6 arsonists die in IED blast, 3 in firing

Several Police Stations, Govt buildings, vehicles torched; SP, CO among over 150 injured; NC-Cong coalition takes Valley back to 1990

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 1: With the law and order machinery now crippling almost completely and the state Police facing worst ever demoralization, riotous demonstrations today spread to the North Kashmir area of Pampore where at least three civilians died in Police and CRPF firing and six arsonists died in an IED blast after torching a Police Station and SOG camp at Khrew. Violent mobs torched a large number of public properties including two Police Stations, several Police and government vehicles besides office and residence of Tehsildar of Pampore during fierce clashes with Police and armed forces. More than 150 persons, including an SP and a Commanding Officer of CRPF, are estimated to have sustained injuries in today’s incidents of violence.

Sources believed to be well informed told early Times that a violent mob this evening set on fire Police Station and a camp of Special Operations Group (SOG) of J&K Police at Khrew. Under orders of “maximum possible restraint” from Chief Minister and the state government, Police personnel offered medium level resistance but finally deserted their camps to safety. The mobs torched and destroyed the camps completely. While hundreds of them were late this evening watching the inferno triumphantly, an extremely powerful IED blast occurred in the burning structures. Preliminary reports said that six civilians were torn into shreds and 40 more sustained injuries of varying intensity.

With nobody in the state government being in a position to collect and share precise details with media, sources said that all four arsonists died on the spot and two more later at hospital. All hospitals from Pampore to Srinagar were getting packed to capacity with the patients having sustained injuries in the blast at Khrew and earlier in the day in over 50 incidents of firing and stone pelting all over the Valley.

Sources said that earlier today, hundreds of people gathered on different roads in violation of curfew and other restrictions in Pampore area of Pulwama district. They created barriers at different spots on the national highway from Pantachowk to Awantipore and blocked the road completely for traffic. Authorities consequently forced the Amarnath pilgrims to stop between Banihal and Qazigund and also at Pahalgam and Sonarmarg.

Within minutes, the stand-off led to violent clashes between the demonstrators and Police and CRPF. The saffron township of Pampore on the highway, that had witnessed an attack on Police Station and torching of two Indian Air Force buses by the violent crowds yesterday, became the hot flashpoint of today’s violence. With different sources quoting different versions of who initiated the bloodbath, fierce clashes took place between the mobs and Police and CRPF. Similar situation occurred in gthe industrial area of Khrew township in the same belt.

In all, three young civilians got killed in the Police and CRPF firing after teargas shelling failed and the mobs resorted to mass attacks on government structures. Those killed in three different incidents of shootout were identified as Nayeem Ahmed Shah S/o Bashir Ahmed Shah R/o Pampore, who actually hailed from Galwanpora Hyderpora, Rayees Ahmed Shah S/o Abdul Rasheed Shah R/o Khrew and 17-year-old Afroza, also a resident of Khrew. Reports awaiting official conformation described Afroza as the sister of Rayees. These reports also said that Nayeem’s mother later today died of cardiac arrest as she was excessively shocked over the tragedy.

As already reported hereinabove, four more civilians this evening died in a powerful IED blast at the devastated SOG camp in Khrew. With today’s fatal casualties, as many as 32 civilians have died in clashes with Police and CRPF in Kashmir valley since June 11th plus related incidents like the one at Khrew this evening.

Identification of the four persons killed in the IED blast in Khrew, number of the injured admitted at different hospitals and condition of the injured under treatment could not be ascertained as people at SKIMS attacked the Police and CID officials who were recording the official information this evening. Thereafter, Police officials ran for life.

Indisputably the day’s worst flashpoint, Pampore township wore the looks of a war ravaged locality as the violent mobs torched several government officials, including those of Police and Tehsildar, office and residence of Tehsildar, Court of Munsiff, where arms and ammunition was reportedly snatched away from Police guards. In the same area, mobs attacked the Police Station at pampore, torched the Police Station and SOG camp at Khrew besides different sub divisional offices of R&B, Irrigation and PDD.

Police and Police camps were also targeted at Bijbehara, Sopore and Chrar-e-Shareef. For the first time today, violent pro-Azadi demonstrations engulfed usually the calm and quiet Chrar-e-Shareef and the border township of Uri. Reports said that hundreds of people staged a demonstration in Uri with the allegation that troops had killed somebody in custodial torture and buried the dead body while hiding it from the residents. These reports said that a Police official’s Maruti car and a motorcycle were torched at Chrar-e-Shareef.

Sources said that thousands of people violated curfew and came out on streets in Srinagar as well as more than a dozen townships tonight. They shouted anti-India, pro-Azadi and pro-Pakistan slogans. At several places, demonstrators also carried Pakistani flags and shouted on security forces to vacate Kashmir. Like in 1990, people played Pakistani war songs and slogans on the public address system of community mosques, asking the youth to get up against “occupational India” with the “final assault”.

Officials sources said that exact number of the injured was not available but over 100 civilians and 50 Police and CRPF officials were believed to have sustained injuries in today’s clashes in Valley. The injured included an SP, a Commanding officer of CRPF and at least six Dy SPs, Inspectors and Sub Inspectors of J&K Police.

Late night reports, awaiting official confirmation that violent mobs clashed with Police and CRPF and made attempts to burn at least six more Police stations and camps in different districts. Highly placed sources indicated to Early Times that Army could be deployed any time in the next 48 hours as not only the political leadership but also J&K Police and CRPF had failed to contain violence.

Meanwhile, an official press release this evening added: “Irate mobs blocked National Highway at a number of places by erecting barricades from Pantha Chowk to Pampore. Huge mobs blocked the Highway at Galander, Kadlabal, Barsoo, Frastabal and Pampore. The unruly mobs set the office cum residence of Tehsildar on fire besides torching a Police vehicle and damaging a number of them.

Miscreants snatched weapons from the local Court Guard. They alsoresorted to heavy pelting on Police Station and the deployments. Evensome unidentified militant fired upon the security force from amongstthem”.

The police and the security forces used lathi charge and tear smokeshells to stop these mobs, however, the mobs did not relent forcingthe use of fire by the Security forces.Two persons namely Nayeem Ahmad Shah S/o Bashir Ahmad R/o Pampore and Rayees Ahmed Shah s/o Abdul Rashid r/o Khunmoh died. Eight civilians and 45 police and CRPF personnel were injured in the violent incidents in Pulwama and Awantipora which included one SSP, one CO of CRPF, one SP, two DySPs, one SI, one SHO, 15 CRPF jawans and 22 police personnel. Most of them were injured at Pampore”.

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