Four killed, over 20 injured in J&K town after protests over BSF patrol

Srinagar: Four people were killed and over 20 injured, including security personnel, when a mob attacked a BSF camp in Ramban district over alleged high-handedness by a patrolling party. Alleging desecration of a mosque and beating up of an Imam by some Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, a group of protesters stormed a BSF camp in Gool town of Ramban district, around 145 km from here. Police said that four people were killed and about two dozen got injured when the BSF troopers opened fire during clashes with agitated protesters. [caption id=“attachment_966275” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] “Two dozen people have been injured in the clashes between the security forces and the protesters. Doctors at the hospital said that five of the injured had bullet injuries,” a senior police officer said. The injured also include some BSF personnel, he said. Minister of State for Home, Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo said that a patrolling party of BSF deployed for the security of the railway project intercepted a youth roaming under suspicious circumstances in the Daram belt of Gool tehsil at around 1 am. The youth, identified as one Shabir, was questioned about his presence in the area and may have been beaten up by the security personnel, Kitchloo said. The disturbance was fuelled by statements from a moulvi of a local madrasa who denounced the action of the security personnel as being sacrilegious, thereby allegedly inciting the people, Kitchloo said. High tension gripped Gool, Ramban, Chanderkote and Batote towns in the district. A violent mob also tried to set afire the district magistrate’s office in the district headquarters town of Ramban. Police were trying to bring the situation under control. Protesters blocked the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway at some places. with inputs from Agencies