Jammu and Kashmir police detained three Muslim women in Rajbagh city in Srinagar while disturbing copies of the Quran and hijabs on Sunday, February 23.
A group of young Kashmiri women had launched a community initiative to distribute Quran copies as well as hijab to the public including women and children. However, Srinagar police interrupted their program and detained three group members.
According to the reports, the women were later released after conducting an inquiry and questioning the process related to the programme. The specific reasons behind their detention remain unclear.
The incident took place just ahead of the holy month of Ramadan which is traditionally a period when Muslims participate in charitable initiatives and community service activities. Law enforcement conducted questions of the women before releasing them.
‘This is unjust’, says PDP leader Waheed Para
The incident triggered widespread outrage among local political leaders and the public and garnered substantial attention across social media platforms over the alleged infringement on religious expression.
In a series of posts on X, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA from the Pulwama constituency, Waheed Para openly criticized the police action which he deemed unjust and he highlighted that the Quran teaches principles based on peace and justice.
“Disturbing reports of three women detained by police in Rajbagh for distributing the Holy Quran ahead of Ramzan. This is unjust—the Quran promotes justice and a crime-free society. Urging @SrinagarPolice to not drag these women into courts and police stations,” he said in a social media post.
Following the women’s release, Para said that he confirmed with the Srinagar police that the three women were safe and were briefly questioned ‘due to identity concerns’.
“Verified with @SrinagarPolice. The three girls are home safe. They were briefly questioned due to identity concerns while sharing the message of the Holy Quran,” he wrote.
Srinagar police seize over 600 religious books
This incident came days after Srinagar police initiated a massive search operation across the Kashmir valley and confiscated over 600 religious books that authorities alleged were promoting the ideology of the Jamaat-e-Islami organization.
The police stated that sellers of these materials breached legal guidelines and issued strict warnings about the legal ramifications of keeping or selling illegal publications.
