Two soldiers and a civilian were wounded in a grenade explosion in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara town, hours before PDP president Mehbooba Mufti staked claim in Jammu to become the first woman Chief Minister of the State. Mehbooba belongs to Bijbehara town in south Kashmir where people largely remained indifferent to her ascendance to the top chair. Pro-Pakistan outfit Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to intensify them in future.
Sources said that militants hurled a grenade near the local police station on Saturday afternoon at Bijbehara town, located on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, around 45 kilometers south from here. After the explosion some gunshots were also heard in the area.
Police said three persons including two soldiers were wounded in the explosion. While the soldiers were immediately shifted to 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar for treatment, the injured civilian was admitted in the local hospital.
Burhanuddin, the Operational spokesperson of Hizbul Mujahdeen outfit told a local news gathering agency CNS that their cadre hurled the grenade. He said the “Operational Field Commander” of the outfit has directed the cadre to intensify attacks on Indian Security Establishment.
Sources said that after the blast, the security forces opened fire but militants escaped from the scene.
The explosion took place a few hours before PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, who is a native of Bijbehara town, staked claim in Jammu to form the PDP-BJP coalition government. Mehbooba forayed into active politics from the same constituency in 1996 when she was elected to the legislative assembly for the first time as a Congress candidate.
Even as the constituency remains a strong bastion of her party ever since, but to the chagrin of the party, the local people have exhibited indifference towards the PDP leadership for quite some time. There was no celebration over Ms Mufti’s elevation to the top seat.