J&K Police detain 13 school teachers for ‘glorifying militancy’

Police seize objectionable material from 2 in custody

SRINAGAR: Thirteen teachers of a private school in north Kashmir’s Baramulla town were detained last week for allegedly ‘glorifying militancy’ and motivating students to become militants.

Videos doing the rounds on social media showed 13–14-yearold boys being encouraged to act as militants somewhere in the forests of Zandafaran, where they had gone for a school excursion in the first week of July.

As some boys played songs eulogising death, some students act as militants, ready to carry out an attack. The school management refused to talk on the matter. Chief education officer, Baramulla, Abdul Ahmad Gani told Hindustan Times that he will get the matter investigated and “stern action will be taken against the management”.

Police took action as soon as the videos went viral on social media. Though these are mock videos, police officers claimed that these acts could “brainwash” the boys into turning to militancy in the future.

‘This shows how some teachers with vested interests whose mandate is to turn young boys into disciplined students encouraged them to take guns,” said an officer requesting anonymity.

Police let go of 11 of the teachers on Sunday after stern warning and intervention of some elders, according to sources. Objectionable material was recovered from the two in custody. One of them is the one who shot the video, they said.

Baramulla SSP, Imtiyaz Hussain refused to divulge further information about the incident.

The private school has more than 200 students on roll. Sources said that parents, most of whom are from poor families, expressed shock over these videos and sought the intervention of administration.

VIDEOS DOING ROUNDS ONLINE SHOWED 13–14YEAROLD BOYS OUT ON A SCHOOL EXCURSION BEING ‘ENCOURAGED TO ACT AS MILITANTS’