J&K CM, NC, CPI(M) slam killing of PDP leader Dar
24 April 2017 5:58 PM GMT
Cutting across party lines, the mainstream leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday condemned the alleged killing of ruling PDP district president Abdul Gani Dar by militants in Pulwama district of the state.
"Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has strongly condemned the killing of Abdul Gani Dar, a prominent lawyer and social worker of Pulwama district," an official spokesman said.
He said in her condolence message, the Chief Minister said Dar was a selfless worker who lived and died for the people of his area.
Mehbooba regretted that such innocent killings remind us of the tragic reality of the vicious cycle of violence which is pushing our society to darkness, the spokesman said.
Gani was shot dead allegedly by militants in Pinglena area of Pulwama district, 31 kms from here, on Monday afternoon. Conveying her sympathies with the bereaved family, the Chief Minister has directed the police to identify the killers and unearth motives behind his killing, he added.
Opposition National Conference also condemned Dar's killing. "We express solidarity with Dar Sahab's family and express our grief at this tragic incident. May God give the family the strength to bear this loss," the state spokesman of National Conference said in a statement. He said Dar's killing was yet another reflection of the alarming state of affairs in the state, which he claimed has plunged into total chaos, uncertainty and turmoil due to the PDP-BJP government.
The PDP-BJP government and especially Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti should acknowledge their shameful role in bringing Jammu and Kashmir to this situation and take moral responsibility for the continuously deteriorating situation in the state, the spokesman said.
"While Mehbooba Mufti goes around begging from office to office in New Delhi for her government to be saved, lives are being lost in Kashmir and alienation is at an all time high. She should introspect and resign without any further delay," he said.
Condemning Dar's killing, senior CPI(M) leader and MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami termed the incident as a "heinous and barbaric act".
Tarigami said the society must come out and express itself against such brutal acts of violence.
Students clash with forces in Srinagar, 24 injured
Twenty four people, including 12 security personnel, were injured today in clashes between stone-pelting students and law enforcing agencies in the heart of Srinagar, on a day colleges reopened in Kashmir after a five-day shutdown ordered by the government.
The upmarket Residency Road and adjoining M A Road here turned into a virtual battleground as students clashed with police shortly after colleges reopened.
A police spokesman said the security forces came under heavy stone-pelting which resulted in injuries to 12 personnel including three officers.
"The miscreants and the students pelted stones on Traffic Headquarters and attacked police vehicles with stones clubs and lathis. The police showed utmost restraint," he said. "Some boys involved in stone-pelting were caught on the spot and detained by police," the spokesman said, adding the mob was dispersed and normalcy restored in the area. Other officials said several students, passersby and a photojournalist were also hurt in the clashes.
Police had to fire dozens of tear smoke shells in an attempt to disperse the protesting students from S P College and Women's College on M A Road, the officials said.
The clashes began from S P College and soon spread to the adjoining areas, the officials said. The students from nearby Women's College also joined the protests, which spread to other parts of the commercial hub including Lal Chowk, Red cross road and Maisuma, they said.
The clashes led to the closure of shops in the prime commercial hub and the people rushed to safer locations, the officials said. The violence was witnessed on a day the colleges reopened in the valley after a gap of five days.
The authorities had shut the higher educational institutions as a precautionary measure in the wake of widespread violence by the students in Kashmir on Monday against the alleged high-handedness of security forces with students in Pulwama on April 15.
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