Jammu, Oct 4 (PTI) Police on Tuesday said initial investigations into the murder of Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General (Prisons) Hemant Kumar Lohia here did not point towards the terror angle as efforts are on to arrest his domestic help who has emerged as the main suspect in the case.

Lohia was found murdered at his residence on the outskirts of Jammu late Monday night.

Terror group People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) claimed responsibility for his murder, which took place at a time when Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials said multiple teams have been constituted to arrest the suspected culprit, Yasir Lohar (23), a resident of Halla-Dhandrath village in Ramban district.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh described the incident as “extremely unfortunate” and said a manhunt had been launched to nab the domestic help, who is absconding.

Giving details, Singh told PTI that the suspect had even attempted to set ablaze the body of 57-year-old Lohia, who was promoted and appointed as Director General of Prisons in the Union Territory in August.

Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, who visited the house of Lohia at Udaiwala on the outskirts of Jammu, said the 1992-batch IPS officer was found dead on Monday night, with burn injuries on his body and his throat slit.

A preliminary examination of the crime scene indicated that Lohia must have been applying some oil on his foot which showed swelling. The killer suffocated Lohia to death and also used a broken ketchup bottle to slit his throat and later tried to set the body afire, he said.

The guards present at the residence of the officer saw the fire inside his room. They had to break open the door as it was locked from inside, the ADGP said.

He said the preliminary examination of the scene of crime points towards murder.

“The domestic help is absconding. A search for him has started,” the police officer said, adding forensic and crime teams inspected the spot.

J and K Police family expresses grief and deep sorrow over the death of the senior officer, he added.

The officials said raids were conducted by special teams at different places to trace the domestic help, whose last location was found in the higher reaches of Udhampur district.

The ADGP said the CCTV footage collected from the incident site shows the suspected accused running away after the commission of the crime.

“Lohar was working in this house for nearly six months…Initial investigation revealed that he was quite aggressive in his behaviour and was also under depression,” he said, as police shared his pictures and sought the help of the public in the arrest of the accused.

Terror group PAFF claimed that its “special squad” carried out the “intelligence-based operation” to target the high-value target.

“This is just the beginning of such high profile operations just to warn this Hindutva regime and its collaborators that we can strike anytime and anywhere with precision. This is a small gift to their visiting home minister amid such a security grid. God willing we will continue such operations in future,” the PAFF said in a statement online.

However, ADGP Singh said no terror link has come to the fore as per the initial investigation.

“A thorough probe is on to rule out any possibility. The weapon of offence has been seized besides some documentary evidence reflecting his (domestic help’s) mental state,” he said.

Officials said the body of the deceased officer was removed to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital Jammu for post-mortem. PTI

Chandigarh, October 4

The Border Security Force (BSF) troops opened fire at a drone from Pakistan along the International Border in Punjab's Gurdaspur sector on Tuesday, officials said.

The BSF troops heard a buzzing sound of the flying object in the early hours and opened fire, officials said.

Search operation has been launched in the area to check if any packages were dropped by the drone in the Indian territory, they said.  

 Mumbai: With just a few hours to go before the Shiv Sena kicks off its annual Dussehra rallies in Mumbai, the party’s two factions — one led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the other by former CM Uddhav Thackeray — are busy with preparations.

Their aim is the same — to outdo the other.

It is unprecedented in the history of Shiv Sena, since its inception in 1966, for two rallies to be organised by the party in Mumbai on Dussehra. However, after the split within the party earlier this year and with both groups claiming they are the “real” Shiv Sena, a show of strength is expected from both sides.

After getting a shot in the arm from the Bombay High Court, Uddhav will be addressing the rally at the Sena’s traditional venue, Shivaji Park ground, while Shinde will be addressing the rally at the MMRDA Ground in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

For Shiv Sena, the Dussehra rally has been among the most important events of the year with Shiv sainiks from across the state gathering in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park — earlier to listen to party chief Bal Thackeray and, later, party president Uddhav Thackeray. It is this rally that sets the political tone for the rest of the year.

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled to take place a few months from now, plus the tussle between the two factions over who gets to claim the party symbol of a bow and an arrow as their own, the two rallies hold great significance for both.

While Uddhav is fighting for the continued existence of the party as under him, Eknath Shinde is trying to bring in a new order by claiming that his is the real Sena.

While speaking to ThePrint, representatives from both sides claimed lakhs of supporters are expected to attend their respective rallies.

“Preparations are in full swing at the BKC ground,” Kiran Pawaskar, spokesperson for the Shinde group, told ThePrint. “We are expecting one to two lakh people and arrangements are being done. Different leaders have been entrusted with the job of bringing people from their constituencies,” he said.

However, according to Kishori Pednekar, an Uddhav supporter, this figure of “lakhs of supporters” is based on the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sena’s ally in Maharashtra. “People supporting the BJP, and some force is how they will gather people,” she said.

