Calcutta police are preparing a list of Kashmiris across the city to ensure that no one faces any threat in the aftermath of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on February 14.
A verbal instruction was passed on to the 70 police stations in Calcutta on Sunday to prepare a detailed list of Kashmiris, especially of the shawl vendors from the north Indian state.
Police sources said the task would not be easy.
Anti-rowdy officers of the police stations will ask around in markets and guest houses whether any Kashmiri was living in their respective areas.
If the officers come to know about Kashmiris living in their areas, they will try to collect their contact details.
There are pockets in the city known for people from other states or countries settling down.
The police said that apart from pockets in the Port division, there was no specific area in Calcutta where Kashmiris are known to settle down in groups.
“In Calcutta, Kashmiris live across the city. It will take us some time to collate the data,” an officer at Lalbazar said.
It would be an advantage for an officer to know a Kashmiri in the city. “It would be easier for him or her to tap other members of the community. They are usually in touch with each other,” he said.
The Pulwama blast that killed 40 CRPF troopers was triggered by a local teenager. Since then there have been reports of Kashmiris being targeted elsewhere in India.
A Kashmiri doctor in Tiljala who alleged that he and his family had been threatened has got police protection.
Youths from Kashmir periodically come to the city to sell artefacts and shawls and other winter wear. Some of them go door to door hawking their wares.
“If any of them is found facing a threat, the police will ensure his or her safety,” an officer said.
Sources said there were places on the outskirts of the city — such as Diamond Harbour in the south and Khardah in the north — where Kashmiris come every year, set up stalls to sell woollen garments and leave for home before the approach of summer.
BSF man drowns
A BSF constable drowned in a river while chasing some alleged smugglers on the night of February 14 in Behrampore in Murshidabad district.
