Hurriyat paid youth to pelt stones, says imam

A man, arrested during the recent unrest in Kashmir Valley, has told his interrogators that the hardline Hurriyat Conference had paid Rs 400 to each youth to indulge in stone-pelting during Friday protests in Sopore, a top police officer said on Friday.

The stone-pelting was sponsored by the Syed Ali Shah Geelani faction to create law and order problem in Sopore, Abdul Latief Lone, detained under the Public Safety Act, told police, according to DIG (North Kashmir) Munir Khan.

During questioning, Lone, a resident of Radbugh in Kupwara district, revealed each youth was paid Rs 400 on every Friday to resort to stone-pelting,

the DIG told reporters.

Lone is an Imam (prayer leader) at the Jamia Masjid in Amargarh in Sopore, he said. The money paid was raised locally by Hurriyat leaders and cadres belonging to the Geelani faction, the DIG said.

The maximum chunk of the money came from fruit dealers in Sopore, he said. The DIG said police had recently unmasked a link between stone-pelters and militant outfits after the arrest of some youths.