765 held for stone pelting since Aug 5

Tourist Footfall declines by 19%

JAMMU: The security forces arrested as many as 765 people for their alleged involvement in stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, the government informed the parliament on Tuesday.
These people were arrested in a total of 190 cases of stone-pelting and breach of law and order, for the period from August 5 till November 15.
Interestingly, the Centre and the J&K administration had maintained that barring a few stray instances that too in a first two weeks after August 5, there had been no incidents of stone-pelting in Kashmir Valley.
However, the Home Ministry on Tuesday revealed these numbers in the lower house of the parliament and said that multi-pronged policies were adopted to check the menace of stone-pelting.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said there was a decline in the incidents of stonepelting since August 5, when the Centre announced abrogation of the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.
"Since August 5, 2019 to November 15, 2019, 765 people have been arrested in 190 cases registered relating to stone pelting/law and order. From January 1, 2019 to August 4, 2019, 361 such cases were registered," the minister said, replying to a written question in the Lok Sabha.
Reddy said the government had adopted multi-pronged policies to check the stonepelting menace and had succeeded in curbing it to the extent that a large number of troublemakers, instigators and mob mobilisers were identified and various preventive measures taken against them, including detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) and preventive arrests.
"Investigation has revealed that various separatist organisations and activists, which are part of the Hurriyat, have been behind the incidents of stonepelting in the Kashmir valley. The NIA has chargesheeted 18 persons in terror-funding cases so far," he said.
Replying to another question, Reddy said the Jammu and Kashmir administration had informed that a total of 34,10,219 tourists, including 12,934 foreigners, visited Jammu and Kashmir in the last six months and an income of Rs 25.12 crore was earned through tourism during this period.
The minister said after the abrogation of Article 370, initially, attendance of students was thin in the schools of Jammu and Kashmir, which gradually picked up and at present, stood at 99.7 per cent during the ongoing examination.
On a question related to use of pellet guns since August 5, the minister said pellet guns were used with abundant caution, only to deal with severe law-and-order problems to avoid civilian casualties.
Reddy also said that as many as 950 incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistan have been reported along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.
He also said in the Lok Sabha that terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan's control remains a core concern in bilateral relations.
Reddy said immediate and effective retaliation is undertaken by the security forces in cases of ceasefire violations and all such incidents are taken up with Pakistan at appropriate levels through established mechanisms and flag meetings.
"India has consistently stressed the need for Pakistan to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action to end cross border terrorism against India...," he said.