The residents of Rohmoo village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday alleged that army soldiers vandalised residential houses and thrashed several locals in the area last night. Army has denied the allegations.
A complete shutdown is being observed in the area to protest the alleged vandalism and beatings.
The residents alleged that the soldiers entered into the village around 10 pm and ransacked the property without any provocation. During their stay in the village till 3 am, they also thrashed several locals, said a resident, who didn’t give his name for fear of reprisal.
They also threatened locals with dire consequences, if their children resorted to stone-pelting on the army, he said.
Another local said that there were no protests or clashes during the day in the village and that the army action was unprovoked. “The army soldiers were hitting everything that came their way and they did not even spare the parked vehicles,” he alleged.
Demanding stern action against the soldiers involved in vandalizing the civilian property, the residents said the police must register FIR against the officer of the local army camp.
When contacted, Defense PRO Col Rajesh Kalia denied the allegations made by the locals. Talking to Greater Kashmir, he said: “The allegations are totally baseless as no army soldier was involved in ransacking civilian properties or thrashing people,” said Kalia.
SP Pulwama M.Aslam Choudhary said police has already received a complaint from locals and that they were investigating the issue.