New Delhi, February 17 (Agencies): There has been mounting concern over the safety of Kashmiris living in different parts of the country after Kashmir’s bloodiest attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in south Kashmir on Thursday.
There have been some incidents of people from Kashmir being harassed and intimidated in retaliation against the terror attack, prompting the Union home ministry to issue an advisory all states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir living in their areas .
The CRPF, which suffered its worst loss in a single day in the valley, and has sworn to avenge the death of its troopers, stayed true to its professionalism as it took to Twitter to announce the launch of a 24-hour helpline for Kashmiri students and general public who are out of the valley.
The Home Ministry’s advisory came hours after home minister Rajnath Singh assured an all-party meeting of doing the needful for the protection of the Kashmiri students and people who were allegedly threatened after the terrorist attack in Pulwama.
A Home Ministry official said there have been some reports of students and other residents of Jammu and Kashmir experiencing threats and intimidation. “Therefore, the Home Ministry today issued an advisory to all states/UTs to take necessary measures to ensure their safety and security,” the official said.
Some Kashmiri youths studying in the Uttarakhand capital, Dehradun, have alleged that they were harassed and have been asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties in the aftermath of the attack
The Jammu and Kashmir Police said anyone from the state who is living outside and needs assistance can contact them. People on social media also posted several helpline numbers.
Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik held a high level meeting at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday and reviewed the law and order situation in the state in the aftermath of a the Pulwama attack.
The governor reviewed the situation of students from Jammu and Kashmir State in various Universities and Colleges across the country. He was informed that the Liaison Officers appointed at all major locations were working effectively and coordinating with University Authorities and local police ensuring the safety of our students.
The Governor asked all political parties and senior political leaders to appeal to people to maintain peace and harmony. Malik appealed to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony so that the forces trying to disrupt the peaceful environs for their petty interests are defeated.
Apprehending physical and verbal attacks from frenzied groups in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, around 100 Jammu and Kashmir students from various colleges across north India, mostly from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, have returned to the Valley. The police control room in J&K received 50 distress calls in the past two days.
The CRPF received distress calls from Kashmiris in Jammu city, Maharashtra and Dehradun, seeking assistance, a senior government official told The Hindu.
The J&K administration also informed the MHA that most of the distress calls were coming from Dehradun and Ambala in Haryana.
A few Kashmiri students and residents were also booked for posting messages celebrating the Pulwama terror attack on social media.
After reports of attacks on Kashmiris emerged, the CRPF on Saturday issued an advisory and said all such students and residents could contact its toll free helpline Madadgar-14411 for speedy assistance in case of any “difficulties or harassment.”
The helpline was established in 2017 to help local Kashmiri population. The Home Ministry had issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories on Saturday to ensure the security and safety of Kashmiri students and residents.
“Over 24 hours since Saturday evening (till Sunday) we received 22 calls from Kashmiris. Some sought security due to apprehensions of harassment. A few families in Jammu requested for food items as they have not been able to go to markets which are shut due to curfew. Representatives from the nearest CRPF unit and offices in Jammu were sent to these callers with food and other essentials,” an official said.
Nasir Khuehami, a spokesperson of the J&K Students Organisation, said in the past three days their helpline (9915378749) received 800 calls from Kashmiri students and their parents. “Most calls are coming from Dehradun. Many students were thrashed by members of the Bajrang Dal and the VHP. The police are helping us and so far 100 students have returned to their homes. I stayed in Dehradun for four years but never witnessed something like this before. No one treated us as an outsider,” Mr. Khuehami said. He said the student body had set up a temporary shelter in Chandigarh.
Ashok Kumar, Uttarakhand ADG (Law and Order) said police pickets and patrolling have been enhanced near all the educational institutions and hostels in Dehradun.
“We are bound by the constitution and we are ensuring safety of all Kashmiri students in Dehradun. We are also taking action against anyone expressing anti-India and anti-national sentiments. We are appealing to both sides, those taking out processions that it should be peaceful and asking the other side to exercise restraint,” said Mr. Kumar.
Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) tweeted, “Security has been strengthened all across the National Capital including minority dominated areas. Visibility of police personnel has been increased. We’ll ensure the safety and security of every citizen including Kashmiri inhabitants and students living in Delhi.”
Concern prevailed on Saturday among the parents and relatives in Kashmir of the Kashmiri students and traders living in Dehradun and Haryana following alleged threats to them by mobs in the wake of the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in a terror attack on a convoy in Pulwama on Thursday.
A Kashmiri student studying in Dehradun reportedly told his relatives in Bandipora that landlords were asking them (Kashmiri students) to vacate. Some Kashmiri students and traders in Haryana reportedly called up their parents and relatives in Shopian and Kupwara, saying they were harassed.
A police spokesman in Srinagar said they had spoken to the Dehradun police. “The Dehradun police are in touch with the representative of Kashmir-based boys and all necessary arrangements for the safety and security of the students in Dehradun have been put in place,” he said.
“We have set up helplines in most districts of the Kashmir Valley for students and traders in case of any exigency outside the State.”
In Jammu, curfew continued for the second day on Saturday, with reports of attacks in residential areas housing Kashmiri-speaking people.
There was tension on Friday despite the Jammu Chamber of Commerce’s call to maintain calm.
“There has been constant attempt to stone our quarters since the morning. Curfew has failed to deter mobsters from hurling stones at Kashmiris’ residential quarters. It smacks of leniency shown by the police towards mobsters,” alleged a Kashmiri, who reportedly lives in a government residential quarters in Janipur area.
President of the Secretariat Employees Union Ghulam Rasool Mir alleged that police remained silent spectators when mobs entered the quarters. “There are brazen attempts to damage the communal harmony and brotherhood,” he said.
On Friday, over 50 vehicles of a particular community were either set on fire or smashed by mobs protesting against the Pulwama killing of CRPF jawans.
An Army spokesman said Army personnel were helping the civil authorities in maintaining law and order in Jammu. “Eighteen columns have been deployed in Gujjar Nagar, Janipur, Shahidi Chowk, Talab Khatika, Sidhra and other sensitive areas. Flag marches were also conducted,” said the spokesman. The Army was using helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles “to monitor the situation”, he added.
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he was deeply distressed by reports of alleged attacks on Kashmiris in Jammu and other places. “Those in charge are obliged to ensure that the safety and security of Kashmiris is not compromised with at a time when anti-Kashmir rhetoric has been ratcheted up,” he said.
All factions of separatist amalgam Joint Resistance Leadership also condemned the alleged attacks on students and traders.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and the CPI(M) have called for “calm”.
“I am disappointed at the resolution (passed after the all-party meet in Delhi) as it did not include a call for calm. There are reports of violence in Jammu and tension in the university and on college campuses in some States. I would have expected an appeal for calm along with condemnation and condolences,” said Mr. Abdullah.
Ms Mufti said, “In this time of grief and outrage, attempts will be made to divide us. Our pain must not fuel such diabolical plans. Because eventually, the axe forgets but the tree remembers.”
Several traders’ bodies in the Kashmir Valley, including the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Forum and Kashmir Economic Alliance, have called for a shutdown on Sunday for the alleged attacks on Kashmiris. Concern prevailed on Saturday among the parents and relatives in Kashmir of the Kashmiri students and traders living in Dehradun and Haryana following alleged threats to them by mobs in the wake of the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in a terror attack on a convoy in Pulwama on Thursday.
A Kashmiri student studying in Dehradun reportedly told his relatives in Bandipora that landlords were asking them (Kashmiri students) to vacate. Some Kashmiri students and traders in Haryana reportedly called up their parents and relatives in Shopian and Kupwara, saying they were harassed.
A police spokesman in Srinagar said they had spoken to the Dehradun police. “The Dehradun police are in touch with the representative of Kashmir-based boys and all necessary arrangements for the safety and security of the students in Dehradun have been put in place,” he said.
