The Jammu and Kashmir Police will deny security clearance required for passport applications and other government services to those involved in stone-throwing incidents and “other crimes prejudicial to security”, ANI reported on Sunday, citing an official order.

“All the field units of CID SB [Criminal Investigation Department, Special Branch] are directed to ensure that during verification related to passport, service and any other verification related to government services/schemes, the subject’s involvement in law and order, stone pelting cases and other crime prejudicial to the security of the state be specifically looked into,” the order said.

It added that the officials must look at local police station records to verify a person’s involvement in stone-pelting and other detrimental activities.

“Also, digital evidence like CCTV footage, photographs, videos and audio clips, quadcopter images available in the records of the police, security forces and security agencies be also referred,” the order said.

In January, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had said that there was an 87% reduction in incidents of stone-pelting in 2020, as compared to 2019, PTI reported.

While there were 1,999 incidents of stone-throwing in 2019, the number had fallen to 255 in 2020, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh had said.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre had abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and split it into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Curfews were imposed in the region and phone and internet services were blocked.

Almost all of Kashmir Valley’s political leadership, including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, were put under detention. Farooq Abdullah was released from detention on March 13, 2020. Omar Abdullah’s detention was also revoked over a week later. People’s Conference chief Sajjad Lone was released in July, while Mufti’s detention ended on October 13.