8 dead in Kashmir bypoll violence
6.5% polling in Srinagar amid attacks on booths; stray EVM glitches during voting in 8 assembly seats across states
least eight people were killed in clashes with security forces during Sunday’s by-election to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, which recorded an all-time low voter turnout of 6.5%.
Violence marred polling in Ater assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh too, where police firing was reported from two places after villagers allegedly threw stones at Congress candidate Hemant Katare’s car. Six vehicles, including police cars, were damaged, sources said.
The biggest bloodshed was recorded in Srinagar, where the by-poll was held along with 10 assembly constituencies in eight states, including New Delhi’s Rajouri Garden.
“There were more than 200 incidents of violence, mostly in Budgam district, which included stone-pelting, petrol bomb attacks, setting ablaze of a polling station, some vehicles and attempt to burn another two polling booths,” Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer Shantmanu said. “It was not a good day for us.” And he admitted that the by-poll in Anantnag on April 12 would be a bigger challenge.
Internet services in the Valley have been suspended till Wednesday.
The violence in Kashmir followed a separatist call to boycott the by-election, saying the situation is not right to hold a democratic exercise after last year’s unprecedented public unrest triggered by the killing of popular militant commander Burhan Wani.
People took to the streets to enforce the boycott across the constituency straddling Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts. Polling staff abandoned almost 70% of booths in Budgam district because of the violent protests. Army was called out to help security forces quell mobs throwing stones and petrol bombs at polling stations in Ganderbal district.
Security teams fired bullets as well as the controversial pellet guns to disperse mobs. Pellet guns — a so-called non-lethal weapon — have killed, maimed and blinded hundreds of people during the 2016 unrest.
On Sunday, at least one man died of pellet wounds, director general of police SP Vaid said.
Most of the dead were young men, including a 15-year-old Faizaan Ahmad Rather and Amir Manzoor, who was 17.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said she was pained that most of them were teenagers.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose father Farooq Abdullah is contesting the by-poll, said he had never seen this level of violence in elections in Kashmir.
“I am talking about having fought my first election in 1998 at the peak of militancy. Even then the environment for campaigning and voting was not as bad... That may itself tell you just how mismanaged this state is.”
Repolling could be ordered in “anywhere around 50 or 100 polling stations or more” because of the violence, according to state poll panel chief Shantmanu.
While rest of Kashmir was witnessing violence and poll boycott, booth number 47, Kathi Wangat, in the quite hamlet of Wangat, in Ganderbal district about 50 km from Srinagar, witnessed serpentine queues of voters.
Old and young, men and woman were all lining up. Not wanting to waste a single vote, by 10 am about 200 out of the 997 votes were already cast. Nearby areas like Berba, Khansab, Lar Ganderbal and Badgam assembly constituency also had a relatively healthy voter turnout.
Dressed in traditional phirans, residents of the hamlet say happenings in rest of the Valley don’t affect them.
“We are not Kashmiri’s, we are Paharis. We will vote because vote is sacred,” said 76-year-old Mahommad Yaqub.
A traditional National Conference bastion, Wangat had elected the party’s candidate Mian Altaf in the 2014 assembly elections. Residents here say the vote is for Mian and his family, who has been winning elections after elections.
The inhabitants, mostly who claim to be originally Pathans from Khyber Pastoon belt in Pakistan, claim allegiances to Mian who is from the family of a saint and now landlords of the area.
The voters say they are voting for change. “The BJP-PDP government has given us nothing. We have to provide Aadhaar card for everything. If we don’t have it, we don’t even get ration. To make an Aadhaar card we have to loose wages of one or two days,” said another voter Mohammad Sulieman.
However, some villages in the area complained that some masked men did occupy polling booths and prevented voters from entering. “We were trying to vote but some people did not allow us in,” said a group of villagers from village Chak Kasnabal. Like the rest of the Valley, booths in other parts of Kangan area also witnessed a low voter turnout. “I have never seen such hostile atmosphere since the inception of militancy. Security is very inadequate and voters are not feeling confident to vote,’’ Altaf Hussain, NC MLA from the area told HT. GENERATION GAP SHOWS IN VOTING ATTITUDE While the older generation is committed to vote, the youngsters, mostly school going children, are not immune to happening in other parts of the Valley. Children who are yet to attain the voting age say “unlike their elders, they will not vote”.
“What have the votes given us? In 2016 (Valley unrest) even our blood used to boil. When I grow up, I will never vote,” said 16-year-old Sajid (name changed) whose father is a polling agent for a political party.
Many children resonate what Sajid says. “If we live in Kashmir, we are Kashmirs. Pahari is our identity but we are also Kashmiris. They kill our brother, so why should we vote?,’’ asked Bilal Pathan (name changed) a Class-9 student.