Braid-cutting terror shuts down J&K, boy injured
Shops and other businesses were shut and only skeleton transport services were seen plying on selective routes.
Srinagar: A shutdown called by an alliance of key separatist leaders against the increased incidence of braid chopping brought life to a standstill in Kashmir Valley on Monday.
Shops and other businesses were shut and only skeleton transport services were seen plying on selective routes. The railway services were earlier suspended whereas most schools and other educational institutions in the Valley declared a holiday on Monday as a precautionary measure.
The J&K police and central paramilitaries enforced a security lockdown in seven police station areas to hold back protests. Almost all prominent separatist leaders and activists were earlier placed under house arrest or detained at police stations.
More than 50 cases of braid-chopping have been reported from various parts of the Valley during past three weeks, triggering a wave of terror among women. Several parts of the Valley witnessed protests against these incidents and there have been half a dozen instances of irate crowds thrashing innocent persons after mistaking them as braid-choppers.