Fact check: No electric fence used to contain protesting Kashmiri Pandits in Baramulla [truth here]

Following the brutal killing of Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat, fellow community members took to streets. These protests have entered the fourth day, wherein the Kashmiri Pandits have shown up in large numbers, blocking roads and raising slogans against the administration.

It was shocking to learn when the police resorted to tear gas shelling against the Kashmiri Pandits protesting on the streets on May 13, but it turned the J&K government's order was misinterpreted. The J&K administration was quick to take action in this regard. The concerned SHO was attached and a major rejig was effected in the police department. Now, another piece of information is doing the rounds, drawing severe criticism against the police and the administration.

The claim

As the protests continue to grow in the Valley, there's deployment of security forces and police to maintain law and order in J&K. However, a recent report and several social media posts and WhatsApp forwards have claimed that the J&K authorities have used electric fences to contain protesting Kashmiri Pandits in Baramulla.

The report by "newindian.in" also claimed that the boundary wall of the transit camp, where Kashmiri Pandits have gathered to protest, was connected to an electric wire to stop them from taking the streets. However, the administration backtracked and apologised for the action, the report further claimed.

This claim has sparked anger among the KPs, who have strongly condemned the action. But it has also sparked a political outcry on social media, which has started a furious debate.

Fact check

International Business Times reviewed the claims about electric fence being used to stop protesting Kashmiri Pandits in Baramulla and found no foundation of truth. Local senior officers have denied such an action against the protesting KPs. In fact, many Baramulla transit camp protestors have also said they know nothing about such an instance, IBTimes has learned.

Highly-placed sources in the local administration have also confirmed to us that no such instance took place in Baramulla and that such narratives are spread in an attempt to disrupt communal harmony. 

After reviewing the evidence or lack of thereof and confirming with eyewitnesses and senior officers, IBTimes has arrived at the conclusion that the claim about the electric fence being used to stop Kashmiri Pandits is baseless and false.