Srinagar-Jammu Highway Blocked for Hours in Ramban as Protest Over Missing Youth Disrupts Traffic
Ramban, April 13, KNT: Vehicular movement on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) remained disrupted for several hours on Monday after a protest erupted at Makarkoot in Ramsoo sub-division of Ramban.
The blockade began in the morning hours as residents, including family members of a missing youth from nearby areas, assembled at the site and staged a sit-in, halting traffic on both sides of the highway.
The disruption affected movement at multiple locations along the strategic highway, a key link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.
Senior district officials, including Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan and Senior Superintendent of Police Arun Gupta, reached the spot and initiated talks with the protesters in an effort to restore normalcy. Police personnel were deployed in strength to maintain order.
The protest was triggered by the disappearance of Tanveer Ahmed Chopan, who is reported to have jumped into Nallah Bishlari a day earlier while fleeing from suspected miscreants.
Search operations are underway, with teams from the National Disaster Response Force assisting local police and volunteers in efforts to trace the missing individual.
Police have detained four persons in connection with the incident, and a Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the matter. KNT]
