IAF blamed for security breach at Srinagar airport

Saleem Pandit.

The J&K police on Monday blamed the Indian Air Force personnel for the breach of security that led to two youths driving up to the tarmac of the highly protected airport here. The duo had taken their vehicle to the runway in the technical area, declared out of bounds even for VVIPs except for the President and the Prime Minister.

The youths- Parvaiz Ahmad Dar and Mudasir Ahmad Mir of Handwara in Kupwara district- entered the heavily guarded airport on May 9 around 3pm through Rangreth gate, manned by IAF personnel, SP (Budgam), Uttam Chand, said. “However, we let off them off a day later after being convinced that they had no intention to cause any harm,” he said.

While IAF officials refused to comment on the security lapse, the defence spokesperson of Northern Command said the army had asked for a report from those who were on security duty at the technical area at that time.

The vehicle was spotted near the runway by men from the anti-hijacking squad of J&K police soon after a flight from Delhi landed, SP (anti-hijacking squad), Abdul Rashid, said. “During questioning, the duo said they had entered through the military gate not knowing the entrance to the passenger terminal. We had handed them over along with their guests- Khalid Farooq Bhat and Mohammad Shafi Bhat- to police,” he said.

“We let them off the next day after finding them innocent and that they had entered the restricted area out of ignorance,” the Budgam SP said.

But intelligence officials didn’t rule out the youths having feigned ignorance and questioned their release without a thorough probe. They said Parvaiz and Mudasir are doing an aviation course in New Delhi and it seemed unlikely that the two would not have known the entry to civil terminal through the Humhama area. Their driving up to the tarmac raised eyebrows.

IAF officials confirmed that the duo had deposited their identity cards and driving licence at the gate while entering the airport.

via The Times of India.

Army chopper crashes in Siachen

File Photo

An army chopper crashed on Monday morning in the Siachen glacier, with both the pilots sustaining minor injuries before being evacuated to Chandigarh for treatment.

The indigenously-built advanced light helicopter (ALH), Dhruv, crashed in the northern glacier at a height of around 20,000 feet around 8am, Srinagar-based defence public relations officer Naresh Vig said.

The crash was apparently due to whiteout conditions, in which snow and clouds change the way in which light is reflected and only dark objects are visible. The army has ordered an inquiry.

Army sources said one of the two pilots had fallen into a crevice in the glacier and was rescued. The other pilot suffered minor cuts.

The chopper had been pressed into service to drop food and other provisioned items for troops, sources said.

The army started deploying Dhruv choppers for its Siachen operations recently and is planning to use more of them.

via Hindustan Times.

Armyman held for sexual harassment

An Army man has been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a woman in her early twenties at Sector 43 on Monday morning. According to the police, the victim, from Nawashahar, Punjab, filed a police complaint saying that she was sexually harassed by the accused while waiting for the bus at ISBT, Sector 43.

“The accused has been identified as Subash Chander, a hawaldar. He is a resident of Ludhiana and is accused of passing vulgar remarks at the victim. Initially, she ignored him and started walking towards the entry gate. But the man allegedly followed her and stopped her, passing filthy remarks,” said a police official. Police said the accused was posted at the Dehradun Army headquarters.

via The Times of India.

Youths join Army on false claims

Camp Police on Thursday arrested 22 youths, aged between 21 and 24, for having adopted fraudulent means to join the Army.

The youth, it is alleged, provided false documents claiming to be relatives, kith and kin of Army personnel – serving and retired – and joined the Army during a recruitment rally conducted in 2009 by the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Belgaum.

The camp was held to recruit under the relatives, children, kith and kin of serving, retired army personnel, war widows and others quota.

The fraud was discovered during an inquiry by the Army regarding the credentials of the 22 active servicemen and their certificates.

