Srinagar: Suspected Hizbul militant Liaqat Shah met his family in Kashmir on Sunday after being released from Tihar jail. He was granted bail a Delhi court which said the NIA's investigation "confirms" that there is no substantial linkage regarding his involvement in the conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in the national capital.
"No substantial evidence has come up against the present petitioner till date and the prosecution NIA has failed to make out a prima facie case against the present petitioner/accused till date," District Judge IS Mehta said. "Further, the NIA investigation also confirms the same that there is no substantial linking against the petitioner/accused being involved in conspiracy to commit terrorist attack on vital installations in Delhi till date," he said.
While Delhi Police had claimed that with Liaqat's arrest they had foiled a 'fidayeen' (suicide) attack here ahead of Holi, the J-K Police insisted that he was one of those who had ex-filtrated in 1990s and returned to India to surrender under the state's rehabilitation policy. Regarding the allegation by the Delhi Police that they had recovered arms and ammunition on the night of March 21-22, 2013 from a guest house in Jama Masjid area here at Liaqat's instance, the court said it was done in the absence of the accused.
"The alleged recovery from the said room is made in the absence of the accused. The carrying out of the search without the knowledge and in absence of the present petitioner/accused creates doubt
09:59 PM, May 19, 2013
Srinagar: In Chenab valley in Jammu and Kashmir, people are scared to enter their houses due to frequent earthquakes. Since the May 1 earthquake that measured 5.9 on the richer scale, 30 aftershocks have hit this hilly region. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought 450 crore for relief. "There are cracks in our house. TV fell down. Our house was shaking. Everything shakes,...
10:52 AM, May 19, 2013
Jammu: The BSF is all geared up and alert to foil any infiltration bid by militants from across the Indo-Pak border, said a senior BSF officer. "We will not allow infiltration to take place...BSF troops are alert to foil it," IG BSF, Jammu Frontier, Rajeev Krishna told reporters at Jammu railway station after flagging-off a special coach for para military forces. "International boundary in Jammu is sensitive...there have been incidents...
01:20 AM, May 19, 2013
Srinagar: One Junior Commanding Officer (JCO) was killed and another jawan injured on Saturday after a major infiltration bid by a group of six terrorists was foiled by the Army along LoC in Machil in Kupwara district of North Kashmir. According to sources, six terrorists tried to infiltration into the Indian side of LoC at around 2.30 am on Saturday. The terrorists, who were trying to sneak into the Valley...
11:23 AM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the release of Liyaqat Shah on bail and expressed hope that the National Investigation Agency will complete its probe soon. "I welcome his release on bail and now I hope that the NIA completes its investigation as soon as possible," Omar told PTI. Omar's comment came after a Special Court granted bail to Liyaqat as NIA investigation "confirmed"...
04:01 PM, May 17, 2013
Beijing: Confusion over Aksai Chin, the area occupied by China during 1962 war with India, was created by colonial British rulers who have never presented it to Chinese governments in the past, an article in an official daily in Beijing said on Thursday. "India's claim to Aksai Chin is mainly based on the Johnson Line proposed in 1865. Aksai Chin was put inside Kashmir in the proposal. However, the line...
08:31 AM, May 17, 2013
Jammu: A team of Jammu and Kashmir ministers headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand on Thursday visited the quake affected areas of Jammu region and took stock of relief and rehabilitation work. Chand, along with Minister for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar, and Minister of State for Health, Shabir Ahmad Khan, interacted with people and inquired about their problems and relief measures at Bhalessa, Gandoh, Changa, Kishtwar, Thatri and...
12:37 AM, May 17, 2013
Srinagar: There was a 36 per cent decline in militancy-related violence in Jammu and Kashmir during 2012 as compared to 2011 and 54 security forces' bunkers were removed from public places here in 2012, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday. Abdullah was speaking at a meeting of various departments under his charge. "Under the amnesty scheme devised for youth involved in stone-pelting, orders to withdraw 196 cases involving 1,432...
