Police and CRPF carry out a search at the house of a person linked to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami in Pulwama on Thursday. The raids were carried out at multiple places as part of a crackdown on JeI. (PTI)
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For two weeks now, police teams, with camerapersons in tow, have been sweeping through hospital corridors in Kashmir, pulling open lockers and pigeon-holes allotted to doctors. Within minutes, the pictures and video of these “raids” make their way to social media.
The searches are a fallout of the inter-state Ansar Ghazwatul Hind module busted in connection with the recent Red Fort blast in Delhi, comprising allegedly four doctors, three of them from Kashmir. As part of the investigations, officials claim to have seized a rifle from a locker at Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, which had been allotted to one of the accused in the blast, Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, when he worked at GMC. Rather left GMC a year ago, but never ceded possession of the locker.
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Officers say the searches will continue till “every locker is accounted for”, and that surprise checks may continue in the future. Noting that hospital administrations are “fully cooperating with them”, with medical superintendents accompanying the search parties, a police officer said: “We have checked most of the hospitals in the Valley and are likely to finish the process in a few days… But we could carry out surprise inspections to keep a check.”
However, even within the police force, some are raising questions about the purpose of the sweeping exercise, instead of isolated suspects. Police have not shared recovery of anything incriminatory from these “searches”, and queries to IGP V K Birdhi in this regard went unanswered.
A senior officer posted in Srinagar said: “Doctors are the cream of society. By humiliating them, we are sending a wrong message, not just to the doctor community but also to the general public. We are breeding animosity with them and that could be counter-productive. Also, by painting the entire community as suspects, we risk damaging the career of hundreds of doctors posted outside Kashmir.”
Incidentally, these searches have been ordered despite the Health and Medical Education Department already directing hospitals across the Valley to carry out an inspection of all unidentified lockers on their premises.
Medical Superintendent of District Hospital, Pulwama, Dr Abdul Gani Dar told the media Monday that they had themselves called police and asked them to check the lockers that had not been opened for a while. “There were instructions from the higher authorities and we abided by them… There were some unidentified and unlabelled lockers. We broke their seal and nothing adverse was found. We mostly found aprons and medicines.”
A senior Health Department official said doctors and staff at a hospital are allotted lockers or small cabinets known as pigeon-holes for keeping such stuff, and belongings like books, stethoscopes and other medical apparatus.
A senior doctor, posted in a top Srinagar hospital, told The Indian Express: “We understand the security concerns, but what exactly are they trying to signal with these dramatic and camera-ready raids that run non-stop on social media and television? What message does that send about all of us? Do they want to convey that all of us are militants?”
Others argue that the checks, if necessary, could have been done quietly. “If security agencies genuinely needed to inspect our lockers, they could have done it discreetly without turning it into a public spectacle and for every camera to capture,” a senior doctor at Srinagar says. Women doctors also allege invasion of privacy.
Expressing regret at “targeting of the entire fraternity”, J&K Health Minister Sakeena Itoo said she would direct the Secretary, Health, to sensitize agencies to follow a proper SOP.
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Meanwhile, police Thursday conducted city-wide inspections at Srinagar’s mosques and madrassas as part of its crackdown against “individuals and networks associated with terrorist organisations”.
Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter.
Expertise and Experience
Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development.
Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor.
Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans:
Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance.
Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.
Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley.
Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More
