According to Government data, more than 140 incidents of stone pelting were reported, in which 40 Security Force (SF) personnel were injured, in the Kashmir Valley during the past one week, reports The Hindu on August 13. The Valley has been under lockdown since August 5 after Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah moved two Bills in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) to annul Article 370 and downgrade and bifurcate the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs). The most incidents of stone pelting (45) were reported on August 6, a day after the legislation was cleared by the Rajya Sabha. As many as 21 Central Armed Police Force personnel received injuries the same day.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on August 13 admitted that there was a stone pelting incident in Srinagar after afternoon (Friday) prayers at a local mosque on August 9, reports Scroll. The UMHA said authorities showed restraint in their response and ‘no bullets have been fired’ in Jammu and Kashmir since the state lost its special status last week. Reports about firing by SF personnel during large protests in the Kashmir Valley on August 9 afternoon have appeared in foreign medias. However, the UMHA had so far refuted the reports.