Jammu, July 22
Shock waves were sent across the state when Pakistan-aided militants massacred 16 members of one community at Cheerji village, 20 km from Kishtwar, in Doda district today. It is the second massacre since yesterday’s killing of 13 persons, including six pilgrims, at Seshnag.

An unconfirmed PTI report put the toll at 30.

A policeman checks the belongings of a pilgrim before allowing him to move ahead towards the holy cave of Amarnath, at Chandanwari, 111 km southeast of Srinagar, on Sunday. — Reuters photo

A pall of gloom fell on the village and groups of women wailed and swooned over the massacre. The police said that in 1995, four Hindus had been killed in the same village.

The police and paramilitary forces were rushed to the village and senior police officers ordered the setting up of a security picket in the village to prevent militants from attacking other civilians.

In Chattroo, militants kidnapped five persons, including four village defence committee members, at gunpoint. Reports here said that the militants forcibly carried the five civilians with them to the forest belt. Villagers immediately informed the police.

Security forces were rushed to the area and search operations launched. The police said that till this afternoon, there was no trace of the kidnapped persons and hence nothing could be said with certainty about them.

A senior police officer said that the Sheshnag incident and the two incidents in Kishtwar were aimed at kicking up communal disorder in the country. The Doda district authorities have secured the help for senior citizens belonging to both the communities to ensure communal peace while the Shiv Sena has given a call for Jammu bandh tomorrow in protest against the two massacres.

Senior government functionaries said that Pakistani agencies, including a section in the Army, were trying to sabotage the peace process and the second round of the proposed Indo-Pak summit by not only killing innocent people but also resorting to heavy firing and shelling on various sectors on this side of the LoC from Kargil to Poonch.

They said that General Pervez Musharraf may not be ignorant of these developments and there was every indication that such acts were being committed to force India to grant concessions to Pakistan on Kashmir during the next round of talks.

SRINAGAR (PTI): Militants lobbed a grenade at the house of Jammu and Kashmir Works Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar while two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were among five persons killed in other incidents in the Kashmir valley since last night, official sources said today.

The grenade fell short of the target and exploded outside the boundary wall of Mr Sagar’s house at 9.20 p.m. yesterday. He was not present in the house at the time of the attack.

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in a gunfight with the security forces at Shiva in Baramulla district today, the police said.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a civilian in Kupwara district last night, while the police found the body of another civilian in Anantnag district.

Security forces shot dead a person said to be “mentally retarded” last night when he ignored their signal to stop outside their camp at Manasbal in Baramulla district, the sources said, adding that he was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Militants shot at and injured one person at Ujjam-Dialgam in Anantnag district last evening.

Meanwhile, security forces smashed a number of militant hideouts during search operations at Dardpora, Lolab and Choga forests in Kupwara district and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

The seizures from the hideouts included 13 AK assault rifles and a general purpose machine gun (pika), the police said describing the seizure as a major breakthrough.

Later, they called on the Governor, Mr Girish Chander Saxena, and discussed with him the security arrangements for the yatris. Mr Saxena, who also heads the newly constituted Amarnath Shrine Board, had visited the site yesterday.