J& K: First- time stone pelters to be set free

4,500 youth likely to get relief

◗ Over 11,500 cases have been registered against stone pelters since July last year when unrest broke out

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday announced amnesty to first- time stone pelters and said that FIRs registered against more than 4,500 youth will be reviewed within 10 days, paving the way for their freedom from detention.

“It gives me immense satisfaction to restart the process of withdrawing FIRs against first- time offenders of stone pelting,” tweeted chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

She also said that her government had initiated the process in May 2016 but it was stalled due to the unrest that followed the killing of militant Burhan Wani.

Over 11,500 cases have been registered against stone pelters since July last year when unrest broke out in Kashmir following the gunning down of Wani. Out of these, over 4,500 cases were registered against youths indulging in stone pelting for the first time, officials said. All of them have been in police lock- ups since their arrest.

Director general of police S. P. Vaid said that they are looking into the cases to ascertain who can be let off. “Some reports say 4,500 boys are first- time offenders but we are examining the cases to arrive at the number,” he said.

Earlier, a report from New Delhi had said that the Union home ministry has cleared a proposal submitted by the state government to give

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police has registered an FIR against two students who allegedly did not stand up when the national anthem was being played at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University ( BGSBU) in frontier Rajouri district on Wednesday. It was the concluding function of the 3rd Inter- State ( North Zone) Declamation Contest at which Governor, N. N. Vohra, was the chief guest. While the national anthem was being played during the function, two students could be seen taking a selfie with a mobile phone camera in a video which was later placed on social media. The police has registered the FIR against the duo.