Adjutant for Commandant Major Mayank Sharma had filed a complaint with the Camp Police here on Thursday. Those arrested are: Tanaji Namu Turai (23), resident of Asangi village from Sangli; Santosh Vithal Chougule (24), resident of Chigule in Belgaum; Ramchandra Dinkar Patil (23), of Mahe in Kolhapur; Abhijit Anand Patil (22), of Tikpurli Kolhapur; Sahadev Anand Patil (23), of Hosur in Kolhapur; Sagar Vishnu Kurankar (23), of Kadgaon in Kolhapur; Anil Kiran Hukkeri (23), of Jainwadi in Belgaum; Babanna Gangappa Mached (24), resident of Markatti in Belgaum; Vikas Pundlik Chavan (22), of Jyoti Nagar in Belgaum; Amul Krishnarth Kadam (23), of Karvir in Kolhapur; Ranjeet Hari Patil (23), of Navali in Kolhapur; Vilas Dharmaraj Shinde (23), of Siddewadi in Sangli; Ganesh Annaso Kadam (23), of Talandge in Kolhapur; Shrawankumar Anandrao Ghodse (21), of Gangapur in Kolhapur; Raghunath Arun Desai (23), of Kagane in Kolhapur; Vinod Ashok Patil (24), of Navale in Kolhapur; Shivaji Shankar Patil (23), of Tisangi in Sangli; Jilani Rajesab Soudagar (24), of Kaladgi in Bagalkot; Santosh Ramchandra Durgude (21), of Jakkewadi in Gadhinglaj from Kolhapur; Raju Suresh Anaskar (21), of Bailhongal in Belgaum; Yogesh Balaso Danwade (21), of Kaneri in Kolhapur, and Manohar Jagannath Mali (24), of Pohore in Jalgaon.

via Deccan Herald.

Two army jawans get 10-yr jail for gang-rape

The court of additional sessions judge VK Shewale on Monday convicted two army jawans for gang-raping a 19-year-old girl on a military plot in Pimple Saudagar in April 2010. The jawans were sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs40,000.

The court relied on the DNA evidence that nailed the accused. This case is also notable for the compensation of Rs35,000 granted to the victim, in accordance with the norms. Legal experts had decried that rape victims in the state were not being compensated as they should be, as reported by dna in ‘Maha failure to compensate crime victims’ (April 27).

The convicts are Samundersingh Mahipalsingh Singh (30), who hails from Rajasthan and Rajnishkumar Sureshchandra Kumar (25), from Uttar Pradesh, both residing in Aundh Camp.

They were deployed with 330 Brigade in Aundh Military and both belonged to 17 Rajputana Rifles.

Both the convicts were sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs15,000 was imposed on each of them for the gang-rape, and five years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs5,000 each for criminal intimidation. Of the total fine amount of Rs40,000, a sum of Rs 35,000 will be paid to the victim as compensation.

As per the prosecution case, the incident took place on April 7, 2010 between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm at an open army plot near Pimple Saudagar. The victim, then aged 19 years and her boyfriend (24) were chatting on the bridge near Swaraj Garden hotel as his bike had run out of petrol.

The two army jawans accosted them, claiming they were ‘trespassing in army area’. Singh was wearing a vest and shorts, while his colleague was in a military uniform.

The jawans took them to the open plot and assaulted the victim’s boyfriend with a stick and kicked him till he fell unconscious.

They gagged the victim with her dupatta. Threatening her with a knife, they raped her in turns in a ditch on the plot. One of the convicts used a condom. After committing the crime, they took the mobile handsets of the victim and her boyfriend and dialled their own numbers to get the phone numbers.

Some time after the jawans left the place, her boyfriend regained consciousness. They pulled the bike till a petrol pump in Pimple Saudagar. He dropped her home at 11 pm. One of the accused rang up the victim the same night and asked her to come to the spot at the same time the next night with four female friends. He also told her to bring two photographs so that he could help her open a bank account and transfer Rs40,000 to it. He threatened to shoot her if she complained to the police. The next day the accused contacted her boyfriend too. However, the victim and her boyfriend lodged a complaint with the police.

The defence lawyers argued that the girl had lodged a false case as she and her boyfriend had been caught having sex. Her boyfriend behaved in a disorderly manner and so the army jawans thrashed him a ‘little bit’ while discharging their duty.

