In a bizarre act which has spawned widespread anger among the residents, youth torched a school bus here early on Saturday ostensibly to enforce a shutdown called by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The act, however, evoked only a partial response here and elsewhere in the Valley.
The police and witnesses said that four youth appeared at Rangar Stop Khanyar in central Srinagar at about 7.45 am and intercepted a bus of Tibetan Public School and asked its driver, conductor and a student to come down. The moment the trio alighted the bus, the youth sprinkled petrol on it and then set it on fire, they said.
The authorities blamed the incident on Separatists but confirmed that no protest was being held in the area at the time of the incident. The police added that a manhunt has been launched against the culprits. Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference faction which had called for a general strike on Saturday as part of its six month “Quit Kashmir” campaign has distanced itself from the incident. Mr Geelani, the party said, had called for a peaceful strike against the killing of three youth shot dead by the police while they were riding a motorcycle here earlier this week.
The incident caused panic among the parents across the city and soon most private schools declared a holiday and the students who had already reached their respective schools were sent back to their homes for security reasons.
Later during the day, several parts of central Srinagar witnessed clashes between protesting youth and security forces.