Braid-chopping: Four soldiers face mob fury

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 17

At least four Kashmiri soldiers were beaten up today on the suspicion of being braid- choppers in separate incidents at Kupwara and Ganderbal in Kashmir.

A soldier was beaten up by a mob in the frontier district of Kupwara on the suspicion of being involved in a braid-chopping incident on Tuesday.

The soldier of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was rescued from the mob by colleagues and the police.

“The locals accused the soldier of being involved in braid-chopping. But our investigation so far has found nothing as such,” said Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, Shamsher Hussain. “We are looking at all angles.”

He said the police reached the spot while the soldier was being beaten up. Locals alleged that the soldier barged into the house of a resident of Redi Chowkibal, Ghulam Nabi, and sprayed some chemical to cut the hair of a woman.

An Army spokesman, issuing a statement late in the evening, said a mob stopped the last vehicle of an Army convoy when they were protesting against some alleged braid-chopping incident. “When a soldier dismounted to learn about the issue, the mob surrounded him and started manhandling him despite a part of the crowd trying to stop the instigators by saying that the soldier had nothing to do with the incident. The troops exercised extreme caution and fired a few rounds in the air to disperse the mob and retrieve the soldier. The vehicle rejoined the convoy,” the spokesman said.

“The soldier was sent for medical treatment and is now stable. The instigators have been identified and suitable action has been initiated against the culprits,” the Army spokesman added.

Clashes erupted in the area after the incident. However, the situation was brought under control by the police.

Meanwhile, a video of the incident has gone viral on the social media.

The authorities had also imposed restrictions in the Maisuma locality in Srinagar over an alleged incident of braid-chopping on Monday. 

In ganderbal, three Territorial Army personnel were thrashed and their private car was set ablaze in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Tuesday.

Police sources said a group of people intercepted a car at Akhal Kangan and mistook them as braid-choppers.

"The three were beaten up by the locals. A local police and Army unit rushed to the spot and rescued the trio," police sources said. 

No truth in locals’ allegations: Police 

The locals accused the soldier of being involved in braid-chopping. But our investigation so far has found nothing as such. We are looking at all angles. —Shamsher Hussain, SSP, Kupwara