SRINAGAR: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday blamed social media for the rise of radicalisation, particularly among the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking on the sidelines of a function where he presented the President’s Standards to 47 Armoured Regiment, Rawat said that everyone, including the state government, police and administration are concerned about the rising radicalisation in the Valley and are taking it with a “lot more seriousness”. “We are trying to ensure that people are being weaned away from this kind of radicalisation,” he said.
Rawat brushed aside the recent braid-chopping incidents that triggered violent protest in the Valley stating it as a “routine matter” which the civil administration and the police would deal with. “Why do you see it as a challenge?” asked Rawat, “It has been happening in other parts of the country and now it has started happening in Kashmir as well.”
As many as forty-five people have been arrested for allegedly assaulting innocent people, including three Army men in Baramulla district, accusing them of being braid choppers, according to the J&K police.
Meanwhile, the hardline Hurriyat Conference on Saturday asked the youth to show restraint over braid-chopping attempts by miscreants in Kashmir, saying the “suspects should not be attacked”.
“We have asked to constitute Mohalla committees and hand over all suspected persons to credible members of committee for investigations,” the statement read. The Opposition too held a protest rally against the failure of the government in nabbing the culprits behind the incidents.