Srinagar: As fresh incidents of braid chopping add to unease in Kashmir Valley, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that her government was doing its best to get to the root of the problem.
“Already we have formed committees (referring to Special Investigation Teams), put up a reward and alongside with it, teams of doctors are visiting the victims. We are trying our best to get to the root of it so that whosoever is involved is unmasked before public and people informed about the reality,” Mehbboba Mufti told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Dal Lake here.
Despite forming SITs and doubling the bounty from Rs three lakh to Rs six lakh for anyone providing information on braid choppers, police has so far failed to get to the culprits.
Police has also decided to study similar incidents happening in the outside states and at the same fears that “separatists and militants” might use the incidents to their benefit.
Police say more than 50 incidents were reported in Jammu region before spilling to Kashmir more than a week ago. Ever since, it has seen a spike with almost all districts reporting incidents of the braid chopping. First case was reported from Srinagar’s uptown Batamaloo only on Sunday.
The Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti last week also chaired a meeting of senior civil and police officers in this regard. During the meeting, she asked the DGP to constitute special teams in every district and track down the culprits spreading fear among women by chopping their hair.
Other than that, the chief minister also directed Kashmir’s Divisional Commissioner to ask all the deputy commissioners to instil confidence among local people and solicit their cooperation in nabbing the culprits. Recently, the police constituted SITs in every district of the valley to investigate incidents of braid cutting.
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