SRINAGAR, Dec 2:
A fire in a posh market here was narrowly averted in the dead of night, the latest in a series of mysterious incidents in the city, officials said today, suspecting that shop owners who have defied an undeclared shutdown against the abrogation of Article 370 are being targeted.
Late on Sunday night, an inflammable substance was sprinkled on a few shops in Lambert Lane market on Residency Road but alert residents of the building foiled the attempt to set the shops on fire, officials said.
“Late on Sunday night, we noticed smell of petrol around the building and we quickly went downstairs to check. There was no one around, but the fuel had been sprinkled on a few shops,” said a resident of the building, who preferred to remain anonymous. We informed the market association members who in turn alerted the police, he said.
This was the third such instance in as many nights as miscreants carried out similar acts at Budshah Chowk, right in front of the highly guarded Akhara Building on Saturday night, and at Goni Khan near Hari Singh High Street, the night earlier.
A senior police official said the incidents are being investigated and strict action will be taken against those found involved in these acts. (PTI)
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