Srinagar: Protests erupted in the Lal Chowk area of Anantnag district against the arson attacks on Kashmiris by right wing mobsters in Jammu.
According to reports, several people assembled in Lal Chowk Anantnag and raised slogans against rightwing extremism in Jammu. Reports said that the youth clashed with local police who were trying to disperse them.
A number of quarters belonging to Kashmiris in the Janipur area of Jammu were attacked by frenzied mobs, despite imposition of curfew in the city, reported GNS.
The news agency reported that they received several distress calls from the Janipur residents alleging they were attacked by mobs in presence of policemen.
“The mobs entered inside the premises and attacked quarters of Kashmiris while police remained a mute spectator,” they said, according to GNS.
Secretariat Employees Union President Ghulam Rasool Mir condemned the attack and urged the administration to ensure the safety of the people from Kashmir and those from the particular community.
On Friday, nearly 30 vehicles belonging to a particular community were reduced to ashes while more than 50 vehicles were damaged by the mobs during a strike called by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Bar Association in the state’s winter capital against Thursday’s attack on CRPF in Lethpora Pulwama.
The fresh attack comes despite the fact that the administration has not relaxed curfew on Saturday too.
After the mob violence, Army was immediately called in to restore order in the city.
Curfew was imposed on Friday when a mob torched and damaged at least 30 vehicles belonging to local Muslims and Kashmiris. Curfew was initially imposed in some vulnerable areas, but was later extended to the entire city as tension mounted in the wake of violence against a particular section of the society.
The authorities met with important citizens belonging to different communities on Friday to seek their help in bringing the city back to normal.
The Joint Resistance Leadership had condemned the arson attacks in Jammu, saying it is the responsibility of the state administration to ensure safety of Kashmiris living there.
“Right from 1947 (when subcontinent was divided), communal forces active in Jammu leave no stone unturned to attack and intimidate Muslims and Kashmiri people,” they said.
Trouble erupted when a group of people belonging to various right wing organisations including Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and VHP took out a procession carrying tricolours through Gujjar Nagar, which is predominantly inhabited by Muslims.
Earlier, Omar Abdullah, Vice President of the National Conference had appealed Rajnath Singh take ‘special care of areas where Kashmiris as residing or studying.’
In a tweet, he had said that ‘they (Kashmiris) are soft targets in a surcharged atmosphere.’
