India NewsPoliticsRSS Feed - International

Total Curfew In Jammu on third day after the angry protests by locals against the Pulwama Attacks

A curfew in Jammu continued for a third consecutive day on Sunday with the authorities saying that it will remain in force until the law and order situation improves in the city.

Jammu, February 17, 2019 –

A curfew in Jammu continued for a third consecutive day on Sunday with the authorities saying that it will remain in force until the law and order situation improves in the city.

“The situation was normal and under control during the night except for some stray incidents,” a police official said here.

“Protests took place on Saturday evening in the city’s Nai Basti, Bantalab, Omana and Parade ground areas, but were quickly brought under control.

Miscreants pelted stones at the quarters and attacked state secretariat employees (based in Jammu during the winter months) despite police officials being deployed there. The stone-pelting, including by local women, is still ongoing from both sides.

 

Total Curfew In Jammu on third day after the angry protests by locals against the Pulwama Attacks

Areas like Gujjar Nagar, Kharika Talav, Shaheedi Chowk – considered most sensitive because of their Muslim population saw the deployment of soldiers and policemen on Saturday

Protests erupted in Jammu city following the militant attack in Pulwama on February 14, which killed 49 Central Reserve Police Force troopers. Dozens of vehicles were set on fire and shops vandalised. A curfew was thus announced on February 15.

Most of Jammu has been free of public disruption and violence since the army was deployed on Friday. The old city, which witnessed mob violence and arson yesterday, has since been calm. Normalcy has returned to some extent to the neighbourhoods in Narwal, Channi Himmat and Sunjwan. But the indifference of the police towards enforcing the curfew may prompt these areas to revert to rioting.

Tension And Conflict in Various Areas

In Janipur, pre-existing tension and conflict between the colony of locals and Kashmiri government employees meant that the entire area should have been promptly sealed off and a strict curfew imposed. Sources say that five people, allegedly involved in stone-pelting in the area, have been jailed. But the police force and army, deployed in the area since Saturday morning, are yet to bring the situation under control.

Instead, the administration is allowing cars, bikes and scooters to travel freely on the roads, despite setting up barbed wire to create an illusion of a curfew. Residents in the government quarters in Jammu have demanded security and threatened to return to Kashmir if no measures are taken.

Krishnan Vijay Kumar, an advisor to governor Satya Pal Malik, was seen in Gujjar Nagar. “I have just come from Kashmir and I am trying to find out what happened here yesterday,” he said. He spent the entire day assessing the situation – despite this, it has not improved.

An assessment of the situation indicates that the administration is not serious about restoring communal harmony in Jammu. It has given a free hand to protesters and allowed the politicisation of protests, which could have further perilous consequences – including the alienation of Kashmiri police personnel.

The Army has heightened security in Jammu city to maintain law and order.

The curfew was imposed on Friday after miscreants torched vehicles and damaged several others carrying number plates of the Kashmir Valley in protest against Thursday’s killing of 49 CRPF troopers in a suicide attack in Pulwama by a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant.

A shutdown was also observed on Saturday in the Jammu region’s Udhampur, Kathua, Samba and Reasi districts.

Meanwhile, helplines have been set-up for Kashmiri students and others engaged in business outside the state to ensure their safety.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh spoke to the Uttarakhand police chief on Saturday regarding the well-being of the Kashmiri students in the state.

The Union Home Ministry has issued an advisory to various states detailing measures to be taken for the safety of Kashmiris.

 

Show More

News Desk

Read the latest updates from all over the world.
Advertisment
Back to top button