The police have arrested 39 supporters of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for allegedly organising a protest and indulging in pelting of stones on March 4 at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
“Pelting of stones will not be allowed at any cost. We have arrested 39 persons who indulged in the act in Srinagar [on Friday]. Fifteen of them will be booked under the PSA [Public Safety Act],” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said.
A protest broke out on Friday after the Mirwaiz, who is also a chief cleric, was not released from house arrest and stopped from leading the prayers at the mosque. Later, a group of youth, who raised pro-Mirwaiz and pro-freedom slogans, clashed with the security forces.
Militant modules busted
Mr. Kumar described the killing of Al-Badr chief Gani Khawja in an encounter on Tuesday in north Kashmir as “a major jolt to militancy”.
“Khawja was instrumental in recruiting youth. He would receive new militant groups in north Kashmir and help them to reach districts of south Kashmir,” he said.
In another major success, two modules of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Muhammad have been busted and seven fresh militant recruits, including a student, were arrested. “They were planning IED and ‘fidayeen’ [suicide] attacks in south Kashmir,” he stated.
The student was “motivated through social media applications”. “A vehicle was also recovered that was supposed to be used for carrying out a car bomb,” he observed.
Alert in Srinagar
The police have sounded an alert in Srinagar after a tip-off about the presence of Lashkar-e-Toiba (TRF) chief Abbas in Chanapora area. “We have received inputs about Abbas’s presence in Chanapora area of Srinagar. An alert has been sounded and active vigil is being maintained,” he added.
