In a shocking incident, fruit sellers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district have found boxes of Kashmiri apples with anti-India messages like “We want freedom”, “I love Burhan Wani”, “Zakir Musa come back”.

According to the reports, the Jammu and Kashmir fruit traders found the apples with pro-Pakistan and anti-India messages while unloading boxes at the Kathua fruit market. The traders then raised anti-Pakistan slogans as a form of protest. The sellers opened the boxes purchased from the wholesale market only to find the messages written on the fruits with a black marker.

The police questioned several traders in Kathua as well as Jammu about the boxes, which were shipped from Kashmir. According to the police, the boxes were sent to a trader in Jammu.

The apples also had messages like ‘Azadi’, ‘Go back India-Go back India’, ‘Meri Jaan Imran Khan’ and ‘Pakistan-Pakistan’.

Sanjeev Chib, SHO of Kathua Police Station, said that they have called the Jammu traders for questioning after the matter was brought to their notice. The police said that the initial investigation has revealed that the apple boxes were transported from Kashmir.

Jammu Fruit Association president Praveen Gupta said such incidents could disturb the peace. He added that police questioned some traders summoned from the main fruit market at Narwal in Jammu. “How are the local traders to be blamed? They received the fruit boxes from Srinagar. It is difficult to check all the 500 to 600 boxes packed in a truck,” Gupta asked.

He further added that the local traders shared the details of a fruit dealer from Kashmir who sent the apples. “Local traders gave the Challan number of the dealer from whom the trucks were received. He may have in turn got them from some grower,” he said.

Following the incident, the fruit sellers on Wednesday also threatened to boycott apples from Kashmir if the government fails to take action. They further said that people are refusing to purchase them due to these messages.

“The boxes were from Kashmir and the messages were written in English and Urdu,” Gupta said, demanding that the government and police take strict action against those behind this.

The Pakistani sponsored Islamic terrorists in the valley are desperate to perpetrate terror in the region. With normalcy being returned to Jammu and Kashmir, the terror groups are trying to incite violence and stoke fear in the minds of the people in the state.

On Monday, the terrorists had targeted a truck driver, which was followed by an attack on two Punjab-based apple traders on Wednesday in which one was killed and the other is in critical condition. The improving apple trade between Kashmiris and the rest of the country has increased the desperation of Pakistani-sponsored terrorists and are responding to the situation with violence.