Crackdowns Back in Srinagar

This Report by Arif Shafi Wani by Greater Kashmir states:

"In a throwback to early 1990s, police and paramilitary troopers held identification parades of youths on roadsides on Wednesday in various parts of the city, arresting at least 25 persons.

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CRPF troopers and police held a series of cordon-and-search operations from Nehru Park to Hari Singh High Street throughout the day. Troops first blocked all the routes leading to commercial hub Hari Singh High Street and frisked pedestrians and motorists. Later, the troops cordoned the tourist hub Boulevard and subjected the pedestrians to intense identification parade. The police also conducted searches in adjoining Buchwara, Gagribal and some areas of Dal lake, detaining 15 persons, most of them youths. The tourists had a tough time as the police did not even allow even their vehicles to move. “We were about to leave for Gulmarg, but police didn’t allow us to move ahead. This is sheer harassment,” said Nitin Sahu, a tourist from Gujarat. “On one hand the government is wooing tourists by claiming normalcy has been restored in the Valley and on the other troops and police harass them in the name of so-called security. Boulevard and Dalgate have been comparatively incident free for a long time. These security checks only frighten tourists and hamper our business,” said Muhammad Azim Tuman, Chairman of Houseboats Owners Association

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In the afternoon, the CRPF launched a surprise crackdown at Regal Chowk and detained 10 persons who did not have identity cards. “I am a student and have forgotten my identity-card at home. Please let me go, my mother is waiting for me at doctor’s clinic,” a youth pleaded with the cops. But he was bundled up along with nine others in a police vehicle. The CRPF troopers with bamboo sticks in one hand and gun dangling from shoulders were abusing pedestrians, asking them to make a queue quickly. Troops also frisked pedestrians and vehicles at Ganta Ghar, Court Road, Polo View and Jehangir Chowk, causing long traffic jams."