A student was injured after a school bus came under stone pelting in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Wednesday.
SSP Shopian, Shailendra Mishra said that some youth pelted stones on a school bus of Rainbow International School at Narapora area of Shopian on Wednesday morning.
He said there no security forces vehicle was moving in the area. “The school bus was moving on the road and came under stone pelting. The miscreants pelted stones on the bus from a height,” Mishra said.
The father of the minor who was injured said, "My son has been injured in stone pelting and this is against humanity. This (stone-pelting) could have been anyone's child. They (children) are so innocent and this thing (stone-pelting incident) is very bad. Such incidents should not happen to children."
He said window shield of the bus was damaged in the stone pelting and a student travelling in the vehicle sustained injuries. “The injured student was given medical treatment in a hospital. He is stable now,” the official said.
The incident evoked sharp reaction from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who said perpetrators of this senseless and cowardly act will be brought to justice soon.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack on the school bus. "How does pelting stones on school children or tourist buses help advance the agenda of these stone pelters? These attacks deserve our unequivocal condemnation & this tweet is mine," Omar wrote on his Twitter handle.
Condemning the incident, Director General of Police S P Vaid said, "Complete madness how stone pelters are targeting young school children. These criminals will face the law."
National Conference spokesman Junaid Mattu also condemned the incident and took a dig at separatists, saying "One would expect (Syed Ali Shah) Geelani and Mirwaiz (Umer Farooq) to take a conscientious call and condemn stone pelting while reserving the right to espouse their political ideologies through non-violence. You can't claim the moral high ground while refusing to condemn this unequivocally."
(with input from agencies)