Protests, shutdown in Kashmir as trucker laid to rest

Srinagar-Jammu National highway remained closed while train services from Baramulla to Anatnag remained suspended as a precautionary measure An ex-gratia of Rs5 lakh and government jobs for Zahid's kin Four more persons have been booked under stringent Public Safety Act for criminal assault on a Kashmir-bound truck

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• Security personnel patrol deserted street during a curfew imposed to maintain law and order in Udhampur, Srinagar, on Monday PTI

Shock, anger and outrage has gripped the Kashmir valley over the death of a trucker Zahid Ahmad Bhat even as the rains came to the rescue of beleaguered Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Noted Kashmiri poet Dr Margoob Banhali who joined the chorus of protesters and returned his Sahtiya Akademi award against the killing of Zahid by a mob near Udhampur on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway on the intervening night of October 9 and 10.
Zahid, who succumbed to burn injuries in Delhi's Safdar Jang hospital on Sunday, was buried on Monday morning. Thousands of people participated in his funeral procession amid heavy rains at his native village of Batengo in Anantnag district of south Kashmir.
Chanting 'pro-azadi' slogans people marched through the village with Zahid's casket till it reached his ancestral graveyard where his body was laid to rest according to Islamic traditions.
Massive protests rocked Batengo after Zahid's burial with people pelting stones on the security forces. Forces fired tear smoke shells and used baton charge to disperse the violent mob. The ding-dong battle continued for hours as protesters were in no mood to retreat despite inclement weather.
Elsewhere, heavy rains and sudden drop in the temperature helped Mufti government to heave a sigh of relief as the protests remained mostly localised. Police sources said there were protests in different parts of the Kashmir but they did not spiral out of control given the inclement weather.
"Situation remained by and large under control," Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, political analyst to the chief minister Mufti Mohommad Sayeed, told dna.
Kashmir and Chenab Valley observed a complete shutdown. Shops, business establishments and schools remained shut while traffic was off the roads. The call for strike was given by different separatist groups and trade organisations.
Authorities had imposed curfew like restrictions in sensitive old city of Srinagar to prevent any law and order breakdown. Security forces had erected barricades and rolled out concertina wire on exit and entry points of Srinagar and Anantnag to prevent any protest march.
Srinagar-Jammu National highway remained closed while train services from Baramulla to Anatnag remained suspended as a precautionary measure.
Facing public anger, the state cabinet passed a resolution moved by chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed expressing deep shock and grief over the tragic death of Zahid.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, the Cabinet observed a two-minute silence in memory of the departed soul. "The Cabinet also approved ex-gratia of Rs5 lakh and Rs3 lakh and government jobs in favour of the next of kin of Zahid and Showkat Ahmad Dar, who is undergoing treatment in the Safdarjung Hospital, in New Delhi," said an official spokesman.
Four more persons have been booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) for criminal assault on a Kashmir bound truck. Five persons were earlier booked under PSA in the case. With this, all the nine persons involved in planning and execution of the fatal attack have been booked under PSA.
"All the nine accused have been booked for murder under Section 302 RPC as well. District magistrate Udhampur Shahid Iqbal Choudhary after examining the dossier, facts and material produced on record regarding the instant case and criminal history of the accused issued warrants for detention of the persons involved in the attack under PSA," said the spokesman.
Four more booked
Four more persons have been booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) for criminal assault on a Kashmir bound truck. Five persons were earlier booked under PSA in the case. With this, all the nine persons involved in planning and execution of the fatal attack have been booked under PSA.
"All the nine accused have been booked for murder under Section 302 RPC as well. District magistrate Udhampur Shahid Iqbal Choudhary after examining the dossier, facts and material produced on record regarding the instant case and criminal history of the accused issued warrants for detention of the persons involved in the attack under PSA," said the spokesman.