Curfew continues for 3rd day in Doda, Kishtwar
JAMMU: A strict curfew remained imposed in Doda and Kishtwar districts for the third consecutive day on Saturday with police and paramilitary forces laying siege to communally sensitive Bhaderwah town where trouble had erupted on Thursday following controversial statement by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Ramesh Kumar, divisional head of 10 districts in Jammu region, said, “After some posts were seen on social media, restrictions had been placed in areas including Doda, Kishtwar and Bhaderwah. People who gathered here (in Bhaderwah on Friday) are being identified. A FIR has been filed and strict action would be taken.”
On Friday, a mob had defied curfew and pelted stones at security forces, wherein a CRPF man sustained injuries.
“There is no untoward incident reported from anywhere in Bhaderwah and Kishtwar. Restrictions are on and we are talking to civil society,” Kumar said.
“Police and paramilitary forces are on the streets in strength and the administration is constantly talking to the representatives of both the communities for restoring peace and harmony,” he added.
Even as efforts were intensified to defuse communal tension, prominent citizens from both the communities requested the government to take strict action against “mischievous elements hell bent upon disturbing peace”.
Broadband and mobile internet services remained suspended in several areas, including Bhaderwah and Kishtwar towns, as a precautionary measure.
The divisional commissioner also said that admit cards of Class 12 students, whose exams were on, and identity cards of health workers were being treated as curfew passes.
A curfew was clamped in Bhaderwah and some other parts of Doda district along with Kishtwar town on Thursday as a precautionary measure.
A women contingent has also been deployed in Bhaderwah town.
A meeting was organised in Bhaderwah under the chairmanship of DDC chairman DS Kotwal, wherein members of the Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha and representatives of Sarafa Jamia Masjid Committee participated and assured full cooperation to the administration.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal activists and other pro-Hindu outfits staged a protest in Jammu city and demanded strict action against ‘hate speech’ delivered by a cleric in Bhaderwah.