After 19 years, CRPF moves out of Sopore

SRINAGAR: Bringing smile on the face of the people, troops of CRPF's 177 Battalion have vacated camps being run in houses around Jamia Masjid
Qadeem in Meer Sahib locality of Sopore town in north Kashmir after 19 years. They have also started dismantling the pickets.

For the first time in the last 19 years, late evening (Isha) prayers were offered at Jamia Masjid Qadeem on Tuesday. "We're happy that the forces are pulling out of the area. We could not offer late night prayers at the mosque," Farooq Ahmad, a resident, told TOI.

CRPF had occupied several residential houses adjacent to the mosque in 1991. They had also made dozens of bunkers around the area to prevent attacks from terrorists. The paramilitary force had also warned people not to come out of their houses after sunset.

"Fearing action by CRPF, people preferred to stay indoors and did not even offer late night prayers," said Ghulam Nabi Dar, a Sopore resident.

Sopore ASP Abdul Waheed said the CRPF unit will leave the area in a few days. The troops, he said, will be relocated. At Bandipore in north Kashmir, troops, however, continue to occupy 26 buildings and 1,675 kanals of land, according to the government. Besides buildings, 13 kanals of private land and 996.9 kanals of government land in Bandipore tehsil are under the occupation of forces.