500 arrests made during clampdown in Indian-ruled Kashmir

Indian Paramilitary soldiers drag barbwire as they prepare to impose curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Authorities in Hindu-majority India clamped a complete shutdown on Kashmir as they scrapped the Muslim-majority state’s special status, including exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution, and divided it into two territories. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

NEW DELHI — An opposition activist has filed a petition in India’s top court challenging the communications blackout and security clampdown in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, where people remained holed up in their homes for four days now.

State-run All India Radio says security agencies have arrested more than 500 people in the region apparently to prevent any outbreak of violence.

India’s government this week revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and downgraded the Himalayan region from statehood to a territory. 

Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, and rebels have been fighting Indian rule in the portion it administers for decades.

India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Kashmir on Wednesday to assess the law and order situation. /jpv