2,100 arrested so far in Kashmir

Srinagar: In the ongoing crackdown following the scrapping of  article 370, the authorities in Kashmir have detained over 2,100 people from different parts of the valley, out of which nearly 150 have been booked under Public Safety Act, a top security official said.

Those arrested in the massive clampdown that started on the night of August 4, hours before the scrapping of special status of J&K, included two former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti besides former ministers and legislators.

The officials said the detentions have been made to obviate the possible unrest following the scrapping of special position on August 5.

“Over 2100 persons have been detained which include political leaders from both mainstream and separatist groups, political workers and trouble makers including stone pelters,” said a senior security official privy to the detention figures across the valley. “The arrests are still taking place.”

The officer who does not want to be identified said nearly 150 among them have been arrested under the PSA- which allows detention without any trial from six months to two years. “ Most of those booked under PSA have been shifted outside jails,” he said.

While the J&K government is tightlipped about the total number of arrests, sources indicate the figure of total arrests and detention could be higher as in many cases youth have been detained at various police stations or camps of security forces across Kashmir who are still not accounted for in the final centralized figures.

The arrests have been made from all the districts of the valley and the highest number of arrests have been made in Srinagar district followed by Baramulla, he added.

The massive clampdown has been one of the major reasons along with imposition of strict restriction and total communication blackout as to why the J&K administration has been able to keep the situation under control.

There are also over 70,000 additional forces that have been inducted to maintain calm.
J&K Government spokesman and Principal Secretary, Planning, Rohit Kansal did not say how many people had been arrested.

“The process of arrests and releases is dynamic in nature and is done at the local levels,” the spokesman had said.