Protests continue on recruitment policy

While the chief minister was defending the new recruitment policy inside the civil secretariat on the first day of the opening of the darbar in the winter capital today, the undercurrent of resentment against the policy was apparently visible in the city till late evening in the form of street protests.

Although, the protests were marred and foiled by the heavy deployment of security personnel, yet the protesters in small groups made three different attempts to march towards the civil secretariat but were arrested.    

Atleast 50 protesting students including girls were detained by the police in this process.

However, despite few protest demonstrations at Shalamar Chowk and City Chowk, civil secretariat opened in the winter capital amid stringent security arrangements.

There was tight security cover in and around the secretariat. Barricades were erected and passenger and private vehicles were being searched at several places in the city.

Activists of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Youth of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh Movement (YJKLM) made few bids to proceed towards civil secretariat from Shalamar Chowk and City Chowk in small groups amid raising slogans against the state government but their attempts were foiled by police contingents deployed there.  

Near about 45 students of ABVP assembled at Shalamar Chowk and City Chowk early in the morning at 10:45 am carrying banners and placards depicting slogans “Taanashahi Nahi Chalegi”, ‘Revoke Job Policy Or Face Hate’, ‘Omar Abdullah, Hai-Hai,’. The protestors staged a massive protest and tried to proceed towards the secretariat, demanding revocation of new job policy introduced by the state government in three different groups.

One of the ABVP groups showed black flags as mark of their resentment against state government. They held a protest demonstration for half an hour; later the police arrested all the activists when they tried to proceed towards secretariat and they were sent to the local police station in police jeep and bus. The agitating students including six girls were  detained by the police under preventive measures and were shifted to the District Police Lines. However, all the activists who were detained were later released in the evening.

Meanwhile, in a similar way, over a hundred students and activists of various student organisations mainly Progressive Students Association (PSA) and Gujjar Bakerwal Students Welfare Association (GBSWA) gathered in front of Central Library of Jammu University at 11 am and held a strong protest demonstration and raised slogans against the state government and the new recruitment policy.  

Later, police personnel resorted to mild lathicharge at demonstrators to disperse them when they made an attempt to cross the university gate amid sloganeering. The protest demonstration continued for one and a half hour. Police arrested two activists of the said organisations as a preventive measure and later released them at 3 pm. However, no one was injured in the scuffle.

In the evening, five activists of PSA and GBSWA were detained by police when they were protesting at Gole Market at 5 pm. They were distributing pamphlets and were asking the passersby to deposit the same with the state exchequer. The activists arrested included MS Bhatti, Manik, Rohit Bharti, Talib Hussain and Azhar.

SHO Gandhi Nagar, Sajjad Khan said, “Police has arrested 5 activists of PSA and GBSWA at Gole Market when they were protesting.” They have been detained as a preventive measure and no case has been registered so far. It will be decided later, he added.