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Mohammed Ayub Pandith's lynching shows it's police versus locals in Kashmir

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Ashok Upadhyay
Ashok UpadhyayJun 23, 2017 | 19:28

Mohammed Ayub Pandith's lynching shows it's police versus locals in Kashmir

Mohammed Ayub Pandith, a deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir police, was lynched by an irate mob near Jamia Masjid in Srinagar's Nowhatta area on June 23. He sacrificed his life in the line of duty. The officer was in charge of frisking civilians at Jamia Masjid.

Reports say an incensed group caught hold of him and stripped him naked before stoning him to death.

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However, there are two versions to what led to the lynching. One says the deputy SP allegedly opened fire at a group of people who had caught him clicking pictures near Srinagar's Jamia Masjid mosque.

The other says he was offering prayers when someone from the crowd noticed his pistol. Some youth called him outside and asked to see his identity card. Pandith was reluctant to do so and reportedly fired some shots in self-defence, wounding three people in the crowd. Following this, the deputy SP's security guards fled the spot upon realising the mob was too large to handle, and he was lynched.

Pandith was a local from Khanyar area adjacent to Nowhatta, where he was killed.

This is not first attack on or death of a police official in recent times in the turbulent state. On June 16, a police contingent in Anantnag district was ambushed by a terror group. Six policemen were killed in the attack. Thereafter, the terrorists disfigured their faces by spraying bullets at them. One of the victims was sub-inspector Feroz Ahmad Dar.

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Mohammed Ayub Pandith sacrificed his life in the line of duty. The officer was in charge of frisking civilians at Jamia Masjid. Photo: ANI

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On June 15, there were two attacks on Jammu and Kashmir police. In Kulgam district a policeman identified as Shabir Ahmad Dar was killed.

On the same day, in a separate attack, two policemen were killed by terrorists in Srinagar's Hyderpora area.

A police check post in Anantnag town was attacked by terrorists and one assistant sub-inspector and a police constable were killed on June 3. 11 policemen have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the past month.

So far, 17 policemen have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of the year. This is highest in the past two decades. Last year, 13 policemen were killed in the state.

The figures clearly show that it’s not just the Army or the paramilitary forces who are feeling the heat in Kashmir but also the police.

There is a sea change in the attitude of the local population. In the 1990s, a substantial number of local people use to side with the police in the conflict between the police and the militants.

Now it seems they have decided not to take a stand for the police. This may be because there is pressure within the society from militants.

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Outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) openly warned Kashmiri policemen to leave their jobs and join them.

The narrative in Kashmir seems to be anti-police and locals seem to be forced to change their stance.

When the Jammu and Kashmir police are at the receiving end of the militants and becoming unwanted or undesirable for a large section of the Valley's population, they need a helping hand.

The ruling class and even politicians from Opposition parties must stand with them. But when police officer Feroz Ahmad Dar was killed along with five others in south Kashmir, none of the politicians came and paid their respects to the deceased.

Their families were let down.

Be it people or the politicians of Jammu and Kashmir, each fraternity seeks police protection when it faces a threat from militants. But when cops of the state need their support, they are left in the lurch.

This evidently makes policing in the turbulent state of India one of the most difficult jobs.

Last updated: June 23, 2017 | 19:28
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