Over the past couple of days, the two sides have been engaged in a war over social media with both having released video trailers for their respective rallies. Shinde’s camp is banking on the ‘Hindutva ideology’ and saying he is the “true heir” to Bal Thackeray’s legacy and Uddhav’s group is banking on “loyalty” along with the “legacy” factor.

Jammu, Oct 3 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit of Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah arrived in the evening and was received at the airport by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh, among others. The home minister is scheduled to meet various delegations, including those representing the Gujjar, Bakerwal and Pahari communities during his visit, officials said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Paharis, a long-pending demand of the community mostly residing in Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region and Baramulla in north Kashmir, where Shah is scheduled to address public rallies over the next two days.

Gujjars and Bakerwals have expressed resentment over the proposed inclusion of Paharis in the ST category.

There is massive enthusiasm among the Paharis in anticipation of a major announcement from the home minister but at the same time, the Gujjars and the Bakerwals, apprehending dilution of the ST status, have come out to express their resentment against the proposed move.

Hundreds of Gujjar and Bakerwal college students gathered here and staged a peaceful march to oppose the likely inclusion of the Pahari-speaking people in the ST category.

The STs have been granted 10 per cent reservation in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the first time after a recent delimitation exercise. Nine seats have been reserved for the STs, while seven are reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs).

Gujjars and Bakerwals also staged a protest in Shopian district of south Kashmir, threatening to intensify the agitation if Paharis are given the ST status.

Welcoming the visit of the home minister, the Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar Bakerwals Organisations Coordination Committee appreciated the steps taken by the BJP-led Centre for the betterment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in general and that of the STs in particular.

“For the last 30 years, no central or state government implemented the law relating to the STs in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the current government that provided political reservation and implemented the Forest Rights Act in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” convenor of the committee Anwar Choudhary told reporters here.

However, he appealed to Shah to allay the apprehensions that the ST status of the Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gadis and Sippis shall not be diluted by including any other section of people from Jammu and Kashmir in the category.

Senior BJP leader Arshad Choudhary, who is from the Gujjar community, said the demand of the Paharis for the ST status is “spurious and unjustifiable”, and said the tribals got the ST status after decades of relentless struggle and secured 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education.

“The conspirators are all out to jeopardise the legitimate rights and interests of the tribals and render them unreal and ineffective socially, educationally, economically and politically, and create a pre-1991-like situation, and all this is utterly unacceptable to us,” he said. PTI

 New Delhi, October 3

A year after eight persons were killed in the violence that hit Lakhimpur Kheri, with five of them mowed down by vehicles belonging to Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and son Ashish Mishra, families of the victims are still awaiting justice.

“It is their government, their writ. Who cares for our voice,” asks a distraught Satnam Singh whose son Lovepreet was among four persons killed after SUVs rammed into them while they were returning home after a protest against three farm laws on October 3, 2021.

Although Ashish Mishra was arrested and continues to be in jail for the alleged murders (the apex court had in April this year cancelled his bail granted by the Allahabad HC), his father is still a Union Minister. “Our demand that Ajay Mishra be removed has not been met. There was clear evidence of his involvement in the conspiracy. We again seek justice,” said Satnam Singh, who, along with family members of other victims, attended akhand path organised at Gurdwara Kudiyala Sahib today.

Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said, “No justice has been done.” Speaking with The Tribune, Gurmeet Randhawa of the Kheri Kisan Union, one of the akhand path organisers, said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha had handed over cheques for Rs 2 lakh each to the families of four farmers, who were behind bars in connection with the counter-FIRs lodged by the driver of one of the SUVs.

He said the congregation today called for government jobs for the families of the deceased farmers — Lovepreet, Daljit Singh, Gurvinder Singh and Nachhattar Singh — and the sacking of Ajay Mishra as minister. Pawan Kashyap, the brother of journalist Raman Kashyap, who too died in the violence, said the families were seeking a closure which was “not possible till each person involved in the violence is punished”. He was referring to Mishra’s continuation as Union Minister.

Attacking the BJP for the delay in justice, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “Nothing can be more insulting than the fact that farmers agitating against black laws were deliberately killed while the culprit remains a member of the Union Council of Ministers.”

New Delhi, October 3

Senior IPS officer Anish Dayal Singh on Monday took charge as the new director general (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police that guards the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control with China.

The 1988-batch officer of Manipur cadre was handed over the ceremonial baton by his batchmate SL Thaosen who has been holding the additional charge of the about the 90,000-personnel-strong mountain-warfare trained force since August after Sanjay Arora was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner.

Before taking charge at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force headquarter at Lodhi Road, Singh was accorded a guard of honour following which senior officers gave him a presentation on the operations and deployment of the force.

Singh, who belongs to the Manipur cadre, is the 32nd DG of the ITBP and has been serving as a special director in the Intelligence Bureau where he handled several sensitive assignments.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the prime minister had on October 1 issued the order for the appointment of Singh who has service till December 2024.

Thaosen, through the same order, was appointed as the new CRPF DG. The Madhya Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer has been serving as the SSB DG with the additional charge of ITBP.

