Four killed, 45 hurt as protesters, police clash

Even as prime minister Manmohan Singh was brainstorming in New Delhi with leaders of all parties on ways to bring peace back to Kashmir on Wednesday, police opened fire at anti-US protesters, killing four and injuring 15, six of them critically, at Mendhar in Poonch district of Jammu.

A thousand-strong mob protesting the alleged desecration of the Koran in the US suddenly turned violent and tried to set ablaze a Christian missionary school, forcing police open fire.

“The protesters tried to burn Christ School. When we tried to prevent the attempt, they attacked us. Thirty of my men, including an additional superintendent and a station house officer were injured in stone-pelting. Four people were killed in firing and 15 injured,” Manmohan Singh, Poonch senior superintendent of police, said.

The killings added fuel to the fire. “Eight government buildings have been torched. Curfew has been clamped [in Mendhar] and army help sought to maintain law and order,” Pawan Kotwal, divisional commissioner of Jammu, said.

Lt Col Biplab Nath, the defence spokesman in Jammu, said troops were being dispatched to Poonch. “Wheels are in motion and necessary steps are being taken,” he said.

Mendhar is the second town in Poonch district to have erupted over the alleged Koran desecration. On Tuesday, curfew was clamped in Poonch town after violent protests broke out.