India, Aug. 8 -- A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government ordered the forfeiture of 25 books accused of promoting secessionist ideologies and inciting violence, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday launched valley-wide searches of bookstores to ensure compliance with the ban.

Police teams visited several bookstores in Srinagar, Sopore, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Kulgam and other towns, verifying inventory and removing any listed titles that had been declared as "forfeited" under Section 98 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

Officials said that the searches are being conducted as a preventive measure to ensure that no banned material remains in circulation or reaches the public domain. "Bookstore owners have been di...