NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

1 killed in hail of grenades around J&K secretariat

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Militants this afternoon rained rifle grenades on the heavily guarded civil secretariat building in the heart of Srinagar, summer capital of the troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Three persons, including a policeman, were injured when militants fired as many as 17 rifle grenades on the building.

The grenades, however, missed their target, with most of them falling in nearby Suthrashahi, a residential locality.

One of the injured, Mohammed Yunus, an employee of the state power department, later died in hospital at Soura.

The explosions caused panic in the secretariat, with employees fleeing their offices. Residents of Suthrashahi too ran for cover.

Sources said two rifle grenades fell inside the headquarters of the fire services department at Batmaloo, near the secretariat. While one exploded without causing any harm, the bomb disposal squad defused the other.

This is the first attack this year on the building housing the offices of the Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, his ministers and top state government officials.

Abdullah, sources said, had just left his office when the grenades started raining around the building.

Last year, militants had attacked the secretariat thrice, resulting in several casualties. This year, however, extraordinary security is in place to protect the seat of the state government, with nearly 3,000 paramilitary force personnel deployed around it.

As the news was flashed senior police and security force officers moved into the area with reinforcements and cordoned it off.

Meanhwile, the separatist All-Parties Hurriyat Conference has called for a two-day general strike beginning Wednesday against alleged atrocities and custodial killings by the security forces.

Senior APHC politicians will also go on a 36-hour hunger strike from Wednesday to attract international attention to what they call the continued reign of terror in Kashmir.

Addressing the press at the APHC office, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik said that while the Government of India is raising expectations about a dialogue with separatist leaders, the administration "has unleashed a reign of terror, killing civilians, political activists and former militants in custody".

He alleged that by killing the Kashmiris, the administration is trying to crush the will of the people. "There is so much panic in the valley that no one knows if he will return alive after leaving his home in the morning."

Malik threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi if the government fails to end the atrocities on the people.

He claimed that his earlier efforts in this direction had forced the government to change its strategy and halt the excesses.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report