Education in shatters causes stone-pelting in Kashmir: Army Chief
New Delhi, July 3: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said that decades of militancy has shattered the education system in Jammu and Kashmir and this is one of factors behind stone-pelting protests in the state.
The Army chief was interacting with students from Chhattisgarh who were on a trip to Delhi.
One of the them asked him why there were frequent stone-pelting incidents in the Kashmir Valley.
Gen Rawat replied that Kashmiris were being fed with misinformation that India was anti-Muslim and those who eat beef were being killed.
"They try to shield terrorists. They pelt stones as it is easily available. (Stone-)pelting is not (something) new. Unemployment is a factor for this, but it is not unique to Kashmir. There is unemployment in other parts of the country as well. Youngsters there don't pelt stones.
"Education there (Kashmir) is shattered. Most of the schooling is done through madarassas, which cannot get you good jobs."
He said the Army had two ways of dealing with the situation.
"The harsh way or the other way is to make them understand that what they are doing is wrong. We bring some of the people from there to Delhi to show we don't have Army on every corner here as Delhi is peaceful. If Kashmir is also peaceful, the Army will be taken away from there."
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Goa nightclub fire: Co-owner Ajay Gupta's police remand extended by four days
Panaji (PTI): A Goa court on Thursday extended by four days the police remand of Ajay Gupta, co-owner of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a devastating fire on December 6 killed 25 persons.
Gupta was arrested from New Delhi on December 10. A court in Mapusa had remanded him in police custody for seven days at the time.
Gupta was presented before the lower court, which sent him to four-day police custody as his initial remand was expiring, his advocate Rohan Desai told reporters.
"Gupta had complained about back pain. The court ordered his medical examination, after which he was allowed use of a mattress in custody. He was examined by a specialised doctor at Goa Medical College and Hospital near here," the lawyer said.
Twenty-five persons, including 20 staff members and five tourists, were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub at Arpora in North Goa around midnight of December 6.
Gupta had, during the day, filed an bail application.
So far, eight persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including Gupta, and two other owners - Gaurav Luthra and his brother Saurabh - who were deported from Thailand.
Five other staffers of the nightclub arrested in the case are Rajiv Modak (Corporate General Manager), Priyanshu Thakur (Gate Manager), Rajveer Singhania (Bar Manager), Vivek Singh (General Manager) and Bharat Karan Singh Kohli (employee).
A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Surinder Kumar Khosla, another owner of the nightclub who is a British citizen, police said.
