Beleaguered Mehbooba Mufti government has launched a major clampdown on the local media in an apparent bid to block news and information to quell the rebellion in Kashmir. Police allegedly raided the printing press of two major English and Urdu dailies on Friday night and seized newspaper copies and detained some of the technical staff.
“Authorities on midnight gagged the Greater Kashmir by raiding the Greater Kashmir Corporate office at Rangreth on city outskirts. Police arrested the Greater Kashmir Printing Press foreman Biju Chaudary and two other employees. Policemen seized the plates of Greater Kashmir and more than 50,000 printed copies of Kashmir Uzma (Urdu daily) and closed down the GKC printing press”, posted Greater Kashmir on its website.
Police also raided the printing press and seized the copies of another popular newspaper `Kashmir Reader’. “The employees of the printing press said a posse of police seized the copies. At 2.00 am, police raided KT printing press at Rangreth and detained eight person while seizing copies of Kashmir Reader”, Kashmir reader posted on the website.
Cable operations were also suspended late last night after authorities issued directions to the operators to stop beaming some channels. Information flow has been severely restricted across the valley.
Strictest curfew remained imposed in all the 10 districts of the valley to prevent any escalation in the protests and street violence. Over 3,200 people including 1,500 security personnel have been injured in the street violence in the last one week.
Except BSNL, entire mobile telephony has been suspended in Kashmir in view of the protests that usually follow Friday prayers. Mobile net continued to remain suspended for the seventh day on a trot. Only BSNL fixed line broadband services are operational in the valley.
Hurriyat Conference leaders have extended the strike till Monday evening and called people to congregate at mosques after evening namaz to shout pro-freedom slogans and march to district headquarters on Monday.
Main opposition National Conference knocked at the door of Governor NN Vohra seeking his intervention in “normalizing obtaining disturbed situation and raised grave concern about the pellet injuries suffered by the youth”.
“NC delegation met Vohra and demanded urgent action for provision of adequate medical care for the injured persons”, an official spokesperson said this evening.
[Source:- DNA]
