The death of one person in police firing on an angry mob in Bandipora today led both the Army and the police to suspect that ‘‘mischief makers’’ could be behind latest efforts to derail the New Delhi-Hurriyat dialogue process. Besides the one killed, four residents were injured when policemen fired on a crowd in Bandipora which, protesting over the beating of a porter by Army personnel, set fire to a platform at a cricket stadium, the venue for tomorrow’s Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s rally. The rally has now been called offunambiguous instructions in this regard and this has been reiterated to all rank and file and this has been obeyed,’’ said spokesperson of 15 Corps Col Neeraj Bali. Meanwhile, outside the operation theatre of the Bone and Joints Hospital at Srinagar, Mohammad Akbar Mir, 60, lay on a stretcher in pain. ‘‘I wasn’t even part of the demonstration in the town. I was returning home when a large crowd came towards the market, shouting slogans. Then I heard gunshots and saw people falling down. Trying to flee, a bullet hit me in the hip. I remember someone carrying me. I know nothing how people got me to Srinagar hospital. I am yet to understand why the police fired on me as I had done no wrong,’’ said Mir as doctors prepared for his hip surgery. Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, K Rajendra attributed the incident to some ‘‘mischief makers working at the behest of militants’’ who wanted to scuttle the Chief Minister rally. ‘‘These people went from Bandipora to Kudur where one person was allegedly beaten up the Army and took them down to Bandipora to create trouble. They went into the cricket stadium and set fire to the platform which was to be used by the Chief Minister for tomorrow’s rally. Our men guarding the venue were almost lynched and two of them were injured. They had to fire to quell the riot. Later, this crowd went to the police station and vandalised it,’’ said Rajendra. Meanwhile, the Hurriyat Conference said New Delhi had a month to ensure ‘‘total safeguard of human rights violations’’ if it wants a successful second round of talks in March. ‘‘The killing of an innocent youth in Bandipora today is a very very wrong thing,’’ said Hurriyat chief Maulvi Abbas Ansari. ‘‘This should not have happened. It speaks of the total failure of the leadership to effect a change on the ground.’’ ‘‘If incidents like these happen even after clear instructions to Army’s top brass and other security agencies, then we have to seriously rethink on the pullout option,’’ he said. ‘‘New Delhi has enough time till March to take steps that would tally with the promises made by Advani during the January 22 talks.’’ Ansari added the Hurriyat would meet next week to discuss the ‘‘possiblity of walking out or staying’’ in the dialogue process. Said former chairman and member of the dialogue delegation Abdul Ghani Bhat: ‘‘We don’t want to live in ivory towers built on sand. We want people to come down to earth and talk of the people who live in it—rather who die in it. For God’s sake, implement the words on the ground.’’ N N Vohra on his way to calm the waters
