Sanjeev Pargal/ Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/Srinagar, July 5: In a major decision, the State Government today gave amnesty to 634 stone pelters and youths involved in protests on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr and approved the withdrawal of 104 such cases that were registered against them right from 2008 onwards. Among them were 70 persons from Jammu region, against whom 20 First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered during 2008 Amarnath Ji land agitation, which had lasted nearly two months with series of bandhs and protests, leading to over a dozen deaths.
The announcement to give general amnesty to the stone pelters and youths involved in other forms of protests, but not heinous crimes, was made by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti recently in the Assembly.
The three-member Committee constituted by the Government vide order No: 355-Home of 2016 dated: 26-06-2016 reviewed the cases that were registered against the stone pelters between 2008 and 2009 in the first phase and it recommended that 104 cases registered during this period involving 634 persons be withdrawn.
The Committee has made it mandatory that parents of the accused persons and the accused youth, against whom the cases are to be withdrawn, shall have to give an undertaking that they will not indulge in any such activities in future.
The Committee has, however, made it clear that the persons involved in heinous crimes and offences will be excluded from the review. The recommendations of the Committee have been forwarded to the Police for immediate follow-up action.
Highly placed sources confirmed to the Excelsior that 20 FIRs registered at different police stations in Jammu region against youths and other people for their involvement in protests, stone-pelting and other form of agitation during 2008 Amarnath land row, have been withdrawn, which were among total of 104 cases withdrawn by the Government today on recommendations of the high powered Committee.
“At least 70 persons of different organizations, mainly right wing, were involved in the agitation but even after agitation concluded on August 31, 2008 with all demands of Jammu people conceded during the Governor’s Rule, the FIRs were later not withdrawn against the agitationists,’’ sources said.
This (the withdrawal of FIRs) was long pending demand of people of Jammu and had been highlighted various organizations frequently as youths and other people had to visit courts every month for participating in religious agitation in which vast portion of Jammu region and several parts of country were also involved.
Sources said the high powered Committee has cleared all persons named in 20 FIRs during 2008 Amarnath Ji land agitation and ordered withdrawal of FIRs against them. With this, nearly 70 persons would be free from the charges leveled against them by the police for participating in religious agitation, which had become an house-hold movement with children to elders joining it and finally leading to their victory with then administration under the Governor’s rule conceding all demands of Jammu.
However, later the administration had backtracked from withdrawal of FIRs against the agitationists and the cases were challaned in the courts of law making the agitationists as accused.
Sources said with the withdrawal of 20 FIRs, almost all cases, in which no heinous charge had been leveled, have been withdrawn against the agitationists.
When approached for comments, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh confirmed withdrawal of 20 FIRs lodged against the Amarnath Ji land agitationists and described it as “historic decision’’ of BJP-PDP Government as it was long pending demand of the people of Jammu region.
Dr Singh, who had taken the initiative of withdrawal of FIRs against Amarnath land agitationists, said the justice has been done at last by the present State Government.
Meanwhile, the Committee in its recommendations submitted to the Chief Minister has proposed that the cases pertaining to the period between 2008 and 2014 be segregated and recommended for withdrawal in a phased manner. The Committee has sought three weeks time for review of the cases pertaining to the period between 2010 and 2014.
The Committee is headed by Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar and comprised ADGP CID SM Sahai and Special Secretary Home as its members. The Committee is mandated to review the cases registered against the youth for stone-pelting during the period 2008 and 2014.
Sources said that there are 15, 000 stone pelters against whom cases have been registered since 2008 till date in different parts of the Kashmir Valley. Some of these stone pelters are involved in multiple cases and over 500 of them are hardcore stone pelters as against each of them 15-30 cases are registered in various police stations of Kashmir.
Majority of the cases were registered against stone pelters in 2010 when summer unrest was at its peak and around 120 persons mostly youth were killed in security forces firing in Kashmir valley. Sources said that cases against 7000-8000 youth were registered in stone pelting charges in 2010 and against around 3000 youth in 2008 and 2009.
Sources said that around 80 youth have been arrested on charges of stone pelting across Kashmir recently and among them 18 have been detained yesterday. Out of them, 24 have been arrested in Shopian, 16 from Sopore, 15 from Kupwara, nine from Srinagar, seven from Baramulla, one from Anantnag, one from Kulgam, one from Sumbal, two from Pulwama. Some of these are in preventive custody and cases have not been registered against them. Sources said that some of these stone pelters may be released on the Eid day.
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