Police trainees from Kashmir accuse officer of harassment, ‘He calls us stone pelters, gets annoyed if we offer prayers’

A batch of about 1000 Kashmiri recruits who are undergoing training at the Police Training School (PTS) Kathua in Jammu region on Sunday alleged that they are being harassed by a police officer who is in charge of the training course.
A group of trainees told Kashmir Post on the condition of anonymity that they are being thrashed, abused, threatened and called names.
“For the past nine months we have been through hell. All the 978 recruits are undergoing basic training and all of us belong to Kashmir,” the trainees said.
They alleged that they are being subjected to ‘torture’ because they joined the police department last year that witnessed a massive uprising after the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani.
“We are being labelled as stone pelters and even militants. We joined the police force during tough times to support our families, but today we are facing life threats in our own training school,” they alleged.
Citing SRO 202, the trainees said, the officials have cut their salaries also as they are being paid only Rs 8000 a month.”
A trainee, requesting anonymity, as he feared reprisal, accused the officer of resorting to unruly behaviour with all Kashmir-based trainees.
“We are going through mental and physical torture because of him. At times, he calls us militants and treats us as stone pelters. We are going through depression.”
He said on August 24, the officer allegedly thrashed a recruit from Baramulla district during law class.
“The recruit was thrashed so ruthlessly that he was removed to district hospital Kathua,” the trainee said.
Another trainee said that soon after the incident, they staged a protest and even boycotted the law classes.
“We appeal the director general of police to investigate the matter and to talk to each recruit personally to get the firsthand account of the problems faced by them,” he said, pleading anonymity.
“The officer gets annoyed if we offer prayers,” he added.
Director general of police S P Vaid said that he would look into the issue.
“We will see and if allegations leveled by the recruits are found true, action will follow,” he said.