the first ones to tell him that his son had gone missing.

Suhail’s friends told agencies that he had been telling them for a month about his travel plan to Chandigarh…read more

2017 worst year for terror-related civilian deaths in J&K in 5 years

Despite the increasing number of terrorist killings, terrorists succeeded in attacking the Sunjwan Army Camp

The year 2017 saw 358 terrorist-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir–98% more than in 2013 when 181 deaths were recorded–according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the South Asian Terrorism Portal, run by the Institute for Conflict Management, a Delhi-based non-profit.

Although more than twice as many Terrorists were killed in 2017 (218) as in 2013 (100), there was a sharper increase in civilian deaths–57 in 2017, up 185% from 20 in 2013.

Despite the increasing number of terrorist killings, terrorists succeeded in attacking the Sunjwan Army Camp, where six army personnel, one civilian and three terrorists died.

As many as 324 security personnel have died at the hands of terrorists over the past five years.

Terrorists killed 83 security personnel in 2017, a 36% increase from 61 in 2013.

Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal

There was some improvement in 2017 over 2016: 83 security personnel were killed in 2017, down 6% from 88 in 2016; 218 terrorists were killed, up 32% from 165 in 2016.

Terrorism-related deaths had increased 31% in the one year since the Indian Army conducted what it described as “surgical strikes” in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), IndiaSpend had reported on September 29, 2017………read more

 

Stop violation of human rights in LoC, Pak warns India after Kashmir attack

Saturday’s attack on the camp near Jammu, was the worst in months, with five soldiers, father of one of the soldiers killed, women and children among the ten wounded

Pakistan warned India against cross-border strikes in the disputed region of Kashmir after Indian authorities blamed a Pakistan-based group for an attack on an army camp in which soldiers and their families were targeted.

Saturday’s attack on the camp near Jammu, the winter capital of the revolt-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir, was the worst in months, with five soldiers and the father of one of the soldiers killed and women and children among the ten wounded.

India said the heavily armed attackers were members of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group, drawing criticism from Pakistan about rushing to judgment without a full inquiry.

“It is a well established pattern that Indian officials begin making irresponsible statements and levelling unfounded allegations, even before any proper investigation in any incident has been initiated,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

India, it said, was making these allegations to divert attention from its brutality in trying to control the armed revolt in Kashmir, and warned against any retaliatory measures across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between the nuclear-armed countries.

“We hope that the international community would urge India to stop the untold atrocities and gross violations of human rights in IoK (Indian Occupied Kashmir) (and) refrain from any misadventure across the Line of Control…” it said.

India has long accused Pakistan of training and arming militants and helping them infiltrate across the heavily militarised Line of Control into Jammu and Kashmir, its only Muslim majority state.

The head of the Jammu and Kashmir state police, S.

P. Vaid, told reporters over the weekend that they had communications intercepts pointing to the JeM, which has emerged as a top group fighting hundreds of thousands of Indian forces in Kashmir.

The army said the attackers wore fatigues and had assault rifles, a grenade launcher and grenades.

In 2016, India said its elite troops had crossed the Line of Control into Pakistan and carried out a raid on militants after 18 soldiers were killed in an attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir……..read more

Kashmir terror funding: Rs 36 cr seized in demonetised notes, NIA arrests 9

This comes amid Opposition claims demonetisation made no significant impact on curbing terrorism and its financing from across border

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it had seized nearly Rs 36.5 crore in demonetised currency and arrested nine persons here in its ongoing probe into the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case.

Following inputs, an NIA team seized the currency on Monday on Jai Singh Road near Connaught Place — a business and financial hub of Delhi situated not more than eight km from the counter-terror agency’s headquarters.

“Seven gang members were initially apprehended while carrying 28 cartons filled with the demonetised notes in four luxury vehicles. Their other accomplices were apprehended later in the evening. We seized Rs 36,34,78,500 from their possession,” NIA Spokesperson Alok Mittal told IANS.

He said after initial questioning at the NIA headquarters, the nine were arrested on Tuesday in the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case. They will be produced in a Special NIA court on Wednesday.

Those held were Pradeep Chauhan, 47, Bhagwan Singh, 54, Vinod Shreedhar Shetty, 47, Shahnawaz Mir, 45, Deepak Toprani, 60, Majid Yousuf Sofi, 27, Ejajul Hassan, 38, Umar Mushtaq Dar, 27, and Jaswinder Singh, 53.

Three accused hail from Jammu and Kashmir, two from Delhi, two from Mumbai, and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur.

NIA investigators said they received inputs about persons/entities having links with separatists/terrorists and still in possession of a significant amount of demonetised currency, which they could not deposit or convert during the period earmarked by the government.

“Surveillance was mounted, which led to unearthing of a conspiracy wherein these persons were trying to convert the demonetised money into valid currency.”

With the arrest of the nine persons the total number of arresting in the terror funding has now reached 19.

The agency has so far arrested since June has arrested seven separatist leaders, one businessman, and two stone-pelters for receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir.

On July 24, the NIA arrested seven persons — Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal and Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah — on charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against India.

Altaf Ahmad Shah is the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who advocates Jammu and Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan.

Islam is a close aide of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. While A Khandey is the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Hurriyat.

The agency also arrested businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in mid-August, who is accused of acting as a conduit for channelling funds for separatists and terror activities in the valley.

He was allegedly collecting funds from Pakistan and banned terrorist organisations and transferring the same to various Hurriyat leaders…………read more