Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Sep 8: Ahead of Eid, police has launched a fresh crackdown on stone throwers and arrested at least 32 youth across Valley in last three days. All the arrested youth have been booked under serious charges including attempt to murder.
Police and paramilitary CRPF men are jointly conducting raids and search operations to arrest the youth allegedly involved in stone pelting. Police has intensified the raids ahead of ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.At least 14 youth of Chota Bazar were arrested by police and CRPF men when they were trying to enquire about the condition of an injured youth Aabid Bazaz in SMHS hospital. Aabid was hit by a bullet in police and CRPF firing at Chota Bazar area of old city yesterday evening.
A police spokesman said in drive against stone-throwers, the cops arrested 14 youth of Chota Bazar and booked them under relevant provisions of law. “A case under FIR No 99 under section 307,147, 427, 148,336 and 341 RPC has been registered against them,” he said.
Six youth were also arrested from Kangan area of Ganderbal district on Tuesday. “Police conducted a raid on Tuesday evening in Kangan area and arrested six youth,” the locals said.
Police, however, did not confirm the arrests.
A youth was also arrested from Fateh Kadal area on Wednesday. He has been identified as Danish Latief alias Mukhe-mantri.
On Shab-e-Qadar, police laid siege around Nowhatta and arrested ten youth during clashes in the area. “We were watching their movement for a while and caught them while pelting stones on police station Nowhatta,” a police officer said.
Reports about arrests of youth have also been received from South Kashmir’s Islamabad and Pulwama districts.
A senior police officer, pleading anonymity, said they have been directed to act strictly on the stone-throwers. “Disrupting peace is a crime and it is our duty to deal with the crime,” he said.
Surprisingly, police has intensified its crackdown on stone throwers at a time when demand for release of political prisoners and youth is being demanded by separatist and mainstream camp.
Earlier, a wire news agency had reported that chief minister Omar Abdullah would release 700 stone-throwers on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr as a “good-will gesture”.
However, IGP S M Sahai had told Rising Kashmir that police had no plans to release any stone-thrower on Eid eve. The government also seemed tightlipped over the release of prisoners prior to the Muslim festival.
The release of prisoners is one of the five demands put forth by Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani for initiation of dialogue with New Delhi.
Experts in Kashmir believe that the stone-throwing has emerged a “major challenge” for the State as well as the New Delhi. “What gun could not do in 1990, stones are doing in 2010,” said Prof Gul Muhammad Wani, who teaches political science at the University of Kashmir.
