Inside Kashmir Crackdown: Demolished Homes, Mass Detentions

On April 27, an armoured vehicle stopped outside the house of suspected militant Aamir Nazir in Khasipora area of South Kashmir’s Tral. Gun-wielding police personnel wearing black uniforms walked on the path strewn with shards of glass from broken windows of Nazir’s damaged house.

Just a few hours earlier, on the intervening night of April 26 and 27, security forces blew up the house using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) after detaining Nazir’s family members. The explosion was so intense that people who lived several miles away heard it. The windows of the house had been blown off due to the heavy impact of the explosion. The corrugated iron roof was warped and the household goods lay scattered inside.

When the policemen entered the house the next day, a group of curious onlookers, who had assembled to see the extent of the damage, quickly exited. The policemen took photos of the partially damaged house. “A different team came here yesterday to place the IED. We are here to check the extent of the damage and ascertain if further action is required. It looks like the damage is full,” says a police official.

Outside the house, in an open field, women relatives sat on a plastic sheet and wailed over the loss. “What did the police say about the release of the family? How long will they be kept in detention? The house is already fully damaged. None can live there, so what is the need to demolish it further?” asks one of the relatives.

Nazir’s grandmother, Aasha Banoo, who lives in the Pinglish area of Tral, rushed to Khasipora after she heard about the blast. She asserts that the detained family members have no role in militancy and adds: “What has the family done? The boy chose his own path. How are we responsible? They have detained the child’s mother. The police should release them.”

The family members say they have not been in touch with Nazir since he joined militant ranks last year. He went to school in April last year but never returned. The neighbours inform that the house was built by Nazir’s father two years before his son went missing and took up arms.

This is not a standalone story.

A Crackdown Across the Valley

After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26, security personnel are identifying and demolishing the homes of suspected militants in villages across the Valley. The homes of nine suspected militants have been reduced to dust so far. However, scores of other homes in the vicinity have suffered extensive damage due to the intensity of the blasts. These locals, who have nothing to do with militancy, are collateral damage of the crackdown on suspected militants in the aftermath of the terror attack.

The demolitions started on April 24 with the house of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member Adil Hussain Thoker’s family. Police said Thoker was one of those who carried out the Pahalgam attack. On April 25, security forces blew up the house of another LeT member—Ehsan Ahmad Sheikh—at Murran in Pulwama. Local residents said the massive explosion damaged several houses in the neighbourhood. On April 26, a joint team of forces appeared at Naaz colony in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, asked residents to assemble in a nearby field and blew up the house of Abdul Ahad Shergojri. His son, Jameel Ahmad, joined the militant ranks in 2016. The house of Farooq Ahmad Tedwa’s family at Kalaroos in Kupwara was also blown up by police the same day. Tedwa allegedly crossed over to Pakistan in 1990 for arms training and has not returned to India, according to officials.

According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, three LeT terrorists were behind the Pahalgam attack. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based LeT outfit, has however, denied any role in the attack. The TRF said in a statement: “The TRF unequivocally denies any involvement in the Pahalgam incident. Any attribution of this act to TRF is false, hasty, and part of an orchestrated campaign to malign the Kashmiri resistance.”

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, says that the suspected militants whose houses were demolished were in “one way or the other” involved in the Pahalgam attack. “They were from the same group and operated in South Kashmir. Due to a concerted action against militants, their numbers have now reduced to 10-15,” he adds.

The IGP Kashmir didn’t rule out the demolition of houses of other active militants in Kashmir and said that they have stepped up action against them. He adds that action against militant sympathisers has not only been intensified in Anantnag but elsewhere in Kashmir as well.

Sweeping Raids, Detentions, and UAPA Cases

Immediately after the attack, the police, in collaboration with the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), launched cordon-and-search operations (CASOs) in and around Pahalgam and Anantnag and questioned several suspects and carried out detentions.

Birdi said that the police have detained and questioned 1,900 people across Kashmir. Among the 1,900 detentions, around 175 suspects have been rounded up for questioning in Anantnag alone. “Detentions and questioning are being carried out elsewhere in Kashmir as well,” he adds. More arrests and detentions are expected over the next few days.

