Jammu and Kashmir: 18 stone-pelters held ahead of Anantnag by-polls

Anantnag: Ahead of the by-polls for Anantnag parliamentary seat, the Jammu and Kashmir police arrested 18 persons on stone pelting charges on Saturday.

Police have launched a massive crackdown against youth in south Kashmir by arresting at least 135 youth in the past two weeks.

The arrested youth were wanted for disrupting law and order in the district by resorting to violence, the police officials said.

Though the situation has improved gradually after the five-month unrest in 2016, South Kashmir remains charged as there are gun battles between militants and security forces and stone-pelting protests near encounter sites have become a routine in the last few months.

The Lok Sabha by polls for south Kashmir's Anantnag seat and central Kashmir's Srinagar seat were announced on March 9 followed by the announcement of candidates by the ruling and Opposition parties last week.