More than 170 Youth Detained

Culprits To Be Dealt With Strictly: Police
Srinagar, Mar 10: In the backdrop of the killing of a youth in Baramulla and subsequent protest demonstrations across the valley, police has rounded up at least 170 youth from different districts of Kashmir during the past four days.

Police said those involved in stone pelting and disruption of peace would be dealt with strictly. Police action has not only forced the youth to go into hiding to evade arrests but has also sparked off protests at several places across the valley.
Reports said police is carrying out nocturnal raids in almost all pockets of Srinagar and other districts to arrest the youth. Most of the youth who have been arrested were allegedly involved in stone throwing and disruption in 2008 and 2009, police sources said. The people term the police action as unwarranted.
On Saturday, protests erupted at a dozen places in Valley against the arrest of youth. The protestors were demanding the release of the arrested youth.
People in Palhallan Pattan and Mazhama, Sopore, Pakharpora, Bandipora and other places Saturday took to streets and demanded immediate release of the arrested youth. The protesting people alleged that police arrested the youth during nocturnal raids and parents are not being allowed to meet them.
In south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, according to reports, police have lodged FIRs against several youth, however police said they have arrested only 10 people for their alleged involvement in stone pelting and disruption of peace.
In Srinagar, the youth have been arrested from several areas that include downtown, Batamaloo and Hazratbal. On Saturday a local court here remanded 11 youth to police custody and sent a minor to Juvenile Home, who police alleged were involved in stone pelting in different parts of Srinagar.
The youth have also been arrested from Pulwama, Budgam, Anantnag, Shopian and Sopore.
Police on Saturday cordoned off Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura and arrested Duktaran-e-Milat (DeM) activist Fehmida Sofi who police alleged was an active member of Muttahida Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MMM), an amalgam of separatist groups. However DeM said that Fehmida has no role in MMM.
Earlier, police arrested senior Hurriyat leader Ghulam Nabi Zaki, during a nocturnal raid in Sopore and he has been shifted to District Jail Baramulla from Sopore police station.
Separatist leaders including, Zahid Ali Advocate, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Ghulam Nabi Zaqi and Muhammad Shaban Sheikh have also been arrested.
In Sopore, people held protests against the arrest of youth outside police station Saturday. The forces burst tear smoke shells and dispersed the protesters.
In Handwara, the people of Bhagat Sunday staged protest demonstrations and demanded immediate release of the youth arrested from the area.
Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad told Greater Kashmir that the youth involved in disruption of peace would be dealt with strictly. “After they are released, they again pelt stones,” DGP said adding that police has a proper mechanism to arrest the involved youth. “I directed the police not to chase the protestors and arrest them. We check the video footage to identify the culprits,” he said but did not disclose the exact number of people arrested during the last some days of fresh unrest.
Reports said that police is also arresting the youth in civvies. They said that the cops in civvies appear and whisk away the youths with out any provocation.