CLASHES BETWEEN PROTESTERS, FORCES AT SEVERAL PLACES SITATION REMAINED NORMAL: POLICE
Srinagar, June 27 : The strike called by separatist groups to protest ‘desecration’ of Jamia Masjid on Friday affected normal life in Srinagar on Saturday with clashes between protesting youth and forces reported from various areas of the city.
The strike for Srinagar district was called by the Auqaf committee of Jamia Masjid, headed by Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, JKLF chairman Yasin Malik and was supported by several trade bodies.
Reports said clashes broke out in several areas of old city since morning as masked youth pelted stones on forces who in retaliation fired tear smoke canisters and resorted to aerial firing.
People in Rajouri Kadal alleged that forces beat up several people including elderly men and women during the protests after barging into their houses.
Police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in full riot gear had been deployed in volatile areas to old city to prevent protests.
Due to the strike markets in Srinagar remained closed while public transport was off the roads. However, private transport was seen plying in civil lines and some others of the city. The attendance in banks, post offices and government offices was thin due to non-availability of public transport, reports said.
DIG Central Kashmir Ghulam Hassan Bhat told KNS situation by and large remained normal throughout Srinagar. “There was no report of injury neither anyone was arrested. However, reports of stone pelting were received from one or two places in the city,” he said.
On Friday, Police and paramilitary personnel fired several tear smoke shells allegedly on devotees gathered to offer congregational prayers inside the premises of the mosque.