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| 8 PDP workers injured in police cane charge | | |
Arteev Sharma
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 22: Situation on city roads today turned violent on the first day of Budget Session when police resorted to baton charge on activists of main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to prevent them marching towards Civil Secretariat to protest alleged increase in human rights violations in the State, particularly in Kashmir Valley.
Police, however, foiled the bid of the angry PDP supporters to gherao the State Legislature Complex. The party leaders said that eight PDP activists sustained minor injuries in police cane charge.
The trouble erupted when police stopped the PDP activists at Vivekanand Chowk heading towards Civil Secretariat to register their anguish against the Omar Abdullah led coalition government’s alleged failure to check the increasing incidents of human rights violation.
The vehicular traffic also remained disrupted on different roads connecting Civil Secretariat with rest of city parts for about two hours.
“The district administration had imposed Section 144 CrPc in and around Legislature complex in view of the protest call given by the party leadership. Hundreds of activists including women led by senior party leaders assembled since this morning at Prem Nagar along river Tawi aimed at gherao the Civil Secretariat complex but police resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse them,” said official sources.
Sources said, “As soon as the PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti reached the venue of protest at around 12:45 p.m, the party workers including senior leaders, T S Bajwa, Shanti Devi, led by Mehbooba forcefully tried to take out protest march which was prevented by the police cops deployed in and around the venue.”
A strong contingent comprising local and Punjab police assisted by CRPF personnel was led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu Basant Kumar Rath and Superintendent of Police (City) Randeep Kumar did not allow the activists to march towards Civil Secretariat which led to scuffle between protestors and security personnel.
“Police also fired six teargas shells to disperse protestors,” an eyewitness told Early Times.
Later, the PDP activists led by Mehbooba staged a sit-in protest at Vivekanand Chowk for half an hour. After staging protest at Vivekanand Chowk, Mehbooba along with her supporters marched towards the Residency Road and staged another sit-in at Danis Chowk for nearly an hour.
Police again resorted to cane-charge on party workers here. The PDP president accused the National Conference of failing to check increasing human right violations in valley. “Innocent youth in Kashmir Valley are being killed by security personnel that too, with the active involvement of government machinery,” she alleged.
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