Pulwama, March 3 : Police have arrested twenty seven youths from Ratnipora village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district for stoning the cavalcade of a junior minister of PDP-BJP government early this week.
Official sources said that the police arrested twenty youths during night hours from their respective homes. A police official said all the youth were involved in pelting stones on cavalcade of MoS Zahoor Ahmad Mir recently.
Angered at these arrests, locals enforced a complete shutdown in Ratnipora village on Friday. The locals were demanding release of all the youths from police custody. Meanwhile, three youths including two brothers identified as Nazir Ahmad Dar and Irshad Ahmad Dar were arrested from Gulshanabad village of Rajpora area in Pulwama while as twenty were arrested from Ratnipora village and four more youths have been arrested from Kakapora area of Pulwama.
A senior police officer while confirming the arrests and said that the youths are involved in many stone pelting related incidents including one at MoS Zahoor Ahmad Mir.
However, locals contended the police claims and said that most of the arrested youths are minor students and all are innocents. Following the arrests, the spontaneous shutdown was observed at Ratnipora and its adjacent areas.
The residents demanded their immediate release forthwith the locals threatened for intensifying the protests in their respective areas.
Meanwhile, army cordoned off Payeen Drubgam village of Pulwama district after hearing some gunshots today.
Police sources said that an army patrol was passing through the village when it heard the shots and later conducted a search and cordon operation. However as the operation was underway, locals resorted to stonepelting on army and later clashed with other forces personnel. Later the cordon was lifted. The locals said that government forces targeted mostly minors. “Some are Class 7th students. They are innocent and we don’t know why Forces targeted them,” they said.
Locals added that people didn’t sleep whole night and utilized all resources to know whereabouts of the arrested youth. Locals identified some of the arrested youth as Waseem Ahmed Reshi, Farooq Ahmed Bhat and Muhammad Yousuf Ganaie.
Nocturnal raids were also conducted in Gulshan Abad Rajpora where Government Forces arrested three persons including two brothers Nazir Ahmed Dar and Irshad Ahmed Dar, sons of Ghulam Nabi Dar. Besides, one more person Muhammad Aslam Dar son of Muhammad Akbar Dar was picked up during night raid in Drabgam area of the district.
Locals informed that night raids were also conducted in Kakpora area where government forces apprehended four persons Nazir Khaliq Dar, Aziz Mushtaq, Azhar Yousuf Lonw and Basit Bashir Wagay.
Sources said that Amir-e-Jamat Islami Pulwama Reyaz Ahmed Bhat was arrested during a night raid in Reenzpora village of Awantipora. However, a police official said that he was released and handed ove to his family members after questioning. The official said that those picked up different raids are known stone-pelters .
27 youths held in Ratnipora for ‘stoning’ Minister’s cavalcade
