Protesting Kashmiri Pandit employees detained in Jammu

As the employees assembled in the nearby chowk and started to raise slogans in support of their demands, the police detained nearly 50 protesters; were shifted to the Police Lines in a bus

Scores of migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees demanding a transfer from the Valley and release of salary dues were detained on Wednesday, shortly after they assembled here for a protest to press for their demands, officials said.

Protesting Kashmiri Pandits being detained by policemen in Jammu on Wednesday. (PTI)

The employees were supposed to stage a protest outside the Press Club but were not allowed by police.

As the employees assembled in the nearby chowk and started to raise slogans in support of their demands, the police detained nearly 50 protesters. They were shifted to the Police Lines in a bus.

“We tried to persuade them to disperse but since they were adamant about continuing the protest, we took them into preventive custody,” a government official said.

When asked if prohibitory orders had been implemented outside the Press Club -- the scene of frequent protests -- the official said prolonged protests in the area have become a public nuisance.

“There are no restrictions on peaceful protests for half an hour or one hour but they are occupying the space for hours till midnight, causing hardship to commuters and preoccupying the administration and the police,” he said.

Yogesh Pandita, a leader of the protesting employees, said, “We have submitted dozens of memorandums and even met the Lt Governor but all our pleas fell on deaf ears... Maha Shivratri, the biggest festival of the Pandit community, is around the corner but they are not releasing our salaries,” he said.