CRPF jawans battle stones-pelters, hostile crowd

At first light, Gaurav Ram and his about thirty comrades take a quick breakfast to fuel their day — a couple of puris, aaloo ki sabzi and a mug of hot tea. On a normal day, breakfast timing is between 7 and 8 am, follows the morning roll call and is best enjoyed by chit-chatting while seated around tables in the dining hall at their command centre on the outskirts of Srinagar.

But these are tough times in Kashmir. No morning walks or aerobics and no formal roll calls. Straight to the dining hall from the barracks and then into ‘bunker’ vehicles and one-tonners which have been turned into virtual cage armours to escape stone-pelting en route or while being at the “hot spots.” By 6 or 6.30 am, Ram and others from their company are transported to Batamalloo, categorised by law enforcing authorities as one of the “most hazardous” locations in Srinagar.

The small CRPF convoy-one “bunker” vehicle, three one-tonners and one Gypsyhalts outside the J&K police control room (PCR), about 100 yards from Civil Secretariat, the seat of the government. The men on board dismount and after listening to briefing from their assistant commandant (AC) begin vigilantly walking in two lines through labyrinth streets into the heart of Batamalloo.

They are greeted with proazadi slogans and rebellious songs reverberating from mosque loudspeakers. The other day, local police had confiscated the public address system of a mosque adjacent to an Owaisi-Sufi shrine in Batamallo as was alleged by residents but that did not stop the youth from using the equipment installed at half-a-dozen other places of worship in the area for the clamour which has now became a regular feature of the unrest triggered by the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani only July 8.

“We’re now used to such outcries put out through these amplifiers,” said the AC who refused to divulge his name.

Ram is posted in the Valley for the past three years “but I’ve never seen such a horrible situation before.” He said, “The entire population seems to be belligerent and hostile towards us. Even small boys come out in large groups to attack us with stones, bottles, pieces of iron scrap and other missiles and often it becomes very difficult to control the situation and we use the force.”

He also said, “We begin with these (pointing towards a bamboo stick one of his comrades is holding). Then it is tear smoke that is used to quell a mob. The pellet gun is the last option. We’ve not used rifles as yet.” He strongly denied the charge that the CRPF personnel are indulging in vandalism.