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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

More promotion avenues to IFS Officers in Tamil Nadu

Many posts of Indian Forest Service (IFS) belonging to the Tamil Nadu cadre in a recent review have gone up. Posts of Additional PCCF has increased from four to 10.Similarly posts of CCF will be now 23. However, number posts of CFs, which was earlier 20, has been slashed to 16.

Promotion IPS to IG Police ( GP 10000)

1989 batch IPS officers belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre are soon going to be elevated as IGs. There are 10 vacancies of IGs in UP.

IIS career boost after Raghu Menon joins as new I&B Secretary

The career prospects of Indian Information Service (IIS) officers are expected to get a boost after Raghu Menon has Joined as the new Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. To begin with Menon has decided to lift the ban on forwarding the names of IIS officers for central deputation besides asking his department for speeding up SAG level promotions upto 1991 batch. One can only wish him good luck given the fact that he is an old I&B hand ,having served as JS in the Ministry earlier.

No doubt about India’s nuclear deterrent: former Navy Chief

NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over the yield from the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, former Chief of Naval Staff Arun Prakash emphasised there was no room to doubt the credibility of India’s nuclear deterrent even as he advocated institutional checks and balances to take major decisions in this sphere.
“In the midst of the current brouhaha, we need to retain clarity on one issue; given the deuterium-tritium boosted-fission weapons can generate yields of 200-500kts, the credibility of India’s nuclear deterrent is not in the slightest doubt,” Adm.(Retd) Prakash said in his article on the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) website.
While observing that the “unseemly squabbling” among the nation’s senior most scientists would certainly upset and confuse the Indian armed forces, he said “this strong, silent bulwark of India’s security has, so far, accepted the claims and statements of the DRDO (and DAE) scientist at face value and borne the operational consequences of many failed scientific projects with admirable stoicism. Will they continue to do so?”
He said the organisational gap with the detachment of the Service Headquarters (SHQ) from most aspects of nuclear deterrence is well known.
The Army’s missile brigade, the Navy’s Prithvi-armed vessels, and the dual-tasked Indian Air Force units seem to form the only interface between the SHQ on one side, and the SFC as well as the DRDO/DAE, on the other.
Traditionally, Adm. Prakash said, there has been neither interest nor in-depth knowledge of the doctrine or philosophy of nuclear deterrence in the armed forces and this exists all the way up to the top.
This was so because it is only when the Service Chief becomes the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee that he finds himself in the nuclear chain of command.


Indian Air Force denies "espionage" incident

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) The Indian Air Force Monday said none of its senior officers was made to part with sensitive information by a foreign embassy official posing as a Defence Ministry joint secretary.

"The IAF strongly denies the media report written on the basis of hearsay. The report is full of untruth. At that senior level, no sensitive information is discussed over phone," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander T K Singha said here.

However, he said, the report of a circular on information security from the Defence Ministry's chief security officer routinely alerted officials, both in the Ministry and the Services headquarters, and warned them about the risks of discussing security matters over phone.

No go-ahead from Ministry, so Navy opts out of US exercise

Leaving the US flummoxed, the Indian Navy pulled out of an amphibious exercise with American forces in Japan last week after it failed to get clearance from the Defence Ministry. 

The amphibious assault exercise was scheduled to start in Okinawa last Friday and the Navy chose 12 senior officers for the war games. Officers were pulled out from various commands and called to Delhi for final documentation. But the Navy’s participation was called off days before their departure because permission did not come through from the Defence Ministry. 

“The officers had been taken off duties, called to Delhi. Even the preparatory embarkment had been done but the permission did not come till the last moment,” a source said, adding that officers spent close to 10 days in Delhi, waiting for clearance. 

While no explanation was given by the Defence Ministry for holding back the clearance, this is not the first time that Indo-US defence interactions have been called off by the Ministry this year.

China ahead in warship sprint

China will soon deploy its first aircraft carrier and it will be more advanced than anything India has or plans to get. Varyag – an Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier — is more advanced than the INS Viraat —vanguard of the Indian navy — and the still to be procured Admiral Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya).

