Kashmir Police turn counsellors, advice youth against stone pelting

Baramulla (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], Dec. 3 (ANI): In an effort to curb incidents of stone pelting, police in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district are conducting counselling sessions with the pelters to guide them on ways to lead better lives. More than 200 stone pelters participated in these counseling sessions recently and were asked to refrain from indulging in protests and to stay away from pelting. "We have tried to explain to the students to concentrate on their studies and their careers rather than indulging in stone pelting incidents," Mir Imtiaz, Senior Superintendent of Police, told ANI. The pelters were asked to get into constructive work that would be beneficial to society. Stone pelting, known locally as "Kanie Jung", has become a tool of resistance in the hands of young boys who take to the streets to express their anger at the Indian state. The need to rehabilitate stone pelters can be attributed to the spate of stone pelting incident that took place post the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani, who was gunned down in southern Kashmir on July 8 by the security forces. Reportedly, Kashmir has so far witnessed more than 2,347 incidents of stones pelting at security forces, across all ten districts. (ANI)