Srinagar, Mar 10: The Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested 419 stone pelters during the last one month, booking 27 of them under the Public Safety Act.
According to official sources a crackdown was launched against the stone pelters after investigations indicated that stone-pelting has become an industry for unemployed youths.
The investigations showed that the some business houses used to channelise the money to the stone-pelters through small-time kerosene oil vendors and those supplying raw material for carpets.
A senior police official said as many as 419 people have been arrested so far and among them 27 have been booked under the stringent Public Safety Act under which no court trial could be held for at least two years.
“These big business houses driven by their political and separatist agenda were routing their funds to unemployed youths through several small shopkeepers of kerosene for staging protests and stone-pelting,” an official said.
The drive against stone-pelters has brought a pause in the protests as no major incident of stone-pelting was witnessed during Fridays and Sundays for last three weeks -- since the crackdown started, the officials said.
Earlier, police had arrested Irshad Ahmed, alleged to be the kingpin of stone-pelters in the Kashmir valley.
Police recovered dozens of SIM cards, threat letters, fake press identity cards, chequebooks and well maintained account registers bearing photographs and money paid to ‘pelters’ in various parts of the valley.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST