Mehbooba Mufti Has Accused The Jammu & Kashmir Government

Mehbooba Mufti has accused the Jammu and Kashmir government. Mehbooba’s tweet – Government deliberately engaged in evicting Gujjar-Bakkarwal community from the jungles .

Eighteen people were injured in a scuffle between the encroaching Gujjar community members and forest workers during the illegal demolition in the forest at Jampathri Shopian in south Kashmir.

These included 10 forest workers and five media workers as well.

Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of evicting the people of Gujjar-Bakkarwal community from the jungles.

According to the information received here, a team of forest workers rushed to the spot as soon as the information was received about some construction by the Gujjar-Bakkarwal community in the Jampathri forest.

Meanwhile media persons also reached there.

The people of Gujjar-Bakkarwal community objected when the forest workers asked to remove the construction, saying it was illegal and after that the situation deteriorated.

The forest workers were allegedly attacked by Gujjar-Bakkarwal community. 10 forest workers and five media persons were injured in this attack.

Three people of Gujjar Bakkarwal community have also been injured. On receiving the information, the police also reached the spot and somehow managed the situation.

People of Gujjar-Bakkarwal community have alleged that the forest department has taken action against them without any notice. 

 A young man from the Gujjar-Bakkarwal community said that we had told the forest staff that we come here every year and then leave when the winters start.

We are not doing any firm construction here. These are temporary. Apart from this, we told them that our fathers and grandfathers used to come to this area for years with their cattle, but for the first time we are being stopped.

District forest officer Mohammad Ayub said that when our people arrived to remove the encroachment, the people of Gujjar Bakkarwal community attacked them.

We told them that if their claim is true, they should show the papers, but instead of showing any documents, they attacked our people with sticks and stones.

We have lodged an FIR in the police. Meanwhile, the President of the People’s Democratic Party and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reacted to the matter on her Twitter handle, criticizing the state government.

She has written that Keller, a Gujjar of Shopian, has been brutally beaten by forest workers. 

On the one hand, the administration makes big claims to implement the Forest Rights Act and on the other hand the people of Gujjar Bakkarwal community are being chased, they are being tortured.