The authorities in Kashmir have taken stringent precautions to ensure a peaceful Eid-ul-Azha on Friday amid apprehensions of law and order problems in the wake of a recent High Court (HC) verdict banning sale and possession of beef in Jammu & Kashmir. Most of the separatist leaders have been put under house-arrest while the internet services would be snapped from 5 am on Friday for two days to restrict suspected misuse of the communication facility.
Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Javed Mujtaba Gilani sent a missive to all service providers in Kashmir asking them to snap data services through GPRS, 2G, 3G and Broadband “in view of the misuse of data services by anti-national elements”.
The service providers have been directed to snap the services from Friday 5 am to 10 pm on Saturday.
The authorities have apprehensions that pictures of sacrificial animals would be uploaded with subversive messages leading to law and order problem. The controversy erupted after a Division Bench comprising Justices Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Janak Raj Kotwal ordered implementation of a law existing in Ranbir Panel Code (RPC) that bans sale and possession of beef in the State. The order came during the course of hearing of a PIl filed by a Jammu-based lawyer Parimoksh Seth, who had been later appointed as Deputy Advocate General by the PDP-BJP coalition Government.
Earlier this week, the Government sacked Seth and Additional Advocate General Vishal Sharma for “failing to defend the Government in the court of law”.
The controversy, however, raised communal and regional passions. The situation became more precarious in the wake of Eid-ul Azha when Muslims offer sacrifices of select animals. Offended by the High Court order several Muslim scholars and separatists asked the people to publicly defy the order terming it as “infringement in religious affairs”.
The nationalist groups in Jammu, on the other hand, are seeking complete implementation of the court order on the ground. Several bovine animals have been confiscated in Jammu region.
Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav in separate meetings of their party leaders in Srinagar and Jammu respectively on Wednesday asked the party cadre to work for strengthening the coalition. This was an indication that the coalition parties want to sail through the blasting situation emerging on Eid eve.
Interestingly, shortly after the Eid, the State legislature is convening its Autumn Session when the controversy is likely to erupt on a full scale. Four legislators from Opposition parties in Kashmir have submitted supporting free sale and possession of beef in the Muslim majority State while a BJP legislator’s Bill has sought capital punishment to anyone involved in bovine trade. However, in a significant development, influential separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani asked people to adopt dignified way of offering sacrifices on Eid and avoid hurting religious sentiments of other communities.
Sources said the authorities have decided not to allow any separatist leader to offer Eid prayers. Flamboyant legislator from langate Engineer Abdur Rashid was taken into custody when he attempted to go to Rajouri via Mughal Road to offer Eid prayers there.