MHA refutes reports claiming thousands partook in demonstrations in J&K; few stray protests in Srinagar, Baramulla, says spokesperson

New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry denied reports which claimed a thousand people in Jammu and Kashmir had organised a demonstration protesting the abrogation of Article 370, reported India Today . A  home ministry spokesperson termed media reports about protests by about 10,000 people in Kashmir as “fabricated and incorrect”."

“There have been a few stray protests in Srinagar/Baramulla and none of these involved a crowd of more than 20 people,” a ministry spokesperson said.

A news report originally published in Reuters and appeared in Dawn claims there was a protest involving 10000 people in Srinagar.

This is completely fabricated & incorrect. There have been a few stray protests in Srinagar/Baramulla and none involved a crowd of more than 20 ppl.

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) August 10, 2019

According to a report by Reuters , a large group of people assembled in Srinagar’s Saura area, violating orders by the government which prohibits the assembly of more than four people.

Reuters claimed that protestors in Jammu and Kashmir had carried banners which read “we want freedom” and “abrogation of Article 370 is not acceptable”, along with black flags as signs of protest against the Indian government.

To control the crowd, officials resorted to using tear gas and pellet guns. “Some women and children even jumped into the water,” a witness told Reuters at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, where pellet victims were admitted, while another said that the police had attacked the crowd from two sides.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar downplayed the protest, claiming that the situation “just outside Srinagar” was normal. “People are going about their business, vehicles are plying normally,” Kumar told Reuters. “If we are confident of maintaining the law and order, I think those restrictions will be relaxed, I’m quite sure,” he added.

However, despite the government claims of the protests in Saura being completely fabricated, video footage released by a BBC‘s correspondent reveals that police fired on protestors who had gathered on the streets of Jammu and Kashmir in protest of Article 370.

The central government lifted the prohibitory orders under Code of Criminal Procedure Section 144 in five districts on Friday, reported Scroll . Curfew was relaxed in Doda and Kishtwar. In Jammu, schools were asked to re-open from Saturday.

The government abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two Union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. President Ram Nath Kovind had on Saturday given assent to the legislation on Jammu and Kashmir’s bifurcation and the new Union Territories will come into existence on 31 October.