Adil Lateef
SRINAGAR, May 9: Hundreds of students today again staged protests and clashed with security forces in city centre here and in Pulwama district of South Kashmir during which several students were injured and detained while Education Minister is scheduled to chair a meeting to discuss prevailing situation tomorrow.
The trouble erupted after students of Sri Pratap Higher Secondary School here at Maulana Azad Road in city centre boycotted their classes and assembled outside their school premises. They shouted slogans against the Government, use of force on their peers and detention of fellow students in many parts of the Valley.
As the protests grew strong, the students attempted to march on MA Road but police already deployed there intercepted them following which the former resorted to stone-pelting, ensuing clashes between the two sides. The female students of Women College MA Road and Kothi Bagh Girls Higher Secondary School also staged protests in and outside their respective institutions.
The situation turned ugly after students attacked a bunker of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with stones and logs at Exchange Road. Some of the students also took position inside Women College compound and rained stones on police from multiple directions. The police in retaliation fired tear and pepper gas canisters but the students remained undeterred and they continued pelting stones.
While police were dealing with male students, groups of female students staged protests at Regal Chowk and Residency Road in Lal Chowk commercial hub against the State. They were demanding end to police crackdown against the students and youth in Kashmir. Police were seen persuading the female student protesters to disperse which they repeatedly refused.
Amid chaos, severe altercation broke out between girl students and police when latter tried to detain some of them near Regal Chowk. As tensions were mounting, police resorted to baton charge in order to restore order. The shopkeepers of Regal Chowk alleged that policemen barged into their shops and thrashed them without any provocation.
Amid deteriorating situation, Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police were rushed to Regal Chowk but they also took at least two hours for them to contain stone-pelting by students. Some of the students and pedestrians also pelted stones on police from Lal Chowk markets. Police used teargas to disperse them. A girl student was injured in today’s clashes after being hit by a stone while many boys were detained.
The clashes between students and police also erupted at Newa and Main Town areas of southern Pulwama district. The students were demanding release of their detained peers. Police used teargas at both these places and detained at least six youth, apparently students, during stone-pelting. Due to clashes, the business and transport activities were affected at Pulwama Town.
Terming the continuing violent protests by students as “disturbing”, Education Minister, Altaf Bukhari, said they are holding a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the prevailing situation. Speaking to Excelsior over phone, Bukhari appealed students to return to their classes and abandon stone-pelting. “I fail to understand on whom they are pelting stones? There are no outsiders here. They are pelting their own,” he said.
The Education Minister said that students should know that the Government has already taken action against the police officials for trespassing Pulwama Degree College. “We ordered an enquiry and completed it in 8 days. How many enquiries are completed here? We transferred SSP, SHO and shunted DySP. The enquiry also exonerated College principal,” he said.
The Minister said they are not against student protests but the latter should confine themselves to their campuses. “No one will touch them if they don’t come out of their institutes. I have no problem if they attend their classes and protest for two hours over Kashmir issue. But if they take law into their hands, the law and order machinery will obviously react,” he said, adding that they don’t want students to suffer academically.
Bukhari said that some “outsiders” are intruding student protests and creating law and order problem. “We have arrested many of those persons and also identified them. But I know the students are angry and protests are a natural reaction,” he said. He added that elements, who wasted six months of students last year, want again disruption in academic activities.
“Some people don’t want children to study. They did it last year too. It hurts me a father to see children not attending their classes. I once again appeal them to stop stone-pelting and go back to their schools and colleges,” the Education Minister pleaded.
The Minister once again appealed students to approach him if they have any issues. “I am available any time to any student. I appeal them to approach me in person, on phone or through my email. We will resolve your problems. We are not at war with the students. In fact I got released many students detained by police. We don’t want to deal with them by involving police but with love. But they must stop violence,” he said.
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