Indian police invoke black law PSA against six Kashmiri youths in Sopore amid rising crackdown
Srinagar: In a fresh act of state repression in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian police have booked six Kashmiri youths under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) in Sopore town
According to Kashmir Media Service, police, acting under the New Delhi-installed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, arrested Umar Akbar Hajam, Salman Ahmed Shala, Altaf Ahmed Sheikh, Mubashir Ahmed, Muzammil Mushtaq, and Majid Firdous, and subsequently detaining them under the PSA in Sopore.
Indian police officials claimed the youths were involved in acts of vandalism during recent student protests in Sopore. However, local residents have strongly rejected these allegations, asserting that the detained youths are innocent.
The residents said that students had staged protests last week against the molestation of a schoolgirl at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Sopore. They maintained that instead of addressing public concerns and ensuring justice, occupation authorities resorted to detentions to silence dissent.
The residents further said that the use of draconian laws such as the PSA and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) reflects a continued pattern of intimidation and suppression in IIOJK.
