Srinagar: Police today fired in the air to
disperse a crowd of protesters resisting the arrest of an
alleged stone-pelter in Abi Guzar area near Lal Chowk,
officials said.
A police party, which was tracking Mohammad Altaf Sheikh,
picked him up from Abi Guzar area near Lal Chowk this evening,
they said.
However, a group of youth tried to resist the arrest
by shouting slogans, forcing the police to fire warning shots,
they added.
Although no one was hurt in the incident, the firing
caused panic among the passers-by, who ran fearing a militant
attack, they said.
The shopkeepers in Lal Chowk, Resident Road, Regal
Chowk and Maulana Azad Road downed their shutters while
vehicles took alternative routes.
Normalcy was restored in most parts of the commercial
centre within minutes after the apprehensions about militant
attack were dispelled.
-PTI
