NC, PDP slam J&K police for no clearance to stonepelters: 'Innocent till proven guilty'

Angered over Jammu-Kashmir police's new order denying clearance to stone pelters, J&K National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Monday, lashed out saying police report cannot substitute court order. Citing his own detention under the Public Safety Act, Abdullah pointed how it never stood up to legal challenge. The ex-J&K CM insisted that guilt or innocence must be proven in court & not based of vague unproven police reports. Protests are currently underway in Srinagar against Abdullah.

Omar Abdullah lashes out at J&K police order

Similarly, his peer Mehbooba Mufti pointed out how J&K administration had not probed into ex-J&K police officer Davinder Singh's activities 'satisfied' by his mere suspension. Claiming that Kashmiris are considered guilty until proven innocent, Mufti said that the citizens were subjected to the worst kind of scrutiny. Comparing the recent order to probe into Davinder Singh, she said that the 'double standards & dirty games are obvious'.

J&K CID order

On Saturday, the CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police ordered the denial of security clearance required for passport and other government services to all those involved in stone-pelting or subversive activities. In the order, the senior superintendent of police (SSP), CID, Special Branch (SB), Kashmir, directed all the field units under it to ensure that the person's involvement in law and order, stone-pelting cases, and other crime prejudicial to the security of the state be specifically looked into during verification related to passport, service and any other verification related to government schemes. “The same must be corroborated from the local police station records,” the order read.

The SSP also said digital evidence like CCTV footage, photographs, videos and audio clips, quadcopter images available in the records of the police, security forces, and security agencies be also referred during the verification. “Any subject found involved in any such cases must be denied the security clearance,” the SSP, CID-SB, Kashmir said. BJP has already welcomed the move, calling it a crackdown on anti-national elements. Recently, a top commander of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit, who was involved in the 2019 Pulwama Fidayeen (suicide) attack, was killed in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday, giving a boost to Indian forces.