Avtar Bhat
SAMBA, Aug 20: Authorities tonight imposed curfew in Samba district and deployed Army and para military forces to take flag march following the massive protests at Raya Morh by mob against a sacrilegious act in the area.
The unruly mob protesting against a sacrilegious act in Raya Morh area came to streets this evening and blocked the Jammu- Pathankot National Highway.
The mob resorted to stone pelting and also torched the vehicle of DC Samba and a private motor cycle besides damaging some vehicles in stone pelting.
One private truck was also completely damaged in stone pelting. The protestors were demanding immediate arrest of the culprits responsible for sacrilegious act and punishment to them under law of the land.
The authorities earlier imposed the Section 144 to quell the frenzied mob but after the situation went out of control as the mob damaged vehicles they imposed the curfew in entire Samba district. Some policemen and people were also injured in stone pelting.
Reports said the trouble started as the news of sacrilegious act spread in the surrounding villages of Raya Morh and the people from Jhak, Raya, Dera Galotra, Sarore, Patli Morh and other adjoining villages took to streets. They rushed to Raya Morh and blocked the Jammu Pathankot NH. The unruly mob raising slogans against the sacrilegious act resorted to stone pelting and violence.
Soon after the incident, SHO Vijaypur Rajeshwar Singh, Dy SP Vijaypur, S S Samyal and tehsildar rushed to the spot along with police reinforcement. However they failed to control the mob whose tampers were very high. Later Additional DC Samba Pawan Sharma, SDM Vijaypur, Rajnesh Gupta, SSP Samba Joginder Singh also reached there. Their all pleas to pacify the mob failed.
Police fired some rounds of teargas shells in the air to disperse the mob but it did not budge and continued the protest and stone pelting. As soon as the DC Samba Sheetal Nanda reached the spot the unruly mob pounced on her vehicle and first broke its front screen and later torched it completely. The mob also tried to torch the vehicle of Additional DC but failed in doing so.
Later, the protestors torched a private truck at Jhak, reports said.
DC Samba Sheetal Nanda who was herself monitoring the situation at Raya Morh told Excelsior that mob resorted to violence following the reports of a sacrilegious act in the area. She said the unruly mob tried to damage the vehicles on the road and torched one vehicle and a motor cycle. She said to control the situation from going astray the administration imposed curfew in entire Samba district.
The National Highway was closed for vehicular traffic and no vehicle was allowed to proceed ahead of Bari Brhamana and Ghagwal by the authorities.
To assist the civil administration and police, the para military forces and Army was deployed in the area.
However, late in the night police and para military forces tried to restore the National Highway by clearing the jam of vehicles.
Meanwhile, senior VHP leaders have demanded that the culprits responsible for sacrilegious act be immediately arrested and action taken against them under law. The VHP patron Dr Rama Kant Dubey took up the issue with Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal and urged him that the administration should take up immediate steps in nabbing the culprits so that the situation will not go out of hand.
Meanwhile, as a prohibitory measure, Section 144 CrPc has been imposed in Jammu district also by the administration. This was stated by District Development Commissioner, Jammu, Simranjit Singh here today.
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