40 held in West Bengal for attacking Kashmiris

Kolkata: As many as 40 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in 22 incidents of attack on Kashmiris in the state, police said on Friday.

“Some outsiders are indulging in attacks on Kashmiris. We will take strong action against them. So far 22 such incidents have taken place across the state in which 40 people have been arrested,” said Siddhnath Gupta, ADG, Law and Order.

Kolkata Commissioner of Police Anuj Sharma said: “We are seriously looking into the matter. We have been able to locate certain people. We will take stern action against them.”

The Supreme Court had earlier directed Chief Secretaries and the Directors General of Police of all States and Union Territories to take “strong and necessary” measures to prevent attacks on Kashmiris and other minorities in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

Besides the Centre, the Supreme Court had issued notices to Bihar, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Punjab, and Maharashtra.

The Apex Court bench also directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to give wide publicity to the appointment of nodal officers so that people could immediately approach them in case Kashmiris or other minorities face threat or discrimination in any part of the country.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]