Thirteen people were arrested on charges of sedition after they raised “azadi” slogans at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid after Friday prayers, Jammu and Kashmir police said on Saturday, adding that the accused could be booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
On Friday, protests broke out at the grand mosque, with some men allegedly shouting “azadi” slogans after the first congregational prayer was held there in the month of Ramzan. Jamia Masjid was opened for prayers only last month after remaining shut for almost two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Yesterday afternoon, there were Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid and a huge number of people had gathered. After the culmination of the prayers, about a dozen persons started anti-national and provocative sloganeering,” a police spokesperson said.
There was also an altercation between those raising the slogans and volunteers of the mosque’s managing committee, who tried to stop them. “This created a ruckus inside the mosque, leading to clashes. Later, the hooligans were dispersed by the volunteers,” the spokesperson added.
A case was registered at the Nowhatta Police Station under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 124A (sedition) and 447 (criminal trespass).
{{/usCountry}}A case was registered at the Nowhatta Police Station under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 124A (sedition) and 447 (criminal trespass).
{{/usCountry}}Police conducted raids at various locations after gathering evidence and arrested the alleged main instigators of the incident — Basharat Nabi Bhat and Umar Manzoor Sheikh — both residents Nowhatta.
“Eleven more accused were subsequently arrested… Dossiers of all the accused are being prepared to book them under the PSA, “ the spokesperson said.
Enacted in 1978, PSA allows authorities to detain a person for upto two yearsto prevent them endangering “the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order” without a trial or warrant.
Jamia Masjid is one of the biggest mosques in Kashmir and has been central to many important developments throughout the history of the valley. Hurriyat leader and chief priest of the mosque, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, used to deliver weekly sermons, but has been under house arrest since August 5, 2019, when the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked by the central government.
The investigation has revealed that the accused had “received instructions from Pakistani handlers of terror outfits to disrupt Friday prayers in Jamia Masjid and create law and order situation by provoking the attendees,” police said.
The development comes at a time the valley is witnessing a string of terror attacks. On Thursday, a migrant labourer was injured after being shot by suspected terrorists in the Yader area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Last week, two migrant labourers were injured after they were shot at by terrorists in Pulwama district.
On March 21, Tajamul Mohi-ud-din Dar, a local resident, was shot dead by terrorists in Budgam district. A labourer from Bihar, Bisujeet Kumar, was also shot at by terrorists in Pulwama on the same day.