No let up in Braid Chopping, Resistance Camp concerned about increasing incidents

• Police rules out lie-detection test of victims
• Hurriyat (G) concerned over braid chopping incidents

Clashes erupted across Kashmir as there was no let up in the braid chopping incidents in the wake of failure of police to make any breakthrough in nabbing the culprits.
Clashes between youth and forces were witnessed in Srinagar while protests by lawyers, students and women continued in Baramulla and Sopore.
In Maisuma area of Srinagar, clashes were witnessed between youth and forces after a braid chopper struck in the area and cut hair of a woman. People hit the streets in protest and resorted to heavy stone pelting. In Srinagar’s Hawal area clashes erupted between students of Islamia college and forces after protest against braid-chopping incidents. Eyewitnesses said students poured on roads and staged massive protests against the “failure” of the government to nab the culprits. They said protesting students resorted to stone pelting on forces who retaliated by lobbing tear gas shells to disperse them and restore traffic on the road which was disrupted for quite some time.
Reports of protests were also received from Habakadal area of Srinagar and Awantipora and Pampore area of Pulwama district.
Over 100 incidents of braid chopping have been reported with no breakthrough achieved by police despite announcing a reward of Rs 6 lakh and constituting special investigating teams.
“The protests turned into clashes when stone pelting started on forces who lobbed tear smoke shells to disperse the crowd. Shutdown was observed in Maisuma area while traffic was also disrupted on MA road for nearly an hour,” said an eyewitness.
In Sopore, protests erupted after a woman’s braid was cut by some unknown men at Ningli area of the town. The victim was identified as Shareefa Begum, 55, wife of Mohd Maqbool Dar of Ningli, Sopore. She was washing her face when some unknown person cut her braid before pushing her on the ground and spaying her with some substance. A 22-year-old victim of Antoohama area of Sopore also met with the cutting incident as she ventured out of her house. Another victim from Hardshiva area of Sopore, claimed that her braid was cut by some unknown masked men. The three incidents in Sopore took place against the failure of the government to nab the culprits. Eyewitnesses said that protestors hurled stones on shops to enforced shut down, however the shops reopened after cops arrived on the spot and dispersed the protestors.
In another incident a woman’s braid was chopped for the second time in Sheeri area of Baramulla district. Local residents said that the incident occurred around 1 pm when she was loitering around her house and her hair was cut.
“On October 14, a strand of her hair was cut by some unknown person when she was ironing clothes inside the house. Today the left out hair was again chopped by some unknown person before making victim unconscious,” said a local resident. Following the incident, people hit the Srinagar-Muzzafarabad road and lodged a protest demonstration against the authorities.
Meanwhile, lawyers in Baramulla and Sopore also staged protests against the braid-cutting incidents. In Baramulla, scores of lawyers participated in peaceful rally from court office to the Deputy Commissioner’s office to register their protest while in Sopore lawyers took out a protests rally from court complex to main Chowk.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Munir Ahmad Khan said that police will be conducting scientific investigating into the braid chopping incidents in Kashmir. “We are trying to establish the motive behind the braid chopping as it was more important to know. Once it is established, the investigation will become easy,” Khan said adding, “Every act of crime has a motive behind it.”
The senior cop said the process of collecting of scientific evidence has been started and all the Superintendents of Police (SPs) and Station House Officers (SHOs) have been asked to collect samples in such incidents. “We will collect blood and sweat samples to know what kind of chemical (Spray) has been used on the victims. These samples may give a proper lead to further investigate it,” IGP said. “The way we have started an investigation, hopefully, we will be able to solve the mystery,” he added.
IGP ruled out the lie-detector or polygraph testing of the braid-chopping victims in the Valley.
“Some newspapers out of context reported that police was going to conduct lie detection test. There is nothing like that,” Khan said.
The braid chopping incidents have created a fear psychosis among the people. The night movement of people has become risky as vigilante groups dominate streets. There have been incidents of beating of innocent men after they were suspected as alleged braid choppers. Even, the tourists didn’t escape such suspicion and had to face the wrath of the public in Srinagar in recent past.

Meanwhile, Hurriyat Conference (G) expressed deep concern over the increasing braid chopping incidents saying “it has given rise to scare and fear psychosis.”
“As of now incidents of burglary and stone pelting by miscreants is also haunting innocent people,” the spokesperson said.
Denouncing authorities for suggesting that the braid chopping victims will have to undergo lie detection tests and narco analysis, Hurriyat said that “the victims are already traumatised and subjecting them to various tests is one more ploy to humiliate them. It is deceit and a well-thought out ploy to shield criminals,” “It is surprising that after a period of one month, authorities are saying that they will nab these criminals and are asking people for their cooperation.”
Hurriyat appealed to people to constitute vigilant mohalla committees. “They should handover suspicious elements to trusted committee member for further investigations, so that authorities don’t get an opportunity to shield these criminals.”