Kashmiri Pandits protest delegation visit, 114 held

Displaced Kashmiri Pandits on Tuesday staged a sit-in in Srinagar to protest the all-party delegation's visit to Jammu and Kashmir and raised anti-government slogans, prompting police to cane-charge and take into custody 114 people, including 15 girls.

The protest came amid boycott of the delegation by several organisations including Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), Samajwadi Party and Panun Kashmir.

The police resorted to cane-charge on the Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS) activists, who were sitting on a dharna to observe 'black day' and raising anti-state and anti-Centre slogans on the arrival of the delegation here. The protestors said no solution to Kashmir issue was possible without the involvement of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the talks.

While most of the protesters dispersed after cane-charge, police apprehended 62 people, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Jammu-Kathua Range, Farooq Khan said.

Police also took into custody 35 members of displaced Kashmiri Pandits belonging to All Migrant Camps Coordination Committee (AMCC) at Domana near here after they staged a protest for not being invited to meet the delegation.
They belonged to migrant camps of Purkhoo and Mishriwala on the outskirts of the city.

Seventeen people belonging to west Pakistan refugee community were taken into custody by police at City Chowk here when they were proceeding towards Chief Minister's official residence, the venue for meeting of all-party delegation with different organisations, police sources said.

The JKNPP boycotted the delegation led by Home Minister P Chidambaram. "We decided to boycott the delegation as it has no constitutional authority to take cognisance of the facts and situation that prevails today in J-K and particularly in the Kashmir Valley," JKNPP chairman Bhim Singh told reporters.