Elsewhere in the Valley, restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC continue to be in force. But over the past few days there has been poor adherence to the separatists’ strike diktat with shops in select areas, mainly in summer capital Srinagar and north and north-western parts of the Valley, remaining open and ever-increasing traffic movement witnessed along the roads even beyond the "authorised" relaxation periods. While Kashmir traders’ bodies have publicly vowed to "sacrifice" their business for the sake of ‘freedom’ and to show respect to nearly ninety people slain during the unrest triggered by the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8, the proletariat can hardly afford slump anymore. Protests and clashes were reported also from some other Valley areas including Hajin in Bandipore district.
We greatly value it.The police said that unknown persons decamped with the service rifle of the police guard of former CPI lawmaker Abdur Rehman Tukroo after barging into the guard room of his ancestral house in Tukroo village of Shopian district. It added, "At a time when people have put everything at stake, we strongly resent increased movement of private vehicles. But it is not only the waged people and those others who live from hand to mouth who are defying the separatists’ shutdown diktat, many well-heeled traders too have been found among dissenters, mainly in western part of uptown Srinagar. It is high time for showing unity and resilience but we want to make clear that the relaxation in shutdown is mainly for purchasing essential commodities and doing important works," a statement issued by Mr. The police has identified about three residents including government employees who were allegedly involved in pro-freedom protests and other "anti-national" activities.In the Valley itself, curfew was at dawn on Wednesday imposed in Koimoh, Khag and Trehgam townships in view of the separatists call for an ‘aazadi’ marches. In the morning, a group of youth clashed with security forces in Srinagar’s Safa Kadal area, witnesses said. However, most shops and other businesses remained shut even as a local traders’ body had said there was no justification to go ahead with the call of shutdown after police stopped china control cable factory mid-night raids in the district. A statement issued by the police here said, "The driver while moving his vehicle backwards hit the girls as it (the vehicle) was stoned by the miscreants early morning".
The town which falls in Jammu region of the State had with its neighbourhood earlier witnessed protests against the arrest spree and the police’s allegedly intimidating and harassing the imams of local mosques. Four of the accused have already been arrested.Col Dharmendra Yadav gives ‘jadoo ki jhappi (magical hug)’ to a local imam at Rainpora in Anantnag district during the Operation ‘Calm Down’ of the Army in south Kashmir. Tukroo’s PSO was inside the washroom when somebody took away his rifle," the police said.Local watchers say this certainly is not a sign of the situation returning to normal but that of exasperation and, in some cases, exigency too as the drawn-out turbulence has deprived the vendors and labouring class of the means of earnings. Geelani’s office here said. "Mr. "The people do follow the program of the joint resistance leaderships with determination. In another incident, a young resident Furqan Hamid was injured when hit in the head during a stone-pelting incident while riding a Scooty through the City’s Idgah area, the police said.
This has worried the alliance of key separatist leaders-Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik- which has while appreciating the compliance by majority of the people of the protester calendar which is renewed by it on weekly basis urged the others to show deference to those "who laid down their lives for the freedom" too.Meanwhile, day curfew was lifted from eastern town of Kishtwar on Wednesday following improvement in the situation. When people are rendering sacrifices, plying of vehicles during shutdown is aimed at weakening the ongoing resistance movement". Over the past two weeks, the police has arrested hundreds of youth from different parts of the Valley following charging them with being involved in stone-pelting incidents and disrupting vehicular movement and trading activity.While the injured girl is not in a position to make a statement, the police claimed that the sister duo was hit by a cream-colour Scorpio while moving backwards as it came under stone pelting by "miscreants". Police said on Wednesday evening that 67 more such arrests were made during the past 24 hours..
During past three days, scores of private cars and other vehicles including a few motorbikes were attacked by stone-pelting youth in different parts of Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley. On Tuesday, a 20-year-old girl Fozia Sidiq was killed and her younger sister Nadia Sidiq was critically injured when the duo was overrun by a vehicle in Srinagar’s Parimpora area. (Photo: PTI)Day 82 and Kashmir Valley on Wednesday continued to reel under shutdowns and clampdowns, throwing life largely out of gear.