Curfew was today imposed in Rajouri and Bhaderwah towns in anticipation of flare-up in tension while it continued in Jammu and Samba districts for third day today with Army patrolling the streets and staging flag march at different places. Udhampur town also remained under curfew since last night. However, people defied curfew restrictions taking out huge rallies at different places across Jammu, Samba and Udhampur districts. Similar protest rallies were taken out in Kathua district where authorities removed Additional SP Kathua Benam Tosh for not resorting to lathicharge on peacefully protesting women at Kali Bari last night and replaced him with SP Rajeshwar Singh, presently posted as Additional Yatra Officer, Amarnath shrine.
In support of Jammu movement for restoration of 800 kanals of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), being spearheaded by Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS), people of Pathankot district in
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People led by Mayor Kavinder Gupta holding demonstration by defying curfew at Old Janipur on Sunday.
Punjab in the neighborhood of Jammu’s Kathua district, disrupted train traffic at Chakki Bank for more than a couple of hours.
Bandh also spread to Poonch town where people today started a 72 hour strike while Ramban will observe a three day bandh from tomorrow.Outskirts and peripheral areas of Jammu City were rocked by huge rallies in defiance of curfew with people shouting religious and anti-Government slogans burning effigies of Governor N N Vohra, NC
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Army men checking the curfew pass before allowing a vehiclist to move in the city, at New Plots on Sunday.
president Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. Reports said the number in rallies all across Jammu swelled with large participation of women and children.
Troops deployed in the area didn’t deter the people from coming out of their houses and hold demonstrations. Slogans of ‘Indian Army Zindabad’ also rent the air in all the rallies.
Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti today left Jammu for Srinagar after three days stay here while Bharatiya Jan Shakti Party president Uma Bharti was sent back to New Delhi by the administration in a train
and was not allowed to visit Baltal, the base camp of Shri Amarnath shrine.
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People holding protest demonstration at Kathua on Sunday.
Reports said a group of youths, who had burnt tyres and blocked traffic in Bhaderwah town of Doda district during the bandh, pelted stones on a bus coming from Doda carrying excursionists to Jai. The bus driver tried to break the naka of bandh sponsors and was subjected to stone pelting by the mob.
Driver of the bus and a couple of travellers were injured in stone pelting. Tension erupted in Bhaderwah prompting the authorities to impose curfew in the town. Enforcement of para-military and police was deployed in strength in the town to maintain law and order.
No untoward incident was reported from Bhaderwah after imposition of curfew.
However, as the news of stoning in Bhaderwah on a bus reached Doda town this afternoon, people from majority community took out a procession and pelted stones on the vehicle of a private school owner, Mr Chandel and some other parked cars.Later, minorities in Doda town approached the police authorities seeking protection. SSP Doda Raghubir
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Youth holding demonstration by burning tyres after defying curfew in Shastri Nagar area on Sunday.
Singh convened a meeting of both communities this evening but minority community boycotted
protesting police inaction against the accused involved in damaging the vehicles. However, majority community representatives agreed to settle the issue with minority community tomorrow saying they don’t want any confrontation or tension to build in Doda.
Curfew was also clamped in Rajouri town this morning after last night’s violence in which majority community people had damaged closed shops and parked vehicles of minority community. They were protesting against alleged thrashing of two youths at Sunderbani and Rajouri town.
Para-military and police have been deployed in large number in Rajouri town to maintain law and order. Minority community, which had given a call for bandh in support of Jammu agitation, was planning to hold a ‘sankalap rally’ in the town today.
Army was called out in the town which staged flag march to restore confidence among the people. Army has been deployed in sensitive areas of Rajouri.
Barring a scuffle between protesters of majority community and police at Darhali bridge, Rajouri town remained by and large peaceful. The protesters were trying to march towards Rajouri town to register their protest against the arrest of six persons, who were detained by police this morning in connection with causing damage to shops and vehicles of minorities. The people returned after a protest at Darhali bridge for about half an hour.
Some people gathered at a religious place and offered themselves for court arrest to protest detention of six persons. However, police didn’t arrest them.
Tension again erupted in Rajouri town late this evening when Sangarsh Samiti activists tried to take out a procession in the town at 8.45 pm. The Samiti activists burst some crackers defying curfew restrictions.
People of majority community also started beating ‘thalies’ from a religious place. Slogans and counter sloganeering from the two sides continued for about 10 minutes after which police dispersed both the groups and asked them to return to their houses.
Meanwhile, people right from Udhampur to Lakhanpur made repeated attempts to block the movement of trucks plying to and fro Srinagar. According to an Intelligence agency, there were at least 50,000 people, who tried to march towards Jammu-Srinagar and Jammu-Pathankot highways from different villages when trucks were plying on the highway under protection of Army and para-military. However, the people were not allowed to reach close to the highways.
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