GUNMEN KILL ONE IN PULWAMA
SRINAGAR: Unidentified gunmen allegedly killed a civilian in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday. Officials said Showkat Ahmad Naik was shot at near his house in Pinglina village and died on the spot. Following reports that Naik was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, an Army official clarified that Naik deserted the unit before taking oath as a soldier. “He went to JAKLI Regimental Center on March 21 last year. On September 14, he went on three-day leave and never returned ,” Army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.
Naik was a civilian, Kalia added.
India monitoring China in Indian Ocean: Lanba
LONDON: India has been keeping “a very close eye” on China’s presence in the Indian Ocean, whose growth in recent years includes six submarines ostensibly for anti-piracy patrols, Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of naval staff, said here on Tuesday. Addressing policy-makers, researchers and officers from the British and Indian forces at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Lanba said China’s presence in the Indian Ocean is unlikely to go away.
Fire breaks out at Bengal hospital, one dead
BERHAMPORE: A 46-year-old woman died and over 22 others were injured while trying to escape a minor that broke out at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) on Wednesday. “The injured were admitted to the hospital,” said Mosharaf Hossain, president of the district council. The incident occurred around 10.45 am when some patients notices flames from a ceiling fan on the fifth floor. While the electricity was cut off and the fire doused, visitors at the hospital were injured while trying to escape.
Hurriyat dismisses charges against the Mirwaiz
SRINAGAR: Moderate Hurriyat Conference on Wednesday dismissed the “terror funding” charges against chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, saying that the forum does not believe in violence of any form and has always favored talks. “Let there be no mistake that APHC is democratic and does not believe in violence in any form let alone so called ‘terror-funding’. Our Chairman himself is a victim of violence,” said former chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat while addressing an emergency meeting.