Scores of villagers in Nikas Aarbal in Pulwama came out of their homes on Thursday morning to protest alleged harassment by the government forces. The people accused forces belonging to the nearby Hall camp of harassing the youth of the village.
On Tuesday afternoon an elderly woman passed out at her home after forces carried out a raid in the village. The woman later slipped into a coma and is battling for life at SMHS, Srinagar, the residents said
The woman has been identified as Jana, 60, wife of Mohammad Ahsan Malik.
“We rushed her to a district hospital Pulwama from where she was referred to SMHS, Srinagar for the advanced treatment” said a female family member who does not wish to be named.
A middle aged man who didn’t want to be named said that forces snatch identity cards and mobile phones of their sons and summon them to the army camps where they torture them.
A miffed youth of the area alleged that the brutal ways of forces were forcing them to pick the arms. The residents were demanding the shifting of the camp from the area.
Defence spokesperson Rajesh Kalia, however, denied the allegations of harassment by army men.
“Army personnel are not involved in any such kind of incident. We don’t barge into the houses of people or harass youth” Kalia said.
Recently a local militant Kursheed Ahmad Malik from the village was killed merely 48 hours after joining the militancy during an anti- militancy operation in Sopore.