‘State Govt Gave no Such Order,’ Says J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik on Reports of Cops Collecting Data on Mosques

Reports in media said that the Srinagar District Police Headquarters had asked all Superintendent of Police-level officers in the capital to gather information on local mosques.

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Tuesday rubbished the media reports that the state police was collecting details of mosques in the Valley.

Claiming that media had the tendency to make mountains out of molehills, Malik said, “The J&K government hasn’t issued any orders. Don’t pay attention to rumours. Everything is normal & fine. Lal Chowk par aap cheenkte bhi hain toh Governor House tak woh khabar ban jati hai ki bomb phata hai (If you sneezed at Lal Chowk, by the time it gets to the Governor House, the news would be about a bomb explosion).”

A day ago, Malik’s Advisor Vijay Kumar had told ANI, “If somebody is causing panic or rumour on the social media, then I should not be countering it. What is the source of this rumour? It won’t be proper for me to keep reverting every time.”

Reports in media said that the Srinagar District Police Headquarters had asked all Superintendent of Police-level officers in the capital to gather information on local mosques. “Provide details of your mosques and their managements falling under your jurisdictions,” a daily said.

The details sought included the name of the mosque, name of the imam (priest) and the management head. The order had reportedly come in the wake of earlier orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy 10,000 more security personnel, directions to police officers to be on alert and an alarm sounded by the Railways police over “likely deterioration in the law and order situation in J&K.”