6 foreigners mistaken as braid choppers

Braid chopping hysteria didn’t even spare foreign tourists.

Six foreign nationals, including two women, were holed up by some people after being mistaken as braid choppers when they lost their way in Srinagar. They had arrived from Ladakh on Saturday night. However, all the six tourists were later rescued by a joint team of police and local people.

Police said sources informed them that the foreigners had been rounded up by some people in Kanikachi Latti Mohalla Rainawari somewhere in the interiors of Dal Lake at 2 am.

“The six tourists — three Australians, one South Korean, one Irish, and one English — were traveling from Leh to Srinagar. The group had lost their way and were using Google Map to find a shortcut to Lal Chowk,” said a police spokesman.

When they reached Kanikachi Lati Mohalla, their vehicle was intercepted by a group of locals, who also raised an alarm on seeing them. Soon after, a large number of people had gathered there.

“Some reasonable locals, however, informed the police, who rescued them. The tourists were lodged at a local hotel by the police. They left for their next destination early morning,” said the spokesman.

The braid chopping hysteria claimed its first casualty two days ago, when an elderly man was killed after being mistaken as the culprit, in Anantnag.