Jammu, August 25
Violent clashes between protesters and the police broke out in Jammu and Kathua as the former took to the streets today following the “chakka jam” call given by the Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti. While over 20 persons, including three cops, were injured in the clashes, curfew was clamped in Kathua district.
The protesters entered into a clash with the police when the cops stopped them from taking out a procession on the highway in the Digiana area on the outskirts of Jammu. They started pelting stones at the police, which retaliated with a lathicharge and bursting of tear gas shells, some of which purportedly burst inside a few houses in the locality. Some women protesters were also reportedly injured in the clash, which further enraged the agitators. The protest demonstration then turned violent, with the protesters fighting a pitched battle with the police and attempting to ransack the Digiana police post.
The SDPO of Gandhi Nagar and an SSP-rank police official, Manmohan Singh, were injured in the clash. The police also fired rubber bullets to disperse the mob.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was called in to control the situation. The protesters also clashed with the police in the Nai Basti and Purani Mandi areas too. The protesters indulged in heavy stone pelting in Nai Basti, where the police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them.
In another incident, protesters
from the Talab Tillo area torched a police vehicle on Akhnoor road. While “chakka jam” was by and large peaceful in Samba, Reasi and Udhampur districts, curfew was clamped in Kathua district for 72 hours after the protesters clashed with the police when the latter tried to clear the roads blocked by them. The protesters then headed to the office of the deputy commissioner to lodge their protest. However, the police stopped them from proceeding further on a bridge.
While the agitators pelted stones, the police resorted to a cane-charge and tear gas sheeling to disperse them. Some women protesters reportedly jumped into the canal to swim their way to the other side. Over 10 persons, including women, were injured in the clash. Three shops belonging to a particular community were also set afire in Kathua. Meanwhile, the protesters across the region blocked road traffic on key routes. They burnt wooden logs and tyres on the roads to disrupt the movement of vehicles. The city’s roads wore a deserted look, as the people stayed indoors in view of the “chakka jam”. The city has been reeling under a shutdown for the past 34 consecutive days while the Samiti has extended the bandh call for another six days till August 31.
