On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir police arrested 13 people, including two masterminds behind the raising of anti-India and Azadi slogans during Friday prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid.
According to the reports, the Jammu and Kashmir police suspect the role of Pakistan in raising anti-India slogans inside the Jamia mosque in Srinagar on Friday.
“During the initial investigation, we learnt that instructions had come from Pakistani handlers of terror outfits to disrupt the Friday prayer and create a law and order situation,” Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal said in a statement.
The mosque in Srinagar’s old city was opened for prayers only last month ahead of Ramzan after remaining shut for almost two years.
The police have registered a case of sedition and criminal trespass against the accused.
“After the prayers, about a dozen people shouted anti-national and provocative slogans for a while…Most of the crowd remained aloof. Volunteers of the managing committee tried to stop the sloganeering and hooliganism, leading to clashes,” Balwal said.
Earlier, two of the mastermind behind the incident were arrested. They were identified as Basharat Nabi Bhat and Umar Manzoor. Basharat Nabi Bhat is a resident of Hawal in Nowhatta town of Srinagar.
Anti-India and Azadi slogans were shouted inside Jamia mosque
On Friday (April 8), the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar reverberated with Azadi and anti-India slogans, following the Jumma Namaz. A large mob, which had gathered for the Friday prayers, was heard chanting Azadi slogans and hailing terrorist Zakir Musa.
Musa was the Chief of the terrorist group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and was neutralised by the Indian Army in an encounter in May 2019. Ashraf Wani, a journalist with India Today group, had shared a video clip where Islamists could be heard shouting slogans that called for secession from India.
Along with Azadi slogans, screams of “Nara e Taqbeer, Allahu Akbar” could be heard in the video clip attached by Wani. Stone-pelting was also witnessed outside the mosque, where personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force were deployed.
Earlier, journalist Aditya Raj Kaul reported that the Jammu and Kashmir police had initiated action against those who raised pro-Islamist terror slogans inside the mosque.