Nine people were killed and over 30 injured, including two senior Jammu and Kashmir ministers, in a powerful hand grenade explosion at a Peoples Democratic Party gathering in the border town of Uri in Baramulla district on Thursday afternoon.
Several hundred supporters of the PDP had gathered in Uri for a rally in support of the party's candidate in
Baramulla, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat. As they were moving in a big procession led by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Finance Minister Muzzafar Hussain Beig and Tourism Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, unidentified militants hurled a grenade into the crowd. The explosion was followed by firing. Two persons died on the spot in the explosion and 32 were injured.
Witnesses said they saw Beig and Mir slumping to the ground hit either by shrapnels or bullets.
"We were moving in a procession towards the venue when I suddenly heard the sound of an explosion. I was on the roof of a four-wheel car...I jumped down and so did others with me," said Abdul Rashid, a PDP supporter.
"I saw everyone running for safety...I saw people in pools of blood crying for help. I rushed towards them. I made an attempt to lift one seriously injured person. I first thought he was dead, but then he opened his eyes and pleaded for help. We put him in an ambulance and took him with others to the Uri hospital," he said.
Witnesses said Mehbooba Mufti was on the roof of a vehicle when the explosion occurred. Her security personnel, members of the elite Special Services Group of the state police, immediately formed a circle around her.
Beig and the Mir were rushed to a nearby hospital by their supporters. Later, they were shifted to Srinagar's Soura
Medical Institute.
Chief cameraman of Star News, Arshad Hussain Shah, who suffered a shrapnel injury was admitted to the SMHS Hospital in Srinagar. His condition is stated to be stable.
Uri is a heavily guarded border town, 100 km from Srinagar. Thursday's PDP rally was to coincide with the now postponed technical level talks for starting a Srinagar-Muzzafarabad bus service.
Chief Minister and Mehbooba's father, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, condemned the attack. "It was the handiwork of those who want to derail the ongoing peace process," he said.
Six PDP supporters and a police constable succumbed to their injuries at the Baramulla hospital.
No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.