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Did Jagmohan really fail as J&K Governor in 1990?

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Did Jagmohan Malhotra fail as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir during his second term when militancy blew out of control in 1990?

The answer to this question may be difficult, but it is not impossible to find.

Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped by the JKLF on December 8, 1989. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the country’s Home Minister and his political arch-rival, Farooq Abdullah, was the Chief Minister of the state that time.

It is widely believed that Abdullah did want to agree with the release of five top JKLF leaders who were in prison in exchange for Rubaiya’s safe release by her abductors.

Abdullah insisted that accepting the JKLF demand would give a major boost to militancy and create a congenial atmosphere for future kidnapping by the militants.

Mufti Sayeed and his family members asserted that by refusing to release the JKLF prisoners, Abdullah was trying to settle a longstanding political grudge against Sayeed.

It was against this background that the Central government headed by V.P. Singh sent Jagmohan as the new Governor of the state.

Jagmohan took office on January 19, 1990, and Abdullah resigned as the Chief Minister the same day.

It is common knowledge that had Abdullah not resigned, Jagmohan would have dismissed his council of ministers.

A huge Pro-Azadi procession was carried out in Srinagar and the security forces intercepted the procession in Gaw Kadal area on January 21, 1990.

Fifty protesters were killed in firing by the security forces in Gaw Kadal and the incident happened barely two days after Jagmohan assumed office.

It is believed that the Gaw Kadal procession had a large number of Avdullah’s supporters, who found an occasion to vent their anger against the appointment of Jagmohan as the state’s Governor.

A large majority of top brass in the local police and the civil administration belonged to the loyalists of the Abdullah family. There was a total non-cooperation by the local officers with Jagmohan and his advisors.

This forced Jagmohan to quickly bring some senior police and civil officers from outside to re-establish the writ of law.

During this period, militants killed Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq in his Nigeen residence in Hazratbal area of Srinagar. Militants believed that Mirwaiz was negotiating peace with the Governor’s administration.

The funeral procession was mishandled by the local police and the state intelligence totally failed to alert Jagmohan that militants had joined the funeral procession.

Outside the Islamia College, Central intelligence agencies said, militants opened fire at a CRPF bunker.

In panic, the security forces fired directly at the funeral procession and in this incident, 60 people were reportedly killed on May 21, 1990.

Jagmohan had to face the wrath of the same Central government that had sent him as the Governor of the state for the second term since he had proved himself as the most popular Governor during his first term.

Following a hostile administration, the anger of the separatists supported by the activists of the National Conference and with hardly any time to put his act together, Jagmohan was recalled by the Centre and General Krishna Rao was rushed to replace him.

The question whether Jagmohan really failed as the Governor of J&K during his second term has a logical answer.

Jagmohan hardly had the time to re-establish the authority of an administration that had spinelessly surrendered before the separatists.

It was literally a one-man show as Jagmohan found every wing of his administration infiltrated by the anti-nationals and their sympathisers.

It is said that their supporters in the local intelligence took away secret documents from official files and gave their copies to the militants to identify their targets.

In some cases, the separatist loyalists acting in absolute haste kept photocopies of the files and instead gave the originals to the militants.

Faced with these realities, four months were no time for Jagmohan to either prove himself or reclaim the authority of a crippled administration.

He was failed by the very hands with which he was supposed to succeed.

National News

One year of e-office: Delhi govt processes 75 pc of file work online

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New Delhi, June 28: More than 75 per cent of Delhi government work is now done through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday as the electronic file system approaches its first anniversary on July 1.

The Chief Minister said the reach of the e-Office system has expanded since April 13, with 120 of the 132 government departments, about 91 per cent, using it regularly.

Similarly, 36 of the 55 public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous and local bodies, or about 65.5 per cent, are using the system, she said in a statement.

Among universities, colleges and other educational institutions, 21 out of 48 institutions, or about 43.8 per cent, have adopted e-Office. Overall, 177 of the 235 departments and offices, about 75.3 per cent, are now regularly carrying out official work through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Gupta.

She said, earlier, most official work was carried out through paper files. Today, file movement, correspondence and approvals are handled online.

This has accelerated file disposal, improved transparency and accountability in government functioning, and helped ensure the timely delivery of public services, she said.

The Chief Minister said the e-Office system now makes it easy to identify which official is handling a particular file and what action has been taken on it. The system has also made record-keeping more secure, reduced unnecessary delays and enabled smoother coordination among departments.

This is why the Delhi government is steadily expanding the system to cover more departments and institutions.

