India toughens Kashmir crackdown; more detained and movement curbed

Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel stand guard in front of closed shops during restrictions after Kashmiri separatist called for shutdown to protest the arrest of their leaders in Srinagar - Reuters

SRINAGAR (Reuters): Indian troops and police have detained more than 160 separatist leaders and activists, mainly from the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), over two successive nights of raids in disputed Kashmir and imposed new curbs on freedom of movement.

The crackdown in towns and villages follows a suicide car bombing that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in a military convoy on 14 February claimed by another group, the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Police say they are rounding up separatists to head off trouble ahead of a General Election that must be held by May.

Authorities detained 60 more people from the Jamaat-e-Islami late on Saturday or early on Sunday, in addition to more than 100 the previous night, said a senior police officer who asked not to be identified.

“Since JeI has a wider network across Kashmir and they are mobilising anti-India protests, their arrest could help in curbing such protests ahead of elections,” he told Reuters.

The authorities have also been detaining JeM militants, sympathisers and relatives since the attack.

Separatists called for a strike to protest against the detentions and the crackdown. In response, many shops, petrol stations, and businesses closed, with fewer people and vehicles on streets in sensitive areas, except for troop patrols.

In some areas of the main city of Srinagar, the Government clamped down on the movement of people and vehicles. “The restrictions have been imposed as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident,” police said in a statement.

There was also at least one military operation during the day. Troops cordoned off Turigam, a village in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, and in a subsequent gun battle with JeM militants, one police officer and one militant died, a police source said. At least two other militants were trapped inside the village, the source said.

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir issued a statement saying that fuel supplies are critically low in the Kashmir Valley and rationing has been introduced. It said there is only enough gasoline for one day, diesel for four days and no liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The Government said it will seek to increase supplies to the region and that shortages are the result of road blockages after the suicide bomb attack.

In the same statement, state Governor Satya Pal Malik called on residents not to believe “rumours of any extreme nature”. The Government said that an increase in police numbers in the region was to prevent candidates and voters from being intimidated into not standing or voting in the general election.