J&K

Jammu, October 17 Two people, who were in separate marriages, allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substances in a forest area on the outskirts of Jammu, officials said on Sunday. Vijay Kumar, 36, of Tanda and Jyoti Devi, 33, of Chakkarh were found in a semi-conscious state inside the Sole-Pangadi forest in Akhnoor area on Saturday night, they said. The officials said while Kumar died during treatment at Akhnoor sub-district hospital, Devi died at Government Medical College (GMC) hospital, where she was referred for specialised treatment. Quoting preliminary investigations, they said they were having an affair despite being married to separate people and have consumed some poisonous substance together to end their lives. A case was registered and further investigati...

New Delhi, October 17 Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari visited the IAF's Leh station and deployments at forward areas in the northern sector on Saturday to take stock of operational readiness of the service's units. The Chief of Air Staff also interacted with the personnel stationed at the airbase and units on deployment. In a tweet, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Sunday that "Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, Chief of Air Staff (CAS), visited Air Force Station Leh and the IAF deployments at forward areas in the northern sector on October 16." The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldie...

Jammu, October 17 Three persons, including a mother-son duo, were detained for questioning during an ongoing search operation in the forest belt of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri border districts where nine soldiers were killed in two separate gunfights with terrorists over the past week, officials said on Sunday. Five Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), laid down their lives in a fierce gunfight during a counter-insurgency operation in Surankote forest on Monday. Four soldiers, including another JCO, died in another encounter in the Mendhar sector on Thursday evening. A man along with a 45-year-old woman and her son, all residents of Bhatta Durrian forest, were taken into custody for questioning on the suspicion of giving logistic support to terrorist...

Jammu, October 16 Nearly a week after joining the BJP, former legislator Devender Singh Rana Saturday said the Jammu Declaration, which is yet to take shape, forms the basis of his political agenda and he is ready to sacrifice anything for the people of Jammu region. Rana also said he didn't not need to answer anyone or seek a certificate to prove his secular credentials. "My people know me very well and I know them as well," Rana, who quit the National Conference on October 10, told reporters at his residence after he was accorded a grand welcome on his return from Delhi. Traffic on the main road, which usually remains abuzz with heavy flow of vehicles, was suspended for over an hour around noon as the supporters of the two leaders waited with garlands and flower petals and danced on d...

Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 16 In a crackdown on alleged militant sympathisers, the Jammu and Kashmir Government on Saturday terminated the services of Syed Ali Shah Geelani's grandson Anees-ul-Islam following a probe. Anees was appointed Research officer at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in 2016. "The Lieutenant-Governor is satisfied after considering facts and circumstances and on the basis of available information that the activities of Anees-ul-Islam are such as to warrant his dismissal of service," read a government order. The Union Territory Administration also ordered the dismissal of a government teacher in Doda district. Officials said government teacher Farooq Ahmad Butt was a younger brother of LeT militant Mohammad Amin Bhatt and was activ...

Srinagar/Leh, October 16 Jamp;K reported 82 fresh Covid cases on Saturday, taking the UT's infection tally to 3,30,967. Fifteen of these were from Jammu division and 67 from Kashmir division. They said Srinagar district recorded the highest number of 37 new cases, followed Baramulla with 12. There are 855 active cases in the UT while the recoveries stands at 3,25,686. Ladakh saw four fresh cases. Its caseload has reached 20,871 while the active cases dropped to 42 after recovery of six patients. Ladakh has registered 208 Covid-related deaths so far. According to officials, 3,371 persons were tested for Covid in the twin districts on Saturday and four of them were found positive in Leh. Five patients were discharged from a hospital in Leh and another in Kargil, taking the recoveries in ...

Srinagar, October 16 IG Vijay Kumar has ruled out any security lapse behind the recent civilian killings in the Valley. He said it was not possible to provide security to all those who may be soft targets for terrorists. — PTI

Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 16 Two more soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were killed as the massive search operation to track down terrorists continued for the sixth day in the forest areas of twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on Saturday, officials said. Nine soldiers killed in anti-terror ops since monday The counter-insurgency operation in Poonch-Rajouri forests began on Monday when five soldiers, including a JCO, were gunned down by terrorists in Surankote forests. Two soldiers were killed in Nar Khas forest of Mendhar and their bodies found on Thursday. Two days later, two more bodies were spotted near the encounter site. In the past six days, nine Army personnel, including two JCOs, have lost their lives in the ongoing cou...

Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 16 Two militants, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Umar Mushtaq Khandey, were killed today in an encounter with security forces at Drangbal area of Pampore in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, police officials said. Khandey was allegedly involved in the killing of two policemen, Mohammad Yousuf and Suhail Ahmad, at Baghat in Srinagar earlier this year. In top-10 list Umar Mushtaq Khandey's name figured in the police list of top 10 militants, which was released in August. "Two terrorists killed. Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, recoveredhellip; Khandey neutralisedhellip; Among various crimes, this (killing of policemen) stands out as the most unforgivable," the Kashmir zone police said in a serie...

Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 16 Terrorists today killed two non-locals, one from Bihar and another from Uttar Pradesh, in Srinagar and Pulwama districts, the police said. The victims Arvind Kumar Sah (30) of Banka, Bihar, was shot outside a park at Eidgah in Srinagar. Saghir Ahmad, a carpenter from Saharanpur in UP, was killed in Pulwama. Arvind Kumar Sah (30) of Banka, Bihar, was shot outside a park at Eidgah in Srinagar. He died on the spot. In Pulwama, militants fired at Saghir Ahmad, a carpenter hailing from Saharanpur in UP, who succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. The Kashmir Zone police tweeted that the areas around the crime scenes had been cordoned and search operations launched. BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said the civilian killing...