- Valley witnesses spontaneous shutdown, clashes
- Over 2 dozen injured, 7 of them hit by pellets above chest
- Mass agitation will start the moment SC announces any verdict against state subject law
Over two dozen protesters were injured in clashes with the government forces, triggering a spontaneous shutdown in parts of Kashmir after rumours spread in the Valley that the Supreme Court has abrogated Article 35-A during today’s hearing.
Early morning, clashes erupted at Lal Chowk in Anantnag, Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir and parts of Srinagar after the rumours about the abrogation of Article 35-A abrogation spread across the Valley.
A slew of petitions clubbed together that challenge the constitutional validity of the article are being heard by the Supreme Court on August 31.
However, a fresh plea seeking abrogation of the article was listed for hearing in the apex court today and the news report about it created confusion among a section of the people in Kashmir.
The fresh petition, filed by BJP leader and lawyer, Ashwini Upadhyay, was adjourned after the petitioner moved an adjournment plea before the Supreme Court.
In Anantnag, at least five people were injured in clashes between youth and government forces.
The injured were shifted to a local hospital for treatment.
According to a medico at the District Hospital Anantnag, of the five injured, four had pellet wounds in the head and abdomen while the fifth was hit by a tear smoke shell in the abdomen.
Hundreds of students hit streets in the main town Anantnag amid pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.
Youth pelted stones at the government forces deployed in the area, causing spontaneous shutdown and triggering intense clashes in the area.
Later, clashes spread to adjacent areas like Cheeni Chowk, Reshi Bazar, Achabal Adda and Old Kadipora.
The government forces fired tear smoke shells and resorted to aerial firing to disperse the stone-throwing youth.
Meanwhile, locals said paramilitary CRPF personnel vandalized and damaged several parked cars at Qazi Mohalla including the car of RK photographer, Sheikh Mashooq.
Besides, the windowpanes of the Jamia Masjid at Reshi Bazar were also damaged by the government forces, locals said.
In Kulgam clashes broke out when government forces intercepted a protest rally which was taken out by the students of Government Degree College, Kulgam following protests in Anantnag.
During the clashes, as per a health official, four people sustained minor injuries in the government forces action while over a dozen youth were also picked up by Police during protests.
However, Police claimed that only four youth were detained for disturbing law and order.
In Shopian, scores of youth hit the streets and clashed with the government forces amid anti-Indian and pro-freedom slogans.
According to locals, as the protesting youth were heading towards the Central Masjid in Shopian market, they hurled stones and bricks at Police vehicles.
In retaliation, the government forces resorted to teargas shelling and fired pellets at protestors.
“A number of youth were injured in the action of government forces,” the residents said.
The injured were shifted to District Hospital Shopian for treatment.
A health official told Kashmir Post that the hospital received 22 injured youth.
“Out of them, six injured were referred to Srinagar for treatment. Of those six injured, three have pellet injuries in the eyes and three in different body parts,” the official said.
In Pulwama district, few youth hit the streets and started pelting stones at the government forces near Police Station Pulwama.
Locals said the government forces swung into action and fired dozens of teargas canisters and PAVA shells to disperse the youth.
As protestors resisted, the government forces sealed the roads leading to the main market by creating barricades at important entry points and restricting the movement of vehicles into the town through the main market.
Later, clashes spread to Murran Chowk near the district hospital and Dalipora Chowk and continued till afternoon.
Incidents of stone pelting were also reported from Saraf Kadal, Amira Kadal, Karan Nagar, Maisuma and commercial hub of Lal Chowk and downtown areas of Srinagar.
Reports said protests and clashes were also reported from Ganderbal in central Kashmir and Sopore in north Kashmir after the rumours.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Home Guards, Security and Law and Order, Munir Ahmad Khan said the “rumour mongers” would be dealt strictly.
“A ‘rumour’ is being spread by miscreants that the hearing of Article 35-A case in the Supreme Court is today. This is not a fact. We will investigate all these ‘rumour mongering cases’ and deal with the culprits strictly,” Khan tweeted.
He said the cases were registered by Police at the respective places wherever “rumours” disturbed the law and order.
“FIRs have been registered wherever the law and order was disturbed. The ‘rumour mongers’ will be identified and brought to book,” he said.
However, the ADGP Law and Order said only eight to nine people were injured during Monday’s clashes.
A Police spokesman termed the news reports regarding the scrapping of Article 35-A by some sections of media as “baseless”.
“People are requested to maintain calm and not to pay heed to rumours. The main hearing is on August 31,” a Police spokesman said.
Meanwhile, amid chaos, complete to partial shutdown was observed in Srinagar and southern Kashmir parts.
Shops and business establishments were closed while transport services were also hit.
However, private cars were seen plying on roads in the city and other peripheries of the Valley.
The stone pelting prompted the authorities to suspend the class work in several colleges in Kashmir including Amar Singh College, Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College Bemina, S P College, Women’s College M A Road and Islamia College of Science and Technology in Srinagar and Degree College Sopore.
However, the situation remained normal in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, and north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Baramulla towns.
People in Jammu Kashmir are seeking to dismiss the petitions challenging the Article 35-A that bars non-state residents from buying or owning immovable property, own citizenship, or avail scholarship schemes and government jobs in the State.
The separatists have already called for a shutdown on August 30 and 31 when the hearing is scheduled.
On August 5 and 6, Kashmir and Chenab valley observed an exemplary shutdown against the “tinkering” with Article 35-A.
The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Miwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Mnoday reiterated the two day protest strike call for August 30 and 31 as Supreme Court hears a series of petitions seeking rollback of hereditary state subject law of J&K.
In a joint statement, the three leaders said the state subject law is a highly emotive issue for people, affecting their very existence as a people in pursuit of their fundamental right of self determination.
“The moment Indian news channels ran a news about a fresh plea submitted in the Supreme Court challenging the state subject law, there was a spontaneous reaction from people who within seconds hit the streets in protest and shopkeepers immediately downed their shutters and traffic came to a halt. It stands as an eye opener for New Delhi and gives them a clear message that Kashmiris are in no way going to take this assault lying low and are ready to make every sacrifice to safeguard their identity and the disputed status of their state,” they said.
They said people of Kashmir would never allow their birth place to become another Palestine, where Israel changed the demography by grabbing land and property of hereditary citizens of Palestine and settled outsiders to change the demographic character of the State.
The leaders condemned the use of brute force on protesting people and students in Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Bandipora, Sopore Tral, and other areas and termed it as the shameful highhandedness of forces in which dozens of people were injured with many sustaining pellet injuries.
“It has become habit of the rulers to use military might on every peaceful protest in order to crush every voice raised by us to express our concerns, throwing even basic human principle to winds, not to talk of democratic norms,” they said.
The leaders said protests and sit-ins by various traders’ bodies and other segments of society would continue till August 31.
“In case Supreme Court announces any verdict against the wishes and aspirations of people of J&K, from that very moment mass agitation will start across the State as people will hit the roads in protest and occupy them,” they said.
They urged people to maintain discipline while expressing their resentment and follow the programs conveyed by JRL.
