Braid chopping rumours fuel unrest in Kashmir

There appears to be an impending danger to the civil order in Kashmir, where rumours of braid-chopping have led to unrestrained mob vigilantism, in which Kashmiris are fighting Kashmiris, in some cases with fatal consequences.

In one such case, a nephew killed his uncle after attacking him with a brick in South Kashmir, after mistaking him for a braid chopper because he was loitering in their compound in the evening. On Friday, a mob in Sopore beat up a mentally-challenged person who is now battling for his life in hospital. A senior police officer told this reporter that they registered an FIR against the miscreants who incited the mob, which even tried to set the victim ablaze. IGP Kashmir Range, Muneer Ahmad Khan told this reporter that he instructed the police to file FIRs and arrest the people who were inciting the mobs to thrash innocent people.

In Kupwara, a man named Muhammad Sultan Lone raised a false alarm against Jameel Ahmad Dar, who worked as a tractor driver for him for many weeks. Lone did not want to pay Jameel his dues and hence, he incited the people of his locality to beat up Jameel, accusing him to be a braidchopper. Jameel is presently admitted in hospital in a critical condition, while the police has registered a case against Lone. At Khanow Babagund area in Kupwara district, the police said that the villagers informed them on Friday evening that one alleged braid chopper had been captured by the youths of the area. However, village elders managed to stop them from thrashing the man. The police finally identified the man as Muhammad Yousuf Khan, son of Wali Muhammad Khan, a resident of Sulkoot Kupwara. He is an ex-Armyman who was dismissed from service eight years ago due to his deteriorating mental health.

With the police unable to solve a single case of purported braid chopping, the valley is rife with rumours that the police and the security forces are protecting the braid-choppers.

This rumour grew stronger after the police and the Army had to open fire against mobs that were chasing alleged braid-choppers. Five villagers received bullet injuries while chasing an alleged braid chopper on Wednesday at Wullerhama near Pahalgam health resort. The villagers alleged that they had almost caught hold of the braid chopper but an Army vehicle not only protected him, but opened fire on them. Such complaints came from other villages too, where the locals said that when they were chasing the braid-choppers, the Army and the police came to the latter’s rescue.

At Rainawari in downtown Srinagar, a minor boy received pellet injuries while he was chasing an alleged braid chopper in his locality. He claimed that the police fired at him while protecting the alleged miscreant.

The residents of Baghna Noorkhaw in Boniyar Uri alleged that four armed men in uniform were moving around mysteriously, and when the locals stopped