Bijbehara, July 25: Villagers of Dupatyar in this South Kashmir area Wednesday protested against the alleged harassment to them by a local Sarpanch and Army. The protesters blocked the Bijbehara –Langanbal (Pahalgam) road, hampering movement of traffic.
 Early in the morning hundreds of villagers assembled and started protesting against the local Sarpanch and Army. The protesters blocked the Bijbehara-Langanbal (Pahalgam) road for hours together halting the movement of traffic.
 “Last night the Sarpanch informed the Army at a nearby camp about the presence of some militants in the area and soon a huge posse of soldiers arrived and cordoned off the entire village and launched massive searches,” said the villagers.
 They said even women and children were asked to venture out of their houses and assemble outside till Sehri time (Dawn meals). 
 “Though we pleaded to the Army that the Sarpanch was misleading them, they did not pay any head to our request and raided every house in the village,” the villagers said.
 The villagers alleged that the Sarpanch and his family have spread “a reign of terror” in the village and were harassing the locals.
 “ In our village only the kith and kin of the Sarpanch get benefits under NREGA, IAY and even BPL ration cards and whosoever dares to raise voice is dealt with a heavy hand,” the protesters alleged.
 They alleged that last night the Sarpanch and his three sons tried to lock a local mosque to prevent people from offering Isha (night) prayers there. “The villagers, however, came out and offered stiff resistance and then only people offered prayers in the mosque,” they said.
 Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (Anantnag), Farooq Ahmad Shah and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) reached the spot and pacified the villagers. They assured action against the Sarpanch after which the protesters dispersed off peacefully.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST