He's just 17 and a stone-pelter, and his parent in a north Kashmir village is appealing to the police and politicians to spare the youngster. He's the youngest among the three brothers who has been identified as a troublemaker. The police are looking out for him, even as dark cloud looms over his future.

The young man's father works in a top hotel in Srinagar. Of the three brothers, one is a bright officer in the CRPF who earned a reward posting for fighting hard against the Maoists. The second son is in the BSF. With two of his sons serving the country so well, the father hopes that the errant youngest son will be spared. However, he has been told that such an exception may not be made, as the police in Kashmir is trying to track him down.

READ| Kashmir unrest: Over 7,000 civilians, 2400 CRPF injured in stone pelting since July 8

LOWEST INCIDENTS OF STONE PELTING THIS MONTH



Right now the number of stone-pelting incidents are down to a trickle. Only two incidents of stone-pelting were reported last week, and one incident a week before that. The numbers are at the lowest in a span of three months in Kashmir Valley ever since protests broke out following the killing Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on 8 July.

The turnaround came after directions from the Central government to crackdown on instigators and so-called "motivators" leading the crowd. About 4,000 stone pelters have been arrested and booked under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code ( RPC).

READ| Scarred and blinded for life: Brutal repercussions of using metal pellets in Kashmir

READ| Kashmir unrest: Curfew imposed in Kishtwar, tensions escalate

DON'T TARGET THOSE NOT INVOLVED: MLA



A group of 11 leaders of the National Conference (NC), which included MLAs and MLCs, former minister Javed Darr and Sakina Itoo, met the governor and expressed concern over the mass arrests.

Speaking to India Today, Pahlagam MLA Altaf Ahmed Kaloo said: "We met the governor and told him that many innocent people have been picked up. This is simply not acceptable. Even some known PDP supporters are indulging in stone-pelting now, but no action has been taken against them. But why target those who are not involved?"

Earlier, the Mehbooba Mufti government had granted amnesty to mostly young students who were arrested for stone pelting.

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