Kashmir: Mother-Daughter Arrested for Allegedly Raising Anti-India Slogans After Encounter

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday booked a mother and her daughter accusing the duo of purportedly raising anti-India slogans following an encounter in Rangreth area of Srinagar city.

The two women were identified, according to reports, as Afrooza and her daughter Aisha, who are the residents of Wanbal area of Rawalpora, a locality in the city outskirts. The two are currently being held at a Srinagar’s police station for women.

The two women were booked by the police for their alleged role in raising slogans against the state and police authorities, a video of which was widely circulated on social media platforms. The video was shot following an encounter on December 13 in which the J&K Police claimed they killed two militants, including a foreigner, in the vicinity of Rangreth.

The encounter was reportedly brief. However, some eye-witnesses claimed they did not see any arms being carried by the slain, who they saw being shot from a close range by the security forces, triggering protests in the area.

Later, the Srinagar police in a statement claimed that the two women were part of Lashkar e Toiba  or LeT and were killed in what they termed as a “brief chance encounter”. The police said they recovered at least two AK-47 rifles from the suspected militants, who they believe, were involved in various militancy related attacks and civilians killings,

A local news gathering agency, quoting official sources, said that the two women have been booked in an FIR 209/ 2021 under Sections 147, 148, 149, and 326  which includes charges like ‘creating a law and order situation’.

The arrest of the two women has led to an outrage with many accusing the authorities of using excessive force against the duo. Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti called out these arrests saying these were the result of worsened situation.

“Arresting women in Kashmir marks a new low for the administration that persecutes civilians only to please their masters in Delhi. The situation is getting worse and instead of reaching out to the people, GOI is pushing them to the wall,” she tweeted.

This is the second such protest since November by women in the aftermath of encounters in Srinagar. Earlier, a group of women raised slogans against the police action in which at least three suspected militants were killed near Rambagh locality, less than 5 km ahead of Rangreth. In both the incidents, women were seen visibly disturbed by the firing following which they raised slogans against the authorities accusing them of carrying out these killings arbitrarily.