Jammu

Jammu: Police detain Kashmiri man from quarters of Secretariat employees, ‘had gone to buy milk’, say employees, ‘was pelting stones’, say police

Posted on

Secretariat employees say Irshad had gone to get supplies for the children when they were out of milk

Police says that Irshad had been ‘creating ruckus and was pelting stones’ 

Srinagar: A Kashmiri man living in Government quarters in Janipur, Jammu has been ‘picked up’ by the Jammu police for alleged stone-pelting. The government employees living in the quarters say he is innocent and say he had gone to buy supplies.

Irshad Ahmad, from Srinagar was residing in the quarters with his sister had been fetching ‘food for the children’, according to the Secretariat employees. Speaking to Free Press Kashmir, the employees said, “we had no supplies so he went out to get milk and biscuits for kids. That must have angered the crowd that is outside.”

“The SSP used abusive language for us, our sisters and mothers. After they took Irshad, his sister fainted. We don’t know what they will do now. We only request the authorities to help us get back home. We might get under attack again,” an employee informed Free Press Kashmir over the telephone adding, “I can only see his fainted sister here. No one is in his quarter. He stays here for 12 months. The Dogras provoked the police to arrest him.”

SSP Jammu, Tejinder Singh, on the other hand, told Free Press Kashmir that Irshad was pelting stones from inside the quarters.

“He has created a ruckus there. He infiltrated and has been throwing stones since yesterday. Yesterday, we let him go. And he is not an employee of secretariat. He might be someone’s relative there,” said Singh who hung up the phone before any more questions could be asked by the reporter.

The allegations of the police are totally wrong, say the Kashmiri employees staying in the quarters.

“They are asking us not to come out of our rooms. We need to meet each other right now. They are not even letting us roam around inside the premises. In that scenario, how would he go out alone and pelt stones?” ask the secretariat employees who are in Jammu currently for the winter session.

The employees had earlier told Free Press Kashmir about movement of non-Kashmiris in their quarters.

“A few non local boys were going out and telling the protestors outside that they will pelt stones from inside the quarters, giving the protestors a ‘reason to retaliate’. They would then blame it on Kashmiris,” an employee had told FPK.

After Irshad’s ‘detention’, the employees say Irshad was taken by the police as he is not a Secreatiat employee and is an ‘easy target.’

The place remains under curfew for the third consecutive day after mobs attacked cars bearing Kashmir numbers. The authorities have responded by shutting down internet to prevent any further violence.

ALSO READ:We were attacked from all sides’: Darbar move employees in Jammu say neighbours were part of the mob too

This development follows a suicide attack claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad, in which 49 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Pulwama region of Jammu and Kashmir.

While Kashmiris working outside Jammu and Kashmir got suspension orders and termination letters, the Kashmiri government employees were attacked by a mob in Jammu, ‘while police watched as a mute spectator’.

The anti-Kashmiri sentiment is already on the rise as the traders had earlier testified to be harassed by the locals and the police in the name of verification. Following that, during the closure of National Highway, the stranded Kashmiris were attacked by stones by Jammu students accusing them of raising pro-Pakistan slogans in their college.

ALSO READ: Sikh Samaritans of Jammu: ‘We won’t let anyone harass our Kashmiri brethren’

After the attack curfew was imposed and internet services were barred in Jammu.

Despite the curfew, mobs damaged around 60 vehicles on Friday. The most volatile area in Jammu is said to be Janipur where a mob had attacked government quarters of Kashmiris serving in the Secretariat.

Meanwhile, Kashmiris living in many parts of India are receiving are receiving hateful text messages or termination letters for posting their opinion on social media platforms.

A mob had threatened to set a Dehradun college on fire if the institute didn’t terminate a Kashmiri dean. Abid Kuchay, college Dean of the Alpine Institute has been terminated.

ALSO READ#IndiaWantsRevenge: Kashmiri businesses attacked in parts of India, exhibitors in Patna warned, told ‘Wind up in 24 hrs’

“The college asked for it. I agreed for the betterment of the college,” he said. Abid’s resignation has been asked for his role of getting Kashmir students admitted in the college.

Moreover, four Kashmiri students were suspended on Saturday by the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Rajasthan for sharing a WhatsApp status in which they were allegedly celebrating the Pulwama attack which left 49 CRPF personnel dead.

The second-year students — Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir — were suspended soon after they shared as a WhatsApp status allegedly celebrating the killings of the CRPF personnel in the attack

ALSO READ: Pulwama attack aftermath: Police, political parties set up helplines for Kashmiris staying outside the state

Earlier, Shridev Suman Subharti University in Dehradun suspended a Kashmiri student after his alleged WhatsApp chat regarding the Pulwama attack went viral.

Meanwhile, Aligarh Muslim University also suspended a Kashmiri student over a ‘highly objectionable tweet’.

Omar Saleem Peerzada, AMU PRO said: “We have come to know of the highly objectionable tweet. Taking immediate cognizance the student has been suspended by the university administration,” he said.

Moreover, 15-20 Kashmiri female students had locked themselves in a hostel room in Dehradun after a mob surrounded the campus area, demanding the management to ‘throw them out of their rooms’.

Shazia Hamid, one of the students, told Free Press Kashmir that she and other Kashmiri female students, fearing the mob, have locked themselves in a room.

Following Free Press Kashmir’s news story the women were provided safety by the Dehradun police who dispersed the crowd peacefully.

Earlier, former chief minister Omar Abdullah had appealed to the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh to direct all state governments to take ‘special care of areas where Kashmiris as residing or studying.’

Following the reports of attacks on Kashmiris in various parts of India, Government of India on Saturday asked all the states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Click to comment

Most Popular

© 2024 Free Press Kashmir. All rights reserved.

Exit mobile version