Port Blair, Jan 18: Police have arrested one person with over one kilogram Ganja from Guptapara under NDPS Act. A case has been regisrtred at PS Humfrigunj in this regard.
Acting on a tip off about illicit contraband at the residence of one Jogen Baisnab at Guptapara, a police party of P.S. Humfrigunj led by SHO Hemawathi, ASI Abdul Rehman, HC R.C. Singh, HC Hanifa PC S.N. Pathak, PC Rajavel and HG Pramod Kujur raided the spot under the supervision of ASP(SA) Chinmoy Biswal and recovered 1.100 kg of ganja from his residence on 11 January.
Investigation has revealed that Jogen Baisnab (45) yrs., fisherman, obtained the narcotic substance through a postal parcel from a sender in Kolkata. Further investigation is in progress.
To assist police in curbing such illegal activities, general public is requested to pass on any information on the telephone numbers: 232400 (PS Aberdeen), 250525 (PS Pahargaon), 232232 (PS Chatham), 287590 (PS Humfrigunj), 100 (PCR) and 9434288546. Informants will be rewarded and their identity will be kept confidential.

Port Blair, Jan 18: 71 student Officers from Army Higher Command Course, alongwith Directing Staff arrived Port Blair on 15 Jan 12 on a familiarisation visit. The officers were accompanied by Lt Gen Anil Chait, AVSM, VSM, Comdt Army War College, Mhow.

During the visit the Officers visited the Headquarters Andaman & Nicobar Command where they were briefed about the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as the ANC. The Officers visited various Units and Components of the Command. The officers witnessed the Amphibious Demo conducted by the ANC at Corbyn’s Cove.

The Officers also visited places of interest in Port Blair including Cellular jail where they witnessed the Light and Sound show, National Museum, Marina Park and Ross Island. The Officers will depart Port Blair on 18 Jan 12.

Sanjib Kumar Roy
Port Blair, Jan 17: The Jawara semi-naked dance video has caught authorities, pant down. Jarawa Tourism and Human Safari remained open secret for several years in past but for this, whom should we blame? An angry DGP vented out his anger on tour operators on Friday last during a meeting with tour operators at Conference Hall of SP office. “Apni to karatey ho, Bezati…Hamri Bhi Karatey ho.” But are tour operators only responsible for Jarawa Tourism.
Last week, a case was registered on a Tourist Vehicle drive for allowing a Kolkata tourist to shoot video of Jarawa, ironically no case was registered against the tourist who filmed the video.
The message is clear, the entire Administration is on the toe and is desperately looking for a scapegoat on the Jarawa Video issue. As Home Minister of India is also scheduled to visit these Islands, the pressure is mounting on the Administration to give explanation on the Jarawa Video case. National Advisory Council, NGOs, Prime Minister everybody is waiting for some action from the side of A & N Administration. So, somebody has to be caught for shooting this video.
But the million dollar question here is whether we should crucify the videographer or reward him for recording the evidence of such exploitation of Jarawa Tribes. Is that the only occasion of Jawara exploitation? Only occasion where people feed them? Only occasion when outsiders touched them or asked them to dance? (See page 3 photo in Moving eye column) If the person wouldn’t have shot the video, nobody in this earth would have ever known about the dark side of Andaman Tourism. Whatever could have been the intension behind shooting the video, before crucifying the videographer the government must thank him atleast once.
There is one more reason for remaining grateful to the videographer. The video if watch properly once can easily make out that one person moving behind the Jarawa Girls, was wearing a camouflage uniform. The accent of people talking in the video is also not local. Moreover, the height of the camera and the broad view, suggest that the video was taken from the rare end of an open trunk or van, much like a military van. When the world is putting allegations on A & N Police, there should be atleast someone in Administration to say the video was shot by Army Jawans.
Meanwhile, Light of Andamans in its 13 January 2012 issue has published that the video was shot three years back on 6th November 2008, in which two vehicles – a truck and a gypsy belonging to the army were involved. The Editor of LoA Mr. Zubair Ahmed has also published some concrete evidences to substantiate the report.
This is also an open secret that more than local people and tour operators, some of the top officials of Administration promote Jarawa Tourism. How many top level officers will be able to put their hands on their heart and say that they had never sent their guests to Baratang to see Jarawa?
Rules are very strict for ordinary persons at ATR but rules are often broken for VIP guests. For Jarawa Tourism, more than an ordinary tour guys, some top level officers are responsible. There is a need to find out details about each such trips and fix responsibility on them as well. The issue of semi-naked Jarawa Dance video should not end with catching just one guy. The Andaman and Nicobar Police, which has a brilliant record of cracking some of the most difficult cases in A & N Islands, must bring this case to a logical conclusion.
If Defence Personnel are involved they must be brought to book and if top officers are involved, action must also be taken against them. As things are becoming clear that uniformed persons were involved in this heinous act, entire world is now waiting to see how justice is done in A & N Islands.

Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Jan 17: Andaman and Nicobar Police, which had initially declared the Jarawa Nude Dance Video clip is 10 years old, now has claimed to have got some leads in this case, confirming that the video was just three years old.

“The video was shot in 2008 but we won’t be able to share anything more in this case. The investigation is on,” SBS Tyagi the Superintendent of Police, South Andaman told ‘Andaman Sheekha’ today.

Meanwhile, a local weekly of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on its recent issue has claimed that he video was shot three years back on 6th November 2008, in which two vehicles – a truck and a gypsy belonging to the army were involved.

The weekly, The Light of Andaman, also claims that the video was shot at a place about 8 kms from Jirkatang, known as Chowdhary Gumai on Andaman Trunk Road.

“One of the Jarawa women in the video was 7-8 months pregnant when the video was shot. She gave birth to a baby girl on 6 February 2009. The pregnant woman in the video, who is 24 years now has confirmed to a reliable source about the incident and the involvement of army personnel in it,” Zubair Ahmed the Editor of The Light of Andaman mentioned in his report.

When asked about the report, the SP of South Andaman that there is some confusion over the exact date of shooting the video but investigation is on in that angle too.

“We are trying to find out that the person in camouflage, as seen in the video clip, was an Army Jawan or a private security guard,” Tyagi added.

Sanjib Kumar Roy
Port Blair, Jan 15: Following a tip off, Andaman and Nicobar Police intercepted a tourist vehicle on Friday last at Jirkatang Jarawa Check Post of South Andaman and found freshly filmed videos of Jarawa in a Kolkata based tourist’s handycam.

While using Andaman Trunk Road for visiting North and Middle Andaman region, every tourist has pass to Jarawa Reserve Forest, which falls between Jirkatang to Middle Strait region of South and Middle Andaman respectively.

According to Police, upon inspection of handycam of Mr. Prabir Das a tourists from Kolkata, police found that the tourist had used his handycam on 13, January 2012, a number of time on Andaman Trunk Road, with the intention of making video of members of Jarawa tribe despite the loudspeaker announcements and displaying warnings in signboards.

“The inspection of the said handycam, a couple of videos of varying length were found recorded. One of the videos featured a couple of members of male Jarawa tribes walking on the Andaman Trunk Road,” the Director General of A & N Police, S B Deol informed media today.

However, no legal action was initiated against the said tourist and was allowed to go with warnings.

“The driver of the tourist vehicle has been challaned under relevant provisions of Motor Vehicle Act,” the DGP added.

Meanwhile, in an official warning the Director General of Police has warned all the people and tour operators of A & N Islands that henceforth A & N Police will adopt a ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy toward any attempt to promote Jarawa Tourism or Human Safari.

Port Blair, Jan 15: Expressing deep anguish over the shocking video of semi-naked Jarawa girls, the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lt. General Bhopinder Singh has directed the Director General of A & N Police to complete the investigation on a fast track to nab the culprits.

Terming the act of Jarawa Videography as deplorable and disgraceful act against humanity the Lt. Governor ordered fast track investigation “so that they can be meted out exemplary punishment.”

In an official released last night the Lt Governor clarified that in recent years, the Administration has taken various measures for the protection and welfare of Jarawa tribes and other indigenous tribes.

“For the first time in 150 years of settlement, the actual number of Jarawa population has gone up by 40 percent in the last ten years. The Administration has carefully addressed over 1500 medical requirements of the Jarawas as and when sought by the Jarawas themselves with exclusive wards dedicated to them to ensure sensitivity of handling their cases in the clinics and hospitals,” the Lt. Governor added.

He stressed that over the past many years, the Jarawas and the non-tribal population have been living in a very peaceful and harmonious manner in their respective areas of these far-flung Islands.

“However, an incident of this nature by some mischievous elements will not only create a misunderstanding and rift amongst the tribals and the non-tribal population but will also shame our islanders in particular and our country in general. Therefore there is a need to weed out these bad elements from our Islands which enjoy the reputation of being a very peaceful, secular and a unique model of unity in diversity to the entire world,” the LG mentioned in an official release of A & N Administration.

The Lt Governor has directed the Director General of Police to launch a crack down on all such dubious tour operators and their accomplices to ensure the utmost protection, dignity and welfare of indigenous and primitive tribes of A & N Islands.