Daily life in Jammu and Kashmir was affected on Saturday as separatists called a shutdown in protest against braid chopping incidents that have rocked the state in recent days, PTI reported. Authorities imposed restrictions under under Section 144 of the CrPC in several areas of Srinagar, which prohibits large crowds from gathering in public.
Schools, shops and other business establishments remained closed and public transport stayed off the road. A few private vehicles were seen plying in the city’s civil lines area of the city, PTI quoted officials as saying.
In a statement on Friday, the joint separatist leadership, comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, urged “traders, transporters and people to suspend their routine activities” on Saturday, Greater Kashmir reported.
The leadership maintained that assault on the modesty and dignity of women was intolerable, and urged people to handover those suspected of being braid choppers to local mosque committee, the daily reported.
A mob in Sopore town on Friday tried to immolate a man and run him over with a tractor as they suspected him to be a braid chopper.
Incidents of braid chopping have led to violent protests across the state. Security forces opened fire at protestors in Walarhama area of Pahalgam last Wednesday. injuring 12 of them. On October 17, residents of Kupwara district assaulted a soldier they suspected of being involved in a braid chopping incident.
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