Exclusive: A 360-Degree View of Stone Pelting in Srinagar

The Quint reports from ground zero of the violence in Srinagar.

Stone pelting has been taking place in Srinagar’s Nowhata Chowk every day since the unrest began. (Photo: The Quint/Poonam Agarwal)

The Quint reports from ground zero of the unrest in Srinagar, Kashmir. Our reporter, travelling to violence-hit areas in a bullet-proof CRPF vehicle, captured the stone pelting on a 360-degree camera as well as on a regular one in the city’s Nowhata Chowk.

Following Hizbul commander Burhan Wani’s death, Nowhata Chowk has witnessed stone pelting every day.

Over 400 CRPF jawans are deployed in and around the chowk daily. Stone pelting takes place during withdrawal time, when the CRPF troops retreat to their camps.

According to security personnel, after India’s surgical strike in PoK, the number of stone pelters has fallen, but it is expected to rise in the future.

This is the same chowk where a militant attack on 15 August killed one deputy commanding officer of the CRPF and left two jawans injured.

The city’s biggest mosque, the Jamia Masjid, is also located in Nowhata Chowk. The mosque has been shut for the last few months This is because it can hold as many as 33,333 people - and such a large congregation could result in large-scale violence.

Video Editor: Kunal Mehra

Cameraperson: Poonam Agarwal