J-K Police prevent teenagers from crossing over to Pakistan

BARAMULLA - The Jammu and Kashmir Police have rescued over half a dozen Kashmiri teenagers before they could cross-over to Pakistan through Baramulla border.

The police took these boys into its custody later.t is reported that these misguided teenagers aged 12 to 14 are residents of Palhalan Pattan, around 25 kilometres from Srinagar.

According to the police, these adolescents told their parents that they were going to play cricket in a nearby playground, but fled to Kupwara where they spent the night in a mosque.

The cleric of the mosque got suspicious of their intention and informed the police, who reached the spot and took the youngsters into its safe custody on Sunday.

“There must be someone behind all this, who wanted to motivate and lure the youth. The parents and the children will eventually tell us. I don’t want to pressurise the youngsters right now. They are with us for two days now, and probably they are feeling unsafe in the police custody,” said Abdul Qayoom Manhas, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Baramulla Range.

“They are young children and we haven’t even kept them in the cells and have kept them in the police station building so that they may be handed over to their parents. I feel that someone is behind all this and we are doing our best to identify that person or persons,” he added.

The youngsters were handed over to their parents in the presence of media persons.

“They used to beat us up in school and at home too. Because everyone at home was very strict with us, and they all said that they are going to Pakistan. So I went along with them. Yes, I ealise that I have made a mistake. We won’t repeat it,” said Umar Sultan, one of the rescued teenagers. (ANI)