Violence hits J&K as new guv arrives
Police inspector, BJP worker among four killed by militants; hundreds protest after Eid prayers
SRINAGAR: A police inspector, two constables and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker were killed, hundreds of civilians clashed with police, and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah found himself a target of protesters on Wednesday in a sudden escalation of tensions in Jammu and Kashmir that coincided with the arrival of the state’s new governor-designate Satya Pal Malik.
Malik, according to officials in the state who asked not to be named, is likely to be sworn in on Thursday to take charge of the state’s administration, replacing NN Vohra, who has held the post since 2008. Kashmir has been under Governor’s Rule since June 20 after the last government – a coalition between the BJP and the PDP) — collapsed. This is the fourth period of Governor’s Rule since Vohra took the post, which has often required him to be a crisis manager — a role that Malik will now inherit.
The first indications of it came on Wednesday, when new clashes broke out as hundreds of people protested against the BJP over a court hearing on Article 35A — a law that restricts what people from outside the state can do in Jammu and Kashmir. Separatist organisations have called for two-day shutdown from Sunday against the hearing being held in Supreme Court.
In attacks that police spokespersons blamed on militants, three constables and a BJP worker who was abducted on Tuesday evening were murdered. The bullet-riddled body of BJP’S Shabir Ahmad Bhat was found in the fields in Kupwara. A constable who was killed when he stepped out to offer Eid prayers in Kulgam was murdered by Hizbul Mujahideen, police said.
Shortly after Eid prayers on Wednesday, protests broke out in several parts of the Valley. Police fired tear gas shells and pellets to disperse crowds . Around six people were injured in these clashes. Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, too, got caught in the protests as he was offering Eid prayers at Dargah Hazratbal. People standing behind him started shouting slogans against India and showed their shoes to the politician, who was whisked away from the mosque by his security guards.