Mohammad Raafi
SRINAGAR
Kashmir Valley observed a complete shutdown across on Tuesday against “Continuing” attacks on Kashmiri students studying outside J&K in different colleges.
Shops, public transport, other business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. The shutdown call was given by separatists including by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik in protest against harassment of Kashmiri students in educational and professional institutions in mainland India.
The strike was “aimed” at protesting against the “vandalisation” of martyrs’ graveyard at Kareemabad in Pulwama allegedly by troops.
While Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Geelani remains under house detention since he returned from New Delhi, government placed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest on Monday afternoon while Malik was detained and lodged in Kothi Bagh police station two days ahead of the shutdown call.
Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in riot gear have been stationed at various places across Srinagar and other district headquarters.
A crisis situation emerged in Kashmir post T20 World Cup semi-final between India and West Indies at National Institute of Technology, Srinagar.
Non-local students damaged college infrastructure and allegedly abused local students after they celebrated the Indian cricket teams’ loss. They beat local students including a courier guy and some faculty members. This led to clashes and subsequently the closure of NIT campus.
Amidst the unrest, non-local students had demanded that academic activities in the institute, including the exams, be deferred until normalcy returns.
However, government rejected the demand of the non-local students to shift the NIT out of the Valley, however, they were given relaxation in their semester exams.
