News
KCC&I condemns attack on two Kashmiri dry fruit vendors in Lucknow
Srinagar, March 07 : Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC&I) Thursday condemned the assault on two Kashmiri dry fruit vendors in Lucknow on Wednesday.
A spokesperson of the KCC&I in a statement issued to media said that more condemnable than the attack was the State patronage extended to goons and hooligans in Uttar Pradesh and other States.
âThe registration of the case under weak and feeble provisions of rioting and breach of peace, for which only one person has been booked, seems to have been intentionally done to facilitate the early release of the culprit.
The videos of the incident clearly show it to be a case of attempt to murder and how the Uttar Pradesh police interpreted it to be a case of one man riot is indicative of external influence,â he said.
He said the State of Uttar Pradesh has, by its brazen patronage, shown scant regard for the directions of the Supreme Court of India issued to, among others, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, for taking prompt and necessary action to prevent incidents of threat and assault on Kashmiris.
Nasir Hamid Khan, Senior Vice President, KCC&I urged the Governor Satya Pal Malik to use his good offices for ensuring that cases are registered for attempt to murder and other stringent provisions of criminal law against the goons and the organisations they belong to. âThere was enough evidence for invocation of these provisions and it would also act as a deterrent to others thinking of targeting innocent people in the future,â he said.
He said KCC&I was hopeful that the Supreme Court would take note of the complicity of various Statesâ who were registering cases under weak provisions of law. âThis conduct has resulted in goons and hooligans being embolden to post videos of their murderous assaults on social media,â he said.
In the interest of providing justice to the growing number of victims of assault and intimidation, the KCC&I would also be consulting the J&K High Court Bar Association, Srinagar regarding demand for setting up of a Special Trial Court, registration of criminal proceedings in Srinagar or other legal remedies available as a free and fair trial outside Kashmir seemed impossible in the prevalent hostile condition.
Srinagar, Mar 23: Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Pulwama Qazi Masood probing the âcustodial killingâ of a school principal Saturday met the victimâs family in Awantipora area of Pulwama district.
Rizwan Asad Pandit, the Principal of Sabir Abdullah Public School Tral, was picked up by the police from his home late on March 17 during a raid and was killed in police custody at the Cargo Building two days later, according to his family.
Although the police had initially admitted that Rizwan had âdiedâ in custody and that the matter was being probed under âprocedure laid down in Section 176 of CRPC,â it later filed an FIR against him for âescape or attempts to escape from custodyâ, lending a new twist to the case.
The magisterial inquiry that was ordered in Srinagar was also closed and a fresh probe ordered in Pulwama district and a report sought in âfour weeks.â
“Government has appointed me as an inquiry officer, I assured the family that I will conduct the fair investigation into the case,” the inquiry officer Qazi Masood told GNS after meeting Rizwanâs family members and local residents.
Masood said he has sought a report from SP Awantipora on why and how Rizwan was detained and the circumstances that led to his death.
“I have also sought a postmortem report from the SP,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, reports said that soon after the inquiry officer arrived in the area and met the family members, locals held a protest demonstration demanding stern action against the guilty.
Srinagar, Mar 23: Kashmir business community, civil society, and High Court Bar Association on Saturday asked Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Paul Malik to set-up an independent Special Commission of inquiry in the custodial killing of Awantipora school teacher Rizwan Asad Pandit.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, they said that there have been countless instances of inquiries being ordered in killings without any results.
âTo deter future violations, we appeal to the Governor for setting up of a time-bound Independent Special Commission of Inquiry,â they said.
The members said that till the time the commission submits its report, it would serve justice if the case is treated to be one of custodial killing and all persons associated with it are put behind bars and kept away from active duty.
âSuch inquiries, suffering from institutional bias and state interference, have rarely served the interests of justice,â they said.
âWe have a reason to believe that this killing would also suffer the same fate and the killers would again roam free to kill, more confident in the fact that their crimes will never be brought to account,â they said.
They said that the repeated perpetration of serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law needs in-depth fact-finding and investigation.
On Tuesday, Rizwan Asad Pandit, a 29-year-old school teacher, died inside the Jammu and Kashmirâs CARGO camp in Srinagar.
He was picked up for questioning from his home in Awantipora on Sunday.
The family had said that his body bore evidence of being subjected to extreme physical violence.
The press conference was jointly held by KCC&I, High Court Bar Association, KTMF, KEA, KTMF (R), FCIK(A), FCIK(M), JKSECC, KCSDS, KHARA, CCIK, All Transport Welfare Association, Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Dealers Association, Houseboat Owners Association, KHAROF, Pvt School Association, Kashmir Bakers Association, All Kashmir Chemist & Distributors Association, Hoteliers Club, All Traders & Transporters Coordination Committee, All J&K Taxi Owners Association, Association Of Kashmir Tour, Environmental Protection Group, Shehr E Khaas Coordination, Beopar Mandal S R Gunj, Rehabilitation Alliance, and Batamaloo Traders Association.
Srinagar, Mar 22: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday imposed Rs 14.4 lakh penalty, on Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani for âillegallyâ possessing foreign exchange of around $10,000, news agency PTI reported.
After completion of the probe and adjudication proceeding, the ED an order on Wednesday under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), levying the penalty and confiscating forex of $10,000 that was allegedly recovered from Geelani, they said.
The ED will also impose a penalty on Yasin Malik, Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and confiscate foreign exchange recovered from him. The adjudication proceedings against Malik are in progress.
On Wednesday, a Delhi court also allowed ED to quiz Geelaniâs son-in-law Altaf Shah and others in connection with an alleged funding case.
