The Jammu and Kashmir government has dismissed 12 government employees accused of indulging in "anti-national activities", PTI reported on Thursday. Officials said more than 100 other staff members are being monitored closely on similar charges, according to an NDTV report.
The sacked staffers include mid-level officials from various state administration departments and teachers. The arrests were made after Jammu and Kashmir's Criminal Investigation Department submitted a report accusing the staffers of illegal activities. Many of the accused have been charged under the Public Safety Act, which allows for citizens to be imprisoned for six months without provision for a trial. Officials told the news agency that some of the accused have been arrested, while others are out on bail or avoiding arrest.
According to NDTV, this is the second time state government officials have been suspended for "anti-national activities" during the past 26 years. More than 9,000 people have been arrested for disrupting peace and more than 450 have been detained in a major crackdown by the Mehbooba Mufti government.
More than 90 people have been killed since the unrest in the Valley that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Hundreds have sustained grievous injuries during protests in the past three months. Wani's killing also led India's relations with Pakistan to deteriorate, with the neighbouring country declaring the Hizbul commander a martyr and calling for plebiscites in Kashmir.
On September 18, four militants had launched an attack on the army base camp in Uri, which India believes was planned by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad. On September 28, the Indian Army announced that it had carried out surgical strikes on "terror launchpads" along the Line of Control. O
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