Alleged thrashing of driver triggers protests on NH

Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 10: Protests erupted at Pantha Chowk area along National Highway here this morning after paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men allegedly thrashed a driver. The protests and subsequent clashes resulted in heavy traffic jam along the highway.
Witnesses said that the CRPF personnel deployed at Lasjan By-pass Bridge signaled driver of a passenger vehicle to stop his vehicle while it was negotiating the turn. “I was watching when the security forces singled him to stop. He was in the middle of the turn and stopped after he completed it. This made the CRPF men angry and they started abusing him. It was followed by verbal altercations. In the meantime, some 8-10 personnel came and started beating him”, Mushtaq Ahmad, a driver said.
Shortly after the beating, more than a dozen drivers parked their vehicles on the Highway to protest against the CRPF which resulted in traffic halt. The commuters and pedestrians also joined the protest and the situation in the area turned tense. The protesters demanded action against the accused the security personnel and some of the youth also pelted stones on security forces, triggering clashes. Police fired teargas shells and pellets towards protesters, resulting in injuries to five persons, the witnesses added.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of CRPF, Rajesh Yadav told Excelsior that the driver was himself at the fault and he despite being signaled to stop refused to do so. “At that point, a down convoy of Amarnath pilgrims from Baltal was passing through and all the traffic was stopped. The driver despite being signaled to stop did not stop and started misbehaving with jawans. He abused the jawans and then I think whatever treatment he got was not wrong,” the PRO said.
The CRPF spokesman said that the driver was not beaten to pulp and he later called his drivers’ union and they blocked the road. “Further, he went to police station to lodge an FIR against the CRPF. I wonder for what he went to police station when he is himself at fault. The people there created scene and pelted stones on jawans which is non-sense,” he said, adding: “the matter now stands sorted out.”

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