Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 16: Nearly five months after mob violence at Ramban in the aftermath of killings of four civilians and injuries to 43 others in the Border Security Force (BSF) firing on July 18 at Dharam, Gool in Ramban district, police today arrested five more persons in connection with vandalism in the office of the Deputy Commissioner and other Government buildings at district headquarters at Ramban.
Police have identified a total of 109 accused for the violence. While eight of them were arrested earlier, five have been arrested today taking total number of arrests in the case so far to 13.
Police said some of the accused had gone underground after knowing that their names figured in the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Ramban police station on the same day of violence.
Five accused arrested today for violence have been identified as Shakeel Ahmad son of Din Mohammad. Muzammil Ahmad son of Mehboob Ahmad, Mohammad Irshad son of Abdul Gani, Manzoor Ahmad son of Abdul Rehman and Ishfaq Ahmad son of Mohammad Issaq, all residents of Maitra, Ramban.
They have been booked for the cases of arson registered at Ramban police station on July 18 under FIR Nos. 106, 107 and 108 under Sections 436, 336, 147, 148, 332, 323 and 341 RPC.
With this, total number of arrests made in connection with large scale vandalism at Ramban in the aftermath of Gool killings has risen to 15. Police had arrested eight persons in connection with the violence at Ramban earlier. All of them have been bailed out.
Police said they have identified a total of 109 accused in connection with the violence at Ramban but majority of them had gone underground.
“As and when we get the accused, we are arresting them,’’ police said.
They added that all accused would be produced in the court tomorrow to take their remand for questioning in connection with violence.
It may be mentioned here that the miscreants had gone on rampage in Ramban town on the evening of July 18 setting vehicles on fire in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Ramban and ransacking furniture. They had also damaged and torched vehicles in other areas of Ramban forcing authorities to impose curfew in the town. The mob had turned violent after BSF firing on the people at Gool in which four persons including a Chemistry Lecturer were killed and 43 others were injured.
The violence had been contained after imposition of curfew.
Sources said after obtaining available CCTV footage, photographs and eyewitness account, police had identified a total of 109 accused involved in the violence and causing damage to the Government property. All of them hailed from Ramban town and its outskirts. Police had registered three open FIRs on July 18 and later named the accused on the basis of their identification.
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