Poll-bound Jammu & Kashmir witnessed violence yet again on Saturday. A junior paramilitary officer and seven pedestrians were wounded in a grenade blast near the ruins of a defunct cinema hall in the commercial hub of lal Chowk in capital Srinagar while an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in KG sector, close to the line of Control (loC) in frontier Poonch district, damaging a heavy military vehicle passing through the area. The driver of the vehicle escaped unhurt, official sources said.
The IED blast in the forward area ahead of the second phase of polling in Poonch district on December 2 has alerted troops patrolling the loC. And the blast in Srinagar occurred at a time when mainstream political parties are beginning canvassing in the city that has recorded indifference towards the poll process since the early 1990s.The eight Assembly segments of Srinagar city are going to polls in the fifth phase on December 14.
Sources said unknown persons hurled a grenade towards a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle parked in front of the ruined Palladium Cinema building at round 2 pm. The grenade missed the target and exploded in an open space injuring eight people, including a father-son duo.
A CRPF sub-inspector Hari Ram Devakar was also wounded by splinters. The police and paramilitary forces immediately cordoned off the area to track down attackers. However, no arrests were made. The security forces have already intensified surprise check of vehicles and frisking of pedestrians in the city to check violence ahead of the Assembly polls.
The election in Srinagar city is crucial as it has the history of predominant poll boycott in the past. The recent floods have also ravaged most parts of the city and left the residents in distress and melancholy.
Several contesting candidates including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have faced angry protesters when they attempted to pass through the city’s alleys. Many candidates’ cavalcades were attacked with stones. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
As far as the IED explosion is concerned, it could not be ascertained it was freshly planted in the area by some infiltrators or it was the handiwork of some over ground worker of some militant outfit.According to Defence PRO in Jammu the IED explosion took place around 10.30 am in the KG sector of Poonch. None of the troops present in the vicinity suffered any injuries.
The local unit in the area cordoned off the entire area and launched search and combing operations to rule out the possibility of presence of infiltrators inside the Indian territory.