Shabir also hurt: Protests rock Srinagar By Jehangir Rashid SRINAGAR, Feb 3: JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was seriously injured and president of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad Shah also sustained injuries when they were attacked by the police personnel near Khanabal here today.
The incident occured at about 1:00 P.M when both Malik and Shah were heading towards the Anantnag town as part of the anti-election campaign.
The chairman of Muslim League Mushtaq-ul-Islam and the chairman of Islamic Students League (ISL) Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi were also accompanying them and they too were beaten.
Both Malik and Shah were arrested in injured condition.
While the former was released after some time and admitted to hospital, the latter was also set free after remaing in police custody for several hours.
"We were moving towards the Anantnag town as part of the anti-election campaign.
Just near the Khanabal Crossing there is an SOG camp, the camp inmates asked us to come down and stop.
But we did not stop and went ahead.
As soon as we reached the Dak Bungalow the police personnel present there asked us to come down and they began to beat us", said one of the JKLF activists.
The chairman of JKLF bore the brunt of the force of the police personnel and he became unconscious as he was attacked many a times with gun butts.
He received many blows of gun butts in his head and became unconscious and immediately fell down.
In spite of getting unconscious the police personnel did not stop in attacking Malik and they continued beating him and his associates.
Some of them trampled over Malik and kicked him with their boots persistently without showing any mercy.
The activists of JKLF and other parties pleaded with the police to shift him to the hospital, but they did not listen.
"Yasin Sahib became unconscious and those people who tried their best in stopping the police also bore the brunt of the police high handedness.
The police party seemed to be on a killing spree and they wanted to eliminate Yasin Sahib.
They were not ready to listen to our plea and continued with their aggression", said Sheikh Abdul Rashid, senior leader of JKLF.
Rashid said that the front chairman remained unconscious there for hours altogether and no one among the police officials came forward in shifting him to a nearby hospital.
"They did not even allow us to shift Yasin sahib to the hospital and instead of that they asked us to come to the police lines Khanabal and kept us there in captivity", he added.
The senior leader of JKLF said that it was at police lines Khanabal that the police personnel asked a doctor to examine the front chairman and he asked them to shift him to Srinagar.
"At Awantipora we were stopped by the police and there was a change of guard by the police men at this place", he added.
Rashid said that the DFP president Shabir Ahmad Shah was severely beaten and attacked.
He was also injured in the incident and that his two ribs were damaged.
He added that dozens of party activists were also injured in the police action which included Mohammad Sidiq Guroo alias Shah who was also referred to Srinagar.
The senior leader of JKLF said that the front chairman as well as the other leaders asked the police to allow them to proceed towards the Anantnag town as they were carrying on in a peaceful manner the anti-election campaign.
"We told them that the government has already propagated a lot that they are not against the battle of ideas and there is no point in stopping us from organizing a peaceful anti-election rally.
Todays police action shows that there is a hel of a difference between the stated position and the actual action taken by the government and its people", said Rashid.
The senior leader of JKLF said that the police party led by the Station House Officer (SHO) Khanabal and DSP SOG went berserk as soon as the cavalcade of JKLF and other parties reached near the Khanbal crossing.
"The police personnel only restrained in opening fire on the people and I wonder what stopped them in taking this extreme step", he added.
Rashid said that the people who were witnessing the same at Khanabal Chowk came down from the vehicles and they started protesting against the brutal use of the force.
He added that the activists of all the separatist parties who were heading towards the Anantnag town also came down and lodged their protest.
"Seeing this, the police became nervous and they started lathi charge without any ryhme or reason.
This led to a panic among the people and they began to run for their safety.
Many people were injured in the stampede, but thank God there was not a major tragedy", said the senior leader of JKLF.
As soon as the ambulance carrying the injured Malik reached Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura, the activists of JKLF who were already present there raised pro-freedom slogans.
They also raised slogans against the police and SOG.
Slogans like ''We Want freedom, no election no selection we want freedom, SOG hai hai, Kashmir police hai hai rented the air'' outside the Casualty Ward of SKIMS.
Some of the activists of JKLF became angry over the incident and they tried their best in entering the emergency of the hospital, but were stopped by the security officials of the hospital.
Malik was first taken to the emergency of the hospital where doctors attended on him and examined the nature of injury.
The doctors advised to conduct a CT scan of the injured JKLF chairman and later the CT scan was carried out.
Malik was still hospitalised and his condition is said to be serious.
Polling in South Kashmir posing challenge to authorities KT NEWS SERVICE SRINAGAR, Feb 3: The third phase of polling in Anantnag and Pulwama is posing a challenge to security forces and election authorities for maintaining order on February 6, when two south Kashmir districts will go for civic elections.
Election authorities have asked for effective and adequate security arrangements in the twin districts taking into view the sensitiveness of south Kashmir.
"We know the two districts of south Kashmir are very crucial and there needs some more security arrangements to ensure peaceful polling.
We have been assured by the authorities that adequate arrangements will be made for the third phase of polling", said B.S.Jamwal, deputy chief electoral officer.
Security forces that were deployed in Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramulla during the first two phases are being sent to Anantnag and Pulwama to ensure the peaceful polling.
Plus the paramilitary forces and other reserves are being mobilized to ensure peaceful and violence free polling Anantnag and Pulwama districts have a history of violent polls.
During the last parliamentary polls, the violence level was very high.
Several candidates including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti were attacked by the ultras while campaigning.
Even in the Pahalgam assembly by polls, chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was attacked when he was filing his nomination papers in Anantnag.
"We are expecting that the polling in these two districts would be as peaceful as it was in the Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramulla.
For this all arrangements have been made.
We are fully geared-up and will leave no stone unturned to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling", said Jamwal.
Anantnag and Pulwama Municipal councils are going to polls on February 6 in the third phase.
Anantnag has 77 wards and 153 candidates are in the fray.
For 31 wards of Pulwama 70 candidates are in the fray.
In Anantnag 20 candidates have already been elected unopposed and in Pulwama 29 have been elected unopposed for the municipal councils.
Nearly 1.5 lakh voters will exercise their franchise in third phase of polls.
They include 65351 in Anantnag and 39879 in Pulwama districts.
Meanwhile, as the date for the third phase draws near, the separatists have also stepped-up their anti-election campaign in the twin districts of south Kashmir.
The two districts had registered below 18 per cent polls during the last parliamentary elections.
