Police arrest over 1,000 youths in Kashmir in three weeks

Srinagar, July 21 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, police arrested more than 1,000 persons including teenagers in the Valley during past three weeks and booked several of them under the draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA). In a major operation to quell the ongoing protests against killings of civilians by Indian police and paramilitary troopers, authorities have started the process to book majority of the arrested youth and teenagers under the PSA. “In past three weeks, police have made random arrests across the city just to frighten the people. Some youth have been released on bail but most of them are still under arrest,” the inhabitants of Nowhatta in Srinagar said. They said in most of the cases, the police have been asking the parents to produce their children in the respective police stations. “In this way scores of youth have been arrested. They are innocent, said the parents of arrested youth. “We have learnt that two youth who were arrested from Gojwara in Srinagar here have been booked under PSA and shifted to Hiranagar and Udhampur jails. We don’t know their identity and are worried about our wards,” they added. Over 100 youth including one Atif Hassan were arrested and several of them were booked under PSA in Islamabad, Pulwama, Sopore and Baramulla areas. Advocate Mir Shafaqat Hussain said that the authorities were misusing the PSA. “About 500-600 persons including minors have been arrested during past three weeks in the Valley and dozens have been booked under PSA.