Monday, March 15, 2010

597324 kanal land under troopers occupation: Govt

Till militancy prevails AFSPA will continue
334 booked under PSA from 5 Jan to 14 Feb 2010

Shabir Dar
Jammu, Mar 15: Disclosing that at least 597324 kanal and 3 marlas of land are still under their occupation for which no rent has been paid, the government ruled out revocation of AFSPA till militancy prevailed and stated that 334 persons have been booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) from January 5 to February 2010.The data was released by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the home minister in Assembly during the ongoing budget session through a written reply to a query raised by senior PDP leader Abdul Rehman Veeri. He said that 597324 kanals and 3 marlas of State land was still under occupation of troopers. “No rent has been paid for it,” he said. The data further revealed that 334 persons were booked under Public Safety Act from January 5, 2009 to February 14, 2010. “These include 178 local militants, 31 separatists, 29 timber smugglers, 62 foreign militants, 28 illegal border crossers and six Bangladeshi nationals,” it read. PSA, according to government, is slapped to prevent a person from acting in a manner prejudicial to the security of the state or to the maintenance of public order or for the prevention of timber smuggling. “It is also used for regulating the continued presence of foreigners and PaK residents with a view to expel them from the State. There is no question of detaining any person under PSA for a minor offence,” the government said. The government further disclosed that infiltration has increased by 98 percent in 2009 as compared to 2008.

Regarding violence, the government said that overall security scenario has improved during last two years. “499 incidents of violence occurred in 2009 and 465 persons were killed from January 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010. The dead included 98 civilians, 92 troopers and 275 militants,” the figures revealed. The government maintained that AFPSA will not be revoked till threat of militancy prevails in the state. “The security situation is constantly under review and revocation of AFPSA will be considered as and when the threat of terrorism in the state becomes insignificant,” he said.

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