Stone pelters have helped 25 terrorists escape in J&K

The trend of stone pelting has become worse after the killing of Burhan Wani, the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Srinagar, Feb 23: The Indian Army has faced a difficult situation while battling militants in Jammu and Kashmir. Almost every third encounter that takes place in the valley has been disrupted by stone pelters and in many cases, the terrorists engaged by the armed forces have fled.

Abu Dujana one of the most dangerous militants in the Valley too has been helped by locals pelting stones. Recently the security forces had managed to corner him, but protests and stone pelting helped him flee. Statistics would reveal that as a result of stone pelting at least 25 militants have escaped.

The rise of Abu Dujana, Lashkar-e-Tayiba's face in Kashmir

It may be recalled that Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had said that civil interference had helped several militants escape. He warned of harsh action if protestors continued to disturb operations.

Earlier this month, three militants had escaped at Prisal when several protestors including women and children had surrounded the encounter site. During an operation in Balapur, 500 civilians had gathered at the encounter site. During the encounter, the civilians pelted stones at the security forces as a result of which four militants managed to escape.

Officials say that the trend is a disturbing one. It has become worse after the killing of Burhan Wani, the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Officials say that the state is to be blamed too for it. It has allowed militants funerals to take place in full public glare.

Operation against Burhan Wani lasted for 4 minutes

Moreover the state has also been soft on the stone pelters and this has only encouraged the youth to come out in large numbers against the security forces.

The state police has now invited the stone pelters to come forward so that they could be counseled. While this may work to a certain extent, the bigger problem lies with those who are paid by terrorists and separatists to stage such incidents against the security forces, officials also point out.

OneIndia News