<p>Incidents of stone-pelting have reduced drastically in unrest-hit Kashmir ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes across the country.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While police handouts on the situation in the Valley stated that no incidents of stone-pelting were reported from anywhere in the past few days, officials said a major reason behind the sudden decline in violence was that the “money channels” of inciting violence have been sealed.<br /><br />“There were inputs that separatists and their Pakistani-handlers were pumping in money to keep the pot boiling and most of such transactions would take place in big currency notes as the stone-pelter would charge at least Rs 500 per day. But now as the circulation of these notes has been banned, the business of stone- pelting is almost over,” a senior police official told DH.<br /><br />The reduction in incidents of stone-pelting is understood to have vindicated the stand of the central government that Pakistan is pumping in money into Kashmir through various hawala channels. <br />“But the ban on big currency notes has closed all such shops of selling violence in Kashmir,” he said. Interestingly, the general public in Kashmir is thinking on similar lines. <br /><br />The relative calm in the Valley has become a topic of discussion on social networking sites. “First Friday during this four-month period when no tear gas shells were heard around here. Someone is running low on real cash,” wrote a prominent business from Kashmir on his Facebook wall.<br /><br />In the past, several complaints had cropped up that separatists were paying stone- pelters and other anti-national elements.<br /><br /> In one such video released by electronic media, a stone-pelting youth captured by security forces was seen confessing that he would regularly get money from Hurriyat leaders for resorting to stone-pelting.<br /><br />Security analysts believe that Kashmir will remain largely calm in the coming days as miscreants will run short of money to keep their network operational. <br /><br />“There could be still some residual money with them, once that is over, this paid stone-pelting will be over,” said an official, who has been tracking developments in Kashmir for over the past two decades.<br />DH News Service<br /></p>
<p>Incidents of stone-pelting have reduced drastically in unrest-hit Kashmir ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes across the country.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While police handouts on the situation in the Valley stated that no incidents of stone-pelting were reported from anywhere in the past few days, officials said a major reason behind the sudden decline in violence was that the “money channels” of inciting violence have been sealed.<br /><br />“There were inputs that separatists and their Pakistani-handlers were pumping in money to keep the pot boiling and most of such transactions would take place in big currency notes as the stone-pelter would charge at least Rs 500 per day. But now as the circulation of these notes has been banned, the business of stone- pelting is almost over,” a senior police official told DH.<br /><br />The reduction in incidents of stone-pelting is understood to have vindicated the stand of the central government that Pakistan is pumping in money into Kashmir through various hawala channels. <br />“But the ban on big currency notes has closed all such shops of selling violence in Kashmir,” he said. Interestingly, the general public in Kashmir is thinking on similar lines. <br /><br />The relative calm in the Valley has become a topic of discussion on social networking sites. “First Friday during this four-month period when no tear gas shells were heard around here. Someone is running low on real cash,” wrote a prominent business from Kashmir on his Facebook wall.<br /><br />In the past, several complaints had cropped up that separatists were paying stone- pelters and other anti-national elements.<br /><br /> In one such video released by electronic media, a stone-pelting youth captured by security forces was seen confessing that he would regularly get money from Hurriyat leaders for resorting to stone-pelting.<br /><br />Security analysts believe that Kashmir will remain largely calm in the coming days as miscreants will run short of money to keep their network operational. <br /><br />“There could be still some residual money with them, once that is over, this paid stone-pelting will be over,” said an official, who has been tracking developments in Kashmir for over the past two decades.<br />DH News Service<br /></p>