J&K Government decides to drop 4,500 cases against first time offenders

It seems the Centre and the state government of Jammu and Kashmir are leaving no stone unturned to win people’s hearts in the state. A while ago, the central government’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma had suggested that the charges against the youth who were the first time offenders in cases like stone pelting should be dropped. The state government seems to be on board with the idea and has decided to drop about 4,500 cases against youths who were booked by the police for the very first time.

More than 11,500 cases were registered against people who were involved in stone pelting after the valley was engulfed in violence and unrest following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, who was killed in a military encounter last year in July.

Out of these 11,500 cases, around 4,500 cases were against youths who were first time offenders of stone pelting, an official said. The cases were registered on around 700 youth from the state.

The move is aimed at a positive change in the state and interestingly enough, while the state is ruled by the PDP and BJP coalition, the state’s Industries and Commerce minister Chandra Prakash Gaga said in April this year “They are traitors. Bullet is the only remedy for them. And if not bullets, they should be handed over such a punishment like the youth who are beaten with sticks by forces. Take my word that next time they (the youth) won't throw stones”. BJP has changed its stance on youth charged with stone pelting in just six months. One might wonder if this is just a political agenda or a genuine attempt at winning the hearts of people.

Dineshwar Sharma refused to comment on it but instead said that his attempt was to change the narrative of the state to peace and for that he needs support of young people and students.

An official of Jammu and Kashmir government also said that after seeing what the response to this step is, the Centre will be keen to review what it can do to the remaining cases against people booked for stone pelting, in consultation with the PDP-BJP government.

The Centre is also planning to move the locals who have joined some militant groups but haven’t been part of any major crime to a better and safe place.

The central government will also increase the amount given as compensation to the family of policemen killed during encounters, which continues to be a major problem for the death of policemen in the state.

All these issues have been discussed in the past few days within the core group on Kashmir, consisting of chairman and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.