Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 11: With different Congress units demanding a high level probe into Kishtwar incidents, the wedge between the coalition partners seems to widen further.
The State unit has not only demanded a probe but also sacking of MoS Home, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo. According to the unit, Kichloo was present in the town but failed to restore order.
Kichloo, Congress men believe should have immediately directed the district administration to impose curfew. "he should have called in the army immediately", they said.
However, reports suggest that Omar was not in favour of sacking Kichloo. He believes the administration was taken by surprise by the sudden developments.
The BJP, Congress and Panthers Party accuse the administration of failure to forsee the plans of the mischief mongers and separatists. They said the Government should have taken note of the posters having appeared a day before the Eid celebrations in which unidentified subversive elements had pledged to avenge the execution of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru.
Congress MLC Naresh Gupta has accused the National Conference Minister of masterminding the attack on the minority population, as reported by the locals. Gupta, who hails from Bhaderwah, in a statement said, "All this happened in the presence of Kitchloo in Kishtwar and thus it becomes imperative to probe his role thoroughly. He also demanded a judicial probe by a high court judge.
Chairman of Panthers Party, Harsh Dev Singh, has asked the Government to come out of its slumber and take serious note of latest utterances of JuD chief, Hafiz Saeed, who has announced that the terrorists would cripple Kashmir and wage anti-India Jihad and deploy additional companies of paramilitary forces in all the sensitive areas of the state. He has also suggested to the Government to keep in touch with the Army authorities so that in case of any eventuality troops were able to move in very fast to tackle the situation.
The State BJP also demanded Kitchloo's sacking and extending its bandh call by another 48 hours. In a late night development, the district administration decided to impose curfew in Jammu following fresh tension in the old city. The party has sought suspension of DIG (Doda range) and the Kishtwar SP, besides registration of an FIR under Section 302 against rioters.
The Bar Association in Jammu (BAJ) has also sought an investigation alleging Kitchloo runs a gun shop in Kishtwar and it is alleged that his shop was either allowed to be looted or was thrown open for rioters before the situation took an ugly turn after Eid prayers.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Sunny Sangral too has demanded resignation of Minister of state for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo, for his failure to stop violence against the minority community in Kishtwar. Sangral has also criticized the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for not allowing the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti to visit Kishtwar.
In a meeting held party workers meeting at Samba at Samba, Sangral expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in the state and alleged that it is unfortunate that mobs were almost given free run by the administration, which led to death of Arvind Bhagat s/o Desh Raj Bhagat, who was shot dead by mob.
"We demand resignation of Kichloo as there are allegations against him that Minister did nothing for hours, which allowed rampaging mobs to target the shops and houses of minority community. There should be inquiry in the role and failure of Home minster to deal with the situation, in communally sensitive area", said Sangral, alleging, "it is unfortunate that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has failed to stop the communal elements and anti-national people.
Meanwhile he urged people to maintain peace and communal harmony at all costs and not allow the anti-national elements to derail the age old harmony between the communities. |
