Grenade blasts greet Omar during Pulwama meeting

2 personnel, 9 civilians injured in two militant attacks on CRPF

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 14: On day two of the review meetings of District Development Boards in the Valley, militants today attacked security forces and left 11 persons wounded in Pulwama when Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, and two of his Cabinet colleagues were present at the South Kashmir district headquarters.

Informed sources in South Kashmir told Early Times that Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, was presiding over the District Development Board review meeting at Pulwama when suspected militants hurled a hand grenade on a CRPF bunker between Rajpora Chowk and Bus Stand at 1455 hours today. The blast occurred on the main Srinagar-Pulwama-Shopian Road at a spot that had crowded markets around. The district headquarters was bustling with business and activity when the explosion occurred and caused a stampede.

Men of CRPF 182 Bn, who were the target, did not open fire, even as at least two suspects were spotted mingling into a fleeing crowd and escaping from the spot.

Half-a-mile away, Chief Minister, two of his Cabinet colleagues, namely Sakeena Itoo and Aga Ruhullah, and Political Advisor, Devender Singh Rana, were taking a meeting with district and divisional level officials and legislators to review the progress achieved on implementation of the annual action plan in Pulwama and Shopian districts. With the exception of MLA Wachi and their party President, Mehbooba Mufti, all of the opposition PDP MLAs were present in the meeting alongwith NC’s MLC, Showkat Hussain Ganai, Congress MLC, Bashir Ahmed Magray and VC of Gujjar & Bakerwal Advisory Board, Bashir Ahmed Naz.

Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon, IGP Kashmir, S M Sahai, DC Pulwama, Mohammad Afzal, DC Shopian, Mohammad Sharief Sood, and all district level officers of Pulwama and Shopian, were present in the meeting amid tight security arrangements.

Sources said that the blast occurred inspite of checking of many vehicles and frisking of Pheran-clad youth by Police and paramilitary forces.

SP Pulwama, Abdul Razaq, who rushed to the spot and restored order in 15 minutes of the explosion, told Early Times that two CRPF personnel and five civilian pedestrians sustained multiple splinter injuries. They were all rushed to hospital for medical treatment. Later, one of the injured was referred to Bone & Joint Hospital, Barzulla, Srinagar. Others were reportedly discharged by late tonight.

A Police spokesman this evening said: “Militants in the afternoon today hurled a grenade on a security forces mobile bunker in the Rajpora Chowk-Pulwama. As per the initial reports two security forces personnel identified as Head constable Anil Kumar and Constable Manoj Kumar of 182 Battallion Central Reserve Police Force, and five civilians, identified as Zubaida W/o Saif-u-din R/o Daramdar, Pulwama, Pervaiz Ahmad S/o Ghulam Mohammad R/o Srinagar, Mehraj-din S/o Ghulam Nabi R/o Payeen Pulwama, Mohammad Shafiq S/o Ghulam Mohammad R/o Bemina and Mohammad Yousuf S/o Abdullah Mir R/o Maspuna, Pulwama, suffered injuries. Later, one of the injured civilians, namely Mohammad Yousuf Mir S/o Abdullah Mir was referred to Bones and Joints Hospital Srinagar for further treatment”.

Eyewitnesses from the spot said that a Maruti car also suffered extensive damage under the impact of the blast.

Sources said that suspected militants lobbed another hand grenade on a CRPF bunker near Forest Check Post at Kakpora at 1710 hours this evening when Chief Minister’s cavalcade, followed by cavalcades of Ministers and officials, were returning to the summer capital. Even as Chief Minister flew from Jammu to Pulwama in a helicopter, he had later decided to travel by road from Pulwama to Srinagar. Sources said that the blast at Kakpora occurred minutes after the CM’s and other official cavalcades zipped past the spot on Srinagar-Pulwama-Shopian Road.

Official, as well as unofficial, sources maintained that two civilian pedestrians sustained injuries in the blast at Kakpora. They were evacuated and rushed to hospital. Both were reportedly stable late tonight.

It was after months of stone pelting and street demonstrations that militants in South Kashmir surfaced with grenade attacks on CRPF, that too during CM’s presence and movement in Pulwama.

CURFEW IMPOSED

Meanwhile, authorities tonight announced to have imposed curfew in areas falling under five Police Stations---Ram Munshi Bagh, Kothibagh, Maisuma, Kralkhud and Shaheed Gunj---to fail attempts of religious and political groups to take out the traditional 8^th Moharram Alam procession, from Shaheed Gunj to Dalgate on Wednesday, in defiance of prohibitory orders.

END