Mysterious fire at Tral Sufi shrine triggers tension

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 26

A mysterious fire at a revered Sufi shrine in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-district has triggered fresh tension in the Valley at a time when uncertainty continues in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

This is the second such incident in the Tral area in just a span of 10 days targeting religious places.

The latest “mysterious” fire incident has been reported at Kunsarbal (Krusbal) Mohalla in the old township of Tral in Pulwama district in which the “miscreants” have set ablaze a shrine adjacent to a local mosque on the intervening night of November 25-26.

People from the area said the shrine, revered among the people, is named after Sufi preacher Hazrat Mir Mohammad Hamdani and is stated to hose relics of Hazrat Abu Bakr, one of the close companions of Prophet Muhammad.

“Witnesses said the fire first appeared from a room dedicated for woman visitors to the shrine and soon spread to other areas. Soon after this, an announcement was made from the loudspeakers at main Khankah Tral but the fire was later controlled with the help of fire brigade personnel,” a local from the area said, while describing the situation in the town as “peaceful”.

Condemning the incident, Lt-Governor Girish Chandra Murmu in a statement said that the police had already launched a hunt to nab the culprits, adding that the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, was directed to take immediate steps for the repair and restoration of the shrine at the government’s expenses.

Earlier on November 17, there were alleged incidents of desecration of copies of Quran, damage to mosques and shrines at Dadsara, Amirabad and Sangrama areas of the Tral and also an attempt to set a mosque on fire at Amirabad.

In this regard, the Tehsildar, Tral, who has been appointed an inquiry officer, had also issued a public notice, dated November 20, which was published in local newspapers on November 24. The notice stated that any person having the knowledge of circumstances and willing to record his statement can approach the Magistrate for recording his statement on November 25 to 27.

Earlier on November 24 evening, three shops, including a three-storey textiles and readymade garments showroom, was gutted in a mysterious blaze in Baramulla town in north Kashmir. As per the reports, the “perpetrators”, still not identified by the police, in Baramulla had sprinkled “inflammable material” on the shutters of the shops at least on six spots in the town.

L-G orders restoration  

Condemning the incident, Lt-Governor Girish Chandra Murmu in a statement said the police had already launched a hunt to nab the culprits, adding that the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, had been directed to take immediate steps for the repair and restoration of the shrine at the government’s expenses.