Home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi reviews J&K security

Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi on Tuesday held a series of meetings with top officials of Jammu and Kashmir government and various law-enforcing and security agencies to review the security situation in the state in the backdrop of Sunday’s deadly terror attack at an Army base in Uri sector and unabated civil unrest in the Valley.

He separately held a one-on-one meetings with governor N.N. Vohra and chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. An official spokesman here said that Mr Mehrishi, who arrived here from Delhi earlier during the day, “held detailed deliberations with the CM over the law and order situation and the measures to be taken to ensure early return of peace and normalcy”.

The spokesman added that during the meeting he had with the governor at Raj Bhavan here, the duo “held extensive discussions about the security situation consequent to the recent terror attack at the Army camp in Uri and about issues relating to the restoration of normalcy in the state”.

Mr Mehrishi was scheduled to arrive here on Monday but deferred the visit by one day to remain available for meetings home minister Rajnath Singh had with officials in the Union capital to discuss the Kashmir situation in the aftermath of the Uri attack.

Mr Singh on Tuesday morning chaired a high-level security review meeting at the ministry of home affairs over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir. NSA Ajit Doval, director of intelligence bureau, RAW chief, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar, minister of state in Prime Minister Office Jitendra Singh, and other senior MHA and MoD officials were in attendance.

Curfew was on Tuesday lifted across the Valley except from six police station areas of Srinagar, in view of the improving situation, even as normal life remained disrupted in the Valley for the 74th straight day. A police spokesman said that curfew remained in force in the five police station areas of central Srinagar and was clamped also in the Harwan police station area of the summer capital “as a precautionary measure” in view of the Rasm-e-Chaharum or the fourth-day of mourning of an 11-year-old local boy killed in security forces’ action last week.

The spokesman said that restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC continued to remain in force in entire Valley. In the frontier town of Rajouri in Jammu division, curfew was relaxed for eleven hours from 7 am after improvement in situation. The police said that the relaxation period passed off peacefully.

The police spokesman said that during the past 24 hours another 64 people were arrested on charges of being involved in stone-pelting and other violent incidents. Official sources said that during over two months about 3,500 people, mainly youth, have been arrested by the law enforcing agencies and over 200 of them including leaders and activists of various separatist organizations have been detained under the State’s stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). About a couple of dozen detainees including JKLF’s Noor Muhammad Kalwal and Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s close associate Ayaz Akbar have been shifted to jails outside the Valley. The authorities have extended the detention period of Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric and senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by another 14 days. He has been lodged in a makeshift sub-jail in Srinagar’s Chashmashahi area for past about one month.

Meanwhile, while normal life continued to remain paralysed in Kashmir for the 74th consecutive day due to restrictions and separatist sponsored strike, protests and clashes were reported from different parts of the Valley on Tuesday. A youth was injured after security forces opened fire on protesters in Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, reports received here said. Earlier, a group of youth set a motor-bike to fire in Srinagar’s Batamaloo area. The police spokesman said that in Vehil village of southern Shopian, a mob torched a residential house. The police also said that following receiving reports about the motorists being harassed by “miscreants” who also damage private properties to enforce shutdowns it has set up help lines for those may need its help. “These help lines have been established in the police control rooms across Kashmir. The general public who wish to inform about any issue or problems being faced by them at the hands of miscreants may dial telephone for necessary assistance during any time they wish to on the given numbers,” a statement issued by the police here said. Separately, the Army said that like as all other government agencies, it too is striving to bring about calm and peace in the valley. “Our officers and soldiers are making concerted efforts to reach out to all the sections of the society. In these times of unrest, the Army has been conducting Awaam-Milan (meet the people), medical camps, sporting events and educational initiatives to connect with the people especially in remote areas, taking medical care to their doorsteps and affording educational & recreational facilities in its numerous Chinar 9 Jawan clubs and Army Goodwill schools, spread all across the Valley (sic)”, a statement issued by the Army here said.