HC calls J&K home secy over poor internet speed

SRINAGAR: Having “struggled” to conduct online hearings due to curbs on internet speed in Jammu and Kashmir, High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal has summoned home secretary Shaleen Kabra to appear before a bench on Thursday via video conferencing and apprise it about the impact of the restrictions on e-connectivity of courts.

Passing an order on a ‘Court on its Own Motion’ on Monday, a division bench of Chief Justice Mittal and Justice Sanjay Dhar expressed concern over urgent issues involving the rights of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Giving a background in its three-page order, the division bench said that virtual hearing has been necessitated because of the strict lockdown being enforced, following a sharp spike in coronavirus cases.

“However, we find today that despite best efforts on the part of our IT experts, it has been impossible today to have even a bare semblance of a hearing. We have struggled to have virtual/or audio connectivity with the amicus curiae (Monika Kohli) and the several counsels appearing before us. Even the learned advocate general has expressed grave difficulty in joining the hearing,” the order said.

JALANDHAR : Police busted a gang of international arms smugglers and highway robbers, with the arrest of two gangsters, Gurpreet Singh alias Gora, and Germanjeet Singh. Gora had been declared a proclaimed offender (PO) and the gang was involved in smuggling of weapons from across the border into India.

They were arrested from Bhogpur and police recovered a bullet proof jacket, a .455 bore pistol, two Glock 09 mm pistols with four cartridges, one pump action 12 bore rifle, one .32 bore revolver, one .30 bore pistol and live cartridges, DGP Dinkar Gupta said. The Verna car they were on was also seized.

Gora already faces criminal charges in 14 cases and is a PO in 13 of these cases.

Gupta added Gurpreet’s additional disclosure before police led to the additional recovery of 12 bore pump action rifle with five cartridges, two 9mm Glock Pistols (Austria) with two live rounds (etched with Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings), one revolver .455 bore with five live rounds, 19 rounds of .32 bore revolver and eight rounds of .32 bore special revolver.