Town shuts; Youth pouring out on streets
Bandipora: Five youth including a pellet gun victim who was blinded in the right eye on March 18 and had to undergo another major surgery at Amritsar were detained by police in a raid last night in north Kashmir’s Hajin town.
According to witnesses, a police party at around 3 am broke into the house of Ishfaq Ahmad Parray, ransacking it, terrifying the family members and dragging him, his brother and three cousins out from a room where they were sleeping and took them away.
“They pointed guns at us when our sons were being dragged outside,” said a family member. “We stood there, watching, crying…”
Ishfaq had to undergo a surgey at Amritsar on April 28, the family said.
Station House Officer Hajin, Ateequllah, said, “Around 200 youth are involved in stone pelting. May be these 5 were among those people.”
Asked the family says Ishfaq had to undergo a surgry after two days, the SHO said, “The point is how did he become a victim?”
In response to the detentions, the entire town has shut and angry youth are assembling in the main market to protest this act of police.
According to locals, police were delibrately flaring up clashes in the town by detaining innocent civilians and provoking them to take to the streets.
Right now, hundreds of youth are taking out to streets to protest the detentions which the family and locals called unlawful.