With the one-way bridge to Jammu under siege by the Army, demonstrators cross the Tawi river to join protests over Amarnath land issue in Jammu on Wednesday.
— A Tribune photograph |
Jammu, August 6
Even as the focus shifts to New Delhi, where the Centre is taking initiatives to resolve the Amarnath land row, there is no let up in violence in the Jammu region.
In Kathua, one person was killed and two others injured when the Army reportedly opened fire at a group of youths, who attacked trucks heading to Kashmir at Palli Morh in the curfew-bound district.
The deceased has been identified as Narinder Sharma, a resident of Jakhwad Nagri, Kathua. The injured are Rakesh Kumar and Tirath Ram, both residents of Jakhwad.
As soon as the news of Narinder’s killing spread in the area, the people started converging at the spot. They blocked the Jammu-Pathankot highway outside the district hospital while keeping the body on the road.
Additional forces were rushed to Kathua in view of the tense situation. Fearing violence, the security of the government offices has also been beefed up.
The Army, though, did not allow people to come out of their houses, around 500 protesters were able to block the highway in the evening.
A police spokesman said, “As per the reports, the Army was escorting the civil supplies convoy on the national highway and a mob was preventing the movement of the trucks. But when repeated warnings failed and the mob started pelting the Army with stones, the latter had to open
fire.”
Defence PRO Lt-Col S.D. Goswami said: “The Army fired following the executive magistrate's order to maintain law and order and disperse unlawful assembly.”
Deputy commissioner Mandeep Kaur said the situation is tense but under control, where the Army has taken over the charge.
In neighbouring Samba district, protesters in Vijaypur targeted the residence of former PDP minister Manjeet Singh and indulged in heavy stone-pelting.
The personal security guards of the ex-minister fired in the air to disperse the irate mob.
In Jammu, over 10 persons were injured when protesters clashed with the police at Nagrota. Over 1,000 agitators from nearby Phallian Mandal area tried to enter Jammu by swimming across the Tawi.
Interestingly, among them were the members of the Gujjar community, who too have extended their support to the agitation. However, the Army foiled their bid.
The agitators were planning to block the Jammu-Pathankot highway. Similarly, a strong 10,000 mob took out a protest rally at Bishnah town.
A protest march was also taken out from Panjtirthi to the Parade area in the city. The curfew was relaxed in Jammu from 5 am to 9 am and the relaxation was extended in selected areas till 11 am.
Meanwhile, two policemen, who sustained critical injuries during a mob attack on the police post at Jourian yesterday, were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where their condition was reported to be stable.
