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Jammu, March 31 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Lieutenant-Governor (LG), Manoj Sinha on Monday visited the families of the four policemen who were killed in the recent anti-terrorist operation in Kathua district.

Officials said that LG Manoj Sinha visited the families of the four martyred policemen and expressed his condolences and support to the bereaved families.

Two Pakistani terrorists and four policemen were killed, while three others, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were injured in a fierce gunfight in the forested area of the Sanyal belt of Kathua district in the jurisdiction of Rajbagh police station on Thursday.

Sinha visited the home of Balvinder Singh Chib in Kanna Chak, Kathua district, where he met the cop’s bereaved wife and other family members to express his deepest condolences.

The LG then visited the family of Jaswant Singh in Londi village near the International Border (IB) to offer support to the family of the slain policeman.

Later, he proceeded to Reasi district, where he met the family of police officer, Tariq Ahmad in Chamba village.

During the visits, he assured the families of government jobs for the next of kin, mostly for the widows of the martyred policemen.

The LG told the families that the people of the country were with them and all efforts would be made to ensure full government support.

The wives of the martyred policemen requested jobs in civilian departments as they have young children to look after.

Later in the evening, the LG visited the family of Head Constable, Jagbir Singh from the Akhnoor area in Jammu district to express condolences to the family.

Following information from the people, the police tracked a group of terrorists after intercepting them last Sunday within a plant nursery in Sanyal Village nearly four kms away from the IB with Pakistan.

Tracking the terrorists led to an encounter in Sanyal village of the district resulting in the killing of two terrorists and four policemen on Thursday.

The body of Head Constable, Jagbir Singh, who was incharge of the local police post, was recovered from the Ghati-Juthana forest on Saturday.

The bodies of two terrorists, believed to be affiliated with the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit, were also recovered along with war-like stores.

The bodies of three policemen, Balwinder Singh Chib, Jaswant Singh, and Tariq Ahmad were recovered on Friday evening.

The People’s Anti-Fascist Front, a shadow outfit of the Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM claimed responsibility for the gunfight.

All the martyred policemen were given full tributes at the District Police Lines (DPL) in Kathua.

Later, speaking to reporters, DGP Nalin Prabhat said that the martyrdom of the four policemen had increased the resolve and aim of J&K Police to eliminate the scourge of terrorism in J&K and to defeat the designs of the impure neighbour (Pakistan), who is sending in mercenaries to disturb peace and tranquility in the UT.

The DGP said that deeds not words would give a befitting tribute the nation owes to the martyred policemen.

–IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, March 31 (IANS) With the RSS mouthpiece Organiser going berserk against both Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran over their new film Empuraan, Kerala BJP leader B. Gopalakrishnan slammed the latter’s wife as an Urban Naxal.

Gopalakrishnan on Monday asked Prithviraj’s mother, Mallika Sukumaran, to rein in his wife, Supriya.

Gopalakrishnan took offence at Sukumaran’s social media post where she said her son is being targeted by vested interests.

“The BJP in Kerala has only one thing to tell Sukumaran and that’s to rein in her daughter-in-law as she is an Urban Naxal,” said Gopalakrishnan.

Supriya is a former journalist who did commissioned programmes for the BBC. It was in 2006 that the two first met, and later they got married, and since then she has been his biggest supporter.

Even though by now the film has turned out to be a whopping hit with tickets practically booked, following the report that appeared in the Organiser, Mohanlal tendered an apology on Sunday, while Prithviraj just shared Mohanlal’s apology through his social media page, but he is yet to react.

While the BJP and leaders like Gopalakrishnan and the RSS in Kerala have come down heavily against the film and those behind it, the producers, in order to quell the filmmakers, have opted to make last-minute cuts to the movie.

According to industry sources, the revised version — expected to be released in the coming days — has removed a three-minute sequence depicting an attack on a pregnant woman.

Additionally, the villain’s name may either be altered or muted in the dialogues.

Meanwhile, the support base is also growing for the film as the State’s Minister for Cinema and Culture, Saji Cherian, after seeing the film on Monday, said this is a film which can only be made in Kerala.

“Full credit to Prithviraj for the film, and it should be seen in that manner only and nothing beyond it,” said Cherian.

Actor Asif Ali said he fails to understand why people just cannot see a film as it is.

“The film duration is around two and a half hours and is an entertainer. I fail to understand why people can’t see it like that. People who are scared to air their views in the open, do so by pelting stones from behind, and this is the same about social media, where comments are coming thick and fast,” said Ali.

Award-winning director Aashiq Abu said what one is seeing is very unfortunate and with fear.

“This has come against one of the biggest films in Malayalam. All know that Prithviraj has been under the close watch of the Sangh Parivar forces for a while,” said Abu.

Actor Jagadish, who saw the first show when it was released, found it hard to escape from the snooping media when they came to get his comment, and when asked about the film by IANS, he answered with his characteristic smile.

State Agriculture Minister K. Krishnankutty was walking into a theatre in his home district in Palakkad, and when the media caught up with him, he said he fails to remember when was the last time he watched a film in a movie hall.

“I am here now, and being a public figure, one has to first watch the film, as there is a big discussion going on. So let me watch it,” said Krishnankutty.

On Monday evening, the CPI-M state secretary M.V. Govindan and his wife were spotted in a movie hall in the state capital city just before the film began.

Overall, for the producers so far, the controversy appears to have brought in huge rewards, as with the news that there will be cuts to quell the anger of the Sangh Parivar forces, the crowds have swelled.

“I have seen it once, and now this is my second time, as one doesn’t know what the new version will be. I will be back once the edited version is released,” said an enthusiastic young man.

–IANS

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