Curfew continues in Kashmir, violence in Budgam

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Violence hit Budgam district on Monday where protestors set afire two government offices and a railway shed as curfew remained clamped in the entire Kashmir Valley.

Agitators took to the streets in Budgam and torched block medical and tehsil offices besides burning down the shed of the railway station in the district, the police said.
Demonstrations were also held in Srinagar and Ganderbal where an empty LPG truck was damaged, they said.

One person identified as Tariq Ahmed, who was hit by a teargas shell three days back in Bijbehara in south Kashmir, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, the police sources said.

With his death, the total number of people who died in the Valley since Friday has gone upto 15, which includes eight persons who were killed in separate incidents on Sunday.

Security forces maintained a tight vigil across all the 10 districts in Kashmir to maintain law and order, the sources said.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the unrest in the Kashmir Valley and find an administrative and political way out in consultation with chief minister Omar Abdullah.

All the members of the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), including finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P. Chidambaram, defence minister A.K. Antony and external affairs minister S.M. Krishna were present at the meeting.

During the meeting, Mr Omar raised issues including the need for additional forces and initiation of “internal and external” dialogue with people concerned.

The meeting comes a day after the CCS met to discuss the political and administrative steps needed to be taken to defuse the escalating situation in the Valley.

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister appealed for calm and asked political parties and leaders to cooperate with the government for return of peace in the state. He has vowed to deal sternly with law breakers and the perpetrators of violence, asserting that he will not allow them “to win”.

Among those killed in protests on Sunday were four civilians who had died when a mob on Sunday night set afire a police station, where explosives and a LPG cylinder were kept, triggering a massive blast in Khrew area on outskirts of Srinagar city.

A fifth person succumbed to injuries later in the night while another was in a very critical condition, the police had said.

A mob had also laid siege to the police station, 20 kms from here, and started pelting stones after which additional forces were rushed to the area who rescued the police personnel in the police station. Army personnel were involved in the rescue work.

Protesters had also attempted to set afire a police post in Khrew and take away the weapons. As the crowd refused to calm down, the police fired at them leading to the death of a woman identified as Afrosa.

In other incidents, two persons were killed as the police opened fire to disperse mobs who blocked a national highway on the city outskirts.