8 injured in grenade attack in Srinagar
Eight people, including a woman, were injured in a grenade attack by suspected militants in a market area in Srinagar on Saturday, police said.
This is the third such incident in the Kashmir valley since state’s special status was revoked in Parliament and restrictions imposed on the movement of people on August 5.
Officials said suspected militants lobbed a grenade at Hari Singh High Street — a few hundred meters from the civil secretariat, state assembly and Lal Chowk.
The grenade exploded on a roadside in the market, injuring seven people, including a woman. The wounded were rushed to a hospital,” said deputy inspector general of police (DIG), central Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdhi, who later revised the figure of injured to eight.
He said the shops in the market were shut but a few vendors had set up stalls in the area. Panic gripped the area after the attack and people were seen running for cover. Windowpanes of a vehicle parked on the roadside near the site were also damaged.
Security forces immediately cordoned the area to look for the attackers and then allowed the private transport to resume in a regulated manner.
“We have been working on some leads to identify the attackers,” Birdhi said.
On October 5, at least 14 persons, including two women and a traffic cop, were injured in a grenade attack in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Police said suspected militants had lobbed a grenade near Anantnag deputy commissioner’s office which exploded on the roadside.
Last month, the CRPF had claimed that its men on law and order duties in the Old City Srinagar area were targeted by a grenade which did not cause any damage.
Police said since the revocation of Article 370, suspected militants killed three civilians in the Valley in August, including two shepherds in south Kashmir’s Tral and a 60-year-old shopkeeper in Srinagar’s Parimpora. Four persons, including a minor girl, were injured after gunmen opened fire on a trader’s family in Sopore on September 6.
Government spokesman Rohit Kansal said some killings and injuries have been inflicted by terrorists to “prevent” traders, businessmen and transporters from doing their business.
“The government urges businessmen, industrialists, traders, transporters, shopkeepers, hoteliers and contractors not to be frightened by terrorists’ threats. The government is firm in its resolve to foil the attempts of disruptive elements,” he said.