The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday arrested a special police officer after a purported video of her objecting to frequent Army raids at her home in Kulgam district’s Frisal village went viral, The Indian Express reported. The woman, identified as Saima Akhter, has been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and her services have been terminated, the police said.
The woman, identified as Saima Akhter, has been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and her services have been terminated, the police said. In a tweet on Friday, Kulgam Police said that Akhter was arrested for “glorifying terrorism and obstructing government officials in the discharge of duty”.
In the video, a woman whose face is not visible, can be heard shouting at, what appears to be Army personnel, for conducting searches even during the month of Ramzan. She also says that her mother was not keeping well.
“Why do you come again and again?” she asks in the video. “Go to the houses where militants are. You don’t even allow us to have our sehri [pre-dawn meal during Ramzan]. If you have to search our house, first remove your shoes”.
After the Army man, who could not be seen either, shouts back, the woman says, “We are not going to be scared. This is our Kashmir. You have come from outside...Had they [militants] been here, they would have fired a magazine of bullets into your chest.”
In an official release, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that security forces had conducted search operations in Frisal on April 14, The Indian Express reported.
“The lady resisted the search party and turned violent and uttered statements glorifying the violent actions of terrorists,” the release stated. “She captured a video through her personal phone and uploaded it on social media platforms for dissemination with the intent of disrupting the search operation.”
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti criticised the arrest saying that her home was searched “without any reason”.
“When it comes to cruelty even women aren’t spared in Naya Kashmir,” Mufti tweeted.
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