Afzal Guru hanging: Curfew remains in Kashmir for third day

Curfew continued for the third day in the Kashmir Valley in the wake of the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Zeenews Bureau

Srinagar: Curfew continued for the third day in the Kashmir Valley on Monday in the wake of the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. As many as 14 companies of Border Security Force were rushed to Kashmir Valley to counter any law and order trouble and to ensure peace and tranquility, security officials told a news agency. Five companies were withdrawn from some areas in Jammu frontier and sent to Kashmir Valley yesterday, while nine more BSF companies were rushed to the Valley today, officials said. Apart from this, 10 additional companies of Central Reserve Police Force are arriving in Jammu this afternoon and will be rushed to Kashmir Valley. The CRPF troops are arriving from New Delhi in a special train and will get down at Vijaypur Railway station, from where they will be sent to Kashmir Valley today, they said. Also, a 14-year-old boy wounded in clashes with security forces died in a hospital today. All 10 district headquarters have been under curfew since Saturday, when Afzal Guru, who belonged to Sopore, was hanged in New Delhi for his role in the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament. As tension continued in the Valley, Ubaid Ahmad Rather, who had been injured on Sunday in clashes with security forces in Watergam (Rafiabad) village in Baramulla district died in Srinagar`s super specialty Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura hospital, family sources said. Four others had been injured. Ubaid and another critically injured person Sajad Ahmad had been referred to the Srinagar hospital by doctors in Baramulla district last evening. The restrictions on the movement of people in the Valley were further tightened this morning in view of apprehension of widespread protests to commemorate the 29th death anniversary of JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat. Bhat, who was sentenced to death for murder of a police officer, was hanged inside Tihar Jail on this day in 1984. Only ambulances and staff of essential services department have been issued curfew passes to facilitate their movement. No print editions of local newspapers could hit the stands here for the second day as editors said their print publications were being disallowed by the authorities. Cable television operations in Srinagar city also remained suspended for the third day while reports from other district headquarters said cable television operations continued normally there. No Internet services were available in the Valley today on dongle appliances or mobile phones as all service providers shut services without any intimation to their subscribers three days back. BSNL broadband facilities, however, worked in the summer capital Srinagar and other places in the Valley. In another incident, a man drowned in the Jhelum in Ganderbal district. A police statement issued here last evening said: "Today (Sunday) a boat which was ferrying people from Batwina to Wangipora, Sumbal in the Jhelum river capsized. Six persons in the boat fell in the water. Five persons were rescued. However, Tariq Ahmad Bhat, son of Muhammad Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Batwina, was drowned. The body was fished out and handed over to his relatives for last rites." Residents in Batwina village, however, said Bhat was being chased by the security forces during protests in the area when he jumped into the river. Meanwhile, Afzal Guru’s family members have demanded that his spectacles, clothes and a radio be returned to them, but a Tihar Jail official on Sunday said the government was yet to take a decision on the issue. (With Agency inputs)