An order issued by the Union home ministry on Monday also gave the additional charge of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to Singh "till the appointment and joining of the regular incumbent or until further  orders whichever is earlier".

The ITBP is primarily tasked to guard the 3,488-km stretch of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country.  

 New Delhi, October 3

A day after a large number of Shiv Sena workers from the Worli area joined the ruling Eknath Shinde faction, sounding yet another setback for the Uddhav Thackeray camp, the two sides are now preparing for a mega show of strength in Mumbai with individual rallies on Dussehra festival. The factions have also initiated a video war to claim the legacy of Bal Thackeray—the founder of Shiv Sena.

While a video shared by the official Twitter handle of Shiv Sena showed Uddhav Thackeray addressing a large gathering, Shinde said a large number of Sena workers will attend his Dussehra rally. Amid the ongoing dispute, Thackeray also said that Dussehra gatherings keep happening but there is only one Shiv Sena Dussehra rally, which will be at the Shivaji Park. 

The Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar has been a tradition since the inception of the Shiv Sena but the year’s event has been in the spotlight for other reasons, basically permission issues. Both the sides were demanding Shivaji Park as the venue. However, the Bombay High Court allowed the Uddhav Thackeray side to hold its rally at the park, leaving Eknath Shinde to hold his event at the BKC—the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Leaders from the Shinde sides have been urging supporters to turn out in huge numbers for the Chief Minister’s rally in Mumbai instead of going to the Shivaji Park grounds—the location of the rally since 1966. 

According to Shinde, “lakhs of people” from across Maharashtra will be present at the BKC grounds. “We are taking forward the ideology of Balasaheb, that’s why we are getting good support from the people,” he was quoted as saying. Dismissing the argument that the BKC rally was actually a show of strength by his government, he said: “We are just working for the people. People know who is doing the real work.”

Claiming to be the “real” Shiv Sena, the Thackeray and Shinde factions have been fighting over the election symbol. The Supreme Court has left it for the Election Commission to decide the matter. 

 The Shinde side says they have the majority to prove the claim before the Election Commission. “We have 40 out of 55 (Shiv Sena) MLAs, besides 10 independent MLAs. We have 12 out of 18 MPs. Lakhs of Sena cadres are with us. The majority is clear,” they say. 

Coming out in support of the beleaguered Uddhav Thackeray, MVA member has declared his side to be the “real” Sena. 

The developments come ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the first big political test of the two sides and their claims over the Bal Thackeray legacy.

 New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) Delhi Police has provided Z+ security to Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on the directions of Ministry of Home Affairs, an official said on Monday.

Chauhan on Friday became India’s new Chief of Defence Staff with a mandate to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that aims to ensure tri-services synergy and prepare the armed forces for future security challenges facing the nation.

“CDS Gen Anil Chauhan has been provided with Z+ security on MHA’s order,” confirmed a senior police officer.

Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country’s senior-most military commander over nine months after first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. PTI

 Gurugram, October 3 

Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has been shifted to the critical care unit at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

“Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav is currently admitted in the critical care unit of Medanta Hospital and is being treated by a specialised team of doctors,” the hospital said in a statement.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was shifted to the intensive care unit after his health deteriorated last night. The Samajwadi veteran has been undergoing treatment at the hospital since August 22.

The Samajwadi Party in a tweet had said that the health condition of the leader is stable. His son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav reached the Gurugram hospital where his ailing father is admitted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Akhilesh and enquired about Mulayam Singh Yadav's health condition. The Samajwadi party has appealed followers and members to not throng the Medanta as many have started gathering there. Hospital has also stepped up the security. 

 Bhadohi (UP), (PTI) Three people were killed and 64 others injured after a fire broke out in a Durga Puja pandal here due to overheating of a halogen light, officials said on Monday.

A digital show was going on at the pandal and 300-400 people were inside it when the fire broke out on Sunday night. The pandal was reduced to ashes, they said.

The fire broke out in a Durga Puja pandal in Narthua village, a stone’s throw from Aurai police station, around 9.30 pm on Sunday, District Magistrate Gaurang Rathi said.

A total of 67 people were injured in the fire and three of them — Ankush Soni (12), Jaya Devi (45) and Naveen (10) — died. Three of the injured are stated to be serious, he said.

All the injured have been identified, and the district administration and police have their list, he said, adding that the majority of the people inside the pandal were women and children.

A halogen light at the pandal overheated, causing an electric wire to catch fire at multiple points simultaneously. Soon the fire engulfed the wooden scaffolding and the tent, Rathi said.

The cause of the fire was ascertained by a special probe team constituted by Additional Director General Ram Kumar, the DM said.

Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said that an FIR has been lodged at Aurai police station.

The Durga Puja had been organised by Ekta Club Pooja Samiti, the officials said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the incident, his office said in a tweet on Sunday.

Adityanath has directed officials to ensure that the injured get proper treatment, the Chief Minister’s Officer said. PTI C