CRPF jawans stand guard during curfew and strike in Srinagar. Credit: PTI
Curfew was imposed in Koimoh town of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday in view of the separatists call for a march, while restrictions on the assembly of people continued in the rest of the Valley.
A police official said the curbs in the town were imposed as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the wake of the separatists call for a march to the area.
The separatists – who are spearheading the current agitation in Kashmir – have asked people to march to various tehsil headquarters, including Koimoh, on Wednesday.
The official said that while there was no curfew in any other areas in Kashmir, restrictions on the assembly of people under section 144 of the CrPc were in place in the rest of the Valley.
Curfew relaxed for six hours in Kishtwar
Authorities on Tuesday gave a six-hour relaxation in curfew that was imposed on Sunday in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir following a stone pelting incident triggered by arrest of three separatists.
“We relaxed the curfew from 12 noon to 6 p.m. and everything remained normal during the hours of relaxation,” Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar G. N. Balwan told PTI.
He said that the authorities had decided to impose the curfew again during the night, but they might completely lift the restrictions on Wednesday.
“Situation has remained normal after the curfew was imposed on Sunday and it has also remained peaceful during relaxation hours. We might review the situation and can decide to completely lift the curfew tomorrow morning so that schools and colleges and other offices start functioning normally,” Balwan said.
Three separatist leaders in the town were arrested on Saturday night and booked under the Public Safety Act for disrupting peace in the district following which some persons resorted to stone pelting prompting the authorities to impose curfew in the district.
Another person, Asif, was detained by police during a raid on Monday night for disrupting peace in the mountainous district. Three people were detained on Saturday night for trying to disrupt peace, he said.
More arrests are likely as police have prepared a list of people who have been seen shouting “objectionable and provocative” slogans in some video clips, he said.
“So far five people have been detained and booked under various sections and action as per law has been initiated against them for disrupting peace in the district,” he added.
On Monday, the authorities had relaxed the curfew for two hours.
Schools, colleges remain shut
Meanwhile, normal life continued to remain affected in the Valley for the 82nd straight day on Wednesday due to the separatist call for a shutdown. There was, however, an increased movement of private vehicles in the city, indicating mass fatigue among the populace due to the prolonged unrest.
Shops, petrol pumps and other business establishments remained shut. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions also remained closed across the Valley.
As many as 82 people – including two cops – have been killed and thousands of others injured in the ongoing unrest that started after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir on July 8.