BEING HARASSED AFTER EXPOSING DRUG MAFIA, SAYS VALLEY ATHLETE

SRINAGAR: A young woman athlete has accused some army personnel of allegedly harassing her and her family after she took on the drug mafia in her hometown of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Army and police officials have rubbished the allegations.

Nighat Bashir, a national-level karate player from Seelu Sopore, told media persons that since the day she raised a voice against the drug mafia in Sopore, she has been facing a lot of problems.

“When I heard that my brother is getting involved in drugs, I raised a voice against the drug mafia which also led to the arrest of one person. After that, the racket was busted by police in Sopore. But following the arrests, the army raided the area and assaulted my cousins saying they were looking for my father,” she alleged. On Saturday, she alleged that she was again harassed by army personnel at Tappar Pattan when she was taking her brother to a hospital in Srinagar.

The army has denied the allegations. “No army personnel is involved in ransacking or damaging any civilian property. These allegations are baseless,” said army spokesperson Rajesh Kalia.

Sopore senior superintendent of police Javaid Iqbal said, “The searches were of general nature in Seelu and it was a joint operation by the army and police.”