Rail services were disrupted today in the Jammu-Pathankot sector as ABVP activists stopped a train at Kathua railway station protesting yesterday’s clashes in Kishtwar district.
Demanding the sacking of the Minister of State for Home, Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, over the incident, the ABVP activists blocked railway tracks and raised anti-government slogans, police said.
The Ahmedabad-bound train from Jammu was stopped for a brief period by activists at the Kathua station. However, the rail services were restored when the protesters left the spot.
Several political parties, including the BJP, have blamed Kitchloo for the clashes between the two communities and demanded a high-level probe by independent authority.
Clashes between two communities left two people dead and at least 20 injured, several business establishments and vehicles gutted in arson in Kishtwar district where curfew was clamped and Army called in to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order yesterday.
CLICK HERE: Bandh continues in Jammu followed by Kishtwar clashes
Cong calls for independent inquiry
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress has asked the state government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to probe the causes behind the violence in Kishtwar.
Besides, the party has also asked for an investigation into the allegations that administrative laxity led to the lawlessness.
“Only by holding people accountable and understanding the reasons for communal tensions can we hope to prevent such incidents in the future,” J-K Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Saifuddin Soz said in a statement here.
Soz asked the state government to immediately send a high-level Group of Ministers led by the Deputy Chief Minister to Kishtwar to assess the situation, meet members of civil society and ensure that sustainable peace returns to Kishtwar.
He also urged the government to provide adequate relief to the victims by way of compensation for loss of life and property.
Amaranth Yatra suspended from Jammu
In the wake of the clashes, the pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath was today suspended from Jammu as a precautionary measure.
“No fresh batch has been allowed to move to Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas today from Jammu,” police said.
Buddha Amarnath yatra, however, will continue with a batch of 554 pilgrims leaving for the shrine of Lord Shiva in Mandi hills in Poonch district, from here.
As many as 554 pilgrims, including 370 men, 155 women and 29 children, left this morning for Poonch in a convoy of 14 buses for the pilgrimage.
Curfew continues in Jammu district
Curfew remained in force in Kishtwar on Saturday even as protests rocked Jammu and adjoining districts and normal life was disrupted due to a bandh.
The Jammu and Kashmir Highway remained blocked at several places as protestors burnt tyres, sat on dharnas and put up barricades in Vijaypur in Samba, Rajpora in Kathua, Udhampur and Gangyal areas of the state.
Shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was totally off the roads in Jammu city on the call given by BJP and other organisations to protest against the incident.
The state government had already closed all educational institutes in Jammu in view of the bandh. Attendance was also thin in government departments due to the strike.
“There was no report of any untoward incident in Jammu region and the bandh in most of the districts was peaceful,” a police spokesperson said.
Reports from Kathua, Samba, Reasi, Katra, Udhampur,Katra, Chenani, Poonch, Vijaypur, Akhnoor, Sunderbani, Kalakote, Noushera, R S Pura and Ramnagar areas said a near total bandh was observed, while a partial bandh was observed in Bhaderwah, Rajouri, Ramban and Doda areas as people belonging to one community had closed their shops and business establishments.
