Civilian killed, 40 hurt in Srinagar grenade attack
SRINAGAR: A civilian was killed and 40 others sustained injuries when militants hurled a grenade in Hari Singh High Street market around 1pm on Monday. This is the second grenade attack in Srinagar and sixth in Kashmir in last one month.
The person killed has been identified as 40-year-old Rinku Singh, a toy-seller from Saharanpur, who died on the spot, officials said. The market was full of shoppers and pedestrians when the grenade was lobbed.
Twelve outsiders have died in militant attacks in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, of which 11 were targeted killings.
Locals said the grenade was aimed at security personnel, however it missed the target.
The injured were rushed to the neighbouring Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital where doctors declared the condition of most of the injured as stable. SMHS Hospital Medical Superintendent Nazir Choudhary said, “One person was declared dead in the hospital. Two of the 40 injured are critical and rest are stable.’’
“I was walking on the road when the blast took place. Immediately people started evacuating the injured civilians. The person who died on the spot sold toys at the market corner,’’ said Mohammad Ramzan, a street vendor, who also has a stall metres away from the blast spot.
Locals said being the first working day of the week, there was rush of shoppers in the market. The Valley has been observing shutdown since August 5 after special status of the state was revoked. The spot of the blast is a few hundred metres away from the business nerve centre Lal Chowk. Soon after the attack, top police and CRPF officials arrived at the spot and began a search operation. Nineteen people were injured in a similar attack when militants hurled a hand grenade in north Kashmir’s Sopore town last Monday.
Last Saturday, six CRPF personnel were injured in a grenade attack at Karan Nagar in the city.
On October 12, at least seven people, including a woman, were injured in a grenade attack in a market place at Hari Singh High Street in Srinagar. On October 5, at least 14 people, including two women and a traffic cop, were injured in a grenade attack near Anantnag deputy commissioner’s office.
Last month, the CRPF claimed its men in Srinagar were targeted by a grenade which did not cause any damage.
12 OUTSIDERS HAVE DIED IN MILITANT ATTACKS IN J&K SINCE ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370 ON AUG 5, OF WHICH 11 WERE TARGETED KILLINGS