The 10-day-long annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival began on a low-key note on Friday with several state governments prohibiting public celebrations due to the Covid pandemic and devotees taking the virtual route to pay obeisance and join the festivities.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik and his associate Shoukat Bakshi were arrested on Thursday for allegedly ransacking a police station in Maisuma area in Srinagar, and attacking personnel.
The mood was subdued with roads deserted across large swathes of the Valley, the silence broken only by police sirens and Indian Air Force helicopters hovering overhead.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday arrested a senior officer of the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) allegedly involved in the killing of the 16-year old youth in the Nishat locality of the summer capital Srinagar last month.
In a major success, the Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday afternoon arrested the chief operational commander of the Hizbul Mujaheedin outfit in the Hazratbal locality of Srinagar. Talking to media persons in Srinagar on Monday evening, the inspector general of police Kashmir zone, B.Srinivas said that Muzaffar Ahmad Dar alias Gaznavi alias Mohammad Ali, was currently functioning as the chief operational commander of the HM outfit.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Kashmir's hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday claimed the 'Jammu and Kashmir government was provoking the youth to again pick up arms through arrests and intimidation'.
A protest shutdown called by the various separatist groups on the third death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Tuesday affected normal life in summer capital Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir Valley.
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the past 24 hours.
The police arrested Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, who led a protest march in Srinagar, on Friday.
The name of encounter specialist Sub Inspector Shiv Krishen, arrested for alleged terror links, figured in the list of recipients of gallantry awards given by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
While separatists have called for a boycott of the polls, terrorists have threatened to target persons taking part in these elections.
The Corps commander said Pakistan and its army were desperate to disrupt peace in Kashmir Valley.
As the pandemic spreads and the urgency for effective treatment of COVID-19 mounts, several countries, including the US, have started relying heavily on HCQ, majorly used in the treatment of malaria and rheumatoid-arthritis.
A policeman was injured when unidentified terrorists fired upon a police team even as a stone pelter was arrested in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Fresh tension has gripped north Kashmir yet again as the body of the teenager missing since July 28 was fished out on Tuesday evening from a stream near his native Kreeri village, 40 km from Srinagar.
The Congress too condemned Mufti's statement on the Tricolour, saying it is unacceptable and has hurt sentiments of people.
About his decision of forming a political party, Faesal said he wanted to revive democratic politics in Jammu and Kashmir. "But soon after quitting (IAS), I realised that my innocuous act of dissent was being seen as an act of treason. It had done more harm than the benefit," he said, adding that his act had discouraged a lot of civil services aspirants and his colleagues felt betrayed by him. "It upset me a lot," Faesal said.
An undertrial Pakistani militant and a police constable were killed, and four security personnel injured, in a blast inside a police vehicle in North Kashmir's Sopore town on Saturday afternoon.
The summons have been sent at the south Delhi guest house where Shah, the Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party of Jammu and Kashmir, has been kept after Delhi police detained him on Saturday.
Restrictions were imposed in Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar's city centre after leaders of three trade unions were detained to stymie a proposed rally 'to protest the government apathy towards rehabilitation of the September 2014 flood victims'.
Nirmal Singh said talks could be held with the separatists and they should come forward with their grievances with an open mind.
The two were arrested in January in connection with the north Kashmir fake encounters where five civilians had been framed as foreign militants and killed in stage-managed shootouts.
2016 saw the worst unrest in the Kashmir valley in 26 years.
Dr Sheikh Jalal, a leading cardiologist of Kashmir was seriously injured in a militant ambush that left his two police guards dead.
"There is no curfew anywhere in Kashmir today but curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Batamaloo police station area of Srinagar as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order," a police official said.
The JKSM activists might have drawn inspiration from the mashaal (torch) rally of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front as part of its safar-e-azadi (journey to freedom).
After 40 days, LoC trade has resumed between Uri and Muzzafarabad.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik was on Sunday detained at Srinagar airport soon after his arrival from Delhi and "escorted to his home".
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
The security forces had then described the arrest of Gazi as a major success in their anti-insurgency operations in the state. He was presented in the district court at Anantnag on Thursday where his detention under the Public Safety Act was set aside by the court. The judge released Gazi and he was handed over to his lawyer.
It added that there had been several reminders from the club to the government for freeing the communication of newspaper offices, journalists and the club itself.
Singh said there is a large presence of terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC) but expressed confidence that the counter-infiltration grid will take care of the threat.
"At least 15 terrorists are being specially trained in POK for an attack on Baghliar dam across Chenab at Chanderkote-Ramban, 150 kms from Srinagar", Mohammad Shafakat and Mohammad Adnan, the two Lashkar-e-Tayiba miltants arrested on Saturday told media-persons.
During the interrogation, the militants confessed their involvement in the crime, he added.
12 security personnel, including three officers, were also injured in the operation at Reasi.
The Opposition on Monday demanded immediate release of all political detainees in Jammu and Kashmir, especially three former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.
The Kolkata police have nabbed a person from the city in connection with procuring illegal SIM cards for terrorists who held Mumbai to ransom on November 26.
"The charge that the two ministers were pro-rapist is absolutely wrong. It was sheer indiscretion on their part," Madhav said.
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