It was mayhem on the streets of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday with more than 14 persons including a local journalist killed in police firing and armed clashes.
All districts in Valley under curfew, communal flare-up in Jammu
SRINAGAR: It was mayhem on the streets of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday with more than 14 persons including a local journalist killed in police firing and armed clashes.
In Srinagar, security forces opened fire on protesters who defied curfew to join the funeral of slain Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz at Eidgah. Despite the firing, nearly 50,000 people gathered at Eidgah to offer jinaza (pre-burial prayers) to the slain separatist leader. Thousands of people forcibly set free Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani and moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who were under house arrest for the past two days.
More than one lakh police and paramilitary forces are out on the roads in the valley. All the 10 districts of Kashmir have been placed under curfew since Monday evening. Curfew was also clamped in Kishtwar district of Jammu after a flare-up in communal tension.
Tension escalated on Tuesday after three persons died in firing by security forces on protesters who were marching towards Srinagar from Bandipora in North Kashmir to defy the curfew. In other incidents across the Valley, three persons were killed when securitymen opened fire at Lasjan on the outskirts of Srinagar, two were killed at
Rainawari in old Srinagar following a mob attack on the house of a National Conference leader, two more died in firing at Bagh-e-Mehtab. A youth was killed in Nagabal and, in the evening, another youth died in firing at Bemina.
One of the victims was a local journalist Javed Ahmed Mir.
“There was complete chaos because the dead and injured were lying unattended for sometime. I was beaten with a cane and suffered injuries on my head”, said Parviaz Ahmad, a protester from Lasjan who has been admitted to SMHS hospital here.
The Lasjan incident occured after the service weapon of a personal security guard of PDP leader Javid Mustafa Mir went off ‘accidentally’ injuring seven police personnel including IPS officer Mahesh Kumar, official sources said.
Several hundred people were injured in firing in Anantnag, Sangam, Pahalahallan, Pattan, Bemina, Rambagh and other places.
In curfew-bound Kishtwar in Jammu, the army was called out after two persons were killed and over 20 others injured in clashes, police firing and a grenade blast, officials said. Police earlier lobbed teargas shells to disperse groups belonging to two communities which pelted stones at each other at Kishtwar’s Hidyal Chowk.
“Some criminal elements tried to create a law and order problem which was quelled”, said DIG Doda range, Hemant Kumar Lohia.
The toll in Monday’s firing has gone up to six after two persons succumbed to injuries. This takes the total toll to 18. A police spokesman said about 100 police and CRPF personnel have been injured, two of them who were serious were airlifted to Delhi.
Mediapersons too bore the brunt of the violence. A cameraman from CNN-IBN news channel had a narrow escape at Lasjan though his vehicle was badly damaged.
A total of 33 government vehicles were damaged, while one CRPF and one police vehicle were torched.
Describing the situation as “fairly grave”, inspector general of police (IGP), Kashmir range, Shiv Murari Sahai, appealed to the people to maintain calm.
Meanwhile, the Centre continued to grapple with the Amarnath land row as leaders of the all-party delegation failed to hammer out any formula to resolve the controversy.
The meeting chaired by union home minister Shivraj Patil saw leaders from various political parties airing different views for over three hours, delaying a consensus on the vexed issue, sources said. With agencies
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