She said by June 27, a total of 15,748 officers and employees across 235 departments and offices were using e-Office for online file processing and official work.

Chief Minister Gupta said that since the functioning of all departments and institutions is not the same, the Delhi government has developed the e-Office system under three separate categories.

The first is meant exclusively for government departments; the second for public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous bodies and local bodies; and the third for universities, colleges and other educational institutions.

This has enabled each category to function more effectively according to its specific requirements. Accordingly, the use of e-Office was made mandatory across all Delhi government departments from July 1, 2025.

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Crime

Police raid premises of all eight accused in Ram Temple embezzlement case

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Ayodhya, June 28: Police on Sunday conducted searches at the residences of all the eight accused, arrested in connection with alleged misappropriation of donations and offerings at the Ram Mandir.

This comes after the eight individuals were sent to three-day judicial custody on Friday. They will stay in jail till June 29 and will be produced before the city court again on Monday.

Krishna Nand Tiwari, a neighbour of accused Anukalp Mishra, said: “Action is being taken, brother (Mishra) or whoever is involved in this, whoever has committed theft or wrongdoing, they should be given the strictest punishment. They should be ashamed of their act, especially since it is related to God. They have betrayed the faith of crores of devotees.”

About the accused, he said: “Though he (Mishra) didn’t come across as such a kind of person, but one can never gauge anybody’s intentions.”

Another neighbour, Anurag, said he had known Mishra for around a year. “He was a person of good nature; we used to greet each other whenever we met. But I don’t know if he had any malicious intention,” he told media.

Accused Tinnu Yadav’s neighbour Tara Devi said: “Tinnu is like a brother. Searches at his home will only take place when all the neighbours are around.”

Asserting that Yadav was a good person, she claimed: “He is being framed.”

A total of eight accused have been booked for alleged theft at the temple, and all were subsequently arrested. The FIR was registered at Ayodhya Kotwali police station on Thursday, based on a complaint filed by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Those named in the case include Ramshankar Yadav (alias Tinnu), who is associated with temple management; Trust employees Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, and Avinash Shukla; and retired bank employee Subhash Srivastava.

The filing of the case came soon after a three-member SIT flagged several irregularities at multiple levels in its preliminary report.

The police state that the entire episode of alleged theft will be uncovered based on interrogation of the accused and CCTV-based evidence. If more names are revealed in the investigation, action will be taken against them as well.

The preliminary probe has highlighted key roles played by each accused at various levels. The role of Ramshankar Yadav, alias Tinnu Yadav, is particularly under increased scrutiny.

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Crime

Railway authorities carry out eviction drive in Kolkata’s Park Circus station area

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Kolkata, June 28: The railway authorities have conducted a significant eviction operation at the Park Circus station area in Kolkata, clearing illegal shops from land owned by the Indian Railways.

Earlier this month, the authorities issued notifications to the proprietors of these shops and local vendors, instructing them to vacate their shops from the station premises and the surrounding lands in the Sealdah South Section of Eastern Railway. However, due to their noncompliance, a bulldozer was deployed on Saturday night to demolish these shops.

A large number of police, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed for this drive.

After the change of government in the state, the Railways have been conducting drives to evict encroachments in the station areas. Similar drives were held at several stations, including Howrah, Sealdah, Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Habra. This time, the drive was also launched at Park Circus station in Kolkata.

Late Saturday night, the Park Circus station premises were surrounded by railway police and the RAF. Security was tightened to prevent any unrest. First, the Railways used loudspeakers to announce instructions to vacate the station area and railway land. Some time was given to the traders to remove their belongings. However, none of the traders in the station area moved their goods. After that, a bulldozer was brought in, and the illegal shops were demolished one by one.

The Park Circus station area has always been congested. It is alleged that a large number of illegal shops had mushroomed at the station premises over the years. The Railways have never been able to evict illegal hawkers at that station, which is located in a minority community-dominated area. There were allegations that railway passengers used to face harassment and crimes at various times while travelling to that station.

After the BJP government came to power in the state, it was decided that illegal hawkers would be evicted from the station premises. The eviction drive lasted for about two and a half hours.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also taken steps to remove illegal encroachments and shops under several flyovers across the city.

It was learnt that the KMC has issued notices to illegal hawkers to remove their shops from under the Sealdah flyover in North Kolkata and Sukanta Setu in the southern outskirts of the city. Those who have illegally encroached on spaces under these two bridges have been asked to move out within the next seven days. The KMC will take action in accordance with the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, as mentioned in the notice.

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