Police have set up helplines in most districts of the Kashmir Valley for students and traders in case of any exigency outside the State.
In Jammu, curfew continued for the second day on Saturday, with reports of attacks in residential areas housing Kashmiri-speaking people.
There was tension on Friday despite the Jammu Chamber of Commerce’s call to maintain calm.
“There has been constant attempt to stone our quarters since the morning. Curfew has failed to deter mobsters from hurling stones at Kashmiris’ residential quarters. It smacks of leniency shown by the police towards mobsters,” alleged a Kashmiri, who reportedly lives in a government residential quarters in Janipur area.
President of the Secretariat Employees Union Ghulam Rasool Mir alleged that police remained silent spectators when mobs entered the quarters. “There are brazen attempts to damage the communal harmony and brotherhood,” he said.
On Friday, over 50 vehicles of a particular community were either set on fire or smashed by mobs protesting against the Pulwama killing of CRPF jawans.
An Army spokesman said Army personnel were helping the civil authorities in maintaining law and order in Jammu.
“Eighteen columns have been deployed in Gujjar Nagar, Janipur, Shahidi Chowk, Talab Khatika, Sidhra and other sensitive areas. Flag marches were also conducted,” said the spokesman. The Army was using helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles “to monitor the situation”, he added.
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he was deeply distressed by reports of alleged attacks on Kashmiris in Jammu and other places. “Those in charge are obliged to ensure that the safety and security of Kashmiris is not compromised with at a time when anti-Kashmir rhetoric has been ratcheted up,” he said.
All factions of separatist amalgam Joint Resistance Leadership also condemned the alleged attacks on students and traders.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and the CPI(M) have called for “calm”.
“I am disappointed at the resolution (passed after the all-party meet in Delhi) as it did not include a call for calm. There are reports of violence in Jammu and tension in the university and on college campuses in some States. I would have expected an appeal for calm along with condemnation and condolences,” said Mr. Abdullah.
Ms Mufti said, “In this time of grief and outrage, attempts will be made to divide us. Our pain must not fuel such diabolical plans. Because eventually, the axe forgets but the tree remembers.”
Several traders’ bodies in the Kashmir Valley, including the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Forum and Kashmir Economic Alliance, have called for a shutdown on Sunday for the alleged attacks on Kashmiris.
The Rajasthan police on Sunday booked four women paramedical students of Kashmiri origin under sedition charges for allegedly posting on social media pictures of their purported celebration of the Pulwama terror attack.
An FIR was registered at Jaipur district’s Chandwaji police station based on a complaint lodged by authorities of the National Institute of Medical Sciences, a private university where the students are studying.
The university has also suspended the second-year students.
Jaipur (Rural) Superintendent of Police Harendra Kumar said the FIR was registered under Sections 124-A (sedition) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
“A senior officer is probing the matter,” he said.
The Belagavi police in Karnataka have arrested a schoolteacher on sedition charge.
This comes after allegations that she shared some pro-Pakistan posts on social media.
The teacher from Kadabi Shivapur village near Saundatti was arrested on Saturday after someone noticed her posts on WhatsApp and informed the police. Three hours later, as news spread, some miscreants tried to set fire to her house. “We came to know about the posts around five in the evening. Within an hour the woman was traced and arrested. The accused has been booked under Sections 124 and 124A of the IPC,” Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police, said.
The teacher was produced in a local court on Sunday and remanded in judicial custody, the police said.
Six youths who set fire to the house have been arrested. A case has been registered at the Murgod police station.
Some Hindu and Kannada organisations took out a rally at Murgod, seeking the release of the arrested persons. The Murgod bandh called by some organisations was a partial success.
The teacher is the second person to be arrested in the State over similar comments on the suicide bomb attack.
(The featured image at the top shows students in Jammu stoning the police at a demonstration against Kashmiris militants)
