THE KASHMIRIYAT

The arrest of a Gujarat conman from Kashmir Valley has become a matter of debate in political circles with top politicians from across India tweeting and retweeting about the fraudster identified as Kiran Bhai Patel. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took a swipe at the Jammu and Kashmir administration saying that when she had visited Jammu to meet the families of victims of targeted Hindu killings in Kashmir, she had been offered zilch security. “Not that it deterred me, but as MP when I had visited Jammu to meet the families of victims of targeted Hindu killings in Kashmir, I had been offered zilch security and here a conman manages to get z security, VIP protocol, hotel stay and mehman nawaazi. Adbhud!” the Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted...

In an initiative to bring Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims closer, a cultural organization held an event that brought together artists, writers, poets, and intellectuals from the two communities on one stage. ‘Yom-e-sout-e-Kashmir’ was organized by the Gayoor Foundation in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Language on Wednesday. The foundation is named after veteran writer-poet Syed Ghulam Rasool Gayoor, who was shot dead by militants in 2005. “We organised Yom-e-Sout-e-Kashmir here. The aim behind organising it is to bring Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims, who were distanced from each other (due to the eruption of militancy),” Gayoor Foundation chairman Showkat Gayoor Andrabi said. “We want to restore the compositeness,” he said. The focus of the ...

A local from Central Kashmir’s Budgam district has been arrested by police in Bihar for his suspicious movement in the Shaheed Chowk of Katihar in Bihar. The arrested youth has been identified as Nasir Yusuf Waza. Reports said that Muhammad Yousuf, the father of the arrested youth had been killed in an encounter in Kashmir valley. Reports said after reaching Katihar from Nepal, he was going to Kolkata by train, but he missed the train. Therefore he checked into a hotel at Shaheed Chowk in the Nagar police station area. Locals informed police after they spotted him roaming. Katihar SP Jitendra Kumar said, “A youth has been arrested under suspicious circumstances. In the interrogation, it has been found that he is from Kashmir. Something can be clearly said in this matter only after...

Authorities on Friday attached property of a man for providing Shelter and logistic support to the militants in North Kashmir's Handwara.Authorities on Friday attached property of a man for providing Shelter and logistic support to the militants in North Kashmir's Handwara. In a handout to GNS, the police said that today in an order of attachment of property under S. 25 of the UA(P) Act of an OGW was executed at Yaroo. The order of attachment of property had been confirmed by the Office of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir against Mohd Abdullah Mir, son of Khazir Mohd Mir, resident of Yaroo for his involvement in providing logistics and shelter to militants, in relation to which FIR no. 327/2018 U/S 307-RPC 7/27-Act,18,19,25 UA(P) Act had been registered at Police Station Handwara.(GN...

Three more people posing as part of an 'official team' led by a conman from Gujarat, Kiran Bhai Patel, may have escaped from Kashmir before police arrested the "senior PMO official" early this month in Srinagar, NDTV reported. The imposter had taken the Jammu and Kashmir administration and security structure for a ride by securing Z-plus security cover, a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio SUV, official accommodation at a five-star hotel, and a lot more. Patel, who was impersonating an Additional Director for strategy and campaigns in the Prime Minister's Office, was arrested on March 2, but his arrest was kept a secret by the police. On Thursday, details of his arrest emerged after a magistrate sent him to judicial custody. Sources say Amit Hitesh Pandiya and Jay Sitapara from Gujarat,...

A group of Kashmiri Pandits of village Dever , at present Jammu, visited Dever village of Tehsil Tral, comprising C L Butt, Koul Ji, and others received by Additional Deputy Commissioner Tral S A Raina and Muslim and Sikh Community. The group was welcomed in a gesture of love and Communal harmony. The Muslim community hugged and shook hands with tearful eyes. They shared periods of childhood, youth, joy sorrows and Kashmiriyat with tears. On the occasion, the Additional Deputy Commissioner Tral said that this is our syncretic culture. He further said that people of both the communities have in personal capacity reclaimed Kashmiriyat, the idea of harmony and coexistence. The group visited various householders, friends and neighbours.

A man from Srinagar’s old city was bitten by a rat on Friday morning. Much agony to the family, no vaccine for rat bites was available neither at SKIMS Soura or at SMHS Hospital. The victim identified as Muhammad Maqbool Ganai, a resident of Noorbagh Guzarbal was taken to SKIMS Soura by his family for treatment shortly after his right finger was bitten by a rodent at his home. Jan Muhammad, the son of the victim told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that doctors at SKIMS asked him to take his father to SMHS Hospital as no vaccine for a rat bite is available in the hospital. “Though rats don’t cause rabies, and my father didn’t need it but to my surprise, even anti-rabies vaccines are not available at SKIMS,” he said adding that the same scenario prevails at SMHS hospital where n...

The administration of Union Territory Ladakh has proposed to notify 5.69 lakh Kanals of land in Drass area of Kargil district as a field firing range. In a notification, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the UT administration has invited objections, if any, from general public over the proposal of firing range. “Objections in this regard, if any, may be communicated to Deputy Commissioner, Kargil within a period of two months from the date of issuance of this notice,” reads the notification issued by Umang Narula, who is advisor to LG Ladakh and administrative secretary, Home of the Union Territory. As per the proposal, the administration of UT Ladakh intends to authorize carrying out of the field firing and artillery practice throughout ...

An RTI applicant from Bandipora on Thursday alleged that he has been asked to deposit charges by a Public Information Officer in the Office of Executive Engineer R&B Division Bandipora in lieu of obtaining desired information vis-à-vis construction of non-motorable walkway around Wular Lake in the north Kashmir district. Exercising his right to know, anti-corruption & RTI activist, Parvaiz Bhat had sought details of tendering process of construction work of non-motorable walkway around Wular lake from Banyari Bridge to Naaz Nallah including approach road leading towards Delta Park. The work, according to him, is being executed by WUCMA and is being supervised by R&B (PWD) Division Bandipora. “I had filed the RTI as I was having strong apprehensions that proper procedure a...

Newly constructed building of government boys high school,Guloora in Handwara area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district has developed major cracks, thereby putting lives of students and staff at risk. Locals told the news agency--Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that they had already brought the issue into the notice of concerned authorities that contractor has used substandard material in construction. They alleged that the building was recently handed over to the department and soon it developed cracks, thereby putting the lives of students and staff at risk. "We had already informed the head of the institution that the concerned contractor has used substandard material in its construction but she did not pay any heed and today we have the results before us," he said. The locals sa...