Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Oct 24: Authorities today suspended eight police personnel, including a Sub-Inspector (SI), after a video showing a group of locals attacking religious preachers in the Juthana area of Kathua district went viral.
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One of the assailants has been arrested, while a manhunt has been launched to trace the other accused, who were absconding at the time of filing this report.
“We have suspended eight police personnel and arrested one individual involved in the incident. Further efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused,” SSP Kathua Mohita Sharma told Excelsior.
Sources said the incident occurred on Thursday when a group of locals stopped a van carrying religious preachers, alleging that they were distributing objectionable literature among Juthana residents.
SSP Sharma, however, stated that the preachers-Christian Missionaries-had been invited to Juthana village by some locals themselves.
After an initial verbal confrontation, the situation escalated as irate locals, led by BJP leader Ravinder Singh Thella, who had earlier attacked a journalist in the town, smashed the window panes of the van with batons in the presence of police personnel.
Sources said the mob also assaulted some of the preachers while the police personnel stood by without intervening.
The situation was later brought under control by a separate police team from Police Station Rajbagh that reached the spot minutes after the attack.
After the video of the incident went viral on the intervening night of October 23-24, showing police personnel watching the attack as mute spectators, authorities suspended eight policemen, including a Sub-Inspector, all posted at Police Post Jakhole under the jurisdiction of Police Station Rajbagh, and arrested one of the attackers.
Following the incident, residents of Juthana staged a protest against the preachers, accusing them of indulging in conversion activities by distributing objectionable material against a particular religion among locals.
They demanded the arrest and investigation of the entire group to stop such activities in the area.
A similar protest had earlier erupted near the Nagri area of Kathua district, where another group of preachers was accused of attempting religious conversions.
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