A group of residents from Illahibagh area of Soura on Srinagar outskirts Tuesday alleged that forces, including police vandalised their property, misbehaved with the women folk and detained many youth for no reason.
A group of women from Khadi Bhandar area staged a protest accusing policemen and other forces of vandalising the household goods of many residents and misbehaving with them.
“They barged in our homes and broke down whatever came in their way. They were policemen. There was no stone pelting in our area and yet policemen misbehaved with us,” alleged a woman protestor.
In the second protest, a group of elderly people alleged that police without any reason detained many youth including a students at Khadi Bhandar area of 90-feet Soura. “Forces came and picked up many youth. There was no stone pelting in our area,” they said.
However, a police official refuted the allegations of vandalising the property stating that there was no such incident. On the detention of youth, he said a few have been picked up for questioning and counseling and will be released soon.
Soura and its adjoining areas witnessed massive clashes on Tuesday in wake of the killing of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen district commander Muhammad Eisa Fazili, who was killed in an encounter with the government forces, at Hakoora area in Anatnag district on Sunday night.
A witness said that youth took to streets at 90-feet Soura and engaged forces in pitched battles. “Youth hurled stones and bricks at the forces. Clashes were on till late evening,” the witness said.
Meanwhile, attendants at the SKIMS maternity hospital alleged that new born babies and patients developed severe irritation after forces fired dozens of stun grenades, pepper gas shells and chilly grenades at the protesters. “Many patients and also new born babies developed serious irritation due to the thick smoke cover produced by the scores of pepper gas shells fired by the forces,” said Ali Muhammad, who was attending to his wife at the hospital. GKNN