Sources from the Indian navy say that the Chinese plan to operationalise the Varyag - purchased as junk from Ukraine for 20 million US dollars in 1998.
In 2005, the dead ship was docked at the Chinese naval base in Dalian. Since then it has been undergoing sophisticated upgrades, reveal sources in the Indian navy.
Hindustan Times has access to photographs of the warship undergoing repairs at a dock in north- eastern China.
A senior officer from the Indian navy, who has been monitoring China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean, said that it will not be surprising to see the Chinese navy induct Varyag much before India procures and commissions Admiral Gorshkov.
He added that the induction of Varyag was certain as the Chinese had built a ski-jump (part of the aircraft carrier used for take off and landing of aircrafts) facility similar to that on the Varyag at it’s Yuanling airfield –— China’s main aviation test facility. The ski-jump is being used as a testing facility for modified Sukhoi-27 aircrafts, which the Varyag may carry.
“If Varyag was not to be inducted, the question of flight testing at a similar facility does not arise,” the officer observed.
According to sources, the Chinese have plans to get more aircraft carriers by 2020. Commander-in-chief of the Chinese navy, Wu Shengli’s aim to aggressively pursue indigenously built aircraft carriers has been a cause of worry for India.
Of the two other aircraft carriers being built by China, one is expected be inducted by 2015, added sources.


Navy blocks IMD plan for Chinese radar

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been forced to look for indigenous alternatives after the navy, citing security, refused to allow the installation of a China-made radar on its land in Mumbai.

Commissioning the advanced-technology radar would have meant allowing Chinese personnel on the premises owned and operated by the Indian Navy. 

Because of the delay in installing the radar, which was to be set up at the Naval Colony in Colaba and primarily used to warn of cloudbursts of the kind that deluged Mumbai in 2005, IMD is in talks with government-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) to install its locally manufactured radars. IMD had rejected the BEL radars last year, saying they were at an experimental stage and not ready for operational forecasts.

IMD bought 12 Doppler weather radars on 30 May from Beijing Metstar Radar Co. Ltd, a 49:51 venture of China National Huayun Technology Development Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of China Meteorological Administration and US-based Lockheed Martin Corp. IMD is also buying 550 automatic weather stations and 1,350 automatic rain gauge stations as part of a Rs900 crore modernization plan to move into numerical weather prediction, globally used to give precise weather forecasts, as opposed to statistical techniques still being used in India for monsoon forecasts. 

A navy spokesperson said the weather radar clearance was still being discussed, but didn’t indicate when a decision was likely. “There are government orders on such kind of installations and when certain companies are involved. It is an important security issue.” Previously too, defence and intelligences agencies have raised objections to the presence of Chinese companies. According to The Indian Express report on 19 May 2003, the Chinese antecedents of Hutchison Port Holdings disqualified the firm from participating in key construction work at a terminal at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. Mumbai, being a port and a hub of international maritime traffic, is considered especially sensitive by the navy.

IMD chief Ajit Tyagi and ministry of earth sciences (MoES) secretary Shailesh Naik confirmed that the navy hadn’t cleared the radar’s installation and that talks were on with BEL to use their radar instead of the Chinese one. “Security concerns is one of the factors that has led to this delay. We are in talks with BEL to see if we can use their radars,” Tyagi said.

Mint reported on 18 June last year that Beijing Metstar outbid BEL, which develops weather radars based on proprietary technology of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), and Germany’s Selex Gematronik GmbH, for IMD contract to install the radars in 12 cities and key ports at Mumbai, Delhi, Agartala, Mohanbari, Paradip, Bhopal, Nagpur, Patna, Lucknow, Karaikal, Patiala and Goa. The radars, to be supplied, installed and commissioned by Metstar cost about $17.8 million (around Rs85 crore now).

The Isro radars, say experts, didn’t make the cut as there was a lot of room for improvement in their software. The plan, according to IMD, was to consider Isro radars for the second stage of modernization that would include installing 33 radars in other parts of the country.

“The Isro radars are very good,” said P.S. Goel, former secretary, MoES, who was involved with the tendering process before he retired in 2008. “But the software wasn’t good enough for forecast purposes. So, we told them, then, that the radars would be tested for two years and then considered for evaluation in the second round of acquisition.” 

Tyagi said the Isro radars had “improved” and therefore were worthy of being used at Mumbai. He didn’t give a time frame for installing the instrument. 

“If it’s a matter of security, the navy’s concerns are nonsense,” said Goel. “There’s no way these radars can be used as bugs or any purpose other than forecasting.”


Doppler weather radars have an edge over other radar systems. The radars the government uses provide information only on the range of a storm whereas a Doppler instrument provides data to accurately estimate an approaching storm’s centre and intensity, fixing its position and predicting its path.

“Now it’s DWRs everywhere. Nobody really uses ordinary weather radars,” Tyagi said.

Secret Pleasures Revealed


September 28, 2009: India believes that the Pakistani government has still not gained complete control over Islamic radical elements in its intelligence (ISI) and security forces. As evidence, India points to ten new terrorist camps that have been allowed in Pakistan in the last year, bringing the total to 62. Most of the new ones are near the Indian border. Hatred of, and violence towards India remains popular in Pakistan, despite the more immediate threat from Islamic radical groups like the Taliban and al Qaeda. Many Pakistani government officials still support the use of terrorism against India, especially in Kashmir. Thus while the senior-most Pakistani officials talk peace, many junior officials make war on India. The Pakistanis have removed some of these Islamic radical officials, but hundreds remain, and are considered too much trouble to deal with. Meanwhile, Islamic radicals in the Pakistani army appear to have made a come-back, at least when it comes to violence against India. In the  last year, there has been an increase in incidents where Pakistani troops on the border, fire into India, to provide cover for Islamic terrorists trying to cross the border. The Indian army is incensed at the inability of the Pakistani government to deal with this kind of indiscipline and blatant cooperation with Islamic radical groups. In Indian Kashmir, there are several clashes, with Islamic terrorists, each week, as a result of the increased border crossing attempts.
U.S. investigators believe that a major source of financing for the Pakistani Taliban is pro-terrorist Arabs in the Persian Gulf. While there are some wealthy individuals sending money to the Taliban, there are many more who contribute to Islamic charities, that pass the money on to the terrorist groups. Violence against non-Moslems is still a popular theme in the Islamic world, something the governments of these nations strive to downplay. But taking a look at the local media (especially the stuff published in the local languages) makes this hatred clear. The English language web sites of Pakistani and Arab media are much less hostile to the infidels (non-Moslems). This split personality has long been ignored in the West, but it's one of the major sources of terrorist support.
The U.S. is also angry at Pakistan, believing that Pakistani police and intelligence officials have been moving Taliban leaders to Karachi (the largest city in Pakistan, where many Pushtun tribesmen live). There, the police are told to stay away from Pushtun neighborhoods where the terrorist leaders are living. Taliban leaders are also being moved into Baluchistan (southwest Pakistan), an area where, by mutual agreement, U.S. UAVs have not often attacked terrorists. The U.S. says it will start hunting terrorists in Baluchistan more aggressively, because Pakistani officials are helping Taliban flee to that area.
The Pakistani government has put rewards, of up to $60,000, on the heads of the five top Taliban leaders in the Swat Valley. Most of the civilians, who had fled, have returned to Swat. But there are still hundreds of armed Taliban in the valley, all trying to hide and prepare for a comeback. In support of this, the Taliban has increased their assassination attempts against anti-Taliban tribal leaders. This has caused the kind of split, among pro-terrorist tribes, that caused the collapse of Islamic terrorist power in Iraq. The same thing is happening in Pakistan, at least in the tribal territories.
The Pakistani army is still skirmishing with Taliban gunmen in Swat and Waziristan. The tribes want the roads unblocked before Winter sets in, and are willing to fight against the Taliban, if that's what it takes. This violence has killed about a hundred so far this month, less than a third the death toll across the border in Afghanistan (where Western troops have been more aggressive than the Pakistanis).
India is getting more concerned with China, especially since its diplomats there noticed that the government controlled mass media has replaced the United States with India, as the designated "main enemy" of China.
The Indian government has massed over 20,000 police and soldiers for a major offensive against Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states. The government has had a more difficult time getting the army to release more of its Special Forces battalions for the anti-Maoist effort. The army insists that these units are essential for anti-terrorist operations, not chasing communist rebels through the jungles of eastern India.  The government has been criticized, for years, of mismanaging anti-Maoist efforts. Police and troops have not been allocated properly, and efforts to deal with the social and economic problems have been half-hearted and ineffective. All this has allowed the Maoists to survive, and often thrive, in the rural areas.
In southeastern Bangladesh, police arrested five Islamic terrorists, and seized bomb making materials.
September 26, 2009: Two suicide car bombers attacked in Pakistan's tribal territories (Peshawar), killing about two dozen and wounding over 200. One target was a police station, as the Taliban attempt to shake government control of Peshawar, the largest city in the territories. Such efforts have not been successful, and have turned more people against the pro-Taliban tribesmen. This anti-Taliban attitude helped clear the Taliban out of the Swat Valley, and has turned most of the Mehsud tribe against the Taliban. For years, the Mehsud tribe has been the core support of the Taliban in Pakistan. But many Mehsud make their living driving trucks that carry cargo in and out of Afghanistan. Taliban violence against this lucrative trade has split the tribe. Taliban violence against schools (which most Mehsud back) has also caused internal divisions. It is believed that most of the Mehsud no longer back the Taliban, and this has caused more violence within the tribe. There is now a tribal council that is anti-Taliban and negotiating a peace deal with the government.
September 24, 2009: In Pakistan's tribal territories, Taliban gunmen ambushed and killed four anti-Taliban tribal leaders. Two other anti-Taliban tribal leaders were killed in the Swat Valley. At the same time, a U.S. UAV fired missiles into a Taliban compound, killing at least a dozen terrorists. All the dead were believed to be Afghans, including a Taliban leader.
September 22, 2009: Outside Peshawar, the largest city in Pakistan's tribal territories, the Taliban blew up another school, because it taught girls as well as boys. In the last two years, the Taliban have destroyed over 200 schools in the tribal territories. The Taliban violence has left over 2,000 dead. 


SOURCE : Strategypage

Chinese scare turns into election issue in Arunachal

Two major allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre are raking up the Chinese incursion issue in the run up to the assembly elections in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh even as Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu maintains that Chinese claims over the state are baseless.
Elections to the 60-member legislature are scheduled for October 13, although voting would be for just 57 seats with three candidates already declared elected unopposed.
The Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both allies of the UPA, have made reports of Chinese incursions and Beijing's claims over Arunachal Pradesh election issues in the state. In this state assembly poll, the parties are fighting one another.
"New Delhi should be bold enough in its stand against China, especially when it comes to Arunachal Pradesh. The central government should firm up its stand," Kito Sora, state Trinamool Congress president, told IANS.
Apart from the Congress that has fielded candidates in all 60 seats, the NCP is putting up 30 contestants and the Trinamool Congress is fielding 28.
"Time and again China is staking claim over Arunachal Pradesh and the response by the central government is seen to be rather muted. We want a very bold stand from New Delhi," said senior NCP leader L Wanglet.
The Trinamool Congress and the NCP are fighting the polls independently against the ruling Congress.
The latest hiccups follow reports of Chinese intrusion in the Jammu and Kashmir sector, soon after Bejing's opposition to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh had irked local sentiments here.
The mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with China. The two countries had fought a bitter war in 1962 with the Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian soldiers.
The border dispute with China was inherited by India from British colonial rulers, who hosted a 1914 conference with the Tibetan and Chinese governments that set the border in what is now Arunachal Pradesh.
China has never recognised the 1914 McMahon Line and claims 90,000 sq km, nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.
After 1962, tensions flared again in 1986 with Indian and Chinese forces clashing in Sumdorong Chu valley of Arunachal. Chinese troops reportedly built a helipad in the valley leading to fresh skirmishes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too is making the Chinese scare an election issue in Arunachal Pradesh.
"Chinese incursions are a great security threat and despite reports the Congress-led UPA government seems to downplaying such risks. It is unfortunate on the part of the central government to be taking things so lightly," P. Chandrashekhar, BJP organising secretary for the Northeast, said.
Almost all the opposition parties are making the Chinese threat an election issue in the state.
"Surely people want an assurance from us about our stand on the China issue," the NCP leader said.
Chief Minister Khandu too is concerned, but maintains the central government has already clarified its stand on Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh.
"Arunachal is part of India and will remain so. The central government had time and again clarified in bold terms that Chinese claims are baseless," Khandu said.
But with massive Indian army movement along the frontiers, the Chinese scare is going to dominate electioneering in Arunachal Pradesh, a state where political parties are bereft of any other major poll issue to harp on. 


