5 militants arrested as part of Valley erupts again

Four militants and a policeman were arrested during a raid at a private house in Srinagar’s Bemina area, the police said on Friday. The arrested persons are believed to be members of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, officials said. In a separate operation, one militant and a local resident were arrested from southern Kulgam district.

Acting on specific information regarding the presence of a militant in the area, the Kulgam police, along with the Army’s 1 Rashtriya Rifles and 18th Battalion of CRPF, launched an operation in village Hamdan Pora, Rampora, the police said. During search operation, one Hizb-ul-Mujahedin militant Manzoor Ahmad Khan, a resident of Srinagar’s Dhobi Mohalla, Batamaloo, was arrested. “He is involved in a number of subversive activities and has got recycled into militant ranks a couple of months ago,” the statement said adding that one pistol and hand-grenade each and some ammunition were recovered from his possession.

Several parts of Kashmir Valley erupted again on Friday, leaving scores injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.

In the evening, unidentified gunmen shot and critically wounded a 50-year-old woman Beeba Yusuf in Batpora Nyaina village of southern Pulwama district. She was rushed to hospital but died soon, the police said.

Protests were held and stone-throwing incidents took place in summer capital Srinagar and at various places in the districts of Bandipore, Baramulla, Kulgam and Pulwama following the authorities imposed a curfew in capital central Srinagar and security restrictions at some other places to foil the separatists’ planned march on Srinagar’s historic Grand Mosque.

An alliance of key separatist leaders had asked people to march towards Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid to offer Friday prayers as no such congregation has been allowed at this one of the oldest mosques in the Valley since second week of July this year following the killing of militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

During the unrest triggered by Wani’s killing which entered its 112th day on Friday nearly 100 people have been killed and thousands others injured.

Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who was to lead the proposed ‘Jamia Masjid chalo’ march was placed under house arrest earlier. The 43-year-old cleric, politician tried to break the police cordon and march towards the Grand Mosque from his residence in Srinagar’s Nigeen area but was arrested by police and taken to a nearby police station.

The alliance which calls itself ‘joint resistance leadership’ had asked people to break siege of Jamia Masjid in central Srinagar’s Nowhatta areas as no weekly congregational prayers were allowed there on past 15 Fridays. But the security forces not only laid siege around the place of worship and locked all its entry gates from outside but also sealed roads, lanes and by-lanes leading to it by laying Concertina razor wire overnight. Also hundreds of J&K policemen and CRPF and SSB jawans in riot-gear were fanned out to enforce curfew.

Similar security arrangement was in place around the Mirwaiz’s residence at Nigeen. The Mirwaiz had on Tuesday, a day after he was released from jail after two months, while addressing a press conference at his residence announced that he would go to Jamia Masjid where he traditionally delivers sermon and customary pre-namaz speech ‘come what may’ on coming Friday. The alliance of which he is a part endorsed it and issued ‘Jamia Masjid Chalo’ call to the people. He was soon placed under house arrest.

Reports reaching here said that the security forces fired teargas canisters to break protests in Bandipore, Palhallan, Lawaypora, Sopore, Soura and Hyderpora areas of Bandipore, Baramulla and Srinagar districts.

The police in a statement said that restrictions were imposed in parts of Srinagar “as a precautionary measure” in view of the ‘Jamia Masjid Chalo’ call. “After Friday prayers some stone-throwing incidents were reported from Srinagar, Pulwama, Kulgam and Sopore. At these places miscreants after Friday prayers assembled and pelted stones on police and security forces’ deployments. They were chased away,” the police said. It added that in Pulwama, ‘miscreants’ lobbed a petrol bomb on police and security forces’ deployment in Pirchoo area. However, no one was injured in this incident.