On the fourth day of indefinite curfew in Jammu, the restrictions were relaxed in parts of the city under 5 police stations for 3 hours on Monday while the Army continued to patrol the sensitive areas of the city to thwart any untoward incident.

Jammu’s District Magistrate relaxed the curfew in the areas falling under Police Stations of Gandhi Nagar (except Police Post Nehru Park and Digiana), Channi Himmat, Sainik Colony, Trikuta Nagar and Satwari (except Police Posts of Belicharana and Gadighat) from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm.

“However, restrictions remained in place in these areas under Section-144 on public gatherings,” the DM said. He said official identity cards of the Civil Secretariat Employees and the staff deployed with essential services were treated as curfew pass to facilitate their movement during the relaxation.

In addition, Air Tickets, Railway Tickets and Admit Cards for various examinations were also treated as curfew passes. The District Magistrate urged people to maintain peace and tranquility and not allow the miscreants to create any trouble in their respective areas.

In an advisory, the CRPF said that “Fake news about harassment of students from Kashmir is being propagated by various miscreants on social media”. CRPF helpline enquired about some complaints of harassment and found them incorrect. “These are attempts to invoke hatred please do not circulate such posts,” the CRPF said.

The CRPF has circulated its phone numbers for speedy assistance in case Kashmiri students and general public face difficulties or harassment.

Meanwhile, Rakesh Gupta, President of Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), warned that anti-India slogans in Jammu will not be tolerated and urged the administration to identify the miscreants indulging in anti-national activities even during the curfew. Gupta blamed the police for having failed to identify those who were spreading hatred through their anti-India posts on social media. He said that continuing the curfew in Jammu was unjustified and it should be lifted without further delay.

A spokesman of the state government said that the Liaison Officers in various states are in constant touch with the local administrations and college authorities to ensure that the students from J&K are not put through any inconvenience. The state administration has advised all the students and their parents not to pay heed to rumours.