Indian apex court asks army to follow rules in court martial proceedings

 NEW DELHI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Army has to give mandatory four days time to a jawan (soldier) before court martial him for any offense, the country's Supreme Court ruled on Monday.
    Rejecting the central government's argument that the Rule 34 of the Army, which mandates a 96-hour gap between the time of charge and actual trial, was merely directory and not mandatory, the Supreme Court ruled that a jawan has to be given the mandatory 96 hours time.
    The apex court made the observation in a judgment dismissing the Union government's appeal which had challenged acquittal of A.K. Pandey of 12 Corps Signal Regiment, Jodhpur, who was dismissed from service and sentenced to three years in jail by court martial proceedings on Nov. 6, 1995.
    "A trial before the General Court Martial (Army court) entails grave consequences. The accused may be sentenced to suffer imprisonment. He may be dismissed from service," the Supreme Court observed.
    "The consequences that may follow from non-observance of the time interval provided in Rule 34 being grave and severe, we hold, as it must be that the said provision is absolute and mandatory," a three judge bench of Justices B.N. Agrawal, Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha said.
    The charge against Pandey was that he had illegally sold a country-made pistol and one round of ammunition to another signalman J.N. Narsimilu of the same unit. 


FROM PAKISTAN ; Indian threats will not work

I WONDER : INDIA KE PASS TO UNCLE SAM HAI.

Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, in his recent statement, indicated that India is losing patience over frequent cease-fire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) and warned that at some stage it would have to retaliate. General Kapoor also claimed that reports about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal needed to be confirmed and after that New Delhi could think about reviewing its own nuclear strategy. General Kapoor said that firing across the LoC was part of the Pakistan Army’s tactics to push infiltrators through. His comments followed a recent alleged cease-fire violation in the Poonch sector in which an Indian soldier was killed. It is strange to observe that Indian Army authorities are either ignorant or overlooking what is happening in and around LoC. 

One wonders if the Indian Army authorities are really ignorant of the deeds of their officers and men. The incident, which General Kapoor has taken so hard on his nerves, has even not been properly investigated. The actual story is quite different from the one being projected by Indian Chief, which can also be confirmed from the Intelligence Wing of Border Security Forces (BSF) as well as officers of Rashtriya Rifles deployed in Poonch. The name of the soldier in question was Lance Naik Dag Bahadur Gurung, who was involved in narcotics smuggling through Afghan peddler namely Haji Gul. He was killed due to his refusal to make payment of previous consignments. However, Indian Military Intelligence (MI) alleged that death of Naik Dag Bahadur Gurung was killed as a result of unprovoked firing from Pakistani side. Army authorities did not waste any time and termed the incident as case of ceasefire violation and said that the matter would be taken up with Pakistani authorities. It is pertinent to mention here that often Indian nationals cross over LoC to supply liquor, smuggle drugs and fake currency. 

