The recent spate of civilian killings in the region has seen security step up in general. But now, the arbitrary seizures of two-wheelers in and around the city are crippling the e-commerce industry.
Jehangir Ali
Ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, security forces have launched a crackdown on motorbikes, disrupting e-commerce and local businesses that depend on two-wheelers to keep their services afloat.
According to reports, the J&K Police started the crackdown last week, seizing several hundred two-wheelers across the capital, Srinagar, in a move to put the brakes on a spate of civilian killings that have shaken the Valley this month.
Sheikh Samiullah, the co-founder of Fastbeetle, a Srinagar-based e-commerce start-up based which employs around 100 people, said the company has halted delivery services after police started arbitrarily seizing bikes in the city.
“We were trying to recover from the shock of the Centre reading down Article 370 and the COVID-19 pandemic. But our law and order are crumbling us again and again,” he said, adding that the police seized six bikes involved in the company’s delivery operations, even though they had valid documents.
“One delivery executive, who is the sole breadwinner of his family, literally broke down in my office after his bike was seized, but I couldn’t help him,” Samiullah said. Fastbeetle has been recognised as a start-up by the Union government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
Dozens of traders in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, the commercial centre of Kashmir, said that many of their employees who commute on two-wheelers have been unable to show up for work since last week due to the fear of a police crackdown.
“Those who do show up arrive late and they also have to leave early. This has hit the business badly. The situation was getting better but it now seems to be going from bad to worse,” said Abdul Majid, who runs an apparel showroom in Srinagar.
Aqib Ahmad, a 25-year-old mobile accessories hawker from Srinagar, was on his way to set up his stall in Lal Chowk on Saturday morning when a group of J&K Police personnel signalled for him to stop.
“I thought they will ask for documents. Instead, they told me to hand over the bike. I tried to reason [with them] but one of the cops manhandled me and snatched the bike. No seizure challan was given. I later got to know that they have taken it to the police station,” he said.
“It shows a complete breakdown of law and order,” Ahmad rued. “My bike is an extra pair of limbs for me. I don’t know what I would have done if anyone in our family had fallen sick or there was some other exigency.”
Burhan Bhat, a journalist, narrated his ordeal on Twitter. The Srinagar-based independent reporter said a group of policemen stopped him on Wednesday near Soura on the city’s outskirts and snatched the keys of his two-wheeler.
“They ordered me to go home and said some senior police officer has ordered us to get exactly 70 bikes till evening. ‘It’s called Gunda Raj,’ one of the policemen yelled as I reasoned. He took my cell phone after I told him that I’m a journalist,” he said in a series of tweets.
Bhat went on to note that the police refused to provide a reason for seizing his bike and that, while they allowed him to leave after a prolonged argument, other people remained pleading with them.
A senior police official said that some seized bikes had been handed over to their owners after their registration papers were verified while some are still in custody. “We will return them after verifying their documents,” the official, who is not authorised to speak with media, said.
Many anguished youngsters who spoke with The Wire claimed that the police officials who seized their bikes told them they would be returned after October 25, when the home minister’s three-day visit to J&K is to wind up.
This claim was corroborated by at least three people who spoke with The Wire.
“They (police) told me not to bother too much and that my bike will be released only after October 25,” said a youngster who works at a garments showroom in Srinagar, wishing anonymity for fear of reprisal by officials.
Sheikh Zahoor Qari, president of Kashmir Courier Association, said that about 4,000 youngsters have been directly employed by 35 courier companies such as Bluedart, Trackon, DTDC and the like or their Kashmir-based affiliates. He said there are thousands of other youngsters who work on commission or on a part-time basis to earn extra income.
“All of them are on the brink of leaving their jobs because of unnecessary police harassment. The situation has turned especially bad recently after the recent incidents (of civilian killings). Some of our boys have been beaten up by cops. Their families aren’t allowing them to work now,” said Qari, who operates a unit of Bluedart’s courier service in Srinagar.
He said the spate of civilian killings has led to “unnecessary targeting” of bikers. “There is total chaos. We are in a very difficult situation. 75% [of our] staff is absent and only cars are being used for delivery, which has shot up costs. We are losing credibility and it’s shameful that the government is silently watching this assault on innocents who work hard to earn a dignified livelihood,” he said.
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Vijay Kumar, inspector general of police, Kashmir, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Jammu and Kashmir police have, however, denied that the crackdown was linked to the home minister’s visit. Quoting Kumar, an official spokesperson said the crackdown was linked to the spate of targeted killings.
In a Tweet, the Kashmir zone police said that the seizure of bikes and the shutting down of some internet towers was due to “terror” and “violence” and categorically denied any link to the home minister’s visit.
Security, in general, has been stepped up in Kashmir as the home minister is set to begin his three-day visit on Saturday. This will be his first since the Union government read down Article 370 and downgraded the erstwhile state into two union territories.
The home minister’s visit coincides with the deterioration of the security climate in Kashmir where more than three dozen persons, including at least 10 civilians, have been killed by suspected militants this month alone. This month also saw CRPF personnel shoot dead a civilian in a case of mistaken identity.
The J&K police launched the crackdown on bikers following the spurt in insurgency-related violence and a wave of targeted killings. In many such attacks, including one that left a school principal and a teacher dead in Srinagar earlier this month, the assailants were reported to have used bikes to escape.
These attacks underscore the precarity of the security situation in Kashmir and the home minister is reported to be reviewing security preparedness in the wake of the latest wave of attacks during his visit.
