NC suffers major jolt in Jammu, two prominent leaders Devender Rana, Surjit Singh Slathia resign
Jammu, Oct 10: The National Conference suffered a major setback in Jammu as two prominent leaders Devender Rana and Surjit Singh Slathia resigned from the party on Sunday.
They are likely to join the BJP in Delhi on Monday.
"Dr Farooq Abdullah has received & accepted the resignations of Mr Slathia & Mr Rana. No further action or comment is deemed necessary," a National Conference spokesman tweeted.
Rana, who was NC's provincial president of the Jammu region, announced the decision to quit the National Conference during a brief interaction with media persons outside his house here, ending over week-long speculation about him leaving his party and joining the BJP.
I along with (senior party colleague and former minister) S S Slathia resigned from the basic membership of the National Conference, he told reporters.
Rana, a former MLA and younger brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, had taken over the post of provincial president of the National Conference in 2011 after relinquishing his office as political advisor to the then chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Now the voice of J-K will come from Jammu which should get its rightful place, Rana, who was considered as the backbone of the National Conference in Jammu province, said.
He said his political philosophy would be based on the proposed Jammu declaration'.
Rana said his only concern is the interests of Jammu and the wishes and aspirations of the people of the region.
The Jammu declaration' is an attempt in this direction where people from all walks of life including political parties need to come together, he added.
Rana had proposed the 'Jammu declaration' on January 30, a charter to forge unity and reinforce trust between diverse communities and divergent regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
The core of the declaration will be to engage the people in inter-region and intra-regional dialogue to bridge the fault-lines being created by divisive forces on the basis of region and religion, Rana had said.
Asked whether his leaving the National Conference is a big loss for the party, he said people come and go and so the resignation of the two leaders would have no impact on it as the NC is a very big party.
I enjoy good relations with both (NC president) Farooq Abdullah and (vice president) Omar Abdullah, he said.
After proposing the Jammu declaration, Rana had said the BJP was the only party which gave a big response to it.
Meanwhile, the NC nominated senior leader Rattan Lal Gupta as provincial president of Jammu till elections for the post are held on October 16.
"Party general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar has issued a notification regarding elections for the post of provincial presidents for Jammu and Valley to be held on 16th October," the spokesman said.
He said senior party leaders Choudhary Mohammad Ramzaan and Ali Mohammad Dar were nominated as election officers for Kashmir province and Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal and Anil Dhar for Jammu province.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
