rotesters blocked the Pathankot-Jammu highway and clashed with the police on Friday following overnight communal violence, authorities said.
Curfew was imposed in Samba district in Jammu region late on Thursday in the wake of communal clashes.
A senior police officer said here that a mob which blocked the national highway at Parmandal Morh in Jammu district clashed with police, who used batons and tear gas to clear the highway.
The protests on Friday were linked to the Samba violence that followed allegations and counter-allegations of religious sacrilege.
Authorities on Friday said no cow had been slaughtered in Samba district — a charge that led to tensions and then violence at the first place.
They said the carcass of the animal found on the street was that of a buffalo calf that died more than 100 hours earlier as revealed by autopsy.
Members of one community had alleged that copies of their religious scripture were torched inside a factory in Bari Brahmana industrial area.
The first communal outbreak was reported on Thursday evening at Raya Morh in Samba where protesters torched the vehicle of the district magistrate and smashed other vehicles on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Several policemen and protesters were injured in the clashes. The army was called out at night, district officials said.
Police and the civil administration said they were seeking the help of community elders to restore sanity. – IANS
Hideout busted
Army troops busted a militant hideout and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including a sniper rifle, one universal machine gun and 13 kg explosive in Ramban. Based on specific information about the presence of a militant hideout in Laskarwan forest, a team of Army and J&K Police launched a joint search operation in the forested belt of Laskarwan and busted the hideout, an Army officer said.
The troops recovered arms, ammunition and explosive material including one 7.62—mm sniper rifle, universal machine gun, one under—barrel grenade launcher, hand grenade, three sniper magazines, 42 rounds of sniper ammunition, three bombs, one radio set, 13kgs of explosive, one blanket, three leather shoes and a rucksack, the officer said.
Laskarwan forest lies in the foothills of Riliyar Ridge, and continuous domination of the area was being undertaken by the troops of Rashtriya Rifles.
Despite dense undergrowth and harsh terrain, the joint team carried out a thorough search of the area on receipt of information and recovered the cache of arms and ammunition, he said, adding the General—Officer—Commanding of Delta Force complimented the troops who took part in the operation. - PTI
Administration seeking the help of community elders to restore peace in the region
