Eleven more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Kashmir on Saturday, pushing the number of cases to 28.
The police-civilian confrontation also spiked in the Valley, forcing the authorities to book and arrest dozens of civilians, including shopkeepers and a Block Development Council chairperson.
J&K spokesman Rohit Kansal said seven more positive cases were reported in Srinagar. “Four cases had a history of contact with already positive cases who participated in a religious congregation. Three others have a travel history outside J&K. More contacts are being traced,” he said.
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In the evening, an official of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute Medical Sciences (SKIMS) hospital said a resident of Budgam’s Chadoora also tested positive.
A riot broke out in the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, where 26 locals including 14 females, were quarantined after a patient tested positive from the city’s Chattabal and Batamaloo areas.
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“Unhappy with the facilities in the hospital, these quarantined residents broke doors and windows inside the hospital,” an official said.
Dr. Zakir Ahmed, medical superintendent of the hospital, said all were brought back with the help of the police.
Block Development Council chairman booked
As Kashmir completed 10th day of lockdown, there is a sudden spike in police-civilian confrontation, forcing the authorities book civilians and arrest them in many districts.
In north Kashmir, a Block Development Council chairman was also booked after he entered into an argument with policemen implementing curfew-like lockdown in Vilgam area. He is booked and detained for “manhandling a policeman on duty”. A shopkeeper was booked and arrested from Srinagar’s Nowgam for violation, the police said.
“People should strictly abide by the lockdown. To ensure the lockdown, 329 FIRs were lodged against violators and 600 vehicles and shops were seized for non-compliance of orders till Saturday. About 1,200 persons, who hid international travel history, have been traced,” said DGP, J&K, Dilbag Singh.
He admitted that the police personnel do not have sufficient personal protection equipments. “Besides fighting the deadly virus, all necessary security arrangements are in place across J&K,” he said.
A number of videos, many unconfirmed, showed the police punishing and beating up people who failed to show movement pass when stopped in the Valley. One policeman was disengaged after a video, wherein he used abusive language on the public address system, on Friday surfaced.