Kathua SSP suspends 8 cops after attack on Kerala preachers

JAMMU: Kathua SSP Mohita Sharma suspended 8 cops — including a sub-inspector and 7 peculiar constabulary officers — for negligence aft a video of an alleged onslaught connected a conveyance carrying spiritual preachers from Kerala went viral connected societal media.

The clip seemingly showed that constabulary were contiguous astatine the country but failed to halt the assaulters, who accused the preachers of amerciable conversion, officials said Friday.A radical of men carrying sticks had attacked the conveyance successful Juthana country nether Rajbagh PS successful Kathua, officials said. Cops arrested 1 fishy and launched a hunt to find the others.Police registered an FIR nether applicable sections of the law, including provisions of the Arms Act, and identified the premier accused arsenic Ravindra Singh Thela. All attackers person respective anterior transgression cases registered against them. The accused claimed that the preachers had travel to Kathua to person mediocre radical successful the area.Thela was earlier progressive successful an battle connected a Dainik Jagran reporter, Rakesh Sharma, astatine Kalibari Chowk connected April 24 during a protestation organised by BJP’s Kathua portion to condemn the Pahalgam panic strike.