BANDIPORA; The arrest spree at Hajin town in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district sparked protests on Saturday while amid clashes with police and Para-military troopers people observed complete shutdown demanding immediate release of youth allegedly arrested by police on charges of stone pelting.
  
Eyewitnesses told a local news gathering agency, that police after Friday prayers had arrested four youth on charges of stone-pelting. These youth according to locals were identified as Bilal Ahmed Malik son of Muhammad Yousuf, Muhammad Saleem Dar son of Manzoor Ahmed, Muhammad Ashraf Mir son of Ghulam Muhammad residents of Hajin and Showkat Ahmed Dar son of Muhammad Akbar resident of Sadarkot Bala.
   
Scores of people took to streets on Saturday and pelted stones of the police and CRPF personnel deployed on the roads. Protestors demanded the immediate release of the arrested youth. All the shops, business establishments and educational institutes remained close while transport was off the road. Agitated youth pelted stones on private vehicles plying on the road.
   
A police official told that some of the ‘miscreants’ were detained after they pelted stones on Army Goodwill School. “We will release them once their parents will assure us that in future they will not indulge in stone-pelting and will not become the source for disruption of peace in the area,” he said.