At least three vehicles including a police van was damaged after unknown persons attacked the People’s Democratic Party Cavalcade near Meemandar area of South Kashmir’s Shopian District. PDP blamed NC Sarpanch for the attack.Eyewitnesses told that party cadre persuaded the ‘reluctant’ patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed to address people at Meemandar Shopian. “He was not ready but we persuaded him. As the cavalcade stopped and Mufti Sahab was about to come out of his vehicle, miscreants pelted stones on us,” a party leader who was part of the cavalcade told on condition of anonymity.
Eyewitnesses said that the attackers cornered the PDP cavalcade and police vans and pelted stones indiscriminately. The stone-pelting incident resulted in chaos while police bursted some tear-smoke shells to disperse the attackers. “Mufti Muhammad Sayeed did not come out of his vehicles while his security guards gave him cover and braved the stones pelted by unknown persons.“Two window panes of my vehicles got damaged while pelters who were led by an NC Sarpanch damaged a police van completely. The vehicle of Zafar Manhas another PDP leader also suffered damages as all the windowpanes of his vehicles were smashed by the stone-pelters,” MLA Shopian Abdul Razak Zovara told
Zovara alleged that there was no Road Opening Party present on any place in the town. “Mufti Sahab addressed people at different places of the town including Pohan, Pinjora, Sadav, Ram Nagari, Reshi Nagri, Nowgam, Wahil and Kachwada. As we were reutrining towards the town from Kachwada, we came under attack,” he said.Reports said that at least three persons were injured during the attack, which police denied.
SSP Shopian Showkat Ahmed told that there was Road Opening Party buts PDP cavalcade deviated from the plan. “They (PDP) changed their routes. The DC has permitted and advised them they should cut their venues from five to six while they addressed at all but 11 venues. The security was alert and active but the attack occurred as they changed the route plan,” SSP said adding that no one was injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, in Shopian town people attacked BJP vehicles with stones that resulted in the injury of three people. A police official confirmed the incident but said that it was a minor incident.A BJP leader told that at least six of their vehicles were damaged in the attack. “Our worker Fayaz Ahmed form Doru Anantnag suffered injuries,” he said.Reports said that public address system was used early in the morning by people in which the callers urged upon people to observe complete shutdown in wake of PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s visit in the town.