Amarnath row: Jammu protests continue, Army stages flag march

As people continued to defy the curfew, imposed in view of the pro-Amarnath protests, for the fourth day in Jammu region.

As people continued to defy the curfew, imposed in view of the pro-Amarnath protests, for the fourth day in Jammu region, Army staged a flag march at Kathua on Friday.

Elsewhere, a police vehicle, carrying a militant and a team of Jammu and Kashmir police officers, was attacked by protestors and set afire at Ghaghwal near Hiranagar on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway. All the vehicle occupants were injured, and the national highway was also blocked for several hours. They were rescued by the troops of Army and CRPF.

Despite the Rapid Action Force (RAF), the specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force, having flown into Jammu from New Delhi, violent clashes between protestors and police were reported from many places in Jammu city and its outskirts. More than four dozen people were injured in the clashes at various places.

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People defied the curfew at several places including Lakhanpur, Nagari, Heera Nagar and Kathua. When the Army staged a flag march at Kathua, the protestors pelted their vehicles with stones which resulted in injuries to one Armyman.

Hundreds of protestors at Jourian in Akhnoor led by BJP youth leader Daljeet Singh hoisted the tricolour at a place of worship despite stiff resistance from the local police. Five Shiv Sena activists were injured in police lathicharge at Khour. People also damaged cutouts of the local Congress MLA in Akhnoor area.

Sources said when the protestors spotted a police vehicle, carrying a militant and a team of Jammu and Kashmir police officers, they gheraoed it at Ghaghwal near Hiranagar on Jammu-Pathankote National Highway. The police vehicle was on its way from Pulwama district in Kashmir to Hiranagar. The militant, lodged in Hiranagar district jail in Kathua, had been taken to a court in Pulwama for hearing in a case. The mob got enraged and set the vehicle afire.

The militant tried to escape from the spot but he was caught by Army and CRPF troops, and later hospitalised, said sources.

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Defying curfew restrictions, people from all walks of life participated in the protests in Jammu and its outskirts, demanding restoration of sanctity of the Amarnath Shrine Board and sacking of Governor N N Vohra. They burnt tyres on the roads and pelted the police with stones. Even hostellers in Jammu University held a demonstration on the campus.

Kashmiri Migrants of Nagorta camp blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway for some time.

IGP Jammu K Rajendra said they had picked up around 30 people from different parts of Jammu on Friday. The situation was under control, and they were taking every possible measure to restore normalcy in the region, he added.

Meanwhile, on the fourth day of curfew, one-hour relaxation was given in some areas of Jammu. But this facility was not extended to Kathua. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey said in the wake of the current situation in the city, the curfew would continue even on Saturday.