J-K Govt asks for more troops as protests continue, curfew extended

Protests over cancellation of the land transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board intensified in Jammu.

Protests over cancellation of the land transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board intensified in Jammu on Thursday prompting the state Government to ask for additional troops of paramilitary forces from New Delhi.

In view of the widespread public resentment against the state Government8217;s decision, the BJP along with other Hindu organisations extended the four-day long Jammu bandh for another 72 hours. The decision followed an all-party meeting held at Geeta Bhawan, where leaders of Jammu based religious, social and political organisations participated.

In Bhaderwah, Azad8217;s home constituency, curfew was imposed after a grenade attack on pro-Amarnath protestors on Wednesday. The police said some suspects had been rounded up in connection with the attack. Curfew was also imposed in Lakhanpur where the police had to fire in the air to disperse the protestors after they set ablaze the Toll Post 8212; the entry point to Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab.

Over 100 people, including a dozen policemen, were injured during the clashes in Jammu8217;s Kathua area as protestors clashed with the police. The police and paramilitary forces resorted to lathicharge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the mob.

8220;The protestors seem to be in no mood to pay heed to the appeal by Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to maintain peace. Curfew in Jammu failed to keep the protestors indoors in Jammu for the third consecutive day today,8221; said a police official.

In Jammu city, pro-Amarnath protestors pelted stones at the police and damaged several vehicles. A mob also clashed with the police at Durga Nagar and set a police vehicle on fire.

BJP and Shiv Sena activists assaulted a Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz leader D R Sharma at Nanak Nagar. Hurriyat spokesperson Saleem Geelani condemned the attack and said some people were giving a communal colour to the issue to gain political mileage. He said the Hurriyat was never against the Amarnath yatra.

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A group of Amarnath pilgrims, returning from the cave shrine in South Kashmir to Jammu, were injured when unidentified persons attacked their vehicle at Banihal.

A BJP spokesperson said more than 30 BJP leaders and activists were arrested from various parts of Jammu.