Police fails to solve many school burning incidents as NIA probes role of pro-freedom leaders

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) may have started investigations to link the pro-freedom leaders here with the burning of schools, but the Jammu and Kashmir police have not been able to trace out a number of people involved in the incidents of torching of schools in the unrest that was triggered last year after the agitation over the killing of HM militant commander, Burhan Muzafar Wani.

According to officials many of the cases of the incidents of burning of schools have not been cracked as of now and the people behind the torching incidents have not been identified. A maximum number of schools were burnt in the restive South Kashmir areas particularly in Kulgam district.

Last year in over five months of shutdown a number of schools were burnt.  It was unclear that who were behind the incidents, even as police had stated that they had detained a number of youth who were trying to fan the unrest here in Kashmir.  As many as 32 schools were gutted, but even as the police had registered the cases police couldn’t find those who were believed to be behind these incidents of arson.

A senior police official in Kulgam said that while they have made arrests in some of the cases, others remain still under investigation.  Police have arrested at least 10 people for the burning of the Jawahar Navodya Vidyala school at Mirhama, while no arrest has been made in the school burning incident at Kanipora and Bugam. Last year government middle school Kanipora was partly damaged while the Higher Secondary school at Bugam was also gutted in the unrest.

“We are still investigating some incidents of torching of schools,’’ added the official. School burning incidents were also reported from North and Central Kashmir, including Bandipora and Budgam. But officials said that not all the people have been identified.

However the NIA has recently registered a preliminary inquiry in which it has named some pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan leaders for receiving funds from the LeT chief and for their “ involvement in the incidents of burning of schools’’ and the fanning of unrest. However the leadership including the JKLF Chairman, Yaseen Malik, Hurriyat (G) Chairman,  Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Hurriyat (M) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, have termed the NIA raids as a ploy to force the separatists into surrender. The leadership has strongly condemned the raids and described “ them as a use of brute force.’’

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