Violent protest in J&K’s Sopore after girl alleges harassment by teacher; police arrest 25

Police in Sopore arrested 25 people for disturbing law and order after protests over a teacher accused of student harassment. The teacher has been suspended and booked, with authorities launching a time-bound investigation and temporarily shutting educational institutions

Srinagar: Police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town on Tuesday arrested 25 miscreants for trying to disturb law and order in the aftermath of the suspension of a teacher and subsequent registration of a case against him after a girl student alleged harassment by him.

Police said that 25 miscreants were arrested, and others have been identified when they tried to disturb law and order in the town.

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Police said the teacher has been booked under the relevant sections of law, and an investigation has already been started. At the same time, the director of school education has suspended the teacher while ordering a departmental inquiry against him.

All class work in some educational institutions of the town has been suspended till April 28 in the law and order-sensitive town.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sopore, Iftikhar Talib, told reporters that the teacher has been booked and an investigation has been set into motion after the girl student’s allegations.

The Joint Director of Education has been appointed as the inquiry officer to conduct a time-bound probe and has been directed to submit the report within 15 days.

Following the allegations, students held a protest in Sopore town demanding strict action against the lecturer.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Sopore, SA Raina, said that academic activities at Government Higher Secondary School, Boys Higher Secondary School and Government Degree College Sopore will remain suspended from April 15 to April 18.

The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the area following protests over harassment allegations.

Known as the apple town of Kashmir, Sopore has not always been in the news for good reasons. Once regarded as the hotbed of separatist sentiment, the town, however, has been peaceful since 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated.

It was because of its law-and-order-sensitive nature that Sopore, otherwise a part of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, was upgraded to a police district headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP).

Sopore was officially carved out as a separate police district in North Kashmir on January 21, 2010, to effectively manage law and order and curb militancy.

While geographically still part of the Baramulla district, it operates as an independent administrative unit within the Jammu and Kashmir Police hierarchy.