PSA, sedition charges on 4 separatists; 3 arrested, one absconds amid protests

CRPF and police personnel patrol Kishtwar town during curfew on Sunday.
CRPF and police personnel patrol Kishtwar town during curfew on Sunday.

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 25: In a major crackdown against Hurriyat Conference and other separatist leaders, Kishtwar police early today arrested Hurriyat Conference Chenab valley chief Moulvi Abdul Qayoom Mattu and two other separatists under Public Safety Act (PSA) and the charges of sedition and was hunting a religious preacher Imam Kari Manzoor, Imam of Bonistan Masjid in Kishtwar, who has gone underground.
The crackdown came as these separatists were responsible for trouble in Kishtwar during Fridays and other days since August 4 and were still instigating youth and children to indulge in protests and violence in Kishtwar town on the pattern of Kashmir.
As some of the people, mostly women, tried to resist the arrests by subjecting raiding parties of Kishtwar police to stone pelting, the district administration called Army and deployed para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Shastra Seema Bal (SSB) in the town along with local police personnel immediately. Curfew was clamped within the limits of Kishtwar town.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the authorities had got PSA warrants issued against three Hurriyat Conference and separatist leaders and booked another under sedition charges for delivering hate speeches in Kishtwar since August 4 and instigating youth and children to resort to violent protests.
At 12.30 am today, police parties conducted raids at the houses of all four separatists to arrest them. Police parties headed by SSP Kishtwar Sandeep Wazir and Additional SP Kishtwar Abdul Qayoom arrested three of them while the fourth separatists had left the house and was absconding.
Three arrested separatists have been identified as Moulvi Abdul Qayoom Mattu son of Abdul Mattu R/o Omar Mohalla, Kishtwar, president of Hurriyat Conference for Chenab valley, Saif Din Bagwaan son of Abdul Jabbar Bagwaan R/o Bagwaan Mohalla, Kishtwar, another leader of Hurriyat Conference and Firdous Ahmad son of Khurshid Ahmad Bagwaan R/o Bagwaan Mohalla, Kishtwar. Firdous was a separatist and nephew of Saif Din.
Police said Mattu and Saif Din have been detained under PSA while Firdous was booked on sedition charges under Sections 120-B, 124-A, 153 RPC and 196 CrPC. All of them were dispatched to different jails in Jammu in the mid-night.
They added that another separatist against whom PSA warrant has been issued had fled from his house and remained untraced during last night’s raid. He has been identified as Imam Kari Manzoor, Imam of Bonistan Masjid in Kishtwar.
Immediately after police raids, a number of people including women came out of them houses around 1 am and subjected police raiding parties to heavy stone pelting. The police retaliated with firing teargas shells to disperse the crowd.
Sources said announcements were also made from the religious places asking people to take to streets and observe bandh on Sunday in protest against police raids and arrests of the Hurriyat Conference leaders and other separatists.
District administration including Deputy Commission Ghulam Nabi Balwan and SSP Kishtwar Sandeep Wazir immediately requisitioned Army, which moved out in the town around 2.30 am. However, Army was kept standby in the vehicles around the town while CRPF and SSB were deployed in the entire town along with local police to maintain strict vigil on the miscreants.
Curfew was also imposed in Kishtwar town at about 3 am.
However, according to sources, no protests or any other kind of untoward incident was reported from any part of Kishtwar town during the day today due to strict curfew enforced in the town and deployment of Army, CRPF, SSB and police.
Sources said police teams were conducting raids for Imam Kari Manzoor at different places of Kishtwar town to apprehend him but he remained untraced so far.

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