The judge observed, “The DNA report nailed Singh as it established his involvement and the court relied on the victim’s testimony about involvement of Rajnishkumar. Before committing the gang-rape, the army jawans had created terror by assaulting the victim’s boyfriend. They gagged her with a dupatta when she tried to raise an alarm and raped her at knifepoint.”

Additional public prosecutor Laxman Maindad examined nine witnesses to prove the guilt of the accused. Police inspector B S Sonawane, assistant police inspector Digambar Jadhav and constable Sanjay Pawar investigated the case.

The victim, at the age of five, lost her father and stayed with her mother and sister who were working in a mess. The victim worked in a hotel in Chinchwad.

via DNA.

Army Intelligence contact cries foul against discrimination

Anil Dogra.

Vasdev Sharma has been running from pillar to post to seek justice for self and his family for the last over 39 years sine he was released from a Pakistan jail after languishing for more than 8 years in different jails in that country for spying activities. Lambasting at the Central and State government as well, Sharma alleged that both the governments had been discriminating with the persons caught in Pakistan for spying for the country.

He said that like him many Indians had spent a horrible life in Pakistan jails but were not provided with any financial help. He said that the governments both at the centre and the state should look in to the grievances and problems of the persons who had been working for the unity and integrity of the country and spend a major part of their life in Pakistan jails in the hope that they would be rewarded after they returned to their country but all in vain..

About 69 years old Sharma while narrating his agony and the years he passed in Pakistan jails today said that he was recruited as a contact for collecting secret information valuable for our country by the Military Intelligence Wing of the 11 Army Corps at Jalandhar cantonment and was sent to Pakistan during 1965 Indo-Pak war. He crossed over to Fassowali in Pakistan from the last Indian post of Rattra Sattra in Dera Baba Nanak sector of Gurdaspur district. He remained in Pakistan territory for over a year till he was caught by Pakistan rangers on July 28, 1966 while crossing over to India by jumping in to Basantar River.

During his stay in Pakistan he gathered valuable and most significant information which proved vital for India strategically. He was tried for spying in a Sialkot court and was awarded a sentence for 30 months under Defence Act of Pakistan and 10 years jail under 3 Official Secret Act of Pakistan. He was first lodged in Mianwali jail from where he was made a rolling stone to move from one jail to another jail. He said that he was kept in Mianwali, Multan, Lahore, Gujranwala and Montgomery jails before he was released by the Pakistan authorities in May 1974 after Simla Pact was reached between India and Pakistan.

He said that after his release with 125 other Indian prisoners including seven spies released from Pakistan reached the Wagha-Attari border, they all were taken to Amritsar jail for investigation and medical examination.

Since his release from Pakistan he had been running from pillar to post to seek financial help from the centre and the state as well. He had narrated his story full of agony to many Central and Punjab ministers but no one had come to his help. He had received a meager sum of Rs. 5000/- only from the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpai for his treatment about twelve years back.

He said that if the family of Sarabjit Singh could be facilitated with huge amounts by both the state and central government then why not others can be accorded financial help to lead a honourable life in the society.

via Punjab News Line

Army officer graft case: CBI may conduct more raids

A day after the CBI conducted raids on the premises of a senior Army officer of Northern Command in Udhampur, Pathankot, Delhi and Gurgaon, the premier investigation agency today said a similar exercise may be conducted again to get to the bottom of a graft case involving supply of rations.

The CBI had yesterday raided the premises of Maj Gen VK Sharma confiscating some documents.

“The Army officer has been questioned but we have not arrested him so far. He had allegedly been taking bribes from contractors supplying rations to Army formations in Northern Command,” said SP (CBI), Jammu, Amandeep Singh. “We have seized some documents from the raids and if required more raids may be conducted again,” he added.

The officer had allegedly amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The Army had approached the CBI to probe the allegations against Major General Sharma. “An Army contractor had levelled serious allegations against the officer and consequently we had instituted a court of inquiry,” an Army source said.

UNDER SCANNER

• The CBI had raided the premises of a senior Army officer at four places over charges of corruption on Friday
• The officer is already facing a Court of Inquiry
• A supplier had accused the officer of financial impropriety in a contract case

via The Tribune, Chandigarh