INDIA

January 03 An Army man was killed and another injured after an avalanche hit an army post in Sawjian sector of Poonch district in Jammu Kashmir on Thursday. Sources told The Kashmiriyat that a camp of Indian Army's 40 RR came under an avalanche on Thursday morning at KK Galki area in Sawjian sector along the line of control that divides Kashir between India and Pakistan. In the avalanche, one Indian Soldier was killed while another one was grievously injured. The deceased Army man was identified Lance Naik Sapan Mehra of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.

January 02 The CBI has booked five Army personnel, including a colonel, for allegedly receiving bribes worth Rs 18 lakh from a supplier of rations for troops posted in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, officials said Wednesday. This is the second case in the recent past when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against army officers for corruption in supplies. In the latest case, the CBI has registered an FIR against Colonel Raman Dahda, Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Kumar, Subedar Devender Kumar, Havildar Abhay Singh, Subedar Sahuran Sahu and supplier K K Yangfo for criminal conspiracy. Dahda was the then Commanding Officer of the 556 Army Supply Corps and Mahendra Kumar a platoon commander. They have been also booked under provisions of the Prevention o...

December 28 While the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his government, TV channels and the  supreme Court are all happy about the passing of the  bill against ‘regressive’ practice of triple talaq, here are some facts that put the issue in perspective. The Census of 2011 had put the divorce rate among Muslims at 0.56% (0.76% among Hindus) Neither the government nor the Law Commission has conducted any survey on the extent of triple talaq among Indian Muslims. The only known surveys have been conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which claim the divorce rate among Muslims to be as high as 11% as opposed to the Census. The discrepancy could be because the two surveys done by BMMA covered 4,710 Muslim women from 10 states in one survey and 117 Musl...

December 28 The Home Minister of India, Rajnath Singh on Friday told the Lok Sabha that the government was prepared for elections in Jammu Kashmir at any time He added that if the Election Commission would decide to hold polls, the Home Ministry would offer requisite security for the conduct of free and fair polls. Earlier, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faulted Jammu Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik for recommending Governor’s rule instead of a floor test, Taking a dig at the BJP, he added that the previous BJP-PDP government was an “artificial marriage”. Rajnath Singh defended the Governor saying there seemed to be no clear move on the part of any potential alliance to stake claim to form the government. He said that in June then Governor N.N. Vohra had written to the Pres...

December 27 A man has been booked for rash driving after he allegedly hit a pregnant dog which died during treatment in Greater Noida, police said Thursday. The accident happened in Dhoom Manikpur village under Badalpur police station limits on Tuesday morning, they said. According to a complaint filed by Manzoor Ali, his female pet, Chinky, was hit by the speeding motorcycle of another village resident, Binnu, 22. The impact was such that the canine flung into the air and fell into a drain five metres away, said Ali, who works at a truck repairing shop. “The dog, which was over two-month pregnant, was severely injured and taken to an animal hospital where she died during treatment,” Ali said in the complaint, demanding strict action against the accused. A first informati...

December 26 A 24-year-old pregnant woman from this district contracted HIV after receiving blood donated by an infected man, prompting the Tamil Nadu government to review the stocks in all blood banks of the state to ensure they were free of the deadly virus. An employee of a blood bank attached to a government hospital in Sattur, near here, has been dismissed, while two others have been suspended in connection with the incident, health department officials said on Wednesday. The state government said it was making all efforts to prevent the impact of the virus on the woman, and stocks in all blood banks would be reviewed to ensure that such incidents did not recur. Joint Director of Health Services, Virudhunagar, R Manoharan told PTI the woman was admitted to a private hospita...

December 25 A 25-feet high statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed in Lok Bhawan, the Uttar Pradesh government secretariat here, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday. Adityanath made the announcement at a ceremony held to celebrate Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, also the local MP, and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik also attended the function. Meanwhile, A statue of former prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was vandalised on Tuesday by some persons, who Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh claimed, owed allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state. The chief minister has asked the police to take action in the matter and identify the perpetrators. Paint was sprayed by the miscreants on the s...

December 25 The Uttar Pradesh Police has asked companies and offices located in Noida of the National Capital region  to ensure that the employees working in these offices don't offer namaz in open public spaces. According to a notice issued by the Police station at Sector 58 in Noida, companies in this area have been asked to not allow their employees to offer prayers in Public parks and other public areas. "The offices will be held responsible, if Muslim employees are found offering namaz in open public spaces," the order said as per a report of India today.

December 21 Four persons have been arrested for allegedly raping a teenage girl in Sikandarpur area in Uttar Pradesh, police said Friday. The police arrested four of the five accused on Thursday for raping the 13-year-old on November 29, they added. “The arrested were identified as Manish, Arjun, Acchelal and Krishna. The fifth accused is on the run,” a senior official said.

December 20 On Thursday, The students of Aligarh Muslim University held a protest demonstration at the university campus to protest the ongoing killing spree in Kashmir valley. A Student while speaking to The Kashmiriyat said that scores of students under the banner of Aligarh Muslim University Students Union for the second consecutive day held gathered in the University to protest the civilian killings at the hands of government forces in Pulwama district. ALSO READ: Jinnah portrait Row at Aligarh Muslim University, Old Story, New Shades Pertinently Seven civilian were killed by government forces in Sirnoo area of South Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday. The killings evoked sharp criticism from politicians across Jammu Kashmir.