According to the police, the detained persons were instrumental in supporting militant activities by facilitating their movement and providing them “shelter and logistical support.” The police also said that they were motivating local youth to join militant ranks, due to which the “imposition of the Public Safety Act (PSA) was deemed necessary.”

The police detained several family members of the suspected militants whose houses were demolished. The families say that the police questioned them about whether they were in touch with the suspected militants.

Apart from the demolitions and detentions, the joint teams of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and paramilitary forces conducted searches across various locations at the residences and premises of those suspected to have affiliations with militant outfits.

Those whose houses were raided include the ones booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act in different police stations of Srinagar, including the old city areas, that were the hotspots of protests before the revocation of Article 370. The police also carried out raids at the residences of a few suspected LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) associates. Searches were also carried out at the residences of TRF associates and those detained under the PSA, besides released militants and those who are in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Extending their operations to North Kashmir as well, the Baramulla and Handwara police conducted searches at the residences of activists of separatist outfits Jammu & Kashmir National Front (JKNF) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).

Security personnel are being extra vigilant in Anantnag where the terror attack took place on April 22. “Raids are being conducted at various locations. Day and night search operations are underway with heightened vigilance,” informs a police spokesperson. “To further enhance security, additional mobile vehicle check points have been established across Anantnag to monitor suspicious movements and ensure public safety. Moreover, CASOs, ambushes, and intensified patrolling have been launched in high-density forest areas,” police say.

In Srinagar city, which witnesses a heavy movement of tourists—particularly around the famous Dal Lake—the Jammu and Kashmir police conducted searches at 65 places at the residences of over ground workers (OGWs) and militant associates in connection with the investigation into cases registered under the UAPA. According to one police official, several people were detained during the raids in Srinagar.

In a similar action, police in neighbouring Budgam district arrested two OGWs under the PSA. According to police, the arrests followed “sustained efforts and actionable intelligence indicating the involvement of the duo in providing active support” to militants. “By invoking the PSA, authorities have ensured their detention to prevent further threats to peace and public order,” a police spokesperson said.

In addition, the police also recovered arms and ammunition in Kulgam, South Kashmir in a joint operation with 1RR and 18 Bn CRPF. Police arrested two militant associates after the recovery of two pistols, 25 pistol rounds and two pistol magazines from their possession.

Calls for Restraint from Political Leaders

These large-scale detentions and demolitions have led to politicians cutting across political parties to request constraint. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called for avoiding any “misplaced action”.

“After the Pahalgam terror attack, there must be a decisive fight against terrorism and its origin. People of Kashmir have come out openly against terrorism and the murder of innocent people. They did this freely and spontaneously. It is time to build on this support and avoid any misplaced action that alienates people,” Abdullah said. “Punish the guilty, show them no mercy, but don’t let innocent people become collateral damage,” he added.

The former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asked the Centre to distinguish “between a terrorist and a civilian”. “The Government of India must tread with caution and carefully distinguish between terrorists and civilians following the recent Pahalgam attack. It must not alienate innocent people, especially those opposing terror,” she said. “There are reports of thousands being arrested and scores of houses of common Kashmiris being demolished along with those of militants. Appeal to the government to direct the authorities to take care that innocent people are not made to feel the brunt as alienation aids terrorists’ goals of division and fear,” she added.

Hurriyat chairman and the Valley’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also urged the government “not to punish the innocent Kashmiri families”. “While Kashmiris collectively condemn the heinous crime at Pahalgam, and it is imperative to bring its perpetrators to justice, indiscriminate arrests and videos circulating on social media of demolition of houses and neighbourhoods are disturbing and distressing,” he said. “I urge the authorities that in seeking justice for the innocent victims not to punish innocent Kashmiri families.”

People’s Conference president Sajad Lone said: “There is a general feeling across the Valley that the whole family is being punished for the actions of one person. Using collectiveness to define criminality or terrorism is a curse and will never allow reconciliation and social introspection.”

Ishfaq Naseem is senior special correspondent, Outlook. He is based in Srinagar

This article is part of Outlook’s May 11, 2025 issue, covering the Pahalgam terror attack and the old wounds it has reopened. It appeared in print as 'Detention, Demolition'.