Srinagar: Congregational Friday prayers at the historical Jamia Masjid were disallowed for the fourth consecutive week.
Restrictions are in place to prevent any protests against the braid chopping incidents. The Joint Resistance Leadership had called for peaceful protests against the incidents after Friday prayers.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest in the morning. He was scheduled to address a gathering in Charar-e-Sharif today.
Restrictions were imposed in Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R.Gunj, Safa Kadal, Maisuma and Kralkhud areas of Downtown Srinagar to prevent protests against braid-chopping.
Braids of more than a 100 women has been chopped off in the past two months. Not a single person has been nabbed in connection with the crimes. Police, on the contrary balmes the local populace for not cooperating with them.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who after a 100 braid chopping incidents broke her silence and called it an attempt to create mass hysteria. She added that it was an attempt to undermine the dignity of women.
Her cabinet minister Altaf Bukhari, who is the Education Minister touted the who thing as ‘Mass Hysteria’ and an attempt to divert children from education.
The Opposition and the Resistance leaders have been castigating the government on a daily basis for failing to stop the incidents and ‘protecting the honour of mothers and sisters’.
In a statement on Thursday, the Joint Resistance Leadership ‘warned’ the authorities that if the attacks don’t stop they will launch a ‘peoples’ movement’.
On Friday, a mentally challenged person was beaten in Sopore after being mistaken as a braid chopper. The police said that the angry ‘mob’ was about to set him ablaze.
Police have registered an FIR in the case and the persons involved have been identified.
