As many as 14210 youth were arrested for pro-freedom protests and alleged stone-pelting during the past three years of PDP-BJP government in Jammu & Kashmir.
In a written reply to a cut motion in the Assembly on Friday, the State Home Ministry informed: “14210 stone-pelters were arrested in 4173 FIRs registered during the said period.” During this period, the ministry said 1114 persons were booked under the controversial Public Safety Act. Of them, 94 were detained in 2015, 660 in 2016 and 360 in 2017.
According to the ministry, 167 persons are still serving detention under the PSA in different jails of the State.
Those serving detention under the PSA include “29 stone-pelters, 21 motivators and Hurriyat activists, 22 militants and 47 over ground workers.”
Under PSA, a person can be detained for up to two years without trial.
During the past 28 years, the law has been liberally used by successive regimes of the state to keep civilian protesters and separatist leaders behind the bars.
In the past three years, 111 civilians were killed “in law and order disturbances” in Kashmir, government said.
“Five were killed in 2015, 86 in 2016 and 20 in 2017,” the reply states.
The ministry also said that it has approved withdrawal of cases against 9730 “stone-pelters” subject to certain conditions. “The government has approved the withdrawal of 1745 cases in respect of 9730 persons / youth with the permission of the trial court subject to certain conditions.”