SRINAGAR: Authorities have asked police men to offer Eid prayers in protected mosques, newspaper Indian Express reported. They have been advised to stay away from “general mosques, Eidgah (common prayer grounds) or isolated areas”.
The advisory has come from Kashmir Police Chief Muneer Khan and it has also been sent to army, and other paramilitary forces which are part of Kashmir’s security grid.
The advisory came a day after a DySP rank officer Mohammad Ayub Pandith was brutally lynched outside Jamia Masjid. He was on access control duty in the Jamia Masjid but was mistaken as a informer after he allegedly started recording things on his cell phone. Police have arrested five persons in connection with the murder, so far.
The newspaper said the police termed the advisory “a preventive measure” to ensure the “safety of its personnel”. The “most urgent” communication, advises senior officers to “instruct the field and subordinate formation” not to offer Eid prayers in isolated or general mosques or Eidgahs (prayer ground), the newspaper said.
“In Srinagar, the personnel have been asked to offer Eid prayers at DPL Srinagar (District Police Lines) or the Police Control Room,” the newspaper quoted a senior police officer saying. “The advisory has been issued after the Nowhatta incident. Police is taking all steps to prevent such incidents.”
This is the second such advisory this summer. Earlier, the state police chief asked his men to avoid visiting their hometowns “for the next few months”. This advisory was the outcome of series of attacks on their homes by militants.
