ARMY WARNS

Army warns of ‘appropriate’ action against protesters violating law 

 “In case a crowd takes law in its hands and threatens life and property, security forces will be constrained to initiate appropriate action to counter it,” army said in a statement issued here today on the recent firing incident in Ashmuqam area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Army on Thursday warned of “appropriate action” against protesters in Kashmir taking “law in their hands”. “In case a crowd takes law in its hands and threatens life and property, security forces will be constrained to initiate appropriate action to counter it,” army said in a statement issued here today on the recent firing incident in Ashmuqam area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. It said that a joint operation was launched by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir police on Tuesday in Aishmuqam after “specific information” of the presence of some militants in the Magrey Mohalla. “As the search operations were in progress, a large crowd of approximately 1000 people gathered at the site to disrupt the operations in clear violation of existing orders which had also been recently reiterated by the police,” said the statement. “Soon, some unscrupulous, rogue elements from the crowd started resorting to heavy stone pelting and sloganeering. Despite this provocation, the Security Forces exercised full restraint in trying to dissuade the crowd from interfering with their operations. “However, not paying any heed, the crowd responded by intensified stone pelting, shouting inflammatory slogans and started closing in with the security forces resulting in injury to more than a dozen personnel including a JCO of the Army and an ASI of J&K Police.” It said that the incident was investigated, following which it was established that the forces were “forced” to open the fire. “It is established that the security forces were forced to open cautionary fire to prevent any further injury, loss or damage to personnel, weapons equipment and other government property in which two persons resorting to stone pelting were injured,” it said. “In case a crowd takes law in its hands and threatens life and property, security forces will be constrained to initiate appropriate action to counter it.”