NL Correspondent
SRINAGAR:After warning Moulvis (religious preachers) to desist from inciting violence, police have launched a crackdown to invoke Public Safety Act on those who have been leading the current unrest in the Valley.
Since July 9, around 200 people mostly Moulvis have been booked under the PSA on the charges of organizing and provocations flaring up the ongoing violence in the Valley.
According to the list of “organizers and provocateurs” of the current unrest which the police has framed and Director General of Police K Rajendra dispatched to Inspector General of Police Kashmir Javid Mujtaba Geelani on August 19 to invoke PSAs on them, says 31 are from Budgam district, Anantnag 33, Baramulla 11, Ganderbal 6, Srinagar 12, Kulgam 14, Shopian 4, Bandipora 8, Pulwama 28 and Kupwara 22. Most of them are part of two religious groups, Jamiat-E-Islami and Jamiat-e-Ahlihadees and many are addressing congregational Friday prayers in various mosques of the Valley. Since August 19, many people have been arrested under the PSA and official sources said over 200 people have now been booked under this act for the last two months.
“The number of PSAs, detentions and arrests will escalate in coming days because the government want to bring the normalcy in the state,” a senior official said.
The PSA allows arrests and imprisonment of a person without a trial for up to six months if the state suspects his freedom is “prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”. The detainees can be kept in jail for whatever time the state desires by repeating the PSA order.
Many people especially youth have been arrested and booked under the PSA on the charges of stone-pelting, creating violence and creating law and order in their respective areas.
Police and Military Intelligence according to sources had jointly moved in to ‘rein in' Molvis (religious preachers) and mosque heads last month in order to desist them from playing pro-freedom taranas. Sources said that the direction were passed after public address system of mosques were widely used by the protestors to play eulogies and pro-freedom slogans in Kashmir.
“The molvis were asked to discourage youth from playing the elegies of militants in mosques. The directions were passed by the police and central intelligence agencies to Molvis in various volatile areas of Kashmir especially in south Kashmir. Many didn't pay any heed to it instead were instigating the ongoing violence and now many have been either been arrested or booked under the PSA,” they said.
Sources said that the enforcing agencies have also asked the religious preachers to desist from delivering pro-freedom sermons in the mosques saying it was intensifying the protests in Kashmir.
“They (Molvis) have also been asked not to incite people by delivering pro-freedom sermons. At many places the sloganeering intensifies after Molvis make dua related to the freedom. Strict directions have been passed from past few days to the religious preachers and mosque head in the regard,” they said.
Sources added that police has also warned that it will register FIR against the mosque heads and persons if found sloganeering or playing pro-freedom eulogies. “Same directions have been passed to the masjid committees as well that FIR will be registered against those who play or preach anything anti-national,” they said.
