PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Nainital
Most of the stone-pelting incidents on rooftops in Nainital remain unsolved. For the past 11 days, this menace has been troubling residents of Tallital’s district Panchayat compounds. But no trace of the stone-pelters has been found. These occur between 8 and 11 PM.
The long-time residents said that similar incidents had occurred in the city before, where the stone-pelters remained untraced. “However, in a few instances, stone-pelters carried out the attacks with the help of a sniper rifle, who were apprehended and silenced,” said an elderly resident.
With things remaining murky, a section of the people fall prey to superstitions. They are attributing the continuing menace to the influence of ‘spirits’.
Harish, a resident, said that stone pelting had been reported in the Alma House compound in 2006. “Nothing could be known about who was behind them,” he added.
Arun Shah, a resident of Melville Hall, said that a similar incident had occurred in his area in 1966. “But no one was arrested and the incident stopped on its own,” he said.
Kailash, a resident, shared that there was an incident of stone pelting around Ramsay Hospital in 1989. “No one was caught and the matter calmed down on its own after a few days,” he recounted.
