Adil Lateef
Srinagar, Oct 29: As 24 schools were torched in last two months amid unrest in Kashmir, the Special Director General of Police, Coordination, Law and Order, SP Vaid has directed Station House Officers (SHOs) to nab the culprits.
He said that it is not possible for Police to guard all schools in the Valley. However, he said that all the SHOs have been directed to nab the culprits involved in burning of schools.
“Since the large number of police men are busy in maintaining law and order in the Valley, how could we expect that they will also guard all the schools in the valley? At this juncture, it is not possible for us to deploy police in every school,” the Special DG said.
Twenty four schools, two of them private and one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), were gutted completely or partially since September in mysterious blaze incidents across Kashmir valley. Six schools, the highest number so far in Valley, have been gutted only in Kulgam district of South Kashmir. The JNV was the first to go up in flames during stone-throwing clashes at Kulgam though police and locals blamed each other for the blaze.
Only yesterday, Government Middle School Habber Khag in Budgam district was set ablaze by miscreants while police said it thwarted an attempt of miscreants to set ablaze a Government Middle School in Ganderbal town. According to rough estimates, 5000 students have been affected due to burning of these schools.
Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Aijaz Ahmad Bhat told Excelsior that the schools are property of public and it is the responsibility of people to safeguard them from the actions of arsonists. “There are thousands of schools scattered all across the Valley and they belong to people. The Department of Education cannot protect them but people can,” he said and termed the gutting of schools a major loss.
The Director further said that the police are investigating the matter. “It is the job of police to investigate and they are doing it. So far 24 schools have gone up in flames,” he said.
Asked where Department would accommodate the students whose schools have been damaged, he said: “We have several options. We can shift them to nearby schools or hired buildings and also we can accommodate them in those classrooms which are unaffected by the blaze.”
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, SJM Gilani, told Excelsior that they are questioning some people while some have been identified. “At some places the accused have been identified and we are investigating,” he said, adding that they would be nabbed soon. “We have already arrested several people for burning vehicles and the people involved in this crime would also be held,” he said.
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