SRINAGAR, April 23: Suspected Muslim guerillas attacked the office of India's main opposition Congress party in Kashmir on Friday, throwing grenades and firing at security forces days before the troubled region votes in national polls.
The latest violence in Srinagar, followed calls by freedom fighters to boycott the polls, which are being held in five rounds from April 20 to May 10. Srinagar votes on Monday. Congress is part of a coalition ruling the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
At least two attackers threw grenades and fired indiscriminately as they tried to storm the heavily-guarded office in the heart of the city before security forces returned fire, witnesses and police said.
The gunbattle lasted more than 45 minutes and was interrupted by grenade blasts. Three soldiers, including an officer, and two photographers were wounded in the shootout, a paramilitary officer said.
"All the people inside the Congress building have been rescued," said K. Srinivasan, a spokesman for the paramilitary Border Security Force. "Troops are looking for militants who may have sneaked into neighbouring buildings."
Panic spread in the area and people fled, leaving streets deserted. Security forces blocked traffic on the busy street leading to the Congress office and markets in the area shut.
Suspected guerillas hurled a grenade at the same office earlier on Friday but there were no reports of injuries, police said. Police also fired tear gas to disperse a procession of more than 2,000 people who took to the streets after Friday prayers to protest against the polls.
The Border Security Force said its soldiers seized a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including 45 grenades, five homemade bombs and three rockets from a militant hideout in Srinagar.
Kashmiri militants, fighting against Indian rule since 1989, and pro-independence political leaders have called for a boycott of the polls saying these are not a substitute for a resolution of decades-old dispute over the Himalayan territory between India and Pakistan.
Militants set off mines and fired at polling stations when one part of the state voted on Tuesday in the first stage of the election. The guerillas have also targeted election rallies and campaign convoys of politicians in a bid to scare voters and candidates. Violence in occupied Kashmir continues despite a nascent peace process between India and Pakistan, which went to the brink of war over Kashmir in 2002. -Reuters
