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7 civilians, CRPF man injured in Srinagar grenade attack
Azhar Qadri
Tribune News Service

An injured child is rushed to a hospital after a grenade attack in Srinagar on Saturday. PTI

Srinagar, November 29
Two days ahead of the second phase of the Assembly elections in the state, suspected militants today hurled a grenade at a CRPF picket in the heavily guarded Lal Chowk area of the city, injuring seven civilians and a sub-inspector. No militant outfit has owned the responsibility for the attack.

The police said seven civilians were hit by grenade splinters and admitted to nearby hospitals. The CRPF man injured in the attack was identified as SI Hari Ram Divakar of 132 Battalion.

“There was a grenade attack around 2.20 pm. Seven civilians and a CRPF sub-inspector were injured in the attack. We are now investigating the incident,” Superintendent of Police, Srinagar East, Harmeet Singh said.

Srinagar district’s eight Assembly constituencies are going to the polls on December 14 and electioneering is already underway across the city. The attack, which targeted the CRPF picket, took place as security forces are maintaining strict vigil in the region as elections are underway and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a rally in the city next week.

The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party condemned the attack and demanded an investigation into the incident.

NC spokesman Junaid Mattu said these acts would not deter people from coming out in large numbers for the polls to defeat the forces which are banking on “their collective disempowerment”. “We also demand a thorough inquiry be launched to ascertain the culprits and all possible medical help be provided to the injured,” he said.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti termed the incident as “inhuman and unfortunate”. “People behind the crime seem hell bent upon to sabotage the ongoing poll process in the state by creating fear among people,” she said.

Lal Chowk, the commercial nerve centre of the city, is a highly guarded city-centre and under strict vigil round the clock. Immediately after the attack, security forces, including the police, rushed to the spot. The attack comes a day after a fierce gunfight between militants and security forces ended in Jammu region’s Arnia sector in which 12 persons, including five civilians, were killed.

The target of the Saturday attack was a CRPF picket, housed near the ruined Palladium cinema, which has been a constant target of militant attacks, including assaults by Fidayeen in past years. The last major attack at Lal Chowk had taken place in January 2010 when a two-member militant Fidayeen squad attempted to storm into the same CRPF picket, leading to a night-long standoff at a nearby hotel.