Shah Abbas
Srinagar
CRPF personnel Thursday evening barged into the residential houses, ransacked households, damaged windowpanes and vehicles in two villages on Srinagar Gulmarg road causing great anger among the local people. The forces personnel also ransacked houses in Rangreth area and beat who so ever they saw on roads including two young sisters belonging to the Sikh community.
“The CRPF personnel of 90th Battalion stationed in Waripora camp came to the villages of Mazhama, Kanehama and Narebal on Srinagar Gulmarg highway and ransacked at least one hundred residential houses and shops on Thursday evening,” the locals told Kashmir Life.
They added that everything was normal in Mazehama village when at around 9 pm, the CRPF personnel, armed with guns and batons “attacked” the villagers. They beat the people who were on roads or coming out of the mosques. The forces personnel barged in the houses of Abdul Rashid Ganai and arrested his son, Mohammad Shafi Ganai. They barged in the houses of Abdul Rahman Rather, Mohammad Yousuf Gani and Glam Mohammad Bhat and ransacked the house holds, smashed the windows and doors resulting in huge damage to the houses. “They ransacked the shop of Mohammad Sultan Bhat also which was open at that time,” said Manzoor Ahmad, a local adding that CRPF personnel spread terror by beating everybody they saw.
According to locals the same CRPF party later went to the nearby village of Kanehama and repeated the same ransacking and thrashing there as well. They damaged the houses of Bashir Ahmad Parray, Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, Adbul Rashid Ganai and others. “The CRPF personnel even beet the women and children,” the locals alleged adding that a number of vehicles were also damaged by the said CRPF party.
Meanwhile, another CRPF party of old airport camp reached Rangreth on Thursday evening and start beating the people and thrashing the vehicles. They even beat the women of the area including Parmeet and Teena, daughters of Sachan Singh. “Parmeet and Teena are sisters to each other,” the locals said alleging that they were beaten to pulp.
Reports of ransacking the houses and smashing the vehicles on Thursday evening also reached from several parts of the city as well. Some of the vehicles managed to reach the press colony late in the evening whose windowpanes were broken.
People also took to streets in the late evening and protested against what they called “the highhandedness of the men in uniform”. Police used tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters in the Habbak Naseem Bagh area of Hazratbal.
Pertinently, police in its statement Thursday evening had claimed that situation across the valley remained largely peaceful baring some stone pelting incidents in Srinagar and other parts of the valley. It had said, “……………. Police exercised maximum restraint and chased the stone pelters away”.
There were allegations of ransacking against CRPF on Wednesday as well. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Dr Asghar Samoon, had reacted to these allegations saying that action would be taken against paramilitary CRPF troopers for ransacking houses.
“Strict action will be taken against the erring CRPF personnel. I fail to understand how they act independently when Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been set for them. I want to assure people that whosoever indulges in excesses will face the music,” a local news agency CNS had quoted Samoon as saying.
Samoon had added that police “in no way should give freehand to CRPF personnel.”
