Fifteen persons were injured after unknown persons hurled a grenade in Batapora Chowk in Main Town of south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday afternoon, officials said.Officials told news agency GNS that at around 2: 40 pm, unknown persons lobbed a grenade in Batapora Chowk injuring 15 persons including ladies and a minor girl. They said the grenade blast caused panic in whole area and people ran towards safer places.The injured were immediately rushed to District Hospital Shopian for treatment.Talking to GNS, the Medical Superintendent Dr Ismail said they received 15 injured persons. “We treated 15 people and out of which one minor girl was referred to Srinagar for specialized treatment. Currently, two among injured are under observation in the hospital,” he said.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police South Kashmir Nitesh Kumar told GNS that it seems the target of grenade was police. “Police party always remains deployed at the Batapora Chowk and I think it was the target but the grenade hurlers missed their target and the civilians became victims,” he said. The DIG said that militants were behind the attack. A senior police officer who spoke to GNS on the condition of anonymity said: “Clearly, it was the police party whom militants wanted to target. But, they missed.”
Witnesses, meanwhile, told GNS that some army personal were also presented in the area at the time of attack. “They were in a sumo,” they said. But, police dismissed the claims the grenade was aimed at army soldiers.Soon after the attack, the police, army and paramilitary cordoned off whole area and conducted searches to nab the attackers.Earlier, a public darbar was held at police station Shopian which falls in the same area, officials added. (GNS)