Srinagar:1 killed in clash between mob and security forces

A 25-year old youth was killed and another wounded when security forces opened fire in the old city at the end of days polling in the prestigious Srinagar parliamentary constituency.

A senior police officer said security forces had to open fire after a stone-pelting mob attacked security forces escorting a poll party in the old city’s Nawakadal locality on Wednesday evening.

“Two persons were injured, one of them, identified as Bashir Ahmad Bhat, later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital,” the police officer said.

The incident triggered tension in capital Srinagar where security had been tightened for the peaceful conduct of polls.

The moderate and the hard-line All Parties Hurriyat Conference groups have called for a protest shutdown on Thursday against the killing of Bhat.

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State Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed profound grief and sorrow over the incident. Expressing his solidarity with the bereaved family, Omar Abdullah said “the circumstances leading to this tragic loss of life would be thoroughly probed.”

A police spokesman in a statement said, “In the evening after the polling was over a party of security forces came under severe attack by some miscreants in Nawakadal area. The miscreants snatched the weapon of a security personnel. In the ensuing scuffle two persons were injured, one of whom succumbed.” 

The Srinagar constituency where the minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah is pitted against the opposition Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Tariq Hamid Karra saw a low voter turn out Wednesday.

The separatists had called for a poll boycott in the constituency. While most of the polling stations in the summer capital saw very low voter turnout, brisk polling was witnessed in areas of the adjoining Budgam and Ganderbal districts.

Around 26 percent of the total electorate of the Srinagar parliamentary constituency cast their vote in Wednesday’s polling, according to chief electoral officer Umang Narula.

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Addressing a press conference, Narula said 11.46 percent votes were cast in Srinagar, 39.50 percent in Budgam and 45.61 percent in Ganderbal districts. Exact polling figures were being received from different areas of these districts, which would subsequently add up the final poll percentage, said Narula.

He said around 2,500 migrant voters also exercised their franchise in special polling booths set up in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.

The chief electoral officer said that as many as 1,546 polling stations were set up across the parliamentary constituency, which included 233 critical and 1,021 hypersensitive ones. He also said that web casting was done in as many as 44 booths, besides 15 digital and 51 video cameras were installed for covering the voting process.

Narula said 197 Micro Observers were deployed for the parliamentary constituency.