Kashmir Digits

The J&K police has seized hundreds of bikes in Srinagar allegedly without having any specific reason, despite the riders producing all the necessary documents.

This recent yet another malicious crackdown has caused much inconvenience to people, effecting day to day work and businesses.

Eyewitnesses have said that police and CRPF personnel confiscated hundreds of scooties, bikes and other two wheelers without assigning any reason.

The intense crackdown on bikes, they said continued in the jurisdiction of several police stations in the city including Nehru Park, Dalgate, Foreshore Road, Nishat, Barzulla, Shaheed Gunj, Rajbagh, Rainawari, SK Park, Budshah Bridge, Maulana Azad Road, TRC and Sonwar.

“While crossing through Ram Munshi Bagh, I saw bikers being manhandled without a valid reason,” said an eyewitness. “Even the elders weren’t spared. They were asked to handover keys of their two wheelers and wait outside the station.”

Notably, the frisking of commuters had started on Saturday when targeted killings of non-local labourers triggered a sense of fear-flight among migrant workers in the valley.

Many businesses such as food delivery outlets have suffered badly due to this as their two wheelers have been confiscated.

A food delivery outlet said that one of their riders was stopped at Baghat Chowk ,Srinagar and his bike was confiscated while he was on his way to deliver food to a customer.

Apart from this due to the recent surge in fuel prices commuters prefer taking out a bike or scooty as it is cost effective measure while also providing them relief from the bustling traffic of the city.

A low-rung police official that several of the recent targeted killings in Kashmir were executed using two wheelers and in the aftermath of it, the police have launched a crackdown on all the two wheelers.

“The two wheelers that are not registered on the driver’s name have been confiscated and will be released only after a proper verification of the person driving it,” the officer said.