Woman who hurled petrol bomb at CRPF bunker held

A resident of Sheeri village, Haseena Akthar was arrested in 2019 under UAPA, was released on bail just four months ago

SRINAGAR: A 41-year-old woman was arrested on Friday for hurling a petrol bomb at the CRPF bunker in Sopore three days ago.

The accused, identified as Haseena Akthar, was arrested from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and is an overground Lashkar-e-Taiba worker, police said. They said that she came in touch with Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi some four years ago and started propagating her ideology. She has three cases registered against her at different police stations in north Kashmir.

Police said that in 2019, she had been arrested under UAPA in Handwara for putting up posters of LeT and was released on bail around four months ago. They said that during her jail term, she was examined for some psychological issues.

The video of the burka clad women tossing the petrol bomb on the CRPF bunker had gone viral. Though it caused no loss of life or injuries, but it led to panic in the area.

A mother of four

Akthar, a resident of Sheeri village on Uri Baramulla highway, is a mother of four. Her oldest son is 20-years-old and the other three are between 11 and 15-years-old. She is married to one Mohammad Yusuf, who works as a street vendor and currently operating as part time contractor.

Yusuf too was arrested couple of times and in 2016 on charges of stone pelting was booked under Public Safety Act and released after 17 months.

Was vocal against govt, says neighbour

“We don’t think she had direct affiliation with militants, but she is vocal and speaks against government. This time, when her family came to know police is looking for her, they handed her over to them,” said her neighbour Mohammad Yasin.

Akthar, however, has been dubbed as a habitual offender by the police. She came on police’s radar for the first time in 2009, when she spread false rumours that resulted in protests in Baramulla town in which four civilians were killed in the firing by forces on the protestors.