STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Sopore, the bastion of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has recorded nearly 500 incidents of stone pelting, the highest during the 2016 Kashmir unrest which was triggered by the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani.
Seventy-six persons besides two police personnel were killed during the five month-long unrest in which 463 persons were arrested under Public Safety Act (PSA) for their alleged involvement in incidents of violence and stone pelting.
Of the total 2,690 incidents of stone pelting, North Kashmir accounts for the highest 1,248 incidents, followed by 875 in South Kashmir and 567 in Central Kashmir, according to official data of the state Home Ministry.
Sopore, which is part of Baramulla district, has recorded the highest number of 492 incidents. In Baramulla district, 810 incidents were reported during the unrest, it said.
Baramulla is followed by Srinagar and Kupwara districts with 339 incidents in each of these districts, it said, adding 271 such incidents took place in Anantnag district, followed by 264 in Pulwama district, 173 in Shopian district, 167 in Kulgam district, 163 in Budgam district, 109 in Bandipora district and 65 in Ganderbal district.
Among the total incidents of weapon snatching and looting by militants and mobs during the unrest, Kulgam tops the list with six incidents, followed by Pulwama with three, and two incidents each from the three districts of Anantnag, Shopian and Budgam. One such incident was reported from Srinagar district, the data said.
