Petrol bomb attack at MLA’s house
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, May 2: A youth was killed and 10 others were injured in security forces firing during clashes following a gunfight in Terkiwangam area of Shopian in South Kashmir today.
Militants today fired at an Army patrol in Terkiwangam village of Shopian district. A joint team of Army and SOG cordoned off the village immediately. One army officer Subedar Major Ujain Singh Raghav was injured.
As they approached the suspected house amid firing some warning shots, residents of the village gathered and pelted stones on the security forces leading to clashes.
The police and paramilitary CRPF used tear smoke shells, pellet guns and live ammunition.
At least 11 youth suffered injuries, six of them with bullet wounds. One of them, a teenaged youth identified Umar Kumar, 17, son of Abdul Ahad Kumar of Pinjura Shopian, succumbed to injuries.
They were removed to a local hospital from where two of them, Inayat Abbas Malla and Javid Bashir Sheikh, were refe-rred to Srinagar for specialized treatment.
The security forces used explosives to target the house where militants were supposed to be hiding. The house belonged to the In-laws of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zeenatul Islam. However, the militants didn’t retaliate and, as per sources, they had fled after carrying out the attack.
The searches of the debris of the house was conducted and no militant body or arms and ammunition was recovered. The operation was called off tonight.
In the meantime, a group of youth today attacked a cavalcade of a senior police officer with stones at Qoimoh area of Kulgam in South Kashmir.
The youth pelted stones on the cavalcade of the senior police officer at Gohbal area of Qoimoh. The cops fired some aerial shots to disperse the youth. However, no one suffered injuries.
Two students were injured after a school bus they were travelling in came under stone pelting at Zavoora area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district today.
The school bus of Rainbow International School was attacked by miscreants with stones near Zavoora village. Two students suffered injuries and were rushed to nearby hospital where from a seriously injured student Rehan Gorsai of class 2nd was referred to Srinagar hospital for specialised treatment.
Police have registered a case and further investigation taken up.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was shocked and angered over the incident and said that those behind pelting stones on a school bus in Shopian will be brought to justice. “Shocked & angered to hear of the attack on a school bus in Shopian. The perpetrators of this senseless & cowardly act will be brought to justice,” she said on Twitter.
Concerned over the incident of stone pelting on a school bus in Shopian, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that the amnesty granted to stone pelters was to encourage “reasonable behaviour”.
He added that some “goons” were determined to use the amnesty as an opportunity to pelt more stones.
“The amnesty granted to stone-pelters was meant to encourage more reasonable behaviour but some of these goons are determined to use the opportunity given to them to just pelt more stones,” Omar said in a tweet.
“How does pelting stones on school children or tourist buses help advance the agenda of these stone pelters? These attacks deserve our unequivocal condemnation & this tweet is mine.
“School children attacked, tourists attacked, MLA’s home petrol bombed. Sadly Kashmir is just a steady series of bad news most of the time these days,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress today termed as “very serious” the situation in Jammu and Kashmir where stones were pelted at a school bus and demanded Home Minister Rajnath Singh make a statement on the overall scenario in the State.
Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said the “experiment” of the BJP tying up with the PDP to form a Government in the politically-sensitive State had “completely failed” and the situation there had “deteriorated”.
“I think the situation in Kashmir is very-very serious…Now there is a massive law and order problem and the school buses are being targeted. So this is a very serious situation.
“I think the Government should immediately come out with a statement. The Home Minister should come out with a statement. They should explain to the nation as to why this is the situation in J&K,” he told reporters.
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani expressed his dismay over the incident and said that it is the handiwork of some “unscrupulous” elements.
“Our strength lies in discipline,” Geelani said in a statement adding: “We should keep strict vigil over those involved in these incidents. We need to demonstrate our mature thinking and follow discipline.”
Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that stone throwing incident in Shopian on a school bus is quiet disturbing and one fails to understand why a school bus carrying children was targeted?
And the residence of Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Shopian Mohammad Yousf Bhat was attacked with a petrol bomb at Memander village in the South Kashmir today.
Some unknown persons hurled the petrol bomb on the house of MLA. In the incident, one window of the house caught fire and is being doused off.
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