Srinagar, Aug 12: Families of 10 Kashmiri MBBS students who were arrested by police in Jammu on Wednesday for protesting peacefully against the killings in Kashmir are concerned about their wards alleging police was not allowing anybody to meet them.
 Reports said the students were picked up by police in a late evening raid from the hostel of ASCOM, Sidhra and lodged in Gandhi Nagar Police Station.
 A delegation of family members of these students told Greater Kashmir that their wards had not indulged in any unlawful activity nor had they went outside the campus to protest. “They have a very good academic record. We have reports that the activists of the BJP had pressurized police to arrest them and the party leaders are demanding stringent action against them. They are hell bent upon ruining the career of wards. Why is government acting as a mute spectator?” they asked.
 A student from ASCOM told Greater Kashmir over phone that they tried to contact their colleagues, but there mobile phones were switched off. “Police didn’t allow us to meet them,” said a student wishing anonymity.
 Another student said the college authorities were also expressing helplessness saying the parents of the students would have to come to Jammu to seek bail for the wards.
 Reports said there were strong protests by the BJP activists and students in Jammu University, women and other colleges demanding strict action against the detained Kashmiri students.
 Meanwhile Citizens’ Forum for Democratic Rights has denied any involvement in ‘anti-national’ activities including sloganeering allegedly carried out by a group of students outside JU yesterday.
 In a statement issued the CFDR said its members had assembled at Shaheedi Chowk to carry out a signature campaign against rampant killing in the Valley, the need for immediate enquiries into fake encounters and immediate release of the findings of all previous enquiries, the urgent need for talks to resolve the Kashmir issue and to press for immediate revocation of draconian laws like AFSPA. The signature campaign was accompanied by a photo exhibition highlighting the violence in the Valley and its genesis, the statement said.
 “We urge all peace loving citizens of Jammu not to fall prey to the divide and rule policies of unscrupulous elements who are the real anti national forces striving to create rifts within Jammu and between Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement said.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST