Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 22: Indefinite curfew within the Municipal limits of Rajouri town continued for second day today. While situation was almost normal in curfew bound areas, protests by both the communities were held at separate places of the border district in support of their demands.
“No relaxation was given in curfew today even though situation was normal in all curfew bound areas of Rajouri town,” DIG Rajouri-Poonch range AK Atri told the Excelsior.
He said para-military CRPF and police remained deployed in curfew bound and other sensitive areas of Rajouri town today to strictly enforce curfew and thwart the possibility of any untoward incident. However, the day passed off peacefully, he added.
Official sources said CRPF and police were patrolling Rajouri town while Army had returned to barracks last night after staging flag march in sensitive areas to restore confidence among the people. “The Army has been kept standby,” they said.
Army had yesterday staged flag march in all disturbed areas, where the youth were resorting to stone pelting on CRPF and police in protest against an alleged sacrilegious act by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists.
Sources said authorities this morning snapped internet and broadband connections of all mobile services and landline phones after taking up the matter with service providers. This was done to prevent flare up of rumours, which were spreading thick and fast not only in the sensitive border district but also other parts of the State.
Police have detained 19 stone pelters, who had yesterday indulged in violence. Four police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone pelting by the mob. Stone pelting had stopped only after curfew was imposed and Army staged flag march in the disturbed areas.
While some of the youths have been only detained as preventive measures, some others were likely to be booked for stone pelting, police said.
Meanwhile, people continued protests in the areas, where there was no curfew.
Minorities people held protest in Nowshera town of Rajouri district and burnt effigy of hardliner Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The people were protesting against the incident of stone pelting by the mob on the vehicle of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Vivek Anand in Rajouri yesterday.
The mob strongly denounced the incident of stone pelting by the protesters on the vehicle of Anand and demanded registration of case and arrest of those responsible for the incident.
People from majority community held protest demonstrations at Budhal, Koteranka, Darhal, Samot, Manjakote and Thanna Mandi against the sacrilegious act and demanded arrest of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists responsible for it.
Meanwhile, civil and police administration held meetings with prominent citizens of both the communities in a bid to defuse tension and restore normalcy in the town and other areas.
Sources said the Government was likely to depute a Cabinet Minister to Rajouri tomorrow to talk to representatives of all communities to resolve the issue and restore normalcy in the town.
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