A protest march was held in Sumbal town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Monday against the arrest of a local youth by the special cell of Delhi Police’.
Hilal Ahmad Bhat of Wani mohalla Sumbal was arrested last week by the Delhi Police.
The family members of Bhat, members of traders’ federation and sumo drivers’ association Sumbal staged a protest at main chowk Sumbal and then marched through the town to demand his release.
“A team of Delhi police’s special cell along with Sumbal police and a unit of army on January 23 picked up Hilal from his home and shifted him to Delhi without letting us know the reason of his arrest,” said a relative of Bhat.
He said Hilal is innocent. “We demand his immediate release. This is the reason we have hit streets today,” he said.
He said that they were assured that Hilal would be released after questioning.
A complete shutdown is being observed in Sumbal against the arrest of Bhat following a call issued by the traders’ federation and sumo drivers’ association. All shops and other business establishments are closed while traffic is off the roads.
A police official said that Hilal was arrested in case FIR No. 17/2019 under section 25, 27, 54, 59 Indian arms act and 16, 18, 18-B and 20 of unlawful activities (Prevention act) at police station special cell Delhi.
“He was shifted to Delhi for further investigation into the case,” he said.