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| 10 injured as Shia township witnesses, violence, shutdown | | NC-PDP clash over Mufti-Ansari rally in Budgam | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 22: Shia-dominated township of Budgam in Central Kashmir today observed complete shutdown against PDP’s rally and witnessed ding-dong clashes between the followers of the National Conference leader, Aga Syed Ruhullah, and the PDP leaders, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari and Aga Syed Mehmood. Even as Police used tearsmoke to dirperse the hostile crowds and enforced undeclared curfew at the district headquarters, at least 10 persons sustained injuries in the day-long clashes.
As exclusively reported in today’s issue of this newspaper, Shia followers of the Budgam MLA, Aga Ruhullah, had converged on the streets blast evening, shouted anti-PDP and anti-Ansari slogans and burnt rubber-tyres in order to convey to the administration that they would not allow the Shia cleric-politician from Srinagar, Maulvi Iftikhar Ansari, to hold a rally on Friday. MLA’s supporters fanned out in different directions of the town periphery in the morning today and enforced ‘civil curfew’. Reports said that they occupied vantage positions at a couple of places on the incoming roads and indulged in stone-pelting on several vehicles after supporters of the local Shia politician and PDP leader, Aga Syed Mehmood, allegedly pelted stones and left half-a-dozen people injured.
Aga Ruhulla’s followers forced complete shutdown at the district headquarters and resorted to stone pelting on a number of the passenger buses and trucks in operation. They also shouted anti-Ansari, anti-Mufti and anti-PDP slogans and communicated to the authorities that the Shia leader from Srinagar would not be allowed to hold a rally in Budgam.
Initially a mute spectator, Police swung into action in the afternoon and forced dispersal of the hostile crowds while firing tearsmoke canisters. Reports in the evening said that at least 10 persons from both the groups sustained injuries. None of them was reportedly critical. Almost all of the injured were later treated at District Hospital of Budgam. Reports said that the angry crowds also resorted to heavy stone-pelting on a number of shops, business establishments and the vehicles in operation. Rubber tyres and hostile party flags were set on fire at a number of places in the town.
It was only after IGP Kashmir, Dr B Srinivas, personally rushed to Budgam and helped Police and district administration to restore calm.
Shia supporters of the NC leader and MLA, Aga Ruhullah, and those of the PDP leaders, Aga Syed Mehmood and Maulvi Iftikhar Ansari, traded charges and intermittently stones. Aga Ruhulla’s followers alleged that Ansari was holding PDP’s rally with an intention to convey to the Government that he enjoyed maximum of influence among the Shias in Budgam. Ansari’s supporters said that they had planned to hold a thanks-giving rally which would be used by Ansari to felicitate his voters in Budgam. They maintained that it was a PDP public meeting and had nothing to do with religion and community.
After rounds of clashes, PDP succeeded in holding the Valley’s at the new bus-yard which was addressed by Ansari, local PDP leader and former Minister, Aga Syed Mehboob, former Minister and Shia cleric Maulvi Iftikhar Ansari and PDP’s Chadoura MLA and former Minister, Javed Mustafa Mir. The speakers alleged that the ruling NC was bent upon failing the PDP rally with the reinforcement of support from Police and civil administration. On the other hand, Aga Ruhulla’s supporters alleged that Ansari was sowing the seeds of disharmony to divide Budgam’s Aga dynasty.
Late evening reports said that there was considerable tension in Budgam and a thick Police bandobust was in place to avoid any more violence.
Meanwhile, at least 20 persons were reportedly injured—one of them critically, when followers of pro-Azadi leaders attacked a couple of Police Stations in Srinagar downtown and clashed with Police, while shouting slogans, pelting stones and taking maximum of the benefit of the Government’s newly adopted soft policy vis-à-vis Hurriyat and its top leadership.
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