PDP legislator injured in alleged attack by protesters in Kashmir

Mangalore Today News Network

Srinagar, Jul 18, 2016: A legislator of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party was injured late Sunday night in Kashmir after his car was allegedly attacked by a stone-pelting mob as curfew continued in the Valley for the tenth straight day.

But the state government said Mohammad Khalil Band was hurt after his car met with an accident while traveling from Pulwama to Srinagar.

“His car skid and turned turtle. He has a hip injury and is admitted in hospital. There was no mob attack,’’ insisted government spokesman Nayeem Akhtar.

At least 41 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured in week-long clashes between civilians and security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani. No fresh casualties were reported on Sunday.

The violence has also seen mounting anger against the PDP, which is in alliance with the BJP, a party that is deeply unpopular in the Valley due to its perceived hardline Hindu policies.

Mobile networks, apart from that of the government-owned BSNL, are suspended, while mobile internet services are jammed across Kashmir for all networks. BSNL broadband is the only functional internet service as of now.

In Srinagar, the streets remained deserted and all shops and other business establishments shuttered down.

On Sunday, hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani wrote to the United Nations and heads of many Western and Muslim countries to “intervene” in wake of “a new wave of state terror unleashed by the Indian armed forces” in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress has sent a two-member team to get a ground report in Kashmir. According to a press statement, J-K Pradesh Congress Committee held an urgent meeting on Sunday in which AICC general secretary and J-K in-charge Ambika Soni, former Union minister Salman Khurshid and state chief GA Mir were present.

The weekend saw the death of youth in Kupwara district during clashes that left two others injured. Similar protests occurred in Baramulla and Bandipora districts, police said. A mob attacked a police post at Hatmulla in the northern district of Kupwara, following which the security personnel retaliated.

According to the state administration, a total of 1,882 people have been injured in the current unrest. They include 600 who have suffered pellet wounds while 125 were hit by bullets.