04:06 AM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: The NIA on Wednesday conceded that it didn't have evidence to connect suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah to the weapons found on him. The NIA made the statement during its concluding remarks in the case at a Delhi court. The agency, however, opposed the bail plea of Shah, who was arrested for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror attacks in the national capital. The NIA opposed his plea...
05:21 PM, May 15, 2013
Srinagar: A government school teacher in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district has been suspended by authorities after he uploaded a picture of small school children massaging his legs on social networking website Facebook. Teacher Bashir Ahmad ran into trouble with the Anantnag district authorities after there was outrage on Facebook over the manner in which he made the kids massage him. The state education director has expressed horror at the...
02:36 PM, May 14, 2013
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has ordered a regular enquiry into the alleged role of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies. A Division bench of the Commission, comprising chairman Justice (retd) YP Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, on Monday directed for a regular enquiry into the allegations of misuse of official position by Chand in the illegal recruitments...
12:58 PM, May 14, 2013
Srinagar: The Indian Army has launched a massive offensive along the Line of Control in Handwara and Kupwara after reports that six terrorists having been sighted in the area. The Army has intensified patrolling over the past few days. Helicopter patrolling is on and security personnel are on alert along the border. In fact, a major tragedy was averted on Sunday when the Army detected and destroyed an improvised explosive...
10:57 AM, May 14, 2013
Sringar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday stressed that peace and tranquility hold the key to groom and grow the tourism industry in the state for which over Rs 383 crores have been sanctioned during the last four years by his government. "People from all the three regions of the state are equal stakeholders in the tourism industry. Balanced approach has to be taken to rope in...
05:18 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Suspected Hizbul militant Liaqat Shah on Monday approached a special NIA court in the capital seeking bail in a case of alleged conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in Delhi, claiming that no concrete evidence had been found against him during probe. Forty five-year-old Shah, who was arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police on March 20, moved the bail application during an in-chamber hearing before District...
06:21 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: An Army helicopter, on air maintenance operations, crashed on Monday morning in the icy heights of Siachen glacier but both the pilots survived the accident and were being evacuated for treatment, army sources said. The advanced light helicopter (ALH) 'Dhruv', flown by two pilots of the Army Aviation Squadron, crashed in the northern glacier at around 8:00 am, the sources said. They said of the two pilots, one...
02:22 PM, May 13, 2013
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir state police and army troops in a joint operation unearthed a large cache of arms and ammunition from a location close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan in Poonch district on Saturday evening. A defence spokesman in Jammu said the cache was a "war-like store". "Based on specific intelligence inputs about cache, a joint search operation was launched by the army and Jammu...
05:48 AM, May 13, 2013
Srinagar: With voters in Pakistan defying the Taliban and turning out in high numbers for the general elections, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has urged the people of his state to take cue and ignore poll boycott calls made by separatists. "Good reason for Kashmiris to ignore boycott calls," Omar Abdullah tweeted on Sunday. "Given the bloody election Pakistan has seen I hope they now realise that there...
09:34 PM, May 12, 2013
Islamabad: Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Friday described as unfortunate the death of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay following an assault in India and called for mechanisms between the two countries to address the issue of prisoners. "Both Pakistan and India should ensure timely and effective implementation of established mechanisms between our two countries to address the issue of prisoners, which is a humanitarian one and should be...
02:49 AM, May 11, 2013
Srinagar: A police officer was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Friday. Assistant Sub-Inspector Farooq Ahmad was shot from point-blank range by unidentified pistol-borne terrorists in Pulwama town, 32 km from Srinagar, in the afternoon, a police spokesman said. He said the officer was taken to nearby Pulwama district hospital where he succumbed to injuries. Ahmad, who was posted in Pulwama Police Station, was on...
04:10 PM, May 10, 2013
Bejing: China has not yet given any reason for the recent intrusion in Ladakh, an episode that has cast a shadow on bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday. The three-week stand-off figured prominently in talks between Khurshid and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi with both expressing satisfaction on its resolution while skirting a detailed discussion on why the Chinese troops intruded 19 kms into Indian territory...
12:46 AM, May 10, 2013
