Deadly panic in Kashmir over braid chopping

SRINAGAR: A wave of brutal, deadly panic has swept Indianadministered Kashmir after more than 100 women said they were victims of attackers who chopped off their hair.

Despite suggestions the cases may have been fabricated or fuelled by hysteria, the consequences have been all too real.

A 70-year-old man has been killed by vigilantes since the alleged incidents started a month ago, and there are near-daily reports of groups attacking suspected “braid-choppers”.

Authorities have avoided confirming or denying the accounts of women from across the region, which bears deep mental scars from a decades-old uprising against Indian rule.

Groups armed with iron rods and knives patrol the capital Srinagar and other towns after dark looking for suspects.

Five people were wounded on Wednesday when Indian soldiers opened fire on a stone-throwing crowd who thought troops were protecting a braid-chopper.

On Friday, police said they rescued a “mentally challenged” man accused by a mob that was trying to set him ablaze and run him over with a tractor. At least a dozen police and soldiers have been beaten up.

Police initially said the hairchopping was self-inflicted. Now they are offering a 600,000 rupee (RM39,000) reward for information leading to the capture of suspects, but they also want the victims to take lie-detector tests. – AFP