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Kashmir : Three killed in ordnance depot fire |
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At least three persons, one of them a civilian, were killed and 40 injured when one of the biggest ordnance depot in Kashmir went up in flames near Telwan, in Anantnag district on August 11. Thousands of people in 15 villages in the area were asked to leave their homes in view of the fire. The depot is located inside a heavily guarded Army camp.
Though two militant groups, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the fire, the Army denied the reports terming them as rubbish. They said the fire was caused accidentally. Army PRO Lt. Col. A.K. Mathur said that white phosphorus kept in the depot caused the fire.
Mastermind of Ayodhya temple attack killed in encounter
The mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the Ayodhya temple, Saifullah Qari, was killed in Jammu in an encounter with a joint team of the J&K and Delhi police on August 11.
Qari was a Pakistani national and top commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit. He was hiding in a house in the Janipur locality of the city which was cordoned off by the joint police team before the encounter started.
Another terrorist, Zafar Iqbal, a resident of Tradkhan village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was injured in the encount¬er. A sub-inspector of the Delhi police, Devinder Singh, was wounded.
Four persons, including two women, in whose house the ter¬rorists were hiding suspectedly to indulge in some major terror¬ist activity during the Independence Day celebrations, have been detained for questioning.
Kari was the mastermind behind the Ayodhya attack in which six heavily armed terrorists, Abu Umar, Arfat, Mohammed Amin, Zubair, Arshad Ali and Arif of Pakistan, who made an attempt to storm the high-security makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya were killed.
Chief Minister admits, colleagues are corrupt
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has hit out at some of his Ministerial colleagues for patronising corruption. In an inter¬view broadcast over Radio Kashmir on August 10, Azad denied allegations made by coalition partner, PDP, that the anti-graft drive was limited to the Kashmir region and was holding up devel¬opment works. Azad said, “This is wrong, people who used to get a cut, are making a noise. Many people are not getting their share now. These are senior officers or politicians.”
Azad had vowed to end corruption in the state soon after taking over as Chief Minister in 2005.
Referring to his ministerial colleagues, he said, “These people (ministers) say ‘Wazire Alia kahta hai to kahnay do, tum aapna kaam karo’ (Let the Chief Minister say what he wants, you (officers) do your job).” His comments came a day after he claimed that some politicians had a nexus with militants and his government would take action against them soon.
Azad, in the interview, said his war was against corruption and was not limited to any region. “The war against corruption would continue and anyone irrespective of whether they hail from Jammu or Srinagar, or whether they are Hindu or Muslim, will be brought in the vigilance net,” he asserted.
His comments were seen as a response to PDP leader and Law Minister Tariq Ahmed Karra’s allegation that the anti- corruption drive was limited to the Kashmir region.
Karra, who also holds the Finance and Planning portfolio, has been claiming that the State Vigilance Organisation was targeting the Kashmir region and ignoring Jammu and Ladakh.
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