KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Kashmir is shut but not silent. The death of militant poster boy Burhan Wani has led to killing of four more youths and dozens injured.
The home town of slain Burhan is flooded with tens of thousands of mourners. Elsewhere, Kashmir is tense and the death of most popular militant commander has triggered a chain reaction.
Following the silent operation on Friday evening in forest Kokernag area in which Burhan and two of his associates died, government clamped down on internet services across Kashmir while mobile network was snapped in entire South Kashmir.
Given the intensity of crisis, media personnel did not sleep and drove to Tral in the middle of night from Mushtaq Enclave Lal Chowk. They took turns and rough routes to report from ground zero.
However, the communication breakdown added to the problems in flow of information which created more problems on rumour mongering front.
In summer capital, Maisuma erupted and forces lobbed scores of tear gas canisters while youth resorted to intense stone pelting amid pro-freedom sloganeering. From uptown Tengpora, tear gas shelling and stone pelting continued for hours.
Reports reaching here from North Kashmir said that youth and forces continued clashes for whole day. In Bandipora, a BSF bunker was torched while it was intense clashes reported from Baramulla town. Same reports reached from Palhallan. Early today, youth clashed with forces in Chichi Lora area near Gulmarg after offering Nimaz-i-Jinaza in absentia for slain Burhan Muzaffar Wani.
Kupwara’s Lolab and Trehgam erupted in protests against the killing of militant trio.
In all this South Kashmir was most tense. Given the communication breakdown, reports gathered in bits and pieces suggested that not less than 60 persons were injured in forces action. Five youth, hit by bullets, lost their lives. Two police stations were set ablaze while an office which belonged to BJP was attacked in Kulgam.
The situation which developed post Burhan’s death forced authorities to halt the annual Yatra. In his last video, Burhan put up on Facebook, he supported annual Hindu Yatra, however, warned J&K Police against action militants. Over one lakh Hindu Yatris had Darshan of Amarnath cave in Himalaya since July 2 till the evening when Burhan died.
With rise in tensions in valley, various agencies postponed their activities. Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission postponed the exam for the post of Medical Officer and Medical Officer Ayurvedic which was scheduled to be hold tomorrow.
Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Awantipora also postponed the Group discussion/personal interview for admission to the MBA course scheduled to be held on July 10, 11 and 12. The CUK early today deferred exams.
As media personnel faced were stuck in confirming the news they were getting from across Kashmir, it was the ambulance siren which kept them on tenterhooks. The communication breakdown led to serious crisis and rumour mongering led to tensions in newsrooms.
While journalists were busy gathering details, the siren of ambulances which were rushing on M A Road caught their attention.
Kashmir Life got in touch with some officials in Health department who detailed the episode at sub-district hospital Pampore.
“It was chaos at the hospital when a critical care ambulance was entering the hospital premises,” an official told Kashmir Life. “the ambulance was returning from SHMS.”
The official said that hospital staffers carrying an injured youth who pushed him inside the ambulance and asked the ambulance driver to fled the spot.
The officers said that while giving the details of the episode said, “an injured youth was brought to hospital from Kulgam. He was hit by a bullet but the ambulance he was being driven to Srinagar was attacked by forces somewhere when it reached Pampore.”
The ambulance which came from Kulgam entered Pampore hospital and the attendants took the injured inside the hospital. “Meanwhile forces personnel entered the hospital and roughed up doctors and attendants as well,” the officials alleged, “a few attendants were arrested as well but we somehow managed to send the injured youth to SMHS in our own special care ambulance.”
