COMMUNAL CLASHES IN
JAMMU’S SAMBA
Protesters blocked the Pathankote-Jammu highway in Jammu and
Kashmir and clashed with the police on Friday following overnight communal violence,
authorities said.Curfew was imposed in Samba district in Jammu region late
Thursday in the wake of communal clashes.A senior police officer told IANS here
that a mob which blocked the national highway at Parmandal Morh in Jammu
district clashed with police, who used batons and tear smoke to clear the
highway.The protests on Friday were linked to the Samba violence that followed
allegations and counter-allegations of religious sacrilege.Authorities on
Friday said no cow had been slaughtered in Samba district -- a charge that led
to tensions and then violence at the first place.
They said the carcass of the animal found on the street was that
of a buffalo calf that died more than 100 hours earlier as revealed by autopsy.Members
of one community had alleged that copies of their religious scripture were
torched inside a factory in Bari Brahmana industrial area.The first communal
outbreak was reported on Thursday evening at Raya Morh in Samba where
protesters torched the vehicle of the district magistrate and smashed other
vehicles on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.Several policemen and protesters were
injured in the clashes. The army was called out at night, district officials
said.Police and the civil administration said they were seeking the help of
community elders to restore sanity.
Prof. John Kurakar
No comments:
Post a Comment