Clashes mar festival in J&K - Calcutta Telegraph

A Kashmiri man carries an injured woman during a clash between protesters and police in Srinagar on Friday. (AFP) Srinagar, Aug. 9: Clashes broke out between two communities after one raised pro-azaadi slogans in Jammu's Kishtwar on Id today, claiming a life and prompting BJP leaders to seek the Prime Minister's intervention. In the Valley, pro-azaadi protests led to clashes with security forces after prayers near Srinagar's Idgah. But the flare-up in Kishtwar grabbed the spotlight after curfew was clamped and the army was called in to restore calm. Scores were injured and dozens of public and private properties torched. Official sources said the street battles broke out in Kishtwar, over 200km from Srinagar, when the pro-Azaadi slogans after Id prayers by one community angered the other. Soon, rampaging mobs threw stones at each other and targeted the other side's properties. Within hours, the skirmishes spread across the town, giving it the look of a war zone with smoke billowing from torched houses, shops and vehicles. "One person who was fired at by some armed assailants is dead. There are many injured and dozens of properties have been reduced to ashes," a police officer said. Kishtwar district magistrate Mohammad Saleem said curfew had been imposed in the area. "Around 18 shops and houses were torched and around 15 to 18 people are injured." Official sources, however, said the number of injured and damaged houses was much higher. "The police and the CRPF were brought to control the situation initially but when that didn't help, the army was called in," the police officer said. The situation prompted senior BJP leaders to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief minister Omar Abdullah. "The Prime Minister assured me that the situation would be quickly brought under control as the army has been called out in Kishtwar," BJP president Rajnath Singh tweeted. Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath's party colleague and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, tweeted a message to Omar. "Many injured. Houses and shops burnt. Please do something immediately." Omar replied saying the injuries and damages had taken place on both sides. "Situation is being brought under control. Adequate forces sent." Sushma later said the chief minister had called her up to inform that the army was conducting a flag march and more forces were on way to Kishtwar. But the clashes gave separatists a handle to target the government. Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani blamed counter-insurgency village defence committees, which mostly comprise members of one community, of fomenting trouble. He alleged that an Id congregation in Jammu had been attacked by members of another community and called a shutdown in the Valley against the incident. In Jammu, the BJP called a shutdown against "incidents of communal violence and the government's failure to ensure safety of minorities in Kishtwar". In the Valley, several people were injured in Srinagar as security forces wielded batons on pro-azaadi demonstrators and fired tear-gas shells. Stone throwing took place in Sopore. At other places, the situation was largely peaceful and lakhs offered Id prayers. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEVqlCkbQCjBJVpobgOU0sEew4frQ&url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130810/jsp/nation/story_17216775.jsp

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