M A I N   N E W S

6 cops hurt in Kishtwar clashes
Army stages flag march
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 1
The police resorted to firing and bursting teargas shells to quell violence in Kishtwar town where members of two communities clashed and went on a rampage, burning and looting shops. An indefinite curfew had been imposed in the town, but the irate mob defied it and clashed on the streets.

The Army has been called to assist the civil authorities in bringing the situation under control.

The authorities described the situation as tense with sporadic violence spreading to nearby villages, including Sangram Bhata.

The police fired several rounds in the air to disperse the warring groups. Many people have reportedly received injuries, but the exact number was not known. Six policemen, including the DSP of the area, Mr Narinder Singh, were among those injured.

Similar clashes continued throughout the day on streets. The Deputy Commissioner and the SSP reached the area only in the afternoon. Capt Hukum Chand (retd), president of the local unit of the BJP, was also injured.

Gunshots were allegedly fired on demonstrators from certain houses in the presence of the police.

An injured boy, Vikas Parihar, while speaking on telephone, alleged that the SDM beat up villagers who were taking out a protest march against the alleged inefficiency of the authorities in dealing with terrorists.

Reports said the situation came under control in the main town only after the Army staged a flag march and took up positions in the streets.

Communal tension had been brewing in the town since Wednesday when about 150 families, mainly Hindus, migrated to Kishtwar following a long siege of their villages in Pular area by terrorists who beat up the village elders.