Six braid chopping incidents create panic in Kashmir

Srinagar: A series of fresh braid cutting incidents were reported from Kashmir Valley on Thursday while in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, a young woman foiled the braid chopping attempt after raising alarm.
Reports said on Wednesday night some culprits chopped off the braid of a 40 year old woman at Nowdal village of Tral town in South Kashmir’s district Pulwama. The incident created panic in the village.
The family members said that the victim was attacked as she tried to enter the washroom located outside the house.
Confirming the incident, a police official said that they have started the investigation.
In another incident, the braid of a girl hailing from Uri was chopped off at Khojabagh Baramulla where she has been living in a private quarter with her parents.
A police official said that they recorded the statements of the victim and her family and started investigation.
Meanwhile, a young woman foiled an alleged braid chopping attempt on her in Dangar Mohalla of Kaloosa area of Bandipora district in north Kashmir.
The family members of the woman (name withheld) said that an unknown person tried to cut her braid as soon as she came out of the washroom around 6 am.
“The unknown person had managed to enter inside our house and was waiting for her to come out of the washroom. When she came out, the attacker tried to catch hold of her and tried to chop off her hair with a knife,” they said.
A family member said that the young woman pushed him and raised an alarm, forcing the attacker to flee.
“We tried to catch him but he managed to escape from the window of our kitchen,” he said.
In Bhagat area of Srinagar city, police charged protesters with canes after a braid chopping incident people blocked traffic demanding arrest of the culprits. Protesters said that a girl had come out from her house to dump the garbage into a dust bin on road, when culprits chopped off her braid.
Police used tear-smoke shells to disperse protesters at Singhpora Pattan in North Kashmir after a braid chopping incident.
Reports said that two persons cut the braid of a woman inside her house in Singhpora area of Pattan.
“Her mother-in-law raised an alarm following which locals rushed towards the house and nabbed the attackers,” said a local.
However, people staged protests and blocked the traffic on the highway after police took both the alleged braid choppers in their custody.
Police according to reports fired tear-smoke shells to disperse the protesters who had blocked Srinagar-Muzafarabad Highway.
The victim was shifted to Sub-District Hospital Pattan where a large number of people staged anti-government anti-India protest. Police rushed to spot and fired tear-smoke shells to disperse them.
At Sambora Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district people captured an alleged braid chopper. According to locals, police used force to take the custody of the alleged braid chopper. Several persons were injured during the clashes.
A police official said that locals were reluctant to handover the suspect non-local to them. “The local protesters pelted stones while police exercised maximum restraint,” the official said.
Locals alleged that Army cordoned off the village and took the custody of the alleged braid chopper. Reports added that two persons were wounded during the clashes including a youth who suffered a bullet injury in his leg.