Held Kashmir comes to halt: Deputy CM survives attack
SRINAGAR, July 13: The deputy chief minister of occupied Kashmir escaped an attempt on his life as a strike, called to mourn the death of 21 people slain 73 years ago by the police, brought the normal life to a standstill here on Tuesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma was on his way to take part in the opening of the first flyover in Srinagar when a grenade fired at his motorcade by suspected freedom fighters hit an escort car and exploded on the road, police said.
"The grenade hit the escort vehicle of Mangat Ram Sharma and then exploded on the road injuring three policemen and a girl," a police officer said. No militant group has claimed the responsibility for the attack that took place near the Budshah Chowk in the heart of the city.
Violence has spiralled in July in the region in what officials say is a bid by guerillas to disrupt peace moves between India and Pakistan. The attack on Mr Sharma came hours after a powerful bomb blast killed one person and wounded 12 in the city.
Later, three labourers working for a state-run road construction department were killed when suspected guerillas fired at their camp in the Bhaderwah area, police said. Another labourer was wounded in the assault, they added.
The strike call was given by the All Parties Hurriyat (freedom) Conference to mark the anniversary of the July 13, 1931, shooting of 21 Kashmiris by the police during a protest against the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, then ruler of the Himalayan region.
Shops and businesses, schools and offices were closed across the valley on Tuesday which both Mujahideen and many pro-Indian groups observe as "martyrs' day". The strike affected normal life in some other towns in Kashmir's Muslim-majority areas, although the Hindu-dominated Jammu region in the south was unaffected, witnesses said.
Local newspapers on Tuesday splashed photographs of the 1931 massacre on their front pages, reviving memories for some. "It was a fight for justice and freedom," said 90-year-old Ghulam Mohiudin, who also urged India and Pakistan to resolve the issue of Kashmir in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris.
"My life is almost over. I want to die with the impression that the Kashmir issue will be resolved and my sons and grandsons will live in peace," he said. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed paid tribute to the dead, sprinkling flower petals on their graves in a local cemetery. -Agencies
