Meerut: Two youths who worked as labourers in Kashmir's cottage industry have alleged they were compelled to participate in stone pelting in the valley.On Tuesday, Naseem Ahmad and Ankit Kumar approached police and made allegations against their employers in Kashmir's Pulwama district where they worked as labourers. They said they had escaped "with some difficulty" from that state.Naseem said, "I worked as tailor in a unit and there was a trend there that whenever security forces used to have encounters with militants, the latter would hide in houses. In order to divert attention, youths of that village would start pelting security forces with stones. It was during such times we were also compelled to pelt stones and were threatened if we didn't."Ankit said, "When we asked for help from a local we were asked to shell out Rs 10,000. Only after that we could manage to sneak out of the area."On Wednesday, Meerut zone additional director-general (ADG) Prashant Kumar ordered an inquiry into the matter. "This is indeed a serious matter and I have asked the Baghpat superintendent of police and Saharanpur senior superintendent of police to find the details."BJP MP from Baghpat Satyapal Singh said, "We will get to the bottom of this allegation and I will also take up the matter with the higher-ups and will ensure a coordinated effort is made by the authorities of UP and J&K."

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