M A I N   N E W S

Bovine Theft
20 hurt as police, protesters clash in Samba
Residents block Jammu-Pathankot National Highway for 10 hours
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Samba, July 26
A 10-hour-long blockade and violent clashes between a mob and the police took place on the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway here today after a person was caught stealing bovine.

The police opened fire and lathi-charged youths and activists of political and religious organisations. There was a shutdown in the town since noon.

Traffic on the national highway, which remained blocked since morning, in Samba could only be restored by 7:30 pm after the police managed to drive the protesters away.

Nearly 20 persons, including policemen, were injured and scores of vehicles damaged. Damaged window panes of a number of four wheelers could also be seen on the road.

The blockade near Samba started in the morning after news spread about the theft of three bovine from the house of a farmer, Sohan Singh, by some youths.

The farmer lodged a complaint with the police. The policemen nabbed one of the accused and recovered one of the animals from his possession.

The blockade crippled life in the entire region. The worst sufferers were Amarnath pilgrims, tourists and daily commuters who were stuck in traffic jams.

While youths pelted the police with stones, the police lobbed tear gas shells and later fired in the air to disperse the mob. The police and the civil administration held several parleys but the protesters did not relent.

Police sources said the arrested person had confessed that he had been indulging in the illegal activity for a long time and had smuggled nearly 300 bovine to the Kashmir

valley.

The sources further said the accused had also levelled allegations against certain police officers that they were also involved in the illegal practice and demanded Rs 1,000 for each bovine before it was smuggled.

Irked residents of the town gathered on the national highway and demanded the suspension of SSP Raghubir Singh. Later, they blocked the highway.

The enraged people also beat up the accused. Later, the police took him to an ambulance, which had not been allowed to move till the time of filing the report.

To pacify the protesters, Deputy Commissioner, Samba, Saurabh Bhagat rushed to the scene, but the agitated public forced him to leave. After that, the Inspector-General, Jammu, Ashok Kumar Gupta, and Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal visited the scene, but the people were not pacified.

Kotwal said: “A magisterial enquiry will be ordered and action taken against the guilty.”

This is a sensitive issue in the region with one or more bovine smugglers being caught daily. The state government has already banned the transportation of animals in the state till the Amarnath Yatra concludes.