Foreign tourists labelled 'braid-choppers' rescued in J&K

A group of foreign tourists who were being threatened by a mob here on Sunday after being labelled "braid-choppers" were rescued, police said.

Police said a group of foreign tourists including three from Australia and one each from Britain, Ireland and South Korea were held up by some youth after they reached the city's Rainawari.

"The group of foreign tourists were returning from the Ladakh region when a group of youth mistook them as braid choppers and held them up in Rainawari area. However, some locals tried to rescue the tourists and called police," said a police official, adding a police team reached the area immediately and rescued the group.

The Valley has been in the throes of a public outcry following mysterious incidents of braid chopping at over two dozen places during the last one month.

Police has, so far, not been able to arrest a single culprit in these mysterious occurrences and senior police officers say the people are not cooperating with them during the investigations of these cases.

--IANS

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