Jammu Feb 27 PTI Four alleged drug peddlers were arrested Sunday after being found in possession of various quantities of contrabands in two separate cases in Jammu and Kashmir police said Rahul Singh Jamwal Amit Isher and Arun Mehra were arrested after 15 grams of heroin were recovered from them during checking in the Bahu Fort area of Jammu a police spokesperson said He said another suspected peddler Matloob Ahmad was arrested with 160 grams of Charas during checking at Phagsoo Morh in Thathri area of Doda district All the four peddlers were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act the spokesperson said PTI TAS RAX RAX

Jammu Sept 18 PTI The Jammu and Kashmir police has rescued a minor girl abducted from here two months ago from Rajasthan an official said on Saturday The police also arrested two brothers alleged involved in her abduction and subsequent rape The police had lodged the case on July 17 on the complaint of the minor girls father at Chatha police station The complainant had stated that his daughter had gone missing and is believed to have been kidnapped by some unidentified persons a police spokesman said He said a case under relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act was registered and special teams were formed to trace the victim Following their intense probe into the case the Jammu police zeroed in on the Ganganagar area of Rajasthan as the place of the girls captivity The Jammu police eventually with the help from the Rajasthan police managed to recover the girl the spokesman said adding two locals Kuldeep Singh and his brother Satnam Singh were arrested during the rescue operation A case under relevant sections of law including 363 abduction and 376 rape of IPC and sections 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act was registered the spokesman said He said the girl was initially kept in the child welfare home in Jammu and later handed over to her family after completion of all medico-legal formalities PTI TAS RAX RAX

Jammu Sept 18 PTI Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for a day-long peaceful strike on September 22 to protest the alleged discrimination of highest degree by the government with them Announcing the strike JCCI president Arun Gupta said the token strike against directionless policies of the government should serve as a wakeup call for it and it should take immediate corrective measures to end the discrimination with Jammu region We believe that trade in the Jammu region is being disturbed deliberately as policy decisions are taken in closed rooms without consulting or taking into confidence the stakeholders Gupta flanked by leaders of various trade unions told reporters here The directionless policies have hit the business fraternity especially in the Jammu region he added He said the chamber has raised the issues concerning Jammu traders with the concerned officials from time to time but the government remained unmoved Referring to the new excise policy which left several hundred vendors jobless he said almost after a gap of two months when the government has e-auctioned wine shops the liquor bars across the Union Territory have been closed as the excise department has sought renewal of licenses and No Objection Certificates from over 20 government departments for the smooth running of the business Nearly 250 liquor bars are running in JK and thousands of people are engaged in this business The government move has badly affected their livelihood he said On scrapping the traditional darbar move from this year Gupta said the governments unilateral decision to end the past practice of shifting offices between the twin capitals bi-annually would adversely impact not only the traditional bond between the two regions and their people but also the business community Thousands of families from Kashmir and Jammu used to move along with Darbar to spend winter and summers in Jammu and Kashmir It has severely affected the traders of Jammu as well as Kashmir regions he said Gupta also questioned continued capping of the number of guests at banquet halls at 25 saying the government decision has hit the business very hard We request the government to fix the capping criteria of banquet halls as per their size and capacity and allow them to function with 50 per cent capacity he said The chamber president also expressed resentment over the Reliance-like big companies proposal to open retail stores in Jammu If this happens the small shopkeepers of Jammu will be ruined and their shops will be closed Despite adding business opportunities the directionless government has snatched away what was in the hands of traders and it is unacceptable he said adding the traders have already borne the brunt of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns Terming as alarming the Geology and Mining Department policy on the allotment of mining and extraction contracts he said the lack of protective mechanisms has deprived thousands of families of their livelihood and exposed consumers to exploitation by a mining syndicate Over 60 per cent of mining contracts have gone to the outsiders From contractors to sand diggers labourers to transporters who are directly or indirectly associated with the extraction of minerals all have lost their livelihood he said Referring to the outreach programme started by the Centre under which Union ministers visit different parts of the Union Territory to review the developmental scenario Gupta said it seems to be solely meant for Kashmir as practically Jammu is not on their itinerary Those who visited Jammu they only preferred to meet the leaders belonging to a particular party ignoring the stakeholders of Jammu region he alleged He said it appears that the government was acting totally against the interest of the Jammu people and is appeasing the people of the other region despite Jammu being a nationalist region and a staunch supporter of the government PTI TAS RAX RAX