Centre asks State to review Juveniles’ cases
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 18: To send out a clear message that Centre Government’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, was completely different from previous Interlocutors and that his recommendations would be acted upon, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today asked the State Government to send juveniles lodged in different jails for fuelling unrest in the Valley through stone pelting and other such incidents to remand homes and review their cases sympathetically.
This was one of the preliminary recommendations made by Sharma during his meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in New Delhi on November 15 on which they had reviewed the Interlocutor’s six-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and another visit by the end of this month during which he was expected to meet more stakeholders.
Sources told the Excelsior that the Centre wanted to take certain Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in Jammu and Kashmir before Dineshwar Sharma’s second visit to the State to give clear message to stakeholders that Sharma was not an Interlocutor like previous ones appointed by various Centre Governments, whose recommendations were never acted upon.
“It was in this context that the Union Home Ministry has issued directions on shifting of juveniles involved in stone pelting and other such incidents to remand homes, which was one of the preliminary verbal recommendation made by the Special Representative to the Home Minister during November 15 meeting,” sources pointed out.
The Centre Government, while giving rank of Cabinet Secretary to Dineshwar, had made it clear that he was not like previous Interlocutors appointed by the Centre Governments and that he was free to talk to all stakeholders to resolve Jammu and Kashmir problem. Sharma had visited Jammu and Kashmir on six-day visit from November 6 to 11. However, during his first visit, Sharma missed Ladakh but will visit the mountainous region during his next tour, which was being scheduled by the end of this month, sources said.
Sources said the Home Minister has asked the Jammu and Kashmir Government to move all juveniles, arrested for pelting stones and other unlawful activities, from jails to remand homes and review their cases sympathetically.
“The State Government has been asked to shift all juveniles, who were arrested for pelting stones and other crimes, to remand homes and review their cases sympathetically,” sources said.
The State Government, according to sources, is expected to take the initiative to shift the juveniles to remand homes and review their cases soon.
However, sources maintained, the anti-militancy operations in Kashmir will go on even though the Central Government has appointed the Special Representative to initiate talks with all stakeholders in an effort to bring a lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
Asserting that the Centre Government’s direction for shifting of juveniles to remand homes and review of their cases sympathetically was one of the CBMs, sources pointed out that the Government could take more such CBMs that didn’t affect anti-militancy operations in Kashmir and help in restoration of peace and normalcy in the Kashmir valley.
However, they added that the Centre would act in such a way that the CBMs benefit all three regions of the State including Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The CBMs for Jammu and Ladakh could help end discrimination with the two regions, which was brought into the notice of the Special Representative by a number of political parties, social and other organizations during their meetings with him.
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