Army barges into mosque in Pulwama, forces locals to chant 'Jai Shree Ram', former CMs demand probe

After unidentified Army men allegedly entered a mosque in Pulwama and forced the locals to chant 'Jai Shree Ram', the former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday demanded a probe.

“Shocked to hear about army troops from 50 RR storming into a mosque at Pulwama & forcing Muslims inside to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’. Such a move when @AmitShah is here & that too ahead of the yatra is simply an act of provocation. Request @RgGhai to immediately set up a probe,” Mufti tweeted.

Lt General Rajiv Ghai took command of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps of the Army on June 14, assuming responsibility for the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir.

The incident triggered massive outrage with civil society activists and political leaders terming it a violation of religious freedom and an assault on the sanctity of religious places of Muslims.

“Reports of security force personnel entering a mosque in Zadoora in Pulwama are deeply distressing. It’s bad enough they entered but then forcing people to chant slogans like “Jai Shree Ram”, as reported by the locals there, is unacceptable. I hope @rajnathsingh ji will issue instructions for these reports to be investigated in a timely & transparent manner,” Omar Abdullah, another former chief minister, tweeted.

According to residents, following the incident, senior Army and police officers visited the village and assured that they would look into the matter, reported The Indian Express.

A resident from the area spoke to The Telegraph and said the soldiers visited the site around 2am on Saturday and asked him to summon some residents, including his younger brother.

As per the report by The Telegraph, the Army allegedly entered the mosque and as soon as the loudspeakers was turned on for reciting prayer, the Army yelled and asked the person to chant 'Jai Shree Ram' on the loudspeaker.

The Wire reported that local sources said the Army allegedly vandalised Jamia Masjid Zadoora, the largest mosque in this south Kashmir village.

Later, as the news of the assault spread, agitated villagers came out of their homes and started shouting slogans against the Army. 

The incident took place when the Union home minister, Amit Shah, was visiting the Valley to review the security situation in the run up to the Amarnath Yatra which is set to begin in July.

Earlier, in April, Mufti had claimed that local men had been arrested and tortured in the run-up to the G20 event in J&K.

Claiming that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was “worse” than Guantanamo Bay, Mufti said since preparations for holding the G20 event began in the Union territory, hundreds of local men have been taken into custody.