4-yr-old boys indulging in stone pelting in Valley: Report
The intelligence agencies have reportedly revealed that boys as young as 4 and 5 years old are participating in the stone pelting in Kashmir. However, after being caught, many of these kids revealed they have no idea what they are involved in. The stone pelting protests have now spread to rural regions, said the intelligence agencies as per a report.
Intelligence agencies say stone-throwing protests in Kashmir, which picked up after militant leader Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces last July, have now spread to rural regions.Authorities are worried as they say the crowds in the countryside are more belligerent. An officer says boys as young as 4 and 5 are participating in the stone- pelting.After being caught, many of these kids reveal that they have no idea what they are involved in. The J&K Police have appealed to parents to ensure that they are not drawn into disruptive activities by militants or overground workers funded by Pakistani agencies.Young boys took to throwing stones in mass demonstrations that rocked Kashmir Valley in 2008 and 2010. Since then, it has become a popular way for youths to express their anger against the government, and authorities have been constantly looking to stamp out any repeat.Many children were taken into custody for stone-pelting in 2010 but let out after the state government gave them amnesty.MANY MLAS SCARED TO VENTURE OUT IN THEIR OWN CONSTITUENCIES Though the magnitude of the problem has increased manifold, security forces feel that it is the lack of the PDP-BJP administration's ability to reach out to the people that has angered them more. Many of the MLAs are scared to venture out in their own constituencies due to fear of assault. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has visited several locations, said a source, but she has been ringed by security, rendering the trips almost futile. Another officer said, "Since her election from Anantnag, the CM has not been seen here." A video of a security forces-militant encounter this year in Hajin village of J&K has been doing the rounds not just in the state but also among soldiers. The pictures are stark- crowds from the area running after an army truck even as the force suffered a casualty. Major Satish Dahiya was killed in the gun battle. But it is the stone-pelting, which has worried the security forces.Many in the forces feel the problem is not limited to law and order and there has been only a weak attempt to broker peace in the region with politicians spewing mistrust.