Police raids create panic in Srinagar, 50 youths arrested

Police have arrested over 50 youths from old Srinagar even as frequent raids by police on residential houses have created panic among the residents.

The raids have forced dozens of youth to go into hiding as police said around 100 youth are still wanted for their alleged role in separatist protests.

Reports from old Srinagar areas said that cops are carrying out night raids and have arrested over 50 youths allegedly involved in protests and stone pelting.

However, the families of the arrested youth have been refuting the police allegations stating that the detained persons are not stone throwers.

“We have arrested over 50 youths during last some days. All of them are involved in stone pelting and disruption of peace,” an official of police station Nowhatta said. “Over 100 are still wanted.”

“Police raided my house last night and arrested my son. He was not involved in any stone pelting incident,” a Nowhatta resident told . “They also beat inmates during the raid.”

The residents said that continuous raids by the police have forced the youth to go into hiding. “Youth have fled from their houses to escape the arrest,” residents of Khanyar said. “We are unable to understand the police action that too in this holy month.”

The residents of Khanyar said that police forced their entry into dozens of houses and not only beat people but also damaged the windowpanes of parked vehicles. “They are asking for our wards,” they said, adding that some of the boys were detained after being called to police stations.

The police action has created panic in most parts of old Srinagar. “The youth are frightened and they hesitate to go for prayers,” a delegation from Sekidafer area of old Srinagar said.

Police sources said that the youth who have so far been arrested have allegedly participated in separatist protests during last one month.

“We are only arresting the stone throwers. We don’t arrest innocents,” Inspector General of Police, SJM Gillani, told .

Hurriyat Conference (M) has strongly denounced the arrest of youths in old city. A spokesman expressed concern and said that it was highly unwarranted and shameless that Government forces were raiding the houses of youth during pre-dawn (Sehri) hours in this holy month of Ramadan, causing harassment in the residents.

The spokesman said the parents of youth were worried since after the arrest of their wards as they have been locked up at unknown places. He said the parents were being kept in dark regarding the location of their sons by the concerned police authorities for reasons known to them, adding, the police was “violating the basic human and legal codes while doing such a draconian act.”

The spokesman said that during raids on houses of the youth, the police often resort to ransacking, beating of residents, harassing women folk, adding that such aggressive action was against all civil and democratic norms.