J&K: 3 teachers of religious school booked under PSA

The Jammu and Kashmir Police Monday said it has booked three teachers of a religious school in Shopian district under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) after it came to the fore that some of its students and alumni were found involved in militant activities.

Its alumni include Sajjad Bhat, an accused in the February 2019 suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that had left 40 personnel dead. Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar told a press conference here the school is affiliated with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) outfit. “The school’s name is Siraj-uloom Imam Sahib. It is not that this school has not been under observation. We have already booked three teachers of the school namely Abdul Ahad Bhat, Rouf Bhat and Mohammad Yusuf Wani under the PSA,” Kumar told the reporters.

He said about half a dozen other teachers of the school were under surveillance. “(Conduct of) five to six teachers of the school are under surveillance (under Section 107 CrPC). Basically, the affiliation of the school is with JeI. It is under surveillance, and right now we are taking action against individuals and if need arises, we will take action against the school,” the IGP said. Section 107 of the CrPC deals with any likely breach of peace or public tranquillity.

The religious school in south Kashmir’s Shopian district came under the scanner of investigating agencies after 13 of its students were found to have joined terror groups. It mainly has students from Kulgam, Pulwama and Anantnag districts of South Kashmir, considered by intelligence agencies to be the hotbeds of militancy and breeding grounds for local recruits in various terror groups, officials said.

IT IS UNDER SURVEILLANCE, AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE TAKING ACTION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS AND IF NEED ARISES, WE WILL TAKE ACTION AGAINST THE SCHOOL,” THE IGP SAID.