Graft case: Court rejects discharge plea of HP industry dept joint secy

CHANDIGARH: A special court on Monday dismissed the discharge application of Himachal Pradesh industries department joint secretary Tilak Raj Sharma.

The Himachal government had denied the permission to try Sharma for receiving bribe of ₹5 lakh, following which he filed the discharge application. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 1.

However, the CBI’S application for further investigation in the case was allowed by the special court. “We will further probe the case to try and bring more facts to the fore,” CBI pleaded. The investigation bureau also said “in case any officer was suspended, transferred or terminated, then no prosecution sanction was required to prosecute him/her”.

In his discharge application, Sharma had said neither did he have the power to allow any subsidy nor was he a member of any such committee, as accused. “Also, the bribe amount was not recovered from me, but the other accused,” he had added.

Sharma and his accomplice Ashok Rana were arrested by CBI on the complaint of Panchkula resident Chandrashekhar in May last year. He had told the CBI that he was a consultant with Medicaf Pharma company and his clients had filed for a ₹50-lakh subsidy in the industries department office at HP’S Baddi. The accused had allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹10 lakh and the first instalment of ₹5 lakh was to be given at a hair salon in Chandigarh’s Sector 8.

The CBI had then laid a trap and arrested the accused in May 2017. SRINAGAR: Three militants, including one who allegedly killed a policeman in Srinagar last month, were shot dead in an encounter with security forces early on Monday, police said.

Two of the slain militants have been identified as Eisa Fazili of Srinagar and Syed Owais Shafi of south Kashmir’s Kokernag, while the identity of the third is being ascertained, a police statement said.

Apprehensions over law and order prompted a spontaneous shutdown in many parts of Srinagar, including the commercial hub of Lal Chowk.

Based on information regarding the presence of militants, security forces started a search in Hakoora area of Anantnag district. A gun-battle ensued when the militants fired on the search team, officials said.

Police said AK 47 rifles, pistols and hand grenades have been recovered from the encounter site.

A senior police officer said Fazili, who hails from the Soura locality of Srinagar city, was involved in the killing of police constable Farooq Ahmed Yatoo when he was on duty as a guard outside the residence of separatist leader Fazal Haq Qureshi, who had survived an attempt on his life in 2009.

Terror outfit Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the killing of constable Yatoo on their official channel.

Police sources say Fazili’s relation with the IS is a matter of investigation, and hinted at his ideological inclination towards the outfit.

Media reports said Fazili was studying engineering at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah (BGSB) University in Rajouri in Jammu region before joining the militant ranks last year.

A large crowd of mourners turned up for Fazili’s funeral where his body was wrapped in a black-and-white flag -- commonly used by the terror outfit Islamic State (IS)

IS claiming responsibility for Yatoo’s killing was the second such incident in the last four months.

In November last year, IS had claimed its role in an attack in Zakura on the outskirts of Srinagar in which a policeman and a militant were killed.

Meanwhile, clashes between groups of youths and security forces broke out in several areas of Srinagar, a police official said.

He said stone-pelting had been reported from Soura, Anchar, Old Barzulla, Lal Chowk and other areas of the city.

“Your police seeks the cooperation of citizens for maintaining order and ensuring peace. Today you will find restrictions in some parts of city # Srinagar. While it is a cause of inconvenience, we assure these control orders are temporary. For any assistance please dial 100,” the Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted.

MALIK TAKEN INTO PREVENTIVE CUSTODY

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody from his residence here on Monday after three militants were killed in an encounter by the security forces in Anantnag district.

Early this morning, police cordoned off Malik’s residence and arrested him, a JKLF spokesperson said.