Refuting the allegations that it beat up protesters and resorted to aerial firing, the Army Monday while clarifying its stand over Hawoorah Kulgam incident said that it were some ‘Over-Ground Workers’ (OGW’s) who created trouble during the search operation. An army official from 15 Chinar Corps told CNS that, “After receiving inputs about the presence of militants from local Kulgam police, Army and SOG cordoned off the Hawarooh village. People were asked to assemble at one place and searches were conducted with the help of local people. Some OGW’s from Kujjar area during search operation resorted to stone-pelting and instigated others to do so. The Army exercised maximum restraint and called off the operation. During the operation, two OGW’s were arrested who were identified as Adil Maqbool Dar and Nazir Ahmed Tantray, both residents of Kujjar,” the official said. The official said that during ‘intense’ stone-pelting the window panes of some houses were damaged while a woman was also hit by a stone. He said that, “Army never intends to bother innocent people. The ultimate motive of any search operation always remain to track militants.” (CNS)