Shimla, October 4

The official communication by Bilaspur district police asking for character verification of mediapersons for coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bilaspur on October 5 has been withdrawn on the pretext that the letter was inadvertently issued.

Realising that it could boomerang, the Bilaspur police turned a volte face and clarified that the letter stood withdrawn and said that passes would be issued to all those recommended by the DPR and the DPRO.

“All journalists are most welcome to cover Prime Minister’s visit to Himachal Pradesh on October 5. Himachal Pradesh Police will facilitate their coverage. Any inconvenience is regretted,” tweeted DGP Sanjay Kundu.

The letter seeking character verification from mediapersons of print, digital and television besides state-run media, including the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan on September 29, had sparked a controversy and there were spate of queries from the mediapersons.

The notification asked the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) to supply a list of all press correspondents, photographers, videographers, and teams of Doordarshan and AIR along with “a certificate of their character verification” following which the DPRO, Bilapsur, had reportedly refused to accept the official identify cards of journalists.

"The certificate of character verification may be supplied to the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID, Bilaspur by October 1, 2022, positively. Their access within the rally or meeting will be decided by this office," the notification said.

The normal practice in vogue was that passes are issued by the police on the recommendation of the DPR and DPRO for covering VVIP programmes and it was for the first time that character certificates were asked. PM Narendra Modi will visit Bilaspur and Kullu tomorrow.

 New Delhi, October 4

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said the Indian Air Force had taken appropriate "non-escalatory" measures to deal with Chinese activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, he said the recent developments at the global stage showed the need for a strong military to ward off any challenge.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the IAF had been preparing for all kinds of security challenges, including "worst-case scenario", and asserted that it is fully ready to face any situation.

"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding that the IAF continued to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.

When asked about the recent incidents of Chinese fighter jets flying close to the LAC, he said appropriate non-escalatory measures had been taken and a message was sent to the neighbouring country.

Our overall preparation is a continuous process irrespective of Chinese belligerence, he said.

To a question, he said the benchmark for the situation to return to normal in eastern Ladakh would be to return to status quo ante and completion of disengagement in all friction points.

Referring to the ambitious theaterisation plan, the Air Chief Marshal said the IAF understands imperatives of joint planning and execution with sister forces for future wars.

“We are not opposed to tri-services integration; our reservations relate to only certain structures, he said.

The Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF is in sync with the government on self-reliance in defence production. 

 New Delhi, October 4

The light combat helicopter (LCH) inducted into the Indian Air Force at Jodhpur on Monday will make its public display at Chandigarh where the IAF is conducting its Airforce Day parade and air display.

The IAF announced that three LCHs from the 143 Helicopter Unit, Jodhpur, will take off to Chandigarh to take part in the display to be conducted over the Sukhna Lake in the afternoon of October 8.

The number of aircrafts on display could be around 90 planes to mark the IAF's anniversary.

Apart from the LCH, the IAF will display its might with jets like Rafale, the Sukhoi 30 MKI, the MiG 29, Mirage 2000 and MiG 21 also being a part of the flypast.

Helicopters like Mi35, Mi17 and ALH will also be at the flypast along with special operations planes like the C17 and C130.

The Surya Kiran aerobatics team will also do a display.

 New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s comments highlighting India’s poverty, unemployment and inequality at a Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) event Sunday have created a stir, as they seem to “target the BJP-led central government”.

While BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said the party “does not have a particular stance on what Hosabale said, but he has underlined some of the challenges which are common”, some leaders from the Congress — which is holding a Bharat Jodo Yatra against the rising inflation and unemployment — took the remarks as an opportunity to attack the Centre over the state of the economy.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh tweeted in Hindi:  “Look at the effect of BharatJodoYatra. Those who break the country and spread poison in the society, today they are raising the issue of poverty, unemployment and inequality to increase their reach [sic].”

Political experts were divided on the significance of the statement made by the senior leader of the RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP.

Political analyst Rahul Verma, a fellow at Centre for Policy Research, does not consider it as criticism of the BJP government. “The RSS has often acted as the conscience keeper of the BJP. Even during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the RSS and affiliated organisations like Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh used to make demands and protest against government policies,” he said.

But, another political analyst Rasheed Kidwai pointed out that “what Hosabale has said is something very obvious, but the open-ended question can be whether a section of RSS or BJP leaders are at variance”.

At a webinar hosted by the SJM, Hosabale had compared poverty to a demon which has to be slayed.

“Over 20 crore people who live here are below the below poverty line. Around 23 crore people are having an income of Rs 375 per day. Unemployment rate is also very distressing at 7.6 per cent. There is poverty, unemployment in the country but we also need to discuss the rising inequality,” he asserted.

“Even when India has managed to be among the top six economies in the world, we can’t say all is well. One percentage of the population in India holds 20 per cent of the country’s wealth, while 50 per cent has 13 per cent of wealth,” the RSS general secretary said. “We must do something about this economic inequality.”

In January, the Sangh-affiliated SJM, along with seven other right-wing organisations, had launched the ‘Swavalambi Bharat Abhiyan’ (SBA), which aims to make India unemployment-free by 2030. Sunday’s event, ‘Swawalamban ka Shankhnaad’, was part of a series of events being organised under the SBA banner.

On its part, the SJM has often raised issues relating to unemployment but links it to the country’s colonial past and alleged failure of the previous governments.

 Jammu: Director General of Prisons, J&K Police, Hemant Kumar Lohia was found dead here at a house in the Jammu city outskirts.

ADGP Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh said, “The body of DG Prisons Hemant Lohia was found under suspicious circumstances. The first examination of the scene of crime reveals this is a suspected murder case.”

He said that Lohia’s domestic help was absconding and Police had started a search for him.

Meanwhile, forensic teams and crime teams have reached the spot for investigation.

“The investigation process has started and senior Police officers have reached the spot,” Singh said.  “J&K Police family expresses grief and sorrow over the death of their senior officer.”

Lohia’s body has been shifted to the mortuary room of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) Jammu and his postmortem would be conducted by the board of doctors, an official said.

He said that Lohia’s body was brought from the Poni Chak area of Domana.

Police sources said that Lohia had gone to his old friend Rajeev Khajuria’s house.

They said Khajuria hails from the Rajouri district.

 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.”