Protests against the revocation of transfer of land to the Amarnath shrine board were intensified in many parts of the otherwise peaceful Jammu region, including Bhaderwah, the home constituency of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Angry mobs came out on the roads holding demonstrations and blocking the Jammu-Srinagar national highway — the main supply line to the Valley.Curfew was clamped in Bhaderwah town after about 25 people were injured when some unidentified people lobbed a grenade on pro-Amarnath shrine board protestors. While the police said they were looking into the matter, local BJP and VHP activists, in their complaint, named three persons, including a personal security officer (PSO) of Javed Azad, cousin of the Chief Minister and president of Bhaderwah Munuicipal Committee. The injured were airlifted to the Government Medical College Hospital at Jammu.Elsewhere, about 100 people were injured in clashes between pro-Amarnath shrine board protestors and the police who resorted to cane charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the protestors, who also attacked business and residential premises of many ruling Congress leaders, including ministers and legislators, at various places.The Army held a flag march in Samba following the clashes and helped the police clear the Jammu-Pathankote highway of blockades. In Jammu, more than 50 people were picked up by the police for defying curfew during the day.The situation has been tense across Jammu with people coming out of their houses despite curfew restrictions and prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of the CrPC. There were massive protest marches on the outskirts of Jammu, especially in Purkhoo, Patoli, Nai Basti, Muthi and Shastri Nagar.Kashmiri Pandit migrants in camps at Muthi, Purkhoo and Nagrota also joined the protests, demanding action against policemen responsible for opening fire on protestors at Muthi on Tuesday. They described the Government's decision to rescind the order allotting land to the shrine board as "direct interference" in religious matters of the minority community in the state.
