Stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir have come down significantly from a high of over 2,600 in 2016 to barely a few dozen in the first half of 2019, officials said on Sunday.

The arrests of people involved in stone pelting incidents also have come down from over 10,500 to just about a hundred.

According to the Home Ministry statistics, there were 2,653 incidents of stone pelting in 2016 for which 10,571 persons were arrested by police.

However, among the arrested just 276 were sent to jail and others were let off with warnings.

There were 1,412 incidents of stone pelting in 2017 in which 2,838 trouble-makers were arrested and 63 of them were sent to jail. In 2018, there were 1,458 incidents of stone pelting in which 3,797 persons were arrested and 65 of them were sent to jail, as per the statistics.

In the first six months of 2019, there were around 40 incidents of stone pelting in which about a hundred persons were detained, the official said. 

There has been a marked improvement in the security scenario in the Valley ever since the imposition of Governor’s rule on 19 June 2018, when the BJP withdrew support to the Mehbooba Mufti-led government, he said. After the six months of Governor’s rule, the President’s rule was imposed, which has been continuing.