SRINAGAR: After authorities of the paramilitary CRPF denied reports that their soldiers went berserk and damaged property at many places in Kashmir, a video doing rounds on the internet seems to prove them wrong.
The video uploaded on YouTube on March 16, when almost the entire downtown Srinagar was under a curfew, shows frantic CRPF personnel, carrying guns and batons, throwing rocks at houses and smashing window panes.
The cell phone video, whose date of recording could not be verified by freepresskashmir.com, shows the soldiers also kicking and breaking open doors of houses in visible frenzy. Its title says the incident happened in NawaBazar area of city’s old quarters.
People in Kashmir have accused the CRPF of often taking revenge. Recently, an elderly man died after he was hit by a CRPF vehicle. Police said it was an accident, but many believe he was deliberately hit.
Locals say the CRPF were angry after five of their colleagues were killed in a militant attack on their camp at Bemina. A few hours after the militant attack, the CRPF also shot dead a young man, Altaf Ahmed, at Saidapora in Suburban Srinagar.
Pertinently, the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Asgar Samoon had recently announced a helpline of sorts after reports were pouring in from people that CRPF soldiers barged into their homes, beat up inmates and damaged property after protesters clashed with them.
But the Inspector General of the CRPF, V.S Yadav criticised Samoon for doing this. He denied the reports of “revenge” and told a local news agency that the CRPF followed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) strictly.
But many who saw the video said the “frustration” of CRPF soldiers and their intention to seek revenge by damaging property is evident.
At one point in the video, a CRPF soldier holds tight to a shop’s shutter gate and lets himself hang perhaps to damage it. The soldiers also tore tarpaulin kept over shops.
Soon after the CRPF retreated, groups of youth came out of their homes and sought to clash with them.
The CRPF authorities could not be reached for comment.
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