No violent incidents on Kashmiris: Govt

New Delhi: Attorney-general K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that not a single instance of violence has happened ever since the order was passed on February 22 asking nodal officers in the states to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students.

The A-G told a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the Supreme Court’s intervention to protect Kashmiris and minorities from mob violence in the wake of Pulwama incidents had been an effective deterrent. The court had directed the Centre, chief secretaries and police chiefs of several states to protect Kashmiris and minority communities, especially students, from backlash in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel.

On hearing the submission by Mr Venugopal, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there was no need to pass any further orders on the issue. The court, however, asked the Centre and 10 states to file their responses in seven days, explaining the violence against Kashmiri students. In the last hearing the A-G had told the court that the Centre had already issued advisories to the states to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students and nodal officers had also been put in place.

The court had directed the chief secretaries and director generals of pol-ice of various states were asked to take immediate steps in this regard.