Mob attacks feared on houses of Police officials, NC leaders
Violent separatist crowds torch 33 public, private properties in 6 days

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 5: Mainstream politicians, who failed to reach out to their electors and the common people in Kashmir valley in the last over one year, are now apprehensive of a macabre reversal. Recent attacks on public properties and houses of some political activists, notably Minister of Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir, have sent shivers down the spine of senior government functionaries as they fear violent mobs could reach out to soft targets---pro-India politicians, counterinsurgents, Police officials---with stones, brickbats and matchsticks.

Firearms are the only weapons available with Personal Security Officers (PSOs) and static Police and CRPF guards as well as escort personnel of the protected politicians, Police officials and counterinsurgents. “They are left with just two options: open fire on the attacking crowds or let them burn the targeted houses”, said a senior Police official. He elaborated that entire security circle of over 1000 potential targets was essentially a counterinsurgency grid, aimed at fighting armed militants, and not a law-and-order bandobust. There are no teargas guns and non-lethal riot control devices with these PSOs, escort personnel and house-guards.

Level of fear among the protected and non-protected politicians, besides hundreds of high profile counterinsurgents and thousands of Police personnel living sparsely all over the Valley, is now incredibly high. Threats from separatist leaders like Asiya Andrabi are now being translated into action as scores of the Police personnel have been subjected to attacks. In few cases, they have been left stripped. Under this fear, more than 60 percent of the police officials, particularly the Constabulary, are believed to have made fake photo-identity cards of NGOs and pharmaceutical companies as the youth among crowds have been checking identities of pedestrians and motorists to strike on the Police personnel.

Credible reports suggest that much like in days of peak insurgency, most of the National Conference (NC) leaders and activists have stopped not only movement but also sleeping at their residential houses in downtown as well as a number of rural areas. Same level of fear is spreading fast among the Police personnel and former counterinsurgents who had been living in their localities without anxiety since 1996.

Even during Amarnath land allotment stir, which created a mass uprising in 2008, not one of the NC leaders and activists had announced resignation from the formidable mainstream political party in the Valley. On one occasion, separatist crowds had subjected an NC rally to severe attack at Mazaar-e-Shuhada, Naqashband Sahib, but it was forcefully repulsed. The crowds had later that day attacked the house of NC’s female Councilor and even manhandled her but she refused to resign. In 1990, almost all NC leaders and activists living in Kashmir valley, had announced their resignations through paid advertisements in local newspapers under tremendous fear of the militants. Still, hundreds of them were eliminated.

Official statistics speak volumes of how unruly mobs have been proactive in attacking Police and CRPF in the last two months. According to these figures, as many as 872 incidents of stone pelting took place in June and July in which 1456 Police and CRPF personnel sustained injuries. “If we open fire like in Pampore, arsonists get killed. If we withdraw like in Khrew, mobs torch our camps, uniforms and even arms and ammunition”, said a medium rung Police official. He said that Government’s recent Court of Inquiry into 17 deaths had further demoralized Police and CRPF as nearly 20 SSPs, SPs, ASPs and Dy SPs, were now supposed to prove themselves innocent before two retired judges of J&K High Court.

Situation has taken the worst turn of the last 15 years as the unruly mobs have lately gone on burning spree. Properties worth Rs 10 Crore were destroyed in fire in Anantnag on June 29th. In another incident, mobs set on fire residential house of two Policemen after an incident of firing in Kulgam two days ago. Here in Srinagar, angry crowds had torched a government vehicle at Rambagh on July 6th.

Last six days of mob violence have witnessed devastation of a large number of public and private properties as 33 incidents of arson have been officially reported from July 30th to August 4th. As many as 9 Police stations, Police posts and SOG camps, 8 government vehicles and a bogey of train, one railway station, houses of two political activists and 13 government offices, in public and private properties, have perished in this spate of arson. Authorities and the crowds have been accusing each other of initiating the offensive, invariably claiming that they had only “retaliated”.
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