Police arrest 33, slap PSA on six for burning schools

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 2

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested 33 persons, including five juveniles, for allegedly burning 34 schools in Kashmir in the past few months.

“In total for 34 incidents, the police have arrested 33 persons, including 28 adults and five juveniles,” read an official report submitted by the police in the High Court on Friday.

The police have submitted before District Magistrates dossiers on 14 arrested persons for slapping the Public Safety Act on them. “The police have executed the PSA against six persons to date,” it said.

The police have categorised 65 places which house school buildings as highly sensitive and deployed 115 police personnel on guard duty to thwart miscreants from burning schools.

Depending upon the sensitivity of the location of schools, the police have gone in for permanent deployment at highly sensitive locations, permanent nakas near sensitive areas and patrolling in less sensitive areas to prevent arson.

The police said it had constituted Special Investigation Teams to carry out arrests and dispose of cases. From November 7, there has been no report of any fire incident or damage to school buildings. At least 14 attempts to set schools on fire by miscreants were foiled, the police said.

The High Court had directed the state government on November 7 to provide adequate fire safety measures to all schools. The court had also directed the IGP, Kashmir, to file a status report on the steps taken to prevent the burning of schools. The next hearing in the matter is on December 15.

For providing safety measures, the government has directed the Chief Education Officers of all districts to install fire extinguishers in all schools.