J&K Police launch relentless hospital locker raids after terror probe

For two weeks, the corridors of Kashmir’s hospitals have resembled security checkpoints rather than medical spaces. Police teams — flanked by camerapersons — have been prying open lockers and pigeonholes assigned to doctors, filming each inspection before the visuals ricochet across social media.

The unprecedented exercise stems from the recent crackdown on an alleged Ansar Ghazwatul Hind module linked to the Red Fort blast in Delhi, involving four accused doctors — three from Kashmir.

As part of the investigation, officials claim they recovered a rifle from a locker at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, previously allotted to one of the accused, Dr. Adeel Ahmad Rather, who left the institution a year ago without relinquishing access.

Since then, police have declared the sweep will continue until “every locker is accounted for” — and have signaled that surprise checks may persist well beyond the current round. “Most hospitals across the Valley have been searched, and the process will conclude soon… but we may conduct spot inspections to ensure compliance,” a senior police officer said, adding that medical administrations have been directed to assist search teams.

Yet inside police ranks, dissent is quietly building. Some officers privately question both the scale and optics of the operation — especially as no further weapons or incriminating material have been publicly reported.

“Doctors are the intellectual backbone of society,” said a senior officer posted in Srinagar. “Humiliating them sends a damaging signal — not only here but to the world. We risk alienating an entire professional class and jeopardizing the careers of Kashmiri doctors working outside the Valley. Policing must be precise, not performative.”

Hospital authorities say they were already conducting internal audits as directed by the Health and Medical Education Department, making the visible police-led sweep appear redundant to many.

At District Hospital Pulwama, Medical Superintendent Dr. Abdul Gani Dar said the administration itself called police to access unclaimed lockers. “We opened them as instructed. Nothing objectionable was found — only aprons, medicines and personal items,” he said.

Doctors across the Valley say the manner — not the investigation — is the problem.

“We understand security imperatives. But what message do these camera-ready raids send?” asked a senior doctor from a Srinagar tertiary hospital. “Are we being collectively branded as militants? Why are we being put on trial in front of the public?”

Others argue that inspections, if necessary, should have been discreet. Several women doctors have also described the searches as a violation of privacy.

Amid mounting anger, J&K Health Minister Sakeena Itoo acknowledged the escalating tension, saying she will ensure agencies are issued a formal Standard Operating Procedure to prevent blanket targeting of the fraternity.

Even as the controversy intensifies, police on November 27 expanded their crackdown — conducting inspections at Srinagar’s mosques and madrassas in what officials described as action against “individuals and networks linked to terror organisations.”

For now, the searches continue — and so does the fallout, deepening a rift between the Valley’s medical community and the forces responsible for their security.