Ropeway row: Two detained, Cong delegation visits Katra

Two days after protests rocked Katra over the Vaishno Devi ropeway project, two representatives of pony owners and shopkeepers were detained by the police on Wednesday over allegations of fuelling Monday’s violence.

The development came as a Congress delegation arrived in Katra and met stakeholders, including shopkeepers.

During an investigation into Monday’s protest, the police are learnt to have found that Bhupinder Singh and Sohan Chand allegedly instigated other stakeholders during the demonstration. The two leaders were detained today while holding another protest march in the town against the ropeway project.

Singh and Chand were taken from the spot in a police vehicle, officials said, adding that the protesters were dispersed from the scene.

According to the FIR, a police team was performing law and order duties at Fountain Chowk, Katra, on Monday during protests against the installation of the ropeway at Tarakote in Katra by the Shrine Board. During the demonstration, the protesters wrongfully blocked the road, obstructed vehicular movement, and hindered the free passage of yatris, it stated. Following this, Bhupinder Singh, Sohan Chand, and others were booked for provocation and instigating violence.

Udhampur DIG (Reasi range) Rayees Bhat stated that the two men were released from the police station in Katra after an hour.

After his release, Bhupinder Singh said, “We called off the agitation following the administration’s intervention, which requested time to hold talks to resolve the grievances. We gave them time, but over the past two days, there have been arrests by the police. Several youths were detained. Police questioned us about why we were taking out the rally when time has been given until December 15,” he said.

“We clarified to them that we were approaching the police to understand why people were being arrested and identified. The police can take action against those involved in the violence. We will not support such actions,” Singh added.

Meanwhile, a Congress delegation met with the Jammu Divisional Commissioner regarding the situation in Katra. The delegation included the party’s working president Raman Bhalla, chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, senior leader Choudhary Lal Singh, Manohar Lal Sharma, and others.

Following the meeting, the delegation proceeded to Katra but was stopped at the Ban toll plaza by police for some time before being allowed to continue. Ravinder Sharma stated that the objective of the delegation’s visit to Katra was to gain a deeper understanding of the circumstances affecting the local community and work towards finding effective solutions. The strike against the ropeway was called off after the district administration assured the protesters of holding talks with different stakeholders, including Shrine Board officials, to address their concerns.