Kashmir: Security personnel cordon off villages in Shopian district in major crackdown

Officials have said that they had received inputs about the presence of militants at Sahib village and fearing protests and stone pelting, these villages were cordoned.

At least 20 villages in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir have been cordoned off early this morning in a joint operation by the Indain Army’s Rashtriya Rifles, the CRPF and the Jammu Kashmir Police. The operation comes after recent incidents of rifle snatching and bank heists in South Kashmir.  A house to house search is currently underway.

Sources in the Valley have confirmed the development saying the move could be based on information with the Jammu and Kashmir Police. It could also, they say, be a larger move by security personnel to assert its authority in the region given the recent number  of incidents of violence and stone-pelting. On Monday, militants killed five policemen and two private guards of a Jammu Kashmir bank.  On Tuesday night, militants had snatched five rifles from Jammu Kashmir policemen who were deployed at a district court complex.

Officials, however, have said that they had received inputs about the presence of militants at Sahib village and fearing protests and stone pelting, these villages were cordoned off.

This is the first major crackdown or operation that has been launched in South Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen commander, Burhan Wani last July.

– With inputs from ENS, Srinagar