NIT Srinagar unrest: BJP hits out at J&K Police, accuses it of executing 'unprovoked' lathi-charge

Jammu: Hitting out at Jammu and Kashmir Police, BJP on Friday said FIR against non-local students of Srinagar NIT was "misconceived" and accused its personnel posted on the campus of executing "unprovoked" lathi-charge and tear-gas shelling on the students.

"We strongly condemn the misconceived action of lodging FIR against non-local students of NIT, Srinagar," state BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta said in a statement.

He alleged that policemen deployed on the campus "committed heinous crime by executing unprovoked lathi-charge and tear-gas shelling on the students, not sparing the girls and those in hostels, thus inflicting serious injuries on some of them".

"What action has the state police, posted in the campus, initiated against the locals who raised anti-India, pro-Pak and pro-azadi slogans and who were threatening the non-locals, in particular the girls students?" he said and demanded a judicial inquiry into the whole episode.

Gupta also criticised former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his statement objecting to the deployment of central forces on the NIT campus.

He accused Abdullah of playing "negative" politics. The statement shows his "insensitiveness" to the gravity of the situation, Gupta charged.

In a counter to Abdullah's remarks that the Centre should stay away from the developments in Srinagar NIT, he said that NIT is a central institution, completely funded by the government of India, therefore, it is the ultimate responsibility of the HRD Ministry to ensure the smooth functioning of the institute.

To restore the confidence of non-local students about their security and to defuse the situation prevailing, the decision of deployment of central forces inside the campus was a "wise step" on the part of the government, in particular looking at the conditions prevailing in the Valley, he said.