Indian security forces have detained around 3,500 people across Indian-occupied Kashmir over the past 24 hours following the fatal shooting of a police officer in the district of Anantnag, officials said.
The mass detentions are part of sweeping raids and search operations being carried out across the Kashmir Valley. Authorities said the operations are targeting suspected Over Ground Workers (OGWs), a term used by Indian security agencies for civilians accused of providing logistical, financial, transport or communication support to armed resistance groups.
Officials said the detentions followed intelligence-led operations conducted across all districts of the Valley. Those taken into custody are being questioned as part of an ongoing verification process, while searches and raids continue.
Authorities have not released a breakdown of how many of those detained have been formally charged or disclosed the evidence, if any, against individual detainees.
The crackdown followed the killing of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Quraishi of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, who was shot dead near Lal Chowk in Anantnag on July 22. Quraishi had been deployed on security duty for the annual Amarnath Yatra, a major Hindu pilgrimage that attracts hundreds of thousands of devotees to a cave shrine in the Himalayas each year.
Following the attack, police and security forces launched a large-scale manhunt, sealed parts of Anantnag town and expanded counterinsurgency operations across the region.
Authorities said the campaign is intended to dismantle support networks linked to armed groups operating in Kashmir. Human rights organisations, however, have long criticised such large-scale detentions, raising concerns over arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without trial, and the impact of these operations on ordinary Kashmiri families.
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Security has also been tightened across the Valley, with additional personnel deployed at sensitive locations. Vehicle checks, frisking operations and area searches have been intensified in several districts.
Demolition of houses
On Thursday, authorities demolished the homes of two men identified by police as alleged members of the armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The properties belonged to Aadil Thokar from Bijbehara and Haroon Ganai from Hassanpora in Anantnag district. Officials said the demolitions were part of a wider campaign targeting infrastructure allegedly linked to armed groups.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, New Delhi’s appointed administrator for Jammu and Kashmir, condemned the killing of Quraishi and said those responsible would be brought to justice.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condemned the attack, describing it as an act of terrorism and expressing condolences to the slain officer’s family.
Indian authorities said intelligence-led operations involving the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces would continue in the coming days as the investigation progresses.