In fact Indian military personnel have started side businesses on LoC in which they are minting millions of rupees through illegal means. To quote an incident relating to Poonch district, which took place a few weeks back, two Jawans of the Territorial Army (TA), posted in the Poonch were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police after fake currency worth Rs 1.7 lakh was recovered from them. The Jawans were identified as Mohd Aslam and Inayat Hussain of village Kalai in Poonch. Both the Jawans were recruited in the TA battalion more than five years ago and were attached with 27 Rashtriya Rifles. During the investigations by Police to track down the channel of the counterfeit currency notes, it came to light that other Army officers and personnel were also involved in the fake currency business. It also came to light that fake currency is smuggled through Pakistan to Afghanistan, UAE and European Union countries. Accordingly, a Police party was sent to Malti general area near the Line of Control (LoC) to pick other suspects named by the TA Jawans during preliminary investigations. However, when the Police party reached location of 17 Rajput, a group of Army Jawans of 17 Rajput led by two Army officers of the Major rank trashed Station House Officer (SHO) of Poonch Police Station Kuldeep Khajuria and accompanying Police personnel inside the Army camp, snatched their weapons and opened fire to scare them. In this context, Police has lodged FIR against the senior Army officers and their Jawans in the Poonch Police Station under Section 307, 332, 342 and 147. 

A separate FIR over recovery of fake currency under Section 489-B and 109 was also filed. There are numerous other incidents which supports the point. However, Indian intelligence agencies in collaboration with Army and security forces keep their country busy in blame game so that illegal businesses remain unhindered. 

Both Indian and Pakistani governments desire to ease their relations but the Indian intelligence agencies, especially Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Military Intelligence (MI) are bluffing the Indian government and the Army to attain their vested interest. Ironically, it is on record that Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor himself admitted few days back that border crossing from Pakistani side of LoC has decreased manifolds. India should not forget that election in Indian held Jammu & Kashmir state could not have been possible if Pakistan had nefarious designs. If we recall, it was due to good intensions of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt that both Pakistan and India could reach the landmark joint statement which de-links action on terror from the composite dialogue process between both the countries. However, Indian intelligence agencies made a lot of propaganda on inclusion of Balochistan in bilateral document? 

Thus the Indian intelligence was once again successful in developing the gulf between the two countries. It is right time for India and Pakistan to behave mature and end blame game as it would not lead anywhere. India Army Chief, with all the respect, should fix his officers and men involved in initiating fake reports and work above any suspicion with Pakistan. Such uncalled for statement from top brasses of Indian Army would only instigate Pakistan leading to more friction. India must take a new start and stop blaming Pakistan for everything without proper investigations. Keeping in view the security problems faced by both countries, it right time to give up policy of mistrust and suspicion and contribute for peace and harmony in the region.

Four Indian Army hand grenades recovered near Ajmer

Hathi Kheda village (Rajasthan), Sep 28: Rajasthan police recovered four hand grenades from a hilly area in Rajasthan's Ajmer district on Sunday. 

Officials said the grenades were live and were found at hilly area of Hathi Kheda village.

"We got information that in the hilly areas of Hathi Kheda village that there were four live hand grenades. We came here and saw it for ourselves that these bombs were looking live and we are now investigating the matter," said Rahul Prakash, assistant sub-inspector of police.

"The highly explosive HE 36 grenades bore markings of Indian army's ordnance factory," he added.

First female Indian troops 'are prostitutes'

India has accused Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency of circulating claims that women troops dispatched to its border with Pakistan are in fact prostitutes sent to boost the morale of their frontier guards.

