Srinagar: A senior Jammu and Kashmir police official on Wednesday took to Facebook to vent his anger over the damage to his home allegedly wrought by security forces personnel in Anantnag. The forces themselves had reportedly had stones pelted at them by some youths in his locality before the incident took place.Deputy superintendent of police Nisar Ahmad Bakshi, who lives in the volatile southern Kashmir district, uploaded a collage of pictures showing damaged windows, the broken windscreen of his cars and smashed bikes to the social networking site.In an angry outburst, he blamed the forces for the act of “vandalism” and said that he has been facing this problem repeatedly for the past eight years.This is the first time that a senior police official has openly talked about the security forces damaging private property. Across Kashmir, there have been frequent complaints about this, particularly after a stone pelting episode or a gunfight between the forces and militants. But most of these complaints are dismissed by the J&K police and the state government as mere allegations.‘Vandalism’ by forces & outrage by Dy SPOn Wednesday evening, when the local media reported that a top commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Zeenat-ul-Islam, was trapped in a search operation in Shopian, groups of youth took to the streets in Anantnag and elsewhere to pelt stones on the security forces – a phenomena that erupts every time there is an encounter anywhere in the Valley.Credit: Facebook/Nisar Ahmad BakshiA senior official in the district administration said some youths had taken to the streets in Nai Basti near Khanbal Chowk, where the police official lives, and pelted stones on vehicles belonging to the forces which were passing by.In retaliatory action, the forces, comprising men from the J&K police and the special operation group (SOG), went on a rampage in the area, damaging the windows of houses, smashing windscreens of vehicles parked on roads and even thrashing commuters, a local news paper Rising Kashmir reported.One of the houses which bore the brunt of their ire belonged to the deputy superintendent, which is located on the main Khanbal-Pahalgam road. “Vandalism by security forces at KP road Anantnag. Property worth lacs including windows and window panes of my residential house damaged. Houses/vehicles and shops smashed and attacked by rods and rocks. This is for the 8th time since 2008 that my residential house has been damaged in such a way,” Bakshi wrote on Facebook.Speaking to The Wire, Bakshi, who was recently transferred to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), said his house is situated on the highway and thus repeatedly becomes a target. He said that at the time of the incident, which was at around 8:30 pm, only his elderly parents were home.“I don’t know whether they (the forces) know this is my house, but it becomes a target again and again. Every time there is stone pelting in the area, my house is targeted and I have to bear the brunt,” he said, adding that the pictures of the house he shared on Facebook belonged to him while the damaged cars and motorcycle were those of his neighbours.Asked whether he has taken the matter up with the local police in the past, Bakshi responded: “What can we do? We are caught in such a situation. What can we do?”‘Entire locality targeted’The deputy superintendent said his wasn’t the only house that became the target of the forces, but they damaged the houses of his neighbours and others in the entire locality. “Compared to them, I have faced less damage,” he said.The police official’s post on Facebook was shared by many users and evoked a lot of angry comments.Credit: Facebook/Nisar Ahmad BakshiHis brother, Iftikhar Bakshi, described the forces’ action as “sheer hooliganism”. “Beasts in uniform, as if they enjoy damaging public property. This is sheer hooliganism. No accountability at all. At least someone from the district administration should take cognisance of such incidents. Mohalla committees should apprise the concerned SHO and other district admins so that there will be no such loss to civilian property in future,” he wrote.Another user, Abdul Rashid Dar talked about similar incidents faced by common people. “When the houses of police officers are damaged in such a way what should be the fate of other people,” Dar commented.A local youth, asking not to be named, alleged tht the forces were armed with iron rods and long wooden sticks when they went on rampage in the locality.Some social media users suggested that Bakshi register a complaint at the local police station. “I have asked my father to approach the police station,” Bakshi said.He, however, refused to comment on similar allegations on the forces about damaging private property during stone pelting incidents across Kashmir. “I don’t want to comment,” he responded.Asked if he will register a compliant with the SHRC where he is working now, Bakshi said: “I will see what to do. I am not the only one who had to suffer. The entire area faced damage…we will take it up at mohalla level. I live there as a mohalla walla and not as a policeman, so we will take the decision collectively” he said.The station house officer Sadder Police Station Anantnag, Adil Ahmad, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, said he can’t talk about the matter. “The SP is the right official to talk to,” he said.But neither the superintendent of police Altaf Khan nor the deputy inspector general (DIG) Amit Kumar responded to repeated calls from The Wire to get their comment.