Finally, arrests made for torching schools

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 28

The police in Kulgam district have finally arrested over a dozen persons involved in the torching of seven government school buildings in the district in the last three months.

The maximum number of schools (seven) were set ablaze in Kulgam district. Police officials in Kulgam said that they had made breakthrough in most of the cases and over a dozen people were arrested.

“We have arrested people involved in torching seven school buildings. The arrested are anti-social and separatist elements who wanted to destroy the future of poor students whose education is dependent on government schools. The attacks have been particularly made on government schools,” said Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Sri Dhar Patel.

Patel said FIRs had been lodged in all cases. Besides the seven schools in Kulgam, four school buildings have been set ablaze in Budgam, two in Srinagar, three in Baramulla, two in Shopian, four in Anantnag and one each in Ganderbal, Pulwama and Kupwara districts.

As many as 25 schools buildings have been torched in the ongoing unrest in the Valley. “Investigations are going on separately in all districts. In some cases, we have already got clues,” said Special Director General of Police, Coordination, Law and Order, S P Vaid.

In almost all cases, the schools were targeted during night. The current unrest in Kashmir has affected more than 15 lakh school students. According to the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), there are 11,766 government schools and 2,610 private schools in the Valley.

First private school burnt in Kashmir 

Srinagar: Miscreants set ablaze a private school in the Dooru area of Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Friday evening. The police sources said Iqra Public School at Batgund in the Dooru area of Anantnag district was set ablaze by miscreants. With this the number of schools set ablaze by miscreants during the recent weeks of current unrest has gone up to 25. This is the first private school that has become the target of the ongoing violence in Kashmir. — TNS