 By Dean Nelson in New Delhi 
New Delhi's home minister P Chidambaram has ordered his officials to launch an official complaint with Pakistan's High Commission after a Pakistani newspaper reported an investigation alleging that 178 female members of its Border Security Force had been deployed to "meet the natural needs" of its male soldiers on the Line of Control between the two armies in disputed Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the report in the Pakistan Daily Mail earlier this month, New Delhi had "deployed 200 prostitutes" according to its "authoritative sources". It claimed the decision had been taken by senior Army officers who feared a number of troop suicides and incidents where soldiers had killed their own comrades was linked to loneliness and the absence of female company.
In their search for a response they had contacted a number of consultants and analysts who said the soldiers had acted in "acute frustration and depression". They had recommended increased home leave for married soldiers, but could compromise on security by allowing too many to take leave.
The newspaper claimed a major-general was sent to Moscow to research how the Russians had dealt with a similar problem in Afghanistan in the 1980s. "The Russian consultants told the Indian Army that the since the soldiers in the valley were [starved of women], they should be provided with women to meet their genuine and natural needs."
A high-level committee of senior army officers was formed to explore how they could recruit prostitutes and give them basic military training. The newspaper claimed India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing was drafted in to screen the prostitutes because, it said, it already had a "network of prostitutes in different cities of India".
The report which was published on the day the female unit was deployed in Kashmir has been dismissed as a propaganda ploy by Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, the ISI, to demoralise Indian troops.
"It is clearly a story written under a pseudonym, planted by the ISI to demoralise the new women-only contingent. Psychological warfare is not new for the Pakistanis," said a home ministry official.
Jagir Singh, deputy inspector general of the Border Security Force said the claims were an "insult to Indian women".
"These women are aged 19-25 and most of them are from small towns and villages of Punjab. You can imagine the demoralising effect it can have on them," he said.


Dwarka gears up for President's visit

JUNAGADH\PORBANDAR: The district administration of Porbandar and Junagadh and police authorities have only one job at present. To make foolproof  arrangements for President Pratibha Patil's scheduled visit to the region starting October 2. Authorities have even prepared a helipad near Dwarka temple. Special care is being taken at Dwarka and nothing is being left to chance. 

"We have to make all arrangements as per the book of guidelines. We have arranged for a bedroom, sitting room, dressing room and dining hall. Special air-conditioners are fitted in every room," said an official. 

As many as 13 rooms of Dwarka circuit house have been equipped with new air-conditioners and a special shamiyana is being put up for dinner for 100 people who will accompany the President. 

Chiefs of Indian Army, Navy and Airforce will be present to welcome her on her arrival along with representative of the Gujarat government, energy minister Saurabh Patel. 

Rajkot Range IG police, SPs of Jamnagar and Vadodara, 5 DySPs, 20 PIs, 40 PSIs and 400 jawans of SRP will be present. They will provide security along the way from circuit house to Dwarka helipad and other temples of the holy town. 

As per schedule, she will first visit all the temples of Dwarka and reach the circuit house. The President will be accompanied by her family members in her visit to the holy town. After lunch, she will leave for Sasan Gir. 


source: sandesh

Security forces gun down three LeT terrorists in J-K

Srinagar: Three Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, including two planning a fidayeen attack, were killed and three security force personnel were injured in a fierce gunbattle in south Kashmir district of Pulwama on Monday.

A woman was also killed in the encounter, a police spokesman said in Srinagar.

He said on a tip-off about the presence of some LeT terrorists at Amlar village in Tral, about 35 km from Srinagar in Pulwama district, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a joint operation on Monday morning.

However, when the village was being cordoned off, terrorists hiding there opened fire and also hurled grenades on the search party.

The fire was returned and in the fierce clash, three terrorists were killed.

The slain terrorists were later identified as Zahid alias Abu Shahib, resident of Multan, Abu Dujana, resident of Pakistan and a local Mehrajuddin alias Qua alias Chota-R. Mehraj had left militancy but recently joined LeT again.

Abu Sahib and Abu Dujana were planning a fidayeen attack in south Kashmir.

Two CRPF and a police personnel were also injured in the clash.

A Defence Ministry spokesman claimed that it was a joint operation of the Army and CRPF in which the terrorists were killed.

